Kidou Senshi Gundam Unicorn RE:0096

Gundam Unicorn started out with a lot of promise and potential. The animation and characters were both excellent when I initially started this series. But over the course of the show, there's a lack of character development over time makes for a slightly weak ending. I don't care for the episode format of Gundam Unicorn RE:0096 the pacing get's broken up and loses the flow and grandeur of the OVAs. The OVAs felt more cinematic, and now they just seem to be edited down to 22 minute episodes which feels awkward.

If only the character development was held as well as the animation, this could ... have been an outstanding series.

WATCH IT, IT’S AWESOME! Do you really need to read reviews to determine whether or not you're going to watch this?! While there’ve been many incarnations of Gundam since Char's Counterattack none of them take place in the universal century. UNICORN is the universal century in HD! This kids is return of your parents Gundam. This is why Gundam is approaching 40 years of airings. All the things we love about Gundam are here. Also, despite it being the sixth (don’t fact check me that’s off the top of my head) entry in the universal century You don’t need to watch all of that first. ... All the important characters are explained here. It seems unapproachable given the history, large cast and terminology but once you get into it none of that will matter; you’ll go with the flow. I don’t know what ornamental words could convince one to watch this; you knew from the second you saw Gundam & 0096 whether or not you were going to watch it. It teaches the futility of war all over again including the roles corporations play in perpetuating war. What else can I say? If you love the universal century Gundam, watch it. If you love other forms of Gundam, watch it. If you’re curious what this Gundam thing you keep hearing about is, watch it. If you love the mecha genre, watch it. I recommend this series for everyone! The only people I can imagine not liking this series are people who don’t like Gundam in the first place.

Gundam Unicorn was still in progress when I first began to delve into the franchise. I told myself that I would watch the whole series when it was complete, yet here I was 3 years out from its finale without having seen it. Seeking out and purchasing the entire OVA series was a rather unappealing option, and as a franchise I care about I try my best not to pirate Gundam anime. Lo and behold, I discovered that the entirety of the TV version was available (Officially!) for free on Youtube. RE: 0096 is a marketing masterpiece chock full of stunning visuals and Gundam fan ... fulfillment, but with a story that left me somewhat underwhelmed and which may be inaccessible for newcomers to the franchise.

Having been cut from a series of OVA movies, RE: 0096 has stellar animation for a TV anime. There are (almost) no dips in the budget, as we're presented with consistently solid line art. Spaceships and the lead Mobile Suits are done up in conspicuous CG, and I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. The intermittent hand-drawn instances of the Unicorn and Banshee Gundams are gorgeous, but being animated with 3D models lends them a welcome sense of consistency, especially during their transformations.

The character designs are pretty standard fare for Gundam, with none of them too outlandish and many that are just bland. However, the real reason to watch this (Or any series, if you ask me) is ultimately the robot designs. Gundam Unicorn is absolute Universal Century PORN. Remember that Mobile Suit you liked from Zeta Gundam? That one's here. So are the ones from 0079 all the way to Char's Counterattack, as well as many never-before-animated Mobile Suit Variations. The original designs of the Unicorn, Banshee, Sinanju, and Kshatriya are all impeccable, and look simply amazing in action. The grunt suits are nothing to sneeze at, either.

I've listened to Unicorn's soundtrack on and off ever since 2012, because it's just a damn good soundtrack. The lush orchestral pieces range from sweeping and powerful to moody and atmospheric, with varyingly pounding and eclectic electronic percussion. The opening song gives me a heavy Kingdom Hearts "Sanctuary" vibe, and both ending songs are pretty forgettable, but neither are really bad enough to be bothersome.

From the beginning, Gundam has been host to a vast array of normal folk characters to larger than life egos. Unicorn is chock full of the latter, with a few of the every-man sprinkled in here and there. I find the main character Banagher to be particularly weak as a leading role, seeing as he is honestly a static character, and passive in the plot. His direct opposite can be found in antagonist Full Frontal, an unstoppable, pragmatic, and menacing force. Other prominent characters include inconsistently characterized Mineva, white bread Riddhe, hardass Zinnerman, and--my favorite--tragically powerful Marida.

Being known for it's lengthy plot lines, I was somewhat afraid that Unicorn would try to cram 50 episodes of story into its run time. Instead I was pleasantly surprised to find a plot appropriately paced for its original format, covering just a few key story beats. If I had to describe that plot as succinctly as possible, I could only call it a massive game of hostage hot potato, wherein our protagonists attempt to prevent a war by waging war themselves. I did find the conclusion a bit dissatisfying, perhaps because I'm accustomed to all out, large scale battles capping off Gundam stories.

Every episode seems to have characters on opposing sides brought together for calm chit chat, and while this does facilitate ample characterizing dialogue, it also somewhat deflates the tension that should be tangible in the presence of a mortal enemy. I remained mostly satisfied with the robot-fight-to-episode ratio of .91, being subjected to only a couple of episodes completely devoid of combat. I will admit that the political drama kept me engaged during these episodes such that I scarcely noticed the absence of action until the credits rolled. Speaking of political drama, I hope you're ready for the plethora of ideological speeches our characters love to blurt out at every opportunity. All of those monologues can be a bit tedious, but they do get to the very heart of the Gundam Universal Century's lore.

Being contained within the UC timeline is both one of Unicorn's strongest assets and a curse all the same. The entire story is written as a finale to a nearly 100 year conflict that has been the underlying cause of every Gundam story chronologically prior to it, and one's understanding and experience of Unicorn may be diminished without a decent familiarity with UC history. That said, the UC timeline contains stories of wars fueled by the same motivations far into the future, undercutting much of what Unicorn hopes to accomplish.

You may find yourself wondering if RE: 0096 is worth watching if you've already seen the OVA series, and I would have to say... Probably not. As best as I can tell, there is no new animation contained within the episodes (Excluding the OP and ED), so I hope you're not expecting any new content. Compared to my attempts to watch the OVAs, smaller segments of story were actually easier to digest. Additionally, due to the run time of each OVA episode, the pacing is very unusual for a TV Gundam series. Action climaxes can be found every 2 or 3 episodes, and the writing does not feel forced to accommodate unnecessary robot battles (As if there is such a thing!).

The requisite TV anime elements which were added made this a more enjoyable experience for me, but may be off-putting for others. For starters, nearly every episode begins with a recap of the previous ones. Some of them are lengthy, even reaching 4 minutes! In an easier to follow story this might be grueling, but in such a dense and sometimes understated plot I found the recaps to be a welcome addition. The opening and ending themes add a nice touch of familiarity and repetition even if they are a bit underwhelming, with the visuals feeling largely phoned in. All in all, everything they added pushes the total run time from 7.25 hours to 8.8!

When considered strictly as the toy commercial it is, RE:0096 is a work of pure genius. With a budget only large enough to account for opening and ending sequences, editing, and bit of extra voice work, Bandai managed to create a perfect advertisement for their already colossal line of model kits from Gundam Unicorn. Using almost entirely pre-existing footage, they produced a nearly full length TV series to air in front of people who never had the interest or volition to seek out the OVAs. On the Gundam Info uploads of the series, each episode even has 5 straight minutes of ads showing off every kit from the series! If that ain't genius, I don't know what is.

So who should watch RE: 0096? I would recommend it if you've never seen Gundam Unicorn before, are a hardcore Gundam fan, or enjoy gritty robot warfare and pacifistic ideals. If you're in a rush, the shorter run time of the OVAs may be more suitable.

To start off I enjoy the Gundam series a lot, but the one downside with Unicorn is you need some knowledge of the UC timelime. I have some knowledge of the UC timeline, but I haven't watched every Gundam series. Furthermore, the timeline for this show is pretty far ahead of last main line series taking place during the UC timeline; however, if you have no idea what Zeon or Char is, then you'll be lost when they are reference and why they are brought up.

Now in regards to this show, it's decent. It's strengths are the animation, sound, and action scenes. The fights and ... animation of it are great, and the animation of the characters having a similar art style of the 70s and 80s was bold, and it works. Other UC timeline shows usually have an art style reflecting the time it was made, aka The 08th MS Team which was made in the 90s and has the same art style of Gundam Wing. This is where the show shines.

The show falls short on the story though. To be fair, towards the end the story and meaning of what they were after is huge and a great twist. Furthermore, even the character development you see throughout the show is solid as well. The problem with the show which is a frequent problem in Gundam shows is the pacing. At times a major event or plot point happens, then it stops and slows down in the next episode or 2. Same thing how you have constant action for a couple episodes, then nothing happens in a following episode, then you'll see some build up to the next point. Overall, it can get a little confusing with the various factions and how they change sides or work with the opposing side temporarily. Furthermore, this also happens with some of the secondary characters who seem to be brought in without much understanding of their motivations. The main characters are developed well, but the secondary staff is hit or miss.

Overall it's a decent show. Just for the animation and action scenes alone warrant a watch, but I recommend you have some background on the UC timeline and history before jumping in.

I began to see this series hoping to find something worse than what I found, and also for the morbid desire to see how wrong the criticism was or not. Here is not the case, but in various Internet forums such as "Spacebattles" I've finished a bit burned to read all furious critics attacking this series, with a fury that I have only seen in haters declared Cosmic Era. Among other affirmations, the fanaticada denies the canonicity of Unicorn with the "accusation" of "being pro-Zeon propaganda to leave the Federation wrong and in that way that the Zeonians look good". Personally I think that there ... is too much fan of UC out there bent on that anyone who says he did not like Zeta or some "barbarity" similar simply does not deserve to exist.

I do not know if it will be true or not, but in any case I do not care. What I want to talk about now is about this series, and what I'm seeing at the moment I'm liking it. Although I've only seen three episodes, at the moment I have not felt like killing any character or throwing the computer out the window. But I think they should develop a little more Banagher's motivations (his commitment to protect "Audrey" above all other priorities) and friends and their relationship. I suppose that in later episodes the explanation will be further expanded (Why does Full Frontal look like a reborn Char Aznable?) Why are these Neo-zeonians still worshiping Char Aznable? The whole MSG series he was betraying them!)

Another thing that I just do not see too much sense is the Federation committing the same stupidity as Zeon's troops: namely, attacking a colony from within and firing at everything that moves. Or directly open holes through laser cannons slaughtering civilians right behind the wall.
-Because yes, Londo Bell IS THE FEDERATION, even though the apologists of the Federation say noooo, which has nothing to do, just as the Titans were not the Federation, of course not.
At least this at the moment did not end in the destruction of the colony, but it will not be because the Sleeves and Londo Bell have not tried.

The style of drawing is also good, although I find it strange to see that in just 20 years there has been so much progress in the construction of Mobile Suits. Especially if we take into account that Unicorn is supposed to be located between ZZ and Victory, where technology is falling again. It's as if the Imperial Japanese Army fought Zeros in the 40s, in the 60s they use the F-35 ... and in the 90s they use Zeros again for combat. It does not make fucking sense.

Even so, I will continue watching the series and I hope that things improve, because at the moment the story is somewhat slow.

I just finished Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn it had twenty two episodes, I only remember watching this when it had six episodes, and as a Gundam fan, I just want to say, it was absolutely excellent in portraying what the universal century timeline was all about as well as explaining the theory of newtypes. I really enjoyed it. Both characters both trying their hardest to race against time to gain the power of what could be the ultimate power to change the fate of Neo Zeon and be the Triumph card against that of the federation. The original series each episode was fifty something minutes ... long, these are broken down into twenty two minute episodes each.