Welcome to Gundam Plus II, the successor to the original Gundam Plus site.
Part 2
And now that part 1 is behind us we’re onto part 2 of MS Igloo.
The first thing we get is the date to help establish where we are timeline wise within the Gundam or specifically the UC universe, in this case being 0079.04.29. We see a pair of Zaku’s making their way across the wasteland as we see they are headed for the 128th supply point in Arizona. The pilot ask for ammo in which the guard says of course and notes the scars on the Mobile Suit as the Zaku aims and points its gun at the guard as we hit the opening credits.
We’re back and we get to see some Zeon propaganda movie about the invasion of Earth and how their forces are crushing the Federation forces yadda yadda yadda. We now see the Jotunheim in orbit of the Earth as they prepare for a resupply operation while down in the hanger deck we see Monique barking out orders to crew as they prep the drop pods. We watch the resupply fleet drop the pods as we’re taking back to the Experiment Tech headquarters as Oliver is getting his briefing on his next assignment – the test of the experimental tank Hildolfr on Earth. Oliver notes that it’s odd since the testing of the tank was stopped 2 years ago and his commander says that yes it’s true but the testing must be done and this time when it’s done to leave the tank behind on earth. As it turns out the war isn’t going as well as the public is told and they lack the resources to be able to bring the tank back.
Back with the Jotunheim as we see it flying to Earth with an escort cruiser as we see on the inside the tank being checked and prepared for its tests on Earth. Oliver muses to himself about what he’s learned about the direction of the war when he’s interrupted by a man who notes he’s been assignment as the pilot of the Hildolfr: Major Demeziere Sonnen. We also discover that Sonnen has a bit of a drug problem as he pops pills on a regular basis. We then see Monique go by and both she and Sonnen gasp at the sight of each other before she goes on her way to the other side of the hanger. Looks like someone has some history here.
We watch the ship head into Earth’s orbit as Monique lets us know via her briefing the operations area will be in the Arizona area. She also announces that she will be on the planet with Sonnen and Oliver as overall commander of the testing which catches Sonnen off guard. Prochnow chimes in that the 128th was attacked a few days ago and wiped out so they should keep an eye open for any remaining troops while they are down there. Sonnen doesn’t mind as he figures the type of tanks the Federation is probably using would be excellent test subjects for the Hildolfr. As they prepare to drop Oliver asks Monique the question we’ve been wondering about her ties to the Major but she replies cryptically that a captain is still a captain even as their skills degrade but if a soldier degrades then he is useless. During the drop she finally opens up and tells Oliver that she admired the Major when she was in training but he didn’t do well with the mobile suit testing like the others and start to give up. They talk about how one shouldn’t dwell on the past and Monique is hinting that Sonnen is doing just that with his dwelling on his failure as a mobile suit pilot.
Down on the 67th’s supply point as a pair of Zaku’s arrive to ask the status of the drop ship. We seem from the one guarding Zaku I that the shuttle begins to take fire and as it turns it is also attacked by the arriving Zakus. As it turns out the Zaku’s were captured and taken over by Federation troops who are using them as a part of their raids and attack on Zeon targets and forces. On the shuttle and the damage is bad as they are now cut off from the ship and they can’t reach the 67th. Sonnen shows them on the monitor the reason why is because the 67th was probably just attacked and it’s why they got caught in the attack. Sonnen asks to be dropped so he can engage the Federation troops and while she disagrees, Oliver notes that it’s needed and they prepare to drop the tank.
The drop is done and the Hildolfr races off to begin its fight with the Feddie units. As the Federation are going over the wreckage of the supply base Sonnen sets up and begins to plan his attack against, by his count, 6 enemy mobile suits. Oliver advises against combat but Sonnen says he’ll be spotted soon and that he can take them all out from where he is and starts his barrage with the first shot cutting a zaku in half with its second shot severely damaging another before the rest manage to find cover. Back on the shuttle/dropship Oliver and Monique are monitoring the data being sent back and Oliver notes that Sonnen is free to adjust the firing program as he sees fit. As this is happening the Federation soldiers try to figure what happened and their commander deduces that it’s a long range stationary gunner and that if they rush it they can take it out before it picks them off from long range.
The fight really picks up as the Federation forces start their counterattack with the Hildolfr moving off to its next position as Oliver and Monique can only standby in their ship and listen to what is happening. During the fight they lose radio contact with the tank as we see the Zakus begin their charge on the tank. Sonnen realizes his communications are out but continues to report as the black box in the tank will record the data. We then see him take out another zaku as the rest finally get close and are shocked by how fast and agile the Hildolfr is for a unit of its size. The Zaku’s then start to aim for its treads and manage to shoot one off but the Hildolfr is more than a mere tank as we see it launch a smokescreen and then the turret rise to show a body with arms (one carrying a machine gun) as the tread is fixed and it starts to move again. A neat scene where it shoots the main gun and the power of said gun makes the tank nearly roll over on its side.
The Hildolfr promptly disables all but one of the Zaku’s and takes out the pair of federation tanks as well but is stuck on some Zaku parts and can’t move. The last functional Zaku runs in thinking it’s got an easy kill but (in another neat bit) Sonnen fires a blind shot to lift the tank off the Zaku parts so it can move again and rams then shoots the Zaku. This is a really cool battle. Just as it looks like he’s got things wrapped it turns out the Feddie commander was playing possum and he starts to use a melee sort of attack on the tank and then drives his gun into the mono eye of the tank and fires a shot appearing to destroy it.
The commander then moves off to attack the shuttle as Oliver tells Monique that their ship has not anti-mobile suit weapons. However things are not as bleak as we shot as Sonnen manages to fire off one final shot destroying the Zaku before dying of his wounds as we see the smoking wreck of the Hildolfr in the sunset. Back aboard the ship we now see Oliver filing his evaluation report where he praises Sonnen for his work in the test and notes that the data they found should go to prove that the Hildolfr was wrongly abandoned by the previous test team as the episode comes to an end.
Nimrod’s thoughts – As with part 1 the visuals are what draw you in and not really the overall story. As well we start the trend here of the series of the guest pilot of the week with their own set of demons but find redemption during the testing of whatever unit they are using. That said, I really did like this episode as the Hildolfr vs the Federation Zakus was a very good battle and translated quite well to the CGI animation.
