It won't be the last we see of it, but this is as far as the Universal Century goes.

In some ways compromised but never boring or lacking ambition, Victory Gundam is a true Tomino original and one of our favorite things that we've covered so far.

For this discussion we discuss the motivations of colonization's middle-managers, inter-generational conflicts vs. cooperation, and more on Lupe Cineau's psychology than is probably merited.

Join us next time as we wrap up the third and final installment of Sabres of Paradise, and next, Fighter G Gundam.

Part two of Lesley Blanch's Sabres of Paradise is takes us beyond beyond introductions and scene setting and places the reader in the middle of the push and pull of rebellion. (Though many scenes are still set and characters introduced in Lesley Blanch's signature prose). The Russians acclimate to fighting in the Caucasus and the people of the Caucasus hold fast under the relentless onslaught of Russian invasion. We discuss where Murid resistance frays in the examples of Hamzad Beg and Shamyl's own son, the early examples of guerilla tactics and counter-insurgency present in the Murid War, the and the terrifying counterfactual of horse-sized war cats.

Intro and outro Music: Laudanum by Velvet Cacoon

Mobile Suit Victory Gundam found yet another way to escalate many of the themes and motifs that defined Gundam. The young pilot is only 13! The main crew is such a scrappy resistance that their base of operations is a big truck! The battles depict more desperation and destruction from the perspective of people that simply want to live normal lives.

This was Yoshiyuki Tomino's first Gundam TV Show since 1987's ZZ Gundam and we could not have been more excited to return to that particular style of pacing, world-building and characterization.

This was easily one of our favorite iterations of Mobile Suit Gundam so far and we hope that you enjoy our rambling conversation about it as much we enjoyed having it.