Gundam (In All Its Incarnations) Mk. II

[Fireball]

She was somehow smuggled to earth after the gryps conflict. In the PS2 game she is seen with Char http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQMz7YHPIiI

She was still a little kid around that time and is a Zabi. As long as Char was alive who is the rightful heir to Zeon I don't think she would have played a big role.

[Tankred]

http://gundamguy.blogspot.de/2014/01/mg ... build.html

Now that's a baller custom.

[MisatoCrush]

I've only seen Mobile Suit Gundam (with Heero Yuy, Trowa, Treize Khushrenada, etc.) and the films that came after it.

Can you recommend a view order for other quality Gundam videos?

Honestly I don't think I'll be into the very first incarnations because the quality of the animation seemed pretty bad. (I've seen snippets of the really old school stuff).

Any help is appreciated.

[caragnafog dog]

I'm no mobile chute expert™ but there's some really important stuff in the early incarnations. You should at least watch the 3 0079 films.

[Fireball]

I've only seen Mobile Suit Gundam (with Heero Yuy, Trowa, Treize Khushrenada, etc.) and the films that came after it.

Can you recommend a view order for other quality Gundam videos?

Honestly I don't think I'll be into the very first incarnations because the quality of the animation seemed pretty bad. (I've seen snippets of the really old school stuff).

Any help is appreciated.

Read the first post of the thread.

Watch the 0079 Movie Trilogy. The animation isn't bad at all and if you still don't like it may god have mercy on your weighted down soul.

[Gus Hanson]

I finally did it, I finally watched all the Unicorn episodes up to number six and I will be looking forward to seeing the final episode when it comes out. The story overall I felt was moving too slowly for my tastes until it got down to episode five. A lot of political and earth vs. space existential bantering back and forth was too preachy for my taste. Banagher is not my most favorite Gundam protagonist since he's as whiny as Shinji Ikari but he makes up for it with his idealism and believing in doing the right thing despite not wanting to fight at times. Seeing Bright again after all this time was one of the most refreshing returnees with an important role in mentoring young pilots which seems to be his hobby. As for what I am about to say for which I am most certainly going to Hell for, I think the hottest female there is Martha despite her age and evil intentions, she's well built particularly around the chest area if you know what I mean and has good fashion sense with red in particular most sought after.

[Final Messenger]

SPOILER: Show

I am so glad my guess of him being a gunpla assassin was wrong because this is way more awesome

[caragnafog dog]

I finally did it, I finally watched all the Unicorn episodes up to number six and I will be looking forward to seeing the final episode when it comes out. The story overall I felt was moving too slowly for my tastes until it got down to episode five. A lot of political and earth vs. space existential bantering back and forth was too preachy for my taste. Banagher is not my most favorite Gundam protagonist since he's as whiny as Shinji Ikari but he makes up for it with his idealism and believing in doing the right thing despite not wanting to fight at times. Seeing Bright again after all this time was one of the most refreshing returnees with an important role in mentoring young pilots which seems to be his hobby. As for what I am about to say for which I am most certainly going to Hell for, I think the hottest female there is Martha despite her age and evil intentions, she's well built particularly around the chest area if you know what I mean and has good fashion sense with red in particular most sought after.

I've always had a soft spot for Banana, but that might just be by extension because I like Marida so much.

[KnightmareX13]

Survey ranks top gundam series
wished they would show how all the Gundam series ranked

[pwhodges]

It may only be little, but where's 0080, War in the pocket?

[Fireball]

That's a weird ass list. Original and Zeta still stronk. SEED to be expected, it can't be helped. ZZ surprisingly high. AGE being last haha...Turn A second last. Fuck you.

It may only be little, but where's 0080, War in the pocket?

not a tv series

[caragnafog dog]

SEED to be expected, it can't be helped.

WHY CAN'T IT BE HELPED????

[cyharding]

WHY CAN'T IT BE HELPED????

1. The fact that this survey only covers the various TV series. If they included OVAs and feature films, it might have been lower on the list.

2. It is mainly female fans that have been supporters of the SEED universe, so they are for the most part, the ones that have been propping it up.

On a related note, I'm curious on what the opinion is on Gundam Build Fighters in Japan. Is it doing all right as far as ratings and internet comments are concerned?

[Fireball]

Disc sales are okay for being literally nothing but a free to watch toy commercial - the show itself is not the main product they are selling. What's important is that the gunpla sales are doing well. I still remember the news that the Gyan sold out hours after the first episode aired.



Qubeley Stop Motion Action

OH MY GAWD

I JUST CAME BUCKETS

[Gus Hanson]

I've always had a soft spot for Banana, but that might just be by extension because I like Marida so much.

I like Marida too, I keep thinking she should've been the one to hook up with Banagher despite their age differences considering how much time they spent bonding and him saving her from her cyber Newtype personality.

[Ceimoa Nan]

Half a year ago I started Gundam 0079. My intention was to watch 0079 so I'd understand the "archetype," then move on to Gundam 00, because that was my main interest. But instead I decided to watch Zeta, then ZZ, then every Universal Century series, film, OVA, and feature with the exception of Neo Experience 0087: Green Divers in order of release. I finished Episode 6 of Unicorn about a week or two ago. I've watched seven or so episodes of 00, and to my surprise I'm not really compelled to watch it like I was with all the UC stuff, even though I think the premise is pretty cool. Maybe I've just got mecha exhaustion.

By the way, is it at all common for fans to compare Unicorn to that sort of The Da Vinci Code/National Treasure kind of stuff? It was really bothering me. Mysterious artifact kept secret by a rich family that secures famous works of art; the heroes and villains follow hints that lead them from one location to another, each location with apparent historical significance; different parties conspire to either keep the artifact concealed or use it for their own purposes. Eh, I might need to think of more specific parallels for it to be more than a reach. But I'm guessing that Da Vinci Code conspiracy fad had to have made an impression in Japan somewhat.

More reflections on Unicorn  SPOILER: Show

Wouldn't be the first time a UC OVA has been "The Gundam version of XXX." 0083 was Top Gun. 0080 was, hmm, one of those WWII historical dramas about children losing their innocence in war, like Anne Frank or that Italian movie with the kid whose father pretended... well I can't think of anything specific, but I think I'm onto something. And I don't want to talk about what 08th MS Team was emulating.

And once I thought of Unicorn like a Dan Brown thriller, I get this unavoidable hunch that Unicorn will just wind up a shaggy dog story. Laplace's Box won't actually be a big deal. Grandpa Vist is just delusional and the Earth Federation got trolled. Full Frontal will open it up and discover the ten commandments have turned to dust, or it's just a crayon-written letter from Ricardo Marcenas's daughter about the Power of Friendship. (That's how The Lost Symbol ended.) Full Frontal can't make a difference in history, considering F91 and Victory make pretty much no reference to any Zeon remnants. And F91 and Victory make little reference to the sort of NT-D technology Unicorn has. And yet you couple that shaggy dog feeling with epic battles and a crazy powerful anti-Newtype Gundam.

Usually in Gundam it's the individual character motivations I can't keep track of, while the overall struggle is clear. In Unicorn, the characters spell out their motivations almost to a fault, but I don't see the "point" of the story as a whole.

I guess that's what endings are for. Looking forward to May.

[Fireball]

Pretty much no OVA has had any real relevance to the main story of the U.C. when you think about it. They are side material to enlarge the scope of the universe and elaborate on things like the rise of the Titan faction. Unicorn is just there showing the last chapter of the struggle of Zeon and bridge the gap to late U.C.

Your worries about Laplace are unfounded but I don't want to spoil you.

[Final Messenger]

It was only a matter or time.

[Fireball]

It was only a matter or time.

I wonder what happens when you put them on the plavsky table.

[Xard]

Gundam SEED as of ep 10


JESUS CHRIST HOW HORRIFYING


To be blunt: SEED is not bad by any stretch of imagination so far. In fact, it is really rather decent series and I can understand why it was such a huge hit in early 00s. It really mines 0079 hard for the basic story concepts (and even progression up to this point) that played big part in its popularity back in the day and "updates" the aesthetic and execution for contemporary early 00s teenage audience. Not only that there had been long dry spell in terms of Gundam series that resembled classic UC and here is this new series liberally lifting from classics with fancy new animation and art. No wonder it was gateway Gundam for generation of newb teenagers and why so many old school fans jumped onto it approvingly. I fairly recently watched (first of many) Gundam episode of Ametalk, popular Japanese variety show with bunch of comedians talking about this and that, made in mid00s or so. The middleaged guys were all hardcore old school Gundam otaku and they all also seemed to love SEED, citing how it was how "Gundam was supposed to be" after all the unfortunate AU misadventures like G Gundam.

But first, let me go over what I don't like so far at all.

1. The general aesthetic



This is very well illustrated by the horrendous, gaudy "JESUS CHRIST HOW HORRIFYING" header picture too but anyway... SEED suffers from extremely bad case of that early 00s early digital production syndrome. The colours are overtly light, "thin" and lack vibrance and the end result just looks cheap. Combine this colouring with generally dull background art and prop design and you get really lifeless looking series. Also notice the lack of detail. Linework is really simple, there's very little shading etc. The early 00s CG has also dated pretty badly and I'd say looks worse than in contemporary series like Arjuna and Stand Alone Complex. Also too many pink explosions.

Fukuda also isn't making up for this general dullness with directing chops and creativity in that end. It's well realized series so far but there's hardly anything particularly exciting or novel in execution. I'm not asking for Shafting or anything but when the general art direction etc. are so lifeless I'd wish the series was aesthetically pleasant experience through other means.

In fact this general commentary on aesthetic leaves aside the greatest disgrace which deserves own entry.

2. Hirai's horrendous sameface



It's clearly divine intervention in hands of animators that sometimes the girls actually manage to look attractive and more importantly there are times when characters in general DON'T LOOK LIKE FREAKING SPACE MONSTERS. Unfortunately majority of time that's how they all look like alien rejects.

Seriously fuck this guy. Worst character designer ever and yes I'm even counting the originak KEY guy here with his miles apart eyes and all.

Given how SEED's visuals largerly come down to:

- sorta recycled mecha designs
- stale background art
- Hirai sameface Hirai sameface Hirai sameface

Character designs play big part in making SEED visually unappealing to me.


Beyond that though things mostly vacillate between average and fine with occasional good moment or element popping out here and there. I really liked how the viewer was introduced to Bloody Valentine etc. in ep 7 for example. The series has also has rather strong center for drama due to whole "best friends fighting against each other" setup and rather brisk, more "modern" pacing. SEED feels nowhere near as slow as most Gundam series and I think this is pretty positive thing overall. It feels nowhere near as haphazard and aimless as Victory or Wing for example and it gets going much more smoothly than After War X. There's also very little outright retardation dripping sand into the narrative wheels and setting is much better twist on standard Spacenoid-Earthnoid war than one in Gundam Wing.

As far as characters go I like the archangel regular crew including Captain Bright Katsuragi:


she's cool

Ditto for the other army chick and the pretty swag ace pilot dude. As far as teenagers go they're pretty average Gundam fare. Flaye's only one to receive significant development so far and despite her bitchyness I'd say she's best written character so far. Kira is about as interesting character as dead fish and his whiny voice annoys me somewhat but so far he has been generic protagonist instead of plain badly written one (think Wing main cast, urghh). I have little to say about Lacus at this point, she seems a bit too much Little Miss Perfect-y for my taste but it's too early for me to judge whether she's genuine Mary Sue or not.

If we exclude Turn A Gundam from the equation I'd say this is the best Gundam tv series since G Gundam and certainly most loyal series to classic UC style since Victory if not ZZ. Even if that is result of shameless recycling. It isn't as good as After War X eventually became but that was a lot more aggravating watch this early on. It's nowhere near as shitty as Wing was from the start, a lot more coherent than early Victory and arguably shits over early ZZ nonsense in most departments.

So yeah, it's pretty fine Gundam title so far. I've heard it starts to gain its infame later on. We'll see.

Verdict: Kinda decent early 00s retread of classic UC territory with modern aesthetic - which in this case unfortunately includes Hirai's character designs.