Spoiler Preface!!!

This post contains spoilers for Gundam AGE.

About the Farsia

Gundam AGE is, to some extent, a remix of older Gundam stories, grabbing plot points or character beats from classic shows and taking them in different directions. It doesn’t always work, but I admire the effort. At the very least I find it far preferrable than if they were to have done straight retellings.

Early on the show does it’s version of “Lalah Sune getting killed in front of Amuro”. The main character meets a girl his age …

They crush on each other …

And eventually she’s put in a death machine and pitted against him, resulting in her tragic demise.

*One twist that AGE does here is that unlike Lalah, this girl was put in the cockpit against her will, which makes the scene even more heartbreaking*

The death machine in question was the Farsia, and yes, they did the thing where the girl pilot must be given a girly looking mecha:

It’s got an hourglass figure. It’s got long, manicured nails. It’s “soft” and rounded (at least relative to the much sharper look that defines most other Vagan mobile suits). It has little fairy-like wings. And of course, it’s pink as hell.

Oh, and it even has funnels that look like flowers:

It also weirdly flies around on a little platform, as if it is too dainty to walk or fly on its own.

There is a strong argument to be made that the girlifying of this design reeks of sexism, but it also makes it one of the more memorable mobile suits in a show that has a lot of ugly, plain, and/or samey designs. It really stands out in a sea of blah.

About the Fawn Farsia

The Fawn Farsia is a new and improved version of the Farsia that shows up in the show’s third and final act. Visually it’s very much the same, albeit in a lighter tone of pink, and without the weird floating platform to stand on.

However, they managed to make it slightly more girly by giving it a handheld weapon called the Farsia Baton. Not only does it look like a wand, but it emits a beam ribbon, much like the Nobel Gundam (which itself was certainly inspired by the ribbons used in gymnastics performances).

When you combine the color scheme with the flower bits and the wand, the Fawn Farsia is the closest thing we’ve seen since Nobel herselt to a Magical Girl mobile suit.

Apperances in Media

Because it’s an Expy of the Elmeth, the original Farsia only shows up for one battle before being destroyed. But that is not the case for the Fawn Farsia. It shows up for multiple battles during the last eight episodes of Gundam AGE, where it frequently manages to hold its own even against the Gundams.

Temu Haman Karn

The Fawn Farsia’s pilot - one Fram Nara - is kinda sorta vaguely AGE’s version of Haman Karn

*I don’t actually know if Fram is that much shorter than Haman, but it seemed weird when I had them at the same height, so I scaled her down*

They have similar outfits, similar hair color, and they’re both highly cunning and ambitious.

Meanwhile, the Fawn Farsia is arguably equivalent to the Quebely:

They’re both feminine in design (in the case of the Quebeley, I say that in the most vague of senses), and they both use funnels as their primary weapon.

Unfortunately, the comparison falls apart as the show goes on. One of the great flaws of AGE is that it doesn’t do right by most of its female characters; in the case of Fram, while she starts off as a seemingly devious and power hungry young woman, she eventually has a major character change; basically, she starts to simp for the main antagonist and becomes very submissive and acquiescing.

I suppose you could argue that Haman goes through a sorta similar character arc as she becomes increasingly infatuated with Judau, but even then she never relinquishes her power and authority. On the other hand, Fram just kind of gives up being anything other than a loyal servant, and it’s not a good look for what could have otherwise been a great character.

Premium Bandai Exclusive

The High Grade Farsia was a standard retail release, while the Fawn Farsia is P-Bandai exclusive.

I kind of understand. Kinda. Between the two, the origial Farsia is arguably more iconic due to the way its portrayed as an Elmeth expy. But it’s still weird to me that the version of it that gets significantly more screen time - and is significantly more effective in combat - is the one that’s locked away in Premium Bandailand.

Would it really have been that cost prohibitive to make it a regular release? It’s basically the same exact runners in a different color, with a few extra parts!

It just seems weird that other mobile suits from other shows with a fraction of the screen time get retail releases, but this thing doesn’t.