MS Ensemble EX-40 Dendrobium Gundam Review - Part 2

Given that MS Ensemble Dendrobium is an exceptionally rare product with a level of craftsmanship that stands out even among Bandai’s Candy Toy offerings, I felt that it deserved a second part for its review, something I rarely do for my toy reviews on this blog. 

Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory would hardly be complete without its high-adrenaline, Top Gun-inspired space combat featuring mobile suits, with Dendrobium serving as the centerpiece that makes the series so memorable. In this second part of the Ensemble Dendrobium review, I’ll try to recreate some of that spectacle and capture the spirit of those intense space battles.

One thing that has stuck with me ever since I finished Stardust Memory is the ultimate fate of its protagonist, Kou Uraki, at the conclusion of the story. At first glance, his relatively light punishment can simply be dismissed as poor writing. However, Kou actually gets off surprisingly easily for his breaches of military command compared to his commanding officer, Captain Eiphar Synapse, who ultimately pays with his life for the actions of the Albion crew during the Delaz Fleet incident.

During the culmination of Delaz Fleet incident, Kou effectively stole and hijacked an extremely expensive, state-of-the-art experimental mobile armor and was responsible for the deaths of allied personnel during the Delaz Fleet conflict, despite being formally affiliated with Zeon. Yet his punishment amounts to little more than a slap on the wrist: he is demoted and reassigned as a test pilot. Captain Synapse, by contrast, faces the full weight of the Federation's military justice system, being court-martialed and executed by his own organization despite his distinguished service and his efforts to do what he believed was right.

If this outcome was intentional rather than simply a case of questionable writing, there are several ways to interpret what happened. One possibility is that Kou escaped a harsher punishment because his existence had become a complicated political liability for the EFSF following the events of Stardust Memory. The political scandal surrounding his execution could have been enormous, considering that Kou was directly involved in a top-secret Federation project that officially should never have existed. Rather than risk exposing the GP Project and the many secrets surrounding it, the Federation could simply bury the entire affair, declare the project nonexistent, and quietly demote Kou. From this perspective, his relatively lenient punishment may have been less an act of mercy and more an attempt to make the entire incident disappear.

Synapse, however, presented a different problem. As a senior officer, he had become aware of the Federation's plans and the political maneuvering behind the events that would eventually justify the establishment of the Titans. Allowing a high-ranking officer with that knowledge to remain alive could have posed a serious threat to those in power. His actions during the Delaz Fleet incident may have been heroic from a military standpoint, but they also made him an inconvenient witness to the Federation's corruption. In that context, Synapse's execution becomes tragically understandable: he was simply too knowledgeable and too difficult to silence through reassignment or demotion.

Ultimately, the contrasting fates of Kou Uraki and Captain Synapse offer a glimpse into the tragedy of corruption within a military organization like the EFSF. The system protects those who can be quietly contained while destroying those whose knowledge makes them a threat. It also provides another explanation for why Zeon's resistance could continue for so long throughout the Universal Century. The Federation's own corruption, political maneuvering, and willingness to sacrifice its personnel created precisely the kind of resentment and distrust that allowed resistance movements to survive long after the original Principality of Zeon had fallen.

One of the more peculiar accessories included with Ensemble Dendrobium is the beam connector part, which allows you to recreate the brutal finishing move Dendrobium uses against the Gerbera Tetra. 

From the EFSF's perspective, this was effectively Kou Uraki killing an allied pilot, but from Kou's perspective, I can understand why he lost control at that moment. He had just been betrayed by his girlfriend, who returned to her former lover, and was already emotionally unstable after encountering a Zeon ace who had caused him so much misery during his brief time in space. Cima Garahau was also responsible for the death of his squad leader, Lt. Burning, so Kou had plenty of reasons to be furious. Unfortunately for Cima, she ended up on the receiving end of one of the most excessive deaths in Gundam for encountering Kou in the worst time possible, being shot at point-blank range by the Dendrobium's mega beam cannon, a weapon powerful enough to bring down battleships.

Like many Gundam fans, I can't help but feel sorry for Cima. She suffered the unfortunate fate of being betrayed by her own commander and subsequently ended up as a mercenary, taking some of the most wretched wetworks imaginable just to survive. Under more favorable circumstances, I could easily imagine her becoming an outstanding and fiercely dedicated Zeon soldier. Instead, circumstances repeatedly pushed her toward becoming one of the more tragic figures of the One Year War and its aftermath.

I suspect Bandai deliberately included this accessory as a carefully calculated addition. It feels like they expected collectors of the Deluxe Gundam Ensemble line to go out of their way to obtain an Ensemble Gerbera Tetra so they could recreate this iconic moment from Stardust Memory. Not every Dendrobium product can necessarily pull off that scene, even if it comes with a Gerbera Tetra, which makes the inclusion of this relatively simple connector part surprisingly significant and another reason why MS Ensemble is very special among its peers.

 Getting a copy of Converge Neue Ziel 2 specifically to pair with Ensemble Dendrobium was truly a good decision by my past self. As expected, Neue Ziel 2 scales surprisingly well with Dendrobium, even though the actual machines apparently have the Neue Ziel somewhat larger than the Dendrobium. That discrepancy hardly matters in a super-deformed format like MS Ensemble, where the exaggerated proportions make the two look quite convincing together.

I can imagine Neue Ziel 2 giving Kou a serious headache if he had to face it in the Dendrobium, especially with someone like Char Aznable piloting it. As formidable as Dendrobium's firepower may be, it is still essentially a one-man army built around an overwhelmingly Oldtype-oriented arsenal, with virtually no means of countering a Newtype mobile armor. Against an opponent like Neue Ziel 2, that would put Kou at a significant disadvantage. However, if he could catch his opponent off guard and make full use of Dendrobium's overwhelming firepower, Kou might still have a fighting chance against something as dangerous as Neue Ziel 2.

Lastly, I wouldn’t expect Cima to survive even if Neue Ziel 2 had come to her aid, especially if she happened to encounter Kou at the worst possible moment.

 Overall, the MS Ensemble Dendrobium review was probably one of the most rigorous toy reviews I’ve undertaken in the past five years, although there may be a few contenders if I extend that timeframe to the past decade. Even so, I think the effort was well worth it, especially because Dendrobium is one of those Candy Toy products that Bandai is unlikely to replicate with the same level of value and ambition anytime within the next decade.

That said, I might still consider doing a third part for the MS Ensemble Dendrobium review, as I have yet to cover the unique Dendrobium Lite configuration, which so far remains exclusive to the MS Ensemble version. I doubt I’ll get around to it anytime soon, but consider it a personal commitment to eventually complete the coverage of this exquisite piece.