Turn A Gundam Staff, Production, and Episode Analyses – Episode #21 “Dianna’s Hard Fight”

Turn A Gundam‘s twenty-first episode was broadcast on Fuji TV on August 27, 1999. This episode’s scenario is by Hiroyuki Hoshiyama and was selected by fan-poll to receive an audio commentary for the Blu-ray release.

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Loran, Dianna, and Sochie receive a carrier pigeon bearing news: Miashei’s been taken a field hospital to recover, but said hospital might be in danger with the Dianna Counter eager to attack the Kingsley spaceship. Sochie suggests striking the Soleil directly while the iron’s hot, but Loran and Dianna quickly turn down the idea. Sochie becomes outraged, claiming that “Kihel” has gotten spineless and has forgotten that the Moonrace killed their father.

Back at the Soleil, Miran and Harry claim that Agrippa Maintainer and his clan have turned traitor on the Moon. They no longer view “Dianna” as a necessary piece for their plans, and the recent assassination attempts on her seem to give credence to that. They suggest that they are trying to spread anti-Dianna sentiment on Earth, and that it’s possible the fighting instinct may have reawakened on the Moon as well. Basically, there’s cause for concern within the Moonrace itself. In a cheeky moment, Kihel requests Harry to have the guards outside her room replaced with women, as the onslaught of men make her feel uncomfortable.

The Gallop makes a quick stop at the field hospital to check in on Miashei before heading to Kingsley Valley. Guin and Lily arrive to examine the interior of the excavated spaceship. She wonders if they’ll be able to get it up-and-running, and Guin reassures everyone that the Moonrace engineers are working on it. He even says they might be able to use it as a weapon, to which Dianna instantly chastises him for being reckless. Guin and Loran then go to check on schedules, while Lily and Dianna have a little chat. She tells Dianna (“Kihel”) to learn her place while speaking to Guin. Dianna hadn’t considered her social position, and then questions if there’s anything she can do to help. Lily sarcastically suggests that she should help out at the field hospital, since they’re shorthanded. To her surprise, Dianna takes it as a wonderful idea since she’s been itching to find a way to spread her empathy.

Dianna immediately heads to the field hospital and begs the head nurse to allow her to help, despite not having any medical training. The nurse begrudgingly obliges. Dianna struggles to complete basic nursing tasks like folding linen and throwing out garbage, to which the other nurses blame her for slowing them down. Lily sneaks into the hospital and introduces herself as Lord Lousana’s daughter; she tells the head nurse to give “Kihel” more difficult tasks so that she may become a better nurse in the future—clearly, she’s vindictive! Dianna’s then seen assisting doctors with surgery of a patient. The tenseness of the moment, the acts of preparing anesthesia, and all the blood and surgical tools everywhere eventually cause her to faint. Afterwards, she’s seen vomiting by the river as she empties out a bucket of blood. Lily, of course, is delighted that Dianna is getting all sorts of experience! The head nurse then tasks her to clean an entire cart’s worth of dirty linens by tomorrow, a seemingly impossible feat.

Loran, who’s presumably made his way to the hospital to check up on Dianna, is absolutely shocked when he finds her washing dirty laundry by the river. He immediately offers assistance, but she declines his request; in her mind, it’d bring shame to Kihel’s name. Loran however simply can’t accept the premise of Dianna doing such chores by herself, so he sorties in the White Doll, proclaiming that machines aren’t just tools for battle. What follows is an iconic scene born from Tomino’s mind. Loran creates a little crevice in the land and drops all the dirty linens in it. He then rotates the White Doll’s hands to create a washing machine-like effect. All the water and soap mix together and create a beautiful sensation of bubbles, and Dianna is elated. She can’t believe something so amazing could happen to someone like her. Afterwards, the two share a moment on the river bank, while the White Doll’s exhausts are used to dry the laundry. It’s worth noting that Dianna’s voice actress Rieko Takahashi has commented on more than one occasion that the washing machine scene is her favorite moment in the show. In particular, she’s always been captivated by the floating bubbles reflecting Dianna’s face.

Back at the Soleil, Kihel instructs Harry to go to the excavated ship and bring back “Kihel Heim”, as a top-secret mission.

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