The Akatsuki Enigma (contains destiny spoilers)

[Xeon Sempai]

So okay, the Akatsuki was left to Cagalli by her father(and she used it a grand total of one time herself), meaning it was presumeably no newer than say, Freedom. The design should have been more contemporary to second generation EA mobile suit(forbidden, raider, and sitting duckling) tech(not to mention it incorperating dragoon, which orb shouldn't have had access to either way, unless of course freedom had full schematics of it when it was taken from ZAFT), sporting a magical coating that wasn't used in ANY other new design(except possibly Strike Freedom, gold joints indicating an underlying layer of reflective material perhaps, but that is naught but speculation, and anyways freedom seems to not, or not need to rely on it ever if it indeed exists), when it seems a whole lot more sensical than a big power sucking beam shield in a world where nuclear powered MS are a violation of treaty(not that that stops either Orb or ZAFT from fielding them, maybe the EA too), and even beam shields don't cover the entire unit, usually(actually, most effective would be, as the V2, a combination of antibeam devices, though for the life of me I cannot recall an instance in the animation where it showed its i-field). It's somewhat modular, incorperates both high energy plasma weapons and an improved DRAGOON(and a beam sabre apparently identical to freedom/justice and their magical combining darth maul sabers), HiMAT, ect, however, it has a first generation OS and monitor system while still being able to preform on par with the latest most cutting edge units near the end of destiny. Newer Astrays and Murasames seemed to be severely outclassed by ZAFTs new designs, while the Akatsuki easily could kill them en masse(though comparing a generation old super MS with current production units is not taking all things as equal)... Nevertheless, for such an old MS, it seemed to preform suprisingly well, keeping up easily with the likes of Impulse, Provi...I mean Legend, and Destiny.

As horrible as the grammar is there, what I mean to ask is how can the Akatsuki possibly exist? Aside from it being a one shot superunit with a massive apparently secret hanger dedicated to it, it seems overwhelming, and I'd bet that all things being equal, it could have done a number way back when... Had it indeed existed.

Another possability is that of course, it is an older unit that was later upgraded with DRAGOON, magical antibeam and such, and the only reason it seems overwhelmingly overpowered is that it has a couple of hat tricks that everyone else lacks..

Pretending to be nu:



Stopping capital ship positron beams with its bare torso:

And Obligatory animated .gif can be found:
http://www.g-seed.com/index.php?action=mech/dest/akatsuki
click the "reflective armor" link.  

[Vivio1412]

It couldn't just be that possibility Morgenroete, Inc. was researching this type of technology, and was capable of actually making the MS before the attack on Orb, but was unable to get it to Cagalli for the reason of, they didn't have time(?)  

[Starcloud]

EA violated the treaty with their Mirage Colloid-equipped battleship. They didn't need Nuclear MS to violate it.

As for Akatsuki outperforming M-1 Shrikes, they're just M-1s with big fans of their backs! I can't explain why it outperformed the newer Murasame, so I'll chalk it up to character shields.

I think you're theory about Akatsuki being upgraded between the time it was built and its appearance in SEED Destiny is a good one. The only other way I can think of Orb getting DRAGOON technology is if they did something smart and had spies that stole the 'prints for it.  

[Vivio1412]

Starcloud

EA violated the treaty with their Mirage Colloid-equipped battleship. They didn't need Nuclear MS to violate it.

As for Akatsuki outperforming M-1 Shrikes, they're just M-1s with big fans of their backs! I can't explain why it outperformed the newer Murasame, so I'll chalk it up to character shields.

I think you're theory about Akatsuki being upgraded between the time it was built and its appearance in SEED Destiny is a good one. The only other way I can think of Orb getting DRAGOON technology is if they did something smart and had spies that stole the 'prints for it.

I don't believe, Orb is that kind of a nation to spy on other people's technology, especially in military.  

[Xeon Sempai]

You mean the same Orb that developed MS tech for the EA? sweatdrop

If Orb doesn't have an intelligence/counterintelligence network, they are a nation of fools.  

[Vivio1412]

Xeon Sempai

You mean the same Orb that developed MS tech for the EA? sweatdrop

If Orb doesn't have an intelligence/counterintelligence network, they are a nation of fools.

they DID for a long long time, became uninvolved with the first EA vs ZAFT conflict  

[Xeon Sempai]

Uninvolved is not the same thing as uninformed. Though of course, in SEED(and destiny), people never seem to see anything coming(OMG, there's a superweapon hidden in this base we're attacking! Repeat ad nausium), so I suppose that indicates a lack of intelligence, in that respect.

Starcloud

EA violated the treaty with their Mirage Colloid-equipped battleship. They didn't need Nuclear MS to violate it.

How true. Also, use of nuclear weapons(specifically near the beginning of destiny), ect. I do wish we had seen more of the neutron stampeder ships about near the end, I think they would have been more useful in fleet combat than static fortresses with their own superweapons.

Quote:

As for Akatsuki outperforming M-1 Shrikes, they're just M-1s with big fans of their backs! I can't explain why it outperformed the newer Murasame, so I'll chalk it up to character shields.

Indeed, however, I was actually comparing how it preformed against newer ZAFT MP units, to which none of the Orb MP designs seem to be a significant threat (though murasames seem to do fairly when Cagalli or someone competent is leading them, power of inspiration or whatever)...anyways...  

[Allen Louisser]

it reminds me of the Hyaku Shiki from Z gundam  

[NewtypeS3]

You know, two things always bugged be about the 'Suki...

First off, why'd Cagali hoist off her father's last gift, and symbol of ORB, to Neo - aside from the fact that Morosawa just plain didn't like Cagali? We're given very little explanation as to why she stayed behind - and nothing for why Cagali just passed off her final gift to Neo as if it was a hand-me-down Strike.

And second, since when did reflection armour mean 'absorb the blasts and then direct them right back in the original direction minutes later?'
Reflection means that it bounces away - like light onto a mirror. The only way a reflected blast would bounce back is if someone hit dead-on - but the only shots I've seen are from impossible angles.

Just two things I found odd...  

[NowhereManXP]

The ORB-01 Akatsuki is an enigma to say the least. I imagine that we'll learn more about it when Gundam SEED Destiny is released in the United States, at which time Gundam Official will begin putting up information on the series and its technology.  

[NowhereManXP]

The following was posted by Mark Simmons:

Mark Simmons

Following up on the Akatsuki and its Yata-no-Kagami reflective coating...

... We'd wondered whether this reflective coating might involve some kind of magnetic field component. This, we thought, might explain how it can deflect plasma beam weapons as well as standard beam weapons (which, whether or not they're actually lasers, can apparently be deflected with what amounts to tiny mirrors).

Well, check out this comment in the HG Akatsuki kit manual regarding the Yata-no-Kagami armor...

Quote:

...Made up of a nanoscale beam-diffracting lattice layer and an ultrafine critical plasma suppression layer, this combination offensive and defensive system not only protects the machine from incoming beams, but uses its own sensors to automatically send them back at pursuing enemies.

The exact mechanism of this "critical plasma suppression layer" ("regulation layer" would be another way of translating it) is mysterious, and it doesn't sound like it involves magnetic fields, but it's still interesting to know that the armor has a dedicated mechanism for dealing with plasma beam weapons, in addition to its "beam-diffracting lattice layer." That latter term sounds a lot like some kind of optical gadgetry, thus supporting the theory that regular green beams are actually laser weapons, but that's still in the realm of speculation.

-- Mark