Gundam: G no Reconguista

This is without any doubt the WORST Gundam series ever made, the problem is not the series in general, but it´s story line, because there is simply no story line to follow. Each episode seems like a sum up of unrelated facts, you don´t get what the main characters are doing, there is no explanation for the war in which they are fighting (except they are not, we are not even sure if it´s a war), there is no explanation on why the main character switches sides at the beggining etc...
It´s just crap guys, even the music is bad, the sound effects are so high you can´t just listen to the music in the background.
I would not recommend anyone watching this anime. read more

It's no secret that G-Reco is controvertial. It's hard to understand, far more colourful than contemporary anime and generally reverts to paradigmns more reminisent of the 80s and 90s than anything you'd see in 2014.
And as far as I'm concerned, that's why it's brilliant. It sports some of the most beautiful art in the franchise and demands your full attention to get the most out of it.
It's also brutal, with 2 named character deaths in the first 6 episodes, one of them in episode 2.
It is spectacular though.
If there's a downside, it's the dialogue. As mentioned before, it rarely gives you more information then you need and drip feeds you any you get. The dialogue is also a little cryptic at times with regards to the interpersonal meanings between characters, which is amplified in more the literal subtitle translations. This is nothing new for Tomino fans, but could be quite intimidating if you've never experienced one of his shows before. If you go in knowing you'll have to pay attention though, it should be a pretty enjoyable experience.
Overall, I certainly think it's worth a look at this stage. Many gundams are slow to start up and as of episode 6, it's certainly flowering as a story framed in beautiful art and the complex feelings of characters about the situation they're in.
And there's giant robot fights. Giant robots.
Enough said. read more

This show is full return to Tomino - in fact it is by the far the Tominoest of them all. Full of inconsistent characterization, questionable plotting, and cryptic and random dialogue. When I was younger, I interpreted this as Tomino being really weird, but as an older person I think this reflects Tomino's view that the world really IS strange and random.

"The show is weird -sure- but so is the world, damn it," - my imaginary Tomino.

Your mileage WILL vary, and it isn't helped by the breakneck pacing which I think is because the show's length's been cut in half from the original estimate. But on balance, I think what we get is a show that is fascinating to watch because you can't predict it. At the very least, the action's great, the characters are sympathetic, and the mecha design are actually really innovative- which is really refreshing after over a decade of the bland, unimaginative mecha designs since Seed. The main downside is that the characters are not super-memorable, and as the ship's crew travels along, they just keep accumulating. At the end there are at least twenty major characters who all don't do very much.

In spite of this, I highly recommend the show to people fond of the UC Series (Fun-Fact: This IS a UC series! Just WAY after victory... maybe before Turn A?) as you will recognize a lot of hallmarks from those. Admittedly, Unicorn's a better product overall, but Unicorn's is also very distinct from previous Gundam in feel. So it any old Gundam fans are feeling nostalgic, give this show a whirl. Just keep notes - there are more factions and characters here than Game of Thrones ( I count at least 9 factions by the end.)
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G reco is what Gundam needs right now

00 started off as a really interesting show with a lot of new tricks, by season 2 though it had gone back to the old Gundam tropes. Unicorn was much the same being a great celebration but did little to push the franchise forward. G reco sets out to actually try and play with the formula and stick with the new ideas.

Much of G recos time is spent world building. This is a very different world than UC or other gundam worlds with a society who see any war tech as taboo and are dealing with a dark past of cannibalism. It feels very different from standard Gundam settings or other shows airing right now. Learning how everything fits is one of the most interesting parts of the show.

The characters all feel very unique and avoids generic anime tropes. They also don't just monologue what they are feeling constantly and you actually have to watch and understand their actions and what they say to understand them. It's nice to have a show that doesn't talk down to you with characters, they are not super complex but are nicely fleshed out. Time is also taken to flesh out "villains" so it doesn't just feel like fights are just hit the bad guy of the week. This may not sound like much but when you realise the amount of characters that keep being brought in Tomino has done well to make each feel unique. Don't go in expecting your brooding pacifist and tsun tsun love interest. Bellri is one of my favourite Gundam protags now being an actually trained pilot (not just an amateur who is gifted), not wanting to kill but willing to do when needs be (and doesn't complain as he gets this) and just happy. When did we last have a happy mech pilot? Not that he doesn't have dark or unhappy moments but he just deals with it and gets on with his job.

Storywise G reco is arguably a bit simple. The basis is a number of fractions wanting resources and power while the main crew figures out the mystery behind their technology. Throw in some ideas of old forcing wars on new and you've got G reco. It's a amazing then that many have found the plot so hard to follow but that is simply because this is a show you have to concentrate on. You can't have it open in another browser while you do something else. Characters will not always expound to you what is going on 5 times an episode so you have to listen to what they say. Of course with Tomino's quirks he likes to put in like characters miss hearing each other this is made more difficult but without this the show would lose a lot of personality. That doesn't mean the show isn't very laid back and casual, you just actually need to pay attention.

Humour is very important to the series. From mech bouncing off inflatables, Klim the genius to a hippo being moved the series may feel odd at times but if you can roll with it there is a very 80s jokes style to this. G reco is a very happy series, not full on comedy but it has a very jolly atmosphere and wants you to be happy watching it for the most part.

The art is where G reco probably does best. Amazing mech design very reminiscent of shows like F91 and the crossbone managa (for good reason). Most of them seem to be getting kits as well which speaks for itself on how well these odd mechs are doing. The art style is quite 80s and full of bright colours and gorgeous scenery. There is some cg but only on some structures and is generallykept to the background. G reco is a vibrant and pretty show, it stands out from a lot of dull and generic looking shows that are more common in mech nowadays.

The sounds in G reco is great. For a start there are all the gundam sound effects you want mixed with some new ones. It has two great openings and an ending theme that will be stuck in your head. The general soundtrack is also very good but not as memorable as other Gundam osts outside a few tracks.

If I had to compare G reco to another Gundam it'd be Turn A. Both are slower stories with a dose of Tomino weirdness. As G reco goes on though it nicely differs itself and carves it's own niche. Don't watch this if you want a tense war story as that isn't ever what it has tried to be, don't only half watch it as the series needs you to pay attention to understand it.

G reco is a happy simple story with many unique and interesting aspects. This isn't just the same again and that is great read more