A Gloomy Song (鬱陶しい歌?) is the sixth episode of Mobile Suit Gundam the Witch from Mercury. It aired in Japan on November 6, 2022 17:00 JST on MBS and TBS [3], and was simulcast at 09:00 UTC by Ani-One Asia [4], and GundamInfo [5], and then at 10:30 GMT by Crunchyroll [2].
Synopsis[]
Suletta has agreed to a duel with Elan, but she can't hide her bewilderment at Elan's sudden change of attitude. The duel is to take place in space outside the front, and since the Aerial has no thruster unit, she is forced to upgrade her machine.[1]
Plot[]
Belmeria Winston sees that her former senior is alive. Lady Prospera jokes that she always had the devil's luck and is more curious as to when Bel works with Peil Technologies. Bel replies that she had no other choice. Prospera walks past Bel, calling her the one who's carrying on the Vanadis legacy. Bel believes there's no way Prospera could have built the Aerial on her own, suspicious about what Prospera's planning to do and why she's having her own daughter pilot it. Prosopera deflects Bel's questions by commenting that she is more talkative now. Bel says it's no use taking revenge for something that happened 21 years ago but is cut off by Prospera asking how many Gundam pilots there have been (in reference to Elan). Prospera leaves, phone calling her employe. She informs them the witch is under the wing of Peil Technologies like they expected. She is not worried, believing the Aerial will surely win, for she trusts her darling daughter.
At Earth House, Aliya tells a fortune. Suletta has told her friends about Elan's annoyance with her. Aliya wonders why the "Ice Prince" would speak so harshly. Lilique calls him a creep. Even Chuchu is pissed off since Elan was the one who invited Suletta. Suletta believes it's her fault for asking about his birthday but Nika says she did nothing wrong. Miorine browses her student notebook, thinking that Suletta falls for people's sweet words too easily. Chuchu encourages Suletta to crush him in the duel. Miorine speaks up about Suletta agreeing to duel Elan without consulting her. Suletta apologizes. Miorine leaves declaring she won't forgive her if she loses.
At Jeturk House, a staff member throws a tent storage bag to the floor. Many Jeturk House members watch as Guel is told that the Jeturk company is hereby cutting off all his support. And of course, he will have to leave Jeturk House. Felsi whispers, asking if they are really evicting Guel. Petra answers it's a direct order form the CEO. Guel asks where he's supposed to live. The staff member only responds with a message from his father. "Consider it an act of mercy that I'm at least paying the rest of your tuition." Guel picks up the tent storage bag and tells his brother Lauda to look after Jeturk House.
Shaddiq is to observe the duel for Elan and Suletta. The location will be the airspace outside the front. Elan's stake is ownership of the Aeril. Suletta stumbles when asked for her stake. Secelia takes it that she has nothing to gain from it. Shaddiq says there's no need to rush, telling Suletta to just decide by the day of the duel. Shaddiq has noticed that Elan's walls are even higher than usual and asks Suletta if she did anything to him. Suletta thinks he means its her fault. Shaddiq does not know but points out that since Suletta arrived, both Guel and Elan haven't been themselves. Even Shaddiq wants to know more about Suletta (whom he calls "Mercurian Miss").
Nika learns about the duel's location. Nuno asks Suletta if she even has a thruster unit. Suletta does not. Martin panics for Peil House's machines are known for their mobility, on top of that, Suletta's facing a new model. Aliya says Suletta will be at a disadvantage with her current equipment. Lilque consoles Suletta. Ojelo knows this House has no money to buy a thruster unit. Lilique suggests borrowing one from another house. Squatting, Chuchu thinks its unlikely the Spacians will loan one to Earthians. Nika proposes they make one, to Suletta and Ojelo's surprise.
Earth House open a container containing junk parts. Nika suggests to Till that they start by inspecting the propulsion system. The container is so old Suletta accidentally breaks part of it by simply touching casting doubt on whether it will work but Chuchu tells her to not underestimate Nika. Nika promises to do her best. Lilique, Aliya and Martin work atop one of the junk parts with various cables plugged in. Martin works on a tablet. Given their finances, it is putting them in a huge deficit so he worries about how they are going to eat next month. Lilique and Aliya console Martin. Ojelo and Nuno are betting everything they have on Suletta, working out the odds to be 2.7 to 1. If they win, they'll cover her costs. If she loses, its bankruptcy. Suletta promises to do her best.
Elan sees a faint image of a woman and a glowing candleflame. He is sleeping and the region around his eyes glow red. When he wakes up, Belmeria tells him he was moaning in his sleep again, but Elan says it doesn't interfere with the tests and asks about the results. Belmeria's screen displays data on the Pharact and Elan Ceres (the fourth tab out of seven). She says he should have no problem in his next battle. Elan infers he won't survive the one after that. The real Elan, dressed smartly, enters the room and greets Enhanced Person Number 4. The livelier Elan sees that his surrogate is as gloomy as ever so he reminds him to act a bit more cheerfully. Belmeria wonders what Master Elan is doing in the room. Elan sits on the desk and says he came to pay his respects to them, for Enhanced Person Number 4 is going to duel the Holder. Although he's just doing it because the company ordered him to, Elan says there is something in it for him; if he gets them the bride, they'll give his face back to him. They'll also arrange for a citizen ID number, but this does not matter to Enhanced Person Number 4 which makes Elan wonder why he would accept the role of double when he knows full well that the mobile suit was a curse. Enhanced Person Number 4 replies that long before that, he was already cursed.
The Aerial outside the front so Nika can try a variable thrust test. Nika tells Suletta to reactivate immediately once she stops her engines. Nika is following behind in Earth House's academic vessel and sees that her propulsion is stable and the combustion control functions are working, too. Nika suggests they head back. Suletta agrees and is asked by Nika if she'll be ready to fight with Mr. Elan tomorrow. Suletta now believes Mr. Elan was only kind to her because that was his plan, and yet she was really happy and now feels so dumb. Miorine concurs and goes as far to say that Elan was right about her, that she's really annoying but also thinks that's just how Suletta is. Suletta has annoyed Miorine by meddling in affairs and acts her own without listening. Miorine repeats the saying Suletta had said and rhetorically asks how she could run away because this is no time for her to feel sorry about herself. The Aerial accelerates and Nika grins because Miorine has already forgiven her. If Suletta loses, Miorine will be in trouble as her bride. Although the same may be true for Earth House, Nika has faith that Suletta will win.
The Aerial lands at Peil House. Two students in a control room tell her that the duel isn't today. The Aerial peeks through the control room's window and Suletta asks for Mr. Elan, stating her student number and name. She has come to talk to Elan Ceres but he hardly talks to his own housemates. Nobody at Peil House knows a thing about that "Pharact" machine, either.
Elan is lying in his bedroom, the Aerial connects to PA system so he can hear Suletta's voice but the other students at Earth House can hear her, too. Suletta asks Elan why he said she was annoying, they have duel and what he wants with the Aerial. She recieves no response as the students at the control room expected. Suletta sings Happy Birthday to You which prompts Elan Ceres to call her student notebook, telling her to go home as he said he didn't have a birthday. Because of that, Suletta suggests to make today Elan's birthday as she thinks he feels empty without one. Elan does not change his mind and ends the call.
Nuno orders Gate No. 6 to be opened for the Aerial. According to Till, there are no anomalies in catapult superconductive storage. Ojelo reads no error warnings on any components of the flight unit and no problems with INS alignment. Nika asks Suletta if she was able to speak with Mr. Elan. She hasn't, but she did decide what her stale is in this duel. The Aerial is lowered, Till sees no obstacles in launch direction. Nuno opens the hatch and transfers launch authorization to the pilot. The catapult launches and Suletta Mercury states her student number, name and mobile suit before taking off into the space. She records no problems with effective exhaust velocity. Nika informs Suletta that Peil House's academic vessel is on her course.
The Pharact readies to launch from the starboard side of the vessel. Authorization is transferred to the pilto, Elan Ceres, who states his student number, name and mobile suit. At the Dueling Committee lounge, Shaddiq welcomes Lauda Neill as Jeturk House's new leader. Lauda prefers to skip the formalities and for the duel to start. Secelia pokes fun at Lauda being sore about the last duel. The formalities proceed as planned while a Haro on a space drone camera orbits the front. Shaddiq messages Suletta to ask if she's decided a stake in this duel. Suletta answers that she wants Mr. Elan to tell her all about himself if she wins. Martin, Aliya and Lilique interpret is as a love confession. The two pilots say their duel vows.
The Aerial locks its beam rifle onto the Pharact but misses, the Pharact fires back but also misses. The Aerial uses the Mirasoul Flight Unit take itself upwards. Suletta is impressed by Nika's work. Lilique monitors and sees the machine load is within acceptable limits. Aliya congratulates Nika. The Pharact switches magazines. It dodges beams while Elan answers Suletta; he is a disposable pawn created for the Gundam's sake. Both Gundams pull out their beam sabers.Elan considers Suletta Mercury mean-spirited because she has everything; friends, family, a past and a future, a wish list of things to do, even hope. He wants her to spare him this victory or else the situation is unfair. The Pharact kicks the Aerial and the momentum pushes it back to a longer range to fire from. The Aerial deploys GUND-BITs which shields it from the Pharact's beams. Shaddiq observes Elan's fighting style, never seeing him to s worked up before. The GUND-BITs shield every hit. Ojelo is enthused by the mobility, Chuchu thinks its too fast. Miorine concludes this is why they chose the airspace outside the front. Martin is worried that Suletta'll never keep up using a flight unit they threw together. Aliya guesses that at this rate, he'll torture her to death from out of range. The Aerial's shell unit glows red. The Pharact similarly glows red as Elan reaches Permet score three. The Pharact's GUND-BITs are deployed. Nuno comments than even through her armor, her electrical systems will be blown, Nika encourages Suletta to evade but there are too many electromagnetic stun beams. One of the Aerial's GUND-BITs is hit. Martin cries out but Miorine shuts him up. The Pharact fires a beam but Suletta shouts "everyone" and the GUND-BITs come together again. Two of them return fire and each destroy an enemy GUND-BIT. Elan sees that she's better at controlling GUND-BITs than him. The Aerial's Escutcheon forms to shield it from another shot.
In the forest, Guel has set up camp and drinks coffee while spectating the duel on a tablet. Guel thinks in a contest of speed, a Peil mobile suit will always have the advantage. He wonders what Suletta Mercury will do. Suletta knows she won't catch Elan at this rate so she calls upon "everyone" again to lend her their strength. The Aerial goes into its Bit On form. Rouji notices the Aerial has sped up, too. They are playing chase according to Secelia. Elan says Suletta's annoying behavior is as tough as the hardest alloys before reaching Permet score four. The Aerial evades all electromagnetic stun beams during the chase. Lilique says she's really pushing it but to Miorine she's forcing it too far. Nika knows she's definitely getting closer. Rouji notices the mobile suits have passed the border lights. Belmeria is watching the duel from the room she examines Elan in. She is worried as the data storm has exceeded acceptable limits. Elan's face glows while the Pharact nearly hits an asteroid. The Pharact safely passes under it. Suletta spots it and all the GUND-BITs detach, firing in a circular formation. Chuchu and Ojelo cheer as a beam knocks the rifle out of the Pharact's right hand. The Pharact rolls and fires beams from its feet. The beam from tis right foot hits the left thruster on the Mirasoul Flight Unit's left wing which undocks from the Aerial. Elan breathes rapidly in his cockpit, declaring that Belmeria Winston's diagnosis missed the mark. He intends to deny Suletta's worth, deploying his remaining fourteen GUND-BITs. Without the flight unit, an electromagnetic stun beam hits the Aerial's belly, back, left thigh and right forearm. With Suletta trapped, Elan advances. But the Aerial's eleven GUND-BITs surround it in a circle as its shell unit glows even more intense. An electromagnetic pulse is unleashed which disables the Pharact's GUND-BITs, and even the Haro drone streaming the duel to the school. This is noticed by Earth House and Rouji. Elan is distressed that nothing is moving. When the pulse reaches the Pharact, Elan himself screams in agony. Outside, he watches a light with a humanoid shape. The shape multiplies and he also hears children's laughter; they are the Aerial's GUND-BITs. The laughter stops and they all fire beams. One hits the left blade antennae of the Pharact. Thus, Suletta attains her second win.
Earth House and Miorine celebrate. Rouji asks his Haro if it recorded the duel. His Haro has completed recording Permet decoding data. Suletta sighs in relief and praises the Aerial for its good work, she feels like she could hear its voice more than ever today. She zooms in on the Pharact's melted abdomen. All Elan sees are several glowing lights. The candle the dreamt of during his examination was on a birthday cake being held by a woman. The woman reaches her right hand to him in this memory. He can hear a voice calling for "Mr. Elan", it is in fact Suletta who has come to his cockpit she pulls him out and lets their momentum take them away from the Pharact. He fulfills Suletta's stake properly and answers that he did have someone long ago, someone who would celebrate his birthday. All this time he thought he had nothing, but it wasn't true. Suletta says there are people who will celebrate his birthday and she' one of them; he was wrong and no longer has nothing. Aboard Earth House's academic vessel, Nika asks Miorine if she's okay with the situation. Miorine responds that she's an understanding bride who can tolerate some minor two-timing.
The next morning, a holographic clock has just turned 09:55 and the temperature is 26 degrees. Suletta sits on a bench with Miorine to her left. The latter complains about Elan being late but Suletta notes that it's not even the meeting time yet. Miorine gets up saying he should be 5 minutes early. Suletta thanks Miorine. She leaves telling her to be back before curfew. Meanwhile, at Peil Technologies, Belmeria pleads to Nugen to spare Number Four because he's experienced so the could always chose to feed back the duel data. Nevola retorts that an enhanced person who can't carry out their orders has no future (something Belmeria should understand). Nugen says they still have spares and commands her to prepare the next one promptly. Elan Ceres is held by his limbs in a chamber and begins singing Happy Birthday to You, there is a machine that primes an ominous yellowish light in front of him. Simultaneously, Suletta sings the song on the bench. The light glows more intensely and turns red before he finishes singing.
The clock turns 10:10, and Suletta sits by herself, wondering if Mr. Elan will be here soon.
Stats[]
Characters[]
Name | Timestamp |
---|---|
Belmeria Winston | 00:00 |
Prospera Mercury | 00:03 |
Nika Nanaura | 02:40 |
Lilique Kadoka Lipati | 02:40 |
Suletta Mercury | 02:40 |
Aliya Mahvash | 02:40 |
Chuatury Panlunch | 02:46 |
Miorine Rembran | 02:56 |
Guel Jeturk | 03:20 |
Petra Itta | 03:28 |
Felsi Rollo | 03:28 |
Lauda Neill | 03:45 |
Shaddiq Zenelli | 03:55 |
Elan Ceres | 04:00 |
Secelia Dote | 04:00 |
Rouji Chante | 04:01 |
Nuno Kargan | 04:58 |
Martin Upmont | 04:58 |
Till Nys | 04:58 |
Ojelo Gabel | 04:58 |
Elan Ceres | 06:54 |
Earlton Wells | 09:37 |
Mechanics[]
Name | Timestamp |
---|---|
XVX-016 Gundam Aerial | 04:58 |
MSJ-105CC Chuchu's Demi Trainer | 04:58 |
Earth House Academic Vessel | 08:03 |
Peil House Academic Vessel | 12:26 |
FP/A-77 Gundam Pharact | 12:28 |
Factions[]
Name | Timestamp | Notes |
---|---|---|
Peil Technologies | 00:00 | |
Shin Sei Development Corporation | 00:03 | |
Vanadis | 00:15 | Mentioned only |
Earth House | 02:40 | |
Jeturk House | 03:20 | |
Jeturk company | 03:20 | Mentioned only |
Dueling Committee | 03:55 | |
Grassley House | 03:55 | |
Burion House | 04:00 | |
Peil House | 04:00 |
Locations[]
Name | Timestamp | Notes |
---|---|---|
Asticassia School of Technology | 02:40 | |
Mercury | 04:56 | Mentioned only |
Duels[]
Name | Timestamp |
---|---|
Suletta Mercury vs. Elan Ceres | 13:49 |
Technology[]
Name | Timestamp |
---|---|
Haro | 04:00 |
Mobile Suit | 04:58 |
GUND-ARM | 04:58 |
Student notebook | 08:43 |
Beam Weaponry | 13:58 |
GUND Format | 14:26 |
GUND-BIT | 14:59 |
Terminology[]
Name | Timestamp |
---|---|
Witch | 00:51 |
Holder | 07:14 |
Items[]
Name | Timestamp | Notes |
---|---|---|
Permet | 15:32 | Mentioned only |
Music[]
Title | Timestamp |
---|---|
Shukufuku (OP) | 01:05 |
Happy Birthday to You | 10:46 |
Kimi yo Kedakaku Are (ED) | 22:22 |
Notes & Trivia[]
- The end card is drawn by Houtei9 [6][7].
- Following the episode's release, Guel Jeturk's voice actor Yohei Azakami shared several camping photos on Twitter in reference to his character's situation [8].
- The episode aired a day after Yoshiyuki Tomino's 81st birthday.
- The large digital clock displays 10:10 after Elan's execution. 10-10 is Ten code for "Negative" or "Fight In Progress".
- This episode's use of the song "Happy Birthday" is similar to its use in the prologue, particularly its use during Elan's death. It may be the titular "Gloomy Song". Suletta sings a variation that omitted the person's name, similar to the version in the prologue.
- Elan's name is included in the song in the English dub.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 A Gloomy Song | Mobile Suit Gundam THE WITCH FROM MERCURY Official Site. Retrieved on 2022-12-12.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury A Gloomy Song - Watch on Crunchyroll (2022-11-06).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 機動戦士ガンダム 水星の魔女 on Twitter: "◆◆先行カット公開◆◆… (2022-11-05).
- ↑ 《Mobile Suit Gundam the Witch from Mercury》#6 (ENG sub | JP dub)【Ani-One Asia】
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam the Witch from Mercury #6 "A Gloomy Song"(EN,CN,HK,TW,KR,TH,ID,VN sub)
- ↑ 機動戦士ガンダム 水星の魔女 on Twitter: "◆◆第6話「鬱陶しい歌」◆◆… (2022-11-06).
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam THE WITCH FROM MERCURY Official Site.
- ↑ 阿座上洋平 on Twitter: "#水星の魔女 #G_Witch… (2022-11-06").