Unlike Gundam SEED, the pace of Mobile Suit Gundam 00 begins at full throttle; we see the fragile peace of the world start to crumble. Celestial Being is a powerful organization intent on ending war forever with the help of their Gundam meisters. Gundam 00 has epic battles, tense confrontations, and a few shonen clichés that may seem predictable to anime cynics.
While the futuristic setting and political games are carefully crafted, the speed at which this show begins causes underdeveloped characters. Aside from their roles with Celestial Being, not many details of their lives are given. Gundam 00 prefers bursts of mission-oriented action to the planned escalation of Seed. There is no human spirit, and the main Gundam meister Setsuna remains cold & unlikeable throughout most of season 1. With no empathy anchor, Gundam 00 is difficult to enjoy apart from a purely cerebral or aesthetic level.
As season 2 begins, The new global government decides to take action against Celestial Being, while the main characters keep up their goal of eliminating war. The ending action scenes, explosive and plentiful, are finally able to create some tension and the puppet pilots get some long-awaited character development. For example, Setsuna matures, and seems less robot-like. Gundam 00 does manage to pull itself together, and delivers a decent ending.
To Gundam 00’s credit, the animation quality is extraordinary, and has some of the most appealing mecha fight scenes yet. Gundam 00 proves that the franchise may yet be financially viable, but that Sunrise is unwilling to escape the mold of past Gundam series. While an attractive and intelligent series, Gundam 00 was somewhat lifeless and unoriginal. If this is your first exposure to Gundam (or Shonen in general) you may find this enjoyable. Otherwise, it’s…ok.
