Zeta Gundam Volume 7

Volume 7 kicks off with "Half Moon Love", which doesn't have much in the way of love, but does have a bomb go off in a lunar city.  One which kills few, if any civilians, and doesn't put a scratch on its intended target, the Argama.  It does, however, force the ship to flee before being able to complete repairs, leaving it in terrible shape before beginning a very dangerous operation.  As a complete episode, "Half Moon Love" is far from classic, but the ending foreshadows the overall theme of this disc.  Ever since Kamille returned to space, I'd argue that the AEUG have had the upper hand in battle.  They have more high tech mobile suits, and less nameless mooks as pilots.  With Volume 7 the roles reverse.  The Titans get more new suits to counter the AEUG, and their current ace, Yazan Gable, is the first Titans pilot who won't lie down and die in a fight (Jerrid might not be dead yet, but his survival is due more to comic relief and Plot Armor than to any skill). Throughout the disc, our heroes find themselves outnumbered and pushed beyond their limits.  Dissent and fatigue kick in, and they wind up losing one of their own, which we haven't seen since Roberto's death in Volume 3.

This volume sounds much more interesting than it actually is, mostly due to some poorly executed character arcs.  In "Moonside Love", Kamille acts practically schizophrenic around Titan pilot Sarah, showing both contempt and concern for her (though nothing like love, which I hope the episode title is not referring to).  Worst of all, however, is Reccoa.  She's been a very important character lately, and her screen time answers two important questions about her - What talents make her worthy of working in the AEUG, and does she feel as under-appreciated and disrespected as she should?  The answers themselves are satisfying, but her ultimate fate is not.  Her tumultuous mental state turns her into a complete space case, in a manner that suggests a sadly sexist "love and emotions turn a woman's mind into mush" type of event.  It all leads to her capture by the Titans, and just doesn't feel like an dignified treatment of her increasingly interesting character.

Also unfortunate is that the AEUG thinks she's dead, and this puts the crew into angst mode.  Kamille gets bitchy and punchy with Quattro, and Quattro himself becomes the saddest of sacks, unwilling to defend himself.  I could tell you that it's because him and Reccoa were in love, but the writers hinted at this immediately before her capture, so it's tough to tell just what the hell it was supposed to mean(there is, arguably, earlier proof of the two of them together, but the show never pursued it).  The angst hits its peak at disc's end, when Kamille and Quattro's bickering causes them to get stuck on Earth again, after which Kamille learns that Four Murasame is alive.  All of his character development unravels as he becomes a bitchy, love stricken teen again, causing as much trouble as ever before. 

Still, there is one redeeming aspect of this disc.  The middle sections introduce the Zeon Remnant, and their leader, Haman Kahn.  Haman is a major player in U.C. lore, and her debut didn't disappoint.  In just a few major scenes, she gave an air of complete control and competence; just the way she causes Quattro to flip out gives you a great sense of her character.  These episodes stand in isolation for now, but they give you  a sense of just how screwed the AEUG might be after a Titans/Zeon alliance, and for the first time, we see Quattro (who I should probably just refer to as Char now) wrestle with his past life as the Red Comet.  You tell how hard it is for him to make peace with it, as well as come to terms with the fact that his countrymen are no longer truly his own. 

Not the best volume in the back half of the show, but Zeon's arrival hints at potential for the future.