Story: If you are familiar with the UC, you will see many references here. I strongly advise you not to see Turn A if you are unfamiliar with the UC. The story is already too much of a mess, even if you know it. Here is the thing: the story of Turn A is extremely original, and everything you will see in Turn A is completely different from the other Gundam out there. So, why did I consider it bad?
Well, let me explain - poor execution. First, it is too damn boring. Even after trying to rewatch this series (3 times, people, 3 times!) I still fall asleep multiple times. For a die-hard Gundam fan like me, that's a bad sign because I saw every other Gundam created. Nothing happens until episode 20 or something. The plot is a complete mess, you don`t get what is happening until much later, in a bad way. I love slow-building stories, but Turn A does not create an interesting or mysterious environment that you want to know more about.
Everything is so mundane, people are absurdly boring, and the society depicted is so lame that Time might as well be standing still. You spend way too much time seeing uninteresting dialogs that are completely useless to the plot or anything else, seeing events that have no purpose, and following main characters that you feel no connection with whatsoever. I felt like I was watching a theater play from the XV century trying to appeal to the royals.
Now, let me explain the second worst thing: the world. Society is like late XIX century America; the technology is a mix of that time, World War I, and sci-fi. Sounds good? Well, it isn`t.
The fights are absolutely lame, far from any Gundam out there. They are neither military-accurate nor exciting. They are also confusing: people fight in old airplanes, use carabines, drive zeppelins, then, out of nowhere, they use an old anti-air cannon, and you see a mobile suit! This might sound cool and all, but it is not. It creates a confusing scenario where you don`t understand how all those elements are mixed in harmony with the world they try to present to you. The show also fails to provide a good explanation. Finally, this show was made to appeal to North Americans because everything is based on an old USA story: clothes, technology, houses, and society. It is everything Gundam tried to stay away from, being concentrated in one single society. Gundam was always about a reformed world where countries united in different ways. Not here, here you will follow the most USA Gundam ever made. If you are from the USA, you might love it. But for me, it is everything Gundam tried to stay away from.
Art & Sound: The animation is marvelous, and the art direction is amazing. However, the soundtrack sucks. Not appealing in any way.
Character: No character appeals to you, and that left me stunned because no other Gundam lacks a character that appeals to you. One thing that SHOULD happen in any movie, series, book, comic, game, or anime is that at least one character should be appealing; you must like someone. Or at least hate some character enough to see what is going to happen. None of those options apply in Turn A. Everyone is boring. They have no depth. They don`t talk about interesting subjects. I never felt so uninspired as I felt in Turn A.
Every Gundam has some interesting characters, even amidst annoying ones. This one has nothing. I have no words to describe the absolute boredom that it is to see an anime with the most uninteresting characters in the franchise. Even the protagonist is a complete bore. I prefer Shinn Asuka (the most annoying character in the franchise) to him. At least with Shinn, I could feel something. All characters appear to live in stasis, with no interesting personalities you want to explore. This is one of the reasons I always fell asleep trying to rewatch this show.
Mechas: The Gundam in this series is, by far, the ugliest main Gundam ever made. The rest of the Mechas (with the exception of the classic ones) are also terrible. I don`t know what happened in Turn A because Bandai always checks Gundam shows to profit from gunplas. And this is the first time I saw a Gundam where I don`t want any gunpla from the show. Many Gundam shows appeal to different audiences because they mix story and mecha action. For example, Gundam 00 is packed with action, and some people love it just for that. In Turn A, you will have neither action nor interesting mechas to see.
Overall, some people love Turn A for its originality. I wanted to feel the same, but even after watching the show three times, I just can`t describe the boredom, lack of uninteresting characters, lame mechas, boring fights, and everything else that was Turn A - and since Turn A is a standalone Gundam series, I advise you to stay away from this show and use your time for a better Gundam. Want a slow-building story with amazing characters, exciting fights, and deep political backgrounds? Go see Iron-Blooded Orphans.
