Every now and again in an anime series there's the one episode where the producers must have been on crack. It's an episode where characters act out of character and absurdities pile on top of absurdities and strangeness abounds, and everything just generally goes off the rails for a half-hour. Such episodes deserve their own crack reviews, and so here is one for this episode. ;)
Episode 8 of Gundam 00's second season features a gender-ambiguous clone, a pill-popping female mecha pilot, and an evil mastermind named "Ribbons." But by far, the best indicator of a Crack Episode is a cross-dressing main character. Whenever you have a main character cross-dressing, this is a dead giveaway that you are watching a Crack Episode.
For example, Episode 8 of Gundam 00's second season, "Twistedness of Innocence."
To begin with, this is Tieria Erde.
Tieria is one of the four Gundam Meisters, the main characters of Gundam 00. He looks normal, doesn't he? Tieria actually isn't human. He's an Innovator, a created being, and in this episode he discovers that this isn't quite enough to make him unique...
Meet Regene Regetta, another Innovator, ostensibly male, although s/he's played by Romi Paku, a female seiyuu known for playing young male characters. (Note the gender-bending outfit and hairstyle.)
Tieria is shocked to discover that there are others like him, and when he learns the chief Innovator, the one behind the shadowy organization that has been thwarting Celestial Being's aims, will be at a party, he tells tactical forecaster Sumeragi Lee Noriega he wants to be there:
Sumeragi Lee Noriega keeps a straight face long enough to say:
The scene cuts away immediately after this, probably to hide Noriega's hysterical laughter. Because her plan is for Tieria to attend the party looking like this:
That's Tieria in the lovely red dress... trap Tieria. Tieria attends the party dressed as a woman.
"Female" Tieria is a hit with the gentlemen.
Yes, sir - and if you did, you'd get a big surprise.
Then the enemy appears - Ribbons Almark.
Apparently, in the 24th century, fashions have reverted back to 18th-century Europe...
The evil mastermind and the Gundam-pilot-in-drag then dance together.
Neither did we...
So you're dressed this way because... ?
Meanwhile, Setsuna, disguised as a chauffeur, is met outside by Louise Halevy, who is now an enemy mecha pilot:
It's good to know that the 26th version of the iPad will exist in 2307...
Maybe Setsuna shouldn't have disclosed his ultra-secret code name "Setsuna F. Seiei" to Louise four years ago...
... for this reason. See?
Ribbons and Tieria have retired to the drawing room, where Ribbons reveals the Innovators' evil master plan while Tieria
So that's the reason Tieria stayed with the Gundam Meisters? The yaoi fans were right!
(Interestingly, Tieria... doesn't deny this.)
After Tieria declares he's against Ribbons' plan, we get this eye-opening cutaway shot:
Whoa! Who knew he was packing there?
We need to back up here for a moment. Earlier, in his confrontation with Regene, Tieria was so shocked at hearing what s/he had to say, he dropped his gun:
According to Sigmund Freud, Tieria is now "unmanned" and emasculated.
Now, back to the party:
Tieria pulls his gun (I repeat: his gun - not anything else) and points it at Ribbons. In Freudian symbolism, this is what Tieria is saying through his actions:
Tieria is a man once again!
But outside - Setsuna is in trouble.
That cute chauffeur get-up didn't fool anyone, I guess...
Setsuna runs away, while Louise has a fit.
Meanwhile, Tieria escapes from Ribbons by jumping out of a high window, dress and all:
The episode ends with a final gender-bending shot of Regene Regetta, now wearing a man's business suit (but still sporting a female voice):
On the DVD, there's commentary on this episode from Tieria (Hiroshi Kamiya), Regene (Romi Paku) and Louise (Chiwa Saito) that adds to the general crackiness of the whole thing. We get comments from the three actors like the following:
At one point, someone speculates about Gundams:
Several scenes later, they're still pondering this:
Like nightmares, Crack Episodes are generally one and done. The series resumes its serious narrative in the following episode and the Crack Episode fades from memory... at least for some of us. ;)
