Mobile Suit Gundam Part 9 The Movie Trilogy

The One Year War.  That is the name of the conflict that has ravaged the Earth Sphere in the year 0079 of the Universal Century.  Though Zeon has the upper hand, a secret project within the Federation hopes to turn the tide.  Through a twist of fate, the fruits of this project have ended up in the hands of low level soldiers and civilians not ready for the horrors of war.  Among them is a young man named Amuro Ray, a boy with special abilities and intuition.  As he takes control of the Federations greatest weapon, Amuro will become a symbol of hope for his allies and fear for his enemies.  For as the One Year War enters its final stages, history will forever remember Amuro and the Mobile Suit he pilots…the Mobile Suit called Gundam.

Here at the Gundam Anime Corner I tend to avoid reviewing compilation films.  The main reason is that, generally, theyre segments of Anime I just watched copy and pasted into a much shortened feature and don’t usually offer anything really new.  However, im making a rare exception in this case and here’s why.  Following it’s cancellation at 43 episodes, Mobile Suit Gundam found a new wave of life in the form of strong Gunpla sales and a trio of recut, reanimated and slightly restructured compilation movies.  These films, maybe more so than the original series itself, helped boost Gundams popularity in the early 80’s (along with reruns of the TV Series itself) which lead to the eventual release of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam in 1985.  In short, without these films, Gundam might not have made it through its first couple of years, nevermind making it to 40.  So I decided to give this film trilogy a watch and im really glad I did.  Believe it or not, as much as I loved the TV series, I think I might like the movies just a bit more.

 

Story structure wise, yes this is the same exact story covered by the 43 episode series.  However, with three feature length films to fit it all in, director Yoshiyuki Tomino is able to adjust a detail or two, switch some things around and even change certain events but never in a way that it ever hurts the original narrative.  To get into specifics: the first film (The Movie), is the least touched in terms of carrying things over from the series.  A lot of the animation has been touched up but everything from the Side 7 attack intro to the conclusion with Ghirren Zabi’s speech to Zeon is unchanged.  The second film (Soldiers of Sorrow), takes us through the Ramba Ral arc right to the Battle of Jaburo but here is where the new changes begin to appear, two of them particularly standing out.  The first is the omission of the G Fighter unit piloted by Sayla.  The ship which allowed for multiple Gundam transformations is instead replaced with a simpler fighter plane, the Core Booster, furthering Gundam’s departure from traditional super robot tropes.  The second big change is the White Base does not participate in Operation Odessa due to back to back battles with Ramba Ral’s unit and the Black Tri Stars.  The battle is still won but, in one of the more impactful moments of the whole trilogy, we do see White Base arrive to see the aftermath and the carnage suffered by both sides.  It reminded me of an infamous battle from Star Trek, The Battle of Wolf 359 and seeing the Enterprise fly through debris from a hopeless battle with the Borg.  Upon seeing the White Base crews salute to the fallen, I knew this trilogy was doing things right (it already was but ill get back to why that is momentarily).

 

The final movie (Encounters in Space), is where Tomino really steps things up a bit.  Most of the film is made up of brand new animation, making the final battles of Solomon and A Bao A Qu look absolutely breathtaking.  The Mobile Suit combat is even more fluid and smoother than the TV Series ever could be and I feel like we really are seeing the true potential of Amuro in action as he makes the Gundam tear up everything in its path.  The film also swaps around a couple of events mostly to get the last of the big character exposition moments out of the way so that the second half is more straight up action right til the very end.  Again, these changes don’t hurt the original story or change any outcomes, it was just a pacing decision that pays off.  On the whole, from a production stand point, the films only improve as they go.  The standard TV look from early on in the first film is gone by the end and the newly animated sequences begin to dominate half of the second film to great effect.  By the time we get to the third film its clear we’re seeing Mobile Suit Gundam the way it was always meant to look, and sound too for that matter.  Yes, while several series themes are around, the trilogy gets a mostly new soundtrack that more than compliments both the epic action and quieter character beats quite nicely (I think it’s a much better score than the TV show actually).  And, since it’s a movie, we can see more intense action sequences.  It’s not all out gory but there are a couple of scenes where the intensity is dialed up so high because some battles are pretty gruesome.  It might not look as good as early 80s Anime films like say Adieu Galaxy Express 999 but these are still damn good films to look at. 

 

Clocking in at a little under 7 hours total runtime, the Gundam Trilogy moves at a pretty briskly.  From the beginning of the Side 7 attack, the first film becomes one nearly two hour long chase scene that sets the pace for the rest of the saga.  This means much of the series filler has been omitted or certain scenes have been saved and shuffled into other parts of the films.  What surprises me is that, unlike most compilation films, the moments that really help define the central cast and their characters arcs are all intact.  This does, unfortunately, mean we get Amuro’s whiny entitled brat routine that made him unlikeable.  And, for the life of me, I don’t get why Slegger was ever included in the series but in the films he has even less screentime, making his inclusion kind of pointless.  But Amuro did grow in the series and rewatching his tale, slightly accelerated, is still a good watch because all of the moments that help him grow and change are still here, especially the reunion with his mother and his friendly encounter with Ramba Ral.  Char is still Char, he just needs to be there and he’s done his job of being awesome.  Bright gets some really good attention and a moment of true bad assery when he point blank shoots a guy in the head to save Amuro during a Zeon attack.  But we also get some more quieter moments with the White Base commander, especially in the third film with new scenes between him and Miriai to highlight their unspoken romance.  I was surprised certain story arcs were kept around like Kai’s tragic romance with Miharu and Katz, Letz and Kikka’s adventure in Jaburo.  But again, these are moments that define the destiny of these characters and others.  Omitting them would have harmed the overall impact they have on the story and thanks to the three films of runtime, everything can be kept in properly.

 

If I did have to point out flaws, as much as I praise the pacing, its not quite perfect.  While the story with Amuro’s Mom, in retrospect, can be kept in the first film, it does kill the momentum built up through the first 2/3s of that movie.  Im back and forth on whether or not I feel the same way about starting Encounters in Space with the Side 6 arc.  It’s mostly kept intact and offers answers to some lingering questions of the series, such as the final fate of Amuro’s father.  But it comes after a big bang of an opening sequence and goes on for a bit before we start the march into the final battles of the series.  Like I said, im back and forth on that nitpick.  I cant say anything bad about the pacing of Soldiers of Sorrow…that was perfectly paced.  Speaking of final fates, characters who died in the series like original White Base Captain Paolo, Garma’s fiancé Icilina and Kycillia’s Captain M’quve are mysteriously written off without any indication as to whether or not they survived the events of the series.  Icilina’s case is a forgivable one because, as tragic as her failed attempt to avenge Garma was, it wasn’t needed in the movies.  But M’Quve was a major villain for the White Base crew and Paolo’s death had a serious impact on the crew, especially Bright, despite his short time on screen.  It feels odd Tomino would just shuffle these characters off to the side without much thought…and yet Slegger is still around (seriously I don’t like his character nor do I get the need for him to be Ryu 2.0).  I also question the decision to not reanimate the movies as a whole so everything looked as good as Encounters in Space.  Honestly, im not sure if all three films were made simultaneously before being released at various intervals between 1980 and 1981.  Perhaps just doing some tweeks to the first films animation and seeing how it was well received inspired the studio to allow Tomino to do more with the latter two films.  I bring this up because there are times when the original TV animation pops in, unaltered and unpolished, and its clear it doesn’t look as good as the more feature film quality stuff.

The Mobile Suit Gundam Movie Trilogy does what few compilation films have ever been able to do: retell a story with a few embellishments and some fresh coats of paint and still stay true to everything that made the TV Series so legendary.  The messages of war and peace, love and hate, evolution and doomed histories are still here as is the action around them and the characters all caught up in the middle.  In my opinion, while Soldiers of Sorrow may be my most favorite of the trio, all three films are a breeze to watch and enjoy and you wont feel much of a time lag either.  Each film just gets better and better with its new animation, original storytelling and intense action sequences that aren’t shackled by TV restraints.  Normally id fear going into movies like this, I mean what else is there to see when the TV Series is done and already did so much right?  Well we saw “right”, now with this trilogy we get to see “better”.  This is a perfect capstone to the triumphant first chapter of the Gundam saga and a trio of films that every Gundam fan should check out at some point.  You wont have many regrets, if any.  This is where the legend truly took off and has never stopped since.  Fly on Gundam

 

Final scores for the Mobile Suit Gundam Movie Trilogy are:

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Movie-8/10

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Movie II-Soldiers of Sorrow-9.5/10

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Movie III-Encounters in Space-9/10

And with that, the Gundam heads back to the hanger bay but we’ll be returning to the Gundam multiverse later this summer since ive chosen Turn A Gundam to be my big summer series to cover before Otakon.  Before we get too far ahead though, it’s time to return to The Year of The Slayers here on the Gundam Anime Corner.  You wont even have to wait til next week either.  Slayers Try starts Wednesday with a special premiere before reviews resume as usual on Mondays right here on the Gundam Anime Corner.  See ya then. 

The History of Gundam Part 4

Previously:

Fangirls and Jpop took Gundam to a whole other level.  While not as busy as its first couple of decades, the 2000’s saw the rise of two of Gundam’s most popular entries: Gundam Seed and Gundam 00.  Both had huge fan bases, both spawned sequels (Gundam Seed Destiny and the 00 Movie), both we basically all Gundam was known for in the 2000’s aside from Zeta Gundam’ brief attempt at an HD anniversary film trilogy.  Which brings us to the current era of Gundam, all over the place but busier than ever.

Part 4-Gundam Still Stands (2010-2019)

Gundam kicked off 2010 in grand fashion with the release of the new OVA Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn.  Unicorn returned fans to the Universal Century for a new adventure which followed two star crossed youths caught up in a struggle that dates back far before the One Year War itself.  Possibly the biggest aspect of Unicorns production was that it was the first Gundam project with both Japan and the US in mind.  Each episode was released simultaneously, both in Japanese and in English on both continents, a successful strategy that would be applied to other Gundam projects across the decade.

2011 saw the release of Mobile Suit Gundam AGE.  In a bold move, the decision was made to tell the story of three generations of pilots, each with the own Gundam and all from the same family, across a 49 episode series.  As curious a strategy as this was, AGE didn’t fare very well and was the last Gundam series with this high, continuous episode count for a long time.  A couple of years later, a new but familiar Gundam came into the spotlight…Gunpla.  Following the success of Model Suit Gunpla Builders Beginning G in 2010, Gundam Build Fighters arrived in 2013.  The series focused on kids and adults who were fans of building Gunpla and using them for Yu Gi Oh style fighting tournaments.  This love letter to the series was littered with easter eggs across the entire Gundam franchise, from character cameo to every Gundam and Mobile Suit you could imagine popping up.  The series, sutiable for both adults and children, was a success, leading to a direct sequel, Gundam Build Fighters Try in 2014, and a spiritual successor in 2018’s Gundam Build Divers, which saw the Gunpla Battle concept taken to an MMORPG not unlike Sword Art Online.

Franchise Godfather, Yoshiyuki Tomino, returned in 2014 with one of Gundam’s most polarizing titles (both in story and general title), Mobile Suit Gundam: Reconguista in G (I don’t get it either nor have I seen it sooooo…).  Though apparently set after the Universal Century, Reconguista in G sported a storyline that no one could understand or keep up with, leading to backlash against the series, so bad Tomino himself apologized for such a misstep.  Fairing better was 2015’s Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans.  Like 00, the series was split into two even seasons of 25 episodes and focused on a Mars based group of youthful mercenaries who, after leading a bloody rebellion against their former masters, were tasked with protecting a beautiful Mars diplomat who is seeking independence for the residents of the Red Planet.  IBO and the TV retelling of Gundam Unicorn-Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn: RE0096 would go on to become two headlining Gundam shows to grace Cartoon Network’s reborn Toonami lineup in 2016.

 

The mid 2010’s saw the rise of smaller Gundam projects in the form of ONA’s and a particular OVA.  Each of these relatively recent Gundam projects all saw returns to the Universal Century for a bevy of new side stories, continuations and even prequels.  Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, was a theatrically released OVA series that began in 2015.  Based on the Manga of the same name, The Origin focused on the road to the One Year War, with an emphasis on the rise of franchise favorite, Char Aznable.  On the ONA side of things, there was 2015’s Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt and 2016’s Mobile Suit Gundam: Twilight Axis.  Thunderbolt told a side story from late in the One Year War about two mentally exhausted groups of soldiers fighting in the most chaotic region of space.  Meanwhile, Twilight Axis sought to answer the question of what happened to the infamous asteroid base Axis following the events of Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack.  And indeed, the fandoms time in the Universal Century is far from over with Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative (a direct sequel to Gundan Unicorn) being released last November and a forthcoming movie trilogy adaptation of the popular Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway’s Flash coming in 2019, helmed by returning Gundam master Yoshiyuki Tomino.

Mobile Suit Gundam has come a long way since 1979.  It’s stories, messages, characters and mecha are timeless and have inspired so much in the last four decades.  Often times rivaled but never surpassed, Gundam continues to prosper for a series that saw cancellation and rebirth numerous times.  And from the life size RX0 Unicorn in Japan to the cameo of the RX-78-2 in Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One, Gundam will continue to do as the theme song decrees...fly.

Mobile Suit Gundam Part 8 Episodes 38-42

It’s all come down to this.  While two leaders desperately seek peace, others wish for a bloodbath.  A battle unlike any before erupts outside of A Bao A Qu, the last decisive fight of the One Year War.  Here the White Base and her crew face their final and greatest challenge.  Meanwhile Amuro and Char, with more on the line than ever, duel each other one last time.  Between hope and despair, love and hate, ideology and cynicism, one way or another, the One Year War ends here.  The only question is: who will survive?

As we near the end of April, so to do we near the end of our look at the series that birthed the franchise that has kept me in Anime since forever ago (there’s still something yet to come but we’ll talk about that at the end of the review).  It may not have been a perfectly neat finale but the final battle of Mobile Suit Gundam delivered and cemented why this show has gone down in infamy for the last forty years. 

Most of the problems I had with the finale were all frontloaded into the first half of this final set (thank Goodness I suppose).  It seemed like we were just hanging out needlessly until it was time for the Federation to storm Zeon’s final fortress of A Bao A Qu.  And even before that there was still one major conflict that was bound to get resolved either before or during that battle.  Yet we spent one episode pretty much doing nothing and another focusing on a quick look at a Newtype who wasn’t Amuro or Lalah.  I suppose Challia Bull’s role was fulfilled in the end: a Zeon soldier who hadn’t seen battle and who was one of the more naieve characters in this entire series who was used by Zeon for their own nefarious ends.  I still feel like cutting out his episode and the one that followed wouldntve hurt anything in the long run since we got plenty of Newtype analysis and trippy visuals with Amuro, Lalah and Char’s battle.

Yeah from the moment Amuro crossed paths with Char and Lalah, you knew something bad was going to happen.  Amuro and Lalah had an instant connection but Char, ever the charmer, had gotten to Lalah first and was happy to exploit her abilities rather than use Lalah’s Newtype powers for peace.  I’ll never understand why Lalah was always so attached to Char given his penchant for violence and revenge.  Maybe she saw something in him few ever would, even Char himself.  In the end, she met her tragic fate and set the stage for every other equally tragic romantic character to follow in the Gundam franchise.  I almost hate to say it, but the effect Lalah’s death had on Char was one of the better parts of that incident.  Finally seeing the level headed Char shout and demand the White Base and Gundam be destroyed was a clear sign that, whatever his intentions for Lalah in the war, he did care a great deal about her.  Oh Lalah, we hardly knew yee but you’ll be missed and never forgotten (in more ways than one if you know your One Year War history).

I really wish we’d spent more time following the Zabi Family in this series.  The dynamic and drama around Zeon’s ruling body would have been a fun plot to follow and probably have lead in better to watching each one off each other in equally brutal ways.  It would’ve been interesting to follow Degwin’s depression following Garma’s death that would lead him to seek peace in the end.  And then there’s Ghirren.  I liked the scene where Degwin compared him to Adolf Hitler and Ghirren didn’t seem to take offense to it.  You know what they say, those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.  At that point you knew he had to go and after he killed his father and half his fleet to take power for himself and his master race of Zeons, you couldn’t wait to see what death was coming for him. Kycillia shooting him through the head, when Ghirren thought she was joking, was adequate…but then Char blew off Kycillia’s head with a rocket launcher and cemented that no one does revenge better than Char Aznable.

Which brings us to the final epic clash of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Battle of A Bao A Qu.  While I don’t think it reaches the heights of the Battle of Solomon, you could feel the intensity of the battle.  Everyone was taking damage, everyones Mobile Suit or fighter was left immobile by the final episode.  Even the Gundam itself went down in its infamous final shot pose.  It’s here I should bring up that one of Mobile Suit Gundams more infamous facts is that it was meant to be a 50 some odd episode series.  However, due to low ratings, the show was cancelled but director Yoshiyuki Tomino was given enough advance notice to craft an ending.  I bring this up now because given Tomino’s nickname, “Kill em All Tomino”, I have to wonder if anyone was meant to survive the end of the series finale (things didn’t turn out so well for the cast of Tomino’s next Anime project-Space Runaway Ideon).  Point is, everyones card was up in this battle and it’s a practical miracle everyone made it out in one piece.  Even Amuro and Char’s last duel, from Mobile Suits to fencing sabers, left me wondering if they would end up killing each other over Lalah’s death.  It’s funny I write that.  I think it speaks to the power of Tomino’s writing that, even knowing a lot about what comes after the One Year War, he managed to ratchet up the intensity so much, you had to see this finale to believe the hero and villain didn’t die at the end.  But they didn’t.  While we didn’t see what happened to Char after he offed Kycillia, we know he made it.  And Amuro made it back to his crew, his family…so happy endings all around.

Part of me wonders if my enjoyment of the Gundam fandom would be different if id seen this series first instead of Gundam Wing.  Wing had a cool factor in it’s mecha designs, cast of characters and intriguing plot.  But when you watch both of these shows and really look at them, Mobile Suit Gundam still holds up a lot better, especially given its age.  There are some bumps in the road, particularly right after the very beginning of the series.  By the end of the first act, Gundam makes some major course corrections.  By the end of the second, it was running at full speed and hardly ever stopped til the end.  The animation is classic (even if it isn’t as pretty as later 80s or even current age mecha Anime).  The characters (particularly Amuro, Char and Bright) and the titular Mobile Suit are timeless and endearing.  It’s truly wonderful to see Amuro grow from spoiled brat to a true hero and learn not to hate him.  And the story is still a very strong one, dealing with the horrors of war and the possibilities of the human heart as humanity expands into space.  Mobile Suit Gundam was a mecha Anime that dared to take a chance telling a very real war story that put humanity to its greatest test.  Aliens weren’t the enemy, we were fighting each other.  The gamble paid off and with its success, a new mecha genre was born.  Faults and all, Mobile Suit Gundam is an amazing series that fans of the franchise owe it to themselves to watch.  Simply put, Gundam did something very right to last this long.  Be sure to give this show a watch to find out way…and enjoy the ride while you’re at it.

9/10

But like I said, this ride isn’t over just yet.  We’ll conclude our time in the year UC 0079 next Monday with a special review of the Mobile Suit Gundam Movie Trilogy: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Movie, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Movie II-Soldiers of Sorrow, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Movie III-Encounters in Space.  Can three compilation films somehow make a great series better?  Considering they’re the reason the franchise managed to eventually find new life and give us Zeta Gundam…I think something mustve worked.  We’ll find out exactly what did (and maybe what didn’t) next week.  See ya then.

T5W#193-Top 5 Missed Opportunities in Gundam

I think it goes without saying that I love Mobile Suit Gundam.  Without Gundam Wing to start it off for me, I wouldn’t be the Anime fan I am today and who knows, maybe this blog might’ve been given a different name.  However, as much as I love the franchise, it isn’t perfect and I don’t pretend to think that it is.  Gundam may have several shows and characters near and dear to my heart.  But what about the times it either messed up royally or never took advantage of a solid opportunity?  To appreciate a fandom fully, one must accept the flaws as well as the strong points.  So to close out Top 5 Wednesday’s Gundam Month Mark III segments, todays list will be covering the Top 5 Missed Opportunities in Gundam…and I point them all out with love, not malice.

#5-Never revisiting Christina Mackenzie

Im well aware that before Gundam 0080 we had a few female Gundam pilots in Sayla Mass, Emma Sheen and Roux Louka to name a few.  Chris Mackenzie has always been one of my all time favs for more than just her drop dead gorgeous looks.  She’s a great character and the fact that she managed to pilot a Gundam intended for Amuro Ray speaks volumes to her level of pilot capability.  Sadly, Chris was shipped off back to Earth at the end of Gundam 0080 and hasn’t been seen or heard from since.  Im sure plenty can debate her overall importance in the grand scheme of the Universal Century, but Chris deserved more than just a place in one of the best Gundam entries in the franchise.  While I doubt we’ll ever see her return in any UC projects, I can always dream we’ll see my red headed Gundam pilot again one day.

#4-Gundam Wing: Episode Zero Never Getting an Anime Adaptation

Originally, Episode Zero was intended to be part of the Gundam Wing Television Series.  However, production problems put this little arc on indefinite hold and instead we got two recap episodes, one from Heero and Relena’s perspectives and the other from Trieze and Lady Une’s.  Episode Zero may not be perfect but it sheds a lot of light on the motivations and origins of the core quintet of Gundam pilots and many of their allies and rivals.  Heero’s story in particular actually sets up much of the conflict involving the White Fang during the shows last act (if you’ll recall my Gundam Wing review, you’ll remember how I felt the White Fang getting zero build up or backstory hindered their arrival so late in the show).  The Episode Zero Manga is a great read if youre a Gundam Wing fan.  I hope one day we can see these secret origins of the Gundam boys the way they were originally meant to be shown.

#3-Not choosing Gundam X, G Gundam or Turn A Gundam to succeed Gundam Wing in the West

One of the most baffling decisions regarding Gundams boom in the West was to promote the original series and several of its Universal Century brethren right after the game changing run of Gundam Wing.  Here me out: There’s nothing wrong with the original Mobile Suit Gundam series, nothing at all, nor any of the other titles that came along with it (08th MS Team, Gundam 0080…Gundam 0083 is more of a mixed bag).  My thing is that maybe they should have been in the third salvo of Gundam shows instead of the second.  Some of the (at the time) more contemporary Gundam series like Gundam X or G Gundam would have probably worked better following Wings example (G maybe more so but ironically that was the third salvo of Gundam and maybe came too late).  I’d argue maybe Turn A Gundam would have worked too but that show is far more different than most Gundam shows, even if it was the most recent at the time so it might not have been too popular.  This point could be totally mute though as Gundam Wings magic seemed like a one time only juggernaut that perhaps no other entry in the series could ever capitalize on here in the States, God knows many have tried.

#2-A Lack of Original Stories for 2019

2019 is a big year for the Gundam franchise.  40 years is nothing to scoff at and I was excited to hear what projects might be in the pipeline to celebrate this momentous occasion.  And then the slate was revealed…consisted of mostly rehashes and compilation movies.  Gundam: The Origin is being chopped into a 13 episode TV Series and the relatively universally disliked Reconguista in G is getting a compilation movie this year as well.  Sure we’re getting the launch of the Hathaway’s Flash movie trilogy but that isn’t coming until the end of the year.  Where’s the annoncement that The Origin was leading to a new TV update of the original series?  What about some sequels to other Alternate Universe Gundam stories like Wing or Seed or 00?  Why do we need a TV version of The Origin when the OVA was just fine and is it going to have anything new unlike the lackluster Gundam Unicorn: RE0096 TV Series?  This feels far more like a disappointment more than a missed opportunity the more I think about it.

#1-A Universal Crossover Event

This one is a bit of a stretch.  But hey if Gundam Build Fighters and Build Divers can have Gunpla battles that look like Yu Gi Oh and Sword Art Online then this is definitely possible.  There are quite a few universes where Gundams are a thing.  And while we did get an event like the one im suggesting in Dynasty Warriors Gundam, I think we need to see this in Anime form.  Think about it?  A Secret Wars/Crisis on Infinite Earth’s level event where the greatest of the Gundam legends are brought together to battle one huge threat that could eliminate all life in the multiverse.  Seeing Amuro Ray bounce ideas and match philosophies with Loran Cehack, Heero Yuy and Setsun F Seiei sharing a monotone conversation about how to best live your life, Char and Zechs…nuff said on that one.  We’ve all had these fantasies playing with out Gunpla and Gundam Action Figures…and im sure some higher power at Sunrise would want this to happen eventually too.

Mobile Suit Gundam Part 7 Episodes 33-37

Space becomes the battlefield once again as the Earth Federation launches a massive attack against Zeon’s Solomon space fortress.  While the victory here is significant, it pales in comparison to two encounters elsewhere.  At Side 6, Amuro meets his rival, Char Aznable, for the first time, as well as a beautiful girl who will change the course of his destiny forever.  And Sayla encounters Char as well, finally ready to confront him and his true identity.  In the sea of stars, a tragedy Amuro never expected is about to take place, one that will set the stage for a long battle yet to come.

Welcome to the beginning of the end of Mobile Suit Gundam.  We’ve come quite a long way since Episode 1 a few weeks back haven’t we?  Our main character, Amuro Ray, has grown from whiny pain in the ass to confident ace pilot.  His companions have overcome various challenges and shed the shells of their former selves to become a fighting force that seemingly could win the One Year War all by themselves.  And Char…has remained the same amazing bad ass he’s always been from Day One.  Point is, a lot has changed and if everything that’s come before in the first three acts were just quizzes, then these final two reviews will be the final exam for the White Base crew.

The Battle of Odessa from last weeks set really set the bar for large scale epic battles for this series.  Since then, the series has been steadily taking it up a notch with the Battle of Jaburo and even smaller skirmishes heading to and leaving Side 6.  Turns out they were all good appetizers for the Battle of Solomon, the big centerpiece fight of this set.  With hundreds of GMs and Balls (basically the space pod from 2001: A Space Odyssey with a giant cannon on its head) and dozens of battleships firing back and forth, this was everything teased at and promised since the very beginning and it didn’t disappoint.  There was even a boss battle with Dozle Zabi and his big Zam terrorized the much tinier Mobile Suits until Amuro defeated him.  And the series continued to keep the characters at the forefront of the spectacle too.  Special shoutout in this battle goes to Dozle Zabi, who turns out to be way more likeable and respectable than his younger brother, Garma, despite his monstrous size and facial scars.  Dozle held the line and was wise to dismiss his men when he knew Solomon was going to fall.  We also saw his softer side as Dozle bid farewell to his wife and infant daughter (our first look at Mineva Zabi, who will play a much larger and important role in the Universal Century saga).  We knew Dozle wasn’t going to make it, especially when Amuro saw that giant demon appear behind a desperate Dozle (more on that in a bit).  Still, Dozle went out bravely when his equally monstrous Big Zam was disabled.  He got out and took a simple rifle to try and take down Gundam.  It’s both foolish and brave and worthy of the upmost respect and we can add Dozle to the ranks of Char and Ramba Ral as Zeons actually worth rooting for.

Solomon wasn’t all wins for the Federation or White Base…and kind of the viewers too.  Miriai’s love square subplot was never really engaging for me and felt unnecessary.  It might’ve been ok if it was just a brief battle for her affections between Bright and Cameron Bloom (her now ex-fiancee I guess?).  Adding in Sleger, that I didn’t get.  Sleger was never a favorite character for me and came off less like Roy Focker and more like a poor mans Kamina from Gurren Lagann.  He was less of a big brother and more of an annoying addition who felt he needed to posture and slouch to prove he was superior when the whole of White Base was fine without him.  And then they shove in Mirai falling for him pretty hard, almost out of nowhere…when Bright has been there for her the whole time and basically told her during the Solomon battle that he’d always be waiting for her, you don’t get a much deeper love confession from Bright than that.  So when Sleger bit it at Dozle’s hands, I didn’t really care.  I mean I felt for the crew having lost another team member.  But Sleger was never a good replacement for Ryu and Im not going to miss him (everyone seemed to move on faster than they did with Ryu too so there’s that).

I guess I should talk a bit about Lalah Sune, the girl who will probably define a lot about Amuro going forward.  Not only is she very beautiful but Lalah also embodies something that hasn’t really been brought up yet in Gundam: the subject of Newtypes.  Lalah embodies the Newtype theory, a human who has evolved to a new stage of mental awareness to better live in space.  Lalah listens to the world around her and can empathize with all of it.  Basically, Lalah is an example of world peace if humanity ever embraced it.  Amuro can see something special in her too and it resonates with him.  And while Amuro is a peaceful boy, its clear his Newtype abilities making him damn near close to precognitive are making him a beast on the battlefield.  One thing I did like was Amuro noting that Gundams reaction time was beginning to slow down.  As he evolves as a human, he’ll need a better weapon…also this is sort of addressed in Gundam 0080 with the reveal that the Alex Gundam was meant for Amuro.  Still, we’re getting into the soul of space and the evolution of the human mind now.  Which is an interesting door to open so close to the end, but as we know Newtype and the theories behind them get explored a lot deeper in later Gundam entries, and it all begins here with Amuro, Lalah…and Char.

Oh yes, Char had a couple of fun interactions this week.  Not only did he get to square off with Amuro once again (Amuro actually getting in a win btw) but he also met Amuro in person.  I like how Amuro was so in awe seeing the man he’s faced for months now and yet Char only had a (Newtype) intuition about meeting Amuro somewhere before.  It’s funny, with Lalah as middle ground, it does feel like Amuro and Char could have been good friends had they met without the One Year War around them.  We also got an actual more than two second conversation between Char and Sayla to hash out their backstory and Char’s motives in the war.  Yep, it’s all about revenge against all of the Zabis, specifically Degwin himself, for killing their father but I feel like Char’s gonna wipe the Zabi bloodline clear before he decides to call it a day.  I felt for Sayla, who was unable to make her brother change her mind.  She has become a lot stronger as a person and a pilot, but she’s still got a soft spot for the man who is her only remaining family and White Base’s mortal enemy, that cant be an easy position to be in.

Hard to believe, but there’s only five more episodes to cover in one final set.  Are we going to dig deeper into Newtypes?  Will the One Year War end in victory for the Federation?  What other tricks to the Zabis have up their sleeve?  Will we get a definitive final battle between Amuro and Char?  Five episodes and a lot of ground to cover and more.  Check back Friday for the epic series finale of Mobile Suit Gundam and find out once and for all “who will survive.”

The History of Gundam Part 3

Previously:

Gundam took the 90’s by storm.  The Universal Century found both successes and failures with Gundam F91, Gundam 0083 and Victory Gundam.  Following Tomino’s stepping back from the franchise for personal matters, a new direction was taken and four new universes were born for Gundam to play in: The Future Century (G Gundam); The After Colony Era (Gundam Wing); The After War Era (Gundam X) and the Correct Century (Turn A Gundam), the last of these universes celebrating 20 years of Gundam excellence.  Turn A closed the 90’s out on a high note.  Now it’s time to see Gundam enter the new millennium.

 

Part 3-The New Tomorrow (2000-2009)

 

Alright, let’s get this out of the way real quick…G Saviour is a thing, it’s horrible, it’s terrible, it’s live action and it should be best forgotten oh right it already is lets move on.

Compared to the 90’s, the 2000s was not as busy a decade for the Gundam franchise…at least not in Japan.  March 2000 saw the US debut of Gundam Wing on Cartoon Network’s Toonami block and history was made.  The summer of 2000 saw Gundam Wing being one of the few shows to challenge eternal Toonami Champion, Dragon Ball Z, for the throne of popularity.  Wing was even able to air it’s episodes uncut during Toonami’s Midnight Run, the first for any Anime on Cartoon Network.  Almost overnight, Model Kits, Action Figures and DVDs all revolving around Wing ended up in shops and sold like crazy.  In short: Wing was a mega hit and helped define an entire era of Toonami in the process.    Sadly though, Wing and the later airing of Endless Waltz were all the lightning in the bottle the franchise could capture in the states.  The subsequent airings of Mobile Suit Gundam, 08th MS Team, 0080, 0083, G Gundam and Char’s Counterattack didn’t even come close to matching Wing’s success.  Even the airing of Gundams latest entry (at the time) didn’t recapture Wings magic.  Actually, let’s jump to that particular entry, shall we?

 

The first Gundam of the new millennium came in the form of 2002’s Mobile Suit Gundam SEED.  Set in the Cosmic Era, SEED was a reimagining of the original One Year War except the new conflict was between Natural born humans of the Earth Federation and the genetically enhanced Coordinators of ZAFT.  The central tale focused on two Coordinators: Kira Yamato who is tapped to become an Earth Federation Gundam pilot; and Athrun Zala, Kira’s best friend who is one of ZAFT’s up and coming aces.  While the similarities with the original series didn’t gel well with veteran fans, SEED was still hugely popular thanks to immense fan bases for several individual characters and some catchy Jpop tunes.  SEEDs success made it the first Gundam series since Zeta Gundam to get a direct TV Series sequel in the form of 2004’s Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny.  Both shows spawned a series of OVA compilation films (3 for SEED and 4 for SEED Destiny) which were released between 2004 and 2007.

2005 marked the 20th Anniversary of Zeta Gundam.  To celebrate, a trilogy of compilation films, which would also act as a new retelling, were commissioned.  This resulted in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation.  An immense effort was made to integrate the original animation of the 80s TV Series with newly updated visuals.  However, the results produced a mixed to negative response.  Not only were the differences in animation glaringly obvious, fans of the series were not happy with the changes made to Zeta Gundams story, especially its legendary somber ending.

In 2007, Mobile Suit Gundam 00 entered the scene.  Whereas Gundam SEED drew heavily from the original Gundam series, 00 drew its inspiration from Gundam Wing, focusing on a team of Gundam pilots seeking to eradicate war from the Earth on behalf of the armed organization, Celestial Being.  Gundam 00 was the first of many future Gundam projects to split its story into two distinct series, aired a year apart from each other.  Reception to 00 was fair, though some tend to like the more grounded first season compared to the more scifi heavy second season.  While this technically branches into the next chapter, the 2010’s, 00’s successful run made it the first Gundam series to be the focus of the first original Gundam Theatrical Feature Film since Gundam F91 in 1991.  Mobile Suit Gundam 00: The Movie-A Wakening of the Trailblazer made the controversial choice to bring extraterrestrials into the Gundam franchise…the results are mixed, some like it, some don’t…it’s really up to the viewer. 

Which brings us to the current era of Gundam, the 2010’s…where more bold choices, highs and lows were coming for the franchise.

Mobile Suit Gundam Part 6 Episodes 28-32

White Base finally reaches Jaburo but their crew has little time to rest.  With Zeon’s Earth Forces crushed, the time has come to take the fight to them in space.  And General Revel wants White Base at the head of their main fleet.  Amuro and company return to the stars and travel to Side 6 for a brief respite before the battles ahead.  Here, Amuro is reunited with his father, who is not the same man as before.  And Bright and Mirai find their growing feelings tested when Mirai’s former fiancée and a cocky new fighter pilot assigned to White Base both arrive.  Side 6 might be a neutral colony but it isn’t free from the trials of personal conflict, or the Zeon lying in wait for the White Base to return to the war.

If Mobile Suit Gundam hadn’t succeeded in some way, we wouldn’t have the multiverse spanning franchise it is today.  I feel like that kind of opening should be saved for my final review of the show (or I could repeat myself, it happens).  But after this set of episodes, I know more than ever that the wins of the last 10 episodes haven’t been flukes.  This show has grown out of its growing pains and has only gotten progressively better.  Coming off a very strong midseason premiere, Gundam doubled down on the action, character drama and, at last, brought Char back properly.  Simply put, the wins continued in this set of episodes.

The two part trip to Jaburo continued the level of epic and personal action we saw in the Battle of Odessa.  We got to see Mobile Suit combat in the underground fortress (pretty cool place too btws) and in the jungles above.  We were even introduced to the Federations first GMs, which will get updated and bettered with each subsequent Universal Century Gundam entry.  After being on the sidelines and not given a proper return, Char was able to kick some serious ass again leading the Jaburo attack.  Not only did he get to punch a hole right through the stomach of a GM but we FINALLY got a rematch between Char and Amuro.  I was just impressed as Char that Amuro was able to match him blow for blow and even get in a couple of solid hits.  Char has a true rival now and Amuro feels worthy of that title compared to the brat he was in the beginning of the show.

I did say that the Jaburo battles were a little personal.  Well true we got to see Amuro and Sayla have their separate but equally important encounters with Char.  But Im referring to a trio of characters I haven’t really discussed yet: the White Bases resident war orphans Katz, Letz and Kika.  Anyone watching the show will continually scratch their heads as to why kids are kept around at all on a warship and maybe even be a bit more frustrated that they’re being allowed to stay.  However, the episode dealing with this exact issue is one of the series best, actually.  Not only did Katz, Letz and Kika help save the Jaburo base and the GM factory from destruction, we got to see Jaburo’s sad haven of Federation orphans.  Sure they have a wide room to play with and people looking after them, but it’s clear that these sad kids who have lost everything are not quite as well cared for as White Bases little tykes.  As Kai pointed out, the White Base and her crew are family at this point and they’ve seen things most kids couldn’t handle.  It may sound strange but sticking around on White Base might be what’s best for Katz, Letz and Kika.  The fact that the crew fought for and won to keep the trio onboard speaks to their value too. 

The stay in Jaburo might’ve been a bit brief but there was more ass kicking to be seen once we headed back into space.  It actually feels good to talk about how good Amuro has become in battle, along with the rest of his teammates.  Seeing him tear through 9 Mobile Suits in under three minutes and even carve up a Zeon Battleship (taking the life of Char’s former right hand man Dren in the process) is pretty epic and the Gundam looks like a beast doing so.  It’s not all him either.  Sayla, Kai and Hayato are improving as well and the coordination between Bright, Mirai and the bridge crew is worthy of applause.  These aren’t civilians and low ranking soldiers were watching anymore, these are battle hardened bad asses.  There were a couple of problems that crept in, however.  As cool as it is to watch the Gundam battle monstrous Mobile Armors, some of their designs are…a little uninspired and downright silly.  I mean yeah these mecha designs are meant to be eventual Gunpla for the kids but still, a Mobile Armor with fangs and demon eyes is laughable.  And then there’s Ryu’s replacement: Lt. Sleger.  He’s laidback, kind of a sleeze and would be ladies man…and feels very Roy Focker lite (ironic seeing as Macross came out three years after this series).  I get that the person taking over Ryu’s spot on the team shouldn’t be a carbon copy.  But Sleger needs to do something to make him more likeable.  He’s not a bully by anymeans and he does pull his weight in battle…I just don’t like him at the moment.

We closed this set with a trip to the Switzerland of Space: Side 6.  This brief break from the action allowed us to check in on some developing character stories.  The new subplot with Mirai caught in a love “square” with Bright, Sleger (?), and her arranged marriage fiancée Cameron was…idk.  I mean Mirai’s pretty and could grab anybodys eye.  Maybe I just wanted to see an eventual throwdown between these three would be suitors (and hope Bright comes out on top).  Fairing better was Amuro’s tragic reunion with his father.  Being a workaholic, coupled with a heavy dose of oxygen deprevation from the Side 7 attack at the beginning of the series, has left Mr. Tem Ray more of a jerk than he ever was before.  And Amuro was so excited to see him.  Knowing his fathers brilliant mind may never return and, as a result, is lost to his own dellusions, no wonder Amuro shot and sliced his way through 9 Zeon Mobile Suits in record time.

But it looks like the Side 6 stay is extended at least for another couple of episodes and we might see some fateful encounters too.  Either way, im excited.  Mobile Suit Gundam is riding high on good pacing, good action and characters who are continuing to grow and impress.  We’ve now closed out the third act of Mobile Suit Gundam.  The final act begins next Monday.  I’m excited, are you?

T5W#192-Top 5 Favorite Gundam Evolve Shorts

Back at the beginning of March, I reviewed the CG Anime compilation collection, Gundam Evolve.  It pretty much hit me as I was about a quarter of the way through the 15 episode marathon the a Top 5 Best Episodes list was a no brainer.  After all, Evolve gave us digitized look backs at a little over 20 years of Gundam mythology (from Mobile Suit Gundam through Gundam Seed, though a few series are omitted for reasons I don’t know or might understand).  Cant be much more straightforward than that, these are my Top 5 Gundam Evolve Shorts.

#5-Episode 12: RMS-099 Rick Dias

There are four shorts alone dedicated to Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (seriously I know it’s a popular series but come on, what about 0080, 08th MS Team or Victory?  There should’ve been a 1 short per series rule), but this is the best of that bunch.  The premise finds Quattaro Bajeena (aka Char Aznable) running a simulation in his Rick Dias.  His opponent for this session: a computer simulated Char Aznable himself.  That’s right, it’s Char vs. Char in this trippy headgame experience that proves Char might’ve been better handling Gundam Wing’s Zero System better than Heero or Zechs.

#4-Episode 1: RX-78-2 Gundam

Of the 15 shorts in Gundam Evolve, this premiere is the only one to feature any handdrawn animation.  Which is a shame because I wished I could have seen more of a mix in this anthology.  There isn’t too much in the way of new footage, just Amuro sitting in the Gundam conflict waiting to be launched into the Battle of A Boa a Qu, aka the last battle of the One Year War.  As he sits, we get treated to a montage of the original series’ greatest hits.  All the battles and their victories, losses and participants are highlighted in a very moving tribute to the series that started it all.

#3-Episode 4: RX-78 GP03 Dendrobium

I have a few complaints about Mobile Suit Gundam 0083 but few of them are in the mecha department.  One I did have there was that the GP03 never got a chance to sortie without the massive armory it flew around with during its short time on screen.  This short fixes that by showing us a test run of the Dendrobium prior to the arrival of the Albion.  Not only does it look like the GP03 handles like a dream, but its doomed test pilot, Defrah Kar, is kind of a bad ass and doesn’t require the GPO3’s extensive arsenal to handle Zeon remnants.  Why couldn’t 0083 have had her as the main character?  She’s so much better than Uraki ever was or ever will be.

#2-Episode 14: Rekka Musha Gundam

SD Gundam shorts can be hit or miss but this is a hit. The Super Deformed character designs, especially on the smaller ones meant to be kids are so damn adorable awwwww.  This is one of those instances where Gundam can step back from the doom and gloom and have some fun with an outrageous premise: the Samurai like Rekka Musha must stop Mazaku who has stolen the Scroll of Light and he gets some help from some eager young Gundam Warrior fans along the way.  It’s cute, it’s fun, it def deserves a spot on this anthology and this list.

#1-Episode 8: GAT-X105 Strike Gundam

Can your Gundam do Kung Fu and dodge bullets?  Well im sure Domon Kasshu and the God Gundam can but somehow in the Cosmic Era, there’s a mystery pilot who can make the Strike Gundam do the same.  Episode 8 boasts the best use of the CG animation that dominates Gundam Evolve.  It really does feel like we’re watching The Matrix if Neo could pilot a Gundam.  The Strike’s enemies stand no chance as they’re laid to waste by this pilot who Kira Yamato wishes he was.  Truly, this short made me look bewildered and go “whoa”.