The Witch from Mercury — Complete Guide | Story, Mobile Suits & Ending Explained

What Is “The Witch from Mercury”? Gundam’s First Female Protagonist Rewrites the Rules

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is the first mainline Gundam television anime to feature a female protagonist in the franchise’s 43-year history. Airing from October 2022 to July 2023 across 24 episodes plus a Prologue, the series dominated Twitter (now X) trending topics with every broadcast and pulled in massive numbers of new fans who had never watched Gundam before. It was, by every measure, a cultural phenomenon.

School drama, corporate warfare, science fiction, mecha action, and romance–no previous Gundam series had fused this many genres at such high density. At the heart of the story stands Suletta Mercury, a shy girl from the remote planet Mercury who transfers into an elite academy, and Miorine Rembran, the daughter of the most powerful corporate magnate in the solar system. Their relationship begins through a peculiar “duel bride” system and evolves into something that will shake the very foundations of their world.

The brilliance of The Witch from Mercury lies in its dual nature: accessibility and depth. A complete newcomer can enjoy it from Episode 1, while those who dig deeper will find a layered narrative modeled on Shakespeare’s The Tempest, a modern meditation on the militarization of medical technology, and a sharp critique of corporate hegemony and war profiteering.

This article is the definitive single-article guide to everything about The Witch from Mercury–world-building, every major character, full story synopsis from Prologue to finale, GUND-ARM technology, all mobile suits, Tempest parallels, the social media phenomenon, and how to watch it.

Series Data

Official Title	Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury (Kidou Senshi Gundam: Suisei no Majo)
Format	Television anime series
Episodes	24 episodes + 1 Prologue
Broadcast Period	Season 1: October 2, 2022 – January 8, 2023 (12 episodes) Season 2: April 9, 2023 – July 2, 2023 (12 episodes) Prologue: July 14, 2022 (advance screening)
Broadcast Slot	MBS/TBS Network, Sunday 5:00 PM (Japan)
Director	Hiroshi Kobayashi
Series Composition / Screenplay	Ichiro Okouchi
Character Design	Mogumo (original), Marie Tagashira & Juri Toida (animation)
Mechanical Design	JNTHED, Kanetake Ebikawa, Wataru Inata, Ippei Gyoubu, Kenji Teraoka, and others
Music	Takeshi Ohmama
OP Theme	Season 1: “Shukufuku (The Blessing)” by YOASOBI Season 2: “slash” by yama
ED Theme	Season 1: “Kimiyo Kedakaku Are” by Shiyui Season 2: “Red:birthmark” by Aina The End
Studio	Sunrise
Timeline	Ad Stella (A.S.) 122
Gundam Series Classification	Alternate Universe (no connection to the Universal Century)

Where It Stands in the Gundam Franchise

The Witch from Mercury is the first completely new Gundam TV anime in roughly five years, following Iron-Blooded Orphans (2015-2017). It uses an original timeline called Ad Stella, entirely separate from the Universal Century of the original Gundam and Zeta Gundam. This means zero prior Gundam knowledge is required to enjoy it.

Within the broader Gundam franchise, it established several clear firsts:

• First female protagonist in a mainline Gundam TV series — Suletta Mercury
• First Gundam set primarily in a school — Asticassia School of Technology
• First canonical same-sex couple — Suletta and Miorine (nicknamed “SuleMio”)
• First Gundam to fully leverage social media engagement — weekly trending domination

Why Did The Witch from Mercury Become a Cultural Phenomenon?

The key to the show’s success was what can be called an “all-directions reach strategy” by the production team. Rather than targeting only traditional Gundam fans (primarily men aged 30-50), the series was designed with multiple entry points to draw in teenagers, women, and anime newcomers.

A school romance entry point, a corporate drama entry point, a mecha action entry point, and a yuri (female-female romance) entry point–viewers could enter from any angle and find something compelling. YOASOBI’s opening theme “The Blessing” became a massive standalone hit, drawing in audiences who had never considered watching Gundam. The result was explosive social media engagement that turned every broadcast into a nationwide event.

World-Building and Setting — The Ad Stella Era

The story unfolds in a fictional calendar era called Ad Stella (abbreviated A.S.). Humanity has expanded across the solar system, building habitats and colonies in orbit around various planets. The economic sphere is dominated by one colossal corporate conglomerate: the Benerit Group.

The Benerit Group — A Corporate Empire Ruling Space

The Benerit Group is the largest corporate alliance in the solar system, centered on the mobile suit industry. Under its umbrella sit multiple major companies, with three in particular wielding outsized influence–the so-called “Big Three.”

Company	Business	Key Figures
Jeturk Heavy Machinery	Largest mobile suit manufacturer	Vim Jeturk (CEO), Guel Jeturk
Grassley Defense Systems	Defense systems and information warfare	Sarius Zenelli (CEO), Shaddiq Zenelli
Peil Technologies	Advanced technology and AI development	Peil’s four CEOs, Elan Ceres

The Benerit Group’s president is Delling Rembran. He orchestrated the “Vanadis Incident” years earlier, using GUND-ARM technology’s dangers as justification to annihilate the Vanadis Institute, the research body that created it. Yet behind the scenes, Delling has been secretly advancing “Quiet Zero”–a plan that relies on the very GUND technology he publicly banned.

Asticassia School of Technology — Where Duels Decide “Brides”

The primary setting of the story is Asticassia School of Technology, an elite boarding school operated by the Benerit Group. It offers three departments: Piloting, Management Strategy, and Mechanical Engineering.

The school’s most distinctive feature is the dueling system. All student disputes are settled through mobile suit combat. The student ranked #1 in duels earns the right to be the “groom” (fiance) of Miorine Rembran, the president’s daughter.

This “bride” system is a microcosm of a corporate society that normalizes political marriages. Miorine’s perpetual resistance against her unwanted engagement is a core driving force of the narrative. When Suletta defeats Guel and claims the #1 ranking, a woman becomes a woman’s “groom”–an unprecedented situation that upends the school’s social order.

Spacians and Earthians — The Space-Earth Divide

A deep social rift runs through the Ad Stella world. “Spacians”–those born and raised in space–enjoy economic privilege, while “Earthians”–people from Earth–face systemic discrimination and poverty.

This divide is clearly reflected at Asticassia, where children of powerful Spacian corporate families dominate the top ranks while Earthian students are marginalized. This structural inequality directly motivates Shaddiq Zenelli’s revolutionary ambitions.

Fronts (Space Colonies) and Planetary Spheres

Humanity in the Ad Stella era lives primarily in “Fronts”–space colony clusters orbiting various planets. Mercury sits at the extreme periphery, explaining why Suletta is looked down upon as a “hick” from the backwaters. This center-periphery dynamic provides essential context for the story’s social tensions.

Complete Character Guide

The Witch from Mercury features a sprawling cast, but the following characters drive the story’s central conflicts.

Suletta Mercury — The Girl Who “Gains Two by Moving Forward”

Affiliation	Asticassia School of Technology, Piloting Department, 2nd Year
Mobile Suit	Gundam Aerial → Gundam Calibarn
Voice Actress	Kana Ichinose
Age	17

A girl from Mercury. Shy and socially awkward, yet a genius mobile suit pilot. She clings to her mother Prospera’s teaching: “If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two.”

Suletta’s identity harbors a devastating secret revealed in the story’s second half. She is a clone (or a being created through GUND technology) of Ericht Samaya, raised by Prospera as a replacement for the daughter she lost. This identity crisis becomes Suletta’s defining struggle in the final act.

Her growth arc traces the transformation from a “puppet” controlled by her mother’s words to an individual who makes her own choices. The moment in Season 2, Episode 17 when she learns Prospera’s true intentions and begins to break free of her mother’s curse is one of the show’s most powerful sequences.

Miorine Rembran — The Rebellious Heiress

Affiliation	Asticassia School of Technology, Management Strategy Department, 2nd Year
Title	Daughter of the Benerit Group President → CEO of GUND-ARM Inc.
Voice Actress	Lynn

The only daughter of Benerit Group president Delling Rembran. She so fiercely rejects her father’s arranged marriage (via the dueling system) that she attempts to flee the school entirely. A brilliant business strategist, she later founds “GUND-ARM Inc.” to repurpose GUND technology for medical applications.

Miorine is Suletta’s temperamental opposite–blunt, aggressive, emotionally expressive–yet the two complement each other perfectly. Throughout the story, her motivation evolves from “rebelling against father” to “changing the world through her own will.”

In the epilogue set three years later, she and Suletta are shown wearing matching rings on their left ring fingers, confirming their relationship has become official.

Prospera Mercury / Elnora Samaya — Between Revenge and Motherhood

Real Name	Elnora Samaya
Public Identity	Representative of the Shin Sei Development Corporation (Mercury), Suletta’s mother
Voice Actress	Mamiko Noto

The true key figure of the entire series. She appears as a mysterious masked woman, but her real identity is Elnora Samaya, a researcher from the Vanadis Institute. During the Vanadis Incident in A.S. 101, Delling’s Cathedral forces attacked, killing her husband Nadim and causing her daughter Ericht to become a data entity through excessive GUND-ARM interfacing.

For 21 years, Elnora fed the flames of revenge. Hiding behind a mask and false name, she completed Aerial on Mercury and sent Suletta to the academy as a “tool” for her plans. Her ultimate goal is activating Quiet Zero–seizing control of all communications through the data storm network–with the true purpose of “liberating” Ericht’s consciousness from its digital prison.

She corresponds directly to the sorcerer Prospero in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and her name is drawn from that character. In the original play, Prospero ultimately abandons revenge and chooses forgiveness. How Prospera’s “forgiveness” plays out in The Witch from Mercury remains one of the most debated aspects among fans.

Guel Jeturk — The Fallen Prince Who Rose Again

Affiliation	Asticassia School of Technology, Piloting Department, 3rd Year → Jeturk Heavy Machinery
Mobile Suit	Dilanza → Darilbalde → Schwarzette
Voice Actor	Yohei Azakami

The eldest son of Jeturk CEO Vim Jeturk. He begins the story as an arrogant dueling champion who stands in Suletta’s way, but with every defeat, he grows deeper as a human being–making him one of the greatest growth characters in the entire Gundam franchise.

After losing to Suletta twice, he is essentially disowned by his father Vim and leaves the academy. Cast out with nothing, he ends up working as a laborer on a tomato farm on Earth in Season 2. Then, caught up in conflict, he finds himself in battle against an enemy pilot–his own father, Vim Jeturk, who was plotting to assassinate Delling. In self-defense, Guel shoots down his father’s mobile suit and kills him.

Patricide. This devastating experience irrevocably transforms Guel’s story. He returns to the academy a changed man and ultimately rebuilds his identity from the ground up. His final battle in the Schwarzette during the climax stands as the crowning symbol of his growth. On social media, he became one of the most beloved characters, trending with virtually every episode.

Shaddiq Zenelli — The Orphan Who Dreamed of Revolution

Real Name	Iel Ogul
Affiliation	Asticassia School of Technology, Piloting Department, 3rd Year / Grassley Defense Systems
Mobile Suit	Michaelis
Voice Actor	Makoto Furukawa

The adopted son of Grassley CEO Sarius Zenelli. But his origins reveal him as a victim of “war sharing”–the Benerit Group’s system of deliberately sustaining conflicts so that each subsidiary company profits from the arms trade in rotation. Shaddiq was a war orphan from Earth, his homeland burned by corporate proxy wars.

Brilliant and cunning, he wears the mask of a charming gentleman while secretly plotting the dissolution of the Benerit Group and the redistribution of wealth to Earth. His plan is framed as “the right goal through the wrong means,” and it generates devastating casualties.

Harboring secret feelings for Miorine while being willing to use even her for his revolution, Shaddiq embodies the tragic paradox of “a man who can only change the world by betraying what he loves.” His decision to take sole responsibility for all crimes committed during his revolution, surrendering to protect the Shaddiq Girls (his loyal companions), produced one of the most fiercely debated endings in the series.

Elan Ceres — A Disposable Vessel

Affiliation	Asticassia School of Technology, Piloting Department, 3rd Year / Peil Technologies
Mobile Suit	Gundam Pharact
Voice Actor	Natsuki Hanae

The pilot sent to the academy by Peil Technologies–but his true nature is that of an Enhanced Person, a stand-in for the real Elan Ceres. Peil created these body doubles through human experimentation to withstand GUND-ARM’s Permet Link. They are treated as expendable tools.

One Enhanced Person briefly opens his heart to Suletta, only to be “disposed of” by Peil. Subsequent Enhanced Persons continue to operate under the “Elan Ceres” identity. Combined with the existence of the original Elan, this character powerfully interrogates the question of what constitutes identity.

Other Key Characters

Character	Affiliation / Position	Role
Delling Rembran	President of the Benerit Group	Orchestrated the Vanadis Incident. Secretly advancing Quiet Zero. The face of absolute corporate power
Lauda Neil	Jeturk House, Guel’s half-brother	Harbors complex feelings toward his brother Guel. Goes berserk in Season 2
Nika Nanaura	Earth House member, Mechanical Department	Represents the Earthian struggle. Caught between loyalties due to her connection with Shaddiq
Chuatury Panlunch (Chuchu)	Earth House member, Piloting Department	Hot-headed warrior carrying Earthian pride. One of Suletta’s closest friends
Secelia Dote	Jeturk House	Information broker and schemer. Plays a surprisingly important role in the latter half
Ericht Samaya	Data entity within Aerial	Suletta’s “older sister.” Her consciousness resides within the Gundam Aerial
Belmeria Winston	Peil Technologies researcher (former Vanadis Institute)	Key figure who knows the truth behind GUND-ARM technology
Sophie Pulone	Dawn of Fold	Member of an Earth-based terrorist group. Obsessed with GUND-ARM
Norea Du Noc	Dawn of Fold	Sophie’s partner. A tragic girl whose short life ends in combat

Complete Story Synopsis — From Prologue to Finale

The following breaks down the entire story across its three parts: Prologue, Season 1, and Season 2. Major spoilers ahead.

Prologue “PROLOGUE” — The Vanadis Incident: Where Everything Began

A.S. 101. At the Vanadis Institute aboard the space station Front Folkvangr, GUND-ARM (Gundam) practical testing is underway. Researcher Elnora Samaya and her husband Nadim are celebrating their daughter Ericht’s 4th birthday.

Then the order comes from the Mobile Suit Development Council: total prohibition of GUND-ARM technology and purging of all researchers. The executors are Cathedral–the organization that will become the Benerit Group. The commander is Delling Rembran.

Folkvangr is attacked and researchers are massacred. Nadim boards the prototype Gundam Lfrith to protect his wife and daughter, fighting valiantly before falling in battle. In the chaos, young Ericht enters Lfrith’s cockpit and triggers a Permet Link–the Lfrith responds to Ericht’s will as though alive, single-handedly annihilating the Cathedral forces.

This devastating prologue is the origin point for every revelation that follows 21 years later–Prospera’s vengeance, Aerial’s true nature, and Suletta’s identity.

Season 1 (Episodes 1-12) — Academy Arc: Encounters and Duels

Episode 1: “The Witch and the Bride”

A.S. 122. Sent by her mother Prospera, Suletta Mercury transfers to Asticassia School of Technology. Just before arriving, she rescues Miorine Rembran, who was drifting in space while attempting to flee the school and her unwanted engagement to Guel Jeturk, the academy’s #1 duelist.

At the school, circumstances draw Suletta into a mobile suit duel against Guel. Piloting her beloved Gundam Aerial, Suletta overwhelms Guel’s Dilanza and wins. In that moment, Suletta becomes the #1 ranked duelist–and therefore Miorine’s “groom.”

Episodes 2-6: School Life and the Dueling Gauntlet

Looked down upon as a “hick from Mercury,” Suletta gradually bonds with the Earth House members. Meanwhile, Aerial’s nature as a GUND-ARM (Gundam) creates problems, as the Benerit Group’s rules dictate that “Gundams are dangerous and must be eliminated.”

Challengers line up to duel Suletta. Elan Ceres (Enhanced Person #4), sent by Peil Technologies, approaches Suletta to investigate her connection to Aerial. He begins to open his heart to her, but after losing the duel, Peil disposes of him. This casual cruelty is the first clear glimpse of the show’s darker undercurrents.

Episodes 7-10: Corporate Darkness and “GUND-ARM Inc.”

Miorine establishes “GUND-ARM Inc.” to repurpose GUND technology for medical applications. By reframing Aerial as medical technology rather than a weapon, she aims to circumvent the pressure to eliminate Gundams. This venture marks Miorine’s transformation from “a daughter protected by her father” to “an entrepreneur changing the world on her own terms.”

After his second defeat, Guel is effectively disowned by his father Vim. Losing his place at the academy, he is forced to confront who he truly is without the Jeturk name.

Episodes 11-12: “The Witch from Earth” and “Keep Moving Forward”

The Season 1 climax. A terrorist attack strikes Plant Quetta, targeting President Delling. The Dawn of Fold, an armed Earth-based organization, seizes a Benerit Group facility.

Suletta deploys in Aerial to protect Miorine, defeating the terrorists’ mobile suits one after another. But the Episode 12 finale delivers a shock: Suletta crushes an enemy soldier in Aerial’s hand. Immediately after killing a person, she turns to Miorine with an innocent smile and says, “I did what Mom told me to.” Miorine recoils in horror.

This Episode 12 ending caused an unprecedented event–Twitter’s Top 10 trending topics in Japan were simultaneously occupied by Witch from Mercury-related terms.

Season 2 (Episodes 13-24) — War Arc: Truth and Choices

Episodes 13-15: The Collapse of Normalcy

Season 2 opens in the aftermath of that shock. Miorine distances herself from Suletta, who cannot understand what she did “wrong.”

Guel, having left the academy, is living as a near-refugee in the Earth sphere. Drawn into a Dawn of Fold operation, he finds himself in combat against an enemy pilot. That pilot turns out to be Vim Jeturk, his own father, who was plotting Delling’s assassination. When Vim’s suit attacks, Guel fires back reflexively and shoots down his father.

Patricide. This shattering experience fundamentally alters Guel’s trajectory.

Episodes 16-18: Prospera’s True Intentions

Guel returns to the academy a changed man, moving forward with quiet resolve. Meanwhile, Prospera accelerates her plans.

Suletta confronts the truth about her own origins. She is a clone of Ericht. Ericht’s consciousness lives within Aerial. Prospera’s real goal is “liberating Ericht,” and Suletta was nothing more than a pawn to achieve that end.

Suletta’s identity–built entirely on her mother’s words–is shaken to its foundations. “If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two.” Was even that phrase just a tool to control her?

But Suletta does not break. “Ericht is my big sister. No matter what Mom thinks, my feelings are my own.” Choosing to “move forward” on her own terms, Suletta awakens as the story’s true protagonist.

Episodes 19-21: Chains of War

Shaddiq’s plan unfolds. He orchestrates the Benerit Group’s internal collapse through a combination of intelligence leaks to the Space Assembly League and coordinated terrorist operations. But the process claims lives: Sophie of the Dawn of Fold falls, and Norea’s rampage within the school grounds ends in her own death.

Shaddiq’s “right goal, wrong means” produces devastating casualties. He takes sole responsibility for all crimes to protect the Shaddiq Girls and surrenders himself.

Episodes 22-23: Quiet Zero

Prospera activates Quiet Zero. Using Aerial as a trigger, she seizes the Permet network spanning all of space, “liberating” Ericht’s consciousness within the data storm–while simultaneously weaponizing the system to control all mobile suits and communications infrastructure.

The massive Quiet Zero structure activates, spreading a network of light across space. The Benerit Group, the Space Assembly League–every faction is overwhelmed.

To stop Quiet Zero, Suletta boards the sealed-away Gundam Calibarn, accepting the mortal risk of maximum Permet Score output.

Episode 24 (Finale): “The Fullest Blessing to You”

The final battle. Suletta in Calibarn and Guel in Schwarzette fly toward Quiet Zero, each carrying their own convictions.

Engaging with Ericht’s consciousness, Suletta chooses not to “stop” Ericht but to “save” her. Ericht, in turn, chooses to protect her little sister Suletta’s future rather than serve their mother’s vengeance.

Ericht uses the Quiet Zero system to calm the rampaging data storm, sacrificing her data existence to save the world.

Prospera removes her mask. Twenty-one years of revenge come to an end. Whether the tears she sheds are those of the avenger Elnora or the mother Elnora is left to the viewer’s interpretation.

Epilogue — Three Years Later

A.S. 125. Under Miorine’s leadership, the Benerit Group has been dissolved and its subsidiary assets redistributed to Earthian corporations. Suletta works in medical support utilizing GUND technology. Miorine and Suletta are shown wearing matching rings on their left ring fingers, confirming that they are together.

Guel is rebuilding the Jeturk company. Shaddiq sits quietly in prison. Prospera holds Suletta’s hand with a peaceful expression.

As the melody of “The Blessing” plays, the story closes. The “witch” of the title was both a “curse” and a “blessing”–an ambiguity beautifully resolved in the final episode.

GUND-ARM (Gundam) Technology — How Medical Tech Became a Weapon

In The Witch from Mercury, “Gundam” is not merely a mobile suit name. It is the formal designation for GUND-ARM technology, and its origins lie in medicine. This framework underpins the entire thematic architecture of the series.

What Is GUND Technology?

GUND is a body augmentation technology developed to help humans adapt to space environments. Long-term space habitation causes numerous health issues–muscle atrophy, bone density loss, immune disorders. GUND was born to solve these problems by connecting the human body with nanomachines (Permet particles) to supplement and extend bodily functions.

It was developed by the Vanadis Institute. Nadim Samaya (Elnora/Prospera’s husband) and his colleagues led the effort, aiming for medical applications.

Permet and Permet Score

The substance at the core of GUND technology is Permet–a special mineral-derived element that, when present in trace amounts in both human bodies and machines, creates informational links between them.

Permet Score represents the depth of this link. Higher scores mean greater pilot-machine integration and dramatically improved performance. But increased Permet Score also amplifies physical stress on the pilot (the “data storm”), potentially causing death at extreme levels.

Permet Score	State	Risk
Score 1-2	Basic connection. Standard mobile suit operation	Low risk
Score 3	GUND-BIT (remote-controlled weapons) control becomes possible	Moderate strain
Score 4	Advanced synchronization. Deep integration with the mobile suit	Possible physical damage
Score 5	Ultra-high synchronization. Performance far exceeding standard MS	Life-threatening
Score 6+	Beyond human limits. Risk of becoming a data entity	Irreversible transformation / death

From Medicine to Weaponry — The Birth of GUND-ARM

GUND technology repurposed for mobile suit control systems became GUND-ARM (Gundam). By directly linking a pilot’s nervous system to the machine, it enables performance far beyond conventional mobile suits and allows operation of GUND-BITs–remotely controlled weapon units.

But this “militarization of medical technology” carried profound ethical problems. The data storm endangered pilots’ lives, and GUND-ARM’s overwhelming combat advantage threatened the balance of power. The Mobile Suit Development Council branded it “the witch’s technology” and destroyed the Vanadis Institute by force (the Vanadis Incident).

But the technology survived. Prospera secretly completed Aerial on Mercury, and Peil Technologies developed Pharact through inhumane human experimentation. The history of GUND-ARM perpetually asks: “Whose benefit does this technology serve?”

Quiet Zero — GUND Technology’s Ultimate Form

Quiet Zero, secretly advanced by Delling Rembran and Prospera, represents both GUND technology’s apex and its most extreme danger.

Deploying a Permet network across all of space to control every mobile suit, weapon, and communications infrastructure–that is the concept of “Quiet (silence) Zero.” Neutralize all weapons and war becomes zero. That was Delling’s stated rationale.

But for Prospera, Quiet Zero was the means to liberate Ericht from her digital prison within the data storm. “World peace” and “saving my daughter”–two motivations layered onto a single plan, creating the story’s exquisite complexity.

Complete Mobile Suit Guide

Over 60 mobile suits appear in The Witch from Mercury. Here we focus on those most critical to the narrative.

GUND-ARM (Gundam) Types

Unit Name	Model Number	Pilot	Features
Gundam Lfrith	XGF-02	Ericht Samaya (Nadim Samaya)	The progenitor GUND-ARM developed by the Vanadis Institute. Appears in the Prologue
Gundam Aerial	XVX-016	Suletta Mercury	The protagonist’s machine, completed on Mercury. Equipped with GUND-BITs. Houses Ericht’s consciousness
Gundam Aerial (Rebuild)	XVX-016RN	Suletta Mercury	Modified form in Season 2 with red shell unit transformation
Gundam Pharact	FP/A-77	Elan Ceres (Enhanced Person)	Peil Technologies GUND-ARM. Features stealth-capable Bit Staves
Gundam Lfrith Ur	MDX-0003	Sophie Pulone	Lfrith derivative used by Dawn of Fold. Close combat specialist
Gundam Lfrith Thorn	MDX-0002	Norea Du Noc	Lfrith derivative. Artillery specialist. Severe data storm burden on pilot
Gundam Calibarn	GUND-ARM Inc.	Suletta Mercury	High-output GUND-ARM for the final battle. Only reaches full potential at maximum Permet Score–the “last sword”

The name “Calibarn” derives from Caliban, the creature in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. In the play, Caliban is the island’s native inhabitant, subjugated by Prospero. That a machine named after Caliban becomes the weapon that defeats Prospera’s plan is surely an intentional inversion of the source material.

Jeturk Mobile Suits

Unit Name	Pilot	Features
Dilanza	Guel Jeturk	Jeturk’s main production model. Guel’s custom variant also exists
Darilbalde	Guel Jeturk	Jeturk next-generation prototype. Drone shield and AI autonomous support
Schwarzette	Guel Jeturk (Lauda Neil)	Jeturk’s new model incorporating GUND technology. Guel’s final machine
Demi Barding	Lauda Neil and others	Jeturk-line general-purpose training unit

Grassley Mobile Suits

Unit Name	Pilot	Features
Michaelis	Shaddiq Zenelli	Grassley’s high-performance unit. Integrated offense-defense via beam blazer
Beguir-Beu	Shaddiq Girls	Grassley production model. Configured for the Shaddiq Girls’ team combat

Other Important Units

Unit Name	Affiliation	Features
Demi Trainer	Asticassia School (general-purpose training)	Widely used for duels and training. Earth House members pilot these
Zowort	Grassley	Grassley general production mobile suit
Heindree	Jeturk	Jeturk production mobile suit

Themes and Analysis — What The Witch from Mercury Is Really About

Beneath its entertainment value, The Witch from Mercury weaves multiple thematic layers. Here we examine the major ones in depth.

The Tempest Parallels — Shakespeare Reimagined

The Witch from Mercury’s connection to Shakespeare’s final play The Tempest (1611) is evident from the character names and structural parallels.

The Tempest	Witch from Mercury	Correspondence
Prospero	Prospera	An exiled figure who schemes revenge. Commands magic (GUND technology)
Ariel (spirit)	Gundam Aerial	Spirit serving Prospero → GUND-ARM created by Prospera
Miranda (Prospero’s daughter)	Suletta Mercury	Raised on her parent’s island, innocent of the outside world
Ferdinand (enemy’s prince)	Miorine Rembran	The enemy’s child becomes the protagonist’s lover. Gender is inverted
Caliban (monster)	Gundam Calibarn	The subjugated native → the blade that shatters Prospera’s plan
Alonso (King of Naples)	Delling Rembran	The powerful figure who exiled Prospero
Ceres (harvest spirit)	Elan Ceres	Direct name correspondence

In The Tempest, exiled Duke Prospero uses magic to conjure a storm, stranding his betrayers on his island to execute revenge–but ultimately renounces vengeance and extends forgiveness.

The Witch from Mercury boldly reimagines this structure. Prospera’s “forgiveness” is not active but passive–her daughters (Suletta and Ericht) strip away the very motivation for revenge. Where Shakespeare’s Prospero undergoes Christian-coded penitence and transformation, Prospera shows no clear “repentance”–a distinction that continues to fuel debate among fans.

Additionally, where Miranda and Ferdinand’s heterosexual love drives reconciliation in the play, The Witch from Mercury replaces this with a same-sex couple. This modern reinterpretation of classical gender structures is emblematic of the series’ progressive ambitions.

Corporate Hegemony and War Economics — A Critique for Our Time

Another major theme is the critique of a world where corporations have supplanted nations as the ruling power.

The Benerit Group controls the space economy through the mobile suit industry, and its subsidiaries profit enormously from military production. At the dark heart of this system lies “war sharing”–the deliberate maintenance of conflicts, with companies rotating as arms suppliers so everyone profits.

Shaddiq’s revolutionary motivation stems directly from being a victim of war sharing. His homeland was destroyed by corporate proxy wars; he was taken in by Sarius as a war orphan. He became Grassley’s adopted son specifically to “destroy the system from within.”

This structure mirrors real-world military-industrial complexes and multinational exploitation of developing nations. The Witch from Mercury modernizes Gundam’s traditional anti-war messaging by shifting the battlefield from interstate war to corporate economic warfare.

Parent-Child Relationships — “Curses” and “Blessings”

At its core, The Witch from Mercury is relentlessly a story about parents and children. Nearly every major character suffers under the weight of their parental relationships.

• Suletta x Prospera — A daughter raised as her mother’s tool for revenge reclaims her own will
• Miorine x Delling — A daughter who ran from her father’s control learns his true intentions and chooses dialogue
• Guel x Vim — A son desperate for his father’s approval ends up killing him
• Shaddiq x Sarius — Torn between an adoptive father’s expectations and his own justice
• Elan (Enhanced Person) x Peil — The tragedy of a child with no “parent” at all

YOASOBI’s opening theme “The Blessing” anticipated this thematic thread in its lyrics. A parent’s love can be both a “blessing” and a “curse.” It is the child’s own will that transforms the curse into a blessing–this is the conclusion The Witch from Mercury reaches.

SuleMio — The Significance of a Canonical Same-Sex Couple

Suletta and Miorine’s romantic relationship (nicknamed “SuleMio”) attracted enormous attention as the first canonical same-sex couple in Gundam history.

The epilogue’s matching ring imagery, voice actress Kana Ichinose’s interview reference to “marriage,” and Ericht’s description of Miorine as a “sister-in-law” have been widely interpreted as confirmation that Suletta and Miorine married.

That said, there were wobbles in the official messaging–the word “marriage” was temporarily removed from a Gundam Ace digital edition. This very controversy made visible where the boundary lines for same-sex representation in the Japanese anime industry currently lie, making it a socially significant event beyond the show itself.

Within the narrative, Suletta and Miorine’s relationship is portrayed as pure trust and love that transcends gender, resonating with audiences far beyond the “yuri genre” demographic.

Technology and Humanity — What GUND-ARM Asks of Us

GUND technology was originally developed as medical science to compensate for human frailty in space. It was then weaponized and came to be feared as “Gundam.”

This mirrors the real-world dual nature of nuclear technology–useful in medicine (radiation therapy) and terrifying as weapons (nuclear bombs). Technology itself is morally neutral; the question is how it is used. Miorine’s GUND-ARM Inc. and its mission to redirect GUND technology toward medicine was precisely an attempt to answer this question.

Ultimately, Suletta and her allies chose neither “using Gundams as weapons” nor “sealing them away forever,” but a third path: “continuing to use the technology for people’s benefit as medical science.” This is The Witch from Mercury’s answer to the relationship between technology and humanity.

The Social Media Phenomenon — How Witch from Mercury Conquered Twitter

The Witch from Mercury is one of the most dominant anime series in social media history in Japan. Here we examine the phenomenon and its causes.

Trend Domination Records

With every broadcast, multiple Witch from Mercury-related terms flooded Twitter (now X) trending. Several episodes saw near-total domination of the Top 10:

• Season 1, Episode 12 — “Suletta,” “Miorine,” “tomato,” “Aerial” and other terms occupied the Top 10 simultaneously
• Season 2, Episode 17 — Prospera’s true intentions revealed. “Prospera” and “Elnora” topped the trends
• Final Episode (24) — “Witch from Mercury,” “SuleMio,” “Blessing” dominated trends for hours

The “Nichi-Go” Slot and Weekly Broadcast Effect

The Witch from Mercury aired in the Sunday 5:00 PM slot (Nichi-Go) on MBS/TBS. In an era where streaming binge-releases are increasingly common, the deliberate choice of weekly episode broadcasts was decisive for social media engagement.

Watching in real time every week and immediately sharing reactions on social media–this “festival-like viewing experience” is what generated the cultural phenomenon. The simultaneity of “everyone experiencing the same thing right now”–impossible with binge-release models like Netflix–was what made weekly trend domination possible.

Expanding the Fan Base

The production team’s “all-directions reach strategy” yielded clear results. Beyond traditional Gundam fans, the series attracted new audiences:

• Women in their teens and twenties — Drawn by SuleMio’s relationship and modern character design sensibilities
• Anime newcomers — School setting provided an easy entry point; YOASOBI theme created a gateway
• International fans — Simultaneous Crunchyroll streaming generated massive English-language engagement
• New Gunpla builders — The Aerial Gunpla kit became a blockbuster hit with persistent supply shortages

Traditional TV ratings (1-3% averages) were lower than past Gundam series, but this reflects the structural shift toward streaming in the 2020s rather than weak popularity. When measured comprehensively–including streaming playback numbers and social media volume–The Witch from Mercury is unquestionably one of the defining anime of the 2020s.

Impact on the Gunpla Market

The series’ massive popularity had a significant impact on the Gunpla market. The HG (High Grade) Gundam Aerial kit sold out immediately upon release and remained chronically unavailable, with resale prices soaring.

Bandai Namco’s financial reports specifically cited strong sales of Witch from Mercury merchandise, confirming the show’s enormous economic impact on the broader IP business.

Related Works and Media Expansion

Beyond the TV anime, The Witch from Mercury’s universe has been expanded across multiple media.

Novels and Manga

Title	Format	Content
Cradle Planet	Novel	A prequel set before the Prologue. Covers Elnora and Nadim’s meeting, Ericht’s birth, and life at the Vanadis Institute
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury	Manga (Gundam Ace)	Comicalization of the TV anime. Contains some scenes that differ from the anime
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury – Vanadis Heart	Manga	The story of Vanadis Institute survivors after the incident

Games and Events

Witch from Mercury mobile suits have appeared in games including Gundam Breaker 4 and the SD Gundam G Generation series. The franchise also expanded through limited Gunpla releases at Gundam Base stores, collaboration cafes, and major events.

Music

YOASOBI’s opening theme “The Blessing” ranked high on Billboard Japan Hot 100 and surpassed 300 million YouTube views. The song was based on the novel Cradle Planet, singing of Elnora and Nadim’s love and their “blessing” to their unborn child Ericht (who is also Suletta). Revisiting the lyrics after watching the full series reveals that every line encapsulates the story’s themes–a masterful piece of narrative synergy.

Viewing Guide — Where to Start and How to Watch

Here is the optimal guide for getting the most out of The Witch from Mercury.

Recommended Watch Order

Order	Title	Format	Notes
1	PROLOGUE	Anime, ~25 minutes	Watch this first. It is the origin point for every mystery in the main series
2	Season 1 (Episodes 1-12)	TV anime	Academy arc. Encounters and duels
3	Season 2 (Episodes 13-24)	TV anime	War arc. Truth and choices
4	Cradle Planet (novel)	Novel	Reading after the anime doubles the emotional weight of the Prologue
5	Vanadis Heart (manga)	Manga	Stories of the surviving researchers not covered in the main series

For Gundam Newcomers

The Witch from Mercury is completely standalone. No prior Gundam knowledge is required. It exists in its own Ad Stella timeline with zero connection to the Universal Century (the original Gundam, Zeta Gundam, etc.). If you have never watched a single Gundam series, you can start right here.

For those whose interest in Gundam was sparked by The Witch from Mercury, these series are recommended next:

• Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans — Another alternate universe Gundam depicting boys fighting to survive against crushing odds
• Mobile Suit Gundam SEED — No school setting, but shares the density of interpersonal drama and the tragedy of war
• Mobile Suit Gundam (the original) — Where it all began. Explains why Gundam has been loved for over four decades

Enjoying a Second Watch

The Witch from Mercury is a series that reveals its true depth on rewatch. Pay attention to these elements the second time through:

• Prospera’s dialogue — Lines that sounded like a loving mother on first watch sound entirely like calculated manipulation on the second
• Aerial’s BIT movements — Look for moments where Ericht’s consciousness is influencing the BITs
• Suletta’s “If you run, you gain one” — Track how the meaning of this phrase shifts across different scenes
• Shaddiq’s gaze and expressions — Read the “truth” behind his looks when watching Miorine
• Tempest correspondences — Map each character to their Tempest counterpart and see how the parallels evolve

Final Assessment — What The Witch from Mercury Left Behind for Gundam

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury carved multiple “firsts” into a 43-year-old franchise while reinterpreting Gundam’s core themes–war and humanity, technology and ethics, parents and children–for a modern audience.

Achievements

Its greatest achievement was drawing in massive numbers of people who had never watched Gundam. By designing compound entry points through school drama, romance, and corporate thriller, and by leveraging social media engagement to create a sense of “participation,” the series dramatically expanded Gundam’s audience base and commercial reach–a strategic success for the next decade of the franchise.

Narratively, the series built on The Tempest while developing its own thematic identity. “Liberation from parental curses” and “the dual nature of technology” were deftly woven through 24 episodes and a Prologue. Sub-character arcs–Guel’s growth, Shaddiq’s tragedy, Prospera’s tension between revenge and motherhood–were richly realized.

Debates and Limitations

The rapid pace of Season 2–the sheer volume of elements compressed into 24 episodes–drew criticism for feeling rushed. Particular concerns persist about insufficient explanation of Quiet Zero’s mechanics and some characters’ conclusions receiving too little screen time.

Prospera’s “forgiveness” and the wobbling official response to SuleMio’s marriage status have also generated ongoing debate. But the very fact that The Witch from Mercury remains a show people argue about years after its conclusion is itself proof of how deeply it resonated.

Toward Gundam’s Future

The paths The Witch from Mercury blazed–a female protagonist, a school setting, a same-sex couple, social media integration–will serve as vital reference points for future Gundam series. Gundam is not “for old men”–it is a franchise that can captivate every generation, gender, and sensibility. The Witch from Mercury proved this with its own existence.

“If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two.” The words Suletta inherited from her mother eventually became her own. The Witch from Mercury itself is one of the “two” that Gundam gained by moving forward–proof of a new possibility.