Ranked #337

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam is, of course, the second installment in the Gundam franchise, so first off watch the original Mobile Suit Gundam beforehand. That should go without saying. Comparatively, this sequel not only lives up to its predecessor, but even surpasses it.

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam's tale is set seven years in the future after its prequel, and quite a bit has happened since then. In the One Year War we watched a brutal war between the Earth Federation Forces and the Principality of Zeon. Now, we watch as a tyrannical sect of the Earth Federation, known as the Titans, and the Anti-Earth Union Group, a faction of rebels, duke it out. In the beginning of the series, we're sort of just quickly tossed into the middle of things, but as the story progresses things make more sense and it turns out fine.

Zeta's story is also a bit more mature, and becomes more developed than Mobile Suit Gundam's. There really is not a centralized antagonist, like Char in MSG. You could consider this a slight downfall, or perhaps even an improvement, because it's questionable whether or not Zeta would have felt a bit too dependent on the MSG story. So maybe you will feel like you're missing something, or you might be glad that it isn't just a rehash. But, as I was saying, the plot gets developed nicely as more obstacles, alliances, secrets, and politics are involved. Speaking of which, Zeta does an exceptional job at building up political battles, that aren't too simple, but that are still easily followable. Overall, Zeta tells a brilliant story that beats MSG's.

Now, here we go with the art and sound. My ratings on these are actually based on today's standards. If it was still the '80's, I'm positive the animation would be worthy of a perfect 10. But to still be given a 7 two decades later is remarkable. One aspect of the animation that I really liked was the nice use of camera splitting, for lack of a better name. It's something that isn't very popular in today's animation techniques I'd say. If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's when we have one image on the screen, and then part of it is split to display another image, or something pretty popular is when the screen is just cut in two with different images on top and bottom. Zeta definitely utilizes the best animation techniques available for its time.
Now, the sound is actually outstanding and very impressive. Most of the background tunes are made of magnificent orchestral pieces that capture perfect moods. The sound effects are of course a huge improvement from MSG, and they actually don't sound old at all or anything. The opening and ending themes are similar to the background music; really nicely made instrumental compositions. The voice acting is pretty much standard voice acting.

Now where to start with our Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam characters. This time the story follows a young man by the name of Kamille Bidan. He becomes a member of the AEUG aboard the Argama ship and is a valuable Gundam pilot. Like Amuro Ray, he is a Newtype. In the beginning he is somewhat of a whiny and foolish kid, but, no doubt about it, this boy suffers much more than Amuro did as an assortment of tragedies occur throughout the series. I'd say his character as the lead protagonist gets better developed than Amuro's as well. Speaking of Amuro, just about every character from the White Base crew have appearances. Some are more important than others, but it is nice seeing how the crew has all matured. Bright Noa and Char Aznable, better known as Quattro Bajeena in Zeta, are main characters as well, and Char himself gets much more developed as well. The characters of course deal with deaths, relationships, switching alliances, intense battles, and the like.

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam absolutely does not disappoint in enjoyment. Every episode is action-packed with awesome mecha and space warfare. It is a superb and fun watch all the way through, and it totally lives up to the greatness of its prequel. It is a joy to follow and gets seriously epic at the right moments.

Overall, it is remarkable how well Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam was pulled off after the spectacular Mobile Suit Gundam. Pulling off another marvelous show that not only lives up to, but surpasses the first is hard to do, but here it is incredibly done. read more

If the original Gundam depicted a bloody war on an unprecedented scale, then Zeta Gundam shows the profound human breakdown that followed. Set eight years after the first series, the post-war reconstruction is shown to have badly failed. The Federation, once a system the heroes fought for, has been corrupted by a military unit fanatically devoted to Earth supremacy.

Arguably the central theme of the Gundam franchise is the struggle between Earth and the space colonies that orbit it. Zeta takes this concept very far. As newtypes (theoretical evolutions of mankind, meant for space) have evolved and research on them has advanced, a growing divide has formed between them and normal people. This jealous paranoia turns the ruling Earth bureaucracy against its colonies, before they grow too powerful.

Kamille Bidan perfectly illustrates the rebellious, space-faring sentiment. His passion, continually whipping from bitter disappointment to righteous elation and back, transcends reason. Though his emotional depth includes a reserved quietness and easy-going nature, it is the extremes that contain the core of his being. Unlike Amuro, who fought to survive and protect what little he could, Kamille uses his Gundam as a means to many ends. It’s a weapon to strike down enemies of the Anti-Earth Union, and an ever-evolving representation of his powers as a Newtype. By extension, the Gundam is a symbol of the new humanity that touches upon the pulse of the stars, ready to travel the cosmos.

No raw power can connect without direction, the resistance finding theirs in an unwilling Char Aznable. Bright Noah and Hayato also return, this time older and more able to command. Amuro fights as well, in a crucial way, but his lingering guilt and stress limit participation. Most of the focus is put on new blood.

One of Zeta’s biggest flaws is how cheaply it treats characters. Some change sides at the drop of a hat, for trivial reasons, while others are killed unceremoniously. More alarming is that multiple girls are killed, resurrected, then swiftly killed again. There’s an in-universe justification, but I find the second deaths to be too quick, predictable, and all too lacking emotional resonance.

Similarly, the plot is treated with surprisingly little respect. Every single episode is guaranteed to have an arbitrary skirmish between AEUG and the Earth Federation. Typically this is the result of haphazard, overused actions like gundam high-jacking. The battles never have clear strategic meaning. Tactical command is non-existent in the face of random, dueling mobile suits. At worst, this can make the show feel like an excuse for formulaic drama coupled with obvious mecha toy advertisement.

I have to say that the show does a good job getting me excited about gundam. The cockpits close, the gears shift, the marching beats begins, and as the badass suit rises, we hear the bold announcement: “Kamille Bidan, Zeta Gundam... launching!” These takeoffs have an addictive quality. I don’t know when it was that they began standing out. I just know that, after enough exposure, I liked them a lot.

Moments like these are not created by the writing. For me, they’re captured by the audio. The soundtrack always suits the moment. When the aged animation forces long, occasionally ugly shots, music goes a long way to preserve the right feeling. Equally impressive is the Japanese voice cast, in particular Nobuo Tobita (Kamille) and Shuuichi Ikeda (Char). Char is very mysterious, so it is all the more cool that Ikeda can retain that while giving a very charismatic performance with huge amounts of screen-time. Kamille’s voice is probably one of the best for any seiyuu, ever. His character whiplashes from mood to opposite mood in the blink of an eye; this can go wrong in several ways, whether the actor cannot capture just how extreme each mood is, or is unable to create a believable transition. Nobuo Tobita wins.

I am a little guilty about liking Zeta Gundam as much as I do. It isn’t very well constructed, has old art, and feels like the creators made up everything as they went along. Considering many fans hype it as a masterpiece I should have been disappointed. But I wasn’t. As bad as it is in some respects, once things start moving the series succeeds tremendously. There is a complex, multi-faceted cast that averts boring anime characterizations. The mobile suits are highly detailed, coupled with unique, yet diverse character designs. The music is epic and powerful. Perhaps best of all, Zeta demonstrates a wonderfully tragic spiral away from sanity. read more