Forum - View topicGundam: UC, CE, AC, AD or Other?
|
Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Next |
| Author | Message | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
RedHotFunk
 Posts: 67 Location: Ontario |
|
|||||||
|
UC (Universal Century) - Gundam/Gundam 0080/08th Ms Team/Zeta/ etc.
CE (Cosmic Era) - Seed/Seed Destiny AC (After Colony) - Gundam Wing AD (Anno Domini) - 00 Ok, so it's a daunting question that has been the subject of much objection in the Gundam communities for ages. It may have been already brought up on these boards (though I can't seem to find it), but I bring it up because I myself have experienced a change of opinion. As many can probably relate, my first Gundam was Wing. At the time, I pretty much idolized the premise of massive mechs decked in amazing fire arms bringing the pain to other mobile suits. And for a time, Wing remained top of the line for me in terms of Gundam, and AC was the only era for me. Of course, I watched Seed (which wasn't all that bad, but had a bit too much teen drama) and Seed Destiny... which I consider a disaster imho. But they couldn't top the icing on the cake, and I kept coming back for AC. Though I have yet to take sway into AD era (00), I began watching the older UC earlier in the year. I first watched 08th MS Team, a cult favorite, and was immediately hooked. It gave me a taste of what gundam could be minus the invincible pilots fighting wave after wave of mobile suits. From there on, I've finished watching War in the Pocket and I'm still watching Zeta. After having seen these series (and there will be more to come, rest assured), I can easily say that UC has the more attractive time frame; aside from the abundance of series that relate to one massive time line, the premise of gundam is much more convincingly done in UC then in later eras. As well, it does an excellent job of connecting the viewer with the characters. As I mentioned earlier, the pilots aren't invincible (like they were in Wing), and they made a lot of mistakes, some even costing certain pilots lives...spoiler[ RIP Mikhail Kaminsky! SIEG ZEON!]. I honestly found myself feeling more emotional - of course, short of crying; cause men don't cry just like how idols don't poop (kudos if you get the reference in the second part). As well, the idea of ace pilots is also much more fascinating; because of the general lengthiness of UC, there is no shortage of pilots and aces, and you simply have so many mobile suits and pilots to love. Each one has their own distinct style, and each mobile suit is different from the last. Even more impressively, it's not all about Gundams. You'll find yourself falling in love with tons of suits~ especially Zeon suites. Hell, I practically drool whenever I see a picture of MS-18e Kampfer, same with the Hygoggs. Anyways, I could go on, but I'm interested in hearing your own opinions. What era do you love most, and why? 
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
Kruszer
 Posts: 7994 Location: Minnesota, USA |
|
|||||||
|
My opinion is that Gundam is well....Gundam, it's all good whether it's UC or an alternate universe. I've enjoyed nearly all of the franchise minus ZZ Gundam, Victory Gundam, and Turn A which I haven't seen. They've all been good at the very least most of them got higher ratings from me.
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
penguintruth
 Posts: 8501 Location: Penguinopolis |
|
|||||||
|
Well, the Universal Century has the luxury and burden of being the most long-running "timeline"/universe in the Gundam franchise, but I would nevertheless answer that it is my favorite. Not only is it the "true" Gundam timeline in terms of theme and purpose, but it has the most consistency in strengths from any timeline that has any more than one feature, from the original Mobile Suit Gundam, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (for my money, the greatest mecha anime of all time), Char's Counterattack, Gundam 0080, and 08th MS Team.
The first alternate universe (AU) Gundam production was G Gundam. I would love to see more in this timeline because it's fun and over-the-top. Super robot fans would probably prefer this one. Not that I didn't like G Gundam, but it isn't my preference. Both the AC and CE era were massive trainwrecks, unfortunately. Gundam Wing and its OVA, Endless Waltz, were a mass of babble, a confusion of empty philosophy. The SEED shows had flawed premises, characters with little presence, awful production values, and uneven execution. Too derivative, as well. I almost feel bad equating it with AC. They're both bad, but CE is torture. Gundam X got the short stick because Japan was suffering from Gundam exhaustion at the time of its airing, but it's sort of a neat "what if" of the UC. Turn A is simultaneous all timelines and none of them. And it's hard to comment on 00's version of our timeline until the show has finished, but it's interesting. I would say that Universal Century is still "the" timeline, but it's good to mix things up a bit. They all have some strengths (except perhaps CE) and weaknesses. |
||||||||
|
||||||||
IchigoK90
 Posts: 1634 Location: Scarborough, Ontario |
|
|||||||
|
Just pointing this out but the universe's omitted by you are:
FC (Future Century) - Mobile Fighter G Gundam CC (Correct Century) - Turn A Gundam AW (After War) - After War Gundam X As for my preference of which Gundam Universe I enjoyed more the Universal Century would take it easily but I say that only because there have been more stories inside the Universal Century time line. That isn't to say I haven't enjoyed the other Gundam Universe's. If I were going strictly on a series by series basis 2 of my favourite series are Turn A Gundam and After War Gundam X. Now I've pretty much seen almost every Gundam Incarnation (not including SD) aside from Mobile Fighter G Gundam, G-Savior (I'm about to watch it), Gundam MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War, Gundam MS IGLOO: Apocalypse and last but not least the original Mobile Suit Gundam and I've only been left disappointed or underwhelmed by a select few. Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory, Mobile Suit Gundam: 08th MS Team, Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counter Attack, Mobile Suit Gundam F91, New Mobile Report Gundam Wing, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny were all real downers for me. For the AC and CE time lines the fault I found in both were that though they each brought some interesting concepts they were both heavily flawed and were too caught up in their own mediocrity and popularity. For the UC time line stories I mentioned what I didn't particularly enjoy about them was that each tried to pack in too much in such a short amount of time. 08th MS Team promised to play out the lives of an average soldier and though early into the series it did deliver that promise I just didn't like the direction the series took later on. Its not to say I didn't enjoy it its just that I was hoping for a real look into a soldier's life and the problems a soldier would go through. Delving into the psychology of what it is like to take away life for the first time, having to fulfill unjustly orders and butting heads with the higher ups. That is what I was looking for when they said it would be about an ordinary soldier's life but its basically just your typical Gundam minus the Newtype Pilot and arch rival. Stardust Memory was a nice bridge in between the original Gundam and Zeta however story wise it fell short. Kou never really develops much as a character beyond the first episode (his piloting improves but that's it) and the supporting cast was pretty weak aside from Captain Synapse who was pretty much the only character aside from Delaz and Gato that I liked from the series. Too many things are revealed during the outcome of the series and very few things are properly explained. The spoiler[love triangle between Kou, Nina and Gato was poorly done and felt like it was just thrown in. It wasn't really put to any use as neither of the men are actually aware of the other's relationship with Nina]. Another thing which really bothered me were spoiler[the lack of explanation for the conspiracy within the Earth Federation. Though interesting the fact that it wasn't really elaborated on or explained left me quite dissatisfied]. Aside from that I will admit that Stardust Memory does pack the best animation to me, even by today's standards. Watching the mobile suits in action and the way they are brilliantly animated I still find it breath taking. Then you have both Char's Counter Attack and F91. Now I'm a fan of Tomino and I've enjoyed the way he's directed and written his series but I simply cannot enjoy that same form of storytelling done in a movie format (this became more apparent to me simply because I never could enjoy any of his compilation films either). F91 is understandable because it was rewritten from a 50 episode TV series to a 2 hour movie but for Char's Counter Attack I just simply couldn't enjoy it no matter how many times I watched it (I've seen it about 6 times now since I own it on DVD). That's it for now since this is getting long. |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
|
|||||||
|
Am I the only person in existence who thought Gundam SEED was better than Zeta?
I mean, the recycled animation in SEED is rather embarrassing for it (and distracting for the viewer). And there were issues with the ending, the pacing, and what-have-you. But I still think it head-and-shoulders above Zeta. And I'm not just saying that because SEED has nicer visuals and audio. |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
IchigoK90
Posts: 1634 Location: Scarborough, Ontario |
|
|||||||
Possibly but then again, I think I'm the only one who thinks Char's Counter Attack is only half decent and not really the epic ending every Gundam Fan makes it out to be. Heck, I enjoyed watching G-Savior more than Char's Counter Attack. Just from saying that most Gundam Fans would say I'm crazy... correction, INSANE to say that but that's just me. Sure its been disowned by Tomino, Bandai and pretty much every Gundam Fan but it still has one fan in me. |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
penguintruth
Posts: 8501 Location: Penguinopolis |
|
|||||||
I certainly hope so. Though I am somewhat interested in knowing why you could possibly think that, especially since SEED is just a severe watering down of the original series and Zeta. |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Kruszer
Posts: 7994 Location: Minnesota, USA |
|
|||||||
|
Well, for one Zeta can be pretty heavy handed and prone to massive ammounts of character death. If people prefer the same level of drama with with less clouting with the depression stick they would probabally find Seed more to their liking (like me). Both were great series though so it's spliting hairs.
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
|
|||||||
|
Keeping in mind that this is not a thread devoted solely to Zeta, the big gripes I have with it are:
Gripe One: The characters. Katz in particular. Never have I cheered so loudly while watching Anime than when that little piece of shit spoiler[died]. Honestly, Fllay gets a lot of flack for being really annoying. And I'm not one to defend her, because she was a manipulative bitch. But she was also relevant to the plot. And, as much as she was annoying, I never hated her. Ever. Katz, on the other hand, was so stupid, so moronic, that I despised him. Reccoa also demands a mention here. Her reasons were utterly unfathomable. She wanted a man that understood her, so she spoiler[switched to the enemy side in the middle of a total war?] What lunacy is that? Of course, then there were the Cyber Newtypes. They weren't just unstable in the one-sandwich-short-of-a-picnic sort of way. Instead, they make nitroglycerin look rock solid. Honestly, any organisation stupid enough to send those "soldiers" to the front lines deserves to be destroyed. Gripe Two: The darkness. Zeta was billed as a dark series. Now, don't get me wrong, I love dark series. The new Batman movies are two of my favourite movies ever, and generally I love mature productions that aren't afraid to paint the world in shades of grey. But the way that the Sunrise went about it nearly turned me off from watching the rest of the series. Just because you feature a powerful man nearly beating a subordinate teenager into a coma out of spite, does not make your series "dark". Instead, it just shows how desperate Sunrise was in trying to make the show seem dark, when all that was happening was gratuitous violence that was not realistic or appreciated. Gripe Three: The Newtype powers. Okay, these days it is fun to pick on Kira "Jesus" Yamato for having hacks. And I'll be the first to admit that SEED Destiny totally destroyed his character. However, when I watched Zeta Gundam, I was expecting a real robot Anime. And, by and large, it was. Then I get to the end, and find out that Kamille has spoiler[super powers, and can literally make his suit invincible just using his mind. Oh, and don't forget the moment he raised the ghosts of his friends to power his Gundam.] Ridiculous. That - and Scirocco's spoiler[mind-crippling attack] - completely spoiled the ending for me. I realise that Newtype powers are a big part of the Gundam franchise, and that special abilities force themselves into just about every incarnation. Still, they don't belong in a show that purports show a "realistic" (that is, as realistic as Anime can get) depiction of a total war. And to decry Kira Yamato for having special abilities when Kamille Bidan can make his Gundam go Super Saiyan; well, there is a saying that has pots and kettles and one of them calling the other black. |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
IchigoK90
Posts: 1634 Location: Scarborough, Ontario |
|
|||||||
I can see where you're coming from with Katz but by far I think Hathaway from Char's Counter Attack is by far 10x worse than Katz. spoiler[I mean, he shoots his own "comrade" after she tries to save him from the Azieru which she destroys with just ONE friggin grenade. the Azieru was taken out by a grenade, not a beam weapon of a large calibre but a tiny ass grenade]. Now that is utter lunacy. |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
wingzerosnuggles
Posts: 27 |
|
|||||||
|
Well, when it comes to Gundam universes, I've been in contact with AC the most. Just going to list what I've glimpsed in terms of Gundam:
UC Char's Counterattack - I thought it was a solid movie. Not advisable as a first exposure to UC, I suppose. I couldn't make heads or tails of it but probably due to my lack of background. MS Gundam compilation movies - I can hardly remember what happened. Yes, shame on me. I wasn't bored though. That much I can recall. Lalah was intriguing and Kycillia's purple outfit was...well, I liked it. *shrugs* FC G Gundam TV Series - I didn't manage to finish it. The Street Fighter-esque stance of the show didn't hold much appeal to me. I mostly watched it because of the cartoon shorts at the back of Gundam Wing: The Last Outpost graphic novels and my curiosity about the G Gundam characters interacting with the Wing ones. It's deliciously campy, I suppose. G Gundam Graphic Novels - I got all three graphic novels at a discount rate. Have yet to touch them. AC Gundam Wing TV Series - my first exposure to Gundam. Ulike most girls, I wasn't into it for the shounen-ai overtones or the bishounen. I genuinely enjoyed the political power plays, the exploration of concepts like pacifism. Granted, there are some places where it falls flat and it tends to feel like you're being preached to. Also, I liked the romance aspect of it. It wasn't overplayed and the girls weren't vehicles for fanservice. Heero/Relena is still my favorite anime couple to this day which is why I love seeing that Marina/Setsuna are developing similarly in 00. Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz OVA - White Reflection was a kick-ass theme song and I loved the mecha designs. The angel wings were very fanciful. But guh...really?spoiler[ A seven year old taking over the world?] Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz Special Edition - yep, they added on new scenes. I loved the new extended ending on this one. Last Impression wasn't as good as White Reflection though. Gundam Wing: Odds and Evens - aka the OVA that's never been subbed but has translated English scripts floating around. THese are just add-on scenes. Nothing big. Still, I enjoyed it. spoiler[Quatre's hospital scene showing his recovery after Dorothy's stabbing was nice. The non-alcoholic champagne was a nice touch. His family might have had some Muslim beliefs so him not drinking alcohol meshes with canon. That and he mentioned somewhere that he doesn't drink.] Gundam Wing: Blind Target Graphic Novel - aka the manga featuring the spoiler[(in?) famous Heero/Relena (almost?) kiss.] Yep, I bought it for that reason. It has a solid plot, too. Gundam Wing: Blind Target Radio Drama - basically the same plot as the manga. I read the scripts for this. spoiler[The kiss is replaced with Heero saying "I-" then being drowned out by background noise. Suggestive of an "I love you," I suppose.] Gundam Wing: Battlefield of Pacifists - aka the manga where Dorothy has a perm. It's been awhile since I last read this but it shows how Wufei got involved with the Mariemaia Army prior to Endless Waltz. Gundam Wing Graphic Novels - this is very different from the series, I assure you. I heard somewhere that it was based on the original Gundam Wing scripts prior to production. By the time the scripts were changed, it was too late and Koichi Tokita had already made the graphic novels based on the older scripts. It's so different that one would almost see it as an alternate version of Gundam Wing. For example, spoiler[Lady Une doesn't slip into a coma in this manga. Instead, she's wheelchair bound and Treize takes care of her. Relena's reason for wanting Heero to kill her is presented as a sort of "Go ahead and kill me but don't go killing anyone else after me" thing. ] Gundam Wing: Ground Zero - this one is very light in tone, almost a doujinshi, and very heavy on the Heero/Relena romance. For instance, spoiler[there's a point where Relena catches a fever and falls of a balcony in fatigue. She twists her ankle. Heero finds her and talks with her. She falls asleep in his arms. He carries her to a couch.] There's some problem with scientific plausibility though. You'll know what I mean when you read it. Also, the plot has some problems but yeah, if you're looking for licensed Heero/Relena fluff, this is the way to go. THe art is gorgeous, almost shoujo-ish... Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz Graphic Novel - basically same plot as the OVA and movie but spoiler[this casts doubt on Mariemaia's patenity since Dekim implies that he just found her on the street and can easily replace her.] Gundam Wing: Episode Zero - every Gundam Wing fan should read this. It's the prequel to Gundam Wing and answers a lot of puzzling things in the series. We delve into Heero's past with Odin Lowe, how Duo got his name, Trowa's link to Catherine and also why he was wearing that crucifix in the Endless Waltz flashback, Quatre's family life, why Wufei calls his Gundam by the name "Nataku," how Treize met the woman who would become Mariemaia's mother, why Relena introduced herself to Heero so strangely... I was especially shocked by Wufei and Trowa's pasts because they both involve lost loves. Gundam Wing: The Last Outpost - erm, I didn't like this too much. Maybe because the main cast was absent and we're presented with a bunch of characters we don't really know? However, I did like th funny shorts at the end of each graphic novel. I want to read the Gundam Wing novels and I have a link to them but I can't post them here. They're not finished translating yet anyway. Also, there's: Gundam Wing: Tiel's Impulse http://www.aboutgundamwing.com/Manga/BomBomComic.htm Gundam Wing: A Scythe in my Right Hand, You in My Left? http://www.aboutgundamwing.com/Manga/ScytheAndYou.htm Two rather obscure novels available only in Japan. No chance in hell they'll ever be available outside Japan, I guess. The links give information on them. So yes, I'm a Gundam Wing girl through and through as you can see by the username. AW Gundam X TV Series - I liked it all right. Tifa and Garrod was adorable and I love how Newtypes were utilized. I've always been a fan of dystopic sci-fi (hence why I'm watching Casherrn SINS) and the whole "humanity returns to its roots after it brought about its own undoing" was solid. Also, I will never forgot the title of one episode "I'm Selling The Gundam!" It was funny. Enil and Tonya were also favorites of mine. It's a pity this was cut short to 39 episodes due to slipping ratings. CE Gundam SEED - it seemed promising at first but I found Kira a tad too emo for my liking. Lacus also came off as a bit too perfect, almost a Mary Sue. If you can't like the hero or the heroine... Gundam SEED Destiny - three words: stock footage fest. AD Gundam 00 TV Series Seasons 1 and 2 - It's not done airing yet so I can't give my opinion on it as a whole. The fanservice and abundance of melonpan sort of turned me off but the similarities to Gundam Wing and Full Metal Panic! (two of my favorite series) have kept me around. Season 2 hasn't let me down yet and I'm looking forward to more. |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
penguintruth
Posts: 8501 Location: Penguinopolis |
|
|||||||
I'll grant you that Katz could be a tad annoying, but I felt he was a tragic character who was a victim of his own wreckless exhuberance. His adoptive father was too busy fighting to father him, his idol was having confidence problems and failed to live to his expectations, the girl he liked betrayed him and then died before he had a chance to convince her she was wrong about the Titans, and nobody really had any time to dicipline or help him because they were all busy fighting the war. It was a bad idea to bring a child like that into the battlefield. They all thought he would harden and get used to it the way Amuro and Kamille did, but he was an example of what happens when it doesn't work. Reccoa, on the other hand, was never about the ideals of the AEUG or the Titans. She knew the Titans were horrible people, but she wasn't ideologically opposed to them. She joined the AEUG, as she stated, because she was a lifetime resistance fighter. She saw the opportunity to throw herself into danger and did so. Scirocco was an appealing, charismatic presence who was cathartic to her selfish sensibilities. She was exhausted and wanted to be taken care of and Quattro/Char wasn't going to do that. Of course her actions were foolish, because she was a foolish character. She's exactly what she was always portrayed as.
Hm, you mean like the drugged pilots of SEED and SEED Destiny? Because that's basically what those were, Cyber-Newtypes. I like Zeta Gundam's characters because they ooze personality. It may be unlikeable personalities, for some, but they have presence. Half the time I can't recall which character is which in the CE era, not just because they all look the same, but because they all act the same and are little more than vehicles for the story.
I'm not sure what you're trying to say here. You thought it was "too dark" because people diciplined Kamille? I'll admit, some of the slapping/punching gets a little out of hand, but the AEUG are in a desperate fight against the Titans and they don't have time for one of their main pilots to be wasting his time with Haro or arguing with Fa. As for most of the other violence, the Titans are a brutal group. I don't see anything "desperate" about what Sunrise was doing. It was pretty much standard issue darkness for mecha programs of the time.
This is a very unrealistic gripe. Newtypes are part of the fabric of the Gundam franchise, and the depictions of their powers are built up as the UC timeline goes along. I think your problem is taking a lot of the Newtype scenes as being entirely literal whereas most of what is presented is symbolic of the power. Not only that, but the finale is one of the finest in Gundam, filled with explosive tension and excitement. It does tend to stretch the limits of "real robot", but it's no more ridiculous than the ill-defined, and inconsistently written abilities of Coordinators. In fact, it's far less. No offense, but to me, SEED was just an empty, soulless version of past Gundam programs. It was a shiny, empty vessil devoid of character. Zeta was an engaging, mature, multi-layered work, that, while flawed, has yet to be surpassed, at least in terms of Gundam. I do appreciate, however, you listing your gripes with Zeta Gundam. If you want, I can list my issues with SEED |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
|
|||||||
Fair's fair. I criticised Zeta, so by all means feel free to do the same for SEED. But could you please keep it just on SEED, and not SEED Destiny? After all, I hate SEED Destiny as much as anyone else (barring the first eleven episodes). |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Kruszer
Posts: 7994 Location: Minnesota, USA |
|
|||||||
Which was actually the point by the way. She's a coirdinator genetically engineered for the sole purpose of being a bubbly, happy, perfect, talented, pop icon sensation to rally the troops. The fact that spoiler[she ended up doing something a little different fighting for the cause of peace] is also the point. 
Last edited by Kruszer on Thu Oct 30, 2008 9:52 pm; edited 1 time in total |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
penguintruth
Posts: 8501 Location: Penguinopolis |
|
|||||||
|
My major gripes with Gundam SEED:
1) Visuals Why does every surface in the show have to be excessively shiny? I'm sorry, but when dirt is shiny, you've gone too far. And every mobile suit, no matter how damaged remains shiny and undisturbed by smoke coming from it or soot from the battle. Why does every character have to look identical but with different hair? It's worse when they're in their mobile suits, because then they have those enormous helmets you can barely make out the faces in and since everyone looks the same, you can't tell who is piloting what sometimes. Reused animation. What passed in the 70s and 80s is simply unacceptable in the 2000s. How much reused animation did Turn A Gundam employ? And by comparison, even 00 has less reused animation (though sometimes they FORGET to animate). And the mechanical designs were just awful. It's like they just added points and backpacks to everything as often and as much as they could. Most of the MS were identical and their unique functions were barely utilized. 2) Characters A lot of people seem to take issue with the characters in SEED, always arguing over whether or not they agree with them or not on an issue or talking about how they're overpowered, plot-armored, etc. To me, this is irrelevant, because I can't find myself getting excited enough to even care. Everyone just seems so dull. Nobody has the presence of a Char Aznable or a Haman Karn. The Coordinators are all teary-eyed gushers and the Naturals are all shady types or sticks in the mud. There's just nothing very special about any of them. 00 did suffer from a similar problem, but later on it improved, whereas SEED did not, in my opinion. When I see Rau coming, I don't yell, "Oh yeah, it's Rau time!" the way I would get excited for Char. Speaking of Rau, what was his deal? He really turned out to be a disappointment as an antagonist. spoiler[If he was the favored son because he was a direct clone, why then should he be so bitter? If anything, Mu should be the angry one. Rau was treated like a prince, he's got nothing to be angry about. ]Mu, by the way, was one of the few characters with presence. The others being Flay and Andrew Waltfield (spoiler[before his "death"]). To Andrew Waltfield. spoiler[Why kill him off then bring him back? ]It's bad enough I had to sit through him piloting a Zoid, Liger Zero (what are they doing in a Gundam program?), spoiler[but why ressurect him after he died?] He just sat around being Lacus's lackey for the rest of the show and its sequel. He was a perfectly servicable Ramba Ral clone and they went and ruined him. The characters seemed to me less like characters and more like mere vehicles for the story. 3) Concept and Execution Coordinators angered me. I mean, how are we supposed to sympathize with genetic supermen who've been bred to be better than us in every way? Clearly, if you take this into account, Blue Cosmos isn't so unreasonable. But of course, they're portrayed as being just total lunatics who aren't even really attached to their ideal, except their crazy leader. Then the other extreme, Patrick Zala, is reasonably miffed that his genetic inferiors should keep trying to push them around. Any reasonable human being would join Blue Cosmos immediatly after Coordinators came into being. I realize they're supposed to be the Newtypes of CE, but Newtypes are the natural evolution of man as he moves into space, they aren't genetically bred because rich people decided to play God. When the antagonists have pretty reasonable perspectives, it makes little sense to portray them as black and white lunatics. Not to mention, as I said, Coordinators are so dull to begin with. And they seem to follow whatever a pop singer tells them to do. I don't necessarily disagree with Lacus's beliefs, naive as they are, but why does a pop singer get to command a rebel faction? Really, that is a bizzare plot element. Lacus seems to be Sunrise's attempt to turn Gundam into Macross. And that whole N-Jammer/N-Jammer-Canceller thing was a waste of time, too. Hey, why not a N-Jammer-Canceller-Canceller? Then we can make an N-Jammer-Canceller-Canceller-Canceller! When your show has become a giant pissing contest, it's gone wrong. Nobody was sitting around thinking of ways to cancel out Minovsky Particles, they just worked around them. Also, what exactly are the powers of Coordinators, where does SEED mode come from, who can do it, why is it that some humans seem able to do it, and why do some Coordinators have Newtype powers in addition, whereas others do not? Why are there clip episodes? In Zeta Gundam's fifty episodes, there wasn't a single clip episode. Not one. Hell, Dragon Ball Z didn't have any. Legend of the Galactic Heroes, 110 episodes, no clip episodes. Fullmetal Alchemist, 51 episodes, no clip episodes. 00 has so far had half a clip episode. Then again, Trigun was 26 episodes and had one, and believe me, I was peeved. It ruins the pace of the story. I'm probably a little harsh on SEED. It's pretty standard fare for mecha anime these days. In other words, it feels like it was made for ADD-addled schoolchidren. But when I see it compared to Zeta Gundam, I find it a bit perplexing. Not that Zeta doesn't have its flaws- a lack of sympathetic Titans, for instance. Kamille and Fa's repetitive arguments, awkward dialogue (Tomino was never a great writer of dialogue, just look at Ideon), and some strange character motivations (Scirocco's motivations remain vague even to the end)- but overall, I found it to be the strongest of Gundam progams. Granted, SEED was better than SEED Destiny, but waterboarding is better than SEED Destiny. |
||||||||
|
||||||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group