Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt vol. 10

We’ve known for quite some time that the tendrils of the Nanyang Alliance under Sojo Levan Fu have infiltrated the Federation and Zeon forces.  What this volume makes abundantly clear is just how for that infiltration extends. Things start off in a lighthearted fashion with the Federation forces headed towards some down time after successfully subduing the Rig.  By lighthearted I mean we’ve got Io throwing a hissy fit in the process about not being able to cram as much ammo as he wants onto the Atlas Gundam, and the bridge crew dreaming about what food they’re going to eat. Meanwhile, the Zeon forces are making preparations to interrogate the newly captured Claudia Peer while Darryl has to play daddy some more to the still-regressed Karla.

Zeon’s possession of Claudia would appear to be a major win for them, if it wasn’t for the fact that mangaka Yasuo Ohtagaki tipped his hand as to how deeply they’ve been infiltrated by Nanyang in the previous volume.  The infiltration goes so deep that they even manage to pull some power moves in regards to shifting the allegiance of certain cast members. Honestly, it’s impressive from a plot standpoint to see Zeon so thoroughly subverted as a result of all this and I’m curious to see what Nanyang plans to do with their power.  I also want to see what’s going to happen with Darryl as a result of all this after his moment of recognition with Claudia that reveals what has really kept him going after all this time.

The infiltration on the Federation side isn’t as thorough, but it’s arguably more sinister.  If you’ve been wondering who the identity of the hat-and-jacket-clad spy is then you’ll get your answer here.  It’s going to be a bad day for Io when he finds out, and with his mental stability taking a big blow after finding out that Claudia is still alive in this volume I’m not sure what he’s going to do.  So while this volume winds up being mostly setup for the next big storyline, it manages to still be pretty engaging while advancing the plot at the same time. Neat trick, that.