"Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX," the latest entry in the Gundam anime saga, kicked off this season and is now heading into its thrilling second half. Its high-octane action and mysterious plot twists have already sparked tons of fan discussion.
Tonight (June 4), the ninth episode, "Sharon's Rose," dropped, bringing with it some familiar faces and mobile suits that old-school Gundam fans will instantly recognize. After the broadcast, Khara's official X (formerly Twitter) account not only clarified the female character who appeared at the end of Episode 8 but also provided a deeper dive into the episode's settings and Hideaki Anno's vision for it.
(This article contains spoilers for "Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX" Episode 9. Reader discretion is advised.)
First off, in this episode, after Macho pilots the GQuuuuuuX through Earth's atmosphere, only to crash into the sea from the strain, she wakes up at the "House of Cabas." This establishment, set up by the Zeon military on Earth for its soldiers and high-ranking officials, is a high-class brothel. This detail actually comes from Yoshiyuki Tomino's novel, "A Secret Rendezvous: Amuro and Lalah" (密会 アムロとララァ), which is where Lalah Sune was originally found.
(While the novel states that high-ranking officers and bureaucrats from both Zeon and the Federation frequented the establishment, the anime only shows Zeon personnel.)
Historically, Earth was a Federation stronghold. While "Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX" takes place in a timeline where the Zeon military won the One Year War, many viewers were curious why Earth seemed to be under Zeon control.
Hideaki Anno clarified via Khara's official X that, according to the script, even though the war is over, Earth remains a geopolitically crucial location (with key economic, military, and resource-related sites). Because of this, Zeon secretly established several bases there.
Zeon then used the pretext of "protecting these areas" to semi-forcibly build garrison bases there—and even factories!
What's more, towards the end of Episode 9, when "Sharon's Rose" MA was being salvaged, several familiar Zeon amphibious mobile suits made an appearance! It looked like units from the Mad Angler Team (マッドアングラー隊), represented by the Gogg and Z'Gok, were on screen. This was a huge surprise for many viewers, who realized that Zeon's aquatic combat division was still alive and kicking!
Hideaki Anno further explained on Khara's official X that the amphibious mobile suits seen at the end of Episode 9 were actually included because they felt it would add more atmosphere to the scene if there were "traces of recently completed underwater operations."
Plus, since the units were just floating on the surface, they could omit the parts below the shoulders in the design, which also meant a lighter workload for the animation production. So, they asked Director Kazuya Tsurumaki to include them, and they actually hope to see them play a more active role in the anime.
With the story hurtling towards its climax, it seems Hideaki Anno is constantly using social media to clear up fan questions and fill in the lore gaps. Just being credited for the script might not be enough for him, LOL. Perhaps we can look forward to seeing just how much input Anno provided when the official setting materials are eventually released!