#shuuto

Last time on SD Gundam Force, Deathscythe gave Tallgeese the Evil Sword Epyon with which to fight with, but his true goal was to create the Berserker Epyon.

Episode 32: Epyon’s Assault!

Okay, on top of a major crack forming (Looks like the Gundam Force Triple Attack did it), Captain scans the Berserker Epyon and determines he has the combined strength of not just Tallgeese, but the Griffin and Mercurius & Vayeate. And Epyon is hungry for more!

On the lower deck, Zapper’s gang have mixed feelings about the current situation. And by mixed, I mean everyone else is worried about Epyon, while Zapper wants to get back to cleaning.

Epyon goes on the attack, beating Zero away easily and putting the others on the defensive. Captain compares his speed and mobility to GunEagle. As the battle goes on, Zapper’s gang get pretty excited at seeing the Gundams get beaten. That’s when Genkimaru shows up to see what’s the matter. But when Epyon spots the kid Musha he makes him his next target.

Cobramaru senses the dangerous presence, and instantly breaks free of his stick prison. Meanwhile, Genkimaru flees from Epyon’s lunges, but soon finds himself cornered. But Cobramaru shows up to fend off Epyon, noting that he needs Genkimaru alive for his mission.

Not to be outdone, Bakunetsumaru fires off his Kenpu Tenkyo-Ken at Epyon. Shute tells him off, and Bakunetsumaru realizes that his attack could cause another crack to form- and indeed it does. As the Gundamusai rockets away from the crack, Zero fights Epyon. However’s he’s soon outmatched and facing down the business end of Epyon’s sword. However, Zero doesn’t despair, thinking back to Princess Rele. He will not be beaten here!

Zero’s conviction causes Fenn’s feather to glow, sending out a beam of light from his chest stone. That beam becomes a beacon, bringing a familiar face to the battle.

Fenn, the Feather Dragon!

Zero and Fenn merge, transforing the Knight Gundam into Zero Custom, Knight of Silver Wings. But this is just what Deathscythe wanted. He sent out the Evil Sword Epyon to find the Feather Dragon, and endangering Zero did just that. “All according to keikaku.”

Zero summons his Twin Buster Swords and does battle with Epyon. He does much better with Fenn’s power, but Epyon isn’t beaten yet. In Gundam Wing, the Epyon Gundam could turn into a Mobile Armor mode, which resembled a two-headed dragon. Berserker Epyon can also turn into two-headed dragon, and this one breaths tornados and lightning from each mouth!

Also, I like how instead of a light show, Epyon’s transformation is done by shifting his parts. It’s like he’s a Transformer, robots in disguise.

Deathscythe commands the Wyvern Epyon to bring him the Feather Dragon, and shows a bit of his true form. As Epyon grabs Zero with his claws, the magic sigil grows into a giant portal, and the Wyvern starts to push Zero through it. Captain orders RAIMI to take the Gundamusai into the magic circle, and while the ship complies, RAIMI notes that this is putting a lot of stress on the engines.

The other side of the portal is none other than the desolate kingdom of Lacroa. As they fly through the skies of his old home, Zero sees that there’s now a giant black forcefield over Lacroa Castle. And on a balcony is the petrified princess, Rele! And by her side of Deathscythe, who continually proves to be both a creep and a jerk by calling Zero, “The Feather Dragon that merged with Zero”

Epyon flies Zero away from the castle. As the Gundamusai follows, its engines start to give and the ship goes down. Zero wants to go save his princess, but Epyon is really insistent on getting his mid-Knight snack. As they fight, the Gundamusai tilts and swerves to avoid hitting rock formations. This causes Zapper’s Gang to fall off, along with Genkimaru! Seeing this, both Cobramaru and Bakunetsumaru jump off the ship after him, and that’s the last we’ll see of them for a few episodes.

Zero and Epyon continue their duel, but Zero clearly can’t concentrate and is put on the defensive. The Gundamusai finally completes its emergency-landing, and Captain orders the main cannons to shoot at Epyon. The cannon-fire gives Zero the opening he needs for his super-mode’s new attack, which comes with new stock footage.

“Super Spirit-Magic…"

“Infinity Winds!”

The attack destroys Epyon, causing him to explode into countless Mmns. So does that mean all spirits in Lacroa are made of Mmns? Are Mmns basically spirit molecules? Zero explains that spirits in Lacroa are never truly gone. Both Epyon and the Griffin have become Mmns and returned to the earth and forest, to be the life force of Lacroa.

As Fenn separates from Zero, the Winged Knight muses that at long last, he’s returned to save Lacroa.

This meeting takes place underground, since the Zako Soldiers fell off the Gundamusai. Since they don’t have their screen, visuals have to be provided by Zako projection.

The talk about Epyon, and how the Evil Sword Epyon absorbed Tallgeese and became the Berserker Epyon. The other Zako Chef from episode 8 skips by, gushing at how Tallgeese became a Gundam. Zako 3 wonders if the Berserker Gundam is a Gundam, or a spirit.

A Pawn Leo shows up to explain, since the Zakos are too dumb about Lacroa stuff to answer anything. On top of ticking off the hosts, Pawn Leo states that Epyon is both a Gundam and a spirit combined. But Zako 2 wonders how a Gundam and a spirit can be combined? Pawn Leo guesses that the spirits might also be made of Gundanium. The Zakos assume that the Feather Dragon, Griffin, and even the Mmns are technically Gundams too. Even they realize how strange that sounds, so Pawn Leo tells them to skip it, as clearly they aren’t smart enough to figure out the answer. This gets him the boot.

(Photo credits go to the rightful owners)

Light of My Lion (2024)

Started On: 24.02.2025 Finished On: 26.02.2025 No. of Episodes: 11 Language: Japanese

This was such a beautiful series. It perfectly captured the nuances of caregivers' burden, the mixed feelings when it comes to child abuse and the complexities of love and family. I loved how the different bitter aspects of familial love and caregiving were explored and portrayed really beautifully.

It was refreshing to see a protagonist that was not heroic in the typical sense. He was not strong, he did not know how to fight, he doubted himself a lot, he was not confident in himself. And all of it made the series even more beautiful. His dilemmas and the journey towards resolving them and the support he gets along the way, were all more realistic than any other series that I have watched.

The plot felt kinda all over the place. I mean the child abuse and domestic violence bit made sense, but then the murder of that secretary went sorta unresolved even though it was implied that it may have been linked to Shougo? It kinda didn't make sense to me.

But the acting in this series! Man, oh man, I was so much in awe of it all. That little kid, portrayed such complex emotions so beautifully. And the actor who played Mi-kun did such a spectacular job of portraying autism. Of course, I can't not mention the actor who played Hiroto. He seemed to be tailor-made for this role and I'd really like to see his other works for his versatility. The cast in general was just amazing.

Special love for the reporters and the blackmailed policemen. They really added elements of humor in the mellow story and upped the entertainment level of the series. ALSO, at one point in the series, almost every character was looking out for little Shuuto and it really warmed my heart. For some reason it made me think about that quote that says that it takes an entire village to raise a child.

ANDDDD, the ending was perfect. Everyone got to follow their dreams. Although it was difficult for Mi-kun to accept it, he came to the realization that even if his brother was out there following his dreams and not physically there with him, he would always love him. And, when he said, "I will be brother's No. 1 fan", I was ready to bawl my eyes out. The growth, the development, of ALL OF THEM, was so damn heartwarming.

Overall, 9/10.

Episode 4: Attack the Enemy Musai!

We start with Zapper and Grappler at each other’s throats; Zapper is furious for the missile stunt in the last episode, while Grappler thinks it’s Zapper’s own fault for getting stuck in the first place. The Commander could care less about their issue, because he’s more livid over Zero being in Neotopia. They were having trouble with just Captain, but Zero lending a hand could be worse. Zapper mentions that the Gundams would easier to deal with if they had Control Horns, but for some reason this is never tried in the series. I never thought too much about it too much on a first watch, but some time ago I found a manga called SD Gundam Force Gaiden (Not confused with the Knight GUndam series) and at the back of the collection was a set of little tidbits that never made it to the main series. One of which being that Control Horns cannot work on beings made of Gundanium, the metal Gundams are made from. Just thought I’d throw this in for anyone who’s still confused. Either way, Commander wants the two Gundams taken to the Dark Axis base- wait, what? Last episode the Commander wanted Captain destroyed, but now he wants them alive? Either way, Grappler thinks he’s got the perfect plan for the job. And while Zapper would rather keep going on about the missile, the Commander’s funnels are there to threaten cooperation.

At Shute’s workshop, our boy is showing Mobile Citizen Captain his latest inventions- a voice changer that can make Shute sound like anyone, and his upgraded his skates to have magnetic functions, so he go skate on metal surfaces. The voice changer is worth talking about, because mentions that even though he knew it was Shute talking, the voiceprint matched so he had to respond like he was talking to the person Shute was impersonating. This will be important later. Anyway, this charming banter is interrupted when Captain gets an alert on the Dark Axis. Cue the time-filling Re-Equip Ring sequence!

The Dark Axis’ dastardly plan is the same as the last two plans- cause a big enough ruckus to draw the Gundams into a trap. Because the third time’s the charm, right? Well, it works, with Captain and Zero showing up. Grappler sics an apparently never-ending hoard of Zakos on the Gundams, neither feel the need to respond with anything more than hitting the soldiers away with their shield and sword. Captain would like to work on a bigger plan with Zero, but the Knight Gundam is a haughty prick who thinks Captain isn’t worth bothering with. While they are busy slapping aside Zakos one at a time, Grappler uses the distraction to fire his “Rubber Bazooka Beam!” and capture the Gundams and some Zakos in a ball of what I assume is rubbery glue. Zapper can’t resist messing around with Grappler’s new toy, and ends up getting the two D.A. officers stuck in a ball of their own!

Shute witnesses the Gundams being taken prisoner, and decides that since his skates are now magnetic, he can just hitch a ride on the outside the Komusai as it goes through the Zakurello Gate into the Dark Axis’ dimension. The S.D.G detect Captain’s tracking device vanishing, but can do nothing about it.

So, when they arrive, Shute and Captain separately marvel at the Dark Axis’s home turf. With nothing better to do than grumble at Captain’s blunt behavior, Zero does some lore-dropping. The Magnamusai is the Dark Axis’ main battleship, and the last place the D.A. destroyed? His homeland, Lacroa. We don’t get much on the subject, just a field of flowers that turns to stone and explodes when the Dark Axis base appears. Zero mentions that many of his comrades- other Knight Gundams, probably- were take to the base and were never seen again. After being rather self-important and pompous for an episode and a half, Zero’s mask briefly slips.

Meanwhile, Shute is trying to figure out how to save the Gundams when a solution drops into his lap. Zapper and Grappler were also glued up, and they need a solvent gas to break out. With some fast skating and nimble pick-pocketing, Shute snatches the solvent dispenser. He also exposes himself to the Dark Axis, who immediately send out Zakos and Bagubagu to catch or petrify the boy.

Shute is still able to make his way to where Captain and Zero are, which makes for some karmic irony. In their first meeting, Zero insulted Shute’s reckless rescuing, but now Shute is saving Zero! Of course, we can’t stew in this irony yet, as the BaguBagu swarm attack, causing Shute to fall off. Luckily, he was able to free the Gundams, who immediately work to save the boy. Zero immediately recants on how he treated the two before, impressed by their willingness to risk their lives to one another, and politely requests they work with him. It’s not quite an “I’m sorry for being a jerk” but luckily our boys are too nice to press the issue.

As far as the D.A. duo can tell, the Gundams and Shute just fell from the ship to their deaths in the volcanic region. They still need to confirm the alledged deaths, especially if they survive it would mean facing the Commander’s wrath if the Gundams escaped. Naturally, the Gundams are alive, and are planning their escape. While Captain and Zero keep Zapper and Grappler occupied, Shute will use the Zakurello Gate to make a portal to Neotopia. 

The Gundams make short work of the Dark Axis robots, taking out Grappler’s Rubber Bazooka. They’re clearly just toying with the two, symbolizing how important teamwork and friendship compared to the D.A. duo’s bickering. Shute, meanwhile, isn’t having such a good time. The Gate won’t do anything he says, but when Shute waves his arms in frustration, the Gundams see it and assume it was a signal that it’s open and join them. Zapper, losing his cool, orders the Magnamusai to fires its cannons at the Gundams, which is really stupid. Not only did that not work in the first episode, but as Grappler points out, this could destroy the Zakurello Gate! “Idiot” indeed.

Luckily, Captain and Zero’s combined powers are able to deflect the Magnamusai’s cannonblast, but not enough to protect the floating rock the Gate is standing on. But remember Shute’s voice changer? Shute did, and pretends to be Zapper Zaku to trick the Gate into opening, letting the good guys escape and the villains cursing.

But the heroes aren’t safe yet, as the Zakurello let them out into Neotopia’s airspace, several miles up. Worse, Zero reveals that the magic that helps him fly doesn’t work at a certain altitude. Luckily, Captain isn’t worried. Why? Because one of the clouds under them isn’t a cloud at all! It’s actually a construct to hide the S.D.G. base, which is right above Neotopia! They are then contacted by the Chief, who seems a lot friendlier since episode 2. The Chief invites Shute and Zero into the base with Captain. Zero declines, since he’s still not ready to join another group, but does promise to meet the heroic duo again. So we end on Captain and Shute going to meet Chief Haro on their own. The Chief mentions that he has heard all about him from Captain, so does that mean after every visit Captain just goes home to gush about what a nice friend he has?

Remember the SD Gundam anime that aired on Toonami during the early 200s and then just dropped off without a real conclusion, only for the second half of the series to be released on a special DVD set about a decade later (I assume)? Well, while reception to SDG was...divided here in the west, Japan had a different view of it, and that soon led to a full-fledged manga-version of the series.

A series of about 20 chapters were made. This wasn’t a shot-for-shot remake of the anime, however. Instead, it was condensed revision of the series, generally the same concept- The Dark Axis is on the loose, 3 Gundams and an eager boy jump up to defend- but done in a drastically different way. Taking advantage of the art style, chapters were filled to the brim with sight gags, and battles were completed in a far more drastic style than you could accomplish on television. For example;

(Fun, huh?)

The downside was that this abbreviated storytelling meant that certain characters were given a far less amount of screen time and focus than they had in the anime, and story arcs were possibly rushed. For example, in the anime, Lacroa wasn’t restored until the end of the series, but in the manga, the kingdom was fixed right at the end of the Deathscythe arc. And Genkimaru, a prominent fixture of the second season, didn’t appear until the Gundamusai arrived at Ark.

Last time, the Gundam Force destroyed General Zeong! Yay! Except his head survived, and he’s gonna blast everyone! Boo!

Episode 52: The Voyage Home

the General is about to fire his Death Beam. I don’t know if he has enough power to destroy the universe, but it’ll definitely wreck the heroes. Rele tries to shield herself with Chobirello, and this unwittingly solves the problem as it causes the Zakurello Gate to appear from Lab C on Earth.

Remember how the Zakurello Gate transported the Magnamusai’s cannonfire to attack Captain? The Gate does the same thing with Zeong’s Death Beam. And where’s it sending the ray?

At the Dark Axis Fortress!

Welp, that’s it for the Dark Axis. The General figures he’s had enough and flies off. Grapper Gouf and Destroyer Dom beg their leader to stay, but Zapper Zaku has a different idea. He rallies his buddies to unleash their ultimate technique, the Final Deadly Screaming Chaos Catastrophe! 

Finally, the D.A Trio’s team move is finally seen! Actually, it’s kinda mundane, just a giant beam attack. It would have been cool in the first season, but after Zeong’s universe-destroying laser, I think the novelty is lost. At least, we can see Grappler’s missile alongside it, and Zapper’s watering can gets tossed out. Since it’s still their show, the Gundam Force combine their more normal moves- A beam shot from Captain, Lacroa Crescent from Zero, Tenkyo-Ken from Bakushinmaru- and the three pronged assault wipes out General Zeong for good!

…Well, that was fast. I’d thought it’d be prolonged another fifteen minutes.

The Zakos, Grappler and Destroyer are horrified at what’s transpired, but Zapper assures them. The General was a horrible boss, and got what was coming to him. This cheers up his gang, but then they realize something else;

Zapper’s not wearing his S.D.G. badge anymore!

Zapper explains that he never had a change of heart. He was just pretending to have reformed, while waiting for his chance to take revenge on the leaders who used and abandoned him.

And this is the third and final display of the Dark Axis’ poor treatment of its allies coming back to bite them. We know from episode 28 that the General likely knew what was happening on the Gundamusai. He could have used his portal powers to retrieve them. But he didn’t. Because they weren’t useful to him.

Either way, Zapper’s pretty stoked about going back to evil-

But he makes the mistake of announcing it while surrounded by two armies of people who hate the Dark Axis. Thus it’s back to the janitor act for him!

Speaking of clean-ups, the Horns of War sprouted by the General start vanishing. Light returns to the skies, and color is restored to the land. RAIMI reports that she cannot detect the Dark Axis’ presence anywhere.

The heroes celebrate their victory. The Zako Busshi look pretty confused as to what’s happened. Chief Haro and Juli are contacted by Mayor Margaret, who thanks them for saving Neotopia.

Hip-Hip-HOORAY!

Fenn separates from Zero, and flies off to wherever the wind may take him. And the Bakushin Armor removes itself, now that the battle is over. Poor Bakunetsumaru is forced to run around naked.

And the Zakurello Gate, his son Chobirello, are leaving as well. It looks like the Zako Zako Hour of episode 7 were right. The Gate was stolen from somewhere else. And with the Dark Axis destroyed, they’re going back.

But this is a problem, since without the Gate the S.D.G. has no way of returning to Neotopia. Luckily, Shute and Captain know who can help; Rele!

Outside, the assembled fighters are trying to pull Tenchijou out from the lake Genkimaru tossed it into. Well, except for Zero, who’s relaxing under an umbrella with his princess.

Things are moving pretty fast, so Shute runs us through it;

The plan is for the S.D.G. to use the spell that sent Zero to Neotopia. But first, they need to undo the kingdom’s petrification. So since both countries are on the same planet, they can just fly from Ark to Lacroa. And Kibaomaru is coming. After restoring his lost wing, Rele invited the Musha Warlord to show him how a country is ruled without force.

Buritenmaru, as the nominal winner of the war, will do what he can for Ark. And Genkimaru is starting his own peace-keeping force; as the son of Kibaomaru and a warrior carrying Buritenmaru’s crest (On a very familiar carrier) he’s the ideal champion the people need. Of course, that his team will consist of former villains like Zapper’s gang, Cobramaru and the Kibao Horde is a bit worrying, but Bakunetsumaru and Entengo will be along to keep an eye on things.

Once Tenchijou is back upright, it’s time for the Gundamusai to take off. The Big-Zam from episode 42 is reactivated (Seriously, how durable are those things?!) so the Genki Energy Force has something ride on. The D.A. Trio are piloting, with Cobramaru to make sure they don’t get any bright ideas.

Heartfelt goodbyes and promises to meet again are exchanged between Shute and Genkimaru. Genkimaru and Kibaomaru’s relationship seems to be improving too, as Genkimaru wants to see him again. In the JP dub, Genkimaru mentions that he wants Kibaomaru to visit his mother’s grave, which is bowderlized in Eng as him wanting to play shogi.

About Genkimaru…even though Musha Gundams are based on G Gundam mobile fighters and characters, for the longest time, I had no idea who Genkimaru is supposed to be. His character page on TV Tropes suggests that he’s a reference to the Gundam Spiegel, due to their helmets being the same color. I have trouble buying it myself. The Gundam Wiki didn’t have any answers either.  But maybe Genkimaru isn’t a reference to one Gundam, but a completely original character like Bell Wood or the triplets.

Overall, it’s a pretty good sendoff…except for Bakunetsumaru, who’s sulking that his friends are leaving. Zero takes matters into his own hands and gets the crybaby samurai’s attention. The Winged Knight takes off his helmet in honor the Musha Gundam, revealing himself to be a brunette. Bakunetsumaru realizes…that Zero isn’t really all that elegant. But he also gives the Knight Gundam his Educational Slapping Fan to use on Kibaomaru. But Zero has to give it back someday! (Translation: “I want to see you again”)

Bakunetsumaru tearfully waves his own helmet goodbye, swearing to never forget that he and the Gundam Force fought together. It’s easy to miss, but Genkimaru also takes off his helmet! And so the Gundamusai departs from Ark…

In episode 33, Captain determined that they would need thousands of White Bagu Bagu to fix Lacroa. Otherwise it would take four years. Luckily, episode 35 revealed that a giant Bagu Bagu that could release more Bagu Bagu was in Lacroa’s caves. After GunEagle and the GunChoppers captured it, the White Bagu Bagu converted the giant one, which began to release swarms that de-petrify the kingdom.

As Lacroa’s land and people are restored, Princess Rele releases the seal on the Spirit Tree’s Fountain of Spirits. As its sacred water flows, we see Spirit Eggs in the current. Zero explains that those are Mana Crystals; Some will become Knight Gundams, while others will be Sacred Spirits.

With the people restored, many happen reunions ensue. Rele finds her father, the King of Lacroa. Zero reunites with the human knights and the Five Great Sorcerers. And Shute and Captain? They find the triplets, Coah, Noah, and Doah! You’d think after their role in the Lacroa trilogy they’d get more screen time, but eh. What can you do?

Rele (Now in a pink version of her original dress) later finds Shute dozing in her private garden. And he’s got Rose-Rele with him. Waking up, Shute apologizes for napping, but Rele knows he’s had a rough time. But Shute feels she’s had it rough more. Rather than debate, Rele plants Rose-Rele into the garden. But what’s more, it seems Rele has taken after her doppleganger and fallen for Shute! She tries to ask him to stay, but Shute misses the subtext and heads off to prepare for transport.

The Gundamusai and Haro’s gunperry are sent through a giant magic circle, as Zero, Rele, and the triplets wave goodbye. And the town square has a new statue- of the Gundam Force!

By the time Shute and Captain reach Neotopia, the sun is setting, symbolizing how the series is coming to a close. Shute’s comments on Captain activating his Soul Drive by himself. Captain admits that it’s thanks to Shute that he was able to. Shute then comments on how he can imagine what their friends from Soladiorama are doing, and Captain remarks on missing them, and how Shute taught him to be a friend, and thanks him, Furthermore, Captain notes that Shute has grown taller, but only by such a minuscule degree that only he can see. Shute responds that Captain’s the one who’s grown. After a promise to meet each other again, Shute heads for home, finally reuniting with his family.

The next day (I suppose), Shute and Sayla have a playdate in his workshop. She presents him with one of her cakes, much to Shute’s delight. But then Captain shows up, claiming that it’s an emergency. What could be so important that it gets in the way of Shute’s pastry-eating?

Why, Zero, Bakunetsumaru, Chief Haro, and Princess Rele. Rele’s got a new character design, and Zero seems resigned that his princess has it bad for Shute. Bakunetsumaru reports that Genkimaru sends his best, and everything is fine in Ark. Haro explains that the S.D.G. has been assigned to patrol the dimensions. But by who?

By the Dai-Shogun, of course. According to him, there is another world that needs help. And the Gundam Force needs Shute. Haro promises to explain things to Keiko and- Dude, it’s hasn’t even been a day since he got back from the last dimension Shute went to!

However, Shute doesn’t mind, and happily joins in. The Dai-Shogun creates a very familiar portal, and sends the Gundam Force on their way.

And the adventure…continues!

One last meeting before we finish up. Are we going to answer where the Dark Axis came from? The secret behind the Garden of Wisdom footprints? Who Chief Haro is?

Nah, everyone just wants to come out and take a bow.

🎵Life’s like a movie🎵

🎵Write your own ending🎵

🎵Keep believing🎵

🎵Keep pretending🎵

🎵We've done just what we’ve set out to do🎵

🎵Thanks to the lovers🎵

🎵The dreamers🎵

🎵And You🎵

THE END

And that was Superior Defender Gundam Force. A pretty good series, I must say. You can watch both versions of the show online; the English version is on Youtube, while the Japanese dub is on Archive.org.

It’s too bad that the second season never got to air on English airwaves, but I’m glad we got as much as we did. And the besides the S2 DVD collection for Eng dub, Japan released a full series DVD collection in 2008. With not just the episodes, but additional content as well.

I’m glad I did this, but it has been exhausting. If it was still on youtube, I would have liked to do a liveblog on the 4D ride movie, but it seems to have been taken off.

Last time on SD Gundam Force, General Zeong began preparing to destroy the universe by sending his Horns of War everywhere to drain their energy. The Gundam Force and their allies began to fight back, with Rele summoning Fenn the Feather Dragon to empower Zero. But the General captured Shute and began subjecting him to nightmares to de-power Captain’s Soul Drive and everyone else. Can anything be done…?

Episode 51: The Final Battle! The General vs. Everyone!

Watching the Doga Bombers destroy his home, Shute refuses to accept what’s happening. He tenderly cradles the dead Captain, assuring his friend that he’ll fix him with whatever he has with his workshop. If you don’t shed a tear at this, then you have no soul.

But Shute can’t plot-device his way out of his one. He quickly finds himself surrounded by fire, then a black void that consumes everything- even him! But nonetheless, Shute keeps telling himself that it’s all an illusion of some kind.

But reality isn’t much better. While the General tortures Shute with nightmares, Zeong’s left hand continues to fly around and blast everyone. Captain manages to get around the hand, but Option Z’s thrusters lose power and he’s force to wheel-hoof it up the mountain of Horns.

On the ground, the Nobusshi flee like any sensible people would. Genkimaru keeps trying to rally the armies, but just barely evades another finger-blast with Cobramaru’s help.

More horns keep sprouting, flying off in an endless barrage. Captain tries avoid them, but can’t swerve enough and gets knocked aaaaall the way to the bottom.

Since she’s too far away to turn Zeong into a banana, Princess Rele tries throwing one of her magic circles at the General. She makes pretty good distance, but Zeong’s got that anti-magic wave he used in episode 41. Rele weeps at her powerlessness, but can’t cry for long, as the hand is homing in on her. 

But one of Rele’s tears hits Chobirello, and the Zakurello Phone activates. 

GunEagle flies out of the Zakurello Gate and chases off the hand. Seven miniature helicopters fly out and join in the assault, unfolding into- the GunDivers? Sort of. Kao Lyn must of realized that units designed underwater combat was Superfriends-Aquaman useless, and had them refitted into GunChoppers. Basically, he added propellers, landing skids, some guns, and called it a day. I’m sure he would have done more, but Hyper Captain and Gunpanzer probably ate the rest of the budget.

Chief Haro’s White Gunperry comes out next, and the chief himself standing atop like always. Gunpanzer goes into his combat form and gets in on the action. Now the hand finds itself being chased across the skies by the almost the entire S.D.G. fighting force.

Zero gets depressed at being left out because he lost his sword, but Bakushinmaru is tired of that running gag. He hands Zero one of his swords, which Zero remembers is one of Ark’s Five Sacred Swords. Bakushinmaru figures it’ll be fine since Zero is trustworthy. Shows just how close the Gundams have become since the beginning of the show.

Reinvigorated, Captain starts up the mountain again. Meanwhile, Juli lets Rele and Chobirello onto the gunperry, who quickly fills the S.D.G in on the whole Shute-situation. That’s when Haro hands Juli his hat and jumps in. Okay, but what can this desk jockey do-

Oh my gosh!

Haro is an absolute madlad, throwing, kicking, and headbutting horns out of his way. Dude’s even goes fire-eyed, like his own Soul Drive. Juli notes that the chief seems really upset. Of course he is. That’s his son the civilian child who got pulled into a war.

Well, this is all fine and dandy, but Shute’s still trapped in the nightmare, being consumed in darkness. And then a dark version of Shute shows up. Uh oh, this is starting to look familiar. Shute figures that the Dark-Shu is the one responsible for what the fake future. But Dark-Shu merely retorts that there is no future. And soon, there will be no Shute.

Outside, everyone keeps calling out to Shute to hold on. We even see Bell Wood, Kao Lyn, the rest of the S.D.G., the mayor’s office, and even Keiko, Nana and Sayla watch and pray.

Problem is, that hand has caught up to Captain is about to blast him. But before he can, the Gundamusai shows up and blows it to smithereens! RAIMI has finally finished repairing the ship (What do you think she was doing since episodes 41-42?) and has come to join the battle. What’s more, the Elemice and even the Princess Rose seem to be cheering the heroes on.

But it’s not enough. Zeong just fires more horns at Captain that send him hanging for dear life. That’s when Genkimaru starts yelling at him for holding back. Cobramaru puts it more succinctly; Captain is clearly afraid that if he destroys the General, Shute might be destroyed as well. Captain can’t deny that there’s a 50.25% chance.

Genkimaru insists that Captain should have more faith in himself. But while Captain replies that he does, but he can’t save Shute alone. Genkimaru calls back to episode 28, quoting Captain’s speech on how he’s always relied on his Soul Drive and its connection to Shute.

But that’s the problem. Captain needs the Soul Drive to save Shute, but the Soul Drive won’t activate without Shute. Genkimaru ain’t feelin’ it, and asks if Captain has ever tried.

And actually, he has. But that was in episode 2. Captain’s had about 50 episodes of character development with Shute now. So maybe it’s worth a shot.

Opening up his Soul Drive (“Bearing his soul,” anyone?) Captain calls out to Shute. He pontificates on how Shute’s faith and determination has carried the Gundam Force through their fight against the Dark Axis. And now it’s time to carry him!

And in the nightmare, Shute hears Captain…

Captain starts calling out to his Soul Drive to activate. Genkimaru, Zero and Bakunetsumaru join on the cheer. 

And it works! The Soul Drive glows with such intensity that the entire battlefield is illuminated. Juli reports that the Soul Drive has powered up so much Option Z can’t even contain it. Instead of exploding, the energy gives the flying pack wings. Everyone on the battlefield starts cheering for Captain. Even Zapper’s gang join in.

“That’s how we became the SD Bunch!”

Captain powers up even more, surrounding himself in a golden aura. It looks just like the symbol on the Gundam Force badge. And now it’s time to rescue Shute!

I should note that in the JP version of the the following sequence, the full version of the 3rd opening theme “Taiyou ni Kougarate” played. For some reason, the Eng dub edited that out, which is weird, as the Eng opening for season 2 also had the JP opening…

In the illusion, an image of that same badge appears near Shute. From come the voices and love from all the friends we made along the way. As everyone keeps fighting, Shute starts to stand against the darkness.

“We’ll…never…be…defeated!”

With those words, the nightmare is defeated. Far from simply being negated, the vision of the bad future is replaced by a different future. One where the Gundam Force are still friends even as Shute hits adulthood. A future where Madnug didn’t get lost in space.

Dark-Shu is undone, replaced by a Soul Drive that warps into a mini-Dark Axis Fortress. a dark voice- Zeong’s, no doubt- insists that the heroes are too late. And that’s when Shute wakes up.

Outside, Zeong’s horns start falling. Bakushinmaru and Zero feel their energy being restored, allowing them to fly once more. Apparently, whatever’s going on inside has affected his draining powers. Zero also returns the Sacred Sword, now able to summon his Twin-Buster Sword once more. 

Captain scans the General and figures out that Shute is inside of Zeong’s chest. Zero and Bakushinmaru join him, and they make one final charge at Zeong. Besides Captain, Z&B’s eyes start to fire up as well. But as they reach Zeong, the General fires his Death Beam!

Then we see a vision of the Gundam Force doing a handstack. It segues to Shute infusing himself with the Muscle League Power of Friendship. He unleashes his power, shattering the giant Soul Drive from within. The Gundam Force, their power combined, use their “We Can Do This Attack” and surge at the General.

Outside, Rele recognizes the Gundam Force’s battle aura. It is the same shape as one found in the Garden of Wisdom…of the Superior Dragon!

I should note that shape is also the Gundam Force’s emblem…is this a coincidence? The Superior Dragon sign in the Garden of Wisdom showed a human and Gundam together. Deathscythe claimed it meant the Superior Dragon could turn Gundams into humans. But what if he was wrong? The JP website summary for the episode suggests that Deathscythe misread the lore, and that the Superior Dragon’s power occurs when robots and humans join together. If so, then it makes perfect sense that the fighting force from Neotopia would have that symbol…but how did the S.D.G. come up with it?

The Gundam Force punch, stab, and slice into the Zeong’s chest. Captain makes sure to grab Shute, and they blast their way out through the other side of the General’s body. This causes Zeong to explode with all the energy of a final boss. Really, it’s a wonder he survived as long as he did after Shute broke his Soul Drive.

Speaking of Shute, the Gundam Force returns him to the cheering crowd below. Rele is the first to see if he’s okay. Being the tough little punim he is, Shute’s fine.

Last time on SD Gundam Force, the Dark Axis appeared in Ark. Gerbera revealed that he was Madnug, a Gundam from Neotopia’s future turned evil. Captain equipped his Option Z and defeated Madnug, but the fallen Gundam sacrificed himself to the General, causing Zeong’s complete revival…

Episode 50: Total Annihilation?! The Threat of the General

General Zeong has completely rebuilt himself and appeared onto Ark. Zapper’s Gang are pretty impressed, conveniently forgetting the General plans on destroying everything, including them...

Zeong fires giant horns from his body into the ground. These horns grow into more horns, not just in Ark, but in Lacroa, the Minov Boundary Sea and Neotopia. We also see Sayla, Keiko and Nana for the first time in many episodes, both of whom aren’t sure what to make of the Horn of War growing from the sky.

Back in Ark, Gunpanzer is driving the kids around to avoid the horns. But he hits a bump, causing Rele and Genkimaru to fall out. Shute is able to save Rele, but who saves Genkimaru? Why, none other than Cobramaru.

“You give me rice balls. I give you eternal loyalty.”

But it’s not done yet. The horns in Ark continue to grow, forming a giant mountain of spikes which the General docks into. The horns start draining energy from everywhere they’ve grown. This includes not just robots, but also the Mmns in Lacroa and the land around the Garden of Wisdom starts losing color.

The Gundam Force realize that Zeong is drawing energy for his Death Beam, and if he fires it at full, it’ll destroy the entire universe. Captain decides they must destroy the General before that can happen. Option Z gives Captain a pair of giant gatling guns as he, Zero, Bakushinmaru, and the Buriten & Kibao Armies charge at Zeong in the most epic game of King-Of-The-Hill ever.

Rele continues to do whatever magic she’s invoking. As Shute does his thing, the General takes a keen interest….

In Neotopia, Mayor Margaret  organizes evacutation as the city falls into disarray from the horns. In the Minov Boundary Sea, Dai-Shogun decides his fan isn’t enough to stop the horns’ growth, and unsheathes his Daihoto Sword to hack away at them. All both leaders can do is hope the Gundam Force prevails.

On the main battlefield, the Zeong fires smaller horns as projectiles, which Captain fires his gatling guns at. Bakushinmaru does the ‘ride flaming Entengo through the air’ thing he did in episode 5. Zapper’s crew find themselves fleeing from their boss’ horns as Zero slashes at the horns with his Vatras Sword.

The General’s right hand tries to blast them, so Captain and Zero try to destroy it. But neither Captain’s gatling guns or missiles do the trick, nor does Zero’s slashing. 

Zero spots Buritenmaru about to be taken about by some horns, and flies to his rescue. But then then hand comes up to blast Zero at point-blank.

But that’s when Rele’s spell finally kicks in. It was a summoning spell for Fenn! The Feather Dragon merges with Zero, and the transformation shields him from the Hand’s lasers.

Now that all three main Gundams are in their super-modes, they decide to go the extra mile. Captain fires his V-Attack, Zero casts Infinity Winds, and Bakushinmaru unleashes the Bakkai Tenshou. The hand can’t withstand all three sets of stock footage, and is destroyed. All three Gundams continue to fly at Zeong, with Bakushinmaru no longer needing Entengo for some reason.

Of course, none of this stops Zeong’s energy build-up. Captain whips out a gigantic beam gun to use as he and the other Super-Gundams fly through the horn storm. They end up being blocked by the General’s other hand, and clearly don’t have enough energy for another Super Triple Attack.

On the ground, Musha Gundams continue to fight back against the horns, except Genkimaru, who does some impressive dodging. Shute continues to invoke the Muscle League Power of Friendship. But Zeong has had enough of that, and fires his tractor beam at the loud little human. Rele is able to cast a barrier spell to shield them, and Gunpanzer is put on the run. Captain is distracted by Shute’s plight and gets part of Option Z blasted off. Shute realizes that he’s Zeong’s target.

Another tractor-beam destroys Rele’s barrier, and the bump throws the Chobirello out of the truck. Shute is able to catch it, but in doing so gets himself caught by the General! Shute is pulled right up to Zeong, who portals him away. But to where?

Shute finds himself back at Neotopia. At his house, actually! But wasn’t Neotopia being ravaged by the General’s horns? He hears a guitar playing, and assumes it’s his dad, Mark.

for the first time, we see the inside of Shute’s house. But the guitar player isn’t Mark, but some teenaged girl. The girl calls for her bro, her calls her Nana- Nana!? As in, Shute’s baby sister!?

A young man comes out, one with Shute’s iconic tuft of hair. Apparently, this is Shute, all grown-up! Shute reasons that he was warped into the future, and Future-Shute recalls something like that happening. Shute concludes that everything turned out all right, since he exists in the future.

But the Future-siblings ain’t feelin’ it. Future-Shute explains that Lacroa and Ark are gone, destroyed by the General, and Neotopia as well. Shute doesn’t believe it, as he just saw Neotopia a few minutes ago. Future-Shute tells him to take another look.

Instead of the peaceful city, we see one overrun with Horns of War. Shute can’t believe it could happen with Captain and the others, but Future-Nana states that the Mobile Citizens rebelled, and Future-Shute explains that the robots started a war against humans, which is going on to this time. Even Captain, Zero and Bakunetsumaru.

Things get super-creepy as Future-Shute and Future-Nana keep insisting that robots cannot be trusted at all. The dark close-up on their mouths serve to highlight that something is not right.

Shute thinks so too, and runs away. Unable to believe what he’s hearing, he comes upon a place where some ruined robots are. Besides some S.D.G. GMs, there’s also Gunbike, and poor Gripo.

And Captain Gundam.

When Shute goes to see if his friend is all right, Captain suddenly wakes up and tries to attack him! He shuts down again. Poor Shute can’t take it anymore and starts weeping for his lost friend, claiming to not believe what’s happening.

And then, a bunch of Doga Bombers fly overhead to bomb Shute’s house! As his world collapses around him, Shute insists that what he’s seeing can’t be real. It just can’t!

And he’s right. Shute isn’t in the future. He’s inside of a giant Soul Drive. The Soul Drive of Zeong. 

What’s more, Zeong shows everyone on the outside what’s happening, chuckling like the cruel bully he is. Gunpanzer realizes that Zeong finds the destruction of the world funny, and is trying to destroy Shute’s mind.

And this is probably what happened to Madnug. The General subjected him to a similar illusion, until he broke down.

The rest of the Gundam Force try to fly to Shute’s rescue, but get sneak-attacked by the General’s left hand. they get blasted out of the sky.

In Neotopia, Juli reports that Captain is now in critical condition. Bell Wood states that the dimensional distortion is increasing. Chief Haro decides that they need to launch.

In the city, the S.D.G. try to evacuate the Mobile Citizens, but an eerie blackness starts to consume various areas. And similar distortions are appearing in the Minov Boundary Sea, Lacroa, and Ark as well!

As the Musha Gundams start to fall to the energy drain, Genkimaru tries warping to Shute, but his portals keep vanishing. He’s so distracted that he doesn’t see a bunch of horns coming his way. Cobramaru tries to save him, but they both get struck.

One horn nearly hits Rele, and Zero shields her with his body. But this causes his Twin-Buster Sword to vanish. Bakushinmaru’s fires start to fail as well. Even Captain’s Option Z’s jets lose energy. 

Captain can only watch impotently as Zeong prepares to destroy the world…and his best friend.

This is Gundam.