In "Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Platoon," even the "smoke" coming out of the mecha is acted out! Nostalgic Anime Retrospective No. 42

The final chapter of "Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin" is now in theaters. The story ends just before the first episode of the TV version, but let's look at other works set in the same One Year War: The OVA "Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Platoon" focuses on the battle for Earth in the latter half of the One Year War.
Shiro Amada, commander of the Earth Federation Forces' 08th MS Platoon, is on his way to Earth when he meets Aina Sakharine, a female pilot in the Principality of Zeon. The episode "Reunion" (Episode 7) is the one in which the two, once separated into two camps, meet again on the ground.

Aina is a test pilot of the Zeon army's large mobile armor "Apsaras. The Upsalas is such a dangerous weapon that even a single unit can destroy the headquarters of the Federation Forces, so Shiro and his 08 Platoon plan to ambush the Upsalas at a bombing range.
However, Shiro's land-based Gundam, which jumps onto the Apsaras' massive body to save his men, disappears into the Himalayas with the Apsaras. Episode 7 begins here.

What happened to Aina?　It must be hidden.

The Apsaras, which had been flying with the Gundam's body pressed against the canyon, rises into the air while teaming up with the Gundam. This cut is a diversion from the last part of Episode 6, and the gray smoke leaking from the hemispherical engine section at the bottom of the Apsaras spirals like a thread, a beautiful sight.
Convinced that the Aina is the pilot of the Apsaras, Shiro climbs out of the Gundam's cockpit and climbs up the Aina's outer wall, but he is seized with the suspicion that he may have killed her during the battle. The cut that follows is as follows.

The cockpit of the Apsaras is engulfed in flames and smoke.
Shiro walks out on the exterior wall of the Apsaras, determined to do what he can.
A new plume of smoke erupts from around the neck of the Apsaras.
Shiro continues to walk.
Fire extinguishing agent is sprayed into the cockpit of the apsaras.
Inside the cockpit of the apsaras, a monitor lights up through the smoke.
The camera eye on the head of the Apsaras emits light and turns toward Shiro.
Shiro stops with a start.
In the smoke, Aina's hand pulls out a gun (her face is not shown).

In the next cut, Shiro turns to the head of the apsaras and says, "Aina!　You're Aina Sakharine!" and calls out, "Aina Sakharine! In this cut, Shiloh and the apsaras' head are separated by flowing smoke. However, when Aina emerges from the cockpit of the Apsaras (at the same time the smoke in the cockpit is ejected outside), Shiro and Aina meet face to face and talk to each other in a hushed voice, and the smoke is completely removed from the scene.
Smoke is used throughout this scene to maintain tension by masking "Aina's life or death" and "Aina's will (who may see Shiro as an enemy and shoot him).

We need a factor that mediates between both, the mecha and the character.

From then on, Shiro and Aina join forces with each other to survive in the harsh snowy mountains. Smoke is also used a lot in this process. For example, see .......

● A round smoke from the engine part of the rebooted Apsaras spreads across the entire screen. The smoke from the engine, which was spiral or band-like at the beginning of the film, becomes round after the two reunite.
Flames from the thrusters of the Gundam that catch the falling Apsaras become smoke that spreads like a cushion enveloping the Apsaras. The smoke rising from the Gundam's feet as it touches the cliff is silhouetted in the same way, as if enveloping the Apsaras.
Aina, who was in the open-air bath with Shiro, recalls her painful past, and smoke flows into the surroundings. I am not a puppet of Brother Guineas! she exclaims and stands up, the smoke flowing violently sideways around her body.

Shiro and Aina are now united in body and soul, but in the air, Zeon and Federation fighters are shooting at each other as they search for them. Shiro feels unreasonable, "This is the war we are fighting. ......" Stray bullets land one after another at his feet, and smoke rises up like a wall.
Aina then puts on her helmet in front of the friendly aircraft that has come to pick her up and leaves Shiro. A large amount of smoke arises from the aircraft behind her, completely covering Aina's figure, who is staring at Shiro, from her feet. Shiro, unable to bear the pain of the parting and closing her eyes, is also covered by the smoke.
In fact, if the story were only about the harshness of the fate of Aina and Shirou, who are once again separated into two sides, it would have been completed when Aina's face is hidden by the helmet. Alternatively, the back view could be shown to emphasize the parting. However, episode 7, "Reunion," begins with an intense clash between mechanics and ends with the characters exposing their bare skin to each other and coming to understand each other. The visual factor is necessary to keep the four subjects, the mechanics and the characters, inseparable and always connected. Smoke billowing from a machine or a snowy mountain would be the most efficient, since they can be used in both battle scenes and bathing scenes, don't you think?
And, the same principles and means as for mechanics and characters can be used to "act" physical phenomena, including smoke, at will. This is one of the advantages of animation expression.

(Text by Keisuke Hirota)
(C) Sotsu, Sunrise