Gundam (In All Its Incarnations) Mk. II

[Dr. Nick]

Remember when Gundam was good?

And Xard, you still need to watch G-Saviour and Doozy Bots.

[Squigsquasher]

Toys are just toys. Merchandize is secondary to series itself as far as aesthetic considerations go (in business terms these two are of course reversed). Defending Bandai's continuous fistfucking of the franchise since early 90s acquisition of Sunrise with "awesome Gunpla" is like defending some crappy dubious erotica sweatshop churning out shitty ecchi anime because dakimakura and wank figures that follow the series are "awesome". Seriously speaking I don't wish for Bandai's disappearance per se because they're major sponsor on the field of animu I like and all but their control over Gundam franchise has done it zero services. As often as Tomino got screwed over by sponsors since early days there's still notable, great difference between Gundam series produced in independent Sunrise and the one owned by Bandai. No wonder Tomino fucking hates their salaryman guts.

Aye, I was joking about that (although I am a toyfag of despicable proportions; don't judge me). Glorified model commercials are not something that Gundam should be.

That said, certainly from what I've heard (mainly from this thread actually) the most recent entries in the franchise (Unicorn and Gunpla Build Fighters) were actually pretty good. Who knows, maybe Gendum is on the way up.

(Also I really need to get on and watch 08th MS Team and then decide whether to watch Original Series or movie trilogy...)

[Final Messenger]

After all this it's pleasure to say this...


I LOVE THIS SHOW. It's overloading me with MOE EVERYWHAR, best milf since Kanon, likeable leads, amazing mecha fanservice, Ramba Ral having more screentime than in original Gundam and having pretty damn welldone shonen tournament spirit. As far as tournament stuff goes this is better than G Gundam.

There's something deeply ironic about the most crassly commercial and blatantly toyetic BUY MORE GUNPLA Gundam series ever being the first tv series since Turn A Gundam to actually deliver the goods.

I can't think of better fanservice series I've ever seen and it's solid on its own terms too. Amazing.

Glad to hear you like the show as much as you do. Least you can end your Gundam marathon on a positive note.

Also Aila is indeed so moe, she is easily best girl.

[Mr. Tines]

Seems it is true that the new trend in Gundam is saying '' Seed/Destiny sucked''.

New, as in it was current about the time I first became aware of that entry to the franchise, which would probably have been no later early '06 (when I really started being on /a/ in earnest).

[Bagheera]

New, as in it was current about the time I first became aware of that entry to the franchise, which would probably have been no later early '06 (when I really started being on /a/ in earnest).

It was pretty current as Destiny was airing. Gundam fandom in general just plain hated it, and it's no mystery why. It's probably the most reviled entry in the franchise, with Age a close second (and Wing a distant third).

[Squigsquasher]

I wonder what the Japanese fandom thought of AGE? I know they were a lot less critical of SEED (although Destiny was still reviled), and obviously in its native country, it would have been reaching its intended audience (kids), whereas in the West more or less the only people watching it would have been adults.

Still, I know old-blood Japanese Gundamfags can be just as critical as their Western counterparts, so I imagine it had a fair few detractors.

[Final Messenger]

I wonder what the Japanese fandom thought of AGE?

the AGE model kits sold terrible so that says a lot. From what I recall to boost says of AGE kits store owners sold them on discount with Madoka figures and that's why we saw a lot of Madoka and gundam AGE cross over combinations

[CJD]

It was pretty current as Destiny was airing. Gundam fandom in general just plain hated it, and it's no mystery why. It's probably the most reviled entry in the franchise, with Age a close second (and Wing a distant third).

Can't help but wonder how widespread this sentiment is inside Japan considering how much they sold.

[Fireball]

Yeah, AGE did terrible all around. Worst tv ratings of any Gundam series too.

[Bagheera]

Can't help but wonder how widespread this sentiment is inside Japan considering how much they sold.

For Destiny? Very. And Age didn't sell squat. Wing's probably another matter, though it's controversial at best.

[CJD]

For Destiny? Very. And Age didn't sell squat. Wing's probably another matter, though it's controversial at best.

Not Age, Destiny. Destiny's one of the best selling series of all time. If the eleven's didn't like it why'd it sell so much? And don't say "Because it's Gundam" because as you yourself said, Age didn't sell very well at all.

[Xard]

AGE is the most reviled Gundam series, yeah. Elevens hated it. It had the worst ratings in history of the franchise, Gundam fans hated it, kids weren't interested in it, Gunpla sales were horrible and it was critically panned.

Considering in west it's reputation is only beat by Destiny in terms of shittyness it's pretty safe to say AGE is overall the least liked Gundam series.

Ah, you couldn't have found a better moment to pick it up. Makes almost up for all the terrible that came before it.

One of the reasons I started to speed through remaining Gundam series in February-March was that I wanted to get to follow Gundam series "live" for the first time (imagine how I'm trembling in anticipation and slight distress at possibility of following Macross series live next year!).

Since Build Fighters's final episode comes out next tuesday (I think?) I only barely made it. Still, this tastes like victory even if I only get to do it for one episode.

This is not to be taken lightly. To serve and protect your Queen is a lifelong commitment. You have to be ready to kill and be killed for her. Can you pledge LOYALTY enough to live a life full of devotion?

...uhh this sounds like a bother. Can't I become her chamber maiden or something?

In all seriousness Aila made me fall even harder for Quebeley and also reinforced the impression of it being the scariest and most feminine* looking mobile suit. Just look at the silhouette for Aila's unit in the opening!

*Nobel excluded obviously.


Also kinda scary but she does remind me of a girl I know, cartoony gluttony and related antics excluded of course.

That's all you need to know about AGE.

-Usually when enemies show up all of a sudden inside a space colony, people try to explain why; Hino however thinks this is unimportant.
-What he thinks is important is the timing of the enemies showing up: He has a tendency to think of a story as a sequence of in-game events.

I think these pretty much says all that needs to be said.

And where is your new avatar that shows your love? WE'RE WAITING.

But I haven't even had a Ranka avatar in a long while! I don't need to brandish external proofs of my affection!

Seems it is true that the new trend in Gundam is saying '' Seed/Destiny sucked''.

Destiny had very poor reputation from the start. I remember when I was first reading about Gundam years ago (2005-2006 perhaps?) SEED was mentioned as big new thing and huge hit - Destiny continued the commercial success but was largerly reviled as prime example of terrible sequel.

I don't think SEED overall passes for a good show but I can understand why people would like it. Destiny though is so irredeemably terrible after decent start that I can't even begin to imagine the unconscious or conscious mental gymnastics one needs to go through to like that so I'm curious to say the least...

Anyway, Destiny's reputation has gradually got worse over time but it was bad to begin with. SEED is different as it was overall very well received by anime fans in general both in and outside Japan. In fact even today it seems to enjoy reputation of pretty good series in anime fandom overall.

For example one of my good friends who watches shitloads of anime doesn't care much for mecha (he didn't even like. He likes Gunbuster, Gurren Lagann and Code Geass and also ended up finding Macross Frontier awesome after rewatching it following meeting me. There's only one more mecha anime he really liked and that's SEED which was one of the first anime he ever saw apparently. He still liked it after recent remastered rewatch. Even he HATES Destiny though.

SEED's reputation has declined overall too (again in- and outside Japan) but the kind of vocal hate on it is only common among much more hardcore mecha and Gundam fandom like /m/. Still, this development has been going on for years too and I don't see how it could be called "new" in any sense.

So no, hating on Destiny is nothing new and increased antipathy for SEED has been gradually growing over years - latter still enjoys overall good reputation though, I think.

And Xard, you still need to watch G-Saviour and Doozy Bots.

I actually streamed G-Saviour with EGFpals last Christmas. It was pretty weak low budget made for tv scifi flick with Gundam coatings.

I'm not sure why I should see Doozy Bots though. Are infamous american dubs of SD Gundam really that crucial...

(Also I really need to get on and watch 08th MS Team and then decide whether to watch Original Series or movie trilogy...)

If in doubt go with movie trilogy. It's much more newb friendly and if you like it you can get back to seeing the "full story" eventually. Otherwise you're jumping straight into 40+ episode long ancient anime with 70s anime animation quality and rather slow moving story. This can be very demanding and downright culture shock if one has no experience with old school tv anime.

If you were veteran viewer of old school anime I'd have harder time saying what you should go with.

Glad to hear you like the show as much as you do. Least you can end your Gundam marathon on a positive note.

Also Aila is indeed so moe, she is easily best girl.

Yeah. I mean obviously it isn't anything groundbreaking or zomg!masterpiece but it's pretty well done shonen "sports" story with a twist (though GaruPan is still better as far as series in this category go). I'm kinda amazed the writer is same guy as on Gundam 00.

What really makes Build Fighters so enjoyable is the obvious LOVE that comes through the production. Of course the series wants you to buy Gunpla so being gung-ho about it is given but I sense genuine affection for the franchise and its countless mobile suits. It is this festive, Remembering Love spirit that really gets to me. They highlight some obscure and unpopular suits clearly because affection for them (Gorilla using SUMO and Turn X are almost certainly due to Kuroda's fave Gundam being Turn A) and the series is rife with injokes and fun references.

In this regard the series kinda culminated with the heartwarming cameo madness of ep 23.

Another thing is I've really enjoyed the action in this series. The tournament format and Best of Suits sort of lineup in general mean action scenes are generally distinguished, interesting and important to the main characters which helps to heighten the drama and engage the viewer. Plus Dragon Ball was my gateway series into otakudom so I've always had a soft spot for this kind of shonen tournament nonsense.

It's wonder I've seen so little sports anime, really.


Anyway, I ship Reiji and Aila pretty hard but while she is the best girl Seiji's mom is tough opponent. Misato voice was unexpected, glorious icing on the cake.

Not Age, Destiny. Destiny's one of the best selling series of all time. If the eleven's didn't like it why'd it sell so much? And don't say "Because it's Gundam" because as you yourself said, Age didn't sell very well at all.

Destiny is interesting. I'd say the reason it sold so well is because SEED fanbase was absolutely gigantic in the early 00s, many characters had obsessed, rabid fanbases (Kira, Lacus, Athrun foremost), it had suit designs that ranged from rather popular to hyperpopular and to be honest series starts out fine. It would be interesting to see how the sales for Destiny volumes break down.


This all said it's not like Destiny didn't receive considerable amount of hateraeg and criticism within Japan too. From what I can tell whole SEED subfranchise has less than stellar reputation within the industry thanks to production catastrophes and related issues, reactions to Destiny characters in SRW vids on NND are also telling.

What's more going by threads on futaba et al Destiny gets a lot criticism for same shit it gets in the west.


So yes, Destiny was popular but also much hated even in Japan and more time has passed more and more popularity of the subfranchise has eroded. I've heard it says Japan is still crazy for anything Kira related but that's about the extension of it, really.

Interestingly in this respect SEED has fared much more poorly against test of time than, say, Zeta Gundam. One of the most interesting and surprising things I've recently learned is that Zeta Gundam was almost as controversial as ZZ in Japan when it first aired.

Really, fans of original Gundams in general were much less than enthused by it while Zeta was embraced by those high school kids etc. for whom Zeta was their first contact with the franchise.

Of course today both series belong to the deep core of overwhelmingly most popular UC but it was interesting to learn Zeta was anything but instant success in the fandom.

******************

I caught up with Gundam Build Fighters, thus completing my 3-4 year long mission to watch all Gundam anime.


I FINALLY DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[schwarzstahlhelm1993]

Seems it is true that the new trend in Gundam is saying '' Seed/Destiny sucked''.

Something that's been on since the moment the first episode started airing can hardly be considered "new".

I recently saw the HD version and all i can say is that after Zeta and the first Gundam series, SEED is the best TV series Gundam.

lolno, as they say. Zeta was faulty, but it's overall a pleasant experience; it captivates you with the serious moments, makes you laugh at the silly moments, the fights are pretty great, no stock footage (and if there is, it's unnoticeable), good art, good direction...

Can hardly say the same thing about SEED, in which Hirai's art is dumbed down from his awesome era of Gulkeeva to his SEED same-manface, the abuse of stock footage, the asspulls, the abundance of QUALITY, and making Gundam seem like an average shounen of the same level of Naruto or Bleach.

Of course it is not perfect but it is clearly superior to 00, After War X, ZZ, AGE, Turn A and Wing.

Hardly. With the exception of AGE, I can easily say I enjoyed all of them more than SEED. Even ZZ is better, and I don't really like ZZ at all.

-00: stays true to its themes, nice character and mechanical art, no stock footage, enjoyable characters, overall very solid.
-X: slow as fuck, but it picks up afterwards, nice ending, good orchestral soundtrack, excellent cast.
-ZZ: God-tier mechanical designs, easily the best early UC ever had, memorable moments, particularly ones related with Newtypes.
-Turn A: beautiful character art, awesome Syd Mead designs, Godly music by Yoko Kanno, and Tomino crazyness abounding throughout the entire show.


And yes, I'll dare say I even enjoyed Wing more than SEED, because Wing was hilarious a lá The Room, while SEED is just a snorefest. You could argue Wing suffers a lot of the same things as SEED does, and that it even preceded it in several aspects, but I'd rather rewatch the stock footage of the Heavyarms' gatling gun over and over again over SEED.

Also Cosmic Era is the second best universe after UC.

That goes to Dunbine.

I would like to write a detailed post about why i have this opinion about SEED but i plan to watch Destiny HD soon so i would like to detail both as one part instead of commenting on each one.

I recommend you don't. It's nothing but one of the shittiest upscales ever made for one of the shittiest anime series ever made. The only "improvements" it had were: Meer's nipples, and more noticeable QUALITY (if you take that as an "improvement").

This all said it's not like Destiny didn't receive considerable amount of hateraeg and criticism within Japan too. From what I can tell whole SEED subfranchise has less than stellar reputation within the industry thanks to production catastrophes and related issues, reactions to Destiny characters in SRW vids on NND are also telling.

What's more going by threads on futaba et al Destiny gets a lot criticism for same shit it gets in the west.

It's really interesting. The rumors (note: RUMORS) about SEED's production are pretty telling: Morosawa not really listening to others in the staff, Fukuda being her lapdog, tensions with the voice actors, etc.

However, Destiny had problems during production that were pretty much confirmed throughout the show's run: producers and staff members repeatedly called out on Morosawa's crappy writing, on her choices, on pretty much everything, online, when things finally went out of control. There was also the whole affair concerning Cagalli's VA (the rumors say Morosawa suspected her of being involved with Fukuda), which is a large part of the reason why Cagalli gets so "mistreated" in SEED Destiny (not like it mattered, but she had her fans because she was loud and all that). Other VAs have reportedly called out on the writing and direction, to the point that Shinn's VA (allegedly) said his character's true arc was the one in SRW. If that's true, then it's really, really telling.

Fukuda in particular was also called out by several staff members in their blogs and other places online for wasting more money than what was needed, and yet the final product in regards of animation was still very, very poor (the abuse of stock footage and QUALITY).

SEED and SEED Destiny are sort of the Naruto of Gundam: they're loved by the mainstream audiences (hence why Lacus and Kira are always Top 5 in magazine rankings), but are loathed, or at best, not really well received, by fans/otaku of the franchise as a whole. Just check the threads on futaba, on 2ch; check blogs and review sites from Japan. The series themselves are pretty highly criticized for not following that "spirit the franchise is supposed to have". And the kits don't really sell well either, despite what /m/ keep saying.

[Dr. Nick]

I'm not sure why I should see Doozy Bots though. Are infamous american dubs of SD Gundam really that crucial...

But it's not a Macekre redub! It's an all-new, exciting and original show full of FUN! And besides, it only exists as a four-minute long trailer, so it's a very condensed nugget of FUN.

[Fireball]

I caught up with Gundam Build Fighters, thus completing my 3-4 year long mission to watch all Gundam anime.


I FINALLY DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ftfy

YEAHHHH CONGRATULATIONS! *claps*

Welcome to the gold club. You earned it.

[Dima]

New, as in it was current about the time I first became aware of that entry to the franchise, which would probably have been no later early '06 (when I really started being on /a/ in earnest).

Well when i start watching Gundam for the first time time it was in 2011 and i still remember that people were advising me to avoid Seed and Destiny at any cost. If you fins a thread in an anime site with a title like ''Gundam Anime: Where should i start'' or ''Best/Worst Gundam in your opinion'' it is no secret that Seed and Destiny will get the most references with the exception that this time AGE will be included too. I should define ''new'' in a better way in my post. It's not like people one day woke up and said ''you know Seed and Destiny really sucked''. The Seed/Destiny hate will always be a thing like the black will always be in fashion.

Destiny had very poor reputation from the start. I remember when I was first reading about Gundam years ago (2005-2006 perhaps?) SEED was mentioned as big new thing and huge hit - Destiny continued the commercial success but was largerly reviled as prime example of terrible sequel.

I don't think SEED overall passes for a good show but I can understand why people would like it. Destiny though is so irredeemably terrible after decent start that I can't even begin to imagine the unconscious or conscious mental gymnastics one needs to go through to like that so I'm curious to say the least...

Anyway, Destiny's reputation has gradually got worse over time but it was bad to begin with. SEED is different as it was overall very well received by anime fans in general both in and outside Japan. In fact even today it seems to enjoy reputation of pretty good series in anime fandom overall.

I don't think this is true. The press reviewed highly both series and Japan still today loves Seed and Destiny. You can undestand that from different things. Seed and Destiny are the only series that are getting new Gunpla models almost every year and they have the highest selling numbers in terms of sales. In Gundam fighting videogames like Extreme Versus or Gundam Mushou, SEED and Destiny are having the most units in terms of numbers that every Gundam series is getting and the players are always using Seed/Destiny units the most. I played Extreme Versus online for quite a while and almost in every match a Seed unit was in my team or as an enemy. And that's not because these units are particular strong...

If someone wants a more detailed impression of how Seed and Destiny are generally recieved you should look at these 2 articles

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gundam_seed#Reception
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Sui ... #Reception

Now i know that TV ratings are playing an important role for an anime (still Seed and Destiny are having the best recent numbers in Gundam franchise and overall the best after Z and ZZ) but i think DVD/BD sales matter the most in terms of money. Both Seed and Destiny sold more than 1 million DVDs. This is insanely big. I don't think there are many (if any) series that have sold so much copies.

Frankly the only common complain i am reading everytime about Destiny (except the usual stuff from which suffers also Seed) is the introduction and the personality of the new main character and that the story has many similarities with Seed. Also as i said the ''fans'' especially overseas and not those in Japan are always very strict when it comes to Seed and Destiny.

Also i remember in a recent poll in Japan about your favorite Gundam series, Seed and Destiny were in the top 5 (i think Seed was first).

So with few words in Japan Seed and Destiny are very popular and that's the reason why the series have spawned so many spin off material.

I caught up with Gundam Build Fighters, thus completing my 3-4 year long mission to watch all Gundam anime.


I FINALLY DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats! Feels good i know. I still have to watch V and Build Fighters though....

Something that's been on since the moment the first episode started airing can hardly be considered "new".

Classic Seed/Destiny hate syndrome . I thing you are exaggerating a little. No one can judge a series from the first episode.

Hardly. With the exception of AGE, I can easily say I enjoyed all of them more than SEED. Even ZZ is better, and I don't really like ZZ at all.

And yes, I'll dare say I even enjoyed Wing more than SEED, because Wing was hilarious a lá The Room, while SEED is just a snorefest. You could argue Wing suffers a lot of the same things as SEED does, and that it even preceded it in several aspects, but I'd rather rewatch the stock footage of the Heavyarms' gatling gun over and over again over SEED.

Can't agree with any of these. Of course it is your personal opinion but personally having watched all the Gundam series except V i think Seed (after Z and the first Gundam series) is the most interesting. 00 and Wing comes after and Turn A is interesting but suffers from the same thing that 00 and Wing suffer. They have uninteresting main characters and slow start. I almost dropped 00 because i wanted to sleep in the first 10 episodes. Thank god it got interesting after thanks to the supporting cast and the amazing action. The same with Wing. Setsuna has the same problem that Heero has. At first they are presented with the cool, silent type character and they stick to it till the end and the result of that is that they cannot do anything that will surprise you and you know how they will act all the time. Loran and Turn A may be boring and uninteresting but this series is different from the rest of the Gundam and that is what will hold you till the end (at least this is what happened to me).

But you cant deny that the Cosmic Era is the most interesting setting after UC. And the one that has been detailed the most in the series and spin off material. The only thing that comes close is Wing and that's thanks to the Frozen Teardrop. But in the end this doesn't mean much since they never bothered expanding the universes of the other Gundam series.

[Stan]

I caught up with Gundam Build Fighters, thus completing my 3-4 year long mission to watch all Gundam anime.


I FINALLY DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I'm tempted to pick up that mission too

[Squigsquasher]

C-C-Congratulations, X-Xard-senpai!~

Now I feel like even more of a failure of an anime buff...Sigh...

[pwhodges]

I FINALLY DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And on the way you've documented plenty of reasons for the rest of us not to bother...!

[Xard]

SEED and SEED Destiny are sort of the Naruto of Gundam: they're loved by the mainstream audiences (hence why Lacus and Kira are always Top 5 in magazine rankings), but are loathed, or at best, not really well received, by fans/otaku of the franchise as a whole. Just check the threads on futaba, on 2ch; check blogs and review sites from Japan. The series themselves are pretty highly criticized for not following that "spirit the franchise is supposed to have". And the kits don't really sell well either, despite what /m/ keep saying.

Leaving aside the fact there isn't really any one "mainstream audience" for as niche subject as anime I don't think this is accurate for Destiny. SEED is well liked but Destiny's poor reputation goes beyond Gundam fan circles. Of course people who didn't like SEED don't usually like Destiny but there are also many people who like SEED and dislike Destiny - like my friend I mentioned. I think it goes like this:

SEED: general anime fandom generally likes it, gundam/mecha freaks are more negative
Destiny: Split general anime fandom into those who like it and those who don't, gundam/mecha freaks are extremely negative.

As for SEED production rumors some of them are confirmed, some of them are not. I think circumstantial evidence makes a strong case for Morosawa-Cagalli seiyuu conflict being the source for Cagalli getting ruined in Destiny but of course there's no way to directly confirm this.


Anyway, I really don't want to spend my time right after finally getting through all this 21st century crap discussing fucking Seed/Destiny so I'm going to ignore Dima's claims apart from this:

Seed and Destiny are the only series that are getting new Gunpla models almost every year and they have the highest selling numbers in terms of sales.

This is plain wrong. UC Gundam remains the most popular continuity in Japan and it especially shows in the most important meter aka Gunpla. HGUC line is the most important Gunpla line and it is the classic and most popular UC designs that get most rererereleases and versions again and again, something pointed out in the popular Gunpla Guide too. Master Grade is dominated by UC as the top ten on its own reveals very well:

1. MG 1/100 Nu Gundam Ver.Ka
2. MG 1/100 EX-S Gundam
3. MG 1/100 Turn A Gundam
4. MG 1/100 Zeta Gundam 2.0
5. MG 1/100 Full Armor Unicorn Gundam
6. MG 1/100 Strike Freedom Gundam
7. MG 1/100 RX-78-2 Gundam 3.0
8. MG 1/100 Dom
9. MG 1/100 RX-78-2 Gundam 2.0
10. MG 1/100 RX-78-2 Gundam

Based on my limited knowledge Seed/Destiny Gunpla is the most popular out of AU Gunpla in general but no, it doesn't compare to UC Gunpla overall in terms of total sales and popularity.

This shouldn't be surprising because Seed/Destiny excluded the most popular Gundam series in Japan are all classic UC (MSG-CCA(Unicorn)), the UC fanbase is largest and most mature with biggest purchasing power and it has decades of history and commercialization on pretty much every other subfranchise. Seed was emerging as UC for 21st Century in the first half of 00s but Fukuda/Morosawa fucked it over thanks to behind the scenes grievances caused by Destiny's production problems, Morosawa NOT DELIVERING THE SCRIPTS FOR FILM etc. These are the reason why the subfranchise has been largerly dormant in terms of manga spinoffs etc. since 2005 or so. Mobile Suits piloted by Kira are still popular as ever in particular so of course Seed still gets its fair share of Gunpla but apart from that the subfranchise is relatively moribund.

Fukuda/Morosawa sabotaged C.E's chances on their own, really, which left room for 00 to charge in. In alternate reality where SEED film would've come out in 2006-2007 or so Seed spinoff manga might still be a thing and it would be major focus for Bandai. As is we don't live in that reality - in here Bandai has focused their attention on bringing Gundam to kids (AGE, Build Fighters*) while keeping the rich and notoriously loyal middleaged UC demographic happy with Unicorn, The Origin, new ways to milk One Year War etc.


*Build Fighters in fact is blatant attempt at avoiding mistakes of AGE in reaching kid demographic. Bandai conducted market research into reasons why AGE failed to interest kids. The leading answers given were unfamiliarity of 21st century kids with all this weird "space colony" and related warfare business. Build Fighters turns Gundam into Beyblade which is something far more approachable and familiar to modern kids than somewhat odd "hard" military science fiction.

But it's not a Macekre redub! It's an all-new, exciting and original show full of FUN! And besides, it only exists as a four-minute long trailer, so it's a very condensed nugget of FUN.

Just saw this on youtube. Oh boy, what the hell were they thinking.

Black kid in wheelchair ftw. This is the most progressive Gundam title ever. I wonder why it never got made.

And on the way you've documented plenty of reasons for the rest of us not to bother...!

Heh. Indeed, unless you're a completionist I don't think there's any good reason to do it. It takes certain kind of personality to repeatedly subject oneself to terrible stuff only for sake of perfect MAL list.


Anyway, I think I'm going to write up some general thoughts and impressions about the journey next time. This is something I've been doing on/off for years after all. Some sort of epilogue is needed, at least I need one psychologically because it's not like I've put all the pieces of big Gundam puzzle and what I think about it together yet.