Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV

They are the Kingsglaive, the elite fighting force of King Regis of Lucius.  Their power is tied directly to their king and his crystal source of power.  They stand against any threat to the beloved kingdom…until now.  When Neffilheim betrays King Regis during a peace ceremony, the apocalypse comes to Insomnia.  At the heart of the conflict is Nyx, a Kingsglaive tasked with protecting the Lady Lunafreya, the betrothed of Regis’ son Noctis.  As the world falls apart around them, Nyx, Luna and Regis race towards their shared destiny.  For where this doomed battle ends, the journey of another and his three companions is about to begin.

It has been a long time since I’ve seen a media push this intense alongside a Final Fantasy game release.  I really think the last time was when they did the massive expansion on Final Fantasy VII: with a sequel film-Advent Children; an short Anime prequel-Last Order; and three games-Before Crisis, Crisis Core and Dirge of Cerberus.  Most of these were met with mixed reception at best (though I hear Crisis Core is pretty solid).  I’m not sure what to say yet of Final Fantasy XV’s other project, Brotherhood (though I will shortly).  However, in regards to Kingsglaive, it still seems like Square Enix has yet to find that perfect balance of visual marvel and sharp writing.  And this is their third attempt too.

Credit where it is do, Square Enix does know how to make anything look like the greatest piece of artistic marvel known to man.  The same can be said about Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and it’s no different here.  The quality of animation in Kingsglaive is staggeringly awesome.  It is really hard to keep up with the action sometimes, especially in the pretty chaotic finale.  But when the camera does try to focus on the central battle (I guess), it boasts some impressive feats of magic and swordplay.  I’ll also give credit to the expanded roles of King Regis and, especially, Lunafreya.  Luna I enjoyed more so because I felt that, as big of a role as she plays in Final Fantasy XV, we don’t see all that much of her.  Regis has more of an impact throughout the game I thought bit it was still good to see him again and in action.  Likewise, Luna is a helluva lot more active here, even if she is part of a movie long escort mission by films end.  The roles of these two characters are set up even more for future events by this film, I’ll give them that.  The extended use of blade warping techniques that Nyx uses also feels right out of the game itself, kind of made me want to play it again.

And that’s just about where all the praise kind of ends.  The concept of the Kingsglaive is cool but the characters within it are boring or never given enough time to shine.  Crow is cute but barely around.  Libertus has some tragic character moments but that’s barely of consequence later.  And our main character, Nyx, is…well kind of bland and not as exciting a character for such a short story.  I was nowhere near as invested in any new character as I was in the characters I already knew about from the game.  Final Fantasy XV’s greatest strength is its bond between the core four protagonists and none of that great character writing is anywhere to be found here.  Even when they were reacting to events that happened off screen (like the fall of Insomnia which we only see in glimpses of the game) their performances made me feel every bit of their loss.  Here, once things start going to hell for Nyx and his comrades, it feels kind of empty, especially considering this guy doesn’t really matter in the long run of things.  It doesn’t help that the story is so confusing it’s hard to keep up with who is betraying who, who is mad at who, who looks to similar to who and why the hell the movie is obsessed with quick cuts to black for dramatic effect.  It’s a mess really and just feels like leftovers from the production of the game that might’ve been meant for DLC before deciding to push for a movie tie in.

The biggest shame for such a project is the perfectly good waste of voice talent.  Game of Thrones alums Sean Bean and Lena Heady voice Regis and Luna respectively…if you’re a Sean Bean fan you’ll know why it’s kind of funny he’s in Regis’ role.  And Aaron Paul from Breaking Bad is Nyx.  They all do what they can with these mostly underdeveloped roles but it feels like they could have been saved for better projects.  I also don’t get why they didn’t just use Luna’s original voice actress from the game, as she feels a bit older her than she does in the main story (no offense to Lena Heady, she still does a good job).  This was definitely an attempt to draw in a general fantasy crowd, especially the Game of Thrones fans but it feels like a waste.

When your Anime looks good, it looks good, no one will deny that.  When the emotion and heart is absent from it, even the most kick ass action scene wont be able to save it cause…well we don’t care who loses or wins.  And yet Square Enix, on their third feature length project with a franchise that is the reason they exist, has yet to figure out how this kind of storytelling works.  Kingsglaive is gorgeous, the best looking Final Fantasy move yet.  But if you’re not familiar with the Final Fantasy XV game itself, youre going to be lost and the movie will never let you forget that.  Nyx is kind of boring, the rest of the Kingsglaive aren’t interesting either and the story feels plodded out (longer than two hour) into a cutscene that expands on one of the most important moments of the game…when really the game kind of did it fine already.  Had the focus kept more on Regis and Luna, the story could have been a bit tighter.  Throwing in a hero for the sake of someone who can do cool action scenes doesn’t immedietly mean they’ll be likeable or memorable…cause Nyx is neither.  It’s almost a shame they threw in a post credits scene with Noctis, Gladio, Ignis and Prompto…no it’s not a shame cause if anything this movie made me yearn to play Final Fantasy XV is only to reunite with this amazing crew and forget the two hours of good looking letdown I just observed.

It may be the best looking Final Fantasy movie yet, but Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV just continues the disappointing streak of retreading lessons yet to be learned.

4/10

T5W#88-Top 5 Non Gundam Pilots

Everyone should know that when it comes to Mobile Suits, the suits themselves may look cool.  However it’s the man (or woman) behind the controls who can really make it dance.  While there are plenty of Gundam pilots out there, todays Top 5 is dedicated to the people who can make normal Mobile Suits stand out on the battlefield.  For criteria purposes, none of the following characters have ever stepped inside a Gundam.  They have to have piloted a mass produced model on either side of the conflict to qualify.  That means some favs like Zechs Merquise from Gundam Wing wont make the cut, cause even though he’s awesome for piloting the Tallgeese, Zechs did get his own Gundam towards the end of the show.  So on we go, my Top 5 Non Gundam Pilots.

 

#5-Sergei Smirnov (Mobile Suit Gundam 00)

The Wild Bear of Russia, so he has two cool names.  Be it his cool voice or his air of veterancy, or the cool scar on his face, Sergei stood out immediately when he popped up in Gundam 00.  He seemed a bit too kind hearted at times.  But that never stopped him from entering the fray and even challenging the Gundams themselves if the need did arise.  Outside of the cockpit is where he shinned the most, especially when it came to caring for his surrogate daughter, Soma Pierres.  Even in the worst of times, Sergei can see the humanity in children made to be weapons and help them rediscover their humanity…screw what his son Andre thinks, this guy is a great dad.

 

#4-South Burning (Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory)

If 0083 is the “Top Gun” of Gundam, then Burning is easily the Viper of the show, well maybe a combination of Viper and Jester.  This guys got a lifetimes worth of Mobile Suit experience and, while his training may seem a bit severe, it does pay off…God only know how Kou got any skill but I guess that’s thanks to this guy.  I could easily see Burning piloting a Gundam way back in the day.  Instead he settled for one of the sweet new GMs of the 0083 era.  And man is he a bad ass in it.  He can dance circles around Uraki (even with his GP01 Full Vernian) and he can even take on Cima Garahau on equal footing.  As it stands now, Burning is probably the best Federation character on Gundam 0083 and that is far from a bad thing.

 

#3-Treize Kushrenada (Mobile Suit Gundam Wing)

It’s hard to think of this guy as a villain but he’s done some pretty terrible things in his rise to power.  Still, Treize is one incredible leader and has the charisma to bring a planet together to defend itself.  Oh and he takes on remote control Mobile Dolls with only a Leo to prove a point…and he survives (granted that Leo had more armor on it than normal or maybe…idk it’s a cool but strange scene).  But for all his speeches and philosophys, Treize isn’t one to totally sit on the sidelines.  His Tallgeese II may not be as cool as the OG Tallgeese (or the Tallgeese III he was apparently building that got used in Endless Waltz) but cudos to the guy who actually lead the world into battle against a former friend and his Skynet drones.  Plus he has a cape…girls love the cape.

 

#2-Norris Packard (Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08^th MS Team)

“Not bad for a Feddy…BUT I BET YOURE NOT READY FOR THIS!!!”

Norris makes it so high on this list because, while he was seen in brief action a couple of times prior, his biggest claim to fame is at the tail end of 08^th MS Team.  With minimal ammo and the knowledge he wont be coming back alive, he heads out to take on the 08^th Team and the Guntanks they’re guarding single handidly…and he kicks everyones ass six ways to Sunday.  He may gloat every once in a while but Norris never comes off as a jerk.  He is 100% dedicated to Aina and her mission to evacuate her base.  To that end, he shows the 08^th Team the true meaning of the term “Ace Pilot” and gives us one of the greatest battle in all of Gundam history. 

 

#1-Char Aznable (Mobile Suit Gundam)

Was it going to be anyone else?  So much of Gundam’s amazing history, especially in the villains department, is owed to this Darth Vader mask wearing king of the badasses.  He can take on armies all on his own with one red sporting suit.  He can inspire loyalty through sheer charisma.  He can make women of all ages swoon (some of inappropriate age butttttttt that’s not here or there).  Oh and he’s been piloting Mobile Suits since he was a kid.  The history of Char from The Origin, through Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta Gundam and Char’s Counterattack is one of the most complete character arcs across the nearly 40 year franchise and he has yet to be topped in the villains department.  What’s more, you know he’s the bad guy but you will still root for him.  Few can match his popularity and man CANNOT match his skill in a Mobile Suit.  Just imagine if he did get behind the controls of a Gundam…and yes I know the suit he pilots in Zeta was meant to be a Gundam but, much like Cima’s Gebera Tetra in 0083, it never made it that far so it doesn’t count for me.

Huh, guess I should close it out with Top 5 Gundam Pilots next week…we’ll see.

Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory Part 2-Episodes 5-7

The Albion heads into space, where a powerful new enemy awaits them.  Desperate to prove himself, Uraki challenges the Cima Fleet, now allied with the Delaz Fleet, and loses horribly, dealing catastrophic damage to his Gundam.  Shaken, Uraki finds solace in not only Nina, but a washed up Zeon veteran who may or may not be trying to find his way back into Delaz’s good graces by challenging the Gundam on his own.  All the while, new alliances are made and new mystery’s begin to unfold.  What is the purpose of Operation Stardust and how does it involve the Gundam Unit 02?

A thought occurs to me.  And I’m kind of glad I’m reviewing this now so this reference is a bit more meaningful.  Kou Uraki is the Netflix Iron Fist of Gundam, and that’s far from a compliment.  Kou is a brat in a 20 year olds body who thinks hes the best, has one of the greatest powers in the universe (the Gundam) and brags about how awesome a pilot he thinks he is.  While the latter is debatable (he can make a Gundam move, God knows how), the other two are not.  All Kou does is whine, and whine, and whine his way through every situation, hoping it will come out for the best. What’s worse, even when the Gundam Unit 01 is torn up in battle, I doubt he’s learned his lesson.  Kou’s character has been on a set course and it will not deviate right up until the end, I garuntee it.

While Kou and the rest of the Federation cast, especially Nina, continue to grate the mind, the Zeon’s continue to shine brightly in Gundam 0083.  One of the newest additions is Cima Garahau and her fleet.  Cima reminds me of Khyron from Macross.  She’s a total wild card who does things her way despite having a rep for burning more villages than she should (in a manner of speaking).  It intrigues me that Delaz would trust her but he seems confident he can keep her in line.  I like that Gato wants to believe in this man and every choice he makes.  Even in a short scene, you understand the bond built between these two men over the last three years.  But Gato knows Cima is trouble just like the viewer and it’s only a matter of time when she does something to derail Delaz’s plans.  It’s also noteworthy that Delaz’s epic speech to the world is very much in the same vein as Ghirren Zabi’s iconic speech from Mobile Suit Gundam, Admiral Cohen even calls him “The Ghost of Ghirren Zabi”.  Wheras Ghirren was more inspiring yet tyrannical, Delaz is more straightforward and heartfelt.  He’s not in it for the power, like Ghirren was, he’s in it for his people.

Lastly on the Zeon front is Kelly, a one armed bad ass who ends up befriending Kou when he lands on the moon.  I’m just gonna say it now: happy montages of guys fixing a Zeon Mobile Suit will always be the kiss of death for a character.  I saw shades of Bernie and Al fixing the damaged Zaku in Gundam 0080 in this scene and knew someone was going to get killed.  Of course it cant be Kou (cause life’s just not fair that way), so it sucks to see Kelly go.  All he wanted was a chance to fight alongside Gato again.  Once more, the motivations of the Zeon cast are a whole lot deeper and meaningful than anything the Albion crew has going on. 

While Kou may have bested Kelly, I attribute the win to the kick ass new upgrade the Gundam Unit 01 got this week.  Now THIS is what it always should have looked like.  This is a Gundam that looks as iconic as the original or the Zeta or the Wing Zero and man can it move (even with Uraki at the helm).  The move to space benefited from better animation all around.  The action is sharp and intense.  As much as I wasn’t a fan of the Unit 01’s original look, it was still rough to see Cima blow it almost to pieces.  Even some of the still frames, like the ending with the Gundam kneeling on the moon while Kou hugs Nina, look pretty damn impressive.  This really is one of the better looking Gundam shows out there, that’s for sure.

Oh and one more thing: How does Nina know Gato but didn’t recognize him on Earth when he stole Unit 02 and why haven’t we seen any indication during the chase that she has some knowledge of who he is?  Her office of sexy coworkers even pointed out that Nina had a love interest who she seemed to trade in for being a workaholic.  Plus Kelly knew Nina too.  If this is going where I think this is going then…yeah not even a shot of Nina in just a T-shirt on the bed will save her from the verbal freak out I’m gonna have when it comes to it.

The good guys still suck, the bad guys are intriguing and the animation continues to impress.  As we reach the halfway point of this series, one can only hope the overall quality improves.  Right now, as an action Anime, Gundam 0083 delivers.  On the characters side, well it’s embarraing to admit that teen Amuro from the original 0079 series would probably kick Kou’s ass in battle (Newtype power or otherwise).  Right now, Gato (who was criminally left out of much of this week), seems more the hero of the story than anyone else.  Again, why isn’t this series told entirely from the Zeon side? 

I’m sure I’ll ask that again next week as well as Gundam Month Mark II carries on.

RWBY Vol.4

Beacon has fallen.  In the wake of a devastating battle that cost them their school and some of their closest friends, Team RWBY has been scattered to the four winds.  Without an arm, Yang languishes at home with her father.  Blake returns to her home across the sea with an unexpected ally.  Weiss finds herself home as well but a captive of her ruthless father.  And Ruby travels with Jeanne, Ren and Nora to try and prevent another catastrophe.  As the forces of darkness grow stronger, Team RWBY will have to face their own inner demons to find the strength needed to reunite and take on the enemy that has been watching them from the beginning.  All out war seems inevitable and the legends of Vale may be the only hope for salvation.  School’s out.  The real journey now begins.

At times, it felt kind of hard to think about going into Volume 4 of RWBY after the successful and incredibly heartbreaking Volume 3.  And in a way, that same feeling is one that’s shared throughout every single member of the core cast members.  The time for jokes is (mostly) over and done with and the doom and gloom feeling that kicked off the second half of Volume 3 is ever present in the entirety of this one.  It doesn’t quite hit the same emotional gut punches of the prior season.  But Vol. 4 is still a very fun and rewarding watch.

The biggest flaw of the season is also the biggest strength of it.  The core team the show is named after is apart for the whole season, never once do they reunite or show any signs of getting there anytime soon.  However, spreading them across the world and putting them all on their own personal journeys was the smartest move in the long run.  The fall of Beacon rocked Ruby, Yang, Blake and Weiss to their cores.  Yang lost an arm, which Blake feels responsible for, and Ruby couldn’t save poor Pyrrha.  Moving forward, it was time for everyone to do some serious thinking.  And by the end of the season, the lessons were learned and all given their proper due.  The dour feelings of each girl was more or less dealt with and all were put on the path to a reunion…which hopefully comes sooner rather than later in Volume 5.  I did miss the team together.  I especially wanted some resolution to Yang’s troubled heart after Blake just upped and left.  Of the four main arcs, I kind of enjoyed Blake’s and Weiss’s the most.  Blake learned to open her heart to Sun (who offered most of the seasons only comic relief) and I loved her reconnection with her parents.  Weiss, meanwhile, stood up to her father and showed once again she isn’t the same bratty girl from Vol.1.  Plus, everyone got a costume upgrade with the time skip and I like Weiss and Blake’s looks the best, both hot and bad ass in many ways.

Splitting up the crew also gave us a chance to see the world at large.  Seeing Blake’s homeland of Menagerie is the highlight of these new visits but there’s plenty to be found in Team RNJR (Ruby, Nora, Jaune and Ren)’s treks through the forests of vale.  Theres a notable darker quality to the animation (which looks the best it ever has, I mean watch the first episode of RWBY then go right into this, the progress is staggering).  And it works with the growing darkness of the story.  No where is safe and the deeper you get in, the dangerous the setting gets.  The tinting of the animation by season finale is pretty scary, especially when RNJR fights a Grimm that is the stuff of freaking nightmares.  Here’s hoping Volume 5 brings back some brightness, both in animation and in humor.

We also got a huge info dump of lore and kind of points towards a series end goal (which depending on how long they drag things out in Volume 5, I could easily getting a Volume 6 as well).  The Vale equivalent of Genesis or the Big Bang Theory is fascinating and the writers are having a lot of fun putting a tone of mythology into this little world that Monty Oum created.  RWBY has always felt like a big show from the get go.  But now it feels larger than life talking about Gods and Maguffins that could resurrect their power.  Plus there was plenty of backstories to go around.  Yang’s mysterious mother was fleshed out a bit more, but only a bit.  Most of the development went to Ren and Nora.  That stuff of nightmares Grimm I mentioned is tied directly to their pasts and how they met.  The way it’s hashed out, it’s ok to fear they might end up being the next Pyrrha and Penny on the list of the dead on this show.

However, for all the good the inner journeys and the mythology lessons do, it does feel like Volume 4 is taking a step back from Volume 3.  After Volume that gave me the payoff I expected from Volume 1&2, I expected there to be a bit more earnest progression in the plot.  Instead, we’re kind of back to the slow plodding build up that was in the first two seasons.  The stakes were made pretty clear at the end of Volume 3, so I figured it would be more full speed ahead.  There were developments, and good ones too.  I just expected a bit of a bigger payoff.  Also, I miss the shows humor, which has been mostly absent since the middle of the last season.  It’s a dark time a joke or two wouldn’t hurt anyone.  It makes me enjoy Sun’s character more, mostly thanks to his voice actor, Michael Jones from Achievement Hunter (which is part of Rooster Teeth, the studio behind Red vs. Blue and RWBY).  Sun knows when to be on the level but he knows when to crack a joke or do something to break the tension, testament to Jones’ ability to be the smart ass he is in his own videos but also a well meaning guy.  He’s clearly my MVP for this season.  And maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t think the songs were as good this time around.  The opening theme is probably the weakest of the four so far, though Volume 2’s “Time to Say Goodbye” is really hard to top.  The music overall is still great, it’s just not my favorite this time around.

RWBY Vol.4 continues an epic journey begun four years ago that continues to entertain and ensnare with visual wonder, beautiful action and a cast of characters that is really hard to hate…unless you’re the bad guys.  It wasn’t as good as Volume 3 cause it just felt like prep, good prep, but prep overall.  But it’s still a season full of good ideas and some of the best scenes in the show so far (Blake’s reconnection with her family, Ren and Nora’s backstory).  I understand why the team had to be split up and I cant wait to see them (hopefully) reunite in Volume 5 and FINALLY get some payback against the forces that have torn them down so badly.  Overall, seeing this show now compared to it’s beginnings, you gotta admire how far it’s all come and smile at what awaits Team RWBY in the future.

Monty Oum would be so proud…I’m sure he is.

8/10

RWBY Volume 5 premieres in the fall.  So expect a review in about a year…see ya then and see ya tomorrow as we’re back to Gundam Month Mark II with more Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory.

T5W#87-Top 5 “IT’S A GUNDAM” Moments

All across the multiverse, whenever you hear someone shout that infamous phrase, “IT’S A GUNDAM!!!” there are usually two reactions.  The first is a feeling of hope, elated feelings of perseverance and the feeling that everything is about to go very right.  The second is an absolute crap your pants moment, feelings of intense despair and the feeling that everything is about to go horribly wrong.  Think it’s obvious which applies to what kind of person but no matter the scenario, all manner of ass is about to be kicked when a Gundam announces itself on the battlefield.  And for today’s Top 5, I’m looking at my personal favorite moments when, even if the phrase wasn’t outright spoken, the effect was experienced all the same.  We mere mortals could only ever hope for as bad ass an intro as these mechs have.

 

#5: Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack

What’s kind of funny about this one is how little the Gundam itself actually features.  When a small shuttle gets caught in a crossfire between Char’s escaping Neo Zeons and the Londo Bell unit, the passengers panic but some are kind of in awe.  And guess who should be passing through the area with his brand spanking, built to his own specs Gundam?  Yep, Amuro Ray arrived in the sweet looking Nu Gundam, something one or two passengers, including Hathaway Noa, pick up right away.  We get an awesome closeup of the Gundam coming to life…and the bad guys just run away.  Ok it might have been for other reasons but I’m sticking with the Gundam just showing up was enough to drive them away.  And for its first, original, feature length entry, it was about as awesome a first impression you could ask for from the titular mobile suit.

 

#4: Mobile Suit Gundam Wing

The title of this weeks Top 5 comes from this show.  “IT’S A GUNDAM!!!” was shouted so many times by so many people it’s hard to pick one stand out moment.  But I’ll settle for the one that started it all, and thus began a bold new chapter in my Anime Universe.  In the first episode, we get Heero descending to Earth in a sleek looking fighter jet.  When pursued by Zechs and his men, Heero pulls the lever and BOOM…the jet becomes the Wing Gundam. After an intense fight, mixed to some great music, Heero crashes into the water as Zechs escapes.  As his men give him a breakdown of the mobile suits metal components, Zechs puts two and two together, “So then…it was a Gundam.”  Other were a little overdramatic in their deliveries of Gundam arrivals.  But Zechs said it in a way that felt like a calm before the storm…or rather the hurricane…that was about to hit the After Colony era.

 

#3: Mobile Suit Gundam 00

This is about as grand a reintroduction as you can get following a season break.  With a time jump and the setup of the A-Laws as the new baddies, equipped with some of Celestial Being’s technology, you’d think the Gundams were now a thing of the past.  Nope.  Enter Setsuna, who breaks up a prison massacare and rescues and old friend.  He then heads out to battle the A-Laws mobile suits in a totally wrecked but cloak sporting Gundam Exia.  The battle doesn’t go smoothly and he does end up getting rescued by Tierria.  But there’s no denying Setsuna’s bravery and awesomeness to take on the A-Laws with a barely functioning suit that looks just as cool as it did in one piece.  I also think that this design choice mirrored a supposed aged form that the Double Zeta Gundam had in an old Gundam Manga tale but I’m not sure.  Still, it was a fun way to kick off the second season of Gundam 00.

 

#2: Mobile Suit Gundam Seed

What’s interesting about some worlds in the Gundam Multiverse, some haven’t even heard of a Gundam, or rather the suits themselves aren’t even born with that name.  In the Cosmic Era, the term “Gundam” is coined by Kira Yamato, seeing it as an acronym for the suits cockpit system.  The name never really catches on until later in the series.  After spending some time behind enemy lines with Lacus Clyne, Kira decides to return to his allies on the Archangel.  Lacus sneaks Kira a going away present, the ZGMF-X10A Freedom.  Kira immediately calls it a Gundam, which catches Lacus off guard.  But a moment later, she agrees that “Gundam” has a pretty good ring to it.  From this point on, everytime a new Gundam model rolled out, either by Zaft or the Federation, it carried the name.  In a series that was so-so with its storytelling, it’s little moments like this that stand out to me the most.  Or at least ive never forgotten the moment when Gundam became a memorable name in the Cosmic Era.

 

#1: Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn

This ones my favorite for a couple of reasons.  Firstly, the standard mode of the Unicorn is deceptive.  All white and with a single horn, you wouldn’t know unless going into the show with prior knowledge, that this was a Gundam.  When I saw Unicorn Episode 1 at Otakon 2010, the transformation from standard to it’s NTD mode, revealing it’s true Gundam form, got a huge applause.  As epic as that was, it was in Episode 2 where the best reactions come in.  The Unicorn’s transformation gets a response from everybody and I mean everybody: Neo Zeon, the Federation, the civilians.  They cant believe their seeing this thing with their own eyes.  This wasn’t just a moment of great reveal, for me it solidified that this far into the Universal Century, the Gundam was now a legend and seeing one with your own eyes, meant you really were witnessing history unfold.