Kidou Senshi Zeta Gundam

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam is, of course, the second installment in the Gundam franchise, so first off watch the original Mobile Suit Gundam beforehand. That should go without saying. Comparatively, this sequel not only lives up to its predecessor, but even surpasses it.

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam's tale is set seven years in the future after its prequel, and quite a bit has happened since then. In the One Year War we watched a brutal war between the Earth Federation Forces and the Principality of Zeon. Now, we watch as a tyrannical sect of the Earth Federation, known as the Titans, and the Anti-Earth Union Group, ... a faction of rebels, duke it out. In the beginning of the series, we're sort of just quickly tossed into the middle of things, but as the story progresses things make more sense and it turns out fine.

Zeta's story is also a bit more mature, and becomes more developed than Mobile Suit Gundam's. There really is not a centralized antagonist, like Char in MSG. You could consider this a slight downfall, or perhaps even an improvement, because it's questionable whether or not Zeta would have felt a bit too dependent on the MSG story. So maybe you will feel like you're missing something, or you might be glad that it isn't just a rehash. But, as I was saying, the plot gets developed nicely as more obstacles, alliances, secrets, and politics are involved. Speaking of which, Zeta does an exceptional job at building up political battles, that aren't too simple, but that are still easily followable. Overall, Zeta tells a brilliant story that beats MSG's.

Now, here we go with the art and sound. My ratings on these are actually based on today's standards. If it was still the '80's, I'm positive the animation would be worthy of a perfect 10. But to still be given a 7 two decades later is remarkable. One aspect of the animation that I really liked was the nice use of camera splitting, for lack of a better name. It's something that isn't very popular in today's animation techniques I'd say. If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's when we have one image on the screen, and then part of it is split to display another image, or something pretty popular is when the screen is just cut in two with different images on top and bottom. Zeta definitely utilizes the best animation techniques available for its time.
Now, the sound is actually outstanding and very impressive. Most of the background tunes are made of magnificent orchestral pieces that capture perfect moods. The sound effects are of course a huge improvement from MSG, and they actually don't sound old at all or anything. The opening and ending themes are similar to the background music; really nicely made instrumental compositions. The voice acting is pretty much standard voice acting.

Now where to start with our Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam characters. This time the story follows a young man by the name of Kamille Bidan. He becomes a member of the AEUG aboard the Argama ship and is a valuable Gundam pilot. Like Amuro Ray, he is a Newtype. In the beginning he is somewhat of a whiny and foolish kid, but, no doubt about it, this boy suffers much more than Amuro did as an assortment of tragedies occur throughout the series. I'd say his character as the lead protagonist gets better developed than Amuro's as well. Speaking of Amuro, just about every character from the White Base crew have appearances. Some are more important than others, but it is nice seeing how the crew has all matured. Bright Noa and Char Aznable, better known as Quattro Bajeena in Zeta, are main characters as well, and Char himself gets much more developed as well. The characters of course deal with deaths, relationships, switching alliances, intense battles, and the like.

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam absolutely does not disappoint in enjoyment. Every episode is action-packed with awesome mecha and space warfare. It is a superb and fun watch all the way through, and it totally lives up to the greatness of its prequel. It is a joy to follow and gets seriously epic at the right moments.

Overall, it is remarkable how well Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam was pulled off after the spectacular Mobile Suit Gundam. Pulling off another marvelous show that not only lives up to, but surpasses the first is hard to do, but here it is incredibly done.

Even though this is a direct sequel to the first Gundam series, it primarily relies on a new cast of characters while other major characters like Amuro are now secondary and has a very small but significant appearance as well as Kai Shiden and Hayato Kobayashi. Despite this, little to no previous experience of the first Gundam series isn’t required to really follow the story though it is highly recommended to mostly understand Char or Quattro or whatever you want to call him. This series has a reputation amongst Gundam fans as being dark and gritty, and I can’t deny that. But I believe that ... whatever is presented should not be found offensive since there is meaning to what happens in this series and helps progress it, but I don’t think that this quality alone should define the series.

Camille in comparison to Amuro in the first series is more idealistic and wants to fight because he hates the Titans and somewhat out of spite of his home life, while with Amuro, he just felt forced into the situation. And I think this series was what also helped make Char more appealing to the hardcore Gundam fan base because of the use of his character and I think his role really reflects what people think of him in real life as well. The Titans, the main antagonists are despicable and truly people you can hate. In a lot of animes, there are time you can sympathize and relate to their main villains, while in this anime, you really can’t for the most part though there are some notable exemptions like Four Murasame.

Of course being a 1986 release, the quality of the animation won’t really be that appealing in a modern sense. Rather than pointing out the obvious, there are really little to no flaws with the design and execution of the battles. Granted the color schemes of some of the robots are very flash in a 1980s sense, but I felt with the recent release of the trilogy, it shows that the quality of the design is still timeless like how recent game releases based on the first Gundam still demonstrates this quality in relation to that series. The costumes aren’t as spandex looking like in the first one and are more loose and realistic to military code, and the frames of the majority of the new mobile suits presented are sleek, retro, articulate, and tight.

The designs of the mobile suits also perfectly reflect the nature of the battles being fast paced and agile which is very true with Char’s Hyaku-Shiki, a mobile suit that really compliments his piloting skills.

My only exposure to the dub to this day despite owning the DVDs is playing the English version of Gundam vs Zeta Gundam for the PlayStation 2. The dub was intolerable and none of the actors from the first season reprise their roles who I thought were good. That’s all I have to say the dub. The Japanese track as most anime elitists and fans would naturally of course say is much superior. Sorry to sound like that, but I just think that’s how it is. Characters from the first Gundam series who come back reprise their roles such as Ikeda Shuuichi as Char, Hirotaka Suzuoka as Captain Bright, and Furuya Tooru as Amuro. But for the new characters, there are some excellent additions. Narutards to casual fans and new fans of Naruto will probably enjoy the charismatic and captivating performances of Inoue Kazuhiko the voice of Kakashi as Jerrid and Ohtsuka Houchu the voice of Jiraiya as Yazan. Inoue still retains a youthful voice, but in comparison to his role of Kakashi he is more emotional and naïve. Ohtsuka’s voice is still recognizable but as Yazan he is very sadistic.

And last, I’ll address the voice of Camille, Tobita Nobuo, also the voice of Tomo from Fushigi Yuugi, Domon from Flame of Recca, and Uribatake from Nadesico, is very multi-talented in his own right. Even though he is more adult in those roles, in this one, he is convincing as a confused and enraged teenager in relation to his situations. Moving on, the music is very energetic and captivating in a 1980s sense. It captures a lot of its atmosphere of romance, war, and hope. I especially feel this with the 2nd opening theme, Mizu no hoshi he ai wo komete. The ending theme hoshi no zora believe is very campy cutsey but I think it’s used to wind the audience down after seeing something crazy in the series. I don’t know, but I like it. The movie trilogy relies of Gackt for their soundtrack. The songs are good, but I’m not a huge fan of Gackt personally. The background music is very intense and appropriate to the gritty atmosphere of the series, which you’ll have to hear to believe, or play the Gundam vs Zeta Gundam game itself which is also appropriately used.

As you can dispute on a certain number of Gundam series, fans will not only argue that this is the best Gundam series, but one of the best animes ever which is something I can personally agree with. I strongly suggest you watch the TV series over the movie trilogy which I personally found disappointing which is another discussion for another time. But anyway, I think the story is very captivating and comedy and romance is used when appropriate. You can really truly feel the characters. The designs and battle sequences are high octane and the music is just incredible.

Zeta Gundam (Zeta) is considered by many to be superior to the original, Mobile Suit Gundam (MSG) as well as being Tomino’s masterpiece. I decided to watch Zeta right after being disappointed by MSG. In particular, I was interested to see if Zeta would be as dark and realistic as many fans say. Like my previous MSG review I will judge Zeta by today’s narrative standards as well as ignoring art and sound in the overall grade.

First off let me talk about the technical aspects. Animation wise it is definitely one of the better animated series of the 1980’s. I ... was pleasantly surprised by the quality for a mid 80’s anime. Music used is more universal than that of MSG as they used many orchestra pieces, thus giving it an ‘era-less’ feel. However, the music is way too over done and in your face. Yes, we know this is supposed to be a sad scene, you don’t have to rub it in my face. With better animation, there should be some nice fast paced mecha action right? Well, they weren’t, many of the battles were very deliberate and slow. This confuses me to no end as to how the fight scenes were as slow and boring as MSG which aired 6 years before.

As for the story, Zeta suffers from the same problems as MSG. The episodes in Zeta are extremely standalone, build up, climax, and resolution all happen in one episode. So don’t expect cliffhangers and expect extremely disjointed episodes. Even in the 2nd to last episode there wasn’t any cliffhanger. The only thing keeping me going was the will to finish. In addition, I disliked how the new antagonists, the Titians, were depicted as too “black” or evil. Unlike, in MSG both sides are given screen time and both sides were extremely sympatric.

Now on to the characters, this is where Zeta loses most of its points. Kamille is what happens with you take all the bad parts of Amuro and amplify it several times over. If you thought that Shin from Gundam SEED Destiny was bad, then be glad you haven’t met Kamille. Kamille does whatever he wants with no concern for the greater good of the ship and people on the ship. Sure he’s a teenager, but someone that’s compromised the crew and ship so many times should never be in the cockpit of a Gundam, no matter how good of a pilot he may be. Not only is it him but, just about everyone seems to throw temper tantrums (except for Char and Amuro). The worst one would have to Katz, I swear I have never screamed at my monitor so much. In addition, the number of friends/lovers on opposing sides was way too high and becomes too hard to accept. Like with the whinny brats they over did it in this respects too. Zeta is filled with too much angst and not enough story or development to support it all. A real person has flaws, wants and desires, that is what makes us human. Zeta overdoes it in this regards by making them too selfish and flawed thus, makes the characters unrealistic and unlikable. I was literally screaming in joy near the end of the series when certain characters started to get killed off. However, I’ll have to give it to Zeta for not reverting to Char and Amuro as main characters as Gundam SEED Destiny did.

My last complaint, concerns the ending….what the hell was that!? I really can’t say much else without spoiling but it left me quite confused and dumfounded. I though they were going to continue the story in Gundam ZZ however, I heard it was very light in tone and inferior to Zeta Gundam.

Zeta Gundam suffers from the same problem as MSG in terms of episode continuity and pacing. The build up, climax and resolution all happen in one episode. It does feature some of the best animation of the 1980’s and very universal music albeit too overt. The characters in Zeta are filled with too much angst and there isn’t enough story or development to support it all. What makes it worst is that the characters are illogical and painful to watch.

If the original Gundam depicted a bloody war on an unprecedented scale, then Zeta Gundam shows the profound human breakdown that followed. Set eight years after the first series, the post-war reconstruction is shown to have badly failed. The Federation, once a system the heroes fought for, has been corrupted by a military unit fanatically devoted to Earth supremacy.

Arguably the central theme of the Gundam franchise is the struggle between Earth and the space colonies that orbit it. Zeta takes this concept very far. As newtypes (theoretical evolutions of mankind, meant for space) have evolved and research on them has advanced, a growing divide ... has formed between them and normal people. This jealous paranoia turns the ruling Earth bureaucracy against its colonies, before they grow too powerful.

Kamille Bidan perfectly illustrates the rebellious, space-faring sentiment. His passion, continually whipping from bitter disappointment to righteous elation and back, transcends reason. Though his emotional depth includes a reserved quietness and easy-going nature, it is the extremes that contain the core of his being. Unlike Amuro, who fought to survive and protect what little he could, Kamille uses his Gundam as a means to many ends. It’s a weapon to strike down enemies of the Anti-Earth Union, and an ever-evolving representation of his powers as a Newtype. By extension, the Gundam is a symbol of the new humanity that touches upon the pulse of the stars, ready to travel the cosmos.

No raw power can connect without direction, the resistance finding theirs in an unwilling Char Aznable. Bright Noah and Hayato also return, this time older and more able to command. Amuro fights as well, in a crucial way, but his lingering guilt and stress limit participation. Most of the focus is put on new blood.

One of Zeta’s biggest flaws is how cheaply it treats characters. Some change sides at the drop of a hat, for trivial reasons, while others are killed unceremoniously. More alarming is that multiple girls are killed, resurrected, then swiftly killed again. There’s an in-universe justification, but I find the second deaths to be too quick, predictable, and all too lacking emotional resonance.

Similarly, the plot is treated with surprisingly little respect. Every single episode is guaranteed to have an arbitrary skirmish between AEUG and the Earth Federation. Typically this is the result of haphazard, overused actions like gundam high-jacking. The battles never have clear strategic meaning. Tactical command is non-existent in the face of random, dueling mobile suits. At worst, this can make the show feel like an excuse for formulaic drama coupled with obvious mecha toy advertisement.

I have to say that the show does a good job getting me excited about gundam. The cockpits close, the gears shift, the marching beats begins, and as the badass suit rises, we hear the bold announcement: “Kamille Bidan, Zeta Gundam... launching!” These takeoffs have an addictive quality. I don’t know when it was that they began standing out. I just know that, after enough exposure, I liked them a lot.

Moments like these are not created by the writing. For me, they’re captured by the audio. The soundtrack always suits the moment. When the aged animation forces long, occasionally ugly shots, music goes a long way to preserve the right feeling. Equally impressive is the Japanese voice cast, in particular Nobuo Tobita (Kamille) and Shuuichi Ikeda (Char). Char is very mysterious, so it is all the more cool that Ikeda can retain that while giving a very charismatic performance with huge amounts of screen-time. Kamille’s voice is probably one of the best for any seiyuu, ever. His character whiplashes from mood to opposite mood in the blink of an eye; this can go wrong in several ways, whether the actor cannot capture just how extreme each mood is, or is unable to create a believable transition. Nobuo Tobita wins.

I am a little guilty about liking Zeta Gundam as much as I do. It isn’t very well constructed, has old art, and feels like the creators made up everything as they went along. Considering many fans hype it as a masterpiece I should have been disappointed. But I wasn’t. As bad as it is in some respects, once things start moving the series succeeds tremendously. There is a complex, multi-faceted cast that averts boring anime characterizations. The mobile suits are highly detailed, coupled with unique, yet diverse character designs. The music is epic and powerful. Perhaps best of all, Zeta demonstrates a wonderfully tragic spiral away from sanity.

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam is one of the more acclaimed series in the Gundam franchise. Yet, confusingly enough, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam is also a poorly written cacophony of endlessly repeating plot mechanics and contradictory characters that does a severe injustice to it's predecessors quality and general nuance in depicting very serious themes.

The series starts and ends with its first contradiction, Kamille Bidan. An angsty newtype teenager hailed as the second coming of Amuro Ray, Kamille begins his journey by assaulting soldiers, hijacking a gundam, destroying buildings, and getting his loved ones killed as he joins Char and his compatriots in their rebellion against violence ... and tyranny. Kamille then embarks upon a cyclical quest of meeting random girls, falling in love with them after 2 minutes of dialogue, getting betrayed and then inadvertently causing mass civilian casualties because of his inability to pull the trigger. There are at least 10 instances in which a prisoner casually escapes the Argama, the main characters' ship, in a stolen mobile suit and then proceeds to attack the very ship it just launched from. This happens, over and over again, because of Kamille and the rest of the crews' overly trusting nature. In a war drama full of heavy handed dialogue about the brutality and evil of warfare, our characters' appear confoundingly incapable of accepting that not everyone is a good person.

The second main character is one of anime's most iconic and recognizable men, Char Aznable, the red comet of Zeon. However, in Zeta, Char is once again living under an alias as Lieutenant Quattro Bajeena of the AEUG. Disappointingly, this is a much less intriguing version the character from 0079. Char has in a way devolved into a shell of his former self, but in turn becomes a much more morally righteous and cautious leader. He begins to trust others as he fights with the AEUG, but only to a finite extent. Char's character is much too complex to explore in depth in a single series review, so I will avoid that sort of analysis and just leave it this: Char is very conflicted in Zeta and has no idea what he really wants, but as usual, Char keeps his conflicts internal and never shares these with other characters. This ultimately amounts to a very boring character who reacts very predictably in every situation so as not to give away his emotions or desires.

The rest of the cast varies in quality. Fa acts irrationally and comes off as, largely, just annoying and nonsensical for large sections of the anime, but does become more tolerable by the end. Emma is a good and decent character but takes a backseat in the second half as the series suffers from character overload. Bright is Bright. His presence in this show as a static, carbon copy of his MSG0079 character is damning evidence of the utter lack of creativity in Zeta. Amuro is also a shell of himself at the onset, but then progressively begins to capture his old prowess before the plot irrationally starts ignoring him. In general, the recycling of older characters, with the exception of Char who is very clearly a main character and a centerpiece of the story, does largely nothing but take away from the original characters' opportunities to meaningfully assert themselves in the story. Beltorchika is painstakingly annoying and her shotgun romance with Amuro is inorganically forced and poorly written. Reccoa is dumb, she isn't a bad character in herself, but she is profoundly dumb and makes poor decisions. The core story could have been significantly better without her. The same applies to Katz, but to a lesser extent. The cyber newtypes are also all dumb and poorly written. They depict no legitimately human personalities but Kamille is fooled by them nonetheless. Generally speaking, my critiques of these characters being "dumb" and/or repeatedly making dumb or bad decisions isn't inherently a criticism of their characters, as we all know flawless characters are quite boring and make for boring stories, but there is a very marked lack of intelligence across the entire cast and it is evident in every silly choice they make. I do not think a complete vacuum of rational thought is fully appropriate for a story this serious and laden, albeit poorly, with grave themes and ideas. Scirocco and Bask are very generic evildoers, but they are mostly sufficient villains for Zeta's rinse and repeat story-line. Haman Karn is the most interesting villain, but her appearances are too little and too late to significantly impact the story as a whole. Jerid is probably the best character in the show, but is awkwardly underutilized in the latter stages; another casualty of the overwrought character overload. Jerid, for better or worse, actually changes as the series goes on, whilst the rest of the cast stubbornly continue to run around their own shortcomings rather than face them head on.

The plot itself shows potential at various stages along the way, but can never really escape from the overbearing weight of the characters' endless cat and mouse reactions and self-contradictions. It tries to be complex and mature but mostly fails at this as the politics and ethics are very black and white, unlike in the original. At one point, there are 6 different warring armies -- Char's AEUG, Karaba, the Titans, Scirocco's rogue Titan faction, a dissenting Federation, and Haman Karn's Axis. This seemed very unnecessary in a simple good vs evil story, which is all Zeta really ends up being, despite Char and Kamilles' occasional vague remarks about morality and existentialism. And to be clear, when I'm saying Zeta is simply a good vs evil story, I mean so in the pure Gundam sense of """good""" vs evil, with every possible quote unquote, as the "good" side is always clouded and morally deficient. Zeta does not differ from this core Gundam meta in any meaningful regard, for better or worse.

Perhaps my biggest issue with Zeta is thematic execution. Too often, the characters' are caught up in a killing dilemma, where they must choose between killing someone they know personally, or letting this person they know escape and possibly commit harm or even outright atrocities. This happens to virtually every character, regardless of side, and manifests in almost every single episode. This is the crux of the rinse and repeat storytelling I've complained about, but more distressing than the repetitiveness and lack of creativity, is the execution of this plot mechanic itself as it relates to the moral gravity every Gundam series attempts to hone in on. The characters' seem incapable of processing this recurring dilemma in a forward thinking way, as they instead view it as killing someone they know personally, or letting this person they know escape, without thought of the larger consequences. This decision making ignores the masses of common people so critical to Gundam's core theme, the human cost of war. Chemical gas attacks on civilian colonies are framed as less tragic than named character deaths in Zeta. There is a recurring disregard for the well-being of the masses who suffer in the wake of the characters' immaturity and lack of fortitude. At one point, near the end of the series, a ship captain abandons his mission to protect the woman he loves, who is losing in a mobile suit battle. The ship is destroyed as he attempts to shield her mobile suit from harm. Simultaneously, another named character dies in a nearby mobile suit battle. The woman in the mobile suit cries for the deaths of the ship captain and her allied mobile suit pilot. When the rest of the characters' learn of this, they also collectively sob for these two named deaths. There are two problems here. 1 -- The ship captain sacrificed his ship and all its' crew, a very large number of people, to save one woman because of his emotions. This is wrong. 2 -- The rest of the characters' only mourned the tragic deaths of these two named characters, and made no mention of the crew as a whole. This is also wrong, and sadly, this is not an isolated example. Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam consistently prioritizes redundant character drama over its message.

Zeta also lags its predecessor in terms of action execution. In 0079, battles were won tactically. Amuro had to make split second decisions on how to block, dodge, and then shoot down his enemy. In Zeta, the battles are simply power versus power, with no meaningful tactics or subterfuge. Kamille also fails to show any progression as a fighter. I don't know if this was intentional or an inadvertent effect of Zeta's usage of battles as backdrops for "can I pull the trigger?" scenarios more than actual depictions of wartime combat. For its time, the animation is clearly impressive and it makes the battles look quite decent, but it doesn't mask the sheer lack of substance.

In the end, Zeta is a silly, self-important action-drama that fails to properly convey Gundam's core themes and ultimately insults the originals intelligence. The action is mindless, the characters don't make sense, and the writing is lazy and directionally confused. TLDR: Zeta is unnecessarily edgy garbage.

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (A) – my favorite Gundam series. This direct sequel to the original Mobile Suit Gundam (0079) is a coming-of-age, giant/real robot masterpiece. Sure the show is old (I never got to watch it until the highly affordable 2 disc sets started coming out around 2005-06), but it can’t be punished for that.

The story is told well, with some primer not necessary, but very helpful to help understand whom some characters are and where they come from. Amazingly, for a series that spans 50 eps, they never let anything meander too long. It constantly changes and evolves as ... new characters are introduced or leave the show. The action is great and happens often with all the characters’ lives on the line. Honestly, you don’t know who is going to die or when.

It also has some of the best characters you’ll ever find in an anime. Kamille may be annoying, arrogant and whiny in the beginning, but he makes more progress during the series than you’ll ever see any character make in an anime. Scirocco and Haman also make up a memorable and legendary cast of characters. The Titans are the general antagonists of the series and they are on a whole other level of ruthlessness. Most terrorist groups wish they were this evil and powerful. This adds another dimension to the action, as often the horrible and disgusting things they do to win get you rooting even harder for the other side.

Any mecha series, especially one this long, needs great action. Zeta does not disappoint. The action is frequent and often edge of your seat. Once you finally learn that any of your favorite characters could go at anytime, it takes on a much more tense and suspenseful atmosphere. It is done very well considering the limitations at the time. The monster/mecha of the week formula that was so present in the shows of the era appears here as well. But it is not done in such an overtly gimmicky way as the original Gundam series.

The sound for the series is tough to judge, simply because the series is so old. And that may leave you a bit put off by the dated music. It certainly does fit the show. One of the more controversial things about the American release of the series is the opening theme. Apparently, they couldn’t use the original theme in the opening credits for whatever reason, so they used some background music from the original soundtrack. In my opinion, it fits the series far better than the original theme. But thankfully, it wasn’t thrown away and they still included the original opening in the main menu for each and every disc.

Perhaps, the most infamous thing about this series is its ending. This series is dark, dark, dark, often to the point where during a marathon viewing, (maybe 5 –10 episodes) you may have to take a break. And the ending tops it all. It may be the biggest cliffhanger and possibly the most shocking ending for an anime. I almost guarantee that this series will leave an impression on you.

Note: it was VERY difficult for me to review this series b/c it was one of the first anime I had seen from that era. So I base my review and my personal scores on my own experience and personal enjoyment. And not so much emphasis on the technical merits of the show. And finally, if you are viewing the series for the first time: "Avoid ending spoilers at all costs!"

"Kamille Bidan, Zeta Gundam, launching!"

Zeta Gundam is many, many things.

Zeta Gundam is boring, Zeta Gundam is hypocritical, pretentious, and filled with the sort of dialogue that makes Air Gear look like 20th Century Boys (and even then it's not that good). Zeta Gundam is filled with annoying characters that need a good gunshot to the head, Zeta Gundam is confusing and Zeta Gundam is overrated.

If it hasn't been made clear.

I hate this show.

Yes that's right hardcore Gundam fans, I hated it, I'm talking to you Tomino fanboys, especially the one's that think that Zeta Gundam is his chef d'oeuvre and the only Gundam worth liking. ... Go on, hit that not helpful button because I know you've got your finger ready to click it.

Also, let me be quick to clear something up, that 8 is purely based on how good the last two episodes were (truly some of the greatest anime episodes ever made), if you were to ignore that 8 throughout the review, the general score is a 6.

Zeta Gundam has a lot of problems.

For a start the story (for the most part) is confusing, convoluted and feels very forced in some places, back in the day this may have been truly ground-breaking stuff, but father time has definitely not been kind as to how Zeta Gundam has aged and though it may have laid out the archetypes and clichés you see in most mech anime today, seeing those original archetypes 26 years after they were created when there are mech anime out there (i.e Soukyuu no Fafner) that have characters that are based on them and do them so much better just shows how uninspiring they truly are (though Kamille and Char remain the exception to this).

But the main issue is just how confusing Zeta actually is, this is not an easy anime to get into, this is an anime that expects you to marathon it and it wants you to marathon religiously.

This wouldn't be so much of a problem if Zeta Gundam actually made sense, keep in mind that this is set 7 years after the original, 7 years of unexplained back-story (5 if you're willing to accept Stardust Memory as an explanation) for many who probably fell in love with the White Base crew, this is 7 years too much, hardly any explanation is given to just what has happened to the characters (I appreciate that this is a new cast, however cameo's don't cut it, explanation is needed) and though certain characters have tiny pieces of information revealed as to just what happened to them following the end of the One Year War, the anime expects you to use these tiny pieces to figure out where they've been and what they've become. It's very, very frustrating.

The new cast on the other hand, definitely does not cut the mustard in terms of being likeable, throughout the anime, there will most likely be 5, 6 or 7 characters that people will find likeable, and most of them do not get enough screen time. Characters like Fa, Reccoa, Jerid and Katz to name a few are insufferable when they're on the screen, which makes things even worse because you will be seeing these characters a lot of the time in the first place.

Zeta Gundam is made worse by its absolutely awful scripting, I have to wonder how the actors could have said these lines as they make absolutely no sense; an example of this is early on in the series when a character starts to babble on about something to do with feeling apathy apparently making her an Oldtype. After this line I was constantly scratching my head trying to figure out just what exactly this meant, and, nope, I still haven't figured it out. I can only assume that it wasn't the writing that made Zeta Gundam a so called "Masterpiece" at it's best it's awkward (unless they're going on about the mechs, then and only then does the script make sense) and at it's worst the series becomes almost unwatchable.

There is at least some solace in knowing that the art in Zeta Gundam is outstanding quality for its age, so much so that it still looks damn good now, I can only begin to wonder how good it must have looked for those who were watching it when the show was airing.

That being said, there are some major inconsistencies in the art, particularly during the mech fights; these should be brilliant spectacles that truly define Zeta Gundam, but it seems the artists went a bit overboard with the colour black, which considering the very dark colours of the mechs (which all look excellent I should add) makes the fights hard to watch, rewinding becomes a necessity in order to get the enjoyment that was intended by the anime, it's a very large annoyance which really snatched away quite a lot of the enjoyment in the show.

The soundtrack on the other hand is outstanding, considering the amazing quality of some of the tracks like the theme of the Zeta Gundam, Argama and some of the battle tracks, it's hard to believe that this soundtrack was composed 26 years ago, some of them could easily pass for tracks from modern day movies, it's a definite step up from the soundtrack from the original MSG, which while enjoyable, can't hold a candle to hardly any of the tracks from Zeta.

The voice acting is equally impressive, a special mention must go to Nobuo Tobita and Shuuichi Ikeda who are both excellent as Kamille and Char. Hirotaka Suzuoki is excellent once more as Bright and Toru Furuya is also great as Amuro. I was also pleasantly surprised by at least one voice in the dub, while I never did manage to watch a whole episode of the dub, Johnathon Lachlan-Stewart really makes for an excellent Kamille, his performance is by far the best out of the dub cast (and it's also worth pointing out that none of the original dub cast returns either) so much so that he could give Nobuo Tobita a run for his money in some cases, no small feat considering how expertly Tobita pulls off the role.

It's when Zeta Gundam gets to its characters that you start to see how bad this anime truly is, as I mentioned earlier, these characters became the archetypes and clichés of modern mecha today but looking at them, you'd hardly begin to think that they could even pass with being on screen to begin with. It's easy for me to say that Zeta Gundam's characters are some of the most annoying, hypocritical creatures to ever appear on my monitor. Most of the time, the logic they use makes no sense, they contradict themselves in ways that shouldn't be possible, they're idiots, and Kamille manages to be the only saving grace of the cast (that and Kai's cameo, though he's a personal favorite of mine to start with). Many people have complained about Kamille, personally, I enjoyed him as a protagonist, his logic makes sense and if the other characters actually stopped being morons for at least one second of their lives, they would see that Kamille is actually right about a lot of things.

However, as idiotic as the characters are, the actions they take are nothing compared to the Titans, I've often heard that Tomino tried too hard to make the Titans unlikeable, and I have to agree with them, I realise that this is fiction but no military corporation in their right mind should ever be allowed to take the actions that the Titans do, the actions they take are deplorable and then some.

Zeta Gundam is a very, very, very hard anime to enjoy, it's stupidly confusing, the plot points that it does make are either moronic or ruined thanks to it's terrible script, the fights are unclear and unlike the first series hold little to no strategic relevance, or any of the clever introspection or military tactics that MSG had; the vast majority of characters are idiots and killed off in ridiculous ways and it isn't exactly a spoiler to say that most of the good ones die too, (this is one of Tomino's kill em all's after all) and in no way shape or form is this ever a masterpiece. The last few episodes especially are a major chore to watch as the established formula of battle after peace after minor plot point after battle (wash, rinse, repeat) has been drilled into your brain so much that it's only through sheer will power that I was actually able to continue. With that said, the art is very good, the soundtrack was, and still is outstanding and the last two episodes really are everything the hype says they are.

I've often heard the story that Zeta Gundam was telling turned very dark and depressing in the second half of its story.

I disagree, this is not a dark and depressing story.

It's just a very boring one.

All the way through.

After I became addicted to the Gundam universe, there was one series I was dying to see next, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. This series was to original continuation of the Original Mobile Suit Gundam. The anime was made during the early 80's by the most famous anime director Yoshiyuki Tomino (who also Directed Mobile suit ZZ Gundam, Mobile Suit Gundam Char's Counter Attack, Brain Powered, Invincible Superman Zambot 3, and many more).

The story takes place seven years after the war between the Principality of Zeon and the Earth Federation. The Earth Federation creates a task force called the Titans to destroy any Zeonic remnants. But ... eventually the tyrannical Titans begin to take control of the colonies, thereby oppresing the Spacenoids once again. A rebel task force made of Earth Federation and Zeon members alike called the AEUG (Anti-Earth Union Government) assault the Titans in an attempt to stop the Titans once and for all.

Then comes in young Kamille Bidan, who hates the Titans and his father as well. He eventually meets Quattro Bejeena (aka Char Aznable) and helps him steal his father's prototype Gundam MK 2 series. Kamille becomes a member of the Argama crew and pilots the Gundam MK 2, to help the rebels. Eventually Kamille looses both his mother and father to the Titans and promises revenge for their deaths.

Kamille goes through many kinds of experiences and learns more of his Newtype abilities. He becomes rivials of the Titan ace pilot Jerid Messa, who wants to defeat Kamille very badly. Then falls in love with the Cyber Newtype Four Murasume. Also he encounters many of the old White Base crew members, such as Amuro Ray, Hayato Kobayashi, Kai Shiden, and much more. Then out of nowhere the mysterious Titan, Paptimus Scirocco, appears to show Kamille how a true Newtype fights. But that's not all. The remnats of Zeon begin to reappear once again......

The story is very good. It keeps in well conection of the previous Gundam show, and they explain more about the mysterious Newtype powers within this series. All in all, if you are a Gundam fan you should watch this. If you haven't watched the Original Gundam series, its truly not suggested you watch this, because you won't understand the story that much. But hey, Gundam is Gundam no matter how you look at it.

Important: Forgive my english please. As a french person it's not very easy for me.

Zeta wasn't my first introduction to gundam as a tv serie, but when I sat down and watched the first episode, I already have the feeling that this serie was gonna be great. Boy, I was right!! Zeta Gundam kicks out seven years after the original story (I will not go far in the plot). A group under the Federation control, Titans, are created to hunt down Zeon remnants. They opressed the spacenoids and a rebel group rise to deliver the spacenoids from the opression. The AEUG was born.

Story: Although the ... story seems not necessarily interesting on paper, it surely the greatest story of the gundam serie. I respected Yoshiyuki Tomino for all his great work on the Gundam franchise. This story doesn't waste any episodes and the plot always moves. In the middle of the serie, they introduced a new group and although it changed the Grysp conflict, the final battle is still AEUG vs Titans not like an other show when it's evil organisation of the week (Gundam Wing).
So for the story, a solid 10/10

Art: It's 80's japanese art, so you like it or not. But Zeta broke the "gouffy" mechanical design that was the original gundam serie. A lot of mobile suit are awesome looking (Zeta Gundam, Gundam MK.II, Gabthley, Baund Doc, Byalant, Gaplant, Palace Athene, The O, Barzam, Marasai, Hambrabi and even the freaking Psyco Gundam MK.II).
Art: 9/10

Sound: The music has not necessarily the greatest sound system, but God the music is awesome!! There are some track that I have on my Ipod ( Into the gravity well, A crash!, Resonance and Fleet battle). Really an awesome soundtrack.
Sound: 10/10

Character: A large cast of characters that you hate (Katz) and love (Emma). The characters are more adults looking that the previous serie. I like almost every single character in the show, even if they are real bastards like Scirocco and Yazan. Haman Karn will be my favorite female character in the anime history. Emma was really likeable and a skill pilot in the same time. Kamille as a lead character was freakin' good. He had the good part of Amuro and not his bad part like "I don't want to pilot the Gundam anymore" and he had even enough of guts to punch Char twice if I remember correctly. Katz... watch the show and you will understand why I hate him.
Character: 10/10

Enjoyment: Wow!!! When you get into the story, you cannot stop watching it. Every episode is a rollercoaster ride and it's not the same rollercoaster each episode. Sometime the show is depressing (not like victory gundam although) and dark, but hey, for the best fortunately.
Enjoyment 9/10

Overall: You shall watch this show. There is no reason not to watch it except if... no there is no reason at all! It's not an obligation, but I recommanded to watch the first show to understand the situation a little bit. If you don't want to watch the first serie, it's not a major problem, but don't expect to understand everything. That's it for me, see you next time.
Overall: 10/10

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam is a show that did many things excellently and had the potential to be not just the best show in the Gundam metaseries but one of the pinnacles of anime in the 1980s. Zeta introduces many memorable and well fleshed-out original characters. Unfortunately, as the cast for the show began to bloat, many major and minor characters got lost in the shuffle and had their sub-plots resolve poorly. The handling of these characters and the plot particularly towards the end of the series are what keep this otherwise great anime from being one of the all-time classics.

Set some eight years after ... the end of Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta Gundam tells the story of a new conflict between the Earth and space with a new cast of characters. However, nearly everyone who survived the end of the original MSG makes an appearance in Zeta Gundam, with varying degrees of importance. Having seen the original show definitely helps a viewer understand those return characters better and why we should care about them. However, I believe it is also possible to see Zeta without having seen the original series and still be able to appreciate it.

Our main character is Kamille Biden, a rebellious and short-fused teenager who winds up joining a group of rebels looking to overthrow the government. Kamille is very sensitive about people saying he has a girl's name, so don't make fun of him for it. Kamille has to be one of the best main stars of a Gundam series, because he isn't just some generic leading man with a strong sense of justice, like we see in many series. His anger issues put him in many socially awkward situations, yet he still can care deeply about people around him. He fulfills a wish that many of us have, to take authority figures who are being jackasses and punch them in the face. He does it many times, and even if Kamille is something of a brat by acting that way, you can't help but applaud him. Over the course of the series, Kamille goes through many personal conflicts which make him grow as a person. He must decide what to fight for, how to save people close to him, and what it means to be a grown up. One of the running themes of Zeta is how war forces children into adults, and how if a soldier doesn't act like an adult, everyone is put in danger. I don't really do Kamille justice with my description, but he is a great, emotional character, much more relatable than Amuro who was kind of an all-around jerk.

Other characters besides Kamille get deep personal analysis over the course of the series. It's impossible not to get emotionally invested in many of these characters and their personal stories, which is why it's disappointing that many of them disappear without and proper resolution. Without giving away too much, there is one character who gets enough screen time in the first half of the series to almost qualify as a co-main character. A lot of time is spent on his personal growth and the relationships with the people around him and how they shape his personality and his motivation as a soldier. He also repeatedly states his grand goal in life, and if he did achieve that goal, it would have changed the entire outcome of the show in a major way. However, in the second half of the show, he barely appears and doesn't grow anymore as a character at all. Eventually, he makes his last appearance in the second to last episode, but all in all he ended up accomplishing nothing. Because he never did anything, he served almost no purpose in the show. All of the time spent building up his character was for nothing. It never went anywhere, and his primary goal was ignored entirely. (That paragraph was hard to write without giving spoilers)

Other characters also end up making a strong mark but then disappear for 20 or so episodes because the large cast has to battle for screentime. This not only made it hard to properly pace the sub-plots around these characters, but it made the show struggle to find its focus at times.

The art, at times, looks very stylish for an 80s anime. The OP in particular looks particularly stunning when compared to the original MSG. Some of the characters look better than others. The designs of the mobile suits set a new benchmark, one that other series have since met or exceeded, but they definitely look great for the mid-80s. I would say that towards the second half of the season, some of the pencilwork got a bit sloppy looking. I don't usually look out for that kind of stuff, but the decline in art quality at times was enough for me to notice it anyway.

Overall, the story of the Gryps conflict and the tremendous characters involved in it make this a show that any fans of dramatic anime should be able to appreciate. From just the first few episodes, Kamille is thrown into an emotional and tragic rollercoaster, and from that point you will be hooked. Along the way, you will be surprised and provoked by the actions taken by well-written characters like Reccoa Londe, Four Murasame, Char Aznable, Sarah Zabiarov, and others. Zeta is not just a show that is worthy of being part of the Gundam legacy; it heightens the reputation of Gundam as a serious war storytelling anime metaseries with its very existence. Just the plot and story are enough to make it a great show, but the mishandling of certain characters and an ending that is a slap in the face forces the finished product down a couple of notches.

"Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam", the smash hit of 1984, was often seen as the better offspring of "Mobile Suit Gundam" which was cancelled in 1979. Having completed the series within a couple weeks time, I was able to assess the entire universe of Zeta following the one year war and can confidently say that while yes, the series expanded to major dramatic plateaus, astounding animation for its time, and compelling character development, that I missed the optimistic ideologies concerning war that were so evident in the original Mobile suit series. This fact compounded with many shortcomings made me a confused fan by then end of ... the series' run.

The evolution that takes place after the end of the one year war made for a compelling plot turn, that caused viewers to change their whole perspective on what "sides" in a conflict actually entail. I thought this was great, it made it more realistic and made the series much more original and compelling than it had been. The re introduction of Char Aznable as an essential freedom fighter only sealed the concept of what "good and evil" really is. His devotion to his responsibility throughout the series was extremely gratifying to see, and his mysterious fight with Haman Karn towards the end only made things seem more realistic! The good guy doesn't always win! That being said, the story engaged me in the beggining, but I felt as it progressed it was much to focused on Kamille's development. These Titans are attempting to bring martial law to the galaxy and make the one year war a big hypocritical mess, and everything is just "oh well Kamille is just so emotional and maturingm and such a great pilot". Unlike Amuro in the first season, I felt Kamille couldn't give a damn about the war effort. He doesn't seem to even remember his parents after they die, and continues to overlook the big pictures as time goes on! His ending seemed to prove some of his core integrity but I think they should have introduced that earlier. I guess this is sort of story/character combined, whatever. I enjoyed the powerful figures in the series, Scirocco was hilariously anime evil but still felt more genuine than Kamille, and Haman is one of my favorite characters ever now. She was so dedicated to the Zabi family and shunned her feelings and that came through in the LITTLE time she even had on the show! As for some of the lesser characters...I felt Amuro was portrayed as much less enthusiastic even after he "awakens" just to make Kamille more dominant and for the viewers not to realize how much more likeable Amuro was. Look, Kamille is a teenager I get that, I get that we are unpredictable and emotional and mature slow sometimes, but this kid for whatever reason did'nt seem to be genuine at all! Its like they wrote his "mature" lines with the implication that he knew he was being mature just to get his own way. Every time I saw him "grow" I just saw him get wiser and more coniving, not more sympathetic or enthusiastic for ending the war, (at least till the very end). I didn't really think the show touched on Sciroccos strange powers enough, and I felt that it spent too much time on pointless side characters at times. LIke AMUROS RANDOM GIRLFRIEND god that was the worst! And FOUR!!!?!?, she was like female Kamille, both hollow robots who yell alot about nothing, AND ROSAMMY holy crap what a pointless plot stretch!>!>!I liked how Fa's relationship with Kamille played out however that felt realistic in terms of mecha anime at least. I also enjoyed the sparks between Katz and sarah and Haman and Char. Sometimes the show got preachy and random with live but I saw what they were trying for. In all the beginning was interesting and original, then the middle got predictable with the chases back to back to back, and then the ending was great. One more thing about character and plot....JERID IS THE WORST FOIL TO THE MAIN CHARACTER EVER. Boring no beneficial development, and a pointless poinless foil to Kamille. Every time they were both on screen it was just back and forth "Jerid!!?!?" and then "Kamille!?!?!?" In the first series Char was the perfect foil because he was a paradox and SIMILIAR to Amuro. I guess my guilty pleasure would be the kid factor, I love that tradition of the random kids on the ship.

The Art for the series was remarkable, the space battles were intense and vivid. I regret some of the loops of animation in the series, I swear I saw the same "zaku getting blown up" images 20 times a show, but its understandable. The animation on this show could pass for a 90s show and it was phenominal. I wish they would show some more of the inner colonies(inside those cyllinders) however, that would added more depth to their color palettes instead of the mostly blacks(space) and reds(lasers) and silvers(inside ships). The mobile suits looked great and it was a relief to see the core fighter system gone.

This series was serious trouble in terms of sound. That dubbing was good for character voices but the timing in many integral scenes was tragically off. For example Fa would say "oh.......kamille" after just bumping into him for a second in the hall, leading the viewer to see deep love out a supposed nothing, I'd have more examples if I wrote them down. In these series if the timing for talking isn't natural its just that not natural and less dramatic!!?!? I kept feeling like thats why they kept explaining every plot point instead of just subtle language, because their timing was horrible! The viewer is reduced to a sponge absorbing everything they need to hear in terms of plot instead of being able to decipher themes on their own. I really really wish I enjoyed this series more, the ending battles were great, but I feel that the main characters growth really sucked the life out of the show. I like dark shows trust, me, and I liked how dark this show got, but Kamille didn't compliment that darkness, he made it disingenuous through his snoody nature, you know now that I think about it maybe the sound is what made him appear "snoody" to me instead of mature! I dunno....but both were off. This show turned Gundam into a more serious force in the anime world, and I agree that it should be a classic for that AND for changing the enthusiastic pace of the show to a somber one, however, lame subplots, bad characters, and awkward dialogue made this installment sub par and less engrossing as the first. Even with the great battles..

The question of what series best defines Mobile Suit Gundam rages far and wide across forums, anime convention hotel rooms, and instant message windows. Each Gundam fan takes a different message from the Universal Century, some even preferring alternate universe Gundam series. But make no mistake, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam is the definitive Gundam series. Without question Zeta represents a definitive and exhaustive vision of Yoshiyuki Tomino's idea of what Gundam is really about and what defines the future of the human face, the Newtype.

For those who watched Mobile Suit Gundam and the subsequent side stories prior to Zeta, Kamille's tragic adventure ... is grander in scope both of the conflict and in regard to the ideas explored by the series. Not shying away from topics like the prevalence and dangers of military institutions gaining political power, governmental conservatism subverting the interests of the people it claims to represent, death (which is liberally explored...), the difference in vision between two generations and of course the nature of war itself. The number of references to real life issues of the era and the freshness of the questions raised in today's political climate along with the philosophical concerns of the series are, in a word, staggering. To gain a full understanding of the questions raised and divine an answer, each which will certainly vary from viewer to viewer, the series demands multiple views. It would be a tall order for most 50 episode series, however, Zeta Gundam is not dry or boring.

Divorced from the extent of political and philosophical allusions that exist, the series still stands as a great piece of storytelling. The motivations for the characters are well thought out and serve both to give us insight into the character themselves and usually some type of philosophical question. What does Reccoa's experience about the series reveal about role of women, and the perception of their gender, in the context of a conflict? That's just one of the series' many concerns. The realistic and relate-able characters and their dynamism is one of the highlights of the series.

Zeta Gundam doesn't just succeed with characterization and crafting a fantastic story, it has great art direction. Each mobile suit and mobile armor is unique with some of the best and most inventive designs ever to be featured in a Gundam series. This series has some of the most diverse looking suits ever, each uniquely suited to one of the series' many factions. The animation is dated - the series IS from 1985 after all - but it still holds up really well. Those used to flashier mecha may not be totally blown away, but it was certainly a marvel for its time. Certainly the series is guilty, as almost every TV anime series is, of using the occasional reel of stock footage but in Zeta its a very understated use.

The soundtrack is incredibly well done as well, although ultimately maybe not as well scored as the original Mobile Suit Gundam, but the series still contains plenty of songs that you'll be humming long after you walk away. Both the Japanese voice track and the English dub are incredibly good. Although the English dub does not reprise any of the actors of Mobile Suit Gundam and Char's Counterattack, each newcomer does a bang up job. Michael Kopsa's sinister and devious Char would be a tough fit for the warm and encouraging vision of Char seen in this series, but Tom Edwards really fits the role. However, if you are a stickler for consistency, the Japanese voice actors from Mobile Suit Gundam do reprise the roles in Zeta.

Some viewers will be drawn to the depth of the series and want to interpret every detail, others will simply enjoy the fantastic story told here, but Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam is a must watch for fans of Gundam and mecha anime in general. While the animation may not blow away fans of newer Gundam series, those people owe it to themselves to revisit Zeta Gundam to fully understand and enjoy the subsequent series which owe so much to Zeta. The entire Mobile Suit Gundam metaseries is truly mesmerizing, both to think critically about and simply enjoy on a more basic level, and it is Zeta which best represents all the great things that viewers know and love about Gundam. Passing up this series would be an unforgivable injustice.

After the surprising depth and satisfying conclusion to the original "Mobile Suit Gundam," I was riding high on Mecha Fever, buying my first two Gunpla models and excited to consume more of this landmark anime franchise. Hearing good things about "Zeta Gundam" and eager to see how this universe could be even better fleshed out than the good yet quite flawed original series (which I practically binged from start to finish!) I went into "Zeta" expecting great things!

But it turns out that even in the eighties, people should have been wary when a company wanted to turn a popular series into a genuine franchise. "Mobile ... Suit Zeta Gundam" is bad. VERY bad.

While the first several episodes are easy enough to follow, adding new characters and bringing in the occasional fan-favorite from the original series to tie the two series' stories together, it was around episode ten that I began to realize that the plot is even more disjointed than the original series. No character, antagonist or protagonist, ever has a clear purpose for why they are fighting, and by the end the writers were clearly making things up and using as vague language as possible to try to appear philosophical. A slew of characters die near the end--as can happen in war--but it almost felt like it was done because the writers themselves knew how insufferable and outright moronic so many of them were. I literally watched them all die with a purely blank expression on my face because for as much screen time as every single one of them got, they got ZERO iotas of development.

Plot twists happen so often that you become numb to them. The same lunar colony is attacked again and again by the cartoonishly evil Titans who are supposed to be a corrupted anti-Zeon task force, but we get so little insight as to why they are constantly committing atrocities like gassing colonies again and again that you almost don't care if the equally one-dimensional Anti Earth Union Group ever stops them. Unlike the original series, which delved a little deeper into fascist mindsets and what can influence destitute nations and people to become so extreme, Zeta Gundam's way of showing the humanity of evildoers is for literally everyone to be a blank slate with nothing more than multiple female antagonists' out-of-the-blue romantic feelings for their enemy who they literally just met to make us empathize with them or for Jerid to constantly lose loved ones, cry about it, then go back to becoming a rampaging psychopath without explaining why he's fighting for the Titans in the first place. Sarah escapes from the clutches of her captors out of nowhere THREE TIMES. So many episodes retread the same ground that it didn't matter that I took such a long break from the series to keep from becoming utterly dulled to everything so I could properly gather my thoughts about it. Eventually, I could guess what "twists" the writers were going to go for during a particular setup.

Clearly, this series has been propped up by weeaboos and nostalgia junkies who close their mind off from other possibilities. "Dark" does not automatically mean "mature" or "deep" if there isn't any substance to back it up. If this series is held in such high regard by the Gundam community but only manages to fall completely flat on its face, I'm going to guess that the much-reviled "Double Zeta" must be a near masterpiece.

Please don't mess this next one up, Tomino. I don't want to believe that your legacy is only worth as much as the currently $28 billion you and Sunrise have been swimming in for more than forty years.

Most of you who read this know the synopsis for the story, so I will skip that.
The only reason I didn't give this series 10 across the boards is because it is old. The artwork is amazing, don't get me wrong, but it is dated by most standards. However, this is a part of the charm of the series.

The plot twists, character developements, awesome and weird mobile suit designs, and general Gundam plot devices are what make this show as good as it is. The good guys and bad guys are not definate or clear cut (as they were more easily shown in Mobile Suit ... Gundam). There are people who are bad guys, or good guys, but many of the characters fall into both that neutral area and the grey area where they cross both boundaries.

After seeing the Mobile Suit Gundam movies, I wanted to see the sequel. I was not disappointed. Granted, this is a show that aired in the 1980's, but even by today's standards, the story, characters, and overall message still remain powerful. This show is dated in its artwork (all completely hand drawn with no computer help), and the music is also somewhat in the 80's mix of synthesizers and old fashioned Jpop. But these add to the feeling and charm, as mentioned before.

I rated this show very highly because I am a Gundam fan. I have seen many different shows in the Gundam universe, and seen much of what it is capable of. MSG: Zeta, the 2nd of the Gundam shows to air, is, despite it's age, a masterpiece of storytelling, and I cannot recommend it enough to anyone who is either interested in the radical shift from the original Gundam to those who desire to see an amazing series that will offer fans and viewers alike an enjoyable experience.

Hello, everyone, this is Shawn aka KurataTrigger and welcome to my next anime review of the month of Anime Limited.
For this one, I will be taking a look one of the most praised Gundam shows from the franchise Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam.
With that further ado let’s begin with this review.

Story.
It is the year Universal Century 0087 eight years after the one year war. The Zeon forces have been defeated and to make sure they never rise again the earth federation creates an elite task group known as the Titans. Unfortunately, the Titans will have they own agenda by becoming corrupt and try to gain control ... of the earth sphere. In response a space rebel group known as the Anti-Earth Union Group or the A.E.U.G for short attempt to stop the Titans. During a mission that would spark a war between the two groups, a 17-year-old boy named Kamille Bidan hijacks a new prototype the Gundam MK II and to fight back against the Titans. After his parents are killed off during the indecent Kamile joins the A.E.U.G forces in hope of crushing the Titans as well as being the pilot of the Gundam that he Hijacked while being mentored by Char Azanable himself who now goes by the name Quattro Bajeena.
The story of Zeta Gundam is honestly great.
It takes everything that was good from the first series and manages to expand them. Themes of war, growing up and understanding one another that were explored from the first series are explored in a deeper way this time around while newer themes like having a grudge on something and human exploitation are very well explored.
There’s is a lot more going on here as opposed of the first series and what really amazed me so much is that all of the events that happen in Zeta fits so well together with very little hiccups.
The pacing is honestly a big step this time around as it pacing was more constant as a oppose of the original series.
One of the most controversial aspects of Zeta Gundam is the dark tone as we see characters die left and right especially in the second half of the series.
One thing you should know about Zeta is while it was airing director Tomino was suffering from depression and if any director that gets depressed while directing a series it can potentially lead to a kill them all series.
Tomino's depression would later continue in an another Gundam show called Mobile Suit Victory Gundam which I will be reviewing sometime in the future.
I personally liked the dark tone of the show because unlike most anime before and since Zeta Gundam the show actually expands its themes with the dark tone correctly. Plus most of the events in Zeta Gundam are handled very maturely where you can take the events and character motivations seriously unlike some other shows. (*Cough Cosmic Era of Gundam*)
Overall The story of Zeta Gundam can be described as well made expansion.
It takes everything that I loved from Gundam 0079 and expanded it to new heights.
This is one of the best war stories I seen in any anime.
9.5/10

Characters.
The characters of Zeta are great and memorable.
Am going to start with the new characters which I got to say really grew on me the more I watched this series. You may hate them initially but they all processed in the way that makes them become either relatable or likable by the end.
I really loved Kamile as a character.
Sure he more aggressive than Amuro but he had a drive of doing what he did, unlike Amuro.
He joins the war effort because of his hatred of the Titans.
Throughout the series, Kamile would mature in such a way that would make him a memorable character.
The rest of the new cast is pretty great too.
I personally prefer the new cast over the original cast minus Char Anazable. They just feel a lot more releatable in my opinion compare to the characters from the first series.
The characters from first Gundam series return here but this time most of them play much more minor roles to make way for the development for the new cast
Char Anazable is one of the main characters of the show as a pose of being an antagonist in the original series.
On the other hand characters like Amuro Ray don’t necessarily play a huge part in the series but still make major contributions to the overall story progression.
The Titans are some of the most ruthless factions from the franchise tho there are sympathetic characters that you can relate to such as Four.
Overall the characters of Zeta Gundam are great and very memorable.

Visuals.
Visually Zeta Gundam is a big step from the original series as its more dynamic and detailed compared to the original. The battles are also a improvement and make for some memorable moments.
The show also doesn't rely on stock footage which is a big plus for me because I personally hate when newer shows from the Gundam franchise when they take lots of steps back from the older gundam shows. For example Zeta Gundam doesn't relay on stock footage while shows like Gundam Wing, Gundam Build Fighters Try, Gundam Seed and especially Gundam Seed Destiny heavily rely on stock footage. It's honestly pathetic in terms of animation direction and it makes the battles from they respective series look tedious by comparison.
As for the mecha designs, they are more complex this time around. The Zeta itself is an awesome pure 80s design that is iconic and memorable. I also really like the designs of the Psycho Gundam, AMX-004 Qubeley and Hyaku Shiki.
Zeta Gundam was also the first series to introduce transformable mobile suits as well as multiple Gundams and it was the first series to feature a mid-season upgrade which a character starts off with one Gundam but gets a stronger Gundam midway through the series.
Overall the Visuals of Zeta Gundam is really good and still holds up well to this day.
8.5/10

Sound.
The soundtrack of Zeta Gundam is just as great as the first Gundam series but this time it has a more dramatic edge to go with the dark themes of the series. Zea toki wo koete and especially Mizu no Hoshi e Ai wo Komete are both great and catchy openings. The ending theme Hoshizora no Believe is a good catchy theme that I enjoyed.
Now for dub or sub.
I personally enjoyed both languages for what they were.
I know some people don't like the dub for Zeta Gundam because none of the dub actors for Gundam 0079 returned for Zeta but I honestly thought dub for Zeta Gundam to be pretty good. Sure is a bit cheesy and campy in the beginning but this dub grows on you as the series goes on.
Overall Zeta Gundam can be enjoyed in both languages.
9/10

Final Thoughts.
Zeta Gundam is hailed to be the best entry in the franchise by many hardcore Gundam fans and I can definitely see why. It took all the elements that made Gundam 0079 great and manage to improve them. Zeta Gundam was the series that managed to help skyrocket Gundam into an anime phenomenon.
I can definitely say that Zeta Gundam deserves all the praise that it gets.
While I personally prefer Gundam X, Turn A Gundam and to some degree Gundam Build Fighters Season 1 and Gundam 0080 over I still, consider Zeta to be a great Gundam show overall.
It's one of my favorite Gundam shows from the franchise.
If you can handle the dark handle of the series then I highly recommend this show to anyone. It's an amazing anime that will be remembered for a long time.
I give Zeta Gundam a 9/10.

Anyway, this was Shawn aka KurataTrigger and I will see you guys next time.
Next review Mobile Suit ZZ Gundam/ZZ Gundam

I use the following system to calculate the final score:
In each of the five categories (Story, Art, Sound, Character(s), Enjoyment), a score can get 2, 4, 8 or 10. 2 for something I find truly bad, 4 for something that just isn't good enough, 8 for fairly good and 10 for outstanding.

The sum of the score is divided by 5 and the score is rounded to the nearest integer (More than or equal to .5 rounds it up, less than .5 rounds it down).

STORY (10):
As with many Gundam series, it's about a young boy who becomes part of a small military force that opposes greater ... military forces. There are themes concerning authority, youth, war, death, romance and politics, though it seems that the main theme is "WAR IS BAD".
I found it to be well executed, although slow from time to time. The story of AEUG isn't a complicated one, but somewhat captivating. Kamille's growth throughout the series is something worth watching, even if the ending can be a bit of a downer.

ART (10):
Zeta Gundam had some really good mecha designs, especially Gundam MkII and the titular mecha, Zeta Gundam, which ranks as my favourite Gundam of all. This series also introduces the beauty that is the Qubeley, so it's solid on the design front.
Animation is mostly on a pretty average level, but every now and then they surprise you with some really detailed and beautifully animated scenes.

SOUND (10):
Disregarding the terrible, terrible j-pop openings Zeta Gundam had in its country of origin, the soundtrack is fit for an epic tale of space warfare. The voice actors do a great job and some of the speeches and yells during battle make them sound as if they were super robot pilots.

CHARACTERS (8):
An overall good cast, but some of the characters can be really annoying at times, especially Katz. If it hadn't been for him and a certain character doing something I feel was unsupported by the overall story, this might have scored a 10. Be prepared that you may dislike Kamille, the main character, quite a bit. Although I do not, a lot of people are disturbed by his constant whining and disrespect towards others.

ENJOYMENT (10):
As a mecha fan, there's a lot of fanservice with all the different suits and armors used in this series. The tale itself, the operations and some characters from the first series just add even more viewing pleasure. It really is quite a classic.

FINAL SCORE:
48 * 0.2 = 9.6, rounded up to 10.

RECOMMENDATION:
It's 50 episodes long, so you better be prepared for some slower parts here and there. There's a lot of war and death, and the action is often there to say that war is bad, which sets a somewhat grim tone over everything.
However, if you want a war drama set in space, this is a truly good one.
Though if you want to watch this, I recommend watching the series that came before this first, Mobile Suit Gundam, or the Mobile Suit Gundam movie trilogy which summarizes the first series. This will help with background for both the setting and several characters.

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam is the sequel to the first Gundam series. Many Gundam fans think that this is the best Gundam series ever made, and I can see why. This series certainly lives up to the Gundam name, and much better than the first series.

Story: 10
Zeta Gundam's plot is a bit different than the first Gundam. While in the first Gundam the main focus is Earth Federation vs Principality of Zeon, here the main focus is war between different factions inside the Earth Federation itself. The portrayal of war here is much better, with a good dose of politics, conspiracy, conflict etc. It's certainly ... got a heavier and darker plot than the first one so don't go expecting light plot with mecha battle everywhere. And the good part is that there's really no filler episodes. Each episodes builds to the story, or develops certain characters which will in turn affect the story itself. And it not to mention it goes on for 50 episodes. It's highly recommended to watch the first Gundam before this, so you can get a better comprehension on what's really going on throughout the series. Also, one thing to notice is the weakness of 'Plot Armor' here. There's a lot of character dying here and there throughout the series, which is a good thing, since it makes the portrayal of war much more realistic.

Art: 8
Much better than the first Gundam, here the animation is quite good. Still bad when compared to the recent animes, but the animation is already flowing fluidly. No stiff movements whatsoever. This might have the best animation for it's time. And the drawings is also better than the first series. Mecha design is great, I really wonder how the designer designs all those transforming MSs that not only looks cool, the transformation sequences can be reproduced quite anime-accurate in the Gunplas. They must have put a lot of thought on the designs and the transformation sequences. Character design still good, as always. You can see many characters from the first series, only they got older.

Sound: 7
Unlike the first Gundam, sadly, there's not really any soundtracks here that is remarkably good for me. Although they do fit the scene, but somehow I don't really like them. OP&ED, is different in the Japan release and US release, I prefer the JP release one. SFX is not that much different than the first Gundam, you can still recognize the same mecha sounds, or the beam rifle shots. Voice acting is pretty much no problem. But some said that the english dub is pretty bad, so consider getting the subtitled one.

Character: 9
Zeta is one of the Gundam series that has the most character depth and development I've ever watched. Many characters undergo heavy development throughout the series. This is what makes it interesting, rather than seeing a static character that is pretty much the same from the start to the end. You can notice that the main character, Kamille, undergo so much development that he changed from a short-tempered emo boy to one of the best member aboard the Argama. Here you can also see the effect of character ideals. Many characters here will do anything to achieve their ideals, including switching sides etc. Even because of that, Char and Amuro can be friends here.

Enjoyment: 10
With much better battles than the first series, and interesting characters, this series is really enjoyable. This series has a lot of transformable units, and that adds to the enjoyment. Battles become more interesting as Kamille transforms his Zeta again and again to conform to the situation he's in. Also, here the grunt units are pretty formidable, even more so than the first series. It's not rare to see Kamille and Quattro struggles against grunt units, sometiimes even almost got killed, which makes it pretty fun to watch.

Overall: 10
I can't really say much here since I've pretty much said everything above. This is an excellent series, very enjoyable to watch. If you already watched the first Gundam and feels that it's good, then you should watch this ASAP.

If there is a Gundam series that is worth of scoring top notes and receiving every possible award out there for an anime it definitely has to be this series.

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam is a direct successor to memorable Gundam 0079. While most of the people are new, there are also some classic cameos here and there. Once again we get into a White Base type space fortress - Argama, to travel with our young (and some a little older) pilots across the universe to fight off evil - a bit cliche, no ? ;]

In fact, Zeta Gundam is anything and everything BUT cliche. The ... plotline is very good. It tells the story of a young AEUG pilot - Kamille Bidan who, having lost his parents in quite arbitrary circumstances, decides to use his unique skills and pilot a newly built Gundam Mk.II to wage a war against the Titans - military organization under the hood of the Earth Sphere Committee. Although the story may seem quite simple (not simplistic!) it is in fact so vast in different smaller and bigger paths to follow, and focuses on so many different characters, that not once during the 50 25-minute-long episodes will you yawn. In fact, this vastness is one of the biggest advantages of Tomino's creation, and unrivalled so far in it's own category. Even now, after almost 25 years of it's premiere, Zeta is still considered to be the best G series in history.

What makes it so special then? The number of characters alone? Not very much. Rather the quality of those characters. Tomino won't hesitate to spend entire episode or two to thoroughly explain why the given person has made the specific decision and show what influence it will have on other people. Here, the mistakes are unforgivable - when you make one, you pay for it. And sometimes, the fate is a darn prick, and will make your dearest ones pay for your flaws. It's the cruelty of the world in which Kamille and Fa are destined to live their lives and fight their battles. No one opposes it, everyone struggle to survive.

As I mentioned before, the old cast partially returns. We get to see Amuro and Char (one of the most classy and touchy reunions ever in anime - simply SPLENDID), Bright Noah and some other more or less known people from White Base. All those characters serve as mentors for the new generation - they're not there to steal the youngsters' time - they're there to serve as an advisor, a lieutenant, or a parent if there is a need to. All those people, no matter if they're essentially good or bad, right or wrong, have their own stories to tell and believe me when I'm saying it - you will want to hear them out.

The art is average if we look at it today. But back then i 1986 it was something uncanny. SUNRISE managed even to use CGI in some scenes and it still looks believable. All the battles are shown in a distinctive and classy way. There is no place for rush, re-used frames and chaos. Everything has it's place and moment in the series.
The mecha design is one of the better in the history of animation, and I don't mean only the Mk. II and Zeta. All the mechas, mobile armours and ships are drawn and portrayed in such way, that even in 50 years you'll still recognise the Methiuss or The O. Despite their bulkiness and size you tend to believe they're real.
The music is also quite good, it accompanies the series very well and fits with the action on screen. I cannot say much about the openings and endings since my release did not have those included. I had watched them on the youtube tho, and they seem bearable but not great. Overall, I wouldn't judge the book by it's cover. The opening and ending sequences are nothing compared to rich and enormous inside of the anime...

Did I enjoy it? Or perhaps have I enjoyed it? Rather the latter. I still love the series, although I've seen much more than just Zeta. I still think, that it's one of the most rewatchable series in G history. Tomino did include a lot of death by the end of the series, and sometimes you may even think that there's something wrong with this guy (well, actually there was, but nvmd :> ) but in a series as serious as this one, some people losing their lives are a given.

Overall, Zeta Gundam is an epic *love* story that will carry you across our universe, trash you, make you cry and then spill you out like a prune kernel. It is harsh, it is fairly realistic, it is not afraid to touch the themes so controversial that you would avoid them being aired in everyday news - and this is an anime - a cartoon! For G fans - it's almost a majestic resemblance of the past - for non-G fans - a very good series that deserves a chance to show off.

Mobile Suit Gundam proved to be a success in the early 1980's thanks to popularity of the Gunpla (plastic Gundam models). The original packed some neat robot vs. robot action and drama. Obviously, some kind of sequel would have been expected. In 1985, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, came to be. The sequel to the 1979 classic, has been regarded by many fans as the darkest and engaging entry in the franchise. After watching its 50 episodes, I can say that its may favorite Gundam in the franchise and is worth a watch.

Story- U.C. 0087, seven years have passed since the Earth Federation's victory over ... the Principality of Zeon during the One Year War. However, several Zeon remnants still remain. To combat this, the Earth Federation have established the Titans, an elite force dedicated to the eradication of the Zeon remnants and those who stand in its way. Where MSG had you sympathizing for some Zeon members, you'll surely hate the Titans.

Their vicious ways of killing and tyranny leads to the formation of a rebel group called the A.U.E.G. (Anti-Earth Union Group), dedicated to combat the Titans. A small A.U.E.G. team are sent to investigate Side 7, a residential colony, in suspicion of a possible Titan threat. The story follows Kamille Bidan, our main protagonist, whom gets mixed up in the conflict. Throughout the 50-episode run, we see Kamille's struggle as a pilot of the A.U.E.G. and how the war impacts him. The themes of loss and war are here and I found them to be enjoyable aspects of the story.

Characters- Zeta Gundam features many interesting characters. The main lead, Kamille Bidan, is the hot-headed Newtype (an advanced subspecies of mankind) pilot of the Zeta Gundam. Like Amuro, he may take a while to get used to since he can be annoying at times. Nevertheless, he's a far more developed character as the show progresses. Quattro Bajeena, who's a lot like Char Aznable, is a lieutenant in the A.U.E.G. and serves as a mentor to Kamille. He receives a great deal of character development as the show progresses. Throughout the story, characters from both factions experience loss, betrayal, relationships, and more. Also, most White Base members such as Amuro Ray and Bright Noa make a return!

Presentation- Zeta Gundam packed a neat presentation during its time. The visuals and models are eye-catching, as well as the mech designs, Zeta Gundam especially. Compared to the original Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta has aged rather well. The voice acting is good, though campy at times. The soundtrack, one of the highlights of the presentation, has an awesome 80's kick to it. The opening and ending themes are catchy and memorable. Even during episodes, you'll be hearing some neat tracks. The composers surely outdid themselves.

Overall- I had a lot of enjoyment watching Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. The story and characters kept me hooked, as well as the fights, which were awesome. The presentation holds-up considerably well today. Fans looking for a mature and dark Gundam series should give Zeta a look.

Watching Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, there were times where I felt the same excitement I felt when watching the original Mobile Suit Gundam. After 50 episodes, I came to the conclusion that this show should never have been made.

The original Gundam was brilliant for being an enormous departure from other, very formulaic mecha titles of the 70’s. Suddenly there was a gritty war story, about humans against humans, with grey characters, instead of a simplistic black and white story about men in giant invincible robots fighting evil aliens. It was as far as I know, the first attempt at realistic science fiction and the first ... sci-fi anime to delve into the psyche of the characters and portray the internal struggles of a pilot killing another pilot. Tomino didn’t just evolve the genre one step ahead. No, he delivered such a giant, visionary leap forwards and created an entirely new genre.

But here we are in 1985. We’ve seen the shows that followed in Gundams footsteps: the political document of Taiyou no Kiba Dagram, the light-hearted but epic Macross, the dark and military Armored Trooper Votoms and the consistent suspense, character-drivenness and (finally!) well-flowing animation of the horribly underestimated Round Vernian Vifam. I’m not even mentioning some spectacularly animated OVA’s that came out in this time period.

After all this, quite frankly, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam just isn’t good enough. As always in everything he makes, Tomino is again full of great little ideas, but at this point in anime history, if you can’t create likeable characters, keep repeating the same formula in every episode, for 50 episodes, I don’t care anymore. He delivers at the ending, but at this point I had already lost my interest and just kept watching to finish it.

It’s not that the show is bad. I can even understand it’s good reputation. Zeta Gundam is Mobile Suit Gundam 2.0 in many ways, the animation is much better, with more possibilities story-wise because of it, the robots looked cooler, more great villains, an ending that truly delivers… Sadly it’s also 2.0 in terms of flaws. Other reviewers have done a good job in listing them, I’ll just shout out my biggest frustrations here (vague spoilers):

- What the hell is with all the love affairs?! Seriously? Did Japanese people in 1985 just fall in love with any random person from the other gender in real life as well?
- If one more robot flies in front of another robot to save him, I’m going to kill myself. By jumping in front of a robot.
- I used to like Tomino’s mecha battles, there was always something smart and new about them. What happened? Oh right, Votoms happened. Clink, vrrrrrrrrrr… mmm, that’s the stuff.
- Why are all the Cyber Newtypes emotionally unstable women? What point is he trying to get across with this?
- What the hell are they talking about? Why are they fighting again now? I’m sure it made alot of sense in the director’s mind. I miss Dagram, now those were dialogues.

I’ll say it again, this show should never have been made. It’s a flawed, mediocre stain on the legacy of Gundam. Even Tomino himself admitted he should have finished the story in the first series. Not sure if I should keep watching the other Gundam installments. I can’t wait another 48 episodes to see 2 great ones. But feel free to convince me! Maybe I just watched too many mecha’s.