December 16th, 2020 
deackychu An interesting discussion cropped up following the release of Mobile Suit Breakdown: the Gundam Anime Podcast‘s analysis of the disastrous origin of Elpeo Ple’s name. The widely accepted explanation is that the staff named her after a famous lolicon fanzine titled Lemon People, which only served to bastardize the “big brother” theme in the series with pedophilia. When you compare the series to the original plan, there is no mention of either Ple or Judau’s sister Leina. Instead, Judau was doomed to be another one of Tomino’s heroes with a mommy complex and bizarre fascination with older women. But, that’s a discussion and presentation for another day (which I’m currently working on).
Until I receive another magazine with an interview regarding Ple’s character, there are other theories surrounding the naming (LP Button, Elle People, Elf People, Eldorado People, etc). Nonetheless, here’s a little tidbit that was presented in Bandai’s B-CLUB 12.
Adieu, Elpeo Ple… and you, too, Ple Two
“She’s a very pretty girl, a nice girl. It may have been her fate to die, but I still felt bad for her.“
These are the words of Mr. Meigo Endoh (Note: the pen name for Akinori Endo), the main writer of Gundam ZZ. He reminisces about Elpeo Ple, the Newtype warrior who died all too soon with the following comments.
“I originally wanted to create a girl with her personality. When I was meeting with Director Tomino, he told me that there was going to be a girl named Ple, and I was thrilled because she was a character with exactly the type of personality I wanted to have in the series. I was also delighted to see that the childish, energetic personality she showed when she was first introduced remained relatively consistent until the end.“
Ple’s free-spirited personality created some problems for Judau from the beginning. Still, from the time she went down to Earth, she also had her bittersweet moments, like when she began getting physically abusive with Leina out of her brotherly admiration for Judau. She was able to move Judau to say, “that’s my sister,” even though she was a Cyber-Newtype because Judau understood her sadness.
On the other hand, after she landed on Earth, Ple would end up watching too many people die. Even after being physically and emotionally scarred by the colony drop on Dublin, she still takes off to save Judau and the Argama when she senses that they’re under threat. This threat is none other than Ple Two, the girl who has the same face as Ple. Having learned kindness, Ple is inevitably defeated by the overwhelming power of Ple Two.
Then, Judau’s anger explodes when Ple dies!
“Ple died, but it’s also possible to say that ‘Ple died, but she didn’t actually die yet.’ This is because Ple’s character is essential to Judau’s character until close to the very end of the series. Of course, Ple’s character is by no means essential in terms of the Gundam series or the theme of ZZ, but on the other hand, she was critical to the story of ZZ.”
In terms of newly revealed character backstories like the fact that Ple was actually a Cyber-Newtype, Mr. Endo writes that “I wrote extensively about these kinds of character settings that I couldn’t put into the TV series in the “ZZ” novels (2 books). Fans of the series will definitely not want to miss them.
Elpeo Ple brings out the melancholy in the character of Judau, and even though the story in the Earth arc tends to be dark, Elpeo Ple stirred things up with her trademark cheerfulness. She ends her fleeting life as “Ple Two Under Gravity.” And with her rests yet another tragedy…
PUBLICATION INFORMATION
Publisher: Bandai
Released: 1986.10.30
Price: 650
Size: —
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