I just watched the first Season of Mobile Suit Gundam 00 and I enjoyed it very much. Thus, I decided to write a review to help you out. I did watch Gundam Wing, Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny too and I am going to include some comparisons to these older show in this review.
I have to admit, I wasn't a big fan of the Gundam franchise until now, but after watching Gundam 00 I was carried away by enthusiasm. Like the other Gundam shows that I watched, the main theme of Gundam, which is the anti-war theme makes a return. It has always been the center of all the shows of the franchise that I personally watched. So lets hit it off with the review shall we?
STORY:
If you like political plots with multiple factions you might be in for a treat. The world is split up in 3 factions which cover the whole planet earth. Of course there are conflicts in this world which are resolved by military actions. Every faction fights for its own good, as in past entries of the franchise.
This is where the paramilitary organization called CELESTIAL BEING (CB) comes into play. It is the mission of CB to rid the earth of all war itself and to achieve this goal they use the secretly developed Gundam Mobile Suits. You can probably tell, getting rid of war by using force sounds silly but the members of CB are all handpicked specialists who accepted CB's vision and want to make it come true. The show starts out slow to introduce the Maincast, CB and the history of the world but eventually picks up the pace. Now, the story itself is rather simple but because of the multitude of factions and characters it might be hard to follow it in the beginning.
Among the continental factions and CB there are also civilians who take the spotlight. For example the journalist Kinue Crossroad who is trying to uncover the origin of CB. There is also her little brother Saji and his lover Louise who are presenting the civilian perspective of the conflicts to the viewer. I was a little confused at first because they dont necessarily contribute to the main plot but they are a sweet couple that will bring some lighthearted moments and comic relief to the otherwise serious story. Due to the events of the story, the role of comic relief gets passed on to another couple later on.
CHARACTERS:
Now this might be a critical part for some of you. There are over 30 characters featured in this show, thats more characters than episodes. Which is kind of problematic because there is not enough time and exposure to get to know all of them. With each episode running for around 17-18minutes there is simply not enough space to give all of them sufficient screen time. That is also the reason why the show can be confusing at times, because it switches back and forth between the different characters and their associates. When I was halfway through the first season I still didn't remember all the names. I can only assume this stems from the fact that Gundam 00 was laid out to be a 2-season show from the very beginning and the writers decided to introduce some of the characters earlier so the viewer can relate to them in a more natural way when the 2nd season starts. When I look back at the transition from Gundam Seed to Gundam Seed Destiny and compare it to 00, I think they did the right thing because in Seed the new characters from the second season felt kind of forced into the cast.
There are only 3 characters whose background and motives are sufficiently explored in the first season, and those are:
The main character with the most exposure, Setsuna F. Seiei, heavily reminded me of Heero Yuy from Gundam Wing. Like Heero he is very young and was trained to handle a gun in his childhood. But Setsuna is very insecure about his doing and develops a relationship with Marina Ismail who very much resembles a different incarnation of Relena Peacecraft from Gundam Wing.
Second to Setsuna in terms of screen time is another main character Allelujah Haptism, a genetic manipulated super-soldier who developed a split personality as a result of the experiments with his body. He is a very nice and calm person, but in moments of extreme stress on the battlefield when his life is in danger, his other persona can take over and create an unexpected outcome for the enemy. He reminded me a little of Trowa Barton from Gundam Wing whose personality is similar to Allelujah, except for the alter ego.
The third character is the sniper of the team, Lockon Stratos. He is the cool guy with the easy-going attitude. He is trying his best to resolve conflicts between the team members and supports them. He's got everyones back. (which kind of comes naturally as a sniper)
There are many other characters whose backgrounds are partly explored or at least hinted at. One can hope that the viewer will receive more information about them in the 2nd season. I was still able to relate to them and feel for them because they are all believable characters and nobody is overacting his or her part.
Also, the main villain Alejandro Corner strongly reminded me of Gundam Wings Treize Khushrenada. Both live for war and conflict but Corners motives are much less idealistic than Treize's who believes that that a good duel can bring out the best in a human being where as Alejandro is just craving for power.
ANIMATION:
This is probably the best part of the 00 show. Even though Gundam always stood for good animation, the action scenes from Wing and Seed just didn't click with me because they used a lot of scenes multiple times and the battles sometimes felt kinda stale. Its different with 00, the action scenes are superb and on a whole new level. Even now, around 9 years later the animation is very good. The only thing from that time that comes close in terms of animation quality is probably Macross Frontier. (which aired the same year and you should totally watch that too if you are into mecha, romance and music!)
The new Gundams are also very flashy and have a distinct new look to them that makes them standout in comparion to earlier entries in the franchise.
The characters are all good looking and cover a variety of different types. There is the boyish Setsuna, the hot and grown up Sumeragi, the cool sunnyboy Lockon, the nice guy Allelujah, the silent and sweet girl Feldt and so on. Whatever you are looking for in character design/type, its probably in the mix too!
SOUND:
This might be the worst part of the show. It is not bad by any means but for me it was nothing special either. There are some extremely tearjerking moments underlaid with music that empowers them, which is pretty much the only thing I remember in terms of music. You definitely can't compare the music to, let's say, the space opera that is Macross.
Apart from that, the voice acting is very good and the sound in action scenes is always up to par.
ENJOYMENT & OVERALL
For now, this is by far the Gundam show that I enjoyed most in my life. If you haven't been able to get into the Gundam universe just yet, this is the show for you. I wasn't sold on the Gundam franchise until now, but that changed drastically. You might be overwhelmed by the multitude of characters and it might be hard to develop feelings for them, given the little time some of them are exposed to the viewer but the overall presentation is great. There are some theatric moments in the show which are the result of either war, romance or drama. But if you are an Anime or Asian TV/Movie connoisseur, chances are you already know that or you are even expecting it.
Before I wrote this review, I was asked who my favourite character is and I am still a little unsure. For me there are only two candidates to pick from. Its either Lockon or Allelujah because Setsuna is too much of a wandering stereotype to me. And the winner is...*drums rolling* Lockon! But I hope the female cast gets some more screen time too. >_> I am looking at you Sumeragi and Feldt!
Enjoy the show!
