Kidou Senshi Gundam

Mobile Suit Gundam is a outstanding work of ark, yes the graphics are poor if you compare it to these days, but storyline is outstanding, all the characters are complex and many-sided, most of them have their own demons...

For every single on, who calls themself anime watcher it is a real treasure, it is the first in gundam series, also it is 30 years old, and for many of us the music and all is very classic.

Watch, Learn, Enjoy.

I'm not a very huge fan of mecha anime. I did love huge robots as a little kid (Transformers - robots in disguise) like everybody else, but that's it. I'm also not very much into space-operas, nor do I enjoy war stories.

So what is it that impressed me so much about the first Gundam series that I gave it a 9 rating?

In the time when MSG first came out cartoons, as comic books, were considered to be entertainment for kids only, but cartoons which had merchandise such as toys were considered to be even worse - a twenty minutes long commercial. Such cartoons involve ... not very deep nor inteligent story, no character development, no side-stories and especially no message to the viewer. It's quite impressive that although MSG was firstly intended for kids and to promote a toy line that it managed to contain all these aspects. If you add the grim atmosphere with a lot of deaths, it is understandable why the series was cancelled 9 episodes before its initial run.

This show is way before its time and at the first hand not very easy to understand. The Gundam universe is not as simple conceived as eg. Star Wars (which was one of the shows' influences). There are no classical bad guys. The Earth federation has equal amount of bad and honorable people as Zeon. The world of Gundam is very realistic place where divisions between black and white are not allowed, where perfect, moral heroes and one-dimensional evil imperialists don't exist, and where Amuros worst enemy is at the same time also his best friend.

One of the most important and best aspects of the show are the relations between characters, especially the one between Amuro and Commander Char. At the first glance they're sworn enemies, but they have respect towards the other and even when they met for the first time they helped each other. This relationship will further be developed in the next instalments of the franchise. Amuro itself is a fine example of an imperfect hero, which is shown by his disagreements with other crew members of the White Base.

The shows' artwork is pretty good for its time, although the animation is not always sufficiently fluent. The soundtrack is ok. It does great job by representing the fight scenes and the grim atmosphere of war. I like the opening song, although it's overly happy.

Mobile Suit Gundam is definitely not for little kids, it's for all ages. It perfectly describes the absurdity of war and how cruel one can get. It is the show that not only redefined the mecha genre, but the japanese and world animation itself elevating it from level of juvenile entertainment to something much mature. This is not a recommendation. Be sure to watch this if you're into anime or animation of any kind.

I am far from the first person to say this, but It's worth reiterating: anyone who calls themselves an anime fan should watch this. Even if you aren't a fan of the mecha genre, gundam was so influential in the evolution of anime, that many series, across many genres sought inspiration from this classic.

if you aren't an appreciator of retro anime, the animation style may take some getting used to. Even for fans of classic anime, the animation can be painful to watch at times (visible pencil lines, dust on the screens, perspective issues, just to name a few!) which is ... understandable when you consider the cramped timeline and minuscule budget the animators had to work under to complete it.

The story is well balanced and enjoyable, and has something for everyone in it. you will laugh, you will cry, and there are lots of characters you'll want to punch in the face (but don't worry, Lietennant Bright will likely take care of that for you). the characters are amazing. there isn't a single character in 0079 I don't love, and I would gladly take a 2D bullet for any of them if you are unmoved by either the story and the plights of the characters, you aren't paying attention. what makes First gundam great is that the anime is only the surface, and I'm not talking about the whole family of spinoffs within the UC vein alone. there is so much backstory to immerse yourself in, how and why the space colonies were built, where tomino got his inspiration for the colonies and their design, minovsky physics, and the astro-geopolitics of the universal century; its a world you can truly lose yourself in, and one that i visit in my imagination every day.

often people debate whether to watch the tv series or skip through it and watch just the compilation movies. in my opinion they are both worth watching and have their own strengths and weaknesses. a lot of people blame the TV series as having lots of filler and episodes that don't advance the story at all, which is true, but they also offer more detail in the places where it counts. the movies, while using some scenes directly from the tv series, also has a lot of new animation that is of considerably higher quality, and may be easier on the stomachs of people who aren't used to older anime. The movie hits all of the major points of the story, while glossing over a lot of things. The upside being you have an undiluted plot and it can have a higher impact on the viewer, the downside being missing the detail offered in the TV series.

if you are new to 0079, I would recommend watching the movies first to get a taste for it, and then watch the TV version later. either way, both are a must-watch. the dub of both the movies and TV anime are pretty good, so whether you prefer subs or dubs, you are in for a treat

The one that started it all. The codifier of Real Robot anime- Gundam

Mobile Suit Gundam (or Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 nowadays/ Gundam 79 for short) is the first Gundam series set in Universal Century, and the first Gundam series overall airing in 1979.

We deal with a war against the Principality of Zeon, with the Federation fighting against them.

A 15 year old boy named Amuro Ray accidentally jumps in the cockpit of the RX-79, the namesake Gundam.

Amuro then fights against the Zeon soldiers.

... That's on the surface, on the inside we actually have character relations explored from the White Base crew, the original cool ship!

This series also deals with a masked man named Char who works for the Zeon but has a hidden agenda.

Overall, the series is actually a good series, many people would get turned off by the art style, but it still has good action scenes, and I genuinely enjoyed it. I recommend a watch.

This is going to be some-kind-of-review. I just had the need to write something about an almost 40-year-old anime. Oh yeah, pardon my poor English.

Humanity lives in space colonies in order to reduce Earth's overpopulation. Mobile Suit Gundam is a story about war between Earth Federation and Principality of Zeon – the side who separated itself from the Earth Federation and started the war. To keep it short, the story begins from the Side 7 space colony, which is heavily attacked by Zeon. In order to evacuate, Earth Federations space ship called White Base needs civilians to operate - so to say the main character ... Amuro Ray and couple of other survivors.

When escaping Amuro uses Federations secret weapon – Gundam mecha robot - to save himself and the others. These civilians need soon learn how to fight in order to stay alive and face Zeons forces. They are not given any other options, but as you may guess this inexperienced crew grow stronger and united in the heat of war. Our normal 15-year-old main character Amuro is given the heavy responsibility to fight in Gundam and protect White Base, because in the beginning he’s the only one capable of piloting this mecha robot.

I found Mobile Suit Gundam very entertaining and amazing series, so much I couldn’t stop watching it. One of the best things in this anime is that all crew members really are amateurs (amateurs at different levels at least) and civilians at the beginning. Because it’s about war, there naturally were battles over battles over battles. However, story is compelling and it begins to turn really interesting towards the end. Especially when there’s rumors about “Newtypes” – but it’s only a bit shame it took 30 episodes to get there, because I think it’s natural how things take time to develop (just like in the real life).

Characters were nicely made. They all have their meaning, story and history behind them... it was easy to grow fond to them. They grew within the story, made mistakes, were scared about the war and sensitive about how it made them feel. So to say they were like real human beings. War changed them and made them realize what is so important to keep fighting for. They had their own drama’s, which kept this anime interesting.

Animation is like you think it would be for a 36-year-old anime – greatly aged like a wise old man. So yes, compared to this day visuals are clumsy and very simple.. but nevertheless really awesome, as I think personally. It had great, rough and nicely nostalgic feel to it. Gundam is a classic and great piece of anime history, but the enjoyment is based on viewer’s personal liking. I’d advise you to be open-minded when watching. Old fashioned voice effects were just icing on the top and I think voice actors made a good job. When you know how old this anime is, old animation style didn’t really matter – it just made the whole anime much better. Battle scenes were actually pretty good and war tactics detailed. There were a wide range of places where the battles occurred.

Hmm.. the line between good and bad didn’t seem so strict, although many would say Zeons are the “bad guys”. But you can’t really say either side is just evil or pure and innocent. Both Federation and Zeon had soldiers with families, children and fears between them, and they believed their own actions would lead to a better world. Neither side was spared from tragedies. I must say it was hilarious when one of Zeons captains just calmly asked more coffee during a large scale battle, so yeah, it was easy to like some sassy Zeons too. It’s true that continuous fighting took a lot of attention, but I got the feeling that this story didn’t really lack anything. There were everything between romance and conspiracy and false friendship. So to say – much to swallow, but the story remained coherent.

Mobile Suit Gundam is like the mother (or father lol) of all mecha anime. I surely recommend it to all because c’moon, it’s like a general education in anime world. ;)

It is an iconic anime that continues to be remembered no matter how high the bar is raised in quality as time progresses in the anime industry. The original "Mobile Suit Gundam" as it stands now is almost synonymous with the common mecha story of: Boy meets robot; robot and boy meet military; and finally robot, boy, and military fight opposing faction. The name "GUNDAM" has yet to die even after all these years have passed since the very first story of the One Year War made spotlight. It all started with Amuro Ray, and the RX78-2 "GUNDAM", a prototype Mobile Suit developed by the ... Earth Federation Space Forces in an attempt to also gain access to Mobile Suit technology which has thus far been utilized as a trump card by the Principality of Zeon. Even with its dated art style (after all this show is old), this classic still birthed some of the most famous mecha that still remain in the memories of your nostalgic writer. It even manages to have some rather memorable songs that are, although low in number, best known for their great companionship with the anime's amazing action scenes. Although the sounds may not seem to be the most amazing in the world, for a more dated title they lend themselves as being extremely fitting for where they are used. Even more so, the English cast although imperfect like any anime is always a thrill to listen to. It earns the reputation it has as being a classic anime with its amazing story of war and rivalry, its fitting art style for its time, its amazing cast of characters which all play significant roles throughout the story, and its fitting music. "Mobile Suit Gundam" and its One Year War would in the aftermath of its popularity spawn numerous different perspectives of the One Year War, and dozens of new "GUNDAM" Mobile Suits in dozens of different universes.

If you are reading a review for Mobile Suit Gundam, it means you are, probably, a dedicated anime fan, or a mecha fanatic (or both), because this is an ancient show. I`ll be fair in my review on all points, so you can compare to others and your own taste to decide if you want to watch this golden dinosaur of an anime. MS Gundam is the king of the Real Mecha genre, the one that spawned all others, so it holds its place in history forever.

Story: There is a reason why MS Gundam was an actual flop when it came out: it was waaaaay ... ahead of its time. See, in 1979, animes, in general, had more of a humorous, fantastical, or heroic tone to them. Then came MS Gundam, heavily based on war, military tactics, and overall mature background of political intrigue and war effects. The story of MS Gundam aged well, and it is still relevant today. Remember that Japan suffered from the war, and 1979 was not that far from the horrors they faced, thus, an anime that was heavily based on war, could not be what they wanted. However, nowadays, if you watch, you will still get hooked on the story, because all themes are still well developed and the military and political aspects are on point. Another thing that made MS Gundam flop in 1979 was that it was not for kids, although they wanted to. If you see the series, you will observe how tactical and complex everything is. Hence, kids were probably lost back in the day. Another thing was that MS Gundam is the first to introduce the Real Mecha genre, so all mechanical aspects of the "robots" are complex, and intricate with some advanced concepts of physics, not for kids. Do not worry, the story aged like fine wine, go for it.

Art & Sound: Well, you can expect too much, people. This show aired in 1979. 1979 guys, so keep in mind that you should expect old concepts. The art is good for its time. The original artist of Gundam started his career drawing airplanes, cars, and all sorts of vehicles. Because of this, mechanical drawing is extremely original and well made. The OST, however, is not good. But again, in 1979, it was extremely costly to make animation back them, and even more costly to add a variety of soundtracks, be humble when watching older shows.

Characters: This is another thing that MS Gundam had that it was way ahead of its time. They really care about character development. Amuro Ray, your protagonist goes through many phases, showing how much they cared about how the story is delivered. Char Aznable, the original "Man-in-the-mask" antagonist is one of the most charismatic villains of all time, and you will be extremely satisfied with all other secondary and tertiary characters. Even the NPCs have true-to-life reactions to every situation, showing that the team behind MS Gundam knew about life, not only about anime. For example, some people that are just there being affected by the war will act selfishly, only thinking about themselves. That is exactly how someone dragged into a war they don`t agree would act. You will see the protagonists, cry, be angry, feel stupid, frustrated, and make a lot of mistakes. You will see them grow. That's what we want! The only thing that is annoying is every small kid in the show, but ignore them, everyone else is on point.

Mechas: This is the original Gundam, thus, I have to be fair and not compare it to any other mecha in the Gundamverse. What can I say based on this? They are perfect! Original to the core, and the ones where your favorite Gundam was based. We own any kind of respect for the artist.

Overall: The fact that this show was the one responsible for the 15th most lucrative franchises of today's world, already shows you that you must know the original anime. It is responsible for creating the Real Mecha genre, that spawned all other similar shows, and it was way too mature for its time. This show aged well, and if you watch it you will not be disappointed. Just be prepared for old-style anime.

Mobile Suit Gundam, the classic of classics. This show single handedly redefined the mecha genre forever and created what we call the "Real Robot" genre of anime. Mobile Suit Gundam differs from other shows of the time period in that it showed the horrors of war forced upon young people who did not wish to fight, but are otherwise forced to in order to survive.

Story: 9
Mobile Suit Gundam has a captivating story that will suck you in from the very begining. Over the course of the series you will see the development of the young protagonist Amuro Ray from a civilian to war hero, and ... the hardships and heartbreak he must incounter along the way.

Art: 8
For being 30 years old Mobile Suit Gundam is still a beautiful anime to behold. It should be in no way compared to modern HD anime, but insted treasured for it's timlessness and wonderful portral of it's characters and their emotions.

Sound: 10
An opening theme song ranking among the most famious in history, iconic sounds of mobile suits and space combat, and a exellent cast of voice acting from both the Japanese and English versions of the show bring this show to near perfection.

Character: 9
Each character has their own style and presence about them that is wonderfuly flushed out for all to see and admire. We watch as characters are forced to deal with the war they have been flung into and how they change overtime. We see the emotional termoil these teenagers are forced to sholder from watching friends, and enemies die in battle.

Enjoyment: 9
Its almost hard to put into words the level of awsomeness Mobile Suit Gundam displays. The series is adored by so many tens of millions of people throughtout the world. Only by watching it can one truly appreciate and understand why.

Overall: 9
Mobile Suit Gundam is the first series into what has now become the most successful anime franchise in existance. It is the very definion of what it means to be a classic. For any Gundam, mecha, or dare I say anime fan of any age or origin this will be an adventure you do not want to pass up.

Along with Space Battleship Yamato, which was always more parts space opera than military fiction anyway, Mobile Suit Gundam forms the foundation of both the military and real mecha genre in Anime. Despite its age, it is evident that MSG is an influential and compelling show, even to this day. Even then, it is hard to recommend it to anyone more due to it ageing in some less than ideal ways. This age makes it difficult to review since the groundbreaking elements of a late 70s anime are now to be expected or even subpar in some cases. At the same time, it must be ... acknowledged that this is due to MSG's influence having propelled the military and mecha genre to its current standards. On the other hand, some of its flaws have only become exacerbated and cannot be entirely written off due to MSG being a product of its time.

Sticking closer to a science fiction military conflict, MSG has an exceptional commitment, for the time, to portraying a war fought with plausible mecha equipment. While frankly a wildly impractical means of combat and showing an unrealistic level of durability, there is an undeniable charm and effort made to consider how mobile suits would be employed. Combined with some striking military detail, like the missiles fired in the opening episodes being wire-guided, it effectively sets the tone and expectations for the series, focusing on the grit and technology of the conflict. The dated 70s animation does hold this back quite a lot, lacking the ability to express complex battles while also not having much raw spectacle to draw in viewers. This made it difficult to watch at times but also unfair to hold against MSG since it was a serialised show from four decades ago. This tone and aim falters even more with the very unrealistic retro-futuristic style used for some vehicles, especially the almost comical way White Base deploys its armaments in exposed and extendable platforms. It is still an admirable attempt for what started as a children's television show but does feel a little hard to love.

The absence of any alien antagonist also reinforces this idea of an examination into human conflict. In forgoing the easy option of fighting a literally inhuman enemy, MSG opts to tell a tale about humanity and our relationship to war instead of using conflict as a cheap narrative vehicle to tell a black and white story. The real problems start to arise because this aim conflicts with the narrative decisions the show takes. MSG seems unable to decide if it wants to be a serialised, almost villain/battle of the week, style show or if it wants to concentrate on being a long-form narrative one. This is partly due to the constraints of late 70s television, but it is a severe detriment to the show. The episodes after White Base arrives on earth feel particularly meandering, with only a few of them doing any character building. Garma and Rambal Ral are interesting characters, but that is with the benefit of having seen Origin and the later additions to UC Gundam. With just what is provided in MSG, there is a distinct lack of depth and what is there is not explored anywhere near its full potential. This can be said about the entire conflict between the Earth Federation and Zeon in general, with any ideological motivation behind the conflict barely being examined. With the remainder of the story after they return to space being rushed, it is also plain to see that the reduction of MSG's original 50+ episode order significantly hurt it. However, the stagnating and meandering earlier portions also make it apparent that the episodes were not used efficiently.

A lot of MSG is bogged down in elements there were clearly made so that the show could ostensibly claim it was targeted at children or at least young teenagers. The elements of sometimes slapstick humour and the inclusion of the children on White Base beyond the point where it was reasonable creates this jarring contrast to the more sombre and dramatic moments in the show. Part of this can be attributed to the time it was made in and the limitations imposed on it by its sponsors, but it definitely detracts from the war drama that MSG is clearly striving to be. On the science fiction front, the concept of Newtypes, while frankly more parts science fantasy, is one of the more interesting elements of the show. This again is distinctly underdeveloped and detracts from the full realisation of the show's premise. The saving grace of MSG is probably its final episodes, where it starts to distil the elements that would make mobile suit combat so iconic. The one on one duels between exceptionally gifted pilots, the personal rivalry/antagonism, and finally, the massive space battles. While still conceptually strong with its military elements, it still ends up feeling halfbaked even after accounting for its age and production circumstance.

Sadly, the character elements of MSG fail to bolster its incomplete conceptual strengths. While many characters like Char, Amuro and Bright would become iconic, charming and fascinating characters, there is surprisingly little done with them in MSG itself. Char's position as this ideological third pole in the conflict is underdeveloped and barely brought up at times. Consequently, Sayla and her backstory with Char does not get very much development and feels like wasted potential. On the other hand, Amuro's character is never really delved into, not entirely falling into the reluctant warrior archetype nor the aspiring ace pilot. While there are interesting moments where there are inklings of his complexity, the show remains cognizant that he is a fifteen-year-old boy thrust into battle. The lack of dialogue, even eventually discussing his struggles at times, makes many of his actions feel more petulant than a severe reaction to war. Again, it is somewhat understandable given the show's target audience and serialised nature. However, this show of brooding anger and then failure to address or add depth to it with dialogue seems to plague most Gundam series moving forward. It leaves Armuro with seemingly little ideological motivation for combat and the more emotional aspects like his feelings about war and personal loyalty to the White Base crew underexplored or left entirely to inference.

On the other hand, Bright was a stand out character, acting as a paragon mentor who struggles to live up to his duties. His effective characterisation is likely due to him having a relatively flat character arc by nature, which is more suited to the narrative pacing of MSG. His interactions with Mirai and the moments of weakness where he deals with the consequences of his command are the most mature and stand out moments of MSG. It is also probably the clearest indication that the story MSG told was better suited to an older audience. Surprisingly, another well-done character was Kai, who managed to grow past his initial impressions. This was not quite a smooth transition, with two episodes highlighting his change before he faded into the background again. Yet, it was more than sufficient for a member of the supporting cast, and it was a pity that this treatment was not given to Hayato or Fraw. The most interesting character was perhaps Lalah, mostly because she was the main conduit that connects Amuro and Char as well as introducing the idea of Newtypes. However, she enters the narrative far too late to make a substantial impact on the show. Again, it goes to show how MSG's most interesting moments are in its latter half, yet that was sadly cut short.

Overall, Mobile Suit Gundam is undeniably an influential show and pushed the boundaries of what themes animation could cover. Despite some of its lacklustre character moments and extremely dated animation at times, it still stirred up plenty of emotions by the climactic and harrowing battle in the final episodes. It is more of a pity that the story could not be the war drama it clearly wants to be and would have excelled at. In particular, we never really dig down into the failings of the Earth Federation or the more ideological questions that come with an examination into war. Nor do we get the real depth of character that more personal war dramas live or die by.

If I were around in 1979 and old enough to watch MSG, I would have probably given it a 9. Maybe even a 10 if I had never seen the original Space Battleship Yamato. However, there are plenty of problems due to its constraints that drag the show down a lot. Things that even the benefit of age cannot smooth over. While I still think it is a strong 7 and even at times an 8, I cannot really recommend this to anyone who is not already a Gundam fan. There are times where it is hard to watch, and its age means that its successor series accomplish a lot of what MSG sets out to do in a more polished and developed form.

Gundam 0079 marks the start of my own (possibly) long journey with this very long franchise. 

From the very beginning, Gundam is pretty much yelling at you "war is bad", the narrative is always showing everyone on all sides have their own struggles, loses and traumas. And that's great, Gundam doesn't fall for cheap Manichaeism, the characters aren't only "good" or "evil", both sides are going to be explored, even if not for their full extent on this specific entry. 

That being said, Gundam 0079 still seems carries some elements from older mecha shows, like almost episodic battles that don't really add much to the plot (I ... have yet to see the movies, but AFAIK, they cut a lot of those, just to show how pointless some of them are). And in later stages of the show, a new and very important concept is weirdly introduced (Newtypes), the concept itself is not bad, but how it's established is, and the show final episodes pretty much revolve around this, and it took a little while to get used to this.
 
But still, we have a great cast of characters, our main crew from White Base has interesting flawed characters, like the main character Amuro, a teenager that got involved in the war not by choice, like many characters, he's not a heroic figure, and the series explores his stuggles and his troubled journey very well.

On a more technical standpoint, comparing to other shows from the same period I have watched (Not many, so take my comparison with a grain of salt), MSG doesn't have the greatest animation, it's not terrible, but not great either, but it still manages to deliver memorable scenes when it matters. Also, the soundtrack is amazing.

Overall, Mobile Suit Gundam is an interesting start point to the franchise, but from the little I saw, it didn't reach the apex of the themes it's trying to explore, and it suffers from a weak production and a bunch of pointless episodes. Enjoyable, but time consuming.

Mobile Suit Gundam, the original mecha anime that inspired so many other anime of the same genre. It truly deserves to be called a classic.

Story 9/10

What I love about the story is how suspenseful it is; most of the show takes place with the main character's behind enemy lines thus they have to be on almost constant guard for enemy attacks. Furthermore, there's a real sense of danger as well because the Gundam's pilot, Amuro, has no formal military training yet he's fighting these veteran soldiers and you can see the fear in his eyes therefore it really makes you question whether Amuro will ... survive or not.

Furthermore, it adds to the suspense how at the end of every episode, instead of saying "to be continued" or "the journey continues", the narrator says "who will survive".

Another thing I love about the story is how it doesn't downplay the horror of war. It's not always soldiers fighting soldiers, children and innocent civilians are effected as well. There's one episode where a civilian woman talks about how she wants to raise her son in her hometown on Earth, but then learns her hometown was destroyed and you see how devastated she is.

Also, I love how the bad guys, the Zeon soldiers, are depicted as real people. In a lot of stories the bad guys are just meant to be these nameless, faceless evil men, but in this anime it's hard to forget that there are people piloting those robots. For example, there's an episode where the fiancee of a soldier Amuro killed comes to kill him to avenge her lost love and it's so tragic when she dies so pointlessly.

However, the story isn't perfect.

Part of the reason I only gave this anime 9/10 was because, near the end, they add these new characters called "new types" who have these psychic powers and it becomes a big plot point. However, it just feels shoehorned in and doesn't fit well with the rest of the story.

Animation 8/10

First, you have to remember that this anime aired in 1979 and the animators had a tight budget to work with with most of the animation focused on animating the battle scenes leaving little to the character animation. All of the characters have very limited facial expressions and show very little emotion.

However, one thing I really like is the design of Gundam and the other mobile suits. Gundam has a pretty wide range of weapons including the Beam Cannon, Beam Saber, Beam Trident, the Shield, and of course Gundam can still do a lot of damage fighting with its' bare hands.

Characters 10/10

Amuro is an amazing and complex character that goes through a lot of changes. You have to remember Amuro never wanted to be a soldier thus it isn't entirely surprising when he begins experiencing PTSD and even gives serious thought to quitting. However, Amuro overcomes these feelings and as the show progresses Amuro and the other character all learn to rely on each other and fight to protect each other.

Char is Amuro's rival and greatest enemy. What I love about Char is how calm and calculating he is during battle. He always waits for the perfect time to attack and knows when to retreat. However, while I love Char, I do wish we could have seen more of him in the show.

As for the other characters, I also wish more attention was given to side characters like Mr. Bright and Fraw Bow.

Sound 7/10

The voice acting is fine, bust it's the opening music that I have a problem with. The opening song is so upbeat and just doesn't seem appropriate for such violent anime about war.

Overall 9/10

Despite being a product of its' time in terms of animation, I'd still recommend this anime to anyone, especially seasoned anime fans who want to know how giant robots became so popular in Japan.

Mobile Suit Gundam is one of the biggest franchises in the world. It is bigger then Transformers, bigger then Yu-Gi-Oh! and bigger then most Jappanese franchises. I honestly have no idea how SUNRISE could come up with such a masterpiece about moving robots that you can pilot. It seems somewhat boring, but if anybody can pull it off it is SUNRISE.

Chances are, your reading this because you just watched Iron Blooded Orphans, or if your one of those who follows the "cool" crowd - and I use every little bit of British sarcasm to say that word - you watched Mobile Suit Gundam 00. If ... the answer is the latter then A) What are you doing with yourself and B) WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOURSELF??

Compared to the original three, or any of the new ones 00 is a bit of a bad series. And if your reading this to see what the original is like, go ahead. Once you have read this, you will agree with me and you will stop following the crowd that watches 00.

Mobile Suit Gundam (the original) is a 1980s anime based on a toy series. It follows the exploits of Amuro Ray, a 13-year old refugee on a spaceship and is suddenly made an acting member of crew because of his natural ability to pilot the government's new weapon...THE GUNDAM!!!

Throughout the series, Amuro faces off against the baddest name for the baddest group of badies in the whole f****** universe....the Principality of Zeon. Kycilla, Garma and Dozle Zabi all run Zeon, whilst the original heir, Char Aznable works them from the inside, and whilst Char is not the villain of this story, his tragic backstory and romance with Lala Sune turns his anti-hero character into tritary antagonist. And you can call me bold for saying this, but villain wise, he is one of the best around.

Don't forget the other characters too! Hayato and Kai provide humour during the more dark bits of the series. Hayato actually pays a pivotal role in the sequel; Mobile Suit Gundam Zeta (which I am saving for another time). We also have guys like Sayla Mass, which I assume is a pun on Sailor Moon, and let's not forget Bright Noa, the captain of White Base.

Art wise, it is not too shabby for an 80s anime. Coming from the same studio that did G.I. Joe, this is expected, but the thing that blows me away the most is the sound...the way everything sounds is just so amazing! Add to that a complete soundtrack that adds depth and story to every battle, and it almost blows away the characters we forget about (M'Quve for instance).

Pros:
-First anime of it's kind outside of Neo Genisis Evangellion.
- A great story involving two factions against each other with internal problems.
- The art and sound are stunning for the 80s...better if you listen in English
-It has a great antagonist name (ZEONNNNNN!)

Cons:
-Most of the characters are not fleshed out and need a backstory. Ramba Ral, Kai, Hayato, Dozle and even Amuro feel like skeletons.
-Not the best Gundam to start on.

Approval:

Although I gave this a ten out of ten overall, I would only give it a BUY approval. The only thing stopping me from adding this to the ++ collection, is because the characters are like skeletons.

At this moment in time, Mobile Suit Gundam is not available for legal streaming in the US/UK/CAN, but I am sure you will get around that, won't you?

Reccomendations:

Guren laggan

Neo Genisis Evangellion

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 ... 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.

Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 is a bit of an anomaly, and when one looks at its contemporaries in anime, it's no wonder it was a flop at first. The late 70s was the era of Leiji Matsumoto's dreamy space fantasies and Go Nagai's bombastic, cartoony Mazinger franchise. Yoshiyuki Tonimo's creation of Mobile Suit Gundam was a bold move. It was essentially a military drama, with minor science-fiction and action/mech elements. The story diverged from the popular Monster of the Week formula and instead featured an overarching plot with a focus on character development and military intrigue. It is to 0079's ... credit that some of its very best episodes ('Time, Be Still' comes to mind) barely feature the titular mech at all, instead focusing on ground combat between humans.

MSG0079's strong points include good character design, an excellent cinematic score, and the new ways it showed an action anime could be produced, but it has weak points, too. The background landscapes are quite bland; earth is mostly represented as a hilly brown wasteland. The english dub is also so-so, with Bright's actor a high point and Frau Bow's a major low.

MSG0079's most glaring flaw is the way some episodes become a 22-minute chunk of confusing exposition. Most of 'Hand to Hand Combat' is devoted to the characters explaining the plot. We see Amuro recuperating in his quarters, Ramba Ral preparing an invasion of White Base and Ryu, Hayato and the others set out on a buggy to scope out Zeon. One gets the impression of a fragmented and unfocused plot. As Ryu astutely says, "Why is everyone on White Base running around doing whatever they feel like?"

All in all, a landmark anime with some flaws, as landmark anime will often have.

Oh man, what a relic! I can't get over how dated this show is! If it were American, it might have been from the 1950s. I kept thinking there's no way this was 1980. So, what do I think of it? For one, the gender stereotypes are ridiculous, but at least by the end of the series they get a bit progressive, with not one but two competent female fighters. The animation is not the angular stuff that we're used to, but a more westernized style. It's fun to see how they used to do stuff, with the lower budgets forcing a more economical approach ... in a pre computer generated paradigm. Some things that we see a lot of are silhouettes instead of full forms and distant explosions. The plot is a tedious run through the military genre, with the allowance of innovation only in the weapons department. It is about a young soldier coming of age through the hard knocks of war. The messages are simple: war is bad but necessary for the greater good, courage is what defines a man, it's unforgivable to harm women and children, but not so much to harm men, tragedies are a part of life and one must move on without forgetting. It's stereotypical tripe, and utterly lacking in humor, but it is well made regardless.

[KIND OF A SPOILER]
The ending was a very good ending that tied it up fantastically whilst introducing a spiritual level with the emergence of newtypes. Arthur C. Clark would be embarrassed by yet another mediocre rehashing of his original concept, which is really older than him, but he was the one who brought it to science fiction and made it what it is today. Asimov also hinted at it in his Foundation series. It happened in other anime besides this one, but what always disappoints me is that the revolution is never shown. Here, all of humanity will become newtypes, but this is never shown. In elfen lied, another show that used this concept, all of humanity were to become diclonius, but this was never shown. I guess the vision from there on out is too fantastic, and must be toned down a bit. (Imagine getting the job to animate the evolution and destruction of humanity!) The newtype thing was interesting, but it wasn't fleshed out, and ultimately fell a bit flat from its potential. I could say that about this whole show though. Hurrah for starting a genre, but it was a kind of lackluster start to the genre.
[END SPOILER]

So, for my score: a 7 for the story, more or less for the reasons I've talked about. In general I would have given the art a 7, but for coming up with the designs of the suits, designs that have remained with us ever since this show aired and essentially pioneered a genre, I have to push that up to an 8. The sound was pretty bad, with an embarrassing opening and closing, but an okay soundtrack, so I give it a 5. The characters were very hit or miss. I liked Char and Sayla, I despised the little kids (what purpose did they serve?), so I give a 6 for characters. I enjoyed it a lot despite it's faults, so I'll grant it an 8. This makes my overall rating a 7. I recommend it to people who are interested in seeing a historic show. If you don't really care about the history of anime, then whether or not I recommend it depends on how much free time you have and how much you enjoy the genre. I personally think every true fan of anime should at least do themselves the favor of watching part of this series.

The Mobile Suit Gundam franchise has come a long way since its inception way back in 1979. At some point, it was even close to being cancelled due to the initial low ratings. Now, over 30 years later, the franchise consists of multiple series', toylines, games, and more, the original is even considered an anime classic by many anime watcher. During 1981 and 1982, three movies: Mobile Suit Gundam I, Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow, and Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters In Space were made to recap the events of the show. Now that the introductions are out of the way, it's time ... with a blast from the past with a review of the show that started it all, Mobile Suit Gundam.

Story- Universal Century 0079, mankind have colonized space and developed powerful weapons called mobile suits. A war between two factions, the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon is in action, this is known as The One Year War. The war is so severe that humanity's existence is in question. The story begins with the Earth Federation's warship, White Base, arriving at Side 7 to pickup its latest weapons. Upon arrival, Zeon forces immediately attack Side 7, killing many civilians in the process.

Amuro Ray, a 16 year-old civillain of Side 7, stumbles upon Earth Federation's latest weapon, a powerful mobile suit known as Gundam. From there, we follow Amuro, along with the crew of White Base, survive the war against Zeon. The story's themes are well-handled. The horrors of war, losses of loved ones, and ambitious ideals are greatly discussed and adds more substance to the story.

Characters- The majority of the characters are likable. Amuro Ray, our main lead, may start as whiny and much of a jerk, but towards the end, he's a developed, mature person. His rival, and one of the coolest anti-heroes in anime history, Char Aznable, is an intelligent, yet cold person. Like Amuro, we know more about his true intentions and history as the story progresses. The crew of White Base, consisting of civilians from all ages, are likable and receive character development as well. Don't be surprised that you'll also empathize with many members of the Zeon forces as well.

Presentation- Despite their age, the visuals for the most part holds up decently. However, at times the animations for the mechs can be a bit disjointed even for a late 70's show. While it doesn't severely hurt the visuals, it's still a noticeable. The audio is good. The voice-work is handed well and each character sounds just like how thye should. The soundtrack is good, with some nice tracks such as "Gallant Char" being my favorite.

Overall- I really had a lot of fun watching Mobile Suit Gundam. Its plot, characters, and themes of war and losses were well implemented. If you can get past the aged presentation, you'll find some enjoyment to be had. Its a mecha classic! Newcomers who are interested in the Universal Century timeline should watch this one before heading on to its successors.

Hello everybody!
This is my first review so sorry if it sucks:

Gundam. One term, this one term is known throughout the anime world.
Why? Because of it's outstanding way of story telling. And introducing the Real Robot Genre!
Here we will dissect the Very First Gundam.
Mobile Suit Gundam! It is no doubt VERY old, and we're here to find out if it holds up today.
Don't worry about Spoilers!

Story:
... The Universal Century. Humans have finally migrated to space, the final frontier.
Because of the over abundance of people on Earth, most of the population has been forced to live in gigantic space colonies against their own will by the Earth Federation. Wishing for the independence of the Colonies Zeon Deikun forms the Federation of Zeon, a group working for the independence of the Colonies.
U.C 0079 our story starts out with Amuro Ray a boy fascinated with machines. However as his colony is attacked by Zeon Mobile suits he stumbles upon the Earth Federation's Project V. The secret weapon of the Earth Federation: Gundam. Soon after Amuro joins the Federation as a crew of the White base along with other survivors of the Colony.
I'm going to stop here now, as you really need to watch it to appreciate it.
The story after that is outstanding for it's time. Focusing on making the two factions Gray rather than good and evil. The story obviously follows Amuro and the Crew of the White Base as they battle against the Zeon forces.
Don't expect any thing too special now, since it was a fairly new idea at the time. And they were still trying to get their bearings. It has it's ups and downs with an infuriating at that point Deus ex Machina near the final parts.
But it's enjoyable to say the least. And hooks you in.
HOWEVER, it could have been expanded further if more there were more episodes, and the anime as a whole could have benefited from it. But because this is the starting point of the series i think it's great. And it leaves a lot to be expanded upon in the sequels.

Characters:
This is the bulk of the story. The characters and interactions with each other is the best part about this anime. They are all dynamic and change throughout the course of the anime and undoubtedly you will get attached to them. Amuro being a teenager has the most growth. From being a typical whiny teenager to being a soldier who has a duty to a man who has seen the true horrors of war, we see it all.
The other characters aren't left out either. My personal favorite being Kai. Who from a complete jerk evolves to a much more friendly and supporting person while not seeming like a completely different person.

Mecha:
The mecha here are all interesting. Although only two really stick out for me the titular Gundam and the Zaku.
The mecha all have varied weapons, are realistic in performance (or as close to reality as possible) and are unique from each other.
If you are a mecha fan this is just another high point. If not, you will still find at least some of them interesting.

Art:
The art is fairly average for it's time. The characters are distinguishable.
And it passes, that's all there is to say.
The mech designs however could use some detail (which is fixed in the OVAs released MUCH later)
The character designs have aged well. Not so much for the mech designs though. Especially if you have watched the later entries in the series.

Animation:
Animation is average. Standard for it's time.
But it has aged HORRIBLY. I noticed lots of repeated scenes; one that sticks out is Amuro recoiling inside the Gundam's cockpit. It is used a lot.
However it is not horrible itself. It's just a side effect of time.
If you can stand or like old animation from the 70s then you have no problem. However if you are a new age viewer who grew up with recent anime, or have started the Gundam series elsewhere, this is NOT for you.


Sound and Music:
The sound effects are standard. Nothing too particular stands out.
The Music however, is on another level. The songs are extremely well placed and thought out, dictating how you should feel whether it being scared or pumped for action. It has it all.
Two sticks out to me the most, the opening which any mecha fan worth it's salt knows and Gallant Char. Which just spews 70s vibe.

Conclusion:
I might have been a bit too hard on the Anime here, but that's because this review is meant for people who want to start the Gundam series. And from that point of view I have judged from today's standards. Either way if you want to start Gundam, this is the best place to start. If you start from either SEED or 00 as i recommend to some people they will get turned away by the aged animation and art. And besides every other anime in the UC timeline starts here. And thus watching this will result in a much more rich experience later on. And any mecha fan worth a salt HAS to see this. At least to see how every other Real Robot anime generated from. Just to pay respects.
Also there are compilation movies released recapping the original Gundam in a condensed form, i suggest you watch the anime if you can though. It's a Legend for a reason!

As a special........let's say gift for those who want to start Gundam who don't know where to start, the Wikipedia Gundam page is a good guide to follow. As it lists by their release dates.

Hope you Find this useful! And if you did THANK YOU!
If you have any further questions or plain Feedback on how to improve myself, please feel free to contact me!
Hope I helped!

Mobile Suit Gundam is without a doubt one of the most groundbreaking animes of all time; having spawned a franchise that has now been in existence for more than 35 years. This is the series that started it all, back in 1979. While the show is dated, it’s a big part of anime history and for fans of the mecha genre, a must watch.

The premise of the show is that it is far in the future (Universal Century year 0079) and humanity has largely moved to the stars, in giant orbiting space colonies, gathered in clusters known as Sides. One of the Sides, Side 3, ... has rebelled, calling itself the Principality of Zeon and declared war on the Earth Federation, the ruling government of Earth. The biggest factor in the war are giant humanoid fighting robots, known as mobile suits. Zeon has been able to take a big advantage in their war due to their overwhelming mobile suit advantage. The show’s main storyline shows us the war between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon, focusing in particular on the Earth Federation ship White Base and Amuro Ray, a civilian boy who pilots the Federation’s prototype mobile suit, Gundam.

This show is very inspirational to the genre in many ways. For starters, Mobile Suit Gundam was the first show to portray giant robots as mass produced weapons of war instead of over-powered devices piloted by superheroes. This would result in an entire new sub-genre being created, the “real robot show” (as opposed to “super robot shows). The show is extremely effective at showing the negative effects of war. Much of the cast are civilians thrown into the conflict against their will. We are frequently presented with storylines showing civilians or very low level grunt soldiers. For example an early episode shows a mother and her young child trying to find her deceased husband’s hometown, only for it to be revealed at episode’s end that a lake they passed by is actually the water filled crater of said hometown. Another great thing the series does is provide us with sympathetic characters on both sides. While our main heroes are members of the Earth Federation, we are also presented with a lot of development for characters on the Zeon side as well. This is best done through Char Aznable, arguably the franchise’s most famous character, but also various other Zeon characters as well.

The show is also very revolutionary with its main character, Amuro. Amuro is not a gung ho traditional hero. Amuro is shown to frequently clash with his superior officer, has a bad relationship with his parents, suffers from exhaustion and post-traumatic stress syndrome, eventually gets extremely arrogant in his abilities and so on. A lot of thought was put into making Amuro a unique and different type of hero. In the late 70’s, seeing a hero like this was virtually unheard of. It’s a lot of enjoyment watching the character grow over the course of the series. Overall the show has a very likable and well developed main cast of characters, and practically everyone has at least one point during the series where they shine.

The two main aspects of the show that are its biggest weaknesses is the pacing and the presence of cliché super robot elements. While the show is principally a serialized storyline, there are certain aspects of the show, especially in the first half that can be slow. The big events do come, but sometimes it takes several episodes to get there. On the other hand, once we get towards the end of the show, the pace quickens considerably. For example one of the show’s most important elements, the concept of newtypes (which becomes more important in later installments of the franchise) isn’t even mentioned for the first time until episode 37, but is a huge part of the plot the rest of the way. Part of this belongs to the show’s fate at the time; it had been planned to run for 50 episodes, but got cancelled, resulting in a much quicker ending (although to its credit, unlike other shows that have been cancelled, the show does feature an actual ending).

The super robot elements of the show can also be frustrating at times. While the show is revolutionary in many respects, the producers were under pressure to use the show to help sell toys, and as such we are presented with many sequences in the show where the Gundam parts are combining mid-air, or are using special parts which appear to have no real use in the storyline. This aspect of the storyline would thankfully be abandoned in the movie compilation version and later sequels, but is just something which comes with the territory for shows from this era. Also is the presence of a battle in literally every single episode. Even for a big fan of the genre like me, there are times where the fact that we can’t even get one episode with a break from this is annoying.

Overall though, this is a show whose strengths are far greater than its weaknesses. I’m not recommending this show simply because of its historical importance; it is also a very entertaining one and a great way to get into the Gundam franchise. Yes, it’s an old show, but don’t let that dissuade you from watching it.

Warning this review may contain spoilers.



First impression, so being a fan of the grandma franchise in general I decided to check the Gundam that started it all and to see what some of the old school fans where talking about.


Story, 7/10
Far into the descent future,
Mankind as developed the technology that can allows people to live in space colony's Known as sides,
... As one of these colony's desire independence from the earth federation
And so comes the birth of the principality of Zeon who decides to launch a brutal war of independence ageist the earth federation,
With the help of there humanoid robots known as mobile suits,
Nine months pass and the earth federation has developed there own mobile suit called a gundam, when the zeon forces launch an attck on the colony where the gundam is held, are Main character amuro Ray a young youth is forced into action as he becomes the pilot for the gundam which throws him into a conflict that's takes him all across space and earth with the crew of the battle ship (white base),
While gaining an arch rival from the zeon forces called char aznable.

Now you're probably thinking that's sounds kind of boring,
What's the big deal about this exactly,

Well I am glad you asked,
Because when gundam first come out it pretty much revolutionized the mechca
Genre and pretty much set the ground work for many of the tropes and cliches that have been a staple in quite a few mechca titles and there are a lot of shows today's that can draw a lot of parallels that started with gundam,
It also introduces politics and other elements that where that weren't used that much when it first came out,
Because a lot of mechca shows around that time where mostly doing this episodic super robot vs monster of the week formla,
While gundam decided let's have plot continuity, let's have human vs humans conflicts, let's add politics and while we are at it let's add people who can gain psychic like powers called new types.

But in retrospect when you strip away its historical importance,

gundam (0076) is pretty much this simple and smooth decent war drama that is talking about little bears and bones of what happens when soliders fight or die,
It's pretty much a critic on war.

I like it for its simplicity and the fact it never try's to over complicate everything,
But the problem is that's it's to broad to have a really overall focus,
And it's has quite a few things that really hold it back,
Like it gets a little to much at times with its human Drama element,

But it's kind of justified that these people are involved in war and that can be very stressful, but I do believe at times they really did overblow it,

Another thing I found that the story can be very dry and boring at times,
But on the plus side it's takes itself seriously enough especially with the subject matter it's topic at hand,
And has some pretty good pacing.



Characters, 7/10

The Main character amuro Ray,
He is this very chill kind of guy that's kind of good with technology,
He kind of like someone who grew up in the boomies or something along those lines,
As he starts getting more involved in this war and loose more of his frends,
He starts to go through some development,
Because he starts to develop some psychological issues and after some soul searching he starts to mature and realizes that's he may not what to do this but has to in order to protect what important to him.


We also have a very wide supporting cast of characters for both sides of the conflict,
Like for example bright Noa or char aznable,
Which make it a lot more interesting and morality Gray.

So it's not always about fighting cartoony evil bad guys just because
most of the characters for the most are quite two dimensional,
They all have a good reason for doing what there doing,
Some of them go though some development and fleshing out,

But the negative is that quite a lot of them i can't really remember who they are or what there propose was,
And also the fact that most of these characters are done in a very dry way,

But over all the characters where likable and I didn't find any of them bad per say.



Art,5/10

The animation is very dated and hasn't really aged that,
Which isn't that shocking when the show is about 30 years old,
But I guess should be expected since Japan didn't have much money around that time,
The backgrounds are very gritty,
The artwork has this old school 50 scientist fiction style to it which was quite nice,

The characters designs where quite fresh for me especially because I am used to the more modern style of character designs,
But probably when they came they were probably the norm,

I also really like the mechca designs as well,
They kind of remind me of the old 80s cartoon with that had robots or something along those lines I used to watch as a child.



Sound, 5/10

The opening and ending song was pretty much a product of its time,
And that doesn't make it bad,
but sadly I am not really into the old school 70s op per day,
But I found both of them nice to hear,
It's just not my thing.

The ost was on point most of the time,
It's just I didn't really like any of what that where playing.




Enjoyment, 6/10

I found gundam a very interesting and honest show that covers all the basics of what war can do do to a person or people,

So in that regard I really did enjoy it,

But sadly what really held back my enjoyment is the fact everything is so fucking dry,
It's like sand paper dry.



Overall, 7/10

If your looking for a good war drama or a mecha title that's takes itself very seriously then gundam is for you,

But if your into shows that look nicer or shows that aren't dry then probably look for something else,
Because gundam by today's standards looks pretty ugly and the whole show just comes of dry.

Probably an essential watch for any mecha fan, and certainly for any Gundam fan. The show is relatively straightforward with clear arcs, easy to follow worldbuilding, and basic characters. The animation is good for 1979, and the sound design and music, while sometimes repetitive, are impressive. The mech designs are certainly extremely striking, even in their simplicity, and it's no wonder looking back how such designs became so influential and are still being built as gunpla today. Unfortunately, the show is pulled down quite dramatically by the amount of filler present. Basically all episodes from 10 to 25 are forgettable and each one only has ... a very incremental effect on the characters. Also, there are a significant amount of story arcs opened that never develop. Still, the final arc of the show is very impressive, and by that time the characters have had enough time to slowly mature that it is genuinely impactful.