Turn A Gundam Staff, Production, and Episode Analyses – Episode #6 “The Forgotten Past”

Turn A Gundam‘s sixth episode was broadcast on Fuji TV on May 14, 1999.

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The episode begins with an effort being made to escort Queen Dianna Soreil to Bostonian Castle, Guin Lineford’s stronghold in Nocis, however the city is in ruckus. People protest against the arrival of the Moon’s queen and rogue members of the Militia even conspire to capture her before she can make it to the castle. As a result, Guin, Dianna, and their retainers are forced to evacuate their vehicle and go by foot to avoid the public’s eye. Eventually, they run into Loran and Harry who safeguard the group as they make their way. Even though there is hope that Dianna will bring an end to the conflict, it’s made perfectly clear that the common folk have little faith. Thus far, we’ve known that Loran loves and admires Dianna, but in this episode that’s made even clearer: he questions if Harry cares for her nearly as much as he does, and he has no qualms in quietly recording a video of her from the Turn A’s cockpit. Guin orders the militia to retreat and a cease-fire is put into place, to guarantee the safety of Dianna so that negotiations can resume.

“Two in one and one in two”—this a recurring theme of dual-identities as it relates to Dianna and Kihel. When Kihel guides Dianna to her guest room, it’s made apparent how similar they are in appearance. In doing so, it also highlights visual differences between the two for the viewer’s convenience. Their eyes are slightly different (Kihel’s irises visibly have catchlights while Dianna’s don’t), and Dianna’s skin-tone is slightly paler (which makes sense, given that Dianna lives in controlled environments on the Moon with little exposure to natural sunlight). Dianna’s also slightly taller and her bust is larger (according to Akiman…). Nonetheless, the in-universe implication is that they are nearly identical in appearance, which is why the other characters in the show are so shocked. This is an aspect of the show that simply has to be taken at face-value and accepted early on if one is to buy into the premise. Tomino wanted Loran to be infatuated with a blonde woman, and this is accomplished via both Dianna and Kihel in an odd reverse-scenario. He admires Dianna as his Queen, and he’s naturally attracted to Kihel because of their similarities in appearance, and that love is then reverse-applied back to Dianna later on. It’s a curious way to frame the dynamic.

And on the note of dual-identities: the Militia refers to the Turn A Gundam as the “White Doll”, while the Moonrace call it the “Hige” (“mustache”), and the Militia also calls the Kapools “balls”.

Loran meets up with Keith, who’s been training to become a full-time baker since his boss has gotten injured. Loran assures him that everything will work out—again, showing his admiration and confidence in Dianna’s ability to navigate the situation—but Keith’s more worried about paying the bills and caring for the bakery’s family. We see Keith’s lack of concern for what the Militia and Moonrace are plotting, and this will remain a running theme in his personal arc. In a way, Keith represents the “common man” who just wants to live their life but are caught up in the back-and-forths of war. Meanwhile, the Earth-Moon talks aren’t going smoothly. The Moonrace claim that parts of North Ameria were originally their land so they’d like to return there, but the Earthling leaders oppose such narrowminded thinking, instead blaming the Moonrace for running away from the Dark History.

Sochie and Miashei are sent back to the mountain cycle to help excavate new mobile suits, and they detect a WaDom in the vicinity and mount a futile attack on it. Loran worries for their safety and goes off to find them. He stumbles upon an underground weapons storage warehouse, which appears to house ancient rifles and beam sabers, most of them unusable. What remains is a chain with a rocket-powered spiked ball on the end, also known as the Gundam Hammer! This is a direct reference to the Hammers used by the RX-78-2 from the original Mobile Suit Gundam. Loran uses it to great success, significantly damaging the WaDom and causing it to retreat. The episode ends with Loran pleading to Dianna Soreil to hurry up and stop the fighting.

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