When you come into a show expecting the worst, the best it can do is surprise you. ZZ definitely surprised me, but not in a good way. I very rarely write reviews, and i only do so if i believe that there is something to be said, and there is a lot to be said about ZZ. Firstly, it is not as bad as people make it out to be. It's still an okay Anime, it has it's moments that make it worth watching. However, it is incredibly flawed. Secondly, i believe it is worth a watch if you intend to continue watching the rest of the Gundam UC timeline. You can not substitute it with a summary or a set of bullet points. However, if you do not intend to intend to watch the entirety of UC then i recommend you skip ZZ.
I will first list the flaws i found in this show, then i will list the things i liked, i will try and avoid spoilers to the best of my ability.
---Flaws:
1-Shift in tone:
The drastic shift in tone between Zeta and ZZ, and between the first half of ZZ and the second half of ZZ. This is the main complaint most people have with this show, and it must be mentioned. Zeta maintained a consistently depressing theme from start to finish, and it's incredibly jarring to jump from Zeta to ZZ and feel like you're watching a comedy/action show. This is especially apparent when you remember that the events of ZZ take place immediately after the events of Zeta, and as such, it makes the actions of certain characters almost inexcusable. Furthermore, the subsequent shift in tone around episode 20-ish is again very jarring. You start getting used to the lighthearted atmosphere and then you're suddenly back to watching an actual Gundam Anime. This back and forth is inexcusable, and i honestly barely made it through to the "good part".
2-Confusion:
The show is confused. It doesn't know what it wants to be. Even after the show goes into "serious" mode, it still has these out of place lighthearted moments. Do you know how awkward it feels to watch characters go from mourning to giggling within 3 minutes of their friend dying? Also, you'll have these random slapstick moments in the middle of serious life or death fights. It's as if the creators are trying to say "hey guys, we're still fun! it's not all doom and gloom!". It ruins the atmosphere.
3-Death:
The way this show handles death is simply awful. I will try not to spoil, but a certain important character dies and there was absolutely no reaction from any members of the cast. One character reacted (briefly) and then life went on. That's not how you kill off a character. Also, when the characters do react to death, it's almost always in this dismissive "man up! move on NOW!" manner. There was a specific scene where an INCREDIBLY important character was presumed dead and instead of giving the grieving protagonist time to mourn, the side characters were berating him for being sad. It's just painfully annoying to watch. Admittedly, this was a flaw with other Gundam shows, but it felt particularly egregious in this show.
4-Cop outs and trying to salvage the show:
(SOFT SPOILER) Halfway through the show an important main character dies. Then, about 10 episodes later, they're suddenly alive again. This was INCREDIBLY cheap, and it was probably the worst part of this show. You either kill them or you don't, you can't have it both ways. The way they reintroduced the allegedly "dead" character was also so awful. They literally just show a frame of them at the end of an episode. "Hey guys, they're not actually dead! haha! just kidding!".
5-Perpetual blue balling:
You know how a story arc has to have rising tension and then a climax with a payoff? This show gets the rising tension and climax part, but no payoff. They make it seem like things will happen, then things do happen, but nothing comes out of it. It's difficult to get into this without going into spoilers territory. However, i'll try and not get into too much detail. (SPOILERS) A character gets kidnapped, then they remain kidnapped for a long time. Every episode, that character almost gets rescued but it never happens. Then that character dies, then gets magically un-killed. That single series of events destroyed any sense of tension i had in the show. (END OF SPOILERS)
6-Uninteresting side characters:
This goes opposite of most Gundam shows. Usually, in UC Gundam, the main character starts out insufferable and the side characters and antagonists are what carry the show. This is not the case in ZZ. I honestly believe that the main character is the saving grace of this show, while the side characters simply drag it down. The way they handle returning characters from the previous show is especially awful, and in some cases retro-actively made the previous shows worse. Also, the new characters introduced were very forgettable. They're all fairly interchangeable and one-dimensional, especially when compared to side characters from any of the previous shows (Reccoa, Fa, Bright, Char, Paptimus, Jerid and Emma from Zeta. Kai, Hayato, Sayla, Bright, Char, Lalah, and Mirai from MSG.).
---Positives (but not really?):
1-Judau Ashta:
I really like the protagonist. He's not as much of an angst-ridden child as Kamille (Zeta) and Amuro (MSG) were at the start of their shows. He's likable for the most part. However, the events that happen around him and the way he reacts to them is still kinda bad.
2-Returning characters:
The best part of this show is when they shift focus (momentarily) to characters from the old shows. That's honestly kinda sad.
---Actual positives:
1-Fantastic animation and sound design:
There were some scenes and frames that were genuinely breathtaking, and the music is fantastic. The new music is great, and the old music is used sparingly enough that it never gets boring, but is simply a welcome change. Sadly, some episodes looked kinda awful, but those were few and far between. It looked great when it mattered.
----Conclusion:
If you plan on watching the rest of the UC timeline, then it is a must watch. However, if (for some reason) you're wondering if this show in particular is worth watching as a stand alone, then i do not recommend it. Personally, on my first watch through i was not able to make it past episode 5. I had just finished Zeta and was (understandably) not in the mood for lighthearted fun and gags. I took a long break, about 2-3 months, then when i came back to re-watch it i managed to power through it in a few days. As such, try and space it out from Zeta. Give yourself a few days/weeks between Zeta and ZZ. If you really want to watch it, don't immediately jump in after finishing Zeta.
