Mobile Suit Gundam

[airichan623]

So i started watching Gundam 00... not too bad! Good character cast, and i LOVE the political stuff. And I like the change of pace from the usual Japanese hero and American villain that happens alot in Gundam. Middle Eastern hero, and I, at least of now, actually agree with Neo-America/Union! (Im at episode 9)

However, I do hope they get into some more character development soon. I wanna find out why Saji is even in the series, more of why Setsuna is even in Celestial Being after being a child soldier, and why Tieria is such a jerk.

[ShiroiHikari]

Pretty sure it's safe to assume most anime characters are "godless", seein' as how Japan ain't a Christian nation (nor a particularly religious one at all, for that matter).

Try harder next time.

[Fish and Chips]

You watch Gundam 00? You do know the main protagonist in an Atheist right?? Yeah, have fun for rooting for your Godless hero...especially when he ends up six feet under even after saving his Satanic Alliance from destruction.

[ShiroiHikari]

But he PROCLAIMS that he's an Atheist, saying blasphemous things such as "WHERE'S YOUR GOD NOW??!!". To me, Setsuna represents an evil spirit. He possesses a giant powerful body in order to inflict pain on people who don't agree with his wicked ways of terrorism and defiance. I thought at least on this forum, people would see my point. This is ridiculous.

[TGJesusfreak]

disregard this post haha

[firestorm]

I did post but nvm XD

[Radical Dreamer]

Trolls banned/related posts deleted, carry on! XD

[rocklobster]

airichan trust me, Setsuna=made of awesome.

[airichan623]

airichan trust me, Setsuna=made of awesome.

Oh i know: he just has to show it sometime soon. And get some character development.

[ShiroiHikari]

Ummmm...I can't really say anything about the Gundam 00 characters without spoiling it. Tieria does get a little better, and Saji...well...

[blkmage]

Setsuna and Tieria grew on me, most of the others did not.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Watched the first Gundam movie today. As the kids might say, "Oh em gee."

It was like I was watching a completely different thing from the TV series.

The story is magnificent and told at a really great pace. I actually feel like I have a better grasp on things, both big-picture and personal motivations.

The Japanese voice acting is absolutely fantastic. The actors really pulled me into the film. There's a layer of added gravity and seriousness to the original audio track that gets stripped away when substituting the dub, in which much of the dialog sounds forced. I mean, I had chills during the rally at the end this time. Dolby Digital 5.1 also helps in the aural department.

In addition to "Seig Zeon," another seminal moment is Amuro's first kill. Unbelievable directing. That shot in which the Gundam is in a samurai pose (only way I can think of to describe it) and the Zaku explodes behind him with the music and the tension...brilliant. That shot will stick with me. Great moment in anime history.

Gundam, I am officially all in.

[ShiroiHikari]

Yay! I'm so glad you liked it.

[blkmage]

Okay, I guess I don't need to watch the TV series even more then.

Anyhow, I hope you will be up to speed on the glory of the Universal Century timeline soon so you can be disappointed and curmudgeonly when you watch your first AU Gundam.

[Rocketshipper]

I finally saw Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory. I must say I enjoyed it quite a bit, it is now probably my second favorite UC story, next to the original Gundam movie trilogy. Next for me will be Unicorn.

I fell like Stardust Memory gave a better introduction to Zeta than Zeta itself did, at least the movie version.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

I watched Soldiers of Sorrow a couple of days ago, and I just finished Encounters in Space.

I liked these films an awful lot. You can't really argue with the action scenes. They were pretty much all superbly choreographed. Great animation and lighting effects too...these movies contain probably my all time favorite animated explosions, or at least ones that are in the top three.

Maybe it's because I haven't seen the TV series that corresponds to a lot of what is covered in these films, but I couldn't help but feel like things were a bit rushed. [spoiler]Mirai and Slegger? Really? Where did that come from? Oh well, it's not as crazy as Rei and Mamia from Hokuto no Ken.[/spoiler]There were also a lot of motivations to juggle,[spoiler](Did Char change his mind about revenge and then change it again at the end or was he just playing the Zabis all along? Does Char fight for "the Newtypes to live as Newtypes" or to get rid of them since he feels Amuro is "too dangerous for his own good?")[/spoiler]so a re-watch will probably prove fruitful.

Char's mobile suit at the end kind of sucked.

I really loved where Tomino took the Newtype concept. It was so much more than "Newtypes=uber pilots," which is the watered down meaning I have heard the term eventually acquires.

If you had to pick a favorite film of the three, which one would you choose?

[Nate]

I'm a guy who watched the TV series but didn't watch the movies! So I can answer at least ONE question.

[spoiler]Mirai and Slegger? Really? Where did that come from?[/spoiler]

Beats me, man. It literally comes out of nowhere in the TV series too. Though in the TV series there was one scene where her boyfriend (fiance? can't remember) was acting like a jerk and he punched the guy and stood up for her. So that might have contributed to it a bit.

Char's mobile suit at the end kind of sucked.

Except for the fact where it was better than all the previous suits in every conceivable way.

I'll try to answer these but Nette knows more about it than I do so I could be wrong about this and hopefully she'll come and correct me if I'm wrong.

[spoiler]Did Char change his mind about revenge and then change it again at the end or was he just playing the Zabis all along?[/spoiler]

Pretty much the latter. He was using them to help achieve his goals (forcing all humanity to evolve into Newtypes) but was going to take his revenge once that was achieved.

[spoiler]Does Char fight for "the Newtypes to live as Newtypes" or to get rid of them since he feels Amuro is "too dangerous for his own good?"[/spoiler]

He wants all humanity to become Newtypes. I think his distaste for that character comes from the fact that that character was young and naive and was on "the wrong side" of the conflict. It's one of those things where it's like he would be a huge asset to our military if he joined us, but if he won't we need to get rid of him.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Thanks a lot, Nate. That definitely cleared a few things up. I'm not sure if Char's intentions for humanity as a species were made crystal clear by the films.

Beats me, man. It literally comes out of nowhere in the TV series too. Though in the TV series there was one scene where her boyfriend (fiance? can't remember) was acting like a jerk and he punched the guy and stood up for her. So that might have contributed to it a bit.

Yeah, we see that in the movies too. Then, he slaps her in the face, and, speaking about her fiance, is all, "This man is on the level." The reason I compared it to Hokuto no Ken is because in MSG we have a guy slapping a girl who falls for him, but in HnK, we level up to a guy trying to rape a girl who then falls for him. 0_0

[blkmage]

Just in case you thought episode 3 would be indicative of release times, here is a picture of Sunrise slapping you down.

[Agloval]

Ohboyohboyohboy. Unicorn 3.

Oh boy.

I liked it, though I had a couple of rather curmudgeonly objections to specific bits.

I already knew about what was possibly this installment's biggest reveal, but it still engaged me, so that was good. Though,
[spoiler]in retrospect the use of elements from ZZ -- ZZ! of all things! -- in a very serious flashback is half-hilarious. At the same time it could be Unicorn taking a couple of the things ZZ treated with a bit more levity and saying 'No, hang on guys, this has implications.'[/spoiler]

[ShiroiHikari]

Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh

I need to see Unicorn 3 D: Is it only the dubbed version that's out or is the sub out now, too?

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Just finished Zeta Gundam about five minutes ago. I...need time to process this. Feels like I've been hit by a train. My head is spinning. Gonna go watch Sportscenter and turn off my brain for a while before going to sleep. Will give my thoughts later on.

[ShiroiHikari]

Looking forward to hearing it, man.

[blkmage]

That guy in your avatar? That's Quattro Bajeena, humble pilot of the AEUG and totally not the Red Comet.

Gundam UC 03 continues to be excellent to us.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

That guy in your avatar? That's Quattro Bajeena, humble pilot of the AEUG and totally not the Red Comet.

I am not being facetious at all: could you elaborate?

EDIT: Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. Will try to make it spoiler free. EDIT 2: I tried, ain't happenin'. Read at own risk.

I really, really liked Zeta. A lot. It had a very grandiose feel, especially the later episodes, and mostly used its huge cast pretty well (heck, I was excited even for the bit part cameos of the One Year War heroes). There are a couple of exceptions to this (Amuro), but I am assuming this could be rectified in Char's Counterattack. I grew attached to the new characters fairly quickly (Jerid!), and I thought there were some fascinating developments for the old favorites, especially Char (You: "Biased."). It's kind of nice to know that the events of the original actually affected him, and he wasn't all I AM STILL SUPER BAD SUCKAS! Of course he would need time to figure things out and also experience some hesitation at times. Also, since he was never an evil villain, seeing him grow into his new pseudo-fatherly role felt natural enough. The ending set up some intriguing prospects for Char in the next movie. What will he feel he needs to become in order to fulfill his goals?

Oh yeah, Kamille. Apparently he is a complete mac. How?

I read some reviews that complain about his whining, and I totally disagree. If the character grows/matures and doesn't remain a static whiner, then I don't really see a problem with a little whining at the beginning of the series, especially when you're a 17 year old kid thrust into Kamille's situation. Ease up, bloggers.

The robot design was hella sweet, as was their frequent combat. I was kind of surprised to see the "only one Gundam" concept abandoned so early in the franchise, but I didn't mind it.

The story felt like it had more variety than MSG, though it still sticks fairly close to the formula. There's more political intrigue/machinations but structurally the two seem fairly similar. It was, however, freaking grim. Heartbreaking at times. If the main idea of Gundam is "war is hell," then we have experienced a successful communication. Some of the best moment of the show are also the most gut-wrenching. Pretty much every plot line involving Cyber Newtypes hit me pretty hard. And that ending...sadface.jpg.

Is Zeta perfect? No. While the pace of the action is fine, at times I felt pretty stranded when it came to knowing why people were doing certain things or certain events were taking place. The overall narrative could've been a bit tighter, but I disagree w/, say Justin Sevakis, who feels the series carries a lot of dead weight.

A bit more clarity about motivations would have been nice; however, if one thinks about things for a minute, the whys and wherefores usually become clear. I can just see the writers going, "Come on, guys. Try to keep up."

Overall, I think the show was superb. There were parts I enjoyed more than the original movie trilogy. Sure, it has flaws, but what show doesn't? IMO, this is both a mecha and an 80s anime essential.

[Agloval]

Is it only the dubbed version that's out or is the sub out now, too?

The copy I -- h'hm -- acquired had English and Japanese audio tracks and official subtitles in various languages. But I'm unsure just how officially, and just where, that copy is out. Sorry I can't be more definite!

In non-Unicorn-related news, I finished watching X for a second time the other day. It was a lot of fun, though I can't really say it's a must-see. My abiding memories are (1) that one episode where the title Gundam doesn't appear at all, (2) people having functional relationships in a Gundam series what is this heresy and (3) for a few episodes, at least, X managed to make the Gundam X seem genuinely scarily powerful, enough that the characters try not to use it.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Katz x Quess

[blkmage]

I am not being facetious at all

[SPOILER]I was. :3c に]

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Char's Counterattack

The Good
+ very exciting, that last fight might be the greatest mobile suit battle ever
+ good, consistant characterization/character evolution
+ finally some meat on the bones of Char's ideals
+ [spoiler]a truly fitting end to a character that is one of the biggest anime prescences to grace a screen (stole this line from THEManime.org[/spoiler]

The Bad
- felt a bit rushed at times
- plot issue[spoiler]Memo to Captain Bright Noa: since the Earth is about to be plunged into a nuclear winter via asteroids being dropped onto it, it might be a good idea to use your military influence/status as a war hero to GET YOUR EFFING WIFE AND KIDS OFF OF THE PLANET AND NOT LEAVE THEM TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES! Even after Hathaway shows up, Bright doesn't make a move to get Mirai or his other child. Meeting his wife's FORMER FIANCE' all he can say is "I haven't seen her in six months." WHAT?!?[/spoiler]

[ShiroiHikari]

I'm one of those weirdos that has a love/hate relationship with Zeta. Parts of it are pretty excellent, and parts of it just make me go "lolwut". The first time I watched it, the "lolwut" kind of overwhelmed me, especially in the later parts of the series. So I'm rewatching it (slowly) with a friend who has never seen it.

My biggest problem with that show was the characters, actually. I don't necessarily hate Kamille, but boy, do I ever enjoy making fun of him! He has provided many great reactionfaces. XD In the beginning of the show, he was...pretty much totally insufferable. Sometimes I sympathized with him and agreed with his complaints, but other times I was just sitting there thinking "Ugh, seriously?". Like that scene early on where he's crying in his room, I actually ended up laughing when I saw that. He did get much better, though, and [spoiler]by the time Wong Lee showed up and beat the everloving crap out of him, I actually felt sorry for the poor little so-and-so.[/spoiler]

An interesting tidbit about Kamille is that while he is kind of a mouthy smart aleck, when he's talking to his superiors, he always speaks "polite" Japanese.

Being a huge Amuro fan, I really wanted to see him do more in Zeta, but you can't win them all, I guess, and that's really just a minor gripe. Kai was awesome (that letter he wrote to Hayato, so classic). Quattro was probably my favorite; I felt this was an interesting direction for the character to take. (And then CCA happened, but I'll get to that in a minute.)

I also really liked Emma a whole lot, and Henken. [spoiler]WHY TOMINO WHYYYY[/spoiler]

I disliked Fa, she just grated on all my nerves for some reason. Also RECCOA UGH >:[ And I felt that Scirocco kinda didn't get enough screen time, but that's just me.

Regarding Jerid vs. Kamille:

Jerid: When I heard the name "Kamille" I thought you'd be a cute girl but you're a guy, hurrrrrr
Kamille: I KEEL YOUUUUU

And thus, a bitter rivalry was born.

Jokes aside, I know Jerid is universally reviled by the fans, but I actually kind of like the guy and think he's an interesting character. Sure, he's not perfect. He's pretty dumb in the beginning, rather inept both socially and in the cockpit, and a little bit of a jerk, but he is determined to be the best he can be and he tries really hard. He knows what he wants and he does what he can to get it, and that's something. There were times when I didn't know if I should root for him, or for Kamille. [spoiler]When Kamille's mom died, I felt just as sorry for Jerid as I did for Kamille. I mean, he didn't know there was a person in that capsule-- he thought it was a bomb or something, and was told not to read his orders until practically the last minute. He didn't say to himself, "BWAHAHA I'M GONNA KILL KAMILLE'S MOM BECAUSE I AM EVILLLL". It wasn't like that at all. Jerid was used as a pawn by Bask Om, and he felt bad about it. Although, his apology to Kamille was pretty weak, I thought.[/spoiler]

Anyways, yeah. About CCA. I-- I didn't like it. At all. Have I talked about that in this thread already...?