Future of Gundam

[yellowlightman]

I hope it's a story driven series, not a sell toy driven series.

312004[/snapback]

So you... don't want a Gundam series?

[Effect]

Turn A Gundam has to be one of the best Gundam series ever made I feel. My number one favorite and pretty high on my overall anime list as well. It's a great example of a very strong character driven story that's not made to sell toys or models. It's pure story where the action helps the story but is not the main purpose or only purpose of the show.

A Gundam series, UC or not cause Turn A isn't officially UC, done in this style where it's all about the story(can still have great battles) first and for most would be great and is exactly what Gundam needs, along with a good timeslot for it.

If we could have series like that as every other series with the ones before it being just to sell toys then it would be worth it getting series like SEED and SEED Destiny that bring in the toy sales, while shows like Turn A Gundam (where story is first and given the main attention) are shown for those that what great stories.

Profit from shows. Isn't a lot of money made via advertisments/comercials that play during time slots or does it work differently in Japan then in the US?

I've never seen a fansub that has comercials so I don't know exactly if they are that important to shows. Or could it be that Bandai doesn't care about them and perfer to make money off of toys first and formost. I always figured it was, have a strong show so that more people would watch and more would see the comercials. That way due to ratings you coudl charge advertisers even more money for comerical time thus the show and station making money. Or does that only benefit the station/channel and not the show?

[phuqueue]

I've got to agree with Panon -- leave UC alone. Haven't those poor people suffered through enough wars already? Unless you keep placing new shows in the far flung future like Victory was, you're just going to be stepping all over previously-established continuity anyway. UC is way too crowded as it is, and we definitely don't need another series to further flesh it out.

CE has laid the groundwork for some potentially interesting stories, if we can get a competent staff to work on the series. If anyone here reads the GML, you may recall a couple years ago when Mark Simmons put forth an idea for a SEED sequel (obviously, before there was Destiny) that focused on deep space exploration and maybe an investigation of Evidence-01 (the space whale) instead of a war. I think something like that could be interesting.

A follow up to Turn A would be nice, too. I've heard bits and pieces about the back story that's provided in the novels, and it sounds pretty intriguing. Basically dealt with a war between Earth and some of the space colonists who we saw leaving the solar system in TAG ep 43, who apparently later returned and were regarded as aliens. The "aliens" are the ones who built Turn A and Turn X, I guess. Keilas Guilie was also somehow involved in this whole thing. Sounded cool, and if this is all really in the novels, I'd definitely like to see this show made.

Other than any of that, I'd be happy with another alternate universe that's actually an alternate universe, like G and TAG were. Not like Wing or SEED, which were firmly rooted in UC stories. X was an interesting idea, but since it's been done now, I don't really want to see it done again. Something that's just totally different (even if it's different in an off-the-wall way, like G Gundam was) would be nice.

[Effect]

That wouldn't be a bad idea. A group going off to explore space, a good mix of both naturals and coordinators with two main characters being from each group. No war but exploration.

I know people don't like the idea of aliens in Gundam but I really think it's about time to be honest, at least on a small degree. A change is needed and this would be an interesting change for Gunda. You can still have the same elements all the other Gundam shows have had but it would finally be about the human characters working together for a common goal. Still have the angst, uncertainty, the arguements but in the end they dont' fight among each other but try to protect each other from another threat.

Though what I'd really like to see is the mobile suits tuned down though. Gundams can still be interestin gbut all these weapons aren't needed. Sick witht he beam saber and rifle or some other type of gun. Make interesting battles, not spam battles or exploding mobile suits. A more adventure themed show like Gundam X would be great I feel.

[Druna Skass]

I like the idea of where Bandai was going with the Cosmic Era idea. Right now there are all kinds of posibilites open for it, and I think it could turn out to be a really good timeline. They just need to get rid of morons like Fukuda and bring in people who can actualy write a decent mech story. Guys who did 08th MS Team, I'm looking at you...

[Keith]

I'd actually like to see that Hathaway manga animated, might give some meaning to the little chump surviving in CCA. Crossbone would be nice, an origin of Turn A would be awesome, etc.

Or perhaps they should just stop pussyfooting it around with SEED, and have Char & Amuro re-incarnate their Newtype selves there & tear ass with that universe.

[Effect]

True. There really isn't anything wrong with the SEED universe persay. It's how it's being handled that's the problem. True, get rid of Fukuda and his team and I'm sure wonders can be done with the SEED universe

[mikeszekely]

There really isn't anything wrong with the SEED universe persay.

You mean, aside from the fact that it's a pale immitation of the UC universe?

Like I said, Hathaway's Flash, F-90 and Silhouette Formula, and Crossbone Gundam should be annimated. That'd help fill the gaps between Char's Counterattack, F-91, and Victory, and help make the whole thing more cohesive. They also help show how mankind was doing beyond the Earth Sphere (Mars, Jupiter). Then, Gaia Gear should be animated and made the official continuation of the Universal Century so we can all forget the abomination that was G-Saviour.

[Effect]

I mean from how the world was actually setup. It pretty much snowballs from there and I do think the only reason SEED was decent was because it was a straight up reworking of MSG, some parts were more copies then others. SEED Destiny is very loose in how it takes elements from Zeta, which is why it suffers so badly I feel. The elements taken from Zeta just don't work due to how different the story and context are.

[Beltane70]

The only problem I see animating Hathaway's Flash is the fact that, as far as I know, is only a single novel.

On the other side of things, I don't see SEED Destiny as suffering, but this is just one man's opinion. Sure, it's not perfect, but it is surely good enough to keep me satisfied and waiting for each episode.

[Loner]

Or perhaps they should just stop pussyfooting it around with SEED, and have Char & Amuro re-incarnate their Newtype selves there & tear ass with that universe.

312061[/snapback]

I'm inclined to support this idea. Also if there is a next series I want the main Gundam to be simpler in design and in weaponry. In MSG the Gundam was not overpowered to the extreme next to the grunts, and the weapons it needed was a shield, a beam saber, a bazooka, and a beam rifle. Nothing more, nothing less.

[Panon]

You mean, aside from the fact that it's a pale immitation of the UC universe?

Except it's not, unless you're one of those mindless "it's all ripped from the UC!!" zealots.

Like I said, Hathaway's Flash, F-90 and Silhouette Formula, and Crossbone Gundam should be annimated.  That'd help fill the gaps between Char's Counterattack, F-91, and Victory, and help make the whole thing more cohesive.

It doesn't need 'cohesion', some of the worst pieces of the Gundam franchise came from that terrible idea (namely 0083). The story has been told, it doesn't need to be over-told or bloated with even more added on irrelevance.

Apart from the fact some of these fill in UC bits sound like utter tripe (F-90 - yet another Zeon element arising, another plot to devestate Earth, two competing Gundams with AI systems based on Amuro and Char? Give me a break.) they don't have much wider appeal or in Crossbone's case (unfortunately) it has the black mark of being the followup to one of the frachises failures. The fact the next attempt at Gundam jumped 30 years away from F-91 to distance itself from it should say how much they care about reopening that chapter.

[Keith]

Or perhaps they should just stop pussyfooting it around with SEED, and have Char & Amuro re-incarnate their Newtype selves there & tear ass with that universe.

312061[/snapback]

I'm inclined to support this idea. Also if there is a next series I want the main Gundam to be simpler in design and in weaponry. In MSG the Gundam was not overpowered to the extreme next to the grunts, and the weapons it needed was a shield, a beam saber, a bazooka, and a beam rifle. Nothing more, nothing less.

312084[/snapback]

I also loved how its true power came from Amuro, so much so that the Gundam couldn't keep up with him.

[ogami]

Last time I heard Crossbone Gundam is on top of the "Next UC era OVA to be done" list. (according to those otaku in 2ch)

[Gui]

The only problem I see animating Hathaway's Flash is the fact that, as far as I know, is only a single novel.

312079[/snapback]

A 'short' OVA could be more than enough to tell these events then: we don't need a 50 eps series

Personnally, I'd love to see an animated version of the For the Barrel manga: it has cool designs and its story is a direct adaptation of the original MS Gundam novel by Tomino...

[Father Jack]

I would also like to see more turn A. Maybe a Prequel detailing the days leading up to the end of the dark history. (People who have seen Turn A will know what I'm talking about. I dont want to ruin it for anybody else.)

An animated version of char's deleted affair would be cool too.

[UN_MARINE]

I'd like to see Sentinel animated too, it would be nice to see the S / Ex-S animated in all its glory.

up to now, i've only seen it animated in SD form, which was fun for a while, but...

personally, i think they should go with a UC story, back to Gundam's roots

[armentage]

Turn-A All the Way!

I've never been a huge Gundam anime fan, but Turn-A isn't your average Gundam... the show is fantastic... gets boring at times, but it always draws my attention back with some huge twist. The Zacktreager just blew my mind last night!

Seed...

The CTOON network dub is so bad... the story is so moronic (up to ep 14)...

[Hoptimus]

Man it would be cool to see another UC show but I wont get my hopes up. UC is dead.

[Twoducks]

Whatever they do, let it not be wacky.

When I first saw images of Wing I thought the mech designs reaked Power Rangers. So I passed.

Last year I saw an episode of SEED just to see what stupid new designs they had, then went to see gundamofficial and found out about G Gundam and that mobile suits where able to turn into windmills and bull heads or have horses

With all these goofy images in my head I labeled Gundam as an over milked franchised.

My brother convinced me to give SEED another try and now I can´t wait to see all UC related material.

Don´t know how many people that could have gotten hooked to Gundam have turned their backs becasue of the sillyness.

[Loner]

I also loved how its true power came from Amuro, so much so that the Gundam couldn't keep up with him.

312092[/snapback]

Exactly. I was more impressed when Amuro took down those 9 Rick Doms and that battleship at Side 6, then Kira's hundreds of kills at the end of Seed.

[Hoptimus]

I also loved how its true power came from Amuro, so much so that the Gundam couldn't keep up with him.

312092[/snapback]

Exactly. I was more impressed when Amuro took down those 9 Rick Doms and that battleship at Side 6, then Kira's hundreds of kills at the end of Seed.

312148[/snapback]

Ahh the good old days.

I love the early UC Gundam.

0079 ,Zeta,and CCA.

After that it was Tomino burn out. F91 was okay and Victory is pretty cool but they just dont have that grit and magic that the earlier stuff had.

[Mercurial Morpheus]

Personally, I'd love a return to UC Gundam. I just finished rewatching 0080. Great OAV. Probably my favorite along with 0079. I'm going to rewatch 0083 which I remember liking a lot. Maybe they could continue the storyline started in F91 or something. Only if they can bring something new to it. A thirty year gap is more than enough to make something that should conflict too hard with the storyline, though I haven't seen Victory.

I don't think UC is dead, just as long as they have the right ideas, new life can be breathed into it. It'dd be nicer than just creating yet another universe. If anything continue something established. If they do make another universe, make good use of it. Make it totally different in ideals and direction. Just not as weird and silly like G.

I haven't seen much of SEED. I saw about ten episodes and just got distracted. I've liked what I've seen, so I intend to finish it. It is basically a reworking of the 0079 storyline, with elements of 0083(enemy gets ahold of new Gundams) and maybe 0080(the friend vs friend thing). I haven't touched Destiny yet, as I haven't finished SEED(though I do know who dies and such). I haven't seen enough to really know if I'd want it to continue. Oh, and what I've seen of the dub is truly appalling. THe casting is atrocious.

Edited July 19, 2005 by Mercurial Morpheus

[mikeszekely]

Except it's not, unless you're one of those mindless "it's all ripped from the UC!!" zealots.

How do you figure it's not?

In the beginning of the war, only Zeon/Zaft had mobile suits.

After a major tragedy (colony drop, Bloody Valentine), the war declines to a stalemate.

Under the orders of a blonde fellow who wears a mask to conceal his true identity (Char, Rau) Zeon/Zaft soldiers infiltrate a colony to discover the Federation/Alliance's new prototype MS and MS carrier (and even at that, the Strike Gundam is colored the same as the original Gundam, and the Archangel is sylistically similar to the White Base).

A young boy (Amuro, Kira) winds up piloting the Gundam/Strike Gundam to battle the invading Zeon/Zaft soldiers, forcing them to retreat from the colony long enough for the White Base/Archangel to escape.

Due to the fact that most of the original crew was killed in the attack, civillians that were living in the colony who escaped to the ship wind up crewing it.

After leaving the colony, the White Base/Archangel heads for the asteroid base Luna II/Artemis. On the way, they are attacked by the Zeon/Zaft forces following them.

At the supposedly friendly asteroid base, the crew of the White Base/Archangel find a less than friendly welcome. Also, the base commander is confident of the asteroid's defenses, but is caught unprepared by the enemy. The White Base/Archangel barely escape, heading for Earth.

Upon arriving at Earth, they are attacked by Zeon/Zaft soldiers, who fail to destroy their ship or their Gundam, but force them off course into hostile territory.

While trying to escape to friendly territory, the White Base/Archangel must cross a desert, where Amuro/Kira meet a nobel enemy pilot, Ramba Ral/Andy and his girlfriend Hamon/Aisha. Ultimately, though, they meet again on the battlefield, where Amuro/Kira wind up killing them both.

After leaving the desert, they must fly over water, where they are attacked by Zeon/Zaft's amphibious MS.

Upon arriving at Jaburo/Morganrete, they find a mass-produced "Gundam," the GM/M1 Astray.

It's only there that SEED really starts to deviate from the original series, but even then, it starts borrowing more from Wing, with some of the Gundam pilots joining a third faction lead by a nobel young lady dedicated to pacifism.

[Magnus]

A Turn A prequel as an OVA would be cool, but i'd love to see a Turn A sequel with a better designed mech. I don't think the Turn A went over well with fans, so it wouldn't make much sense for Bandai to resurrect it again.

Another series that really deserves more credit is Gundam X. Now that the myth of its 'crappiness' has been dispelled, maybe Bandai would revisit that world with a sequel or so.

Or they could do something completely new, never-been-done before. Like time-travelling gundams, or gundams vs. aliens, or whatever. It seems that'll be the only way to please those fans screaming that everything since Zeta has been nothing but a 'rip off' of the original story.

Seriously, be careful what you wish for, or you could actually end up with something like G Gundam again. And that wouldn't do any of us any good, now would it?

[Effect]

The problem with the Turn A design is a lot of people don't bother to see it in action. They see an image and just jump to the conclusion that it's ugly or whatever and don't bother being opened minded enough to give it a chance. Once you've seen it in action, every forum I've gone to people have said they were wrong about their first opinion and seeing the Turn A in action changed their opinion and it's look didn't bother them anymore.

It's kinda sad really that people just look at the design and automaticly write the show off as a result. It does make me wonder just how big the ratio is between those that actually care about the stories in Gundam compared to those that only care about the mechs and the action and don't really give a damn about the story or characters.

[Fort Max]

The problem with the Turn A design is a lot of people don't bother to see it in action. They see an image and just jump to the conclusion that it's ugly or whatever and don't bother being opened minded enough to give it a chance. Once you've seen it in action, every forum I've gone to people have said they were wrong about their first opinion and seeing the Turn A in action changed their opinion and it's look didn't bother them anymore.

312180[/snapback]

Quoted for truth.

I'd love to see either Sentinel if it's mecha driven or a Turn - A sequel if it's story driven. I'd give anything new a fair chance as well.

[Majestic]

I really hope the next foray is a good quality "serious" U.C. storyline. Something along the lines of 0083 without being too derivative. They have fairly milked the franchise on all fronts, so avoiding being derivative will be difficult.

But as long as there's good U.C. mech action, I guess I can forgive another colony drop/love triangle/hijacked gundam/endless prototypes.

[Father Jack]

The problem with the Turn A design is a lot of people don't bother to see it in action. They see an image and just jump to the conclusion that it's ugly or whatever and don't bother being opened minded enough to give it a chance. Once you've seen it in action, every forum I've gone to people have said they were wrong about their first opinion and seeing the Turn A in action changed their opinion and it's look didn't bother them anymore.

It's kinda sad really that people just look at the design and automaticly write the show off as a result. It does make me wonder just how big the ratio is between those that actually care about the stories in Gundam compared to those that only care about the mechs and the action and don't really give a damn about the story or characters.

312180[/snapback]

Agreed! I like the Turn A design becuase of its originality. For this show they did something besides seeing how many heavy weapons they could strap on it and how many V fins they could slap on the head.

And it is a really good show too. That seems to be getting rarer as well.

Edited July 19, 2005 by Father Jack

[Black Valkyrie]

Last time I heard Crossbone Gundam is on top of the "Next UC era OVA to be done" list. (according to those otaku in 2ch)

312093[/snapback]

Will it should be, look at SRWAlpha-2 they in it and it has its own OST plus the seiyuus. I know every UC Gundam fan including my self all want a Crossbone Gundam anime.

[Black Valkyrie]

I think when they make a new MSG series they should change its looks, new designs. Yes I love Turn A Gundam

There`s no escape from me you Gundam !

Edited July 19, 2005 by Black Valkyrie

[armentage]

Agreed!  I like the Turn A design becuase of its originality.  For this show they did something besides seeing how many heavy weapons they could strap on it and how many V fins they could slap on the head. 

And it is a really good show too.  That seems to be getting rarer as well.

Turn-A itself was very cool design, but I also love the re-appearance of older mecha. The Zakus, mellon-balls, and all the other crazy mobile suits. The variety and disparate styles is really refreshing.

Even the throw-back character designs are great. It's just all so different. Turn-A has soul...

The Yoko Kanno sound track doesn't hurt either!

[phuqueue]

I know people don't like the idea of aliens in Gundam but I really think it's about time to be honest, at least on a small degree. A change is needed and this would be an interesting change for Gunda. You can still have the same elements all the other Gundam shows have had but it would finally be about the human characters working together for a common goal. Still have the angst, uncertainty, the arguements but in the end they dont' fight among each other but try to protect each other from another threat.

Well, I don't know about using real aliens. Gundam is about human conflict. Almost every show so far has in some way made the point that there are good people on both sides...it's one of the many themes that runs through every show and every universe. It's a little harder to work something like that in if we're all just fighting against aliens together. Of course, in the Turn A backstory, the returned colonists were regarded as aliens, but they weren't really aliens.

Whatever they do, let it not be wacky.

When I first saw images of Wing I thought the mech designs reaked Power Rangers. So I passed.

Last year I saw an episode of SEED just to see what stupid new designs they had, then went to see gundamofficial and found out about G Gundam and that mobile suits where able to turn into windmills and bull heads or have horses blink.gif

With all these goofy images in my head I labeled Gundam as an over milked franchised.

My brother convinced me to give SEED another try and now I can´t wait to see all UC related material.

Don´t know how many people that could have gotten hooked to Gundam have turned their backs becasue of the sillyness.

But isn't that your fault for judging shows without watching them? Frankly, I don't care if new fans decide not to watch purely because they think the mobile suit designs are ugly or silly. If someone's going to dismiss a show he hasn't seen based only on that, it's his loss.

Another series that really deserves more credit is Gundam X. Now that the myth of its 'crappiness' has been dispelled, maybe Bandai would revisit that world with a sequel or so.

I didn't realize X's popularity had suddenly surged. Has there been anything else besides the DVD release and that manga, or are you just saying that because of those things? As far as I know, X is still just the series that couldn't hold the timeslot Gundam had been in for the past three years before eventually becoming the first show since the original to get axed. I think it's a better show than its ratings would indicate, but I don't think that it's suddenly become popular enough to warrant an animated sequel. Really, I think that we should probably consider G, Wing, and X to be dead universes at this point. There's a slim chance for a TAG continuation and a little better chance for UC...other than that, I think all we're likely to get in the future as far as animated shows go is more SEED or even more new universes.

Seriously, be careful what you wish for, or you could actually end up with something like G Gundam again. And that wouldn't do any of us any good, now would it?

I don't see why not. G Gundam was a much better show than some people give it credit for...it's certainly a lot better than some of the crap that's been jammed into the UC timeline.

I'd love to see either Sentinel if it's mecha driven or a Turn - A sequel if it's story driven. I'd give anything new a fair chance as well.

I don't know about a Turn A sequel. I loved the show, but I think it did a pretty good job of closing the door on any possible sequels. A new Turn A story should be a prequel that deals further with Black History.

[Effect]

I didn't realize X's popularity had suddenly surged.

I've noticed, and a few others have as well, that recently Gundam X and Turn A Gundam have been getting more positive reviews and opinions as of late. At least as forum membes on different forums go. The way that Gundam X's manga has been extended, it seems like interest in it has picked up and been given a fair chance.

It really makes me wonder though. With Gundam SEED Destiny being the main Gundam show airing, MS IGLOO, Turn A Gundam(among fansubs), and Gundam X, along with the UC manga released has been getting a lot of attention. I wonder if this could end up being a message from fans in Japan and even outside of it(among those that view GUndam in fansubs and go on to buy licensed versions) to Bandai in what type Gundam material they want to read or watch, compared to what Bandai is giving now(SEED Destiny).

It does seem like even though SEED Destiny is out, Bandai has been putting out several other things that are more unlike what Destiny is. You have he Gundam RPG coming out, the Universeal Century MMORPG, the UC mangas, the Gundam X manga, UC OVA, UC Games(true there is a SEED game coming but the UC one seems to be getting the most attention from fans before it's reelase and after). Now even in the fansub community, GUndam X and Turn A have become increasingly popular in the last year or two.

Could it be due to people looking for other Gundam fixes due to not being satisfied with SEED Destiny? Maybe I think.

[azrael]

Gundam X probably suffers from Family-Guy-syndrome. Bad time slot, horrible ratings, etc....then it comes out on DVD and boom, the popularity sours. With the X manga now, people want to go back and look at what this series was about. I've had X fansubs for....4..5 years now. And some people are now just discovering it.

With Turn A, people didn't really notice it since very few people ever saw it. Now that fansubs have come out, more people are watching it.

Could people be wanting more of a Gundam fix than they get from GS/GSD, or IGLOO? Sure. People read from us that SEED pays homage to the older series (MSG, Z, etc...) and they find out there's more Gundam out there. Some of which are older then they are. So they want to find out more. It's not unusual.