Turn A Gundam Staff, Production, and Episode Analyses – Episode #20 “Anise Power”

Turn A Gundam‘s twentieth episode was broadcast on Fuji TV on August 20, 1999.

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This episode features more of the Dianna-bird imagery that I pointed out earlier. Birds serve as a representation of her desire to be free from her cage of responsibility. A pigeon flies onto Dianna’s hands, much to her delight, who surmises that a “free” animal like itself can like even Dianna Soreill.

The Gallop is being resupplied, and Sochie and Miashei head back to join the front lines with the Lousana Militia. Loran notices a house atop a hill which appears to still not be vacated. He approaches it in the White Doll and calls out for any occupants. An old lady appears and immediately begins attacking the White Doll’s foot with a pitchfork, yelling at it to get off her property. Loran informs her that it isn’t safe here anymore and that she should evacuate before the Moonrace forces invade the area. She refuses to do so because she feels beholden to the land of her ancestors. Bruno and Jacop (y’know, Corin’s former lackeys) are working at her farm and are being watched by a donkey, for inexplicable reasons. Loran implores yet again to evacuate because a battle is being fought nearby; she retorts by saying she’ll only leave when the harvest is over. Loran decides to help her with the harvest as he continues to reason with her. The old lady is named Anise Bell, a character whose image changed very little from Tomino’s rough sketches to Akiman’s final design.

Dianna heads over to Loran to tell him to return to the Gallop, as the Militia reckons it should join the front lines. She decides to join Loran and Anise with the harvest to speed things up and quickly begins to admire the peaceful life Anise has, with the smells of fertile Earth and water nearby. She finds a garden herb called a “sorrel”, which could possibly serve as the origin of her surname. “Soreil” can refer to Soleil (like her flagship), which is a French word for “Sun”; or, as implied in this episode, it can refer to a common garden herb. I don’t have confirmation either which way! Dianna’s first name is intentionally crafted though—it comes from Diana Nemorensis (“Diana of the Wood”), an ancient Latin goddess who later became the Roman goddess of the Moon.

Anise wonders why the queen of the Moon would want to migrate to Earth in the first place (without realizing that “Kihel” is actually Dianna, of course). Dianna asks if she hates the Moonrace, and Anise proclaims that she hates anyone who stomps over the land she worked so hard to protect. She receives some letters from her daughter and has Loran read them because her eyesight is bad. Turns out Anise is the grandmother of Verlaine—Keith’s girlfriend. Her daughter’s in low spirits because her husband was hurt in the attack on Nocis City, and this enrages Anise. She blames it all on the Moonrace, particularly Dianna Soreil. Loran, sensing the tense situation, reassures Anise that her daughter has probably evacuated Nocis and is somewhere safe. As they read the second letter, they learn Keith and Verlaine send them money regularly, as the couple works hard to find success in their business. This is a bit of a soul-searching moment for Dianna, as she comes to face the reality of the consequences of her actions. Loran hears the distant noises of battle and heads out in the White Doll.

The Suicide Squad face off against a squadron of Dianna Counter FLATs. Their attacks are being repelled by the FLATs’ hyper vibration technique, which allows them to vibrate their exterior metal joints to such a degree that it creates a whirlwind barrier effect. Sochie & Miashei join the fray carrying explosives made by Moonrace engineers, but they prove to be futile. We’re introduced to the RRET Team, a group of “naturalized” Moonrace, meaning that their ancestors are people who remained on Earth when Dianna visited 100+ years ago (think back to the original Will Game’s time). Akiman intentionally drew them to look like hippies, because he figured they’d live in communes or somesuch. Loran rushes in with the White Doll to provide assistance. He manages to halt their advances, but Miashei is hurt in the skirmish. She’s forced to leave the front lines to recover, and Anise joins her as they board an air carrier. Sochie chastises herself for being a bad friend and sister. Amidst the chaos and mayhem, Bruno and Jacop sneak on aboard the Gallop and help with the loading of supplies. They’ll be mainstays from here on, so get used to their antics.

Much like episode 8, Tomino was not particularly fond of this episode, as he wasn’t very involved in its production process. And like episode 8 the scenario is by Tetsuko Takahashi, a Tomino family friend who had previously worked with him on Brain Powerd. She serves as Turn A Gundam‘s literary coordinator and one of its main scriptwriters.

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