With both the English sub and dub of the series being uploaded to YouTube, I think it’s time to discuss queerness as it relates to the Gundam Aerial from the anime Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury. This anime is one of the highest earning Gundam properties ever released. It is also the first Gundam anime to have a protagonist who is either queer, disabled, or a woman. So let me introduce you to this world by describing what Gundams are, how they tie to queerness, and how they discuss themes of queerness and disability in The Witch from Mercury.
Before we can talk about The Witch from Mercury, we first need to know what a Gundam is. To those who don’t know, Gundam is a multimedia franchise following pilots of giant mech suits. You may recognize this concept from media such as Pacific Rim, Power Rangers, Voltron, or Metal Gear Solid. Gundam media typically uses these mechs to explore themes of anti-war and anti-capitalism. Now, the way a mech is portrayed in media is much more important than some would expect. Metal Gear Solid makes its mechs, also known as Metal Gears, very animalistic with tails, roars, and all. This is a discussion of war being an animalistic fight for survival in which the strong survive. Blunt objects give way to swords, swords give way to guns, guns give way to tanks, and tanks give way to Metal Gears. In contrast, Gundam likes to design its mechs, also known as Mobile Suits, and Gundams, more like people in armor. Similar to Metal Gears, Gundams are the next step in corporate and war technology. Why spend millions on human soldiers who are easy to kill when you can send in an 18-meter robot that takes a smaller team and can do the same things on a larger scale. Gundam’s mechs function more on how impersonal they are compared to the pilot.
Now, Gundam is not new to queerness. Older shows were no strangers to queer-coded characters; newer ones such as Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans even had queer characters and potential lovers in Yamagi and Shino. Sadley, they killed off Shino before the relationship would ever come to fruition. However, it wasn’t until 2022 that Suletta Mercury, and Miorine Rembran would break this cycle. Now, you may be thinking “well, it’s cool that Gundam has a queer protagonist, but what does that have to do with the mech?” Mechs have an odd connection to queerness. Despite typically being used to discuss topics such as imperialism, the war economy, and other displays of fascism, they have also resonated with many queer people. This is eloquently stated in the article “Big Queer War Machine” by Cynan-Juniper Orton.
We wouldn’t question why a tank is used for war but when the machine looks like a person suddenly we begin to have doubts. Mechs are not practical tools of war. It seems silly to point this out but there is a reason they look so much like people. They are extensions of our humanity. A humanity that longs to sing, dance, explore, know, love, and break beyond its own limits. The tragedy of mechs is that these colossal people are made to live as a site of conflict; that they are born to die rather than experience every glorious moment in-between.
It's not hard then to understand why queer folk might delve deep into the genre. A queer body is also a constant site of conflict, pulled apart by a thousand forces so large that no one individual could ever fully confront them. A mech is big enough though. It's like a pair of six inch platform boots made of solid iron, and when you pilot one you pour all your alienation into its frame and for one glorious fictional moment are big enough to fight back. You take what comfort you can from bloodying their noses even if needing to fight is exactly the horror you want to escape.
The moment a pilot launches their mech into battle is a deeply sad one. It is the point at which all the agency that body affords is taken away. If a narrative doesn’t treat that agency with weight then those pilots become just as hollow as their mechs. (Orton 2021)
These concepts can be seen in the Gundam Aerial. Spoiler warning ahead.
Throughout the show, Aerial’s very existence is a source of conflict. First and foremost, she is a physical body given to the consciousness of a young girl named Eri who died before the main series takes place. Areial is the prosthetic, not the person. She is constantly threatened and defended in conversations she can’t have any say in between people she doesn’t know. Her existence in the school is so contested that multiple characters are trying to claim her, and others such as Suletta and Miorine are so reliant on her that their very livelihoods are left up to her succeeding in fights against opponents who will lie and cheat just to get rid of her.
Queer people often have a similar experience. Their rights to exist are treated as topics of debate from people too separated from them to truly have a say. Their existence in schools is treated as walking advertisements for the schools “openness,” while a good chunk of the school makes their lives a living hell. Their queer friends and classmates rely on them for companionship, all while groups larger than themselves will use whatever scummy tactics are necessary to ruin them. Aerial can be interpreted as a representation of queerness.
While Aerial is relatable in discussions of queerness, Eri is relatable in discussions of disability. On July second, Twitter user NilLaney (here’s an alternative link) posted a thread discussing many themes handled in The Witch from Mercury, here is an excerpt:
Eri is relatable to many folks with disabilities. She had no choice in being uploaded into Aerial. Many children with disabilities get procedures and treatment they may not have wanted because of their parents fears. Deaf kids with cochlear implants. Autistic kids getting ABA. Eri ends up feeling emotionally responsible for her whole family, while being unable to move or speak independently. She doesn’t see her own existence as much other than to prevent her mother’s sadness. Many disabled kids end up feeling this way about their anxious parents. So many folks with motor & speech disabilities get treated like objects. Talked about, talked over. Moved without consent. Subject to the projections of abled folks. All of this happens to Eri as Aerial. Most authors can’t imagine a better ending than death for these characters. It is SO beautiful that Eri not only lives, but is surrounded by loving family who *accommodate her disability by wearing communication devices.*” (NilLaney 2023)
Similar to Aerial, Eri lacks agency in discussions of herself. In many of these conversations, both queer and disabled people are often treated like children who can’t have a say on their existence, rather than people with voices to be heard. They are treated like they exist so the conversation can exist, not to participate in it.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, in addition to its queer characters, utilizes mechs to discuss themes relating to queer theory, and crip theory. Gundam Aerial, in particular, serves as a discussion of queerness, agency, and disability that you simply don’t see all too often in such a succinct form, especially not with a happy ending.
Citations/links
Big Queer War Machine https://kritiqal.com/articles/big-queer-war-machine
NilLaney https://twitter.com/NilLaney/status/1675647623200382976
Alt NilLaney https://imgur.com/a/JWvAkof
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury English dub https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJV1h9xQ7Hx-MSngXeq-sRbelh5zCVRNI&feature=shared
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury English sub: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJV1h9xQ7Hx_jXtO1GrrS0to_ojc672HG&feature=shared
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