Murder Mom Has Got It Going On: Why Shiiko Sugai Is Hot

7/2/2025

In Episode 4 of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, titled “The Witch's War”, at around 07:32, we are introduced to a new character. Dark blue hair in a bob cut, simplistic blue eyes with red irises, and wearing a simple casual outfit. With a friendly demeanor, she asks for some assistance in finding the office of some junk traders.

Nearly one minute later, we learn her name - Shiiko Sugai. A former Earth Federation Force pilot - an ace, no less - from the One Year War, earning her the nickname “The Witch”. She has since settled down and became a mother.

She also has over a hundred confirmed kills.

Shiiko, though she would only show up for a single episode, would soon capture the hearts of Gundam fans across the world. Waves of fanart, non-stop posts of people talking about her, everything. Shiiko had garnered a massive fan base almost instantly upon her debut. Famously, a user on Twitter was sucked into the entire Gundam franchise via Shiiko's appearance - despite never having seen Gundam before, he watched basically every single Gundam series, including GQuuuuuuX, solely from learning of her presence.

I, myself, am one of these maniacs for her. She quickly shot up to being one of my favorite Gundam characters - one of my favorite characters - in record time. Many of my friends point out my obsession as they send me Shiiko art. My girlfriend actively teases me for it (lovingly, of course). I've commissioned some Shiiko art already, with more planned. Semi-unofficially, people on Bluesky seem to know me as that one woman who's insane for the Gundam MILF. And, of course, I have a folder of Shiiko Sugai fanart and official screencaps, with over 200 images of nothing but Shiiko. As a friend has put it, I have it bad for her.

But why her? What made this witch, with a single episode of screentime catch the attention of so many people, arguably becoming much more popular than lots of other characters in the same show? Some may point to the obvious; the internet loves hot moms, after all. And while for many, this is where it starts and ends, I think there's a lot more to it than just her status as a mother.

To put it bluntly, Shiiko is completely motivated by revenge. And that's hot.

But to be more specific, her entire character arc - contained within the singular episode she's in, is centered solely on her desire for revenge. The reason she was looking for the junk traders is related to her experience with the Red Gundam years prior during the war (she believed they would have a better idea of where it would be located), and its recent re-appearance in Clan Battles.

Shiiko, during the One Year War, lost her MAV to the Red Gundam. In-universe, a MAV is basically one's closest companion in battle; you essentially fight as one, linked in perfect coordination, fixing any issues that would come from fighting alone (such as revealing your position with a shot). Even after the war, the term persists to refer to any two people who are exceptionally close.

Shiiko's MAV was lost at the tail end of the war, to the Zeknova phenomenon, a massive explosion that took out huge chunks of the Solomon base caused by the Red Gundam. Her MAV was said to be a Newtype, people who were claimed to be able to do anything. Despite this, they died. And it left her with a war of her own to fight.

Left without a MAV, with her closest companion in battle being defeated, Shiiko, in her own words, had to settle for reality, for the fact that Newtypes - these people who could do anything - didn't exist. (Later in episode 4, she flat out states that she believes they're only Zeon propaganda.) She mourned the death of her MAV, and she eventually married, having a single child, her boy, still a very young age. The trauma of this event loomed over Shiiko for years and years, up until the Red Gundam's re-appearance. To quote her again, “the war may be over, but I haven't lost.”

Shiiko fought this mental battle, of losing her MAV, of wanting revenge, for years, and despite saying she had settled, she was constantly thinking about it. After all, she hadn't admitted defeat. So much so that when this opportunity showed itself again, she jumped at it. To right the wrong, defeat the Newtype in the Red Gundam, and to prove to everybody - to herself - that what happened was just how things are. That she made the right decision in forcing herself to settle down, and that she could avenge her MAV. She managed to reach out to a Clan Battle team that was a poorly hidden front for the Earth Federation Force, and they even gave her a higher class Mobile Suit, the Gelgoog, to do so.

What does all this mean, however? How does this play into Shiiko's attractiveness? That's the beauty of it. It absolutely does. Because on the battlefield, she is bloodthirsty.

During the Clan Battle, an event that is treated like an underground sport (say, street racing) and is often a very low-stakes event in terms of actual physical harm, Shiiko goes all out. She immediately states her intent on not defeating, but killing the Red Gundam and its pilot, Shuji Ito. She flat out ignores the GQuuuuuX, only going for the Red Gundam. Even her teammate, Bocata, tries to hold her back, telling her that the Red Gundam isn't her enemy, but Bocata is shoved off. Her mind is set on one goal.

Before this, Clan Battle was just seen as a sporting event of sorts, where the stakes were there, but they wouldn't cause actual physical death. But here's Shiiko, starkly contrasting the calm, cutesy mother type we saw minutes prior, screaming out loud that she wants to kill the pilot of the Red Gundam as she charges onto the battlefield at lightning fast speeds.

She had to get those 100+ kills somehow, after all!

The prize for Clan Battle victories before was cash prizes. But to Shiiko? The prize for winning is the Red Gundam's head. She wants it, and its pilot, gone. To never haunt her again. Shiiko isn't fighting to win a mere clan battle, she's fighting for the choices she made years ago to be proven as the right ones. She screams out with fury that the Red Gundam's pilot isn't the “chosen one”, and that she'll prove that. Right after she does, we get a blurry shot of her with her family.

The choice she made was to abandon her hopes and settle for “reality.” To simply settle down and start a family, and accept that nobody can have everything they want - her MAV was a Newtype, said to be capable of such things, after all. She even mourns this to Machu earlier, stating that it'd be wonderful if you could chase your dreams while following your “adult” life. In fighting Machu and the Red Gundam with such bloodthirsty intent, she's proving to herself and to the world that she ultimately made the right choice.

This isn't just a physical battle against the Red Gundam, it's also a battle against her demons.

Ultimately, not only does Shiiko ironically awaken to becoming a Newtype herself - so caught up in dismissing them as fake that she refuses her own awakening as one - but she ultimately perishes at the hand of the Red Gundam in battle.

She's not defeated, by the way. Dies. Shiiko is killed by Shuji as he avoids Shiiko's final attack, leaving her Gelgoog damaged, and he comes in and closes out the kill, stabbing the cockpit of her Gelgoog directly.

Shiiko accepts her death with a smile on her face, however. She recognizes what Shuji is fighting for, and with her last memory in the Newtype connection occurring, the kira-kira, she thinks about her beloved son, and then perishes. (Now, this is unrelated, but knowing what we know now, this is effectively a heavy-handed way of Shuji helping Shiiko be “removed” from her trauma. Not the best way, no, but given what he tries later, it's clear he's not fully up to speed on what the best course of action is. It happens.)

Shiiko Sugai, despite her single appearance, not only creates an enticing and exciting story to follow and unpack, especially with how Newtypes are seen and treated across various Gundam works, but shows up with a high-speed, intense fighting style as she announces her intent to kill the Newtype inside the Red Gundam. While initially being kind and acting mature around Machu, she drops the act entirely on the battlefield. Hell, the fact that she returned to the battlefield just to get revenge speaks volumes to the weight of her trauma.

It is all of this that captured the hearts of Gundam fans so quickly - especially myself. The Universal Century, hell, Gundam in general doesn't have many women quite like Shiiko. We have some female pilots, and we have many who are driven by various desires in ways that are quite obtuse (these also end up being fan favorites - Haman Karn, Cima Garahau, for instance), but the latter always end up being villains in some capacity. Shiiko is also the antagonist of episode 4, but the way she's framed isn't fully as a villain. She's only the villain in the sense that she wants to defeat the Red Gundam. Moreover, we get to see a lot of her compassion, of her emotions, of her grieving. All while she holds this professional, mature air to her. It adds to her tragedy very well.

Her story being so limited also allows for a lot of what-ifs about her. What was her MAV like? Could her MAV be a woman, arguing for some kind of comphet critique if she had to “settle” into a family? What would she be like in the “main” UC timeline, where the EFF wins? There's a lot to consider, and it makes her so, so interesting, especially with what we already have with her character and her actions.

Shiiko's revenge defines her entire character, top to bottom. The episode's title - “The Witch's War” - even emphasizes this. It creates an interesting and compelling character, one who's dropping everything and abandoning the family she loves simply to chase her bloodthirsty desires for revenge, to overcome her trauma that she was never able to truly let go of. She's an impactful character, from the second we're introduced to her and we learn her kill count, to her death where we see her letting go of her trauma moments before she perishes. It's interesting, it gives her depth, and it makes her act in ways that really do stick with you, be it attraction or just awe.

Plus, she's just really, really pretty. The simplicity of her design, with obvious “cutesy” features like her eyes and rosy cheeks really do help. Character designer take (also known for her work on the Pokemon series) did a very good job at creating a character that looks cutesy and motherly, which works great with Shiiko's character. It's unsurprising to learn that she also designed Lusamine from Pokemon Sun and Moon, who, somewhat ironically, is quite similar to Lusamine herself in terms of trauma and obsessions informing actions… though, obviously, not to the same extent.

So, sure. While the internet might just like hot moms, if there's another thing people like, it's women consumed by their tragedies. Women who will kill for their dreams, who won't be passive about it, and who will do so with a wicked smile on their face. Who have deep, dark stories to tell. That's what Shiiko Sugai is. Add being a hot mom to that? You've got a recipe for an unforgettable character, in a franchise where women are frequently sidelined.

That is why Shiiko had the impact she did - that's why she's so hot.

- Lillie