Gundam GQuuuuuuX Ep 5 Review: Here Comes Nyaan!

May 9, 2025Episode Review,  Mecha Discussion,  ,  
After that last episode featuring the first casualty of the series, GQuuuuuuX has officially flipped its “kill switch” – with Clan Batllers dying for real now. The GQuuuuuuX and the Red Gundam each got one kill each – but while Shuji is an obvious participant, Machu didn’t get her hands dirtied this time. Instead, it was a masterful twist of destiny.

We started the episode with some good ol’ Gunbuster era fanservice – with Anqi and Machu going sunbathing in their swimsuits. And Khara still hasn’t gotten over their obsession with teenage fanservice, with both boys and gals getting into it this time.

Before this episode, Machu and Shuji has been comrade-in-arms – fighting together in Clan Battle to fulfill their wishes of going to Earth, and they are getting pretty close. And the Kira-Kira that they have experienced together, Machu thought that was something special that only her and Shuji could see. With Shiiko being a brief addition in the last episode, she might start to suspect Shuji and her being a Newtype. However, that is still a myth and only a passing thoughts. Her naive teenage mind is still obsessed with going to Earth and getting away from the colony.

But still, this episode featured an unexpected addition to the duo – the remaining member of the trio that has been very…in the back ever since: the refugee Nyaan. I honestly didn’t expect her to “make a move” on Shuji like that, suddenly stripping and lying on the Gundam alongside him. This obviously trigger a jealousy reaction in Machu and she did the same – stripping herself as well. Furthermore, Shuji looking extremely flushed and femboinized (is this the word?) this episode is giving me major Kaworu vibes. Once again, Khara is making teens do funky teens stuff again. But yeah, Machu trying to flex on Nyaan about the Kira-Kira resulted in a budding triangle that might or might not end well lol.

Of course, to get Nyaan even more involved in the Clan Bat stuff, you gotta find a way to stop Machu from going to the GQuuuuuuX. And they chose to grant her the Kamille buff. Nyaan and Machu got into trouble with the security, and while the refugee doing illegal stuff want to lay low and just take it, the aristocratic school girl will not let her friend be bullied! It’s a funny social commentary if Khara actually meant it. But yeah, Machu kicked the guards in the nuts, and the two had to run away. But for the plot to progress, Nyaan has to get away and Machu can’t – so they put another player into the fray – and our unlucky boy Xavier had to take the fall this time…again.

Xavier had been going around and doing his own investigation on the Gundams and the Clan Bat. Of course it isn’t going very well since he isn’t the street-smart type of person. And some people were surprised that Challia let him go, but I think this really fits Challia’s personality. He knows more than he let on, and the fact that Xavier might run into some troublesome leads seems to be within his calculations as well. Basically, he’s being Gendo. But yeah, Xavier really ran his luck into the ground again. Dude will never fight the allegations of getting schooled by Machu twice in a row (and also other allegations as well lol). After he locked himself and Machu inside a locker, I wouldn’t be surprised if Machu’s mom press charges against him later if she found out lol.
Well, with Machu unable to come to the Clan Bat, someone has to take her place. And of course none of those punks in the Pomeranian clan can pilot the GQuuuuuuX, so Nyaan put on Machu’s pilot suit and climbed in. It’s funny how the difference between their body types was noted by the guys, and we can obviously saw that as well. But still, something else was catching my attention this episode, which we will get to later. For now, Nyaan sortied in the GQuuuuuuX, and it’s kinda weird that none of the guys noticed that the Gundam wasn’t opening its head crest like before, basically signaling that someone else was in the cockpit if the O-Psycommu didn’t activate.

Shuji stole the spotlight last episode, so the plot gave him a cold this episode and basically made him useless. Nyaan also had zero combat experience, but she definitely has been inside a spacecraft before (since she stowed away from her home Colony). And their opponent this time is also someone special – someone we Gundam fans know very well. The groups of ace pilot from the One Year War who terrorized Federation forces with their impeccable teamwork in their Doms – the Black Tri-stars. But the Clan Battle is only 2v2 – so I guess it’s the Black Duo-stars this time – only Ortega and Gaia. Mash had left the group after the One Year and became a politician (that’s kinda insane I know). Ortega and Gaia are soldiers who were left behind after the wars, and they are still yearning to be MS pilot in the military again – or even as mercenaries. They might be the same kind of people that Wufei was – prisoners of war and could not live in peace time. Although they made for convenient opponents – Gundam veterans and newbies must have heard about these infamous Dom pilots with exceptional skills. So they need not be established again as skillful warriors.

Their Rick Doms also received a pretty peculiar upgrades that is pretty in-line with Evangelion style. Ortega and Gaia took Mash’s Dom’s legs and attach it to their Suit’s back. So now each of their Rick Doms has an extra leg on the back as a “booster”. It’s definitely not something we expect but still pretty cool regardless. I remember there’s a custom in Build Fighter manga where a Dom has an extra pair of legs on their back – so I guess this is just an in-universe way of adapting it. Doing so basically boost their mobility even more, and combined with their impressive teamwork this episode, they really gave Nyaan and Shuji a hard time, probably even harder than Shiiko did. Of course, there is no way in Newtype hell that a complete newb and a dude with a fever can do anything against the literal legends of Zeon. So the only way out for them…is plot armor.

Nyaan started getting frustrated, and he even kicked the Haro – and in a stroke of luck, it unlocked the Omega Pyscommu for Nyaan. This is the part where I am sus as hell. The first time Machu got into the GQuuuuuuX, it was also the Haro that unlocked the Gundam. This Haro originally belonged to Anqi, so how could it has such capability to override Zeon’s top secret gimmick? There’s definitely more than meets the eyes when it comes to Haros – and that little ball might be holding some pretty crazy secret. I reckon that pet that Shuji has also has some secret as well, maybe why he found that Red Gundam in the first place. All that aside, with the unlocked Omega Psycommu, Nyaan has finally discovered what Machu talked about: the Kira-Kira.


Now I guess everyone has different reactions to the Kira-Kira – but there’s one thing in common – they can feel the space-time around them like they are moving in slow motion. And that the Mobile Suit they’re in operate as if they are their limbs – with freedom unlike ever before. This allows them to be almost unbeatable in combat, even if they aren’t experienced MS pilot. Machu – who has never piloted a mobile suit before – was able to maintain an unbeatable record in Clan Battles. Nyaan, after awakening to the Kira-Kira, adopted a pretty…savage fighting style. She used the Red Gundam as a shield….literally. It was pretty crazy seeing her fight like that. And even though the Black Duo-stars tried their best, they couldn’t beat someone who just got a plot armor boost. The fight was pretty hectic and hilarious in a way. It’s also a type of subversion of the original Gundam vs Black Tr-star – where it’s 2v2 now and the Gundam use its own teammate as a “stepping stone” to win.

Machu – after running away successfully from Xavier – went to see who took the GQuuuuuuX. On the way, she was very sad that someone else was Kira-Kiraing with Shuji (that’s pretty obsessive lol). Well, combined with the jealousy from the beginning of the episode, Machu was rightfully triggered. She was flabbergasted when she saw Nyaan getting out from the Gundam, and very…refreshed at that. Machu know first hand the appeal of the Newtype experience and know that Nyaan has reached an “equal standing” with her. Now that she isn’t Pomeranians’ exclusive GQuuuuuuX anymore, Machu might either withdraw and be all depressed, orrrr she will become radical and do something insane. Now that the “kill switch” for GQuuuuuuX have been flipped, expect much more bloodshed from now on. Especially when the next episode is titled “The plan to assassinate Kycillia”.





=Aaron=
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