In the distant future, mankind's dependence on fossil fuels will lead to their complete depletion, an energy crisis unlike anything the world witnessed. Out of retaliation and fear, humanity began focusing at an alternative source of energy: solar power. Different nations have united together to form three major factions—the Union of Solar Energy and Free Nations, the Advanced European Union, and the Human Reform League. Each of these sectors has access to a solar power generator, which gives them limitless energy.
As a result, countries that were once dependent on the sale of fossil fuels are now plunged in poverty, leading to years of warfare and internal strife over the control of solar energy. Amid this chaos, an unknown paramilitary organization appeared identifying themselves as "Celestial Being," aspire to end all warfare through armed intervention by using mysterious and technologically advanced Mobile Suits known as Gundams.
Mobile Suit Gundam 00 follows the story of Celestial Being's Gundam Meisters Setsuna F. Seiei, Lockon Stratos, Allelujah Haptism, and Tieria Erde. These four dive into the devastating battle between the three superpowers to accomplish their goal of changing the world.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
staticphrase
I don't remember what it was at first that drew me to Gundam 00, because I ended up in love with it all too fast, which is why I'll try my hardest to toss aside any bias. I haven't seen any of the previous Gundams, I knew about them of course, but never actually sat down and watched them. Partly because 00 had a more sleek art style and partly because the instant contradictions within the plot and characters intrigued me. This review may contain hints of spoilers, but nothing explicit and flat out. STORY- The story is political, to say the least. Because thisis the first season, there's a lot of focus on why things are the way they are, the factions and their goals, observing them discuss, ect. I admit it's a little hard to keep up with sometimes once you feel it start to drone on. Thankfully, it's not that long, and just long enough to get the point across. What interested me the most was a point that was shown through the relationship between Setsuna and Marina. Celestial Being is trying to eradicate war, as they say, but they are fighting to do that. That itself is a huge contradiction, one that isn't ignored by the characters themselves. Setsuna in particular I remember musing over it. Marina on the other hand seeks peace, creating a good-hearted light of hope in all of the violence. The whole thing is very realistic and that was a drawing point. This isn't an alternate universe, this is a version of an imagined future.
ART- Again I'll say it, the sleek art is what drew me the most to 00. I'd seen the previous gundams, but never watched them because the designs nor the style caught me. The character designs themselves are very nice. A crazy crayola crayon box, but nice. Mobile animations and designs were done very fluidly and detailed. If anything, it's not an ugly show to watch at all. It's not full of big eyed girls with moe attitudes, there's a varied female design throughout. Same could be said for the males. While the girl designs feel more futuristic, the boys somehow feel more earthy to me. Still- that's just me.
SOUND- No one's tracked how many times I've raved about 00's OP and EDs. They are the absolute best I've ever seen. The lyrics, the accompanying animation and the whole exhibition of it is produced beautifully. I'm one of those people who normally skip over OPs after so long and never really watch EDs, but every single time I watched both in 00. The soundtrack in itself isn't very noticeable nor memorable, though that didn't bother me much. I was too preoccupied with the OPs and EDs still, because I can't imagine such a string of beauty throughout a whole anime season for anything other than 00.
CHARACTER- This is the point I have to strongly fight that bias. The hugest thing that kept me watching the series was the characters, who I found a relief from all the others that seem to be popping up. The relationships between them, the backgrounds... learning about the characters was a bit slow paced, but rewarding all the same. None of the meisters have had easy pasts. Allelujah finds himself fighting with a split personality from experimentation. Setsuna gained his cold and unaffectionate demeanor from his life as a child soldier. Tieria, an exceptionally mysterious character, isn't what you'd call fully human. Then even the guy who would light up the room with his smile, Lockon, carried a hatred for terrorists within his heart that clouded his judgement.
All of them bond. All of them grow closer without saying anything. Lockon in particular is to thank for these growths, because he is truly the shining light of the show. The one who unites all the others, smiling to help them grow. It's hard not to become attached to his magnetic personality, like him or hate him. Then there are the more minor parts of CB, including a socially awkward young girl who doesn't know how to express herself to people and finds solace in robotics, an alcoholic strategic who never misses a chance to have a drink, a friendly young adult woman who, despite the dreariness she's surrounded with, manages to keep an upbeat and sociable attitude.
And of course there are the antagonists, as well as everyone else. It's quite a cast. The Trinity siblings I felt, didn't get nearly enough screen time, being introduced more than ten episodes into the series, but they were dynamic. They shook up things wherever they went, and were nothing but a joy to see. Never dull. Nena Trinity, the youngest, does an excessively violent act late in the season that truly exhibits the sibling's ruthlessness. The antagonists were intriguing, but they too, I wished had more screen time to really let the viewers get a better feel. All the relationships were so complicated- it made the two civilians, Saji and Louise, stand out like a sore thumb in the cast. Very fun comic relief and a chance to see what's happening through a civilian's point of view. Ultimately, while the two may not seem important, gradually they gain almost the most character development throughout the cast, surprisingly enough.
ENJOYMENT AND OVERALL- If you can sit through some politics, enjoy having your morals questioned and are willing to keep an open mind, it's a fantastic series and I recommend it. As many have said- it's an excellent gundam series to start off with.
CottonCandyLover
Mobile Suit Gundam 00 is yet another addition to Sunrise's long running metaseries Mobile Suit Gundam, as well as the newest in the line of alternative universe Gundams. In a franchise as big as Gundam, it's very easy to get overshadowed by predecessors and living up to the namesake of Gundam is tough. After so many series, it's hard not to recycle the same material and Gundam 00 is no exception. But its unique execution and incorporation of realistic issues going on in this world makes this a series worth checking out by both long time fans and newcomers. Story The premise of Mobile Suit Gundam 00focuses on the paramilitary organization/force known as Celestial Being, and their idealistic goal towards eradicating war through violence itself. Much like fighting fire with fire, the controversial goal of Celestial Being is embodied through mobile suits known as "Gundams" and their armed interventions.
Pitting a paramilitary force and its overpowered mobile suits against the world, you basically get a massive serving of shiny mech to mech action. Not exactly the most innovative. The story's essentially set up so the show can have as many mobile suit battles as possible; and frankly, that isn't a bad thing as long as it's toppled with good characters and drama. It's a decent story, but it's lacking some of the military aspects that Gundam is known for.
Besides the main story, there's also a subplot involving two characters named Saji and Louise. Their purpose is to basically show the viewer the civilian standpoint of Celestial Being's fight against the world's three superpowers. Which is probably the show's only source of slight comic relief and lightheartedness.
Art and Animation
The character designs of the four main Meisters are all quite well done. Much like Gundam Wing, the main characters are all pretty boys. Besides the main characters, we also have our blonde antagonist Graham whose appearance all-around gives the vibe of an ace pilot. Female designs are also done very well, such as Marina, who, though young, gives off a very motherly appearance; a very important aspect regarding her role in the plot.
The Mecha designs of Gundam 00 is very unique in that they're not rehashes of mobile suits from previous series. Gundam Exia (AKA the main main Gundam) offers a very simplistic and futuristic design; in fact, that goes to all the other mobile suit designs in this series. So unlike the Strike Freedom, the Gundams don't have a million things on their backs and enemies don't look overdone as if they were meant to sell model kits. The Mecha designs in 00 are, in my opinion, some of the best in the Gundam metaseries.
The animation in this series is absolutely stunning. You wouldn't find a prettier anime on this planet. Gundam 00 contains some of the most fluid Mecha action I've ever seen. The likes only rivaled by another Sunrise mech, Code Geass R2. Everything in this series is animation gold, from the shading and facial expressions of characters to the GN drive emitting particles from the Gundams. It should be noted that there are some minor slip-ups, but they're passable and like mentioned, minor.
Sound
The sound (speaking of music, not sound effects) in 00 is probably the weakest part of the entire series. This is one of the few things that its predecessor, SEED, is by far superior in. The soundtrack isn't necessarily bad, it just doesn't bring out the mood as effectively as it should. Though there are some great background music such as Fight, Counterattack, and Union.
The OP's and ED's on the otherhand are fantastic. Unlike SEED, new openings use different animation and things are actually MOVING and isn't a slideshow of pictures.
Character
The characters in Gundam 00 are.. interesting. Can't say the score eight is definite as the second season hasn't aired yet. But judging solely on the first season, the characters are all quite reserved if not emotionless. Setsuna, being the main character, has a very interesting if not bloody background to him. Tieria is mysterious and strict, Allelujah is a character struggling with his mind, and Lockon is easygoing and likable, though he harnesses a deep hatred towards terrorists.
Other characters include the Char-like ace pilot Graham, war-loving Ali Al Saachez, and Human Reform League veteran soldier Sergei Smirnov.
The cast in general is a good cast, the characters aren't anything we haven't seen in Gundam before, but maybe that's a good thing.
Enjoyment
It's an enjoyable series, especially towards the end. The Mecha action will glue you to the screen, the characters will make you empathize, and old time Gundam fans will have fun comparing it to Wing and/or finding the Char clone. The show also carries the 'Kill em all' kind of ending done by Director Yoshiyuki Tomino, something UC fans may fancy.
Overall
Gundam 00 is by no means a deep show, it's the Gundam you know and love, with the usual war themes and ideology; all wrapped up in HD goodness. For newcomers, Gundam 00 is a fantastic introduction to the franchise. All-around it's a solid show. Gundam 00 proves once again how sitting in a cockpit while shouting out morals and personal philosophies is a win-win formula even after almost thirty years since its debut.
General impression, summary, and thoughts:
Story: B+ : A storyline you would expect from a mecha geared towards the Shounen demographic.
Art & Animation: A+ : Good interesting mecha and character designs, fluid mecha action.
Sound: B : Weak, forgettable.
Character: B+ : The characters are there, they get developed but overall it's more plot-driven.
Overall: B+ : Another solid installment to the Gundam franchise, a promising ending setting up for the second season.
kiriska
Sunrise seems to have a habit of producing series that simultaneously contain things I really like and things I really hate. In the end, the question always becomes which there's more of. STORY - Sometimes, it's easy to become jaded with the Gundam franchise; it's always another war and another group of over-powered mechs piloted by super-capable teenagers. Each series seems to have its own unique set of deviations though, and that's undoubtedly why the franchise has survived for as long as it has. In 00's case, it's interesting to note that there's no clear-cut war between two factions. The world's existing conflicts are a mixof terrorism, civil war, and totalitarian oppression. Though morals are still cited a lot, there's no clear-cut definition of "good" or "evil," and our protagonists admit up front that they aren't necessarily "good." Some of the politics are eerily similar to some real life current events, but it wasn't clear enough to me whether they were actually trying to make a statement about something or whether it was mostly coincidence. There are also some religious and environmental messages tossed into the mix, but again, not sure if any of it was supposed to be legitimate commentary. If anything though, Sunrise plays good politics.
Our protagonists, the paramilitary organization Celestial Being, declares its purpose to be the eradication of all war, and it aims to do so by intervening with all armed conflicts with their over-powered Gundams... and that's where the ground starts getting shaky. I never really thought the "war to end all wars" thing had much logic to it, but I can still enjoy a show with that sentiment at its core if the storytelling is all right and if events still seem to unfold logically. But Celestial Being was founded two hundred years prior to the events of the series, and all of their technology was developed then. And yet somehow, they are still mad over-powering against armies built on recent technology? Seriously? Realism does not compute. It's frustrating that not a lot is ever said/explained/discovered about the organization's origins throughout the course of the series, and I really don't understand the need for 00 to be split into two seasons. I don't buy that it's just the four year timeskip because Gurren Lagann proved that you could have a hugely significant timeskip mid-series no problem.
For the record, I hated the ending of this first season. It goes along fine for a while, but then we get this supremely rushed-feeling, arbitrary, and cobbled-together series of events that seemed to serve little purpose beyond hitting some sort of end-point for the season. And the thing I hate the most about Sunrise? Faked character deaths. Zombie characters. They're notorious for it, yes. No body means no death in Sunrise, but knowing this doesn't make it any less infuriating every time they do it. The Zombie problem alone made me disinclined to care about the second season, especially since I felt like they could have legitimately ended the series at 25 episodes if they had cut out a thus far pointless subplot and replaced it with relevant information about Celestial Being. Oh, Sunrise...
CHARACTER - Ensemble casts always wrestle with the problem of underdeveloped characters, and this is especially problematic in 00. It took me a really long time (probably at least ten episodes, which is way too long) to get into the characters and to care about them, and even then, my interest was limited. Of the four pilots, Setsuna's past is expanded upon the most, and I found it interesting the way the viewers' perception of him changed the more we learned even though Setsuna himself doesn't start to grow/change much until the near-end of the season. Allelujah's character and past isn't terribly inspired, but I think the acting really helped to garner audience sympathy to his case, and I liked the way his split personality was portrayed through reflections.
Lockon probably has the most terrible name pun ever (though H/Allelujah is pretty bad too), but I can live knowing that it's only a code name. That aside, he was probably the most generic of the pilots. Easy-going, friendly, righteous, and all that. Nothing special...except that his Haro is probably the most ridiculously adorable incarnation of a Haro ever. I also really appreciated the fact that there was some age disparity between the pilots. Setsuna is sixteen. Lockon is twenty-four. Everyone isn't a fifteen year-old kid! Oh, and Tieria? We never learn anything about Tieria, so I didn't really care about him at all. Sure, there's a whole 'nother season to explain things in, but I shouldn't need to wait that long to care. It's always a problem if I don't care about the characters.
The other characters... ugh, there are just too many of them, and I didn't care about any of them. There were too many characters trying to play puppetmaster and making brief, unexplained appearances every few episodes, and none of them seem to have an interesting motivation or ambition. I am tired of characters trying to take over the world, and I'm sure you are too. Even Celestial Being's founder felt like he was trying to force the world into something... Marina Ismail? She was generic to the point that I had no sympathy for her for that reason alone. Graham Akre? I don't care about your vengeance-driving bullshit. Ali Al-Saachez? Don't care. Super Soldier #1? Whatever. The worst of it was the gigantic subplot involving the civilian characters. Their scenes were awkwardly woven into the politics, morals, and action, and I was thoroughly annoyed with all of it. Most likely, this subplot will lead up to something that (might hopefully kind of) be relevant in the second season, but that's too long of a build-up for me.
ARTSTYLE & ANIMATION - The animation in 00 is pretty top notch. The mecha battles are slick, clean, and super entertaining to watch. The Gundam designs are fun and unique, and I'm especially fond of Exia (come on, anything with seven blades has to be badass). The other mech designs, as well as the battleship designs, are also pretty neat.
Unfortunately, I found the character designs to be a bit lacking. Aside from Tieria's overt androgyny, I appreciated that they didn't have crazy wild appearances, and it is neat that many of the characters are supposed to be of different nationalities, but in the end, it's just supposing. If they never mentioned that Lockon is Irish, that Setsuna is Kurdish, that Saji is Japanese, you'd never know. Especially among the female characters, I felt like I'd seen them all before. Generic political figures, generic princesses, generic prettyboys. It didn't help that I had a hard time distinguishing some characters from others for a good five or six episodes; blame it on my own crappy memory and incompetence, but even so.
MUSIC - Well, I'm pretty biased towards both opening themes for 00. As a L'Arc~en~Ciel fan, I loved "Daybreak's Bell" long before I ever saw this series, and as I'm currently on a Tomoko Kawase kick thanks to Soul Eater's second opening, I've come to really love "Ash Like Snow" as well. They're both great songs though, and I always love when the lyrics feel relevant to the actual series. The end themes didn't feel as exciting in contrast, but once again, it could just be my bias towards the two bands doing the openings. (Actually, I found the first end theme, "Wana," to be pretty annoying...)
The background music for the series pales in contrast to its theme songs, as well as previous Gundam series like SEED, and other Sunrise mecha series like Code Geass. Very few tracks stood out to me during the series; the few that did were generally battle themes, but even those were pretty subpar. It wasn't terrible music, so it didn't really take away from the experience, but I'm sure a lot of scenes would have been better had there been a more emotional or meaningful soundtrack.
VOICE ACTING - Pretty average for the most part. Allelujah has a very unique-sounding and emotional voice; I think that's one of the reasons I warmed up to his character, and Setsuna was interesting in that he's one of the first monotone-voiced characters that didn't seriously annoy me. I appreciate the versatility of Miyano's voice -- it's very easy to distinguish his many roles. Beyond that, none of the other characters really stood out to me. Nothing amazing, but each character had a voice that suited them perfectly well.
Edit; I saw one episode of the English dub (episode #11). Overall, it was pretty lulz-worthy. Tieria and Lockon both sound better than I expected, but they still feel awkward and unnatural, particularly Tieria, though I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that many of his lines are kind of corny. Setsuna didn't have a very big role in the episode, but the few lines he did have also impressed me. Swalie's voice is much more versatile than I thought. Cox on the other hand... Allelujah sounds terrible. The voice doesn't suit him at all and really made him seem like an entirely different character. Hallelujah is passable, but Allelujah fails utterly. Much of the secondary cast feels just as awkward, sadly: both Graham Akre and Billy Katagiri are very lulzy; Feldt and Marina are super generic, as are Col. Smirnoff and Soma; Sumeragi is actually pretty okay, but it can't be hard to sound "okay" when everyone else is just so... wtf. I don't think I'll be watching any more of the dub. The "sound" score component is not affected by the dub.
OVERALL - I think this review might have turned out a bit more negative than I intended just because I'm still annoyed with the season's ending. You might wonder what I actually liked about 00. Well, I enjoyed the story and main conflict for the most part. It's always good to see a blurring of good and evil, especially when characters try so hard to convince themselves that they're doing the right thing. If I could score this series somewhere between a 7 and an 8, I would. 7 feels a bit harsh, but 8 feels too generous. I think 00's main problem is just that there are too many little details to the plot and few of them are explained properly; similarly, there are too many characters, and none of them get the attention they deserve. The intense build-up for the second season leaves this first season pretty void of substance, which is really disappointing. If you're going to divide up your forces, divide them evenly, huh?
I'll see how this second season goes though, but Zombie characters isn't a really great place to start if you ask me.
edgewalker00
maybe you've read it from somewhere or heard it before but let me state it again, Gundam 00 makes me reminiscent of Gundam Wing, one of the best Gundam series (in my opinion) with regards to story, character, and mechas. However, Gundam 00 have developed its own form of respect that made it surpass some other Gundam series in its own field. for one, this is the best series so far that excelled much in art style, making efficient use of modern day technology to improve the graphic quality of this anime. from the sleek coloring and the defined mech designs, i believe that this series reeledit in.
the story may have an old feel with Wing but it certainly had its own touch of realism and feasibility in it. taking the old aspect of "Gundams are justice" and "Gundams against the world" Gundam 00 featured more struggle as compared to its predecessors. though the idea of one Gundam capable of taking on hordes of enemies is feasible at first (as it always have been in the Gundam series), this invincibility has been sabotaged ingeniously by the weakness of the pilots. like wing, no matter how powerful your mechas are, faced against quite a number of enemies, the chances of human error escalates, decreasing the capabilities of a God-like savior.
it is in this respect that i really enjoyed Gundam Wing and now, Gundam 00. the paradox of powerful robots piloted by simple human beings gives this anime realism and puts limitations to one's imagination.
also, there are no overly-powerful mechas in Gundam 00. everyone has its drawbacks as if each were designed with balance in mind.
Exia for instance specializes in close combat capabilities but have difficulty with mid-range and long ranged fights. dynames specializes in ranged fire but have difficulty when the enemy gets too close. kyrios is maneuverable and well balanced but does not excel much in fields of long range and close range fights, it simply is maneuverable and has average capabilities. virtue has insane firepower that can take down mobs but wear out its energy is easily. to compensate for this, each unit is assigned with a partner best suit to back each other up. exia is paired with dynames for cover in long range while virtue is backed up with kyrios which easily dodges the energy cannon used by virtue.
it is on this series that the concept of teamwork matters more rather than taking on them all alone. also, the mesiters know that it is best in warfare to finish enemies off before they increase in number as they would be having much difficulty later on. they know the rules of warfare and apply it on each of their battles.
i also believe that the mesiter's roles and attitudes affect the "humanity" of their Gundams. their lack of experience, their constant complaints as to why the world is evil, their regrets and pains. i think that balances their mech's power, giving birth to a powerful being that's limits is exceeded by human will.
If you like to watch how one-sided losing battles are fought realistically, i recommend watching Gundam 00.
honsou
So for a little background i am a old school Gundam fan, I love all the UC series and tend to hate the newer series. Now i was planning on never seeing this series, but after talking with people who know a lot about mecha i decided to give it a shot, and wow was I very disappointed. The gundam pilots or as they are called in this show "meisters" have no depth to them at all. They have the personality of a paper plate and even after seeing their background nothing is really added to those characters. The gundam's themselves are over the topand so ridiculous at some points i couldn't help but laugh. The one saving grace of this show are the enemies. Characters from the other 3 countries are pretty well developed, and pretty damn likable. The mecha designs are nice and realistic. For most of the show i found my self cheering for them hoping beyond hope that they would be able to beat the odds and defeat the gundam's. So overall its 3, its really just Gundam Wing with very likable bad guys.
killbethy
I'm not going to compare Gundam 00 to any other of the Gundam series. Gundam 00 is the only Gundam series to not take place in an alternate universe, but instead takes place in the future of our own. The year is 2309 AD. With the exhaustion of fossil fuels, mankind split into three power blocs to build orbital or space elevators, brining a never ending supply of solar energy to the earth. Despite this advancement, the three power blocs are still in a state almost equivalent to a Cold War, developing military technology to stay ahead of other powerblocs and competing in a space race. The story takes place around the paramilitary organization Celestial Being, an organization founded over 200 years ago with its members sword to secrecy to achieve one goal: the eradication of conflict on Earth through armed interventions to unite the Earth before mankind ventures out further into space. To achieve their goals, they utilize mobile suits called Gundams, technology generations in advance to that found on Earth. With the beginning of their armed interventions, humanity and the three power blocs are forced to recognize and respond to Celestial Being. Gundam 00 is an intriguing story of comraderie, corruption, betrayal, passion in the face of adversity, and a testament to humanity's desire to exist/
The animation in Gundam 00 is unprecedented; almost the entire staff of Sunrise was utilized in its development. Each mobile suit, whether it be a main Gundam or a minor suit of the power blocs, is exquisitely designed with outstanding detail. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that there has never been a series in which mechas are so extravagent and breathtaking to see. The background animation of countless different places on Earth and in space are amazing. The artwork fully brings the universe of Gundam 00 to life in vibrant colors and designs. The battle sequences are smooth and detailed. Each character is given a unique look, unlike many animes in which all characters look the same spare different hairstyles and colors.
The music and sound effects in Gundam 00 are also outstanding, with opening themes done by major Japanese acts L'arc-en-Ciel and Brilliant Green, accompanied by excellent insert songs and endings as well. Every movement and every attack in the battles is realistic and pulls you into the action. The voice acting is also outstanding, producing Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor awards in the Seiyuu Awards of 2008.
The characters are fleshed out very well, especially the Gundam Meisters and Celestial Being's strategical planner, Sumeragi. While a part of the show is to keep their backgrounds a mystery, as the details are revealed, their actions completely agree with their backgrounds, creating well-rounded and unique characters. Even the civilian characters who give the viewers perspective of the affects of the Gundam's actions on Earth are very well rounded. The reason holding me back from giving the characters a 10 is that there is still a second season coming (a continuation of the first) where more information will be revealed. Right now, quite a bit of the main characters of Celestial Beings secrets are still hidden under layers, since their true identities are classified within the story.
Gundam 00 is for any type of anime viewer, from the casual to the mecha or Gundam enthusiast. If the amazing artwork doesn't draw you in, the story and characters will or vice versa. Even if you want to pay no heed to the story, the stunning visuals during battles are worth watching on their own. Very rarely is there a wasted moment in the show, spare one recap episode told from a different character's perspective. I can't possibly recommend this series more highly.
Monkey_D_Luffy
Story: Basically, there's a terrorist organization known as Celestial Being that carries out missions and plans to eradicate war and make the world a peaceful place, by using force and, well, violence. Their weapon that makes them so strong are the Gundams. This sounds like a maybe somewhat cliche plot that anyone can think of, like the whole fighting for peace stuff and all, but the idea really is elevated to an amazing level. So many twists, unexpected events, and trials all arise during the story that make is marvelous, which I'm not gonna go into detail about, for that would be spoiling. The story isn'treally amazing in the beginning, but it quickly becomes spectacular, and the build up to the second season is perfect.
Art:
The artwork and animation is pretty top-notch. Even with the intricate Gundam designs, I've never noticed any errors such as disproportional parts and such. Everything, form the beginning to the end, is done very well. The Gundam designs, as well as the character designs, were the best I've seen in the Gundam franchise. All of the fight scenes are greatly animated and well executed.
Sound:
The OPs and EDs are all very good and well suited for the series (I especially like Daybreak's Bell ^_^.) The sound effects are great, from the explosions to the sounds of beam sabers and beam rifles. The voice acting is also really good. All of the voices fit the characters nicely and were good choices. The background is pretty good as well, always fitting the scene quite nicely.
Character:
People can say they don't like how emotional and all the main cast can be at times, but in my opinion, I greatly prefer that over just 4 dudes that are just fighting for the hell of it and have absolutely no purposes for killing tons of people for their career on a daily basis. It makes the characters seem very real and deep, and gives them a lot of depth. The main cast, the 4 Gundam Meisters, are all really cool in my opinion, and all of them are very likable for their differences and certain qualities they all possess, as well as each of their individual pasts and their reasons for being Meisters.
However, what I think was good about this, was that the series also was able to focus on other side characters very well, particularly Louise and Saji, who although they don't seem to have much of an important role in this season, will probably be pretty important in season 2.
Enjoyment:
Gundam 00 is extremely enjoyable. The action and battles are magnificent, especially towards the end of the series. The drama and emotion portrayed is superb, again, especially during the sad moments towards the end of the season. The cast all have their own secrets that gradually are uncovered (to a certain extent,) and the story takes several turns to keep you on the edge of your seat. All these qualities make the enjoyment level simply outstanding, especially if you're a Gundam fan.
lonestar6969
WOW, i've never seen gundam before and wanted to get into it and Gundam 00 is a great introduction into gundams.For those of you's who never seen gundam, give this one a go as there are no previous knowledge you need to know in order to enjoy gundam 00 and all technical stuff was explained nicely :O The artwork is breathtaking and i rate it the best mecha artwork i have seen to date, it is very detailed and even the common enemy mecha's are very pleasing and detailed. Sometimes you'd just want to pause and stare in wonder :D. The story line was veryvery intriguing, you got a bunch of people trying to END WAR with WAR, so we're talking about 4 mechas taking on the world, some serious under dogginess. You'd expect it to be one sided cuase "these gundams must be super or something" to take on the world and at first the gundams own just about anything... but the world quickly catches up and the battles are quite even.
It was entertaining in that i was curious to see what would happen and go deeper in each of the characters past and their struggle to fight off overwhelming numbers was very intense. Also the stroy line was unpredictable as the story made me feel no one could be trusted and conflicted sometimes in deciding who really was the good guy and bad guy.
OH and the music.... great J pop, got some on my music player and banging away as i type lol
EXEs
Gundam 00 was the first Gundam series I've actually finished, and I actually found it very entertaining. Hearing about the failure of its predecessor, Gundam Seed Destiny, I initially approached this series with some apprehension, but that was all forgotten at the first episode. Story: The plot of the story is...unusual. Basically, 299 years from now, there is a private military group main objective is for the eradication of armed conflict through their Gundams. Basically, to destroy war, they will fight it (Quite ironic) The story of Gundam 00 is filled with politics, and on average, an episode will consist of more than half the episodecontaining political matters. Despite it sounding tedious, the political significance in Gundam 00 is what makes it stand out, and it shows us the World of Gundam 00 through a different perspective. Another thing unusual about Gundam 00 is that there is no clear "good" or "bad" side. The show is viewed through 3, main different perspectives; The civilian's, the main factions, and Celestial Beings, and whilst Celestial Being's goal sounds like a good idea, the views from another perspective show it differently, such as their interference with global conflict caused terrorist groups to attack innocent civilians. This element alone makes Gundam 00 very interesting to watch, and it doesn't follow the cliche that the main characters are the "good" guys, and their goal is marred by the "bad guys", but rather, it shows the good and bad of all perspectives.
Art: I will say, the art in Gundam 00 is very good, and it is particularly outstanding when showing mobile suits. This is nothing like Gundam Seed/Destiny, absolutely no stock footage reused. The battle animations are all of extreme high quality, and they are amazing to watch. Unfortunately, battle sequences tend to be quite short, tending to last less than 3 minutes. The mech designs also look very well designed, whether they be the Gundams, the Overflags, the GN-Xs, etc... The people themselves also look very nice, and the females of their series look particularly beautiful with their "00" figures (Great breasts).
Sound: The sound quality is on the same level of Gundam Seed/Destiny, but it sounds completely different. Whilst GS/D have excellent pop music accompanying the series, the music in Gundam 00 shines particularly during battle sequences. The battle music is plentiful, and there is a lot of variety to match the many moods of the fights throughtout the series. The OP and EDs are, surprising, all great tracks, particularly the two OPs. The VAs also did very well, although it was a bit odd seeing Rie Kugimiya voice Nena Trinity (Who had a very well developed figure, in contrast to the loli figured characters Rie Kugimiya is famous for voicing).
Character: This is where Gundam 00 falls a little short. The main characters did not really recieve any character development until halfway through the series, and were generally quite bland. Tieria in particular was quite an unappealing character, because he felt the current Gundam Meisters were not fit for their roles, until later on, when he started to warm up and the Meisters truly worked as a team. Saji and Louise are shown frequently in Gundam 00, and were quite annoying until the death of Louise's family caused by Celestial Being near the middle of the anime. There is a lot of character history as well, and it is often shown how it has affected them and why certain characters act in a certain way. Overall, character development really accelerated for the main cast shortly after the Trinities appeared.
Enjoyment: Gundam 00 was a very enjoyable show to watch every week, because the show content was interesting, the fights were beautiful, the political dialogue was intriguing, and because it was different from all the other shows. I definitely like how the battles were evenly matched when the Gundams were outnumbered, when their opposition as superior stratagetic thinking, and when the factions obtained same-level mobile suits, to show us the flaws of Celestial Being and the fact that they are not all powerful.
Overall: I consider this a very realistic (Compared to all the animes out there) anime, and it's quite pleasing to see that they managed to merge real-life issues (Post 9/11 mood) and present this show in a "grey" view, as opposed to the usual black and white. I recommend this show for anyone who truly appreciates quality over quantity (battles), an interesting story and mechs. This is only the first half, and the highly anticipated second half airs this fall.
sushiisawesome
Quick Note: This review will occasionally mention references to other entries in the Gundam franchise for comparison's sake as well as quality of execution compared to other entries, while also making this review as friendly as possible to people who have no experience with the franchise. Please note that this review ONLY includes the first season. I am also more than willing to answer any questions if any part of this review is not instantly understood by the readers. Anyway, onto the review. The Gundam meta-series is a colossal franchise in Japan, not unlike the Star Wars or Star Trek franchises in the West. The franchise spawnsanime series, OVAs, movies, novels, manga adaptations and had received previously unrivaled popularity in Japan thanks to its compelling story-lines, simplistic but well-thought out dialogue, like-able and most importantly well-developed characters. The franchise hasn't, unfortunately, been as successful with the Western audience and thrown aside due to unpopular stereotypes people who dislike certain entries in the franchise keep ranting about, ranging from how the characters never die apparently, to how the mechs have plot armor when the pilots are inside them, to how naive and idealistic the main characters are to how forced the element of understanding is. While these stereotypes do apply to certain entries, they do not apply to all of them and are overly exaggerated by the inexperienced viewers of the franchise.
How well does the first season of Gundam 00 do then? Is it a return to the glory days of the Universal Century timeline (for those who don't know, the first Gundam timeline) or is it yet another pointless cash grab after the atrocity that was SEED Destiny and just another stain in the franchise's name?
To begin with, Gundam 00 has a very unique and interesting, if a bit idealistic at first, premise. An organization led by a man who died over 200 years ago has come with four overpowered machines to bring peace to the world and fight, as the series puts it, a "war to end all wars" and obliterate conflict.
Aside from the obvious reference to World War I, the first season is extremely morally gray and it becomes clear quickly that there are good people fighting on almost all sides. The show is obviously centered around the four Gundam pilots, but it is a genuinely pleasant surprise to see that the series focuses on letting us know how people from around the world feel about this conflict. All sorts of opinions about how people perceive the coming of the Gundam pilots and the advantages and disadvantages that such an organization brings with it helps make the viewer feel that they are part of the world these characters are living in. The other parties involved in this conflict and the soldiers who fight for them against the threat that was Celestial Being are also ambiguous, which helps us understand and sympathize with these characters rather than merely see them as one note villains (if they are villains at all in the eyes of the viewer).
Another aspect that is extremely well-done in 00 aside from how well the setting and viewpoints are fleshed out are the extreme resemblance certain events in the show have with actual political events (9/11 in particular, not unlike Gundam SEED), and this is made especially obvious with the Middle Eastern crisis where the power blocs in the show decide to toy around with that region of the world, to the point where the region is so divided that the power blocs continue exploiting it through both direct and indirect means. The aspect that deserves special praise is how it portrays religious extremism in an effective manner without making all people who believe in religion retards, but instead showing that there are good people (I'm emphasizing this a lot, I know) on every side fighting for what they believe in.
The plot is not perfect however, and Celestial Being have too much plot armor at the most convenient moments. The battles are still intense for most of the show and they are paced well enough within the main story without detracting from the value of the battles or the plot, but the flaw still stands and the season goes on for too long without answering important plot related questions where I felt it could have answered everything and ended here. Nevertheless, the show still gets a high score because at the end of the day, a flawed plot with well-explored themes sounds much better than a plot with no loopholes but hardly any substance or value.
Studio Sunrise have thankfully improved greatly in this aspect from their dismal performance in Gundam SEED Destiny. The animation is amazingly fluid with very few repeated frames during the battles and series in general, and special mention goes to the opening scene for looking absolutely gorgeous. The coloring fits the mood of the show while at the same time looking colorful and vibrant rather than dull and lifeless, which is an enhanced advantage that carries over from Gundam SEED (which, with all its flaws was still a very colorful show). The same cannot be said for the artwork, which while well above-average feels out of place for a show like this. Every girl has massive breasts (because lord forbid that women don't have giant breasts) and every man in the show looks... well, questionable? Tieria gets special mention here, considering I haven't seen a single person who I've introduced this show to mention him as a guy. As well as having purple hair. But anyway, the artwork is a far cry from bad, and the characters have very distinct facial expressions and features, which is better than them having the same face with different eye colors and hair colors like most anime series, so this show still looks great despite the fact that I personally feel that a more seinen like art-style would work better with it.
The soundtrack isn't particularly memorable (save for perhaps the battle music) though it does fit the mood of the show and I do not think that I can remember any moments where the sound effects felt wrongly placed or the wrong piece of music played at the wrong time.
The voice acting was well-done and all the voices fit the characters (special mention here goes to Setsuna's Mamoru Miyano and Smirnov's Unsho Ishizuka). The opening and ending songs are AMAZING, special mention goes to the second opening, Ash Like Snow and second ending, Friends. The English voice acting is decent and lacks the questionable Engrish of the sub, but I found the subbed version easier to emotionally invest in. The dub is still passable if you only watch dubs, but I personally recommend the subs more. The dub deserves a special mention for the AMAZING performance of Setsuna's Brad Swaile, who perfectly captures Setsuna's cold, distant yet tragic character.
Gundam 00 has a variety of interesting characters, which are all interesting in their own right.The Gundam pilots are the stars of this show and their interactions with each other and other characters as well as their backgrounds are the most interesting part of the show. There's the soldiers fighting on the other sides as well, most notable of which are Graham Aker who is Setsuna's main rival as well as Smirnov and Marie, who provide a more mature perspective to the show. The other characters are unfortunately not as interesting and tend to be used as plot points to drive the themes of the show forward, which while leads to some interesting character development for some of them (Saji and Louise deserve mention here) still feels forced and not as compelling as it should have.
The best character of this show is undeniably Setsuna, who a lot of people would consider a mash up of Sousuke from Full Metal Panic and Heero from Gundam Wing. I consider these comparisons superficial at best, since Setsuna feels more compelling due to his past and beliefs than either of them (though Sousuke is funnier and Heero has nostalgia behind him). Speaking about any character in this show would contain spoilers, unfortunately, so I'll merely state that all four Gundam pilots are compelling due to his past and beliefs than either of them (though Sousuke is funnier and Heero has nostalgia behind him). Speaking about any character in this show would contain spoilers, unfortunately, so I'll merely state that all four Gundam pilots are compelling characters which stand on their own from their respective archetypes despite having unnerving similarities to the characters from Wing (Setsuna being similar to Heero, Lockon to Duo, Allelujah to Trowa and Tieria to Wufei).
As a Middle Easterner, this show was a breath of fresh air in the sea of a lot of shows that attempt to be morally gray about religious conflicts but failed. The series is extremely entertaining and offers something for the viewer that wants something intelligent as well. There are flaws, but they are not enough for me to say that they stood in the way of me enjoying this show; I highly recommend this show and wholeheartedly recommend the franchise as a whole, as there is very little to regret and a lot to love.
Thank you very much for reading this review!
CodeBlazeFate
Sometimes you shouldn't complicate simplicity. Gundam 00 is a peculiar installment in its franchise. Being an introduction into the Gundam franchise for many a fan, myself included, it has arguably become the most popularly viewed entry besides Wing. One could say that the writers looked at Wing and decided to take some of the base elements of it to create their own story that touched on war-related issues of the current times. Then that same person could say that they probably should have followed Wing just a little more loosely given how convoluted and nonsensical circumstances regarding the main group became. A group known as “Celestial Being”has appeared in the distant future with one simple objective: fight to bring peace and end all war. Many factions across the globe disagree with their objective which seems aggressively contrary to their methods. Four young adult pilots, half of whom have been affected by war, are deployed by Celestial Being to stop disputes with force, relying on what Gundam fans have referred to as the “overkill formula”, in which single machines mow down dozens of mooks at a time. Sounds relatively simple enough as long as the show manages to highlight and keep track of the multiple factions. The idea comes with the potential to explore all sorts of concepts related to war, terrorism, protests, and global violence in ways unique to the timeline, while slowly peeling the layers of each major combatant. To an extent, 00 seems to capitalize on this potential, even showing a more personal example of what happens to civilians caught in the crossfires of battle.
Then we get the robot equivalent to Dragon Ball Z’s Kai-o-ken, an extra private faction that hijacks a poorly explained supercomputer the main protagonists’ faction was using, a council that oversees all of this, even more private investors with their own agendas that get killed off unceremoniously, special particle beams that prevent healing, a myriad of poorly-conceived world-building mechanics that get dropped after what little exploration they had such as the space colonies, a badly done newtype-esque type attribute known as quantum brain-waves, and the knowledge that the series has dropped the ball in making sure we are able to keep up with every private faction. This isn’t even going into the cloning, the innovade/innovator business, Zeta Gundam plagiarism and self-contradictions galore, the increased levels of over-complication in regards to the quantum brain wave mechanic that defines the timeline from the moment one of the main characters gets affected by it as early as episode 3 of season 1, and superpowers that allow communication with the dead, all of which occur in the second season!
I’m sorry, was that overwhelming? Good; now you know what watching the 00 series is like!
One could argue that this series is best enjoyed without attempting to stretch your mental capacity to house all the convoluted nonsense and mental-gymnastics taken by the second half of season 1 onwards. Thanks to the flashy and well-animated mech battles with loads of colorful particles and explosions, and the sexy character designs that pave the way for many moments of casual semi-nudity without the need for fanservice, I’d agree. The designs of each mech are nowhere near as iconic or memorable as those of most other installments, but they do serve their purpose in seeming like the aggressive war machines they are. The music, while certainly not up to Kenji Kawai’s standard, has some decently memorable tracks that do an acceptable job of complimenting the plethora of fights shown throughout. The opening themes also serve well at getting people excited for each episode, as mediocre and often meaningless as each episode may be. They also represent the state of the show in each half, with the first being more simple and about characters getting to know each other and how things are beginning to play out, and the second being more chaotic and more intense in nature, as the action and overall emotional baggage rack up. Sadly, the ending themes, which do follow this, are less enjoyable.
For anyone hoping the characters would provide much of the enjoyment you would likely obtain from the show, just know this won’t likely be the case. The main 4 are mostly simple enough. Allelujah Haptism and Setsuna F Seiei (get used to these kinds of names) had the potential to be the most interesting in the show, given that the former suffers from split-personality disorder and that the latter, who is the main protagonist, is a more reserved and agitated chap who became a child soldier who grew to display trust and touch issues after being betrayed. They only somewhat capitalize on these personal aspects, more so for Allelujah than Setsuna, as the latter is largely Heero Yui from Wing, but with more baggage. Lockon Stratos is the most easy-going and friendly of the bunch, so many will deem him the most likable, even when the chips are down and he gets angry at his comrades or at terrorists. Contrast this with the initially unlikable and ultimately boring Tieria Erde. The rest of the astronomically large cast was largely tolerable, with very few standouts in positive or negative regards. The few exceptions include the fun and determined Graham Acker, the gloriously evil Ali al Saachez --both of whom are Setsuna’s main rivals--, and a painfully disappointing trio that joins the main 4 in the second half. Few are badly written per se, beyond how the script becomes a joke towards the end, but most of the potential many of these characters had is lost, with the second season doing them no favors. You might enjoy the rest of the crew the main protagonists collaborate with, notably the commander, Sumeragi, but getting attached to the wrong crew member may cost you towards the end. They are likely the best characters in the show, given that they allow for some pleasant and even humorous interactions with the main cast and even each other.
Gundam 00 was a potentially captivating series squandered by an unchecked need for complication and drama. As such, its characters feel wasted and its world feels poorly developed and half-baked. You will find fun with the action scenes as well as a few of the side characters and their interactions, but you would want to treat this series as simpler than it actually is, lest you watch it start to be torn apart by the power of expectations and critical thinking. 00 goes downhill from here, so if you wish to start this, just know you’re getting the best of what the timeline has to offer pretty early on.
apolloisfine
As a first-time Gundam watcher, i must say this show really is something. Story: - 9.3/10 (A) The story is about Gundam Meisters who work for Celestial Being (catchy name lol), a group who's main goal is to permanetly stop wars while fighting. Stopping war with more war? Well, it's odd but somehow interesting. We have Setsuna F. Seiei, the newest Meister and well, a cheery fellow. (His name means pain, ain't that perfect for him?) Next we have Hallelujah (Hallelujah!!! lol i had to do that), a Meister with an odd past. He has another side to him called Allelujah (Take out the H), a moreevil and sinister person. Interesting.. . Next we have Tieria Erde, a really depressing guy (guy right?) who follows the rules to where we want to call him a geek. And then we have Lockon, a really funny guy with a cool little sidekick with wise cracks. So in other words we have: Two depressing people, one cheery, and one who's half and half. Now that's a bringer.Then we have Saji and Louise, the characters that show a regular person's view of the whole Celestial Being deal. Really interesting there, i like that concept. I'm a sucker for political/mecha/shounen anime, so this really won't disappoint.
Animation: - 9.5/10 (A)
It seems every scene of Gundam is beautifully animated. The fights do not disappoint. Sometimes it can be way too animated to where it looks ridiculous and sometimes it's really well animated on a scene where it doesn't have to.
Sound: - 7.9/10 (C+)
The music isn't so memorable, however. The pieces are amazing, but you forget them the next episode. The first OP, "Daybreak's Bell" is a instant favorite. I don't listen to the ED's, however i can just as speculate they are good as well. Next is "Ash Like Snow", a good "before an ultra mega fight" song, but after listening to it 100 times on my iPod i suddenly got tired of hearing it.
Characters: - 9/10 (A-)
Well, like many popular animes, Gundam is no stranger to the hype that is known as "Having many characters makes you look awesome". But unlike most shows, Gundam manages to give each character a reasonably good amount of airtime. From the Union to the A.E.U to the Human Reform League, we got a ton of characters. Sure i can't name them all, but i can remember their faces pretty well.
Enjoyment: - 9.1/10 (A) / Overall (Averaged): 8.96/10 (B+)
Gundam 00 is definetly a show worth watching. I know, i know: "I've had it with mecha anime!". We've all seen Macross, Geass, and Gurren Lagann but they all fail in comparison to Gundam (mainly because Gundam has been around since 1979). I'm definetly buying the DVD's, even donating to Sunrise for their hard work on this great show.
srsng
Gundam Wing, Gundam G, Gundam Seed, Gundam Seed Destiny etc... There are so many gundam series out there so why bother watching another gundam saga? Story: Set in the year 2307 AD, Gundam 00 focuses on Celestial beings and their aim to eradicate war through force with the use of mobile suits known as Gundams. Well, almost all people have a view of what the gundam story is like: aiming for peace and there’s mech to mech battle. This one has somewhat the same scene, but the only difference is that gundams in here are contradictory to what people think gundams should be. In here, the protagonists (gundams)are the ones using force to fight those that pose a threat to peace even though there's "no action of war yet" therefore creating chaos. So this is a twist to the usual gundam story, wherein people’s impression is that gundams bring peace and are the saviors.
Aside from the missions of the Gundam Meisters to eradicate war, there is also a light subplot involving Louise and Saji. They stand on the civilian side’s point of view, and I guess, this is the light part of the story.
The story doesn’t present a one-sided view point, but presents to us a multi-view point story line. It not only presents the view point of the main character – Celestial Beings, but also the view point of the opposing force – AEU, UNION and HRL and even the civilian’s view point – Saji and Loiuse.
Score: 10
Art and Animation:
The characters are well done. Main characters are pretty boys and girls. Antagonists aren’t drawn one sided. There’s Ali Al Sachees’ appearance that gives a creepy war freak feeling and Graham’s appearance gives of a feel of ace pilot.
The mecha designs are very unique. The mechas in here have simplistic and futuristic design and is innovative – not using energy wings or boosters.
The series boasts of awesome high definition visuals. The animation is very fluid and very detailed. From the movement of the gundams down to the emission of the GN particles everything is exquisitely done.
Score: 10
Characters:
The characters are very interesting. The main characters each have a different vibe. There’s Setsuna F Seiei who is silent but not emotionless, Allelujah who has a split personality, Lokon who is easygoing, Tiera who is very mysterious and strict but caring.
There’s also Marina Ismail, a very naïve princess that gives off a motherly image. She saw the world in a different view point because of Setsuna and I think she's similar to WINGS's Releena. Although the only difference is that Releena has more power and has a firm resolve than Marina.
The cast overall is excellent.
Score: 10
Enjoyment:
The fast paced plot, action and mecha fights will keep you glued to your seats. The mystery behind each main character will keep you asking for more. Fans may compare it to WING but it still has its own charm and originality.
Overall:
I say its story line is unpredictable especially the last episode. All in all, Gundam 00 has again marked its own place in the realm of mecha animes. I say this is the way mecha anime should be.
TakaCode
The Gundam franchise has been a part of my life now ever since I was re-introduced to the franchise thanks to Gundam Build Fighters and Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans. Throughout my journey from this franchise I had seen a lot of great from this franchise but at the same time a lot of bad from this franchise. Nevertheless, I still had a great time watching all of the Gundam shows from this franchise and I don‘t regret it one bit. The U.C Gundam shows are mostly great sure they had its weak moments like ZZ and Victory but out of all the Gundam timelines, the U.C timeline isthe most polished of them all.
Now the alternate universe overall are hit or mess depending on your tastes and some alternate universe Gundam shows were good others ranged from meh to pretty bad.
Out of all the alternate universe, Gundam shows Gundam 00 got the most praise from the franchise even surpassing Wing and Seed.
So with all that said does Gundam 00 deserve that praise and does it hold when compared to the other Gundam shows before and ever since?
Hello, everyone, this is Shawn aka KurataLordStage and welcome to my review of Gundam 00 seasons 1 and 2 and with that out of the way let’s get started.
Story.
The year is 2307 as the result of the depletion of fossil fuels humanity now had to search for a new source of power. The power was found in the form of solar-powered Dyson rings orbiting the earth and supported by three orbital elevators. Each orbital elevator was served by one of the three power blocks of the planet which consists of the Union, The Human Reform League and AEU (Advanced European Union). Despite having this near inexhaustible source of power it really only seemed to benefit the major powers and allies and because of these minor countries of the world plunging into poverty and constantly break out into warfare just for fuel and energy.
This ongoing chaos led to the actual creation of a private organization called celestial being whose main goal to end wars and end humanity. To accomplish this they created four powerful mobile suits each piloted by four people called Gundam meisters.
The four misters being Setsuna F Seiei, Lockon Stratos, Allelujah Haptism and Tieria Erde. Together they carry out various missions to intervene acts of war throughout the war while the three powers try to eliminate them.
The story for Gundam 00 is pretty good overall but it has problems which mainly appears on season 2.
One of the mains things that I liked the series mainly season 1 is how different it was when compared to the other Gundam shows. It does away with the standard full-scale warfare that we see before from most Gundam shows from the past and instead, it tells a story that tackles some of the modern topics that the world is facing around that time such as religious and terrorism. I really adored where the first season went with this as it questions celestial beings motives. This is the stuff that I loved about Gundam. The first season made think about the issues that we have to face in everyday life. I was really invested in it.
Unfortunately, I cannot say the same thing for season 2 because it took most of the stuff that made season 1 great and throws it away in favor of a standard faction vs faction story that we see seen before. Not only that but the writing season 2 not that good when compared to season 1 where the writing was pretty strong for the most part. Not to mention some of the topics and themes that was introduced in season 1 got preachy in season 2. It's not Wing or Seed Destiny level of preachiness but it was still preachy nonetheless. The last thing that I want to mention is the pacing. Unlike Seed and Seed Destiny where the pacing was broken beyond repair thanks to having a lot of flashback sequences, 00 pacing was a bit too fast at times especially in season 2 where it becomes a big problem for the narrative and character development.
Overall the story for 00 is pretty alright for the most part. Season 1 by itself is pretty good that did a good job at tacking modern topics as well having good writing for the most part despite the small pacing issues in season 1. Season 2 however, is okay at best where it may had some great moments now and then it but was ultimately lackluster in the writing and pacing department not to mention the themes and topics got incredibly preachy in season 2.
7/10
Characters.
The characters in Gundam are pretty enjoyable for the most part especially in season 1, however, feel like most of the characters in 00 don’t have much character development thanks to the fast pacing of 00 and it begins to the bite the show in the ass season 2.
I will save the 00 boys for last but let’s talk about the other characters starting with Saji and Louise.
I was honestly shocked at how much I liked them in season 1. At first, I thought these two were a waste of screen time however as the first season progresses I understood what the first season intended to do with them. They are normal people living normal lives that sadly get caught in a tragedy by the end of season 1 that changes them forever which was shown in season 2. Unfortunately, while I liked how Louise and Saji changed in season 2 I didn’t like them as much in season 1 especially Saji who for became a Shinji Ikari clone where he spends most of the show whining and doing dumb shit for no reason. It’s such as shame really because I liked Saji in season 1.
Graham was a pretty cool character in season 1 and I really liked his determination of how he wants to beat a Gundam in battle. Unfortunately, he devolved into a shitty Char clone in season 2 and he didn’t really do anything apart trying to 1v1 with Sestuna and whine a lot.
Ali al-Saachez is a pretty badass character in season 1 he was easily my second favorite charters in season 1. I loved how Sasschez was such a great rival/enemy to Setsuna and they conflict with the other was always a joy to watch. However unlike Graham who devolved into a mediocre character in season 2 he still remained a badass but now playing in second fiddle which is honestly sad.
Feldt is a character that I really liked. In the beginning, she was an anti-social girl who barely says anything unless she has to. However, as the series progresses she starts to open up the Celestial Being crew as she starts feeling more comfortable
Now if there was a character that was useless to the overall plot than it would be Marina who is by far one of the worst characters from the Gundam franchise. All she did in the series is preach about human understanding to Setsuna and writing a song that ultimately lead to nothing. As much I hate Relena from Gundam Wing least she redeemed herself in the movie Endless Waitz where she finally understands that she can’t achieve peace by preaching about pacifism and she far less annoying in that film. Say what you want about Saji and Louise but least they're felt like characters that a purpose in the narrative instead of being a useless plot device like Marina.
The villains in 00 not counting Ali al Saachez were pretty underwhelming at best as they don’t have any motives other than taking over the world and humanity. You dropped that ball on that one Sunrise.
Now that’s all the other characters done now let’s talk about the 00 boys.
Tieria was really annoying at first as he liked to be a total dick to everyone in Celestial Being and he was gladly to eliminate anyone who puts the plan in jeopardy. He eventually opens up over time and despite being the most feminist of the group I thought he was a pretty forgettable character that I didn’t like.
The first Lockon being Neil Dylandy is my favorite character in the series. I loved his easy-going nature as well-being the most sociable out of the 00 boys
I didn’t like the second Lockon Lyle Dylandy at first but the series went on I started to like him a bit thanks to him being a very skilled pilot as being kinda likable in the second half of season 2 however at times I feel he can be a total asspuller like Suzaku in Geass R2.
Allelujah is a pretty interesting character as he has a split personality that appears every time he goes into battle. However, I feel the writers never really went anyway with it and it became almost irrelevant when you get to season 2 where he starts forming a love interest to Marie due to them being both experimental super soldiers of HRL in the past
Finally, we have Setsuna who is one of the better Gundam protagonists from the franchise. Setsuna was once a child who slayed his parents to prove his loyalty to God but ultimately became disillusioned and grew to hate conflicts overall which lead him to join celestial being. In a nutshell, Setsuna is Heero Yuuji done right because not only much better-written character who compare to Heero who was a bland, contrived and stoic idiot from start to finish but Setsuna actually has character development. Throughout the series we see Setsuna trying to fix his own mistakes during his child soldier days. Also, Setsuna has an actual personality. Sure he starts off being as a stoic person after being traumatized during his child soldier days but as the series goes on he starts to express his feeling to people without reservation not to mention he starts to become more human instead of a stoic soldier.
Overall the characters in 00 were pretty enjoyable for what they were despite they shortcoming but having mostly underdeveloped characters thanks to the show fast pacing as well as many characters getting downgraded in season 2. Besides that, I thought the characters were enjoyable
6.5/10
Visuals.
Visually Gundam 00 is a massive step up when compared to the cosmic era of Gundam being Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny. The background scenery is amazing to look at that is filled with color that blends well with the tone of the series. The character designs were done by Risa Amada who goes by the pen name Yun Kōga and while haven’t check out her works but she has her own manga series called Loveless. Compared to Hisashi Hirai where most of the characters designs are the same from the Seed series Yun Koga did a good job at with the characters designs however I feel like some of the male characters look more feminine.
As for the actual animation is honestly amazing. The fight choreography was great for the mechs, character movement is fluent and there was no stock footage used. Thank god because after watching Wing and Seed I got sick of seeing recycled footage all the damm time.
If I had any complaints with the animation then it would be the overkill formula. Okay the overkill formula in 00 is not as bad when compared to Seed and Wing but it was still kind of an issue for me especially in season 2
The mecha designs in 00 are pretty good overall and they were pretty original for the most part and like the mechs in Wing and Seed they all have their own gimmicks and strength but I feel they did a far better job at showcasing the mechs in 00 compare to Wing and Seed.
9/10
Sound.
The soundtrack for 00 is fantastic and it’s the war tone for the series very well. Easily one of the best soundtracks from the franchise.
The season 1 openings and endings themes are pretty great overall and they are very memorable especially the second opening theme Ash Like Snow which is my all-time favorite Gundam opening theme as well-being my fourth favorite anime opening period.
The season 2 openings and endings themes are not as great and memorable as the season 1 but they were pretty enjoyable for what they were.
Now for sub vs dub.
I only seen bits of the sub for 00 but I remember the sub being pretty good.
The dub for 00 is pretty as it featured a lot of well-known voice actors from the other Gundam shows in the past.
Brad Swaile who previously voiced Amuro from Gundam 0079, Quatre from Gundam Wing and Dearka from Gundam Seed returned to voice the protagonist Setsuna and he honestly did a great job voicing Setsuna.
Chanta Strandwho previously voiced Lacus and Meer from Gundam Seed + Destiny returned to voice Feldt and she once again did a solid job voicing Feldt.
Scott McNeil who previously voiced Duo from Gundam Wing returns to voice Ali Al-Saachez who has the best performance in Gundam 00. He was fantastic as voicing Ali Al-Saachez.
In short both languages are great.
9/10
Final Thoughts.
After watching Gundam 00 as well buying the out of print DVDs from Beez Entertainment UK at my local Cex store how good was it. Well, I think it’s a good Gundam series for the most part. Do I think it’s the best Gundam series ever made? Obviously not. I don’t think it holds up as well as other Gundam shows like G, X, Build Fighters Season 1 and Turn A but it feels it’s better than the likes of Wing, Build Fighters Try, Seed + Destiny and Victory. I feel like Sunrise did a good job with the series as it fixed a lot of problems that had with Wing and Seed. The first season alone is a great Gundam show that had a lot of interesting in it as well having fun and likable character. Not to mention the writing for the first season was pretty solid. It has some problems though. The pacing at was way too fast times especially in season 2 the characters aren’t the most developed bunch I seen in a Gundam show and season 2 as a whole is inferior in the writing department where it resorted of using a mediocre plot that we all seen before from Gundam shows from the past. Not to mention many of the characters got downgraded in season 2 and because of those reason along 00 season 2 is okay at best but when compared to season 1 is pretty disappointing. Despite its shortcomings mainly in season 2 I still recommended Gundam 00 for people who want to start watching Gundam but doesn’t want to start too far back to the U.C Gundam shows.
Season 1 score 8.5/10
Season 2 score 6.5/10
Overall Score 7.5/10
danceljoy
I basically feel that this anime has enough reviews so I give a different one: The review your are about to see is mostly about the comparison of Anno Domini to the Cosmic Era. Why? It is the successor of the mega-hit Gundam Seed and GS Destiny. Fangirls/ boys may still demand cute lovey-dovey characters or enthusiasts might want a deeper and more unique plot. So I hope that this review may help people who watched GSD that included Gundam 00 in their "to watch" list and those who evaluating it. STORY: Cosmic EraDrama: more intense and plentiful
Action: repetitive but good,relies on Gundam's power
Romance: plenty & unexpected
Anno Domini:
Drama:more natural and untypical
Action: very excellent and intelligent with strategy and teamwork
Romance:close to none
When the Cosmic Era heavily focuses on the internal drama of the main characters AD portrays a different kind of heroism. When they both condemn war yet clarifies that fighting is necessary to live, CE roots this to human emotion and desire. Two sides fighting for noble or distorted reasons alike are both victims in a tragic war. Meanwhile, AD tackles this issue in a more realistic way by directly relating it to our current world- oil crisis, terrorism, economic turmoils. Furthurmore, those are challenged by a small group of people -the Celestial Beings- with four powerful mobile suits.
Gundams vs the world? Sounds ridiculous? It works. But it is amazing that the story is woven pretty well for that idea to be utterly plausible and workable. In addition to this, even with the limited character interaction due to huge distances, each's action affect the overall picture- in a way, everyone is related to one another. Moreover, while the presence of "evil" leaders are prevalent in Gundam series, AD is a bit different: it shows that humanity as a whole conflicts within itself.
AD is pretty original, but compare to CE, its execution is a bit slower. Though containing a number of unnecessary flashbacks, CE seems to be a bit faster than AD even with 50 episodes .Also, for many times, AD put together subplots with thin links with each other; lastly, its worst trait is that it has no climax or weak climax.
Winner: None
ART:
Cosmic Era
Consistency: A bit bad
Art style: Familiar but eye candy cute
Quality: High quality traditional
Mechs: So many cool designs
Anno Domini
Consistency:Superb!
Art style: Serious tone
Quality: HIGH DEFINITION
Mechs: More detailed, vivid, innovative and memorable
AD is obviously superior in the category of quality and "hi-tech" factor but the character designs' appeal to the fanbase (especially the fangirls) is a bit inferior due to its less cuter style.
Winner: AD
SOUND:
Cosmic Era:
Dramatic techno-pop with traditional space mood music mixed with dramatic and romantic ballads
Anno Domini:
Alternative rock, pop and rock ballads coupled with "epic" sounds and contemporary sounds tracks
AD lost to this one, CE's music is very successful in bringing out emotions, mixing drama, romance, action and suspense.The openings and endings are a bit radical by defying the Gundam tradition of techno, and it was satisfying. However, AD is a bit disappointing: the tracks are not memorable and some are repetitive, they are a bit typical since one can hear them on most shonen shows.
Winner: CE
CHARACTER:
Cosmic Era
Cast: Typical teenagers and
some adults
Dialogues: Excellent and thought
provoking
Anno Domini:
Cast: Mix of different lives
Dialogues: Natural, lacks intensity due to indirect confrontations and and the lack of clarity on why certain characters are taking screen time.
CE is much more focused on duty, death, love, hate and understanding- the aspects of humanity. The conflict is seen in the feelings and choices of individual people developing as they interact with others. Heart wrenching indeed, but one can also say that they designed their characters based on basic stereotypes.
This is where AD takes its radicalism; the characters are already very much developed and the focus is in the overall conflict involving their lives, both past and present. Different people, same effects. Same actions, different effects. It's theme is living in a supposedly sick world. Beautifully, the symbolism of necessary sacrifice and undeserved pain is reflected. Sadly, the dialogue fails to amplify these elements. Though sadly, though the concept is pretty, many characters are generic.
Winner: CE
ENJOYMENT AND OVERALL:
I enjoyed CE more than AD because of my preference, but it doesn't mean that it is better. Still, both of them are shows that deserves praise.
CE offers more intensity and impact, however it has flaws like unnecessary fanservice, inconsistencies, bad flasbacks and irrational coincidences.
AD has better character as a whole, free of "impurities" of fanservice and "advertising" of profitable models. It may be close to zero in flaws but it definitely "lacks."
jmoriarty84
Well, it’s a new Gundam series, and as a lot of you know, I am a hardcore Gundam fan. Was I excited for this? To be honest, after the bad taste SEED Destiny left in my mouth, I really had little to no expectations of this series. Even with Mizushima Seiji who directed the first FMA series directing this series. There have been more than 20 Gundam series now and what else can the franchise offer with a new series? I know it’s drastically demanding asking for originality, but I did come to terms with that as I got more into this series. Though itmay not offer my unrealistic dreams of originality, I still feel it does have its own unique distinction in its own ways.
To start off, I was very surprised that this series makes direct reference to current events that are even still going on during its broadcast and during the time of this review, such as the conflicts in Sri Lanka and Ireland. Usually, they use the fictional factions in other series to be a metaphor for other real life conflicts but this takes the cake. Take for example, the first Gundam series was a metaphor for World War II, and SEED and SEED Destiny were a metaphor of a post 9/11 world though those series’ don’t directly reference those events like 00 does.
What also captivates me are the sub-plots that involve Princess Marina, and two civilians named Saji and Louise. Princess Marina shows the difficulties of a nation like hers in today’s political climate, and I like how Saji and Louise give a civilian point of view of the war. At first, I really didn’t care for them, but even though they weren’t directly part of the main plot, the series still effectively develops them in a manner in which it drives you to care for them and relate to them. But besides, this interesting external supporting cast, the main cast is all pretty much characters that have been done before in other Gundam series, but their individual backgrounds are unique and that was enough for me to find interest in them. Initially in these kinds of series, the individual personalities will conflict with one another, and is the series progresses they come to unite. The formula pretty much follows the standard of a Gundam series, but some of its elements are pretty interesting.
My main gripe with the series in which people are going to equally agree and disagree with me on is that it’s a 25 episode series. And to be honest, I’m not fond of anime TV series that is 25 episodes or less. The fact that it’s 25 episodes really rushes the last third of the series, especially the ending, and things just come out of nowhere with little to no set up. And I feel with the series having the organization fight 3 super powers at once, it just doesn’t work in my opinion. I know this was made with the intention of a follow up, but I still feel that it’s no excuse to not develop and establish certain things here and there. Yes, there is a second season, but if you seen this series, you get some idea of what I’m talking about. Even with that intent, that’s no excuse to rush and force things when I think there was time to establish and develop those elements. Could that have been done better with 15-25 more episodes? Well, with other Gundam series without counting SEED Destiny, a 35-50 episode season could have really helped this series a lot with what needed to be established and developed with what was exclusive in this series, other wise, you could potentially end up with a cluster fuck like SEED Destiny. But with Mizushima, I think it would have been a series I could have scored a 10/10 for story and characters, but instead, I’m giving it in the 8 range.
Well, the design and the gimmicks for the Gundams presented have already been done before, but there will be some goodies and surprises that will probably satisfy you. If you liked Gundam Wing and/or X, then I feel stylistically, you’re really going to enjoy it. Even though what is artistically presented has been seen for the most part, the coloring, rendering, and the angles are still something fresh. But I feel what makes up for this is the presentation of the action. Thankfully, the animation isn’t abusively recycled like in the cosmic era Gundam series which is a start. But what makes the animation so awesome, I just felt the angles and the smooth frame rate makes the action very intense, very easy to follow and watch which makes it so exciting, simple as that.
The action from the Gundams can get over kill in which Gundam Wing paved way for, but eventually the action will develop that it will be more about piloting skills and strategy, as opposed to abusing the God like features. The enemy mech designs are pretty primitive looking, but have a different kind of realism to it not offered in other Gundam series. The advanced nations have agile looking mobile suits, and the poorer nations have mobile suits that are portrayed to feel like the Kitty Hawk in comparison. So I thought that was an interesting touch to show that gap in technology.
The character design is at least more diverse, but the men still look like women. If it weren’t for the voices, I swear they would be women, especially Tieria who looks like Sailor Saturn with glasses. But being the first Gundam to be in HD, it truly delivers. The CG is awesome, and if you’re looking for action, I feel you’ve come to the right anime series.
What I found surprising is that once again Miyano Mamoru and Brad Swale once again voice the same character. Previously they voiced Light Yagami in DeathNote, but this time, they both get to voice Setsuna, the main character of this series. And I’ll admit, I was more impressed with Brad Swale’s acting in comparison to Miyano Mamoru’s. Usually you hear Brad Swale with that distinctive high pitched voice, but hearing him with that lower pitch voice that is reminiscent of Mark Hildreth’s portrayal of Heero Yuy just took me by surprise by the balls. I felt this role gave Swale the opportunity to show how versatile he truly is. The rest of the voice cast in both English and Japanese is top notch and I really can’t complain. I’m not going to go into further detail due to time restraints but I do feel I need to point this out. In the English version, I felt I heard Scott McNeil’s voice like 8 times per episode with a random character, and in the Japanese version I felt I heard Ishizuka Unshou’s. I’m not sure if that’s me, but I felt I heard those voices a lot.
The music is top notch and I have nothing but praise for it. Who could go wrong with L’arc~en~ciel doing the opening theme? That’s pretty epic. But asides from the fact that it’s l’arc, I felt the tone and the lyrics of the song truly reflected the dark but yet hopeful atmosphere of the series. As for the second opening theme, Ash Like Snow, how many of you know that the singer, Tomoko Kawase, also sang Lonley is Gorgeous the theme to Paradise Kiss? Interesting distinct styles there, huh? The general background music in itself just all fits together and reflects the mood and environment.
In the end, I felt that this is a good series, but could have been better if it weren’t for its limitations of being a 25 episode series. I feel with a Gundam TV series, even with an intended sequel, 25 episodes just doesn’t work, and the ending to this series is proof of that. Other than that, I recommend this to just about any fan whether noob or veteran to Gundam if interested. If you want to get into Gundam and would like this to be your introduction to the franchise, give it a shot at your own pleasure. I feel with the animation techniques offered, you’re going to enjoy the action and the music will keep you pumping.
OtakuFreak
Well, it's truely been a while since I wrote a Gundam review. Yes, I've basically written a review for nearly every Gundam series for those who don't keep tabs on my Reviews. But lets get to the point shall we? Over the past few years the Gundam series has gone through a lot of riticule by many American's and has totally lost its market here making nearly impossible to even know of the franchise. Bandai's last attempt to make Gundam popular among American viewers was Gundam Seed which epically failed, and was placed in the 4 am death spot on Cartoon Network. Even though GundamSeed Destiny, sequel to Gundam Seed, won best anime of the year 2004 in Japan the series didn't do so good because it was basically Fan service and "Many" Gundam Fans were disappointed by the fact that there were more Hentai then Side Stories of the series. In other words BANDAI milked the crap out of Seed for all its worth.
Few years later a new Gundam series was made to replace Gundam Seed, this series was, of course, Gundam 00. Yes, this series was intentionally delayed in order to make a new Model Market. But all in all the series wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I've watched many Gundam Series and have seen the progress they've made through the years. Gundam 00 is basically a hybrid of many old concepts mixed with thoughts of many modern day techno realism. Yes, I just made up a new term- Techno Realism. The term means technology that will possibly be invented.
25 episodes is quite surpising for most Gundam series. The shortest Gundam series was Gundam 0080 War in the Pocket which had 6 episodes. Gundam 00 wasn't the shortest series but it was able to sum everything quickly and yet very understandable. Usually something like this would take the average 50 episodes and then a sequel would have to be made to finish the project, but no, they actually did good.
The characters of the story are of course young adults who have their struggles and for the most part look like Bishi boys. They aren't really aren't Emo or uncontrolable as many other Gundam characters and have much more of a sense of responsiblity. Their backgrounds are interesting stories within themselves, making you more connected to them. Unfortunatly there is a downside to this, characters that get to involved with their past tend to stray off from their first impression.
The story is very well thought up and looks like it took much time to think up. How the world looks like in this Gundamverse makes you question if our future would be like that as well. Many politics are involved which many modern Gundam shows were lacking.
Mecha designs were simply superb. They aren't as wymsical as the suits in Gundam Seed or as in Gundam Wing but this sense of common technology is what brings me in. I kinda have a taste for generic looking Mobile suits, the ones with rough detail.
In the end of it all Gundam 00 didn't disappoint me, but it didn't make me overjoyed either. Sure the show is good, but you can't help but feel that eventually things will go wrong and fan service will ruin it all. So far in my opinion Gundam 00 is way better then Gundam Seed/Destiny, and Gundam Wing. But it hasn't reached the greatness of Tomino's original works such as Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta, Char's Counter Attack, and Turn A. All there is to do now is wait until the second season comes out, won't we. Until then I leave the first season with this review.
SamildanachEmrys
Gundam 00 is not what I expected it to be. I have only a passing acquaintance with the Gundam franchise. My first encounter with it was Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, which I'm told is hardly a typical Gundam series (though it is exceptionally good, and one of my favourite anime series). A couple of years ago I watched Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory, which was enjoyable enough but a little forgettable. So I had some slight idea of what Gundam entails, but no detailed knowledge and no experience of alternate universe versions like Gundam Wing. So from that point of view, Gundam 00 isnot particuarly Gundam-like. Clearly it has a more modern visual style but it also feels entirely different, and the Gundams themselves serve a completely different function. In many ways there's no reason for it to be a Gundam series at all. The Gundam mobile suits in 00 could just as easily have been an original creation; I can't help thinking that a famous name (and identifiable visual design) was attached to this in order to attract an audience.
Fortunately, Gundam 00 is very good regardless.
Having only recently finished watching the series, the strongest lingering impression about it is moral ambiguity. This is a theme that persisted throughout the whole series, though it did weaken towards the end. The Gundam pilots working for the Celestial Being organisation are narratively the protagonists - they are the characters we spend the most time with and get to know in the most detail. But in many ways they could just as easily be the antagonists: they perform violent missions that could easily be (and frequently are) considered acts of terrorism, knowingly getting civilians killed in the collateral damage. Many of the supporting characters are on the other side of this divide; they are soldiers protecting their homelands from this erratic terrorist threat, or civilians who just happen to get caught up in events larger than themselves. Main character Setsuna F Seiei explains it very well himself when he remarks that it's hard to say who is right because both sides are justified. He's talking about a small civil war, but the sentiment can just as easily be applied to the whole series. Every faction does things that could be considered reprehensible, yet every faction also has good and understandable reasons for its actions.
There is no black and white in Gundam 00.
This determination to paint all deeds in shades of grey necessitates quite a large cast for perspective, and with many names and abbreviations to keep track of, sometimes it can become confusing. After 25 episodes I know the Union is based around the US, but I couldn't tell you which out of the other power blocs (the AEU and the Human Reform League) is where. Similarly, I have no idea which of the anti-Gundam commanders is affiliated with which authority. In many ways, the three power blocs that govern most of the world are interchangable. Still, while this makes it hard to follow the political manoeuvring, it also means that you don't really need to. It doesn't really matter which government is which, just that all of them fear and resent Celestial Being.
The characterisation continues this ambiguity. People do bad things in order to prevent worse things, or they do good things for bad reasons. Because we get the points of view of various characters with different affiliations and agendas, almost all the recurring characters are sympathetic, which leads to an interesting situation where (at least for me) it's impossible to root for one group or person. I wanted Setsuna to win his battles, but at the same time I wanted Graham Aker to win his - and the two of them often come into conflict. It's testament to the quality of the writing that I felt symapthy and support for so many characters with such different personalities and incompatible agendas.
There is still room for improvement in the characterisation though. I never particularly liked Saji and Louise, the token innocent high schoolers who we follow periodically. Saji is meek and inoffensive, but eventually his inoffensiveness itself becomes annoying. Louise is just an obnoxious brat, and I that felt any woe that befell her was largely deserved - probably not the reaction that was intended. Mercenary captain Ali al-Saachez seemed a bit of a caricature, gurning and snarling his way through his scenes as though in pantomime, though he could have been interesting if we'd learnt more about him. There is also a group of characters introduced halfway through, who never really get any development at all, and as a result come across as quite two dimensional and incidental. I neither supported nor opposed them; they were just there.
Still, these are the exceptions. While no character is explored comprehensively, the main ones do get distinct personalities, and backgrounds that shape them in believable ways. In many anime series, the traumatic pasts of many of these characters would lead to endless bouts of dreary introspection or petulant outbursts, but they're mostly handled with maturity here.
Of course, being a series about giant robots used in war, there are plenty of combat scenes. These are generally well done, though at times it can be hard to tell which mobile suit is which, particularly with the non-Gundam types. These scenes are energetic and well-paced, and they never seem to drag. Nor does the series indulge in the common anime practice of abusing action scenes; not once did I feel a particular confrontation had been crowbarred in just to keep the action content high.
I think it's worth noting that, as I mentioned earlier, some of the series' qualities trail off in the final few episodes. The shades of grey become more clearly defined and we start to see some elements of a black and white/good and evil dichotomy appearing, but the troubled characters largely keep things on track. We also get the odd deus ex machina popping up as time goes on, but still far less than in many series. Combat understandably becomes more frequent as the series approaches its conclusion, but fortunately it remains fast-paced and compact. On top of this, the gradual development in the way the war is waged lends each action scene an additional draw. With each new battle I was eager to see how the military would attempt to counter the Gundams, and how far they would be able to succeed this time.
Crucially, at no point does the series become a chore to watch. Even in its weaker moments it's still a high quality series, and aside from one reasonably short recap montage halfway through it never feels padded or slips into filler, nor does it wander off into rambling asides. The writing remains tight and focused, and ensures the series is an engaging watch to the very end.
Gundam 00 Second Season will pick up the story four years later, but I still have that ahead of me. Perhaps some of the weaknesses I mentioned in this series, particularly some under-developed characters, will be addressed there. Regardless, Gundam 00 is a series that is definitely worth watching. Gundam fans should be prepared for this bearing very little resemblance to traditional Gundam (at least the main/UC continuity), but it doesn't suffer for that. With plenty of action that doesn't outstay its welcome, troubled characters who don't overdo it, and a delightful moral ambiguity that makes a refreshing change from black and white conflicts, Gundam 00 is a well written series that should appeal to a broader audience than just mecha fans. Give it a try; it probably has something you'll like.
VVayfarer
--- minor / vague spoilers --- Firstly, if you've seen earlier Gundams (MSG, Zeta G, ZZ) and didn't like the plot in any of them, you probably won't like that of Gundam 00, either. You can still enjoy it if you keep your expectations low, though. In the first few episodes, it's suggested that Celestial Being's actions are based on an ulterior motive, and many characters have hidden pasts that are revealed little by little -- and so, based on previous experience, you might expect (hope) Gundam 00 to have a "strong" plot. As it turns out, it becomes much weaker as the series progresses. The eventsbecome more and more isolated (they either don't contribute to the big picture or they change it in an illogical way) and mainly seem to serve the purpose of suddenly making the action scenes more 'exciting' or suddenly creating a sense of 'tragedy'. Many plot details end up being irrelevant to the big picture, and on the other hand many plot twists are brought about by a deus ex machina. The final episodes are almost pure action, and the plot becomes a complete mess as it hurriedly tries to tie up loose ends (or again, make the action more 'exciting' or the plot more 'tragic').
The cast is varied and starts out pretty interesting, but most of it hardly receives any development (at least in the first season). Worse yet, some important (-ish?) characters die before serving much of a purpose.
In summary, as long as you watch it for the action or because you like some character, you should enjoy it --- if you hold high expectations for the story, you'll probably end up getting disappointed like I did.
