Kidou Senshi Gundam SEED C.E. 73: Stargazer

It has been many years since I have seen Mobile Suit Gundam Seed: Stargazer. I have seen the main series as well as other gundam series and own all the original gundam series that have to do with the universal century timeline. As well as some of the side stories. and Gundam games playstation 2 games and for my japanese playstation 2. I am obsessed with gundams. I love them so much. This anime is about two people who eventually come together in a series of unfortunate events that throw both of them in the chaos of which that is the battlefield. It really is ... a wonderful, although short ova. I throughly enjoyed it all those years ago when I seen it. It's a must watch if you're a gundam fan. It's amazing gundam ova with great battles. I highly recommend it.

Gundam Seed Stargazers is set after Gundam Seed, and takes into consideration crucial events of Seed Destiny, thus, only see this if you saw both series until the end, otherwise, you will lose way too much of the events and explanations, and the OVA will not be enjoyable. That being said, I can assure that Gundam Seed Stargazers is an amazing OVA, with the most perfect portrait of a war I ever saw on Gundam. Let me explain why.

Story: It's absolutely dark. Damn, you think Gundam Thunderbolt is dark? Or maybe Iron-Blooded Orphans? Nope, Gundam Seed Stargazers takes the cake. It does not have the ... amount of bloodshed like IBO, but its the darkest Gundam-related anime I watched so far. Nevertheless, the story, grim as it is, is great. There are moments that they throw you right on a civilian point of view, and it is terrifying. This is an artistic and writing choice that few Gundam made so far. There are moments you really see how terrifying must be for a civilian to see a Mobile Suit. In addition, they expand on essential concepts you see on Seed and Seed Destiny that enrich the whole world of Seed. The story, overall, is brief and with only a few shots of the action, and it was meant to be more of a storytelling event. Still, it is great... I mean, GREAT, war story. Some scenes are even hard, with a perfect portrait of how war truly is. We are used to seeing Mobile Suits exploding each other by the hundreds, thus, we actually don`t think too much of how it would be more perfectly portraited to see these same scenes, but more realistic. In Gundam Seed Stargazers, you will see how it actually is. Like a bunch of Mobile Suits stabbing another, like it was a person, as the pilot screams in terror. That's war, and Gundam Seed Stargazers brings you this reality like no other.

Art & Sound: Superb art, 500% better than Seed. The sound is good, but with no OST that you will remember.

Characters: You will follow a few characters and for only a limited time, hence, you will not get attached to anyone, and no one will become important to you. Nevertheless, they are nicely done, and I have no complaints here... But I have no highlights also. They exist. They fight. They do their stuff. The end. Gundam Seed Stargazers is about the whole storytelling, more than the characters.

Mechas: Strike Noir Gundam is a black version of Freedom, with slight modifications. The others have no memorable feature also, nothing you haven't seen on Seed, or Seed Destiny. However, it brings you Gundam Stargazer, one of the most beautiful Gundam in my list. Gundam Stargazer is also the first to have lighting that remembers the Psyko Frame of Gundam Unicorn, thus Gundam Stargazer did it first. I hope I can find a Stargazer Gunpla!

Overall, Gundam Seed Stargazers is a must see OVA for Seed fans, as well as any Gundam fan. If you are into mechas, you won't see them much, but it is still for you. If you don`t like the mecha genre, but like war stories, Gundam Seed Stargazers is a must-see for you too. It is dark, portraits a war perfectly, and it brings you a good story for the Seed universe and Gundam in general.

This show feels a lot like a 14 year old trying to write something meaningful. There's lots of sad character death, brutal war scenes, and tragic backstories, but there's little to no depth to anything, and it's mostly told with the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the face. I mean they might as well have called the second episode "Crawling in my Gundam, These Wounds They Will Not Heal." The direction was decent, and it felt like everyone involved was really trying, but the short runtime really killed most of the potential this had. Sadly, the last half of the final ... episode finally does seem to come together into something surprisingly well done (and it's really the only reason I'm not scoring this lower), but by then it was too little too late to save the series.