Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury (2022–2023) User Reviews

First gundam I've watched. Not bad.

[fraser-simons · 7/10 · 8 December 2023]

Sapphic gundam is enough to get me to watch gundam. And it was pretty good. It still has anime things that have been so ingrained in the format you can't help but try to find something eye roll worthy endearing, and sometimes I can do that. Sometimes though, stuff does not make sense because the priority is to surprise the viewer. So, watch this when you're in the mood to allow a lot of hand waves and want The Mood. You won't be sorry.

If you've heard that this is written excellence though, unfortunately this is not that. It's really fun and actually has some amount of queer rep though. And war is bad. Capitalism is bad. I can get on board with that.

Childish, but it can be loved for its childish act... gets more serious at the end of Season 1

[Rakshun · 7/10 · 24 April 2023]

I missed the Gundam franchise altogether and maybe I'm late to the party now, but started watching this show with high hopes anyway. I tried watching retro mecha anime many times, but couldn't get myself over the retro look. I'm sensitive to art quality.

The Witch from Mercury looks stellar. The characters are pretty neat and it really reeks from atmosphere, the space scenes are particurarly atmospheric also the music is supporting it well. I was engaged from the beginning and will definitely watch this show for a longer duration. It's a mixture of mecha battles, campus slice of life and political intrique and a little yuri romance. Still on the positive side, there are no annoying characters, unnecessary drama, fan service or filler episodes and the male characters are cool too.

The battles are somehow not that stellar, even tough, there is one almost in each episode. Battle choreographies are simply not clever enough (watch The Expanse for what I mean by clever; even the end of the first Appleseed movie packed more gunpowder). Somehow the script is dumb. It takes on grand schemes, which is respectable, but then it falls short with the implementation, mostly in the "political intrique" department. Not ridicuolusly annoying, just a bit childish, like Suletta herself. I guess teenagers might be able to wholeheartedly enjoy it, but as a grown up adult I was constantly skeptical and smiling ironically. Maybe, this could have been an acceptable story somewhere in the 80's, but by today's standards, well... there are more cleverly written shows out there for certain.

Still, it reaches the bar, as long as my bar is concerned. I'm a big sci-fi fan, so I'm less strict with this one. I could complain endlessly, that characters are not polished enough, especially the side characters are neglected, they are just "being there", but the story moves ahead with a comfortable pace, it never gets boring and it always feels good to look at the screen. It's a bit flat and Suletta's and Miorine's relationship is not really going anywhere crazy or fast. I had the very same feeling with Angel Beats. Interesting enough to do not stop watching, it has a heart and can be loved for what it is, but wouldn't watch it again or recommend it to anybody as one of my favourites.

UPDATE: At the end of Season 1 it finds its fangs and switches gears to a darker and more serious tone (people starts dying, so the main issue is not who marries Miorine anymore... ;) ) which makes it way better, so I raised my seven to eight. Battles are still somewhat boring, but at least it's not duels now, but real war. I'm a bit more angry for all the script pitfalls and overdone scenes (didn't these guys know proportion?), because it could have been a masterpiece rather just being good. But it definitely has memorable moments, worth watching once.

Siller Than Most Gundam Series - Still Worth Watching

[IslandMyst · 7/10 · 18 November 2022]

There's only been like 4 episodes released so review is based on those.

It's not like typical Gundam series.

The animation is beautiful, the story is okay, but the main character Suletta is extremely silly. Many anime have silly moments and childish characters but Suletta is on another level. She has the mannerisms of a 5 year old child. Hiding behind people because she's too shy, crying like a toddler, which makes it even more weird that they're dueling over marriages.

They've basically made what would normally be the comic relief character the main character of the show. This makes it harder to take her seriously as a pilot when you see how she acts, it's hard to believe that she has the constitution to go into space and pilot a mobile suit. It's similar as to how in season 2 of Gundam00 the guy's ditzy girlfriend had become an elite mobile suit pilot. It just didn't fit.

They've shown little so far as per the normal themes of Gundam, but Im hoping it will get better. Even the Gundam has a more round cutesy face than normal, because the pilot is female, and females cute, shy and innocent, right?

I really hope it get's more serious later on.

Insanely well put together

[tetolover-17661 · 10/10 · 8 January 2023]

Looking at these reviews, most of the comments are regarding the initial episodes giving negative comments after watching a boring overutilized plot. This Gundam plot isn't it. The first couple of episodes start off cute with a non-death-related duel between characters. It starts off cute and innocent with a peaceful storyline with some episodes showing dark symbolisms of the Gundam we are used to. The character development in the show plays extremely well, and there aren't any useless/annoying or rushed characters like how several gundam anime will include: Katz. The finale really takes a huge leap into the territory of gundam throwing off viewers as what we thought was an innocent gundam builders plot was secretly a gundam masterpiece.

I really can't wait for the next season. Artwork/animation/plot has all been incredible. Also make sure to wait for the end credits on the final episode. Extremely important for the next season.

Guilty-pleasure

[talking_about_movies · 8/10 · 8 March 2023]

*This review is after watching Season 2*

This is sort of a guilty-pleasure anime for me. Because when it comes to the story, I stopped caring a long time ago. It was just too confusing for me to follow. At first, I thought the problem was within me and I was just not smart enough to understand this story. But after seeing the finale, I'm positive that this anime itself is a mess. The fact that they even opened so many plotlines, and ended the entire story in 24 episodes, is ridiculous. Things just suddenly happened in this anime, and I kept racking my brain to figure out why. The motivations of so many characters made no sense. Even the action scenes were hard to follow. That's why in between the story, I actually just gave up on following it.

So why did I continue watching it? Why don't I regret watching it? Well that's because the 2nd season did something that intrigued me. All these characters in the first season were just very immature and somewhat annoying in their own way. In this season, the writer just unleashed hell on all of them. Each and every character gets a brutal reality check. And this season just kept on coming at them, giving none of them any time to even breathe. And these characters were actually forced to improve. They had no choice but to grow up. There are so many character arcs that I actually didn't see coming. This season was not afraid to be dark. Even in the first season we saw that grim darkness a few times. But this season capitalised on that itself. And sunrise did do a good job on the soundtrack and animation. Not on the story though.

This isn't a good anime, frankly. I gave it a good grade because like I said, the character arcs and the darkness intrigued me. But that's why I know it's a guilty-pleasure for me. Because the story is just a mess, and many people aren't going to enjoy it.

This is it.

[wichterich · 10/10 · 19 August 2023]

In my Life i watched plenty of anime, some good some, bad, but i must say rarely if nver had an anime such an impact on me.

This was the first time ive watched any Gundam anime, so i watched it without any bias, after watching some other Gundam media let me tell you, this anime is worth it..

I opened my account just so i can tell the world to go and watchi this anime, beacause in every way it is worth it.

The characters were well written, Humans with flaws, desires and growth.

Nobody felt like an stereotype, nobody was pure evil or pure good, they felt like people you can meet on the street and get along with.

Every character had more character growth in 20 mins per episode than rey in star wars had in the last 8 years.

The story was just wow, i cant find the right words to describe the enjoyment ive felt watching this anime.

It had ups, downs, motives, somethings went right, somethings went wrong.

But the delivery was always on point.

Never was i so hyped to watch the next episode, it drew me in and kept me.

The Plot never felt stretched out or rushed, it was constantly very interesting and exciting.

If i could give every star ive ever misssed out in giving to an anime, i would give them to this one.

A spectacular anime for new and existing fans

[aidancoxon · 10/10 · 9 April 2023]

If you think of skipping this amazing anime, you are missing out all the fun! Part 1 of The Witch from Mercury was a great season, as it is the first Gundam series to focus on school life before escalating into serious events. This anime is a must watch for new and existing fans around the world.

Character development was impressive, including the character arcs of Suletta and Miorine as groom and bride. Not to mention that the series is also involved in the business industry when GUND-ARM was formed in episode 7 and became part of the medical technology in prosthetics.

The mobile suit battles were awesome too! It was nice to see Gundam Aerial getting its chance to shine and amaze us in so many ways, like unlocking the GUND format's 'Permit Score 6' in the episode 9 battle.

The show also did great on its twists and turns like the last three episodes of part 1 turning from school life into warfare. Just like that. I was even shocked at the post credit scene of episode 12 with Suletta using Aerial to 'tomato splat' a soldier in front of her bride.

With part 2 now airing, I'm looking forward to seeing where the characters will go in the aftermath of episode 12.

Bad anyway you slice it.

[antisjw-03463 · 1/10 · 29 July 2023]

What is with the MC?

Trying to watch this, but the MC is annoying beyond belief. It's like they stuck an adult characters into a majority of the high school students, then decided, let's stick an elementary student into a high school body for the MC.

The animation is ok. But most of it is high school drama, with just minutes of actual gundam fights.

The politics of the show are not complex like other gundam shows from the past.

Not even the relatioship between the MC and her companion is well developed in any way.

Think a pet maste relationship and that is what defines them , so is pretty much bad writing galore.

Not a good show.

A hot mess

[Oneirosophos · 1/10 · 2 July 2023]

Gundam: Witch From Mercury is a brand new entry in Gundam multiverse, by the creator of the incredible Code Geass.

And it is another flop.

Witch From Mercury takes place in a new timeline, where Colonists have the upper hand and Earth has lost. But the main antagonists are not generals or emperors, but... Companies. One company discovers a Gundarm, a secret weapon and tries to use it against the other Companies.

But let us forget all of this and switch the entire show to a space high school for Mobile Suit pilots, who fight for a tournament and marriage rights!

The first season was so boring to watch, between the second and the penultimate episode, that you can even skip 10 episodes and lose nothing. It has a promising cliffhanger, out of nowhere and...then Season 2 happens, which tries to make up for the crappy first season. And fails miserably.

Even the stellar animation and the production can not ultimately make up for the messy story and the finale is fully rushed.

Personally, after I've watched every Gundam (except AGE), Witch is by far one of the bottom 5 Gundam anime series. It is forgettable, boring and another fail attempt by Ichiro Okouchi in mecha genre, after the incredibly bad Code Geass alternate sequels.

A dissapoinment

[erick-hernandez · 1/10 · 7 July 2023]

This show started ok and it went downhill from there.

Think fanfic level of writing and you are getting there. The plot was more concerned with shipping two characters than being a Gundam series.

The show is usually 80% school drama show, 20 % Gundam, not good at all for a supposed Gundam show.

At the end of season 1, it started to get good, but after that is back to the boring school room com generic anime spiced with robots.

Do you remember all that political drama from other Gundam shows? Here is replaced for not-so-subtle anti-corporation quips, with no thought put into how a world like that would function.

Score more than a 5 are normie scores.

A+ animation C-tier story

[antisjw-59979 · 1/10 · 29 July 2023]

The good animation and sound design are just amazing, the fights are well done and the audio to accompany them are just perfect... but that can only carry so much the bad the story... Mary Sue No.1 wants to be a normal kid and goes to school , she meets the quirky not like other girls princess a.k.a Mary sue No.2. They end up forced together because of a rule the princess must marry the best mobile suit pilot in the school.

The story is a bland "romance" and school life plot with mobile suits and people yelling Gundam all the time just so we know it's a Gundam anime. The over-arching "plot": a while ago there was a war between people born on earth and people born in space, and they built "gun format" mobile suits which .... somehow used the pilot as a battery to fuel AI systems which burnt out and kill the pilot, gun format = Gundam.

In modern day the weapon manufacturers formed a group to control everyone and use the "witches" as an excuse to form the group (witches were trying to make gun format not kill people but let them live in space easily... which everyone seems to do anyway ?.

This somehow works and people hate those born on earth for .... reasons? Meanwhile earth-born people hate space people because they constantly use the Earth as a weapon-testing playground and treat them like slaves.

There is a "mystery" behind merry sue No.1 and why she can use a Gundam and not die or even if it is a Gundam but is stretched out and "hidden" to make it more "Mysterious" I'mt reading a lot of people praise the animation , gets weaker as things go on, and give it 5/5 but ignore how bland and uninteresting the story is.

It's very noticeable in later episodes, which is a shame.

Worst gundam show on years.

[bandymex · 1/10 · 21 July 2023]

Basically Utena with space robots, but replace the cryptic symbolism with politics.

And it doesn't even commit to the themes it sets up at the start.

Just go watch Utena instead. It's dated, it doesn't look as good as this, but the depth of the plot is so satisfying unlike this... thing.

The character development is weak.

It started to get good a the end of season 1, then it was back to nothing happening on the show.

The ending was totally rushed and left as many plot holes, the thing is so full of logical flaws that is so hard to watch it.

Do not be misled by the fandom of this particular show to think this is worth your time.

Don't mistake complicated for complex

[antisjw-40456 · 1/10 · 28 July 2023]

Witch from mercury fM is a lot of fun to watch, and I've been enjoying it.

But it is also frustrating because it should be a lot better. In creative writing you're often told to outline where your story is going. But G-witch seems to be written on a per episode basis, set-ups often retcon characters and build up to a resolution in the same episode.

It would be so much better to establish conflicts and characters early, let them simmer an episode or two, let them interact with the world in a consistent way and build tension, and then resolve.

I have loved some of the moments, but they could be much stronger if they had a better set-up - payoff relationship, rather than just going straight for the payoff every time.

I was eagerly awaiting this release!

[daisukereds · 4/10 · 29 October 2022]

Wanting for a new Gundam series to take the concept of "newtypes" in the right direction, to introduce new technologies and to elevate the stories that have been told for generations!

But it feels like this series wrote itself into a "hole" it can't wait to get out of.. imagined after properties that wished had the word "Gundam" in their name.. Taking the concept of puppeteers to the extreme, with parents playing chess with their kids in a nonsensical and unsatisfiable manner. With a plot of teenage-brides, a supposed-school where studying is not the focus and rushed settings that ultimately holds back what would be a meaningful entry. Seeing the things I'd be more interested in buried in a deeper layer and relegated to background ideas.. such as agitators and revolts, effects of technology, humanity, military issues, space politics and more! What dissatisfies me the most, is that it pretends to have some sort of Gundam-related Biotechnology (similar to newtypes), but it is just a thin-veiled power-up with no explanation.. not that something so cheap could be any interesting, anyway.

For what it is (another generic "quality anime drama" with robots, instead of filling the role of "space opera").. it is decent enough. Episodes could be watched out of order (from 5 to 9, unknowingly, in my case) and nothing felt out of place immediately.. make of that what you will. The writing, for the genre and the target audience, is okay. And the characterization and personalities are also well done. No one is particularly annoying for trope's sake, with decent action and technology.

It's just too bland for my taste to recommend.

One of the worst Gundam shows

[sneakablez · 5/10 · 3 July 2023]

It started good and cool then it flatlined boring. That's how I describe the experience watching it.

The series started quite good then the rest of the episoded just warped into the black hole, well not entirely as it some moments it jumps up on the last episode or two moments then dives again. The show is flague with pacing on how to balance action, story and character development. I wanted to like it but it's just to dragged out on kiddy issues. I guess this show is mainly for kids under 10.

If you are planning to watch it do not expect much as ain't gonna be like Gundam Seed. Lower your expection and you might just like it.

Skip this and watch other animes instead

[wind-88077 · 3/10 · 30 January 2023]

So firstly let me say the good stuffs. The art and music in this anime is done pretty well.

That's it for the good stuffs so let the bad ones roll.

1. Plot. The whole plot is full of plot holes and a lot of the direction of how the story progress is due to chance/fate? Its completely random and I think I would shoot myself in the head if I am the author of the story.

2. Main character. Suletta is not an interesting person at all. They tried to make her likeable, but she is not cute or interesting, or relatable. I understand that there might be due to further character development, but I don't see anything interesting until the last episode where we finally see something going on but its too little and too late.

3. Other characters: The is no one that is particularly charismatic or interesting. Miorine is too much of a princess. Guel is too arrogant, Elan and Shaddiq are both too pretentious.

In my humble opinion, just skip this for now. If season 2 does pick up, then maybe can consider to watch this. I've regretted spending like 6 hours on it...

This really?

[antisjw-86653 · 1/10 · 28 July 2023]

Every week I force myself to watch this hoping that i'll get in on the joke because i love gundam they were the first anime series that i really watched.

I love slow burn political drama and character conflicts but i just can't see what other people see here - its animated beautifully theres some solid moments the op/ed are fantastic for both seasons.

I've never tried so hard to like an anime i don't care about lol then every week all of the comments and all of the reviews are like - oh wow greatest anime ever im a train wreck of emotions like i get everyone has different tastes but I dont see how this is being clocked so differently from one side to the other im not sure what i missed.

Awful, Annoying and Stupid

[huckleberryforever · 1/10 · 30 November 2023]

This is one of the worst anime I've ever had the chance to lay eyes on. The reviews citing otherwise are straight up either lying, propagandized, or have not the slightest clue about proper characterization and growth.

The obsession with high school children piloting advanced mobile suits, while it may have had its place in the past, is aging poorly, especially when your protagonist is just straight up annoying.

Even worse is when the series had succumbed to western ideology, which is literally destroying our world. An extremely disappointing release that cannot in no shape or form be recommended. Avoid at ll costs.

What a disappointment.

[Neos_back · 1/10 · 4 December 2022]

The prologue really set the stage for this. But wow did this go south really quickly.

Some naïve girl gets a gundam. Some "wacky" space school shenanigans. The end.

There's some teenage drama nonsense in it, but this is a far cry from Iron Blood Orphans or Endless Waltz.

If you're a fan of magic girls (albeit with gundams instead of wands) then you'll love this. This show feel more of a fanfiction that was licenced more than actually being anything to do with Gundam Wing. If the MC & schoolfriends were written out and we actually focussed on the background story of what was going (the actual intrigue and political unrest etc..) then it would be good.

If you like your story to make sense or love the old school Gundam, then this is not for you.