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Gundam 00 Season 1 Review

This is a review of the English dubbed version

“On paper, this anime probably sounded amazing; the execution, however, not so much.”

(Conclusion) Overall, Season One of Gundam 00 is mediocre. I really wanted to like this anime because it sounds badass when I think ... about it. However, the script, voice acting, and characters drag everything down. A great setting was there, if only it developed a more interesting cast earlier, and the characters figured out how to speak naturally. (End of Conclusion)

Gundam 00 is, of course, set in the future where the world has access to advance technology, specifically mobile suits. The earth is in a scarce resource scenario, and the nations pool their resources together to create a giant solar panel. Of course, the countries of the world begin fighting each other over control of the energy. This is where the renowned genius, Aeolia Schenberg, comes in. He disappeared a long time ago and formed a plan to rid the earth of war. Thus, the anime begins.

Schenberg is long dead before his plan is carried out. He creates the Gundams, advanced mobile suits that severely out-tech the standard Flag mobile suits, and forms a group known as Celestial Being. Celestial Being’s role is to intervene wherever there is war. They destroy anybody involved in the battle, and their advanced technology makes them juggernauts against the earth’s forces. By limiting the earth’s ability to go to war with each other, the anime creates an interesting scenario. This is where everything goes all wrong. The anime paints a very interesting setting, and possibly interesting characters. Unfortunately the delivery of it is damaged by almost everything else.

The characters in the first season are generally bad. I’ll sum of the protagonist in one sentence. “I have no emotion and only know how to fight.” In all seriousness though, he is a war orphan from the Middle East, and has an interesting background. He would have been a good main character, but does not make a good protagonist. Moving on, the rest of the Gundam pilots are somewhat interesting, however, not everything is revealed until the very end of season one and into season two. This really makes watching the first season a struggle.

The dialogue and voice acting in the English dub is generally bad. I almost want to go back and count how many times a character will repeat what another says in a “METAL GEAR?!?” form. It isn’t the most atrocious thing I’ve ever heard (*cough* Pilot Candidate *cough*), but there really isn’t a memorable delivery on anyone’s part. It almost seems downright silly in one episode when the protagonist says “GUNDAM!” about ten times as he fights for his life. Big events that are supposed to evoke a lot of emotion are usually ruined by one horribly delivered line. Combine this with a cast nobody cares about yet and you get quite difficult anime to watch.

The action is well animated and generally good. Unfortunately, it has a lot to make up for. If you’re looking for action and that’s it, you’ll probably be disappointed. It isn’t bad or anything, but there are not any memorable “Goke vs. Vegeta” fights. The best fights are at the very end (if you can make it that far), and in season two.

The art style of this anime is probably what I enjoyed the most. All the Gundams look badass, and the main cast of characters have a nice style to their design as well. Everything is well animated, and there really isn’t much to complain about here.

Overall, Season One of Gundam 00 is mediocre. I really wanted to like this anime because it sounds badass when I think about it. However, the script, voice acting, and characters drag everything down. A great setting was there, if only it developed a more interesting cast earlier, and the characters figured out how to speak naturally.