Why were the characters eating shortcake in "Mobile Suit Z Gundam III: The Heartbeat of the Stars is Love? [Nostalgic Anime Retrospective No. 82

In 20219, "G no Reconguista III" "Legacy from the Universe" is still being screened in new theaters. Mobile Suit Z Gundam III: The Heartbeat of the Stars is Love," created in 2006 by the film's general director, Yoshiyuki Tomino, is the final film in the "Mobile Suit Z Gundam" theater trilogy, commonly known as the "New Translation Z" series. The Axis led by Haman Khan participates in the struggle for the Earth Sphere, and the main character Camille Bidan defeats the powerful enemy Paputemus Sirocco.
The scene in which the main characters eat shortcake in the lounge of the battleship Argama of the anti-Earth Federation organization Ego is completely new. The scene provides an appealing atmosphere in which the main characters can take a breather while reviewing important points in the midst of the increasingly harsh war situation. Let's take a closer look.

Captain Henken talks while licking the spoon, but why is Lieutenant Emma angry with him?

This scene is an interlude in which the crew of the Argama enjoy a snack, but just before that, Paptimus Sirocco orders his subordinate, Sara Zabiarov, to inquire about Haman's movements. Katsu Kobayashi, a young pilot in Ego, is concerned about Sarah's domination by Sirocco, and the scene opens with a bust shot of him. (Hereinafter, "XXX lame" refers to a composition in which XXX character is in the foreground and another character is in the background.)

(1) A plate of shortcake is placed in front of Kats, and Kumu, a war orphan, is looking at the plate.
　Kum "You have to be a gravity block to eat a cake like this."
　Kats "There's always a laadish for this kind of thing."
　Kum "Then can I have it?"
　Kumu takes the plate of cake, and Katsu stands up, "Captain! And he stands up. The camera pans up to follow Katsu's movements.
　Katsu says, "I'm going back to Laddish first.

(2) Katsuname and Captain Henken are drinking coffee in the back of the room. Emma and Camille are sitting on the right side of the screen, and in the foreground, Fa is distributing plates of cake.
　Fa "What?　You're on duty at Argama from today."
　Katz: "Yes, why?"
　Henken "I told you I'd put you in charge of the G-Defenser."
　Katsu "Yes, but ......"
　Henken "Then you'll have to do the maintenance at Argama."

(3) Close-up of Katsu. (3) Close-up of Katsu: "The military is so selfish."

(4) Fa Name, Captain Quattro walks in from the back. Fa is out of the screen and Quattro sits on the couch and takes off his gloves.
　Quattro: "What are you so angry about, Kats?"

(5) Bright and Henken eating cake.
　Bright "Our operation, I don't like it."
　Henken "That's right. Haman told you that he met with Sirocco too, right?　I don't believe her."
　The camera pans to the right, and next to Henken, Emma is working on her computer.

(6) Camille lick, Quattro. Quatro talks about Mineva.

(7) Henken and Emma. Emma: "You mean Mineva Zabi?" and reacts to Quattro's story.

(8) Quattro with Camille (in the same position as 6.), holding a coffee cup in his hand.
　Quattro: "Nobody wants to keep a sensitive child on a warship forever."

(9.) Quattro lick, Emma and Camille. Fa puts a plate of cake in front of Quattro.
　Fa "Are you such a princess? (and looks at Camille)"
　Camille: "She looked like that."

(10) Emma licks, Bright and Henken. Bright talks about fleet formation.

(11) Close-up of Henken. He holds a spoon in his mouth and replies to Bright, "Well, that's impossible. Emma's voice comes in from off-screen, "Don't do that. What?" Emma is looking at Henken.
　Emma is looking at Henken.

(12) Camille licks, Quattro. They continue talking about the fleet. Camera PANs to the right to capture Bright.

(13) Henken and Emma.
　Henken "(in response to Bright's line) I agree."
　And he lifts the plate of cake on the table. Emma takes the plate from the side and says, "That's mine," and Henken starts laughing.

(14) Close-up of Camille, slightly to the back. Camille laughs along with Henken.

The topics of conversation are, first, Katsu's affiliation, then Haman's movements, Mineva Zabi's position, and finally, the fleet formation of Ego and Axis. Running through these important conversations is the "handing out the cake," "receiving," and "eating" action.
In cut (4), before Quattro is seated, the heads of Bright and Camille, who are glimpsed, are moving, but that is because they are eating the cake; Camille in 6 is also bringing a spoon to her mouth and chewing, and in 7, she is eating the cake. Bringing food to the mouth, chewing, and swallowing ......, half of the eating movement is an unconscious movement. In other words, half of the members in this scene are performing movements unrelated to their will. （In (11), Captain Henken speaks with a spoon in his mouth and is warned by Emma, causing the audience to laugh. The reason for this is that a casual human habit (unintentional movement) suddenly comes to our attention.

Captain Henken shifts his body from side to side as he continues to talk to Katsu.

If we look at the scene again from the beginning, paying attention to the "unintentional movement," we will notice the interesting aspect of the play in cut (2).
In this cut, Katsu and Henken are conversing, but Fa is distributing plates of cake, so she stands between them. Fa also turns her body toward Kats at first, but soon returns to the task of distributing the cakes. Then Fa's body blocks Henken's face.
Reluctantly, Henken shifts his body to the left side of the screen to show his face and speaks to Katsu, saying, "I told you I would leave the G Defensor in your hands. Immediately after that, his face is hidden again by Hwa's action of distributing the cake. Henken continues the conversation, this time moving his body to the right side of the screen and saying, "Then I guess we'll have to have maintenance done by Argama. Fa is concentrating on her job of "handing out cakes," not caring whether or not she is obstructing Katsu and Henken's view.
Fa's movements have nothing to do with the conversation. Within that same cut, Henken moves his body from side to side in order to converse. The cohabitation of unconscious and conscious movements made this cut as lively as anyone would experience in everyday life.

There are other similar cuts. While seated, "Where's mine?" and worrying about his cake, Quattro (4), and Henken (7), who is crumbling his cake while ignoring the conversation between Quattro and Emma, are also distracted by small pleasures that have nothing to do with the larger situation. While the adults are enjoying the cake in front of them, Kats, who walks away without touching the cake, seems somewhat immature.
It is an ordinary scene, but in contrast to the "unconscious movement" of eating, there are competing "conscious movements" such as expressing one's own opinions and criticizing the habits of others ....... Only by incorporating such complexities of human emotions, consciousness, and behavior can the great theme of the future of humanity be given reality for the first time.


(Text by Keisuke Hirota)