Ranking Gundam Part 3

Well we’ve poured through the worst and steadily worked our way into slight better and even decent territory.  Today on Ranking Gundam, we’re getting into the truly good stuff from fan favorites to genuine legends of the franchise (and yes one fan favorite is a bit high because of nostalgia, you know the one, but it’s not #1 so no need to riot).  Let’s roll into the penultimate chapter of Ranking Gundam.
 
Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan’s Island (7.5/10)

It’s not everyday a Gundam production deemed a failure gets a second lease on life.  And while it isnt a game changing masterpiece (the pacing is pretty slow and there’s not as much action as one might hope), Cucuruz Doan’s Island is still a welcome return to the very first iteration of Gundam with a cast we haven’t seen together since the Mobile Suit Gundam Trilogy in the 1980s.  The modern animation of “The Origin” also helps bolster how far Gundam has come and makes Zaku’s look as terrifying as they probably did when they were first rolled out in the Universal Century.
 

Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team-Miller’s Report (7.5/10)

What keeps this from being ranked as high as the OVA it spawns from is because there’s no reason it shouldntve been part of the 08^th MS Team OVA in the first place (heck it was even aired in an abrivieated format on Toonami).  This is an extended episode with an interesting character in the titular Alice Miller, whose cold and calculated tactics against Shiro make for a dark reflection of the 08^th Teams Commander.  It also includes one of the most brutal battles in the series and barely uses the Mobile Suits themselves.  But again, why was this done as a movie?  OVAs get extra long episodes all the time.

 
Gundam Build Divers (7.5/10)

After the disappointment of Build Fighters Try, Build Divers is a welcome return to form for the Gunpla themed series.  Taking the next step to online mode feels like a natural progression and most of the cast is incredibly fun to be around.  My main issues stem from the back half of the series when the powers that be controlling GBN begin to make decisions that make this kind of Gunpla experience feel not so fun.  Still, if you loved the original Gundam Build Fighters and wanna see it become an JMMORPG, Build Divers is right up your alley.

 
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation-Heirs to the Stars (7.5/10)

If you can make it past the hurdle of merging two very different generations of animation together, the first chapter of the 20^th Anniversary Trilogy for Zeta Gundam is definitely the strongest of the bunch.  The story and characters have been tweaked but their arcs that helped make Zeta the legend that it is are still intact.  The new animation is also freaking gorgeous and makes me wonder why it didn’t stick with it all the way through.  Also, this trilogy knows how to do cliffhangers and the end of this one definitely set the bar pretty high.
 

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz-Special Edition (7.5/10)

Ask any one and they’ll definitely tell you this is the definitive version of Endless Waltz to watch, not the original OVA.  The Special Edition doesn’t necessarily make Endless Waltz’s story any better (even then it’s just ok) but it fixes a lot of the OVAs overall problems.  Scenes are reorganized and new ones are added with new appearances by old favorites.  It also fixes the abundant lack of Gundams and gives them some more screen time to show them kicking some serious ass.  Just like Miller’s Report, why wasn’t this just made a movie in the first place?

 
After War Gundam X (7.5/10)

Despite it’s lack of Wing level popularity (and a sense of Gundam fatigue) dooming it, Gundam X is a fun hidden gem in the franchise.  The “What If…” scenario is an interesting one and in it births one of the franchises best protagonists in Garrod Ran and his love interest, Tifa.  The world and stakes get bigger and bigger as the show goes on and its in a really good place until the clearly rushed ending.  It definitely doesn’t deserve to just be known as the one Gundam series other than the original that got cancelled before the end of its run.

 
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (7.5/10)

Here we are, the one that for many of us started it all.  Is it perfect, no.  Are there a ton of story flaws, Hell yes. Are there better Gundam series out there, that’s obvious.  So why is this a 7.5 and not lower?  Simple, because despite those flaws I love this series, the mecha and the characters that populate it.  I love Deathscythe and Duo and Zechs is one of the best Char Clones in the franchise.  It’s easy to make fun of Gundam Wing but it’s all because this is my first Gundam and I can never bring myself to hate on it.
 

Mobile Suit Gundam AGE: Memory of Eden (8/10)

Jeez, this is the biggest turn around since Gundam ZZ.  Memory of Eden is proof that Gundam AGE could have worked, just maybe not as a TV Series.  This OVA settles on two characters (Asemu and Zehart) and exclusively follows their arcs, providing a more focused and detailed story that works so much better, especially for Zehart who is totally redeemed and made a candidate for a decent Char Clone himself.  It does come at the cost of other characters getting next to no screen time.  But even if it’s too little, too late, Gundam AGE could have been something truly great if it were made with this much confidence.
 
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans (8/10)

While it never achieved the same international success as Gundam Wing, Iron Blooded Orphans certainly tops it in terms of sheer carnage, power and unrelenting gritiness.  The series focuses on a group of literal child soldiers and their rise through the ranks to become their own volatile power in the Earth/Mars sphere.  The Mecha are ancient and gorgeous, the action is far more brutal because of an emphasis on melee combat.  And you feel a genuine connection with the boys of Tekkadan, making each loss harder to watch.  This is the Spartacus of Gundam and damn it is awesome.
 

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Movie (8/10)

While a lot of what really makes this second attempt at the original series stand out is saved for the other entries, Gundam: The Movie does what any good intro movie should. It eases you back in, granted with a lot of big battles and touched up animations.  And it retells the opening chunk of series episodes in a way to make it work as both a beginning and a stand alone feature.  The pacing never feels rushed and everything flows in a way that makes this a very different Compilation Film than what Gundam is used to getting.
 

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (8.5/10)

I think this is another one I’ll get flack for not ranking higher.  It’s not that I don’t like Zeta, far from it.  It lives up to its rep as one of the franchises best by taking what worked about the original series and touching it up to the point where many of the tropes introduced in this series are still used in modern Gundam today.  It’s a gorgeously animated 80s mecha scifi epic that hits right where it hurts, especially the ending.  Again, clearly it’s not that I don’t like Zeta, I just like other Gundam more.
 

Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt: December Sky (8.5/10)

Oh man this is easily the darkest and most brutal Gundam ANYTHING I have ever seen.  This takes Gundams “War is Hell” mantra and makes it literal as we witness the mental and physical devastation war can take on anyone to the point where Hell has become their eternal home.  The Jazz soundtrack is as chaotic as the Thunderbolt Sector and the characters are so broken and at wits end, its hard to root for anyone cause you feel bad for everyone (except Io, he’s just insane).  This was a hard one to sit through, so much so that it makes the follow up movie, Bandit Flower, feel disappointingly tame by comparison.
 

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (8.5/10)

This one took me by surprise and I still find time to watch it every once in a while.  I fell in love with the cast, the world, the mecha, the music, everything about 00 just works on just about every level.  The series starts out a lot like Gundam Wing in it’s First Season and arguably does the concept right before transitioning into a more familiar Zeta/ZZ type Second Season.  Some of the destinations the show steers toward in its back half are usually met with mixed reactions from the fans but I am always firmly on board with it.  It’s fast, furious, harsh, hopeful and a helluva lot of fun to watch.
 
Next Thursday we reach the big finale of Ranking Gundam.  The only question that remains is…well two questions: what’s my Top Ranked Gundam Series and where will The Witch from Mercury find itself placed?  The answer to the latter comes in April but the answer for the former arrives Next Week right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.