| I think this anime is brilliant. Sure, it’s not like the rest of the franchise in terms of scale, but the idea of focusing on a more relatable aspect of the war, that of citizens on a colony while the war happens far away, or occasionally in their back yard, is just excellent. Even more brilliant is that the main protagonist's contact with the war is through Zeon, not the Federation, so we watch him make friends with the 'enemy', which is more compelling than with the typical good guys. Because its Gundam, we just have to have tragedy and death, but its done so well. I mean this anime could have mishandled so many factors, but it repeatedly avoids cliched pitfalls. There's no romance plotline dragging things down, there's no epic battle against hundreds of mecha in the end. There's no last speech from Bernie, he's just blown up. There's no moralistic speech to Al in the last scene of the movie, infact the last bit of dialogue is hilarious. "There'll be a better war next time!" I think this has the makings of a classic movie you watch every Christmas with the family. Totally serious. |
"I'm starting to think mal is run by Xinil generating electricity on a bicycle." - idklol |
| Really...? I find it to be the most overrated gundam series, or perhaps the most overrated anime series I've seen. |
az_0kFeb 8, 2009 9:20 AM
| Elaboration please. The script is pretty damn simple, I think calling it a mess is overestimating it. Its brilliant because its so simple, and like I mentioned above, it avoids a lot of cliches as best as it can. There's no lame romance to drag things down, there's no massive battle like we think there would be because the ship carrying the nukes is caught, its a classic template but told in a fresh way. Its just a perfect coming-of-age tale in war time. I didnt find Alfred annoying at all, and believe me I've seen a shit load of annoying brats at this point. Try Renton from Eureka Seven, most aggravating dickhead in all of mecha anime, I'd rather have a picnic with Shinji from Eva than Renton. Alfred compared to those two is a saint. Just a typical kid protrayed in a relatively realistic manner. I'm so glad they didnt make him actually pilot a mecha. |
"I'm starting to think mal is run by Xinil generating electricity on a bicycle." - idklol |
| I have to go with Cihan on this one, I think 0080 was an excellent series. It's a nice short series which handled the whole 'war is bad' message very well. I also didn't find Al annoying at all. Infact he reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger, I used to love collecting bullet shells and old army badges and run around with my friends playing at war. I'll also agree that Renton was unbearable, but well that's a different matter. |
| After watching several anime series with complex plots (RahXephon, NGE), 0080 was a disappointment. The annoying voice actors (Al), the bland soundtrack, the basic storyline all summed up how uninteresting this story was. Zeta Gundam was far better even if it was to crammed into 6 episodes. 3/10 |
| it was most definitely a fun adventure,i liked the two main characters a lot,there was a good chemistry between Al and Bernie,both characters were likeable,it was nice to see Al's development from a kid who loved war and thought it was cool and then suddenly experience how terrible a war can be,also the ending was really great,in the last episode we kinda get the feeling that Bernie will probably not survive and i have to say that his death made me quite sad but i still i liked that moment and the final battle,it was intense,it was perfect and yeah i agree with Cihan the last lines were quite funny "There'll be a better war next time!" :D but still they also have a bittersweet feel |
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| Personally I love Gundam when it's trying to be more realistic, No Hax units, no newtype magic , and no 15 year old out pacing hardened Vets. While I still love the series that came before this 0080 is probably one of the better series, it's right up there with 08th ms team for me. |
| It doesn't think, it doesn't feel, it doesn't laugh or cry..... All it does from dusk till dawn is make the soldiers die. |
| This series felt like it was meant to be a kid's show except the producers decided to throw in some mature themes too... |
AnimusNathan said: Tch. It was a kid fascinated with war learning the realities of it, simple and brilliant. Plus how many series have you cheering for a grunt Zaku over a Gundam? I don't think you understand what makes a good story. Please tell me how that type of basic story is a good story since most of the popular anime series are based on it and have actually improved upon on it? Eureka Seven, Gurren Lagaan, etc... I don't think you know how to be be tolerant of people who have different views. |
| 0080 simply tries to give a point of view of the One Year War from the neutral citizens. Al, just like a lot of kids who are fascinated with military and war, didn't understand how cruel or dangerous warfare could be, and so his naive point of view is in great conflict with Barney, who is still a rookie by then but has begun to experience of horrors of war. I think it tries to show us how quickly people grow up when they are affected by warfare. And while I'm feeling lazy I'll quote something from Chris of MAHQ on the last episode: In Gundam Wing, hundreds of people could die in one episode, and it's meaningless. In this series, one person dies, and it means everything If one doesn't enjoy this series, it's usually either 1) s/he doesn't understand what the OVA is trying to tell us, or 2) it's not his/her cup of tea. |
quentinlau said: 0080 simply tries to give a point of view of the One Year War from the neutral citizens. Al, just like a lot of kids who are fascinated with military and war, didn't understand how cruel or dangerous warfare could be, and so his naive point of view is in great conflict with Barney, who is still a rookie by then but has begun to experience of horrors of war. I think it tries to show us how quickly people grow up when they are affected by warfare. And while I'm feeling lazy I'll quote something from Chris of MAHQ on the last episode: In Gundam Wing, hundreds of people could die in one episode, and it's meaningless. In this series, one person dies, and it means everything If one doesn't enjoy this series, it's usually either 1) s/he doesn't understand what the OVA is trying to tell us, or 2) it's not his/her cup of tea. Let's just stop with all the "if you don't like it then it must be that you don't understand it". I've heard enough of this crap from those Xam'd fans who know perfectly well that Xam'd is a trainwreck but they just don't want to admit it. 0080 is the same story where more than a hundred fans (at least) have already tried to "explain" to me what the theme is and why it's a masterpiece on some other forums. The truth is that 0080 is no A Prayer for Owen Meanie and it doesn't take a genius to understand it. Even a blind person can tell that 0080 is about the cruelty of the war and the way 0080 ended is nothing more but some black comedy which is not even executed well. I'm not trying to write a full review here but the problems are everywhere. First off they tried to mingle two unrelated themes into a single show: cruelty of war and Barney not running away from his duties as a soldier, not to mention the latter has been used in at least a hundred animes. Almost all the characters DO NOT have any backstories therefore even the development of Barney seems weak. Also quentinlau you are totally wrong about the cruelty of war theme. According to most of you 0080 fans, this theme is delivered through the budding relationship between Barney and that Gundam pilot and how they tried to kill each other in the end because of the war. Now I don't buy it at all because I don't feel anything from the characters but that's what the consensus are. |
az_0k said: First off they tried to mingle two unrelated themes into a single show: cruelty of war and Barney not running away from his duties as a soldier Yes, the cruelty of war and running away from your duties as a soldier are completely unrelated. Yes. Ok. Right. Gotcha. not to mention the latter has been used in at least a hundred animes. Never a valid critique of any story in any medium. All we're consuming in life are the same stories over and over again with different variations anyway. Whats important is how certain stories do something different with the same material and as has been mentioned countless times 0080 handles its topic from a unique viewpoint, that is to say from a random colony kid befriending a Zeon soldier with no climactic space battle to cap things off. Almost all the characters DO NOT have any backstories Pretty hard to give a 10 year old an elaborate backstory without it becoming ludicrous and unrealistic. Besides, a lack of backstory is no excuse for critique, what matters is whats happening in this story, character motivations, actions, etc. We dont need a backstory for every single character in a story for it to work or be interesting. Some of history's greatest characters dont even have backstories, like Eastwood's character in the spaghetti western trilogy. You could give a character the greatest backstory ever, but if they dont do shit in the current story then its worthless. In 0080, the characters learn, develop and walk away changed. Now I don't buy it at all because I don't feel anything from the characters but that's what the consensus are. Then just say "I didnt like 0080 because I personally didnt like any of the characters". Because everything else you've said just isnt valid at all. Also: paragraph breaks. Please. |
"I'm starting to think mal is run by Xinil generating electricity on a bicycle." - idklol |
Cihan said: All we're consuming in life are the same stories over and over again with different variations anyway. You are dead wrong. The theme in Eureka Seven is about communication leads to understanding, understanding leads to trust. The theme in Le Chevalier D'eon is about true loyalty. The theme in Ayakashi Ayashi is about how to face your sins in the past and go on living. The theme in Wolf's rain is about faith which does not require any rational thinkings. All of the above are rarely discussed, at least in animes. The point is some masterpieces do have unique themes (please do not rant on how Renton annoys you if you are going to reply to this. I'm not going to debate on two different animes at once). Cihan said: Whats important is how certain stories do something different with the same material More precisely is how the theme is delivered, and 0080 fails miserably. The writer fails to understand the definition of a narrator and a protagonist. The writer spends way too much time on the kid and gives him too much role in the story (at one point I even thought the kid was the hero), when in fact it's Barney who delierverd the not-running-away-from-your-duty theme and it's the budding relationship between Barney-and-Gundam-pilot that reflected the cruelty of war. What's even worse is the fact that the kid has nothing to do with presenting the theme but at the same time the writer acutally uses him to advance the plot, it just doesn't make any sense. Cihan said: Some of history's greatest characters dont even have backstories, like Eastwood's character in the spaghetti western trilogy. You are comparing some trilogy to a 6-episode OVA and it's not really fair. People can do a lot of shit in a trilogy, and maybe you are right, to the point that they don't need a backstory. In a 6-episode OVA, people can't do a lot of shit. The point is, it's a mistake in the first place that 0080 only has six episodes. The writer is too ambitious to present a serious theme in six episodes, especailly when he wasted half of the time on the kid. Cihan said: In 0080, the characters learn, develop and walk away changed. Let's change "characters" to "character" because only Barney learned something or changed. Barney's team did not change or learn anything. The gundam pilot did not change or learn anything. The kid, well he cried in the end, but I'm not sure whether he really learned something and even if he did, does it really matter to the story. And I don't really see a huge difference between Barney's change and all those shounen heroes who are timid at first then go to another place then think about his responsibilities then come back with courage and fight.(ichigo in Bleach) But I gotta change what I wrote previoiusly. 0080 is not the worst anime, it's just the most overrated one. |
az_0kFeb 8, 2009 9:22 AM
az_0k said: You are dead wrong. The theme in Eureka Seven is about communication leads to understanding, understanding leads to trust. The theme in Le Chevalier D'eon is about true loyalty. The theme in Ayakashi Ayashi is about how to face your sins in the past and go on living. The theme in Wolf's rain is about faith which does not require any rational thinkings. All of the above are rarely discussed, at least in animes. The point is some masterpieces do have unique themes (please do not rant on how Renton annoys you if you are going to reply to this. I'm not going to debate on two different animes at once). I wonder if you actually understood the point Cihan was making? All the themes you mentioned above are as old as dirt. Shakespear's plays hardly use original plotlines, yet he's regarded as the greastest English writer ever. az_0k said: More precisely is how the theme is delivered, and 0080 fails miserably. The writer fails to understand the definition of a narrator and a protagonist. The writer spends way too much time on the kid and gives him too much role in the story (at one point I even thought the kid was the hero), when in fact it's Barney who delierverd the not-running-away-from-your-duty theme and it's the budding relationship between Barney-and-Gundam-pilot that reflected the cruelty of war. What's even worse is the fact that the kid has nothing to do with presenting the theme but at the same time the writer acutally uses him to advance the plot, it just doesn't make any sense. Are you joking? The kid has everything to do with presenting the cruelty of war theme. Al starts off as a regular kid who thinks war is all cool and fun, and then learns that war is in fact cruel. How does that have nothing to do with presenting the 'war is bad' message? The fact Bernie and Chris are both sympathetic characters just builds on the theme, since you don't want either of them to die. That they may have gone on to become closer is just a bit of extra tragedy sprinkled on top. Bernie and Chris could have never have met each other and you'd still have the same themes playing out. az_0k said: Let's change "characters" to "character" because only Barney learned something or changed. Barney's team did not change or learn anything. The gundam pilot did not change or learn anything. The kid, well he cried in the end, but I'm not sure whether he really learned something and even if he did, does it really matter to the story. Again I have to question whether you're joking. You complain about Al taking up too much screen time, yet you somehow miss that Al's matured leagues in the final episode. Although it is true there are only two characters that do learn and develop, and only one walks away. |
AnimusNathan said: arimakenshin said: Please tell me how that type of basic story is a good story since most of the popular anime series are based on it and have actually improved upon on it? Eureka Seven, Gurren Lagaan, etc... I don't think you know how to be be tolerant of people who have different views. I think you are mentally handicapped. Eureka Seven and Gurren-Lagann have nothing to do with war or the gritty truth of it. Gurren Lagann is through and through a super robot anime about people piloting kick-ass robots and using emotions like courage and hope to win the battle with the tyranical enemies. Eureka Seven is a super robot anime, character driven show set in a bizarre world taken over by aliens. How in the fuck could they improve upon something they never even did? Are you talking about mecha? Because most Gundam is only partly about the battles. And even then 0080 has one of the most memorable mecha fights ever. Also, what does popularity have anything to do with it? I am tolerant of well-formed opinions, even if I don't agree with them. Your opinion is not well-formed whatsoever. It is nonsensical and naive. You are not tolerant. Why don't you read what you wrote and stop praising yourself. Stay classy, Animus. I prefer not write my opinion on this anime and try to nitpick since it's only anime and nothing philosophical can be taken out of it. Have a nice day. |
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| ^ err.. what's that for? anyway, this is my first completely watched UC era gundam.. and i basically agree with all the guys who love this and thought it was amazing with reasons pretty much similar to theirs.. |
| This Ova is truly a masterpiece. It could even stand alone without the gundam franchise. |
| Oh damn you Arc_! XD You made me cry again thanks to that picture... |
| Yeah this is a couple years old, but it's too good to ignore. "Yeah this anime is for kids but tried to be mature" "It's actually the other way around. as it is a reasonably mature story that just happens to be about children aka 'civies'" "Yeah I don't think so *list a couple irrelevant series that came out almost 20 years later that only had a couple tributes to Tomino's Gundam.* "What are talking about? Those have little to do with 0080 specifically." "YEAH WELL I DIDN'T COME HERE TO NITPICK THIS IS DUMB I'M LEAVING LOL" I'm sure Animus had a nicer day than the other guy did. I'd feel like a total tool if I was him. Gotta love MAL. |
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ninjadante said: This Ova is truly a masterpiece. It could even stand alone without the gundam franchise. Yeah I agree. As much as I loved 0079, Zeta and ZZ, this is on a whole different level. |
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| It's a good show, but lol it's no where near 0079, Zeta or even ZZ. As i said in the last episode thread, if they made this a more longer series. Depicting various arcs of various lives of soldiers on both sides. That would have been much better tbh. I do hope to see more UC era Gundam's in the near future! |
 I just realise that gundam 0080 and macross series share the same characters designer |
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| I think this was an awesome series that stands rather well on its own. It's commentary is somewhat on the nose but it's just so visceral. I don't know if I'd call it overrated, as others have said. It's modest praise is earned and it's not touted as being the best thing ever. |
Awoo :3 |
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