I still think it’s a shame to see this artwork in the monochrome form of a Premium Bandai box, but there’s nothing we can do about it. Let’s just do what we can to celebrate G Gundam by building the Mobile Fighter of Neo France, Gundam Rose:
About Gundam Rose
Here is what the Gundam Wiki has to say:
The Gundam Rose is a graceful, elegant mobile fighter created by the space colony of Neo France. It's assigned to the chivalrous nobleman George de Sand, whose fencing skills allow him to make good use of the mobile fighter's Chevalier Saber. The cape-like shield on the Gundam Rose's left shoulder houses dozens of remote-controlled Rose Bits, which either attack with their built-in beam guns, or pierce an enemy's armor and then explode. These Rose Bits can surround a foe and attack it from all directions at once in a coordinated Rose Screamer attack, and can also generate an energy field to trap the Gundam Rose's target.
About the Visual Design
I once remarked that the Victory Gundam had a strong French Revolution vibe, but it’s got nothing on Gundam Rose. In addition to having all the colors of the French flag, it’s particular choice of blue is a spot on recreation of French Blue. And that’s to say nothing of its Napoleonic hat and outfit.
In a way, Neo France is lucky. Many of the Mobile Fighter designs in G Gundam are comical or goofy in their use of stereotypes, but Gundam Rose plays it fairly straight. They could have made it a mime, or dressed it up like this:
Instead, they went with an old fashioned French military officer. Not bad.
Weapons and Stuff
Like the wiki says, Gundam Rose’s main weapon is its sword. What’s interesting about this weapon is that it’s actually a metal blade that lights up with Beam Energy when in use:
And who could forget about the Rose Bits, which are G Gundam’s take on the Universal Century concept of funnels:
Now, unlike in the Universal Century, there’s no explanation for how these bits are controlled by the pilot, but hey, it’s G Gundam. Is an explanation really necessary?
The bits can do a few things. Obviously they can fly around and shoot:
But they can also work together to create some sort of energy dome that traps their opponent:
And near the end of the story, George invents a new technique, the Rose Hurricane, in which the bits fly around to create a massive vortex, both trapping and damaging the opponent:
I’ll admit that the Rose Bits feel a bit gimmicky at times. Due to the rules of Shonen tournament anime, they simply can’t be as powerful and effective as they should be (since they’re not used by the main protagonist). Still, they’re a fun, silly spin on funnels.
Appearances in Media
Gundam Rose shows up all throughout G Gundam, so I’m only going to cover the really big fights .
The first battle, against main protagonist Domon Kasshu ends in a of stalemate. George pauses midfight to catch the collapsing Eiffel Tower to stop it from falling on his and Domon’s female companions:
In an act of respect, Domon refuses to use his Shining Finger technique to finish the fight.
Later on, during the Gundam Fight finals, Gundam Rose goes up against Neo England’s John Bull Gundam. This is where we learn that its cape doubles as a shield:
This is a fight where the Rose Bits are actually put to good use:
In fact, the fight is ended rather decisively:
But then Anime Shenanigans kick in, and in a puff of smoke, the John Bull Gundam transforms into/is replaced by the Grand Gundam, which proceeds to impale Gundam Rose on its massive horns, and then tries to crush it:
In the end, George wins with a well placed Rose Bit to Grand Gundam’s eye, which causes it to retreat.
Later in the Gundam Fight Finals, George gets a rematch with Domon. It’s one of several bittersweet battles in which Domon has to defeat his friendly rivals in battle in order to fully recruit them as members of the Shuffle Alliance.
Anyone familiar with Shonen anime tropes knows how the fight is going to end, but the show still has to find a way to make George look strong in defeat. The answer is to have him telegraph the Rose Hurricane move to Domon before the fight, thus giving his opponent time to come up with a counter maneuver.
Which he does, by basically spinning in place like a tornado to counteract the vortex and destroy the Rose Bits:
After that, George scrounges up just enough willpower for a final attack, as Gundam Rose’s sword meets God Gundam’s God Finger technique:
It is an intense clash, but in the end only God Gundam remains standing:
So Domon gets his much needed win, but we know in our hearts that if George hadn’t spoiled the existence of the Rose Hurricane, it might have turned out differently.
Lastly, in the show’s final arc, Gundam Rose teams up with Gundam Maxter to put down the Grand Gundam down for good:
Gundam Rose has a pretty good showing, acting as a brave decoy:
And later, using all of its strength to somehow lift the massive Grand Gundam up by its foot:
And of course, one must not forget how the fight is ended by Gundam Maxter using the last working Rose Bit as a bullet:
About the Model Kit
I’ve seen High Grades come with a stand before, but I’ve never seen one come with a full ass Action Base 5. Nor have I seen any that contain clear effect parts to prop up its weapons. But Gundam Rose comes with both of these things:
Like I said when I wrote my G Gundam Primer, I think this model kit was always meant to be a Premium Bandai release (despite what everyone on the Internet says to the contrary), and I think this is evidence in favor of my case. Standard High Grade releases are never quite this deluxe.
