Story: It starts pretty well, and you have high hopes. The end of Gundam 00 leaves some questions behind how the OVA is going to proceed, right? I mean, you are reading a review for the OVA, I assume you`ve watched the show. Well, so, it actually starts well, and they give you a reason for some events that happened in the main series.
Then... I don`t know, it becomes a mess. It goes from a 10 to a 0 so fast that you will get lost, thinking "what am I missing? " Some events are tackled in a hushed way, they will provide weird explanations, weird motives, and weird decisions for crucial events that will confuse you even further. As always, it gives you that mystery, making you wonder "Holy s***! I bet it will be an epic explanation because this is awesome!". Hahahaha. No. Don`t expect a good conclusion. JUST DON`T! It makes me sad because Gundam 00 is a good series. And... they decide to close the story with this. The conclusion is so bad that I can give you an analogy using LoTR for you to understand. Imagine that instead of explaining that the One Ring had less influence on the hobbits because they have a pure heart, the One Ring had less influence because the hobbits are ALIENS.
By seeing Awakening of the Trailblazers you are putting at risk the whole sentiment you have for the story of Gundam 00.
Art and Sounds: Amazing, as the series. Saw the series? Same thing.
Characters: Nothing changes. I had high hopes, thinking, well, maybe Awakening of the Trailblazers (ATB) will follow Gundam Wing Endless Waltz's example and develop/fix the characters. One of my major complaints about the main series is the lack of character development - thus, I thought they would give more character development in the OVA. But no, they stay the same. There are some highlights, one I can`t say, the other is some things about Setsuna. But, that's it, nothing more. Their development is in complete stasis. Once again I wonder why the writers chose to forget about character development for this series - it's absent.
Mechas: The mechas design is solid. Raphael Gundam is an enhanced Nadhalee (thumbs up), 00 Quan is there, looking badass, Harute is not much different than Arios, and the Cherudim upgrade is the best of them all. Not much to say, except that I loved the mecha designs.
Overall: ATB is not a good conclusion to the show. In fact, the Gundam 00 Universe would be better without it. Maybe you can enjoy the action and the mechas, but that's it. The rest, just don`t hold up and the conclusion is terrible.
