In particular, seeing Quattro—also known as Char Aznable—sitting in the cockpit in a green normal suit, instead of his characteristic red one, feels especially strange and unfamiliar. The contrast is so great that it makes you think, "Wait, who is that?" Similarly, since Kamille is also in a Zeon suit while piloting the Zeta Gundam, the scene ends up looking more like a "cosplay sortie" than the actions of AEUG’s elite squad.

Of course, in terms of emergency readiness, this makes perfect sense. That said, it's exactly these kinds of subtle visual incongruities that tend to quietly linger in your memory, making you recall them later with a sense of mild puzzlement.

These sorts of details would often be glossed over in anime from the Showa era, but when you later realize, "Wait, weren't they wearing Zeon suits just that one time...?" you find it impossible to stop thinking about it. Such a lingering sensation might be one reason viewers are drawn to rewatch this episode.

"Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam" is a robot anime produced by Sunrise, originally broadcast from March 1985 to February 1986 as a sequel set seven years after the one-year war depicted in "Mobile Suit Gundam." The series gave rise to the Gunpla model kit boom. Many spin-offs and derivative works in the Gundam franchise have since been created, and the series remains highly popular to this day.

(C)SOTSU·SUNRISE

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