Gundam Seed Movie #2: The Far-Away Down (DVD) - Anime Reviews


	Running Time 95 Minutes Language Options English/Japanese/English Subtitles Released by Bandai Entertainment Extras - Promo Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Game - Promo Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam Vs. Zeta Gundam Game
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Gundam Seed Movie #2: The Far-Away Down (DVD)

The battle lines have been drawn, placing old friends Kira Yamato and Athrun Zala on opposing sides in the war. As the only one able to defend his friends on board the Archangel, Kira is forced over and over again to battle the ZAFT forces in his Strike Gundam.

Chased to the neutral nation of Orb, the Archangel makes repairs in secret. But ZAFT has followed them there, and the resulting battle will mark a turning point in the lives of Kira and Athrun. And ZAFT launches Operation Spit Break, a major offensive designed to end the war once and for all. Can anyone stop it?

The last movie, The Empty Battlefield brought us up to about episode 20 or so in chronology, and The Far-Away Dawn does more of the same: a retelling that brings us up to about episode 40.

The action resumes with the Archangel continuing towards Orb but being harassed by ZAFT forces the entire way. During a sortie, Cagalli is shot down by and shoots down an orbital shuttle containing Athrun and Aegis Gundam. The pair are stranded on a deserted island with Aegis and are going to require help, however, neither trust the other and they are both armed. After Cagalli is taken prisoner by Athrun, the two eventually establish a détente and begin to trust each other (to an extent). This stops when Cagalli steals back her sidearm from a sleeping Athrun and states that she won’t let him pilot a weapon that will kill people, but Athrun insists that she shoot him as he is the killer. (They never quite showed the resolution to this sequence.)

Back on board the Archangel, the ship is finally being brought down just outside Orb territorial waters, but the nation is guarding its’ neutrality aggressively. As the ship is downed, Cagalli is forced to tip her hand and admit that she is the daughter of the leader of the Orb senate. Using that influence, the Orb military force of the ZAFT pursuers and make it appear as though the Archangel was sunk by the Orb Navy. The Archangel crew is granted a chance to repair the ship on one condition, that Kira and Strike work with Dr. Morgenrote, the chief scientist on the Mobile Suit program. We see the stuck M-1 Astray program which Kira’s assistance in building the OS saves the program.

The ZAFT team doesn’t believe the “sinking” of the Archangel, and so they deploy to spy in Orb and find any information about the ship – but their data comes in a most surprising manner. Birdy (Kira’s robotic bird given to him by Athrun) senses Athrun

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and flies to him with Kira following behind; the two have another face-to-face about the war and maintain their resolve to fight for their beliefs. Although the meeting helps steel the two characters, it has the side effect of letting the ZAFT know that the Archangel is still alive. On their escape, the immediate battle is fierce and at one point Kira is able to deplete Aegis – but as he looks as though he will deliver the finishing blow, Nicol in Blitz jumps in and Kira kills him out of instinct.

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The death bothers both Kira and Athrun – Kira is upset that he’s taken a life, and Athrun is enraged that one of his colleagues, especially one so young as Nicol was killed. The return fight is much more intense, Dearka in Buster is downed and taken prisoner, La Flaga is downed but returns to base, Tolle is shot down by Athrun when he tries to support Kira, and Athrun ends up using the Aegis’ self-destruct mechanism to blow up Strike. Athrun survives and is found by an S&R team from Orb led by Cagalli; she has taken the news of Kira’s “death” quite hard and she considers killing Athrun out of revenge until she realizes that he is suffering over the loss just as much as she is. On board the Archangel, the loss of Kira and Tolle has left everyone feeling empty but the crew presses on towards Alaska and finally arrives at the base. Kira managed to survive the explosion and was saved by a priest who had ties to Lacus, who brought him back to her home so he could recuperate.

Now stationed at Alaska, the Archangel suffers a serious personnel drain as Ensign Natarle, Commander La Flaga, and Flay are issued new posting while the ships is told to stand by. While the three are being transferred, Operation Spit Break commences and the target is going to be Alaska; but the Earth Fleet has a nasty surprise, they have left a token fleet behind and intend to let the ZAFT overrun the position. Once they have taken position over the base, a bomb hidden underneath will wipe out the bulk of the forward ZAFT fleet at the expense of the remaining defenders. When news of the attack on Alaska reaches Kira’s ears, he wants to return to action, not as a soldier but as a man of peace and so Lacus intends to help him by giving him Freedom. Freedom is one of the new testbed Gundams being produced by ZAFT featuring the N-Jammer Canceller, so they are the only nuclear powered suits. Back on Earth, La Flaga suspects something is up and senses his nemesis Le Creuset; searching for the man, he gets into a gun fight with him but as the Le Creuset escapes, he takes Flay prisoner. La Flaga learns of the bomb plot, steals a fighter and heads out to the Archangel. Flying back to Earth, Kira arrives to save the Archangel from its’ attackers and learning of the bomb, he calls on both sides to evacuate the area. After saving as many as possible, Kira rejoins the Archangel and they make way for Orb now that they are all rogue forces.

At the PLANTs, news of Lacus’ betrayal in giving away the Freedom has given Chairman Zala the opportunity to confine his opponents and he orders his son Athrun to pursue Freedom in Justice (the other new Gundam) and to destroy all people and places that Freedom comes into contact with. Athrun first must confront Cagalli, and after searching her home, he finds a clue and is able to meet her. The meeting allows Lacus to explain that she thinks that both sides (Earth and PLANTs) are war-mongering and not allowing for peaceful solutions and so she is creating a peaceable option. She stresses that Athrun should talk to Kira and warns that she also may become his enemy.

Back on Earth, the ZAFT forces have regrouped and launched an all out attack on Panama base with their remaining forces. This battle showcases both the new weapons that both sides have been keeping in reserve: Earth – new Mobile Suit main line forces, Zaft – EM pulse weapons that can knock out enemy equipment. ZAFT forces win Panama, and now the Earth forces face a serious dilemma: the Moon base has been cut off without a supply route (no remaining Mass Drivers in Earth Forces control) and the only available accelerator left is in the nation of Orb. Earth forces make an ultimatum for Orb to surrender to Earth control, but Orb insists on keeping sovereignty and will defend themselves against any intrusions. Many of the Archangel’s crew decide to join in the defense, even Dearka, who suits up in Buster join the defense. The opening attack wave allows the Earth Forces to unveil their latest weapon: three new mobile suits flown by brainwashed pilots. The battle is intense and things don’t look too promising until Athrun joins in the fight flying Justice. Forcing the attackers back, the country of Orb can regroup for the final escape: using the Mass Driver to launch the Archangel into space with a ship carrying Orb refugees – the Kusinagi. Cagalli is forced onto the ship by her father, but not before he gives her a picture of her as a newborn with her brother – Kira.

This movie really highlights how many battle sequences occur in this 20 episode block – there’s a stretch where we jump from major battle to major battle and all three groups throw their best equipment into the fray. The Far-Away Dream still suffers from telling only the highlights of the story, and as such, is a little jerky in the storytelling from time to time. Not a bad movie, not a great one either.

- Tazman

(September 17, 2005)

"Oh save me Shiva!"

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