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Neotopia | The city | The S.D.G. | Characters |
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Lacroa | The kingdom | Characters |
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Ark | The land | Characters |
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The Dark Axis | The army | Characters |
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Gekisou! Gunbike! Gunbike, Captain's old instructor, shows up to whip the Gundam Force into shape. Do they need it? According to Gunbike they do! The enemy today is Grappler Gouf and an obligatory squadron of Zakos, who have Control Horn'd a pair of express trains. Grappler's plan is to drive them through a Zakorello portal and into the Dark Axis' control, but the Force won't let it happen! Or at least, they won't as long as they can keep from shooting each other accidentally. Original airdates: 2003.09.09 (USA) 2004.02.18 (Japan) Scriptwriters: 樋口達人 (Tatsuhito Higuchi), アベユウイチ (Yuuichi Abe) Storyboard: 原 博 (Hiroshi Hara) Director: 山田弘和 (Hirokazu Yamada) | |
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The episode starts with Bakunetsumaru training, waving his swords around and threatening imaginary foes. It's not long until several roses appear on each blade, and Baku knows immediately who to blame; Zero, perched up on Shute's house. Shute and Captain listen in on the hijinks from the safety of the workshop. Captain makes a comment about how one's training never ends, and Shute asks amusedly if he learned that in Gundam School. Captain replies that his instructor taught him, and that very same instructor was coming to join the 'Force now -- right now, in fact, as the sound of tires on street is heard. Shute rushes out to meet him, but sees only an unmanned bike! What's up with that? Turns out the bike itself is Captain's instructor; the A.I. was implanted in it. Gunbike quickly establishes himself in the role of 'drill seargent', making everyone (including Entengo) line up and tells them that he's "going to try and teach those softies everything there is to know about combat!" Zero, affronted, says that as a Knight of Lacroa, there's nothing he could teach him. Gunbike retaliates by slapping a "proud, cocky-type who does everything on his own and ends up getting the rest of his squad in trouble" label on him. Baku laughs ("Heh, couldn't have put it better myself!") and then Gunbike turns to him with his very own "always jumping the gun and can't keep his sword in his scabbard" label. Heehee. Then it's Shute's turn. The smallest and squishiest of the lot, Gunbike doesn't give him any slack at all. Finally we meet the enemy for this episode. A two-engine express train carrying a load of... something, in big boxes. Harmless, right? The hoverboard manned by Grappler Gouf sure isn't. But just as he prepares to throw down the control horn... THWACK. He runs into the arch of a tunnel that snuck up on him. Back to the Gundam Force, and Gunbike is still laying down the 'training' on Shute. On the sidelines, Captain notes that "Offduty, he's actually a very pleasant fellow." just before receiving a communication -- "Danger in Sector 15!" Looks like Sector 15 is wherever that train line is, for now we see that Grappler has recovered and slapped a control horn on the leading engine. (Grappler: "Faster, faster, next stop disaster! Ooh, hey, that's a little poem. I like it!") Gunbike assembles everyone back into a line for a roll-call, and they move out! To coordinates Tango-Niner, no less. XP (Zero: "Did I miss something? When was he put in command?") Captain changes into his Defender armor via Re-Equip Ring while Gunbike tells Shute to hop in. (Shute: "Me drive? Uh..." Gunbike: "Yeah. Right. You ride in the sidecar, your weight might come in handy as a counter-balance. Well come on, you're a Gundam arentcha?" Shute: "Yo! Ready, sir!") Keiko comes outside shortly after everyone leaves, bearing hot chocolate and cookies, but alas, no one is present. Poor Keiko! The Gundam Force regroups en route, with Captain docking with Gunbike (and by docking I mean 'jumping into Gunbike's main seat and taking the controls'), and off they go to pwn evil forces once again! As the Force gains on them, Grappler control horn's the second, neurotic engine. Gunbike points out the obvious -- "There's our objective. Take out those control horns, pronto!" -- and Zero intends to do it himself. Gunbike tries to call him back, without success, and Captain and Baku quickly jump up onto the train to provide backup. Zero moves to face off with Grappler: Zero: "Yield, you black-hearted fiend, and cease your mischief! Or I shall make you rue this day! Grappler: "Whatever, Shakespeare!" With Zero and Grappler fighting, and Baku dealing with the Zakos, it's up to Captain to try and actually put an end to the situation. Unfortunately, with the train and everyone moving around, Captain nearly hits his comrades while missing the control horns entirely, until finally he runs out of ammo. Fed up, Zero decides he'll take out the horns himself, and lifts off from the train... And hits the top of an arch. Grappler: "Hurts, doesn't it?! ...At least I'm not the only dummy around here." Eyecatch. In the japanese version, it's Bakunetsumaru's eyecatch. Cue entertaining fight with Zakos, complicated by dark tunnels! 
 
 Gunbike: "Are they always this disorganized?!" Shute: "Not always..." Gunbike races up to the train to impart some important information: a large Zakorello Gate has materialized not too far ahead, and right behind it is a large gasworks! Even if they keep the train from going straight into the Gate, it'll crash into the tanks! Captain: "No need to worry, Gunbike. Leave it to us." Baku: "Yes. Leave it to me-- I mean, us." Baku rushes ahead, knocking off Zakos left and right, with Captain trying to keep up. It's not long until they run into Grappler, who fires away merrily with his boat's gatling. The two bicker over who should fight him -- Baku's determined to, despite Captain's certainty that he would do better pinning him down while the samurai went for the horns. Grappler interrupts with a missile barrage, aimed not at them, but the connection between the car they're standing on and the rest of the train. Captain gives in, telling Baku to take Grappler while he catches up to the engines. They jump up, Baku distracting Grappler while Captain throws aside his shield in order to grab ahold the train's trailing car. Grappler wheels his boat around to pursue Baku and fires off another missile barrage, blasting the separated cars up into the air -- and towards Gunbike and Shute! But as Gunbike's screeching tires come to a stop, Shute finds he's not squished! Captain and his beamsaber came to the rescue, slicing the cars away and likely saving both their lives, but Gunbike is not impressed. Shute: "Captain, you saved us!" Gunbike: "He disobeyed orders is what he did! What're you doin', deviatin' from the mission objective?!" Captain: "I thought I should try to save my friends' lives!" Gunbike: "Completin' the mission is all that's important!" Shute: "Yeah, but well... Our lives are maybe a little bit important, too, aren't they?" Gunbike: "The mission's all that counts." Captain: "Well, it was my belief that I could accomplish both." Gunbike: "It's too late!" Captain: "Maybe so, sir," he salutes, "But we'll never know if we stay here debating the point all day." And he jets away! Shute: "He's right! What're you waiting for, we've gotta back him up!" Gunbike: "I don't need you to tell me what to do, pee-wee!" So, what will he do? Come on, you know what he's going to do. :D As Captain jet-jumps onward, Gunbike rolls up. Gunbike: "You'll never catch up in time!" Shute: "We've gotta work together. As a team!" Gunbike: "Don't just stand there, Captain, hop aboard!" And they speed off together! Grappler looks back and sees them coming; he's not amused. Grappler, to the train: "I thought you were supposed to be an express. Get movin'!" As the train pulls away, Gunbike despairs, but Captain knows what to do! Captain: "Quickly, Shute, we need some turbo-powered Soul Drive!" Gunbike: "We need Soul-What?" The wheels on Captain's feet charge up Gunbike, causing a minor transformation and ADDED SPEED! Now two kilometers from the Gate and the gasworks, Gunbike jumps up onto the side of the train, racing forward while Captain jumps off and kicks Grappler back into the Gate, dematerializing it! Gunbike zooms by and manages to run over one of the control horns, destroying it, while Captain jets through the smoke and slices the remaining horn. Now returned to normal, the engines try to stop, but instead of stopping, they fall off the tracks instead! The entire convoy is skidding toward the gasworks and Gunbike and Captain try to slow them, but with no success. Gunbike readies his missiles, ejects Shute's sidecar, and orders Captain to leave, but the Gundam won't! Baku and Entengo join in, Zero stops the sidecar from skidding and joins in the effort. Things are getting real close... but perhaps two hundred feet from the gasworks the convoy finally stops and everyone's home free (or as free as one can get when Gunbike's training is on the schedule...). Shute: "Haha, what do ya think of them now, Gunbike? Not bad, huh?" Gunbike: "Well... For a bunch'a disobedient lunatics... yea, not bad." | |
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Today's meeting is all about, all right, all together now -- the Dark Axis has awesome weapons but it never wins! What's up with that? From overuse of Control Horns to Grappler Gouf's excellent jetboard, the meeting starts innocently enough but soon devolves into a base celebration of thievery! I mean, um. They point out the details of the control horns, which were for the most part pretty clear anyway, and note that the Dark Axis troops are not good at making things from scratch. This naturally begs the question -- where'd Grappler get his excellent jetboard from? Blue: "Because Lord Gouf can't make stuff, he must have stolen it! So he's..." Red & Yellow: "A thief~!" Red: "Oh that Lord Gouf! If you cannot make it, just take it!" All: "Zako. That's the Dark Axis way of doing everything!" Red: u.u "We are so cool." Yellow: n.n "Zako!" But this also implies... Yellow: "Well, that means... The Dark Axis fortress... "And the Magna-Musai... and the Zakorello Gate... "And the Komusai... And this," holds up axe, "and that," holds up gun, "And we Zakos are all stolen from some other place?" Red: "Oh no, that just can't be!" Blue: "That's got to be a lie, don't say things like that!" Then Yellow goes off and returns with Grappler's, ahem, secretly stolen excellent jetboard, which looks like it's a lot of fun to play with. I want one. I mean. Grappler: "HEY. The Dark Axis is always losing because you LUGNUTS are always STEALING stuff. HOW DARE YOU STEAL MY BOAT!" Lesson of the day, kids! Red: "Forget what I said before," All: "Stealing is a bad thing." | |
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• The Zakos in this ep say 'Zaku'... except for the Zako-Zako Hour hosts. They do this in the japanese version too, 'tis very odd. =O | |
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