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Sep 17, 2015
After viewing the original Gundam I made my way to its sequel. Here goes.
One thing I immediately appreciated about Zeta was the time skip and change of characters, it shows more of the world and leads to new things to witness instead the plot and characters we've become accustomed to. However, you really are put right in the middle of it, as for the first few episodes I was quite confused as to what was going on and who the titans were, or anything that had happened in those seven years. Thankfully exposition was given and a clearer image is acquired, but for those first
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few episodes I did find it hard to get attached. The shift in morality, I believe, is a good inclusion as it follows through on what was established previously, how the tides of war can change, this series is much more political motivated which may not be for everyone, but for myself I found the question of mankind's attachment to a decaying earth to be an engaging one, and even had my opinion changed on the whole matter.
The plot structure is similar with a new threat each episode while character development and subplots run underneath, if it isn't broke don't fix it. However, one aspect I found disappointing was the Titans themselves, they were portrayed as just so stereotypically evil that on some occasions I found it hard to take them seriously, there are some hints towards the beginning that they may change such as their stance on hostages, but nothing ever comes of it. Also one recurring element I found dull was how Kamille tries to convince four or five different female's to convert to his perspective, each time it's never very new and you get accustomed to it quickly. On the side of smaller nitpicks, why did Char bring two kids onboard, there's never any explanation and all they do is cause trouble and how for a place as big as space people really do seem to bump into each other a lot, also anyone can easily steal a mobile suit.
I felt conflicted on Kamille, I liked the fact that in personality he wasn't similar to Amuro but I did find his constant outbursts of emotion to be somewhat aggravating. For someone who found it incredibly easy to run away from home you would've thought he would run away from being a pilot in a heartbeat. I understand that he's not supposed to be a soldier and acts on emotion but I didn't find him as relatable, however, it's possible that you may. As expected he becomes stronger and finds his place, similar to how Amuro did, in fact their development is almost the same, even to the point of both of their fathers being gundam designers. I preferred the end result of Kamille much more as he still has his independent spirit while struggling with the realities of war but managing to be a competent pilot, I just wish that his introduction didn't leave me with constant questions or apathy.
Char makes a return and is as enjoyable as he was previously but manages to get more development, I found his internal struggle to be quite interesting, admittedly I would have liked it if he has some more screen time and was put in more situations where he wasn't just calm and collected. The returning characters all seemed to fit a role and their inclusion felt welcomed and necessary instead of tacked on. It was great seeing how they've changed and the new struggles they've been placed under, Amuro being a good example. Much like MSG there are an abundance of characters so I can't mention them all but i felt as if they were hit or miss for the most part, I don't particularly mind as when writing multiple characters I understand that it may be quite taxing.
The animation has been heavily improved since last time, the battles are a lot more fluid and there's much more detail in the mechs, characters and environments, it pretty consistent throughout and is generally a really good feature of this series. That and the character designs are as great as ever with masses of variety and unique looks.
The soundtrack is much more varied this time and has a more orchestral score, they elicit a more personal response and generally there are more tracks.
Ultimately I did enjoy Zeta, I was engaged and never felt like putting it aside. However, being a much more ambitious project with its delve into politics and serious themes there's more for it to handle, I would still recommend it to anyone interested and anyone wanting to continue Gundam.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 8, 2015
After having very little experience in the mech genre and just coming off of Aldoah. Zero's disaster of a second season, I decided to take the recommendation of others and start with the original Mobile Suit Gundam. With my expirations low, I was pleasantly surprised.
One aspect I was impressed with on recollection was the pacing of the plot, the first few episodes introduce the inciting incident and the immediate aftermath, setting it all up. But for a show that is essentially just about war each episode, although similar in structure, it offers something new and there is always a new development of some kind, making
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you feel as if progress is taking place. I also enjoyed the world itself, you are given the general details surrounding the backstory but throughout that and the different perspectives it feels like a world that existed before and after, and we're just looking at a snippet.
The characters also impressed me, having the misconception that old mecha hero's are hot headed I was surprised by Amuro's lack of willingness to pilot the Gundam and found it to be realistic and engaging, I felt as if it warranted sympathy and the stress it places on him made me even more involved. Looking back, his development seemed obvious, but when watching I was rooting for him to become stronger. His rival Char Aznable is of equal mention as his charisma and cunning make him a joy to watch and his development kept me engaged, it's easy to see why he has become a fan favourite. Apart from those two the other characters are from White base or Zeon, a lot of the White Base crew managed to get their own episode which left me surprised and loving them even more, from the wide variety of people it's easy to become attached and pick favourite's (Bright is the best). I also really enjoyed the portrayal of war but specifically the soldiers involved, although Zeon is obviously the enemy being based off Nazi's and even a character comparing someone to Hitler, it isn't obvious in terms of black and white, both sides have a mix of people and it becomes more of a battle between ideology as opposed to good and evil.
The Art was a mix, being quite sick of modern day character designs I was really impressed by the older designs with each character feeling unique and there is a lot of variety in terms of facial structure. I anticipated that the animation would be worse than it actually was, the action was engaging but it is something can easily put someone off due to the clunky movement and repeated frames.
I did enjoy the soundtrack with its electronic instrumentals and classical roots, but there aren't that many tracks and you'll become quickly accustomed to the same pieces of music over and over again.
Seeing as I've made this review longer than I wanted I'll keep it short, Gundam 79 is kind of like Star Wars, it has many elements that we've seen in other pieces of media, but throughout its own use of originality and execution I felt engaged, satisfied and by the time I got to the last episode kind of sad that it ended. But there is much more Gundam to watch, and I'm eager to do so.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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