Mobile Suit Gundam 00 - <<Season 1>>

[kensei]

Yep. But it didn't fit so they thought they would try Exia's (hint hint on who's probably gonna pilot 00).

? I thought that Exia's went kapow due to all the GN particles that were released after the mutual MS kill with Graham? I know that the pilots are alive (Graham for sure, and Setsuna very highly likely), but I really thought that it was the GN Drive that was destroyed.

[kensei]

This looks very very close to one of the Astrays from Gundam SEED.

[Dat Pinche Haro!]

This looks very very close to one of the Astrays from Gundam SEED.

I don't see that as a bad thing...

[grss1982]

Watched the end last night. I liked it, though i was sad to see a lot of the characters go. i liked Lockon, so its a shame he is gone, though i suspect his twin brother will take his place. i liked Alleluias schitzophrenia, so it's a shame that element is gone, though watching him be 'whole' was pretty cool.

Also the last scene confused me...Was it a flashback, or a hint of something to come? And was that Louise behind the former Princesses aid?

Did you have the WTF!? feeling when the Graham and Setsuna had their climatic battle?

The ending credits gave her name and the name of the voice actor (that did the hmmmph)....its definately a girl and not Tiera.

The V.A. is Romi Paku (Theresa in Claymore, Hitsugaya in Bleach, Edward Alric in FMA, yada yada yada). This is just speculation on my part, but based on the V.A. alone I think this female version of Tiera will have a very major role next season. Tiera's replacement, perhaps?

@kensei: It reminds me a lot of Strike Freedom.

Also since this is supposed Setsuna's new ride will this come with "Fangs" like those on the one that Ali jacked from the Thrones? Or will this still be the close combat type with the big-ass sword?

Edited April 28, 2008 by grss1982

[Scream Man]

Tetsuna strieks me as a close combat kinda guy, so I hope it's like Exia.

A replacement for Tieria? I didnt think he was dead...

The final Setsuna/Graham battle did feel a little last minute, but wasnt bad in the scheme of things. I think Setsuna should have had his final battle with ali, but since he is obviously alive I guess that will happen in Season 2.

When does the new season sytart anyway?

[wolfx]

When does the new season sytart anyway?

After Code Geass...probably around sep-nov?

Btw saw this model kitfor Gundam Astrea . Looks pretty cool...like a prototype for the Exia. Any info on it?

http://www.xltoysforum.com/forum/APRIL08/gundam-astrea-1.jpg

http://www.xltoysforum.com/forum/APRIL08/gundam-astrea-2.jpg

http://www.amiami.com/images/product/main/TOY-GDM-0101.jpg

[azrael]

When does the new season sytart anyway?

October.

[dreamweaver13]

just finished watching season 1 last weekend. WOW, those were fantastic hints of things to come. i was pretty blown away by the fact that Gundam 00 (the series namesake) never actually made an appearance this season! whoa, what a set up! it's a given that setsuna's eventually going to pilot it. c'mon, he worships Gundam 0 like a freakin god. this is actually what he means about "becoming a gundam" -- piloting the Gundam 0, or in this case, gundam 00.

so that was louise behind tiera (or the tiera look alike)? hehe, didn't get that. i'll watch it again.

loved season 1. but with these hints, looks like season 2 will be even better.

[Scream Man]

That Astrea looks really nice. As i understand it, the Astrea is the working test type for the various systems on the 4 Gundams from themain show; It has Exias agility, Virtues heavy gun, Kyrios repeating cannon....maybe it snipes? I dunno. Anyway it looks pretty sweet to me!

[azrael]

That Astrea looks really nice. As i understand it, the Astrea is the working test type for the various systems on the 4 Gundams from themain show; It has Exias agility, Virtues heavy gun, Kyrios repeating cannon....maybe it snipes? I dunno. Anyway it looks pretty sweet to me!

Astrea is more a prototype for Exia. Sadalsuud was the prototype for Dynames. Plutone was Nadleeh/Virtue's prototype.

[wolfx]

Astrea is more a prototype for Exia. Sadalsuud was the prototype for Dynames. Plutone was Nadleeh/Virtue's prototype.

Where are u getting these names of MS?

Comics? MSV? Novels?

[azrael]

Where are u getting these names of MS?

Comics? MSV? Novels?

00P manga (and magazines).

[Fortress_Maximus]

Finished up to 24 not really sold on Setsuna nor his past, but I did like Lockon as well as the interesting character dynamics between the crew. Also as much as I hate to admit I was very impressed on how they humanized the bystanders. Looking forward to seeing more from this series.

[Scream Man]

i was actually stunned with what happened to Louise. That whole incident i found very tense.

[dreamweaver13]

i was actually stunned with what happened to Louise. That whole incident i found very tense.

specially since she has been the comic relief for the previous episodes. i guess that was the intent of the writers, luring the audience into believing that she's just your typical light-hearted bystander story. and then, kaboom.

[Fortress_Maximus]

Precisely! On this particular note I appreciate the character development for the bystanders especially since it draws us the viewers into their world. Much like the live action film THE KINGDOM it seems so distant but at the same time the events are seem all too real.

Just finished 25 and while the battles were eyecandy they seemed a bit senseless IMO. I particularly like how things were left unresolved with certain characters and the explicit loss of certain characters was poignant and heartfelt. I particularly enjoyed the revelations some of the crew shared with one another during their last moments and the "letters". Imagine having to write one of those and imagine what it must feel like to read one as the recipient.... intense.

[Scream Man]

the second series half was way better than the first. everything from the opening titles to the events.

Hurry up October!

[eugimon]

specially since she has been the comic relief for the previous episodes. i guess that was the intent of the writers, luring the audience into believing that she's just your typical light-hearted bystander story. and then, kaboom.

really? I saw it coming a mile away. They had "tragic ending" written all over their happy little lives.

[wolfx]

really? I saw it coming a mile away. They had "tragic ending" written all over their happy little lives.

Not surprising, coming from the forum cynic.

[Fort Max]

Well there was that bit in the intro where Louise holds her hand out to Saji and then pulls it away, it's a bit of a stretch but I guess you could call it foreshadowing.

[Scream Man]

I always thought that as well. I think its the opposite hand to the one she loses, but it's still a little foreshadowing. Its like if u watch the final fight bit at the end of the opening carefully, the 4 Meisters are fighting the 3 Thrones, which foreshadowed their showdown.

[dreamweaver13]

I always thought that as well. I think its the opposite hand to the one she loses, but it's still a little foreshadowing. Its like if u watch the final fight bit at the end of the opening carefully, the 4 Meisters are fighting the 3 Thrones, which foreshadowed their showdown.

now that i saw coming the moment those 3 gundams came into the picture. on the other hand (the one that wasn't cut off) the louise tragedy utterly caught me by surprise.

[the_foul_fowl]

Actually, that scene in the OP left me wanting for more. I always thought that we'd have a full on 4-on-3 matchup in the series, but it didn't happen, did it?

I pretty much only remember the scene where Exia and Virtue got into a battle with 1 or 2 of the thrones, but nothing more than that... i think!

[eugimon]

Not surprising, coming from the forum cynic.

I think you have me confused with Chrono. But no, it was pretty obvious, they served no purpose, they didn't drive the story all they were from the begining of the show was a foil.. grounded "real" people the viewers were supposed to relate to. But honestly, how long could they keep up the funny antics of those two dating while the world went to hell around them?

Edited May 9, 2008 by eugimon

[dreamweaver13]

I think you have me confused with Chrono. But no, it was pretty obvious, they served no purpose, they didn't drive the story all they were from the begining of the show was a foil.. grounded "real" people the viewers were supposed to relate to. But honestly, how long could they keep up the funny antics of those two dating while the world went to hell around them?

good point. but there are some anime that would have their bystanders really stick to a specific purpose - in this case, i thought comic relief. just to balance the mood of the series. but you're right, eventually even these supposed one-sided characters would most usually have something slightly tragic happen to them, or some tragic background, which would oftentimes try to explain why they keep a happy facade. in such cases, i wouldn't be surprised if some tragedy happened to the funny characters to give them some depth.

but i suppose the reason why i'm more than shocked with louise and saji is the gravity of the situation and the speed at which it spiraled out of control. having a happy reunion party, and then losing her entire family (not just immediate, but most likely her whole clan), and then saji losing his sister to a murder (when their father was apparently murdered earlier as well) in a space of 2 (?) episodes is, i would say, more than the usual tragedy that befalls background characters.

but then again, it would seem come second season they won't be background characters any longer. that's one advantage to a season break. you can change the importance level of some characters without ruining the storyline itself.

Edited May 9, 2008 by dreamweaver13

[eugimon]

Yeah, in the beginning, I fell for the red herring with saji and setsuna... thinking maybe that the writers would develop that relationship and bring saji into the celestial beings fold... but as they moved away from that and had saji cooking and what not... I realized they were doomed.

[VFTF1]

I should like to announce that I have decided to make Gundam OO the first Gundam series I watch and will begin downloading shortly

Looking forward to it!

VFTF1

[cyde01]

well i hope you enjoy it. to be honest the reaction to it seems to be pretty mixed. it got critical reviews by critics and is looked upon favorably by some fans mostly due to character development and real world setting. it is criticized by others for it's uninspiring mecha action choreography and certain strange plot twists. i personally enjoyed it a lot and while the mecha choreography is no where near itano circus levels, it still has action packed moments and does a good job of creating suspense. be warned, tho, it starts off really slow. i think most of the people critical of this series were turned off by the slow start and didn't stick around long enough to see the better episodes.

[eugimon]

It's not that it's slow in the beginning, but the story is really disjointed. The story just meanders around and there's lots of attention paid to a whole lot of characters... some of which are only mildly interesting to begin with.

A lot of the pacing problems do work themselves out by the middle of the season, the last half of the season is fairly good though.

[azrael]

I thought the season finale (and part of the lead up) was pure rubbish.

http://macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?s=&a...st&p=575718

[eugimon]

I thought the season finale (and part of the lead up) was pure rubbish.

http://macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?s=&a...st&p=575718

well, whenever you write yourself into a hole so deep you decide to kill off 90% of the A characters as your only way out, it's never a good thing. Worse is when you try to 'a-ha' the audience into thinking that the C characters were *really* the A characters all along.

I guess my "fairly good" comment is really relative to the 1st half of the season... which I thought was close to unwatchable.

[Scream Man]

i see the point of what u guys are saying pacing wise, but as my introduction into the Gundam universe, I liked how it played out. i got basically a fight of some kind an episode, a bit of tech data here and there to satiate the nerd-beast, and a lot of character development. i wondered why the kids were there as well, but assumed sooner or later the guy would find out Setsuna was a Meister. Hell, I still think that will happen. the last few episodes DID seem to be a shift in gears a bit to quick i thought. Surely they would have a plan for when they were attacked; the whole point of what they were doing was to unite the world against them. Yet they're in an unarmed ship? they have no fall back plan? It felt a bit haphazard to me...

My main let down with the Thrones was they took time away from the main Gundams airspace. I get why it had to happen, they needed to turn the popular opinion against the gundams. I just didnt like the designs much and wanted to see more of the main units.

[wolfx]

I think Wing/SEED made me have sink low expectations from the gundam AU franchise and due to that 00 felt quite refreshing and even enjoyable.

[wolfx]

In response to junior from the macross thread:

If you knew them then you'd know that the first statement doesn't apply.

They discuss new model releases, and the various side story things that have come out (to a certain extent). They enjoy for varying reasons just about every series from MS to Turn A to G. The major exception so far has been SEED Destiny, and now possibly 00. But the latter is still ongoing.

In most Gundam series, even if you're not entirely sure about the side that the protagonists are fighting for (i.e. Atlantic Federation in SEED), you can at least root for the protaganists' desire to survive or stay alive or persevere or whatever. Dumping the protaganists in a situation in which they have to fight or die (followed by the discovery that one of them just happens to be an amazing mobile suit pilot - though it doesn't always work that way) at leasts let you root for the protaganists in the hope that they make it out alive.

00 doesn't do that. Instead

we've got a group of volunteers following some vague plan that we don't really know much about that was supposedly crafted by some guy who died 300 years ago and that will, by blowing a bunch of stuff up, bring about world peace. Oh, and a LOT of innocent people are going to die (specifically stated in one episode early on). And right before he died, one character realized that the stated goal of the plan (i.e. World Peace) was potentially a lie.

There's some good "blow stuff up" episodes (though not nearly as pretty as the ones in Macross Frontier). But the plot is a huge mess in pretty much every sense of the word.

And that's why I question how high it is in the survey.

Like i said i don't see what you mean. The plan isn't vague. Its to have the world in a state of true peace by threatening others into submission.

Or is your problem that you require true protagonists? I realised on various boards that most watchers have is the lack of true protagonists in 00. True protagonists mean that the anime centers around what's happening around a particular main character for the audience to feel attached to. 00 on the other hand takes a different narrative style and instead tells it in a "novel-like" form where various sides and various characters share the limelight in the grand scheme of things. In other words the plot itself is the protagonist. Some argue that some episodes don't advance the plot at all when I thought that each episode brings us new insight into how stuff works in the various countries and people's perspective.

That said i felt 00 brought fresh air into the old gundam TV series concept of teen mecha pilot gets stuck on a small ship that happens to turn the tide of battle while running away from baddies who want them dead. It ain't perfect and i feel it has much potential going into the 2nd season.

[junior]

No - the problem is, why exactly am I rooting for CB? They say that they want world peace, but we know absolutely nothing about them nor do we know how they plan to bring this world peace about. How is their plan to bring about world peace going to actually cause people to stop fighting? They've got some masterplan, but we don't know anything about how this plan is supposed to work except that it involves them attacking a bunch of different locations. In fact, we only know one thing about the plan because Sumeragi mentions in one episode that an incredibly large number of people are going to die in the process of accomplishing the plan.

So why exactly should I care what Setsuna, Sumeragi, and the others are trying to accomplish? If anything, there seems to be a pretty strong indication that I should want them to be stopped as soon as possible BEFORE they have a chance to cause all of the deaths that Sumeragi has predicted.

And then Eifmann goes and throws a spanner in the works when he realizes that the goal of the plan isn't what it has been announced to be, and is murdered before he can reveal the actual goal (i.e. killed in a fashion very reminiscent of the oft-mocked death scene of South Burning in Gundam 0083).

So in short, as of the end of season one we know only one thing about CB's master plan - a whole lot of people are going to die for reasons that we don't understand at this time.

The single biggest flaw of the series is that it seems to be based around offering vague hints that a huge revelation is just around the corner and will turn up any episode now while not actually offering any such thing and in fact only continuing to drop more and more vague hints that never seem to actually pan out.

Its to have the world in a state of true peace by threatening others into submission.

This idea has been repeatedly pointed out during the series to be rather impractical due to the simple constraint that you can only have four Gundams in so many places at the same time. Sumeragi's a master strategist and hence would have to know this. So she must have something else in mind. And as I mentioned above, Eifmann realized right before he was killed that the stated goal of CB wasn't what CB was actually striving for (something about the connection between the old Jupiter colony and CB's GN Drives tipped him off, though in typical Gundam 00 fashion we have no idea why the connection was important in understanding CB).

The series also demonstrated that the goal that you state for CB is more or less impossible for another reason as well. During the desert arc the superpowers set up a trap for CB, and would have captured or destroyed all four Gundams if it hadn't been for the intervention of the Thrones (who weren't really members of CB). In that arc, the series demonstrated that the superpowers were capable of taking down the Gundams with the proper preparation before the introduction of the GN-X.

That said i felt 00 brought fresh air into the old gundam TV series concept of teen mecha pilot gets stuck on a small ship that happens to turn the tide of battle while running away from baddies who want them dead.

There have been series that completely ignored this plot. Wing and G, both of which aired in the US, went with something completely different. Wing went with the "guerilla special forces mecha pilots" route, while the goofy G had the Gundam tournaments. SEED went back to the old UC formula, but that was due to an intention to follow the general outline of the MSG plotline (at least until the Alaska arc).