With “May All Blessings Find Their Way to You, I’m Wishing It,” the second cour of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury—and, apparently, the series itself—reaches its conclusion. It’s always bittersweet when an engaging anime comes to an end, and to be sure, there are many good things to take away from this final episode and the series as a whole. We’re given the happiest of happy endings, with a bloodless resolution to the Quiet Zero conflict, a bright future for our heroes, punishment for (most of) the bad guys, and marriage for Suletta and Miorine. And yet, “May All Blessings” is a decidedly mixed bag on many levels, and its weaknesses detract from its better parts. For a finale that tries so hard to wrap everything up with a nice, tidy bow, it also strains credibility in some places and leaves a lot unresolved in others. As much as it pains me to say it, I was left feeling just a bit hollow as the end credits rolled.
Arguably the biggest problem with “May All Blessings” is the fast and simplistic way the battle at Quiet Zero is eventually won. The situation initially looks hopeless: Prospera’s allies have kidnapped Miorine and company, Suletta is exhausted from the battle, the Aerial is inoperable, and the Space Assembly League is recharging its superlaser to destroy Quiet Zero. In her desperation, Suletta finds a solution: she integrates Aerial’s remaining parts (and Eri’s consciousness) into the Calibarn, creating a powerful new data storm. At the same time, Miorine contacts the League with an executive order dissolving the Benerit Group, effectively surrendering to prevent further violence. But when the League still concludes Quiet Zero must be destroyed, Suletta links the Calibarn to the Schwarzette and Pharact Gundams, expands a new data storm in a burst of light, and shuts down their superlaser.
…Did you catch all that? Because the whole sequence blazes by in about three minutes, and even though there’s a lot to take in, it’s unclear how all of this actually works. For starters, Miorine’s order to dissolve the Benerit Group feels way too convenient. She may be the president, but it’s hard to believe she could completely liquidate a multi-company conglomerate with a single statement, no written agreements or legal documents, and virtually no input from the other members. Her redistribution of the Group’s complete assets to Earthian companies is similarly a huge stretch. One would think she’d need to consult with Cathedra, the Group’s auditing organization (remember them…?), but apparently not.
Meanwhile, it’s never really explained how or why Suletta was able to create such a massive and powerful data storm from all the Gundams, except that she achieved a Permet score above eight. Does syncing with a Gundam above level eight allow a pilot to control data storms? Does it have to do with Suletta’s or Eri’s biology, which was always more compatible with the Gundam system than anyone else’s? In any case, it definitely qualifies as a “Deus ex Machina”—literally, “God from Machine”—and the description is especially appropriate here. While this phrase usually refers to the finale of a play, where a “god” suddenly descends from a mechanical crane onto the stage and quickly resolves everything, “May All Blessings” features a literal machine that stops a superlaser using god-like powers that it suddenly and inexplicably acquired. It’s a tidy way to easily wrap things up, but it also strains credibility and raises way too many questions. Still, as problematic as this outcome may be from a dramatic standpoint, at least this sequence stands out as one of the series’ most visually spectacular moments, so it does succeed as pure eye candy.
Despite all the confusion and messiness of the final conflict’s rushed resolution, “May All Blessings” nevertheless provides some solid closure for Suletta and Prospera’s internal conflicts. For Suletta, it marks a definitive assertion of her own individuality and a final break from Prospera’s control. When Suletta brings the remains of the Aerial Gundam into Quiet Zero, Prospera orders her daughter to reconnect it and reawaken Eri. But Suletta steps out of the Calibarn, looks directly at Prospera, and definitively refuses. It’s an act that would have been unthinkable at the start of this cour, and conclusive proof that the power dynamic between the two has shifted. Well done.
As for Prospera, the final data storm produced by the combined Gundams allows her a reconciliation she never had an opportunity to experience. Admittedly, it’s another convenient plot device that’s suddenly introduced: within the data storm, “echoes” of all the characters who have interfaced with Gundams still exist and retain their consciousness. Again, we can only attempt to sort through the mechanics of it—are all the Gundams somehow interconnected? Can any other Gundam’s data storm recreate these echoes? Or, does a pilot just need to reach Permet level eight? But no matter. The fact is, this data storm gives Prospera a chance to finally experience closure as she communicates with Eri, her husband, and her Vanadis colleagues, who convince her to let go of her hate and move forward. Soon after, the data storm overloads and burns out the Permet, causing Quiet Zero and the Gundams to dissolve in a glowing aurora reminiscent of the ending of Char’s Counterattack. It’s nothing less than a beautiful scene—Prospera’s redemption, salvation, and atonement all in one—and easily one the most emotionally powerful moments in the entire series.
With the crisis averted, “May All Blessings” closes with an extended epilogue showing everyone’s fate three years later. Virtually all the adults from the Benerit Group, as well as Shaddiq, deal with various legal troubles, while the Earth House members have stayed together and started new careers. Elan’s fifth clone travels around the Earth looking for the locations in Norea’s sketchbook. Elsewhere, Guel, Secelia, and the original Elan have taken over the Jeturk company, and Lauda has reuinted with Petra, who is slowly recovering from her injuries. Even Eri gets another chance as her consciousness lives on in Miorine’s keychains—although even the episode admits no one quite knows how this happened. And as for Suletta and Miorine? They’ve tied the knot and have several children, and Miorine is continuing to develop her company and foster peace between Earth and Space.
It’s rare to have a Gundam series conclude without any major characters getting killed off, but in this case it’s a genuinely welcome change, since there’s a real sense that nearly everything has worked out for the best. Justice has been served to those who deserved it, and the younger generation has found peace and happiness, far removed from the violent, cutthroat worlds the adults. The only outlier seems to be Prospera, who lives in Suletta’s care and seems to have escaped any criminal charges or legal scrutiny, despite her actions with Quiet Zero that killed countless Space Assembly League members. It’s a loose end that deserved at least a line or two explaining what happened with her after Quiet Zero’s destruction, and another example of a resolution that still leaves us asking questions.
“May All Blessings Find Their Way to You, I’m Wishing It” appears to be a definitive end to the Ad Stella Gundam timeline—no sequel has been announced, and the episode’s conclusion doesn’t hint at one. In some ways, it’s a shame we won’t be getting more content, because after 25 episodes, The Witch from Mercury feels like it never developed its setting and characters as much as it could have. Olcott and the refugees from Dawn of Fold were completely forgotten after episode 15, aside from a brief cameo in the epilogue. Delling, who appeared so formidable early on, became an afterthought in cour 2, and despite all the hints surrounding Miorine’s mother, nothing was done with it. The series also provided little background or context for space colonization and the overall state of Earth, and the explanations of how the technology worked were often muddled. Perhaps strangest of all is that a show entitled “The Witch from Mercury” never even showed us Mercury, the hero’s homeworld and the place where so much happened off-camera. It was ultimately a series that tried to do too much with too many factions, places, characters, and overly complex technology, and there simply weren’t enough episodes to adequately deal with everything on a deeper level.
Despite all this, “May All Blessings” left me with a lot of satisfaction, and while the series stumbled down the stretch, The Witch from Mercury still stands as a solid entry into the Gundam canon. The resolutions for much of the cast feel right: a sense of family and community among many characters, a sense of hope for some others, and the fulfillment of Suletta and Miorine’s bond. It also successfully completes the series-long coming-of-age story for Suletta and the other young characters, as they develop into their own unique selves and move beyond the corrupt value systems of their parents. But while The Witch from Mercury will most likely be remembered for its romance and stories of personal growth, its optimistic and hopeful finale also leaves an indelible mark. The vast majority of these characters, especially the Asticassia students, are better people now than when the series started. If this really is the end, it’s a good note for a Gundam series to go out on.
You can watch Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury on Crunchyroll.
© Sotsu / Sunrise / MBS
