It is year 0079 of the Universal Century. Mankind has moved to space, living in colony clusters known as "Sides." One of these Sides declares itself the "Principality of Zeon" and declares war on the Earth Federation, the governmental body currently ruling Earth. Using powerful humanoid robots known as "mobile suits," Zeon quickly gains the upper hand.
Nine months into the conflict, the Earth Federation has developed its own powerful mobile suit called the Gundam. When Zeon launches an attack on the colony holding the Gundam, a 15-year-old civilian named Amuro Ray suddenly finds himself thrown into a conflict that will take him all across Earth and space, pitting him against the enemy's ace pilot, Char Aznable.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
Monkey_D_Luffy
Mobile Suit Gundam, a title every anime fan has surely heard. Some of us love and praise the franchise spawned by this original series, and for some of us it just didn't quite do the job. Regardless, there is no denying it is a revolutionary title that has advanced anime as a whole. It's truly a classic series that has left its impact, or rather, is still making an impact on anime. As you can see by my high rating of 9, I'm one of the fans that adored this series. So now let's see why this is an outstanding series. The central plot of MobileSuit Gundam is fairly simple, laying out a brutal war between two sides: the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon. Amuro Ray, our main character, gets involved in the conflict by boarding the Federation's great weapon, Gundam (I'm not gonna explain details because then it defeats the purpose of watching for yourself.) Long story short, he becomes the Gundam's pilot and a valuable member of the Federation crew that works aboard White Base (a war spaceship.) Now what makes this great is the fact that everybody aboard White Base, from the Commander of it to Amuro, is a total novice with little to no experience. Over the course of the series we get to see their development together as well as individuals. The tale is filled with elements of stuff like death, killing, family, friendships, etc., all building up to a spectacular finale. Our story of course focuses primarily on the White Base gang and their adventure, but it does a good job at also centering in on the opposing side at the right times and giving insight to their side of the battle. Also, just to add, the pacing is exceptionally good.
The series is from 1979, so do not expect top-notch animation by today's standards. I'm sure it was five star art in its time, but I simply rated it a 6 by today's standards. Don't let that turn you off though. The sound is obviously old as well, so the sound effects have that old recording sound that really doesn't stand up to today's sound quality, so again the 8 is by today's standards. But again, give it a chance because it's actually pretty cool. As for the opening and ending themes, they're just kinda fun songs that, as you'll see, are for the purpose of Mobile Suit Gundam alone. The background music actually consists of some pretty interesting and catchy tunes that couldn't fit the show better. They're different than a lot of the stuff you hear in today's anime.
Now for Characters. As I've said, they're all amateurs. A lot of the characters aboard White Base go through tragedies that bring out great development. Some of them have hidden secrets and relations, some of them fall in battle, some of them leave White Base, and many other things. There's plenty for you to discover about our crew as you go through the series.
Enjoyment is definitely at its best. The father of mecha, Mobile Suit Gundam, sure doesn't lack in its action. We have a nice variety of different Mobile Suits on both warring sides to switch things up, and the Gundam itself is very entertaining to watch because it has a large array of weaponry. Also, a battle takes place in just about every place you could think of: space, land, sky, underwater, underground, and even inside White Base itself. The enjoyment factor does not disappoint, and always entertains your eyes with superb military brawls between mechas, and even hand-to-hand combat.
Obviously there's some contrasting opinions on this series and its status concerning its rating. However, I truly feel it is worth a shot from any anime fan, just because it is a classic title that has had such influence on anime and the mecha genre especially.
jmoriarty84
This highly original and innovating anime offers so much in terms of being the original “realistic mech anime series.” It talks about the potential realities of war on both a battlefront and political scale. It’s a wonderful coming of age story for many of the characters that each develops for not only the good guys, but the bad guys as well. I’m not sure if relate to them is a right word, but you can sure bet sympathize and understand them is something you can certainly do. And it’s a story of trust and betrayal on both fronts as well. All I can say is,it’s the perfect story about everything you can possibly get on human nature in an anime. I feel that even if mankind can advance this far, sadly, there can never be any absolute peace, and the realities war can have on a person on all scales.
OK, granted this was animated nearly 30 years ago, so the colors, resolution, and movement are most certainly not as up to some people’s standards. But I feel for its time, I do have to give it some of the credit it does deserve. I feel in terms of design in both character and mechanical, it is excellent and innovative and can transcend into our current generation’s style of animation and makes it timeless, which has been proven in some of the animated cutscenes of the PS1 and PS2 games such as Federation vs Zeon or Journey to Jaburo and thus keeps it up to date. And the battles themselves are pretty intense and plays careful strategy into it. Afterall, in war, you always got to think two steps ahead of the game. Such as when Char and Amuro first fight, Amuro easily loses energy on the beam rifle because he relied on it too much. So such tactics in terms of both offense and defense in this anime are effectively applied.
For the voice acting, this is the anime that helped define the careers of Furuya Tohru, who plays Amuro, and would later play Tuxedo Mask in Sailor Moon, Seiya in Saint Seiya, and Yamucha in Dragon Ball. This also helped the career of the late Suzuoki Hirotaka, the voice of Captain Bright who is also famous as Kuno from Ranma, Kaifun in Macross, and Shiryu in Saint Seiya. And one more mention I want to make is Furukawa Yoshio as Kai which is quite a surprise because he plays bad ass characters like Shin from Fist of the North star and Piccolo from Dragon Ball Z. And the cast list goes on. In addition to a great Japanese cast, the English dub of the TV series (don’t remember the movie dub too much) is also incredible. As much as I can’t stand Richard Cox as Inuyasha and Ranma, I thought he was dead perfect as Kai. I thought his voice matched the character well and I think his performance equals to that of Furukawa’s. I also enjoyed Brad Swale as Amuro. He portrays a character that is young, intelligent, and growing. But the problem I had with the dub was Char. I don’t remember who played him, but I felt he was not as charismatic as Ikeda Shuuichi. But overall, you’ll get an incredible experience watching it in either language though it is a pity that the TV series DVD set is only in English and the trilogy DVD set is exclusively in Japanese. But the DVD trilogy does have a new set of voice actors such as Dozle’s and Ma Kube’s voices were changed. Ma Kube’s original voice actor passed away while Dozle’s voice actor, Gouri Daisuke was busy with other stuff, I guess.
The music is also cheesy, but also catchy. If you think of the Ashita no Joe themes as true old school Japanese music, expect the same, but still represents a transition period to where Japanese popular music is now with beats but in a retro sense. The TV series music is of course a bit more campy, but sings about how the Gundam will rise and defeat their enemy and the ending theme is about Amuro being a man. But the trilogy soundtrack is much more mature and also maintains themes in relation to the series.
I understand that Gundam isn’t really a series that’s for everybody. Afterall, I grew up on Transformers and Voltron, and the concept of robots as a potential military weapon does have a lot of appeal to me. But when I got a first hand view of the series, I was later captured by the characters and intrigued by the story and that this just wasn’t some shallow action anime. Tomino truly made a revolution of this series that initially failed in the ratings, but would now become one of Japan’s biggest anime franchises. Despite the success Gundam continues to have, it is a pity it never caught on in the long run outside of Japan, but I still manage to always find myself back to sometimes watching either the TV series and/or movie.
slpless
Mobile Suit Gundam, the father of mecha anime, is without a doubt a revolutionary title. This is one of the titles that brought about more mature themes and stories to be animated. However, just because it was revolutionary doesn't mean the quality is up to par after 25 years. In addition, this review will compare MSG to the narrative standards of today and ignore the art and sound. The first few episodes of MSG were interesting, setting up what would seem to be an epic tale. Also, we are able to see the origins of manymecha themes and ideas. My only real complaint with the first few episodes was the way Amuro (zero experience) was able to go toe-to-toe with Char, a legendary pilot. A mecha convention that just has to be accepted, not a big deal I guess. After the initial episodes, one would expect the action to die down and start developing the story and the characters. However, in the next few episodes there was more fighting. A few more episodes passed and it started to feel tedious. In comparison, Gundam SEED had several episodes that were completely devoted to character development.
In between the fights far too little happens to develop the characters and the story. Yes, there is some development but that is clearly overshadowed by the shear number of battles. As for the story itself, it seems to follow a "monster of the week formula" with new mechs and mini-bosses. The transition between each mini-boss/arc was quite bad and broke the overall flow the series. While this was expected and bad enough there wasn't enough continuity between each episode. Every time an episode ends, it ends. Conflicts arise and the resolution all happens within the course of one episode (cliffhangers don't seem to exist in MSG). Essentially, there is an episodic feel most of the time and the flow was not seamless. Gundam 0079 followed this straightforward and monotonous path until the last 8 episodes. The last 8 episodes were pretty good and the story finally starts to get interesting, especially when they introduce the concept of 'Newtypes', finally! However, that does not make up for the 30 episodes you had to go through to get here.
As for the characters, let me start off with Char. Simply put, Char is the most interesting and most complex character in MSG, perhaps in the whole Gundam universe. However, this can only be said after watching MSG, Zeta Gundam, and Char’s Counterattack, nearly totaling 100 episodes. Unfortunately, I can’t really say he received too much development over the course of MSG. He’s already quite charismatic and admirable from the beginning and pretty much stayed this way through out. Amuro, well at least in MSG, is quite a brat and does what pleases him as well as whine. Not exactly the most likable of character. However, this is nowhere as near a bad as Camille in Zeta Gundam and he does change over time. While Amuro may have been a brat for the first half this was no where near as annoying as the actual children. Why where they allowed to roam as they please? Perhaps they were used as comic relief? Either way, they were quite annoying and hurt the overall character score. However, the only characters that stood out in MSG were Char and Amuro, the rest were flat and forgettable.
Although it seems that I'm being very harsh towards this title I actually enjoyed it somewhat. Perhaps its a bit unfair that I'm reviewing this title 25 years after it was first shown. I'm comparing it to some modern titles that does what Gundam 0079 does but better in every possible way and I'm not just talking about animation and music. (note: I do not imply that all new mecha anime is better. There's plenty of crap out there and far inferior to MSG) At the time Gundam 0079 can be considered innovative and new. MSG pretty much redefined the whole genre of mecha anime, from super robot era of the 70's to the real robot era of the 80's. Mecha lovers should watch this if only for historical reasons. Ok, on second though you should probably watch the movies…
Overall, Gundam 0079 focuses too much on fights and not enough on the development of the story and characters. It loosely follows a "monster of the week" formula with its mini arcs. Not only is the continuity overall bad, it also has bad continuity in-between episodes. It seems every time an episode ends, it ends. As for the characters, only Char and Amuro stood out and the rest were quite flat. Sadly they didn’t spend enough time on the characters. The depiction of war and the people involved are far beyond its time. The ‘enemies’ are not evil, but simply on different sides. If only Gundam 0079 didn't have those 30 some episodes in the middle.
Lindle
The original Mobile Suit Gundam - often known as Gundam 0079 to avoid confusion with later installments - is a clearly flawed work. However, it is a highly impressive and progressive work given its age, and we owe a lot of what makes anime great today to its existence. Of course, being highly influential doesn't excuse its flaws. The most obvious is its terrible animation, which isn't a case of it aging badly - it was made on a shoestring budget, and the animation was very bad even for its time. This is forgivable, as a great story doesn't necessarily need good animation to thrive (althoughthe mobile suit designs aren't as good as later Gundam titles). Its biggest problem, however, is one that it shares with every single Gundam TV series that I have seen so far: it is very badly paced. Gundam 0079 is 43 episodes long, but for all the events of substance in it, it could easily have been cut down to as little as 26 without losing anything important. As a result, there are several stretches of episodes that drag on tediously and can be a chore to get through.
In spite of these flaws, though, Gundam 0079 is still an impressive anime, one of the best installments of the Gundam franchise that I have seen so far, and has aged better than any other 70s anime I've seen.
The best thing about Gundam 0079 is how believable its conflict is. Rather than the cliché of good vs. evil, neither army can truly be argued to be either. The Earth Federation are the ones defending themselves against the invading Zeons, but with their constant injustices towards Spacenoids, they pretty much had it coming. However, the extremist actions of Zeon and the resulting immense body count can hardly be called "just", in spite of their good intentions (and the Titans of the subsequent Zeta Gundam only prove further how, despite our protagonists fighting on their side, The Earth Federation is not good).
Similarly, there is an impressive balance of respectable soldiers and complete assholes on either side - most of the Earth Federation are merely incompetent, or not in a position to help, rather than being malicious. On the flipside, most of the Zabi family are surprisingly believable antagonists, and save for Gihren every single one of them is shown to be a multi-dimensional character, even if few of them get a chance to explore that any further. That and Ramba Ral, perhaps the epitome of Gundam's frequent "friendly enemy" characters.
Our protagonists, the crew of the White Base, don't really fit into either category, as most of them are teenagers who, for reasons outside of their control, are forced to fight in a war that is beyond their control. As a result, they make a good neutral party who fight in the war on the side of the Earth Federation, but without representing the Federation's poor and/or amoral choices. Amongst them is our protagonist, Amuro Ray, whose frequent whining can be annoying - but given the circumstances, it's hard to blame him.
Of course, the standout character is the masked Char Aznable, Amuro's rival, a character so iconic that every single Gundam series since has either featured him, or had a character who is strikingly similar to one of his many iterations. As a parallel to Amuro, he isn't really on board with his army's goal either - while he is anti-Federation, Char has a number of secret objectives that he intends to carry out over the series. Figuring out just exactly who Char is and what it is he's trying to do is the most interesting part of the series' story.
The only particularly questionable part of the story itself is the introduction of Newtypes, the series' only supernatural element - essentially, minor ESP developed out of adaptation to being raised in an outer-space environment. It wasn't foreshadowed as much as it ought to have been, and feels out of place in an otherwise realistic series.
Nonetheless, it's impressive that a show from the 70s managed to feature a war without feeling the need to dumb it down for the viewers, and as such it is quite ahead of its time. It's unfortunate that some of the later installments felt the need to take the focus away from the war aspects and focus on godawful character drama instead.
Final Words: More "important" than it is "good", but it is good nonetheless.
Story/Plot: 7/10
Characters: 8/10
Animation/Art: 2/10
Music: 7/10
Acting (dub): 7/10
Overall: 7/10
For Fans Of: Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Eureka Seven
ElectricSlime
Mobile Suit Gundam: the series that sparked a genre. Being a pioneer at something is a tough thing to do and while there are some flaws with the original mecha powerhouse that is Mobile Suit Gundam, I can't help but love almost every minute of it. Mobile Suit Gundam chronicles the adventures of the White Base crew and the enemies that are in a close proximity to them over the course of the series. The main crew consists of about ten characters with the famous Amuro Ray at the centre of it all. The story follows the White Base as it tries to evade theZeon and complete its objectives. As a side plot to the main story of the White Base is the ongoing duel between Char Aznable and Amuro. As they both fight in the brave new world of Universal Century 0079/80. They have to deal with ever evolving mobile suits and the emergence of the Newtype.
As far as the art is concerned I went into the series with no expectations. This was made after all in 1979. I was pleasantly surprised to find fluid animations and a style that fit the series perfectly. While it is small potatoes compared to the crappiest animation by todays standards it was quite the achievement for animators back then. Being all hand drawn a series of this magnitude is quite the undertaking and it doesn't disappoint. The story is just too good to worry about the quality of the animation.
From the corny opening I gathered that the music would be horrid, but It didn't hold true to my prediction... luckily. Featuring various scores from an orchestra to a sort of 80's techno/pop feeling the music is definitely dated, but that only adds to the charm of the series. The voice acting by the English cast is fairly well done. Nothing to call home about, but they get the job done. Char's voice actor is definitely the standout for me from the series. The other characters fall into the mid-talent range.
The characters of Gundam are what make the show great. Gundam is predominantly a character driven drama and the characters are all given well written dialogue save for some of the minor characters. This only stands for the main characters though as the supporting cast is generally acknowledged as being there, but rarely gets any screen time or meaningful lines. Amuro is your typical mobile suit pilot, he is always miserable and has a very selfish "me first" attitude. He accepts his role better later in the series, but definitely makes himself unpopular with the rest of the crew. Char on the other hand is always charismatic and willing to do whatever it takes to fulfil his goals. On a side note the inclusion of the children was a horrible idea and they are always in the way and very annoying. They single handedly brought the character score down one point.
Overall Gundam was very entertaining, but it is not without its quirks. As I've already gone into what I liked about the series, I'll now focus on what prevented this series from going down as truly great. First of all the Zeon are basically a hybrid version of the Nazis of WWII fame and the Empire from Star wars. The cross overs are all over the place. At one point a Zeon Admiral is described as Hitler-esque. Point is, the Zeon are not a very original enemy and steal a lot of their traits from other sources. Even their uniforms are definitely very Nazi. Another quirk,(I call them quirks because they are not really bad, but things I definitely noticed) the amount of time they spend on things related to food is just uncanny. Almost every episode has a segment where Amuro is being berated for not eating or being reminded to eat. It just comes off as an annoyance after 30 episodes. Finally, they call it a military and they are always trying to do military activities, yet they have children on the bridge, people are routinely stealing mobile suits and for anyone that knows anything about the military it will seem very fictional in regards to the military activities.
Throughout the series I only had a few major problems, but overall it is a must watch for anyone that considers themselves an Anime fan.
OtakuFreak
What's more to say about one of the grand daddies of all Mecha? Mobile Suit Gundam thats what it is. First came out in 1979 by director and animator Yoshiyuki Tomino, who was able to make several animes during his time and still is. One of his most famous works is the Mobile Suit Gundam anthology, from the Original Mobile Suit Gundam to Turn A Gundam, Tomino was able to make most of all the Gundam Series. We are all to familiar with the story liine, a boy with problems looking for answers comes across a large macha and uses it to save his friends andallies from utter destruction. The name of the Samurai shaped robot is Gundam.
The story goes with young Amuro Ray, becomes facinated by his father's creation for the Earth Federation Army, the Gundam. He uses the giant Robot to save his friends and escape into space with the new mobile battle ship White Base. They encounter many enemies like the notorious Char Aznable (aka The Red Comet) who wants to test the Federation's new power.
If you are a true Gundam fan you'll let the old look past you. It doesn't matter how old it looks or sounds, if you respect Gundam then you respect the Original. Gundam is one of the most famous animes you'll hear, not just in the USA but in Japan entirely. Why do you think they have so many spin offs? So give the amazing series a try and then watch other Gundam series created by the father of all Gundam's Yoshiyuki Tomino.
Motokogummi
Mobile Suit Gundam 0079. As a fan of cel shaded works with intricate love and passion works, I waited a long time to watch it and I couldn't be happier. This is a masterpiece of an art that is timeless. Gundam Gunpla and all of its fan base should be thankful for this fine art, the mecha genre took it flight off from here, this was the genesis point, journeying back to the 70s era of Anime from Japan surely is rewarded well. The plot and it's core revolves around Military drama. It doesn't flat our explain everything that is where it shines bright, each and everysingle episode is of high value in entertainment. The story is expository but do not think due to the age of the show the action won't be impressive, it's not at all the case at all, the action is very thoroughly done for it's age and still stand out pretty well but the foundation is every single character you see in the show plays a role that is the biggest core strength, they are very well fleshed out with deep emotional connections.
It revolves primarily around space colonies and a small crew in this big world just like us, the intricate balance of human emotion with the military tragedies wrap this show into a classic which we can relate it to ourselves. There are a few episodes which stand out very well on this character depth, Time be Still. A Spy on Board speak for themselves, there are more but it would require to put a bit of reveal which I would not suggest just go with an open mind and you will enjoy to fullest. As a bonus significant character on either of Zeon and Federation side gets their play and point of shine, that is a true achievement of staff hats off.
Art style is impeccable for it's age, watch it with all it's glorious grain preserved, the animations are not perfect always like in a few instances you might see backdrops being static on the aspect of the immersion you get a warm OP ED tracks rounded well by background score which switches with the scene dynamically and the feelings it portrays melded with the scene, it is simply stunning.
Oh the finale, you won't be expecting any of it, it comes so heavy yet powerful sequences, it's just a beautiful heart gripping narrative experience, perfect closure.
It is a must for every fan who values the old works of true art, hand drawn high quality work that will send ripples and of course mecha fans !!
Lulech23
"We'd done it. With a fraction of the resources, we'd done it." These words by animation director Yoshikazu Yasuhiko perfectly summarize both the development and story of Mobile Suit Gundam. Despite numerous production challenges limiting its scope of animation, Gundam managed to be a fresh take on the mecha genre for the late 1970's and still stands the test of time to this day. In fact, given that no 40 year-old anime has aged well by 2020 standards, it's perhaps easier to overlook the shortcomings of Gundam's animation now than when it aired. Yes, characters frequently go off-model, and yes, numerous shots are reused time andtime again, but it never gets in the way of the real star of the show: the story its creators were trying to tell.
Early episodes might seem easy to dismiss as the era's "badguy of the week" tropes bleed through. But Gundam was conceived to buck this very trend, and with time, it's clear there's more going on than meets the eye. Arcs that typically would have resolved quite quickly in other shows instead stretch out for several episodes, interspersed with combat that's just military enough to feel genuine without being too complicated to follow. Less important story beats rarely feel like filler, instead fleshing out the characters and world in a meaningful way even if the plot ultimately isn't driven forward.
And perhaps Gundam's greatest strength is how it manages to be fiercely character-driven despite juggling duties as a fun giant robot show for kids and serious war drama for teenagers and adults. The main protagonist, Amuro, may not himself be the strongest lead, but he's a very human one, at best transporting viewers into his shoes and at worst playing the perfect foil for more likeable cast members. It's easy to admire the commanding Mr. Bright for his perpetual cool or pilot Sayla for her secret noble background, but Amuro doesn't have either of these qualities. Even the advantages he does have (his father invented the Gundam and he himself is something of a tech whiz) are not pushed front and center until quite late in the series. Rather than fight for a particular honor or ideal, Amuro's philosophy is that he just does what he has to do—nevermind he's only 15 and not yet emotionally equipped for the task.
In this he is not alone, seeing as much of the cast bears a similarly young age (despite generally demonstrating more maturity). The found family and coming-of-age themes that result are obvious, but serve as more than merely a way to appeal to the show's target audience. Anyone can be faced with challenges larger than themselves, and more importantly, the characters' age frames the challenge—frames *war*—as the real villain of Mobile Suit Gundam. And critically, it is likewise humans—not giant robots—who are the heroes.
Gundam takes place in an age when humanity has expanded beyond earth into massive space stations known as "Sides". One such Side declares itself the independent nation of Zeon and rebels against the rest of humanity, aiming to subjugate the world to their leadership. While it would be easy to paint Zeon as a faceless evil empire, Gundam's Zeon is anything but. The show spends nearly as much time with Zeon as it does the Earth Federation, and while you'll never find yourself rooting for them, you'll often wish they wouldn't lose either. Nearly every antagonist is genuinely sympathetic, and few are purely evil. After all, they have families, comrades, and backstories too. They may be on the wrong side of history (in Gundam lore, Zeon's war wiped out half the human population), but so have been many redeemable people in the real world.
By contrast, Amuro and compatriots are initially victims of a Zeon attack forced to flee aboard a ship known as the White Base. Thanks to his quick thinking, they have the Gundam (plus a few other Mobile Suits) as backup, but they're not soldiers and have plenty of personal issues to work through besides. The injustice of the situation is palpable, but never the focus. Rather, it serves as a backdrop for personal growth, and that applies both to individual characters and their function as a team. Their failures have real consequences and their successes come at a cost, but each step along the journey grows them into people far greater than when they began.
As an aside, it was observing this process that made me fall in love with the Gundam's end credits song. It's simply perfect. But I didn't always think so. At first, it was downright awkward to listen to—a relic of a bygone era from a different culture than my own. But about halfway through the series, I realized it's not actually 1970's Japanese pop: it's a war ballad playing off the style soldiers may have enjoyed in World War II, and there's a potent lesson in its lyrics for those of us now distant from this period of history. We can't always choose the challenges we will face in life, but we *can* choose not to look back. It's useless to pine for old days that will never exist again. Instead, we must bear our burdens and march forward to create a better future.
On the one hand, the story of Gundam is little more than an unlikely band of survivors on the run, fighting for victory against the odds. But it's also so, so much more. Beneath the surface of rough animation, lackluster soundtrack, and dated theme songs lies a gem that shines just as brightly 40 years after its inception.
If you're worried about watching such an old anime, and contemplating skipping Mobile Suit Gundam for the much shorter movie compilation: don't. Set your fears aside and start here first. Such superficial flaws have no power to diminish what a splendidly charming experience the original TV show is, and it remains the definitive way to introduce yourself to all things Gundam—and anime history at large.
alex264
When I first sat down to view this anime, I knew that I would be entering a franchise that has spawn from the very depths of the post funky town/ karaoke disco era of Late seventies Japan. that being said, I tried to keep a clear head in the midst of all the "Gundam is a timeless anime classic" reviews and die hard fans who seem to hold that the original is the first and therefore the easiest to appreciate. As the series progressed the clunkiness of the different era animation grew on me just for the fact that this was probably the best ofits time. Considering the idea that cartoon epics about battling in space were just launching due to space fever entering the world stage, Mobile Suit Gundam set a precedent for what animators could do with the potential a space setting had. It wasn't mind boggling to see fighting on a black backdrop, but at the same time, the fighting sequences weren't just floating structures and bullets. Amuro Ray and white base's exploits through space at first seemed repetitive and contrived, but in each fighting instance, a new seed seemed to be planted that further established the idea that war isn't necessitated for any universal purpose. It was succinct by the end of the series that there was no opposing difference between Zeon soldiers and federation soldiers, there were just the individual motivations that pushed them each to commit to battle. Considering Japanese history(imperial unity), the series did a great job of establishing the idea that individuality should often take authority over authority itself. Also, the establishing of character was for the most part well paced, if at all a little slow in some parts. I enjoyed not hearing absolute devotion on the part of all the crew to Amuro and was entrenched in the fact that Bright Noah seemed to continually be on his case regarding maturity. In an ironic twist, the writers address the fact that although individuality is what perpetuates motivations in war, it is authority that needs to be respected if individuality is to shine to its maximum potential. The sub plots regarding family ties seemed interesting but could have been expanded upon, as well as the romantic depth of the characters. At times, the show would stray from the idea of love and then at random, uncalled for times shove it down the viewers throat. The opening theme song was hooky enough for the language barrier and seemed to do a good job at establishing a sense of adventure, but it lacked any dramatic sense. Battle sounds were tip top and sound bytes played an important role in advancing the series "familiar" scenarios, making it more nostalgic. Mobile Suit Gundam's one greatest strength in my eyes, that sets it on the pinnacle of "anime" is its beautiful sense of simplicity in chaotic situations, The characters are all defined but flexible and the plot twists seem believable even in space. I get the feeling that the show set the bar for Anime's evolution into a more dramatic powerhouse, but that doesn't mean that this Gundam installment deserves any less of its respect. It is a classic show, without the glitz, but with the right core assets for one of its time.
Cerberus_Zero
Mobile Suit Gundam is the very first Gundam anime ever made. Originally, I went into this anime deciding to get into Gundam with the first anime in 2013. I was worried because this was made all the way back in 1979 that the anime may have ended up cheesy. I couldn't have been more wrong though. Mobile Suit Gundam was a phenomenal anime that not only was incredibly far ahead of it's time when originally released, but it still holds up well today. First off, the writing is incredibly good. Throughout Mobile Suit Gundam we're introduced to the protagonist Amuro Ray and his allies and foes.Amuro undergoes a great deal of character development over the course of the story. He not only grows as a character, but is a interesting character and one that the viewer will feel they can relate to. In addition, Amuro has one of the most legendary rivalries in all of anime with his foe Char Aznable. Char like Amuro is a relatable character since he too is caught up in a petty war like Amuro and doesn't wish for the war to go on like Amuro. He's an incredibly awesome looking antagonist and the way he develops as the story goes on is incredible. The fights him and Amuro have are absolutely incredible and definitely among the most memorable of the show. Beyond that, the rest of Amuro's crew is well developed.
First, we have Bright Noa who commands the White Base the ship Amuro is a part of throughout the show. He is a interesting character who is very memorable and definitely has a personality to him. Furthermore, there's several other crew members who help Amuro and the White Base out and they all have their roles to play in the story as well. Not only are the characters great in Mobile Suit Gundam, but the truly exceptional thing to Gundam is the themes of it's story.
For a anime written in 1979 the story is incredibly ahead of it's time. Why? Since this anime avoids the incredibly boring and generic good vs evil story we've seen several times in books, video game stories and animes. Despite the Earth Federation being in a never ending war and battle with Zeon neither side is truly evil. Both sides have people who don't wish to have to kill others and who question the morality of war. Due to this, you'll often find yourself not only cheering for the central heroes, but also their antagonists since they too are fighting for a cause they are passionate about. The anime's themes of war, corruption, the value of human life and grayness of morality will also cause the viewer to reflect on morality as well. Another great aspect of the original Gundam is the fights.
Many of the fights the main character Amuro gets into are incredibly entertaining to watch. The stakes always feel very high in the fights and most of the time the fights are very close so it always feels like a character could die whether it be Amuro or a ally of his in the show. There's some really incredible scenes like Amuro using his saber to slice an entire enemy mobile suit in half while jumping through the air or having to fight in a dangerous situation against multiple foes. Most importantly, during the majority of fights in the anime there's a lot of tension and it helps to really invest the viewer in the anime. Mobile Suit Gundam's music while not incredible does fit the atmosphere of the show and much of the music helps to intensify the fights and get the viewer more invested in the outcome of these skirmishes characters get into throughout the show. Last, I would like to speak about the production values.
The production values is definitely dated. Even for it's time I don't believe this was incredibly good animation. However, despite that it's still perfectly watchable and the viewer is able to see everything that needs to be conveyed to the easily. Gundam has some really incredible character designs and the mobile suits such as Amuro's RX-78 and the Zeon's Zakus are some of the most memorable Gundam designs even to this day. As said before, the music isn't anything amazing, but it does fit the atmosphere of the show and helps to enhance said atmosphere. Fortunately, the voice acting in the english dub was quite good. I felt the voices very appropriately fitted the characters and I didn't have much of a problem with the dub. So overall how is Gundam?
Gundam is an incredibly good anime. The themes it's story tackles were very far ahead of it's time. Furthermore, the pacing of the anime is good and by the first 3 episodes you've already seen the first major fight of the anime and you'll find yourself quickly getting invested into this anime. Gundam's portrayal of war and the way the characters question the morality of war and the actions people do during war leaves a strong impression. Many of the characters are interesting and develop over the course of the story. Mobile Suit Gundam also has quite possibly the best anime rivalry of all time between Amuro and Char Aznable. I thank Gundam for showing me how incredible the mecha genre can be. Previously, before Gundam I had ignorantly thought mecha genre shows had weak characterization and the focus just all on the robots, but I could not have been more wrong. This anime truly goes above and beyond and is a titan in the world of anime that stands the test of time. It shows that mecha animes can have complex well written stories with great characters along with incredible fights. Do not pass this anime up!
IcehawkDown
Watching this show about 30 years after it was made, it can be easy to be a bit thrown off by Mobile Suit Gundam. It has some pretty old and kind of ugly animation by today's standards, there's still lots of corny dialogue like "WHY YOU!!!", and, each episode is basically the same thing over, and over. Build up to a fight, fight with Gundam, end episode. Yet, despite all this, for some reason I just loved this show, for several reasons. First off, this is a great coming of age story for the main character, Amaro. It's really exciting to watch Amaro go from rookiepilot to one of the best over the course of the show, it makes things quite rewarding. In fact, I'd say almost all the characters in the show grow a little, almost every main character on the White Base gets developed pretty well. And it is the same with the "bad guys", which obviously adds a lot to the show.
Speaking of the bad guys, I love how both sides of the war have both good and bad people, it's very realistic and avoids the somewhat corny trait a lot of shows have when they have pure evil vs. pure good (see: Hokuto No ken). Lots of the fighting and politics, and how the world ends up after space are all pretty plausible, which is another nice touch to get you immersed into Gundam's world.
Despite all the great stuff on the side, in the end, the show developers knew exactly what people wanted when they watched this show, and that was sweet Gundam fights. While it can get a little predictable, almost every episode features a fight with Gundam. All these fights are really well done, especially ones with Amaro's main rival, Char. They are pretty intense, and it's fun to watch Amaro get better and better.
In order to keep things from getting too stale, there are generally mini-arcs happening during all the fighting. For example, an important person might be injured/sick for a few episodes, and the rest of the crew has to adapt. These arcs aren't usually too complex, but they do a good job of developing everyone and keeping the fights a little fresh.
It should be noted that despite first airing in the 70s, the art isn't too bad. Explosions and such look kind of lame, but I still found myself excited during action scenes. The music is extremely awesome though, which was a huge surprise.
Overall, I just never imagined such an old show would really grab me like Gundam did. Despite being a bit formulaic, it executes everything
BowlingJD
Here it is... Tomino's animated directed love child, which is one of my favorite anime of all time. The very first Gundam series has spawned a revolution of countless spinoffs, sequels, video games and movies. Surprisingly enough this anime was not popular during its' initial airing and wasn't until later that this became more of cult following. Clearly while watching, the show takes a lot from Space Battleship Yamato by the characters, art, and overall plot development of the story. However, compared to Yamato which focuses on the ship, MSG focuses more on the characters. Our main hero/pilot called Amuro Ray actually changed the game in regardsto the man is tough and strives for battle to a male character exposing his feelings. This may not sound like much today for a male character, but up until this point, it just didn't happen. There are many mecha tropes that MSG introduced from the evolved human feelings (newtype) to the antagonist in the mask. It's the first series in which an invader from space wasn't alien, but instead humans. On and on it goes.
As a story, MSG can be extremely simple or deep depending on the viewer. It can be viewed as a teenager hopping into a mobile suit, going to war, and surviving the war. It can also be viewed as a message to mankind, human evolution, political influence, etc... just as a couple examples. All in all though, this is a story about war.
I really wish more people would go out and watch the original anime as the movie trilogy is regarded as "canon" now. Fans of mecha probably have already watched this. If you aren't a mecha fan, still watch this show. There wasn't a giant Gundam statue put up in Japan for nothing.
TakaCode
Mobile Suit Gundam Review. Hello everyone this is Shawn aka KurataTriggr and welcome to my month of Anime Limited project. For the first anime that I will be reviewing for this project will be Mobile Suit Gundam or Gundam 0079 for short. I will be reviewing the 43 episode TV series instead of the 0079 movie trilogy. Now with out of the way let's begin. Story. It is the year 0079 of the universal century an era of mankind can now live in space in artifical homes called space colony's. The printability of Zeon have declared independence from the earth federation and subsequently launches a war for independence withZeon having a upper hand thanks with the use of mobile suits giant palpable robots. Both side were end up with heavy casualties and they would enter a stalemate for eight months though all that changed during the attack on side seven when a young boy named Amuro Ray discovers a powerful new mobile suit developed by the earh federation called Gundam. After fighting off the Zeon forces in the new mobile weapon he along with several of his friends and civilians of side seven escape on board a new federation ship called white base. Scavenging any resources they can the white base must use utilise it's crew consisting of newly civilians and rookies with little military experience to survive the war while fending off the very best of Zeon has to offer.
The story for Gundam 0079 is pretty good for the most part. It's a really good war story that is straightforward and selp-explantory but it's definitely the best and most innovating aspect of Gundam 0079. It was a innovating show of how it portrayed mecha in a more realistic fashion compared to other mecha at the time while also showing us kind of effects war can have on people at any age.
From teenagers, adults to even children.
The story from the most part is well written that is well paced and despite being cut down to 43 episodes in its intinal run. Gundam 0079 explores the tooth of 2 sides in a manner that is interesting in depth and engaging and shows us that no side is black and white and that the both the earth federation and the Zeon will go to huge streams to accomplish they goals. In such
Gundam 0079 definitely shows to us that real war isn't an battle of good vs evil but rather a battle of ideologies and different views of how to world should work.
However Gundam 0079 has a few flaws.
For starters I feel the pacing for the middle portain of the show could have been a bit better as it be a bit draggy at times.
The other issue that I have with Gundam 0079 is the newtype subplot at the other as I thought it was introduced way too late of it's episode count. I wished the newtype subplot was introduced a bit earlier in the second half of the show. Instead the newtype subplot was rushed and it left quite of lot of unanswered questions. Lucky the Gundam shows after Gundam 0079 manages to answer a lot of questions about the newtype stuff.
Overall despite its flaws I thought the story to be pretty great as its very iconic, very engaging and innovative themes of how war can us as human beings for all age groups.
8/10
Characters.
The characters of Gundam 0079 are pretty great for most part as they likeable and relatable the eye.
Amuro Ray is a great gundam protagonist.
Sure he starts off as naive and a bit immature in the beginning but as the series progress he grows into a mature and badass pilot that has a lot depth.
Not to mention I really how he interacts with others characters in the series and how he changes is interactions with others as the series processes.
The rest of the white base members have to face with their own personal struggles as well which makes endearing and memorable. Of course the white base aren't the only ones to have this in depth view as Zeon forces also have quite a lot of screen time as well and most of them are just memorable while are portrayed as honor driven antagonists there are those you can sympathise with like Char Aznable
While Char seems to be loyal to Zeon he does have his own personal goals to accomplish.
The only character I wasn't a fan was Lalah as I thought she was just a walking plot device for the whole newtype subplot for the last few episodes. She also didn't developed that much due to her lack of screen time.
She had potential to be great if they introduced the newtype subplot a bit more early in the second half but instead she comes off as a wasted potential character and she is the weakest part of 0079 as a whole.
Overall besides from Lalah the characters of Gundam 0079 are pretty great and memorable.
9/10
Visuals.
Visually Gundam 0079 is a bit outdated in today's standards but it shouldn't really bother those that truly want to get into the series unless your one of those people who only care about style over substance. Sure the animation can be inconsistent at time as well of having a lot of stock footage but you must keep in mind that this show came out in the late 70s where a lot of anime during that time had this issue with especially super robot animes from the 70s. So for me the animation is acceptable. As for the character designs I thought they are pretty good that has aged quite a bit well today. They are very iconic as well as having that great old school charm that is still pleasing to the eye today. The battles are iconic that are still a treat to watch. Speaking of which Gundam was the first ever mech series that introduce mech in a more realistic scenario. Gundam was also the first mecha show to showcase many military strategies like gurellia warfare and stealth instead of brute force unlike all of the mecha shows in the 70s before Gundam 0079. Gundam 0079 will eventually lead up to create to lead up to create the real robot genre in the 1980s.
The mecha designs are iconic and memorable. The Gundam itself has great simple design that is still iconic to this day.
The Zeon suits are intimidating and only get stronger as the series progresses not to mention they are also well designed and iconic.
Overall I though the visuals were good that has the old school charm that I liked.
7/10
Sound.
The soundtrack of Gundam 0079 has it's wonderful charm that I loved.
The opening and ending themes while lighthearted for a show that has heavy war themes I still found them to be good and catchy despite not being very fitting for the show.
Now for Dub or Sub of Gudnam 0079.
Personally I thought both languages are pretty good what they were.
In short 0079 can be enjoyed in both languages.
9/10
Final Thoughts.
It's honestly amazing that Mobile Suit Gundam was a disaster in the ratings that ultimately got cancelled would go to be one of the most prolific anime of all time.
Whether you love or hate Gundam or mecha anime you cannot deny the influence that Gundam had on not just mecha shows and anime on Japan as a whole.
The story is really good, the characters were great and mostly well written the visuals while being dated its has that great old school charm and the soundtrack and voice acting for both languages were great. The only flaws that I have with Gundam 0079 were the pacing of the middle portain of the series and Lalah and the whole newtype subplot being kinda underdeveloped.
Despite that Gundam 0079 is a great classic anime that I highly recommend to people.
If your interested of getting into the Gundam franchise then this is the best place to start. You won't be disappointed.
I give Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 a 8.5/10
Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 is currently been licensed by RightStuff in the US and Anime Limited in the UK.
It's available on DVD and Blu Ray in the US but only on Blu Ray in the UK but you can always buy the DVD version on Otaku.com for an affordable price if you dont have a blu ray player or if you on a tight budget such as myself.
Anyway this was Shawn aka KurataTrigger and I will see you guys next time.
Next Review Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam.
TRI_Mike
Oh wow. Mobile Suit Gundam 0079. The very first series in a franchise that has seen dozens of fantastic stories about people piloting giant robots and fighting on them. This series is the beginning of it all, telling the story of the White Base in the One-Year War between the Earth Federation and the Zeon Principality. The White Base is a Federation warship that escapes with an unexperienced crew from the space colony Side 7 after it's attacked by the Zeon. A boy named Amuro Ray manages to steal a Mobile Suit called the Gundam and through the story, he learns to control it tobecome a formidable fighter and Newtype (some sort of psychic humans) at the end.
The art, sound and story are excellent but several parts in the middle feel longer than the should be. The very first episodes are fantastic and the last ones will keep you at the edge of your seat. If you watch the series nowdays, you won't help but admire how they came up with all this way back in 1979. I honestly admire Sunrise for this.
I'm sure most people will probably ditch MSG79 for looking too oldschool but trust me, hidden among these 43 old episodes lies quite possibly one of the most important anime series ever created. I totally recommend it.
kekekeKaj
For a long time I'd thought the importance of the original Gundam anime Mobile Suit Gundam was mainly due to its founding of the Real Robot genre as well the huge, sprawling Gundam franchise that's still going strong today. Having actually sat down and watched the show though, I realised that I seriously underestimated the influence of this seminal series: not only did it make its mark in anime history, many of its ideas remain relevant to this day. It always seemed a little strange to me how Gundam series often recycle the same elements over and over. What became obvious once I started Mobile SuitGundam was how these traditions were inherited directly from the original series. Even the opening shot was a spine-tinglingly iconic one, with the sun peeking out behind Earth and the sunlight tracing a circle around the outline of the planet. The backstory exposition immediately introduces a few other familiar elements, including the war between the Earth faction and the space colony faction with a name beginning with Z - in this case Zeon - and their infamous cyclops mech designs, as well as the notorious colony drop event, which I was surprised to see occurred only in the backstory and not the main one.
The original Gundam series begins in the middle of the war, during a lull in the action. It doesn't take long to see this lull broken, as Zeon forces led by Char Aznable, the original blond, masked maverick (whose doppelgangers are a staple of later Gundam series), finds a newly deployed Federation warship White Base picking up a batch of secretly developed weapons from a space colony. One of these weapons happen to be … drum roll please … the mobile suit (aka robot) Gundam. The action ramps up quickly as Zeon attacks the colony, and 15-year old prodigy Amuro Ray gets caught up in the conflict and ends up piloting the Gundam against Zeon forces as White Base tries to escape the colony, salvaging what they could of the newly developed weaponry.
Mobile Suit Gundam impressed me immediately with its watchability. For a show hailing from the 70s, just about the worst you can say about its production values is how amusingly dated its opening theme is. Having struggled through other 70s shows like Space Battleship Yamato, I was relieved to discover this 40+ episode series would not require nearly the amount of effort to sit through.
The early episodes consisted of mostly military tactics/action fare, and showcased some impressive battles despite the clearly limited animation budget. I found myself more engrossed in these primitively animated battles than many modern, better animated action sequences, which made me realise that well thought through tactics and clean choreography often trumps flashy, fast paced animation. One of the things that stands out about the battles is the importance of ammunition and energy: someone is always running out of one or the other, often changing the course of battle. These kind of detail clearly establish Mobile Suit Gundam as a new breed of mecha show - these are not super robots in action with their seemingly infinite supply of Thunderclap Groin Rockets and whatnot.
The highlights of the early battles are the repeated run-ins between Char and Amuro. The clash of styles keeps the contest interesting: one is an experienced, supremely talented mecha pilot; the other is a rookie with deep potential piloting a mecha with vastly superior technology. Another reason why these encounters are so enjoyable is due to Char himself. He instantly comes across as an anti-villain with a fascinating personality and bundles of charisma. What's more, his complex relationship with other Zeon commanders adds a layer of political intrigue to the proceedings. No wonder his is the only name I'd heard of prior to watching this show.
Beyond the tactical elements, the early story plays out as a bunch of rookies getting to grips with a powerful but unfamiliar space ship while engaging in continuous skirmishes with Zeon forces. It reminds me of the early episodes of a certain show called Macross (you may have heard of it) that aired several years later. This shouldn't come as a surprise though, when you learn that several of the creative minds behind Macross graduated from the same Gundam fan club in university.
The second part of Mobile Suit Gundam takes place on Earth. This stretch lasts for a while, and it certainly feels like it too; they exhibit both the strongest and the weakest aspects of the series. On the plus side, there's some impressive character developments, with Kai's growth from a selfish shithead to a sympathetic character elevating him as an unexpected highlight of the series. In addition, there's more meat to the story, which showcases an astonishing number of ideas which would resurface and be further explored in later anime. Certain political and aesthetic elements would return in force in Legend of the Galactic Heroes (you may have heard of this too), and, perhaps more significantly and certainly more obviously, the mini storyline that illustrates the toll war exacts on a child civilian soldier germinated an idea that, well over a decade later, would grow and form the backbone of a little series called Neon Genesis Evangeleon (you probably hear-- nah, this is one series you probably haven't heard of).
To give Mobile Suit Gundam its due, some of its ideas were executed with surprising amount of nuance and emotional weight, making for compelling viewing even today. But as often is the case with early pioneers, at least as many ideas had too many rough edges. What made things worse was that, as much as Mobile Suit Gundam broke away from the super robot genre, it couldn't do so completely. Despite the attempted serialised storytelling, the series rarely thinks about more than two episodes at a time. As a result, romantic subplots would surface then get forgotten; minor characters get introduced and killed off within a couple of episodes like clockwork; side stories and ideas mostly resolves within the same time frame, even the more complex ones desperately in need of fleshing out. On top of this, the format of the episodes are rigid, and after a while the obligatory battle of the week begins to resemble the monster-of-the-week format so omnipresent in the show's super robot predecessors.
Hampered by the short-termism of the writing and the pseudo-episodic format, the series soon began to drag, in spite of the semi-regular short bursts of quality. Even the initially thoughtful military engagements peter out into mostly paint-by-numbers affairs thanks to the sheer number of battles exhausting the limited supply of good ideas. In addition, due to the children's toy tie in (unsuitable though it may be considering the content of the show), the show regularly gets hijacked by toy manufacturers keen to sell merch, so we're inundated with Gundam specs and battle configurations that aren't detailed enough to satisfy those (like me) who enjoy getting into the nitty gritty details of combat, but at the same time more than enough to bore those who don't care about such things.
The show also suffers from other flaws symptomatic of the times. For instance the comic relief kids, looking like they came from an entirely different type of show, whose greatest contributions were that of annoyance - and as a parent of a toddler going through the terrible twos phase at the time of watching I don't say this lightly. Then there's the smattering of casual 70s sexism which jars especially when placed next to the strong roles given to the female characters who aren't just damsels in distress. A few years later, Macross would take the strong women characterisations further, but here we're very much in the early stages of these ideas.
As the Mobile Suit Gundam limps into the final stretch with a return back to space, it gets an injection of renewed energy, and the meandering overarching plot appears to suddenly rediscover a sense of purpose. Unfortunately this is counterbalanced by a palpable shift for the direction of the plot. If it feels like the story's been redone, that's probably because it had: series creator Yoshiki Tomino's original story draft differed dramatically from what eventually got made. In addition, the series got cancelled due to low ratings, and the writers had to tie up the series sooner than planned. This left the show's home straight feeling invigorated but disjointed: ideas and concepts that went unmentioned for the first 30+ episodes are suddenly everywhere and on all the characters' lips ("newtype" anyone?); the new concepts predictably remain underdeveloped; characters forge unconvincingly deep connections practically over night; character motivations went through 180s (sometimes multiple ones). Char's character in particular suffered, and comes across as borderline split personality disorder towards the end. These gripes aside, the last few episodes were sprinkled with some of the most exciting battles and well directed scenes in the series. It really felt like team worked hard to pull out all the stops to end the series on a high. Alas, I found its deus ex style ending a bit of a let down.
So, how does the show hold up today? Probably better than I expected. It's a bit of a mixed bag for sure: it features a serialised story constrained by the episodic narrative mentality; it contains some fascinating characters along with some dubious character development; it exhibited some great military battles early on only to run out of steam under the relentless rigid format. While far from unwatchable, I'm also not convinced Mobile Suit Gundam has enough to keep most modern audiences engaged. There is one group for which this show is an easy sell though - those with an interest in anime history, especially of the mecha genre. It's no exaggeration to say that you can trace visible, direct lines from this show to other giants of the medium that came out years and even decades later. It's one of those shows where I came out feeling like I'd grown as an anime fan just by having experience it first hand.
But for all its obvious influential clout, personally I think Mobile Suit Gundam was eclipsed by another legendary - though perhaps less influential - anime that started airing just half a year later: The Rose of Versailles. The two shows provide a fascinating contrast: while at first impressions the hilariously dated production of The Rose of Versailles aged far more poorly than Mobile Suit Gundam, as The Rose of Versailles goes on the story gained more and more momentum (perhaps due to having the unfair advantage of adapting an existing manga); it took full advantage of the serialised format and spun a superbly engrossing yarn that won me over completely by the end. Now there is a show I'd still recommend to a lot of audiences today. Mobile Suit Gundam? I'm not so sure.
Personal rating: +0.5 (decent)
RedSuisei
Mobile Suit Gundam. Every anime fans (even some who aren't anime fan) must've heard of this metaseries. Gundam is a metaseries that have one of the largest fanbase in Japan. Not that big outside, but still has a considerable size. This anime is the original which started off the metaseries, which will later become a popular culture in Japan. Many people feel that this is a very good anime, though unfortunately this just doesn't cut it for some others. Now I'm one of the former, and I'll try to review this series based on my opinions. Story: 8 The core of the plot is actually quitesimple: War between Earth Federation and Principality of Zeon. Pretty simple? But the whole story itself is not so simple. Throughout the series, you will learn more about the war, and it's not as simple as "good guys vs bad guys." The good guys aren't actually that good, and the bad guys aren't actually that bad. Both side have a solid reason for fighting, and this is the part that made the story interesting. Even each character has various reasons for fighting. Though there is a bit of disappointment in the middle, where there's a lot of filler episodes. This is probably due to the fact at that time, Gundam has a pretty low rating, so it got cut from 50 episodes to 26 episodes, then somehow got extended to 43 episodes. I think it will be better if it didn't got cut in the first place.
Art: 7
It's a 1979 anime, so the animation is pretty bad (though I believe it's pretty good for the time.) Even so, the mecha and character design, though old, is quite good. The mecha design is very distinguishable from each other, and is actually quite good despite being old. Even some of the enemy grunts have quite good designs, which is pretty widely known to this date, such as the Zaku. Character design is also good. Nowadays there's a lot of animes that have characters that look like each other, or characters that looks like a character from another anime. That's not the case here. I've never seen any other character that looks like Amuro Ray or Bright Noa in another anime. Also, I think it's just me, but somehow I find myself not noticing stock animation very often. They do exist, but somehow I notice them less often here than in recent anime works.
Sound: 9
Okay many people will disagree with me on this, but for me myself, the soundtracks are actually quite good. Gundam is one of the very few series that I watched without ever skipping the OP song, not to mention for a whole 43 episodes. Sure it's very old and sounds cheesy, but somehow it's pretty addictive for me. I can't get that "Moeagare x3 Gandamu!!" lyrics out of my head for a whole month after watching this. The soundtracks during the anime itself is also good. They build a good atmosphere for the scene, and some are also quite addictive.
Not only soundtracks, the SFX is also good. It's pretty classic that once you watch this, you will recognize the sound if it's played somewhere. I myself recognize many of the same SFX being used in Macross up to Macross 7.
Character: 8
Characters are quite good, though the very minor ones are not. Most characters have a good development throughout the stories, especially inside the White Base since they're just amateurs at the beginning. One thing noticeable is that each character has pretty solid ideals. Being on one side doesn't necessarily means they have the same ideals. This is why there's a lot of conflicts on board the White Base, and the reason for Char's actions throughout the series. Minus point is that the subject on romance pretty oddly carried, but romance really isn't the focus in Gundam.
Enjoyment: 9
I really enjoy this series, for reasons stated above. Especially the battles, although the animation is bad, but they're pretty interesting. Grunts actually put up some fight, unlike more recent works where numerous grunts got destroyed with 1 attack without putting up any fight. Also, as godly as the Gundam is, it still struggles in many battles, especially in the beginning when Amuro is still a rookie.
Miscellaneous things I took into considerations:
-IT"S MECHA! Yeah I'm a mecha maniac, which is why I love this series. This is also the the reason why some people disliked Gundam, since they hate mechas.
-Helps me to better understand the story in later series, like Zeta, ZZ, CCA, and Unicorn.
-No bishoujos/bishounens/overly moe characters. I really hate animes that only uses bishoujos/bishounens/overly moe characters as the selling point.
-Technologies in the series, although fictional, still seems plausible to some extent. It's still fictional, but much more realistic than many other mecha animes.
-After watching this I noticed a lot more parodies in animes/mangas. Yes Gundam is one of the most often parodied anime, like in Sgt Keroro, Hayate no Gotoku, Full Metal Panic, and even Ghost in the Shell.
Overall: 9
So yeah this is an old anime. My parents haven't even met each other when this anime is aired. Still, this is a pretty good anime, IMO even better than many of the recent animes. Though it's true that this anime is not for everyone, you should give it a try, unless you're a mecha hater, or if animation is very important to you, or if you seek romance. But if you're not, then by all means go ahead and give it a go. I am glad myself that I've watched this anime. One thing of advice, if you do watch this, you might want to look more info about this series in the internet, there are many interesting things that aren't covered in the anime.
PoeticJustice
It is not often I make such a foray into the past as I have now. Undoubtedly, if you are a fan of anime, it is almost impossible that you have not heard the name ‘Gundam.' Gundam, the series that gave life to the childlike fantasies of men(and women not to be sexist). I mean who doesn’t love the idea of Giant robots trashing each other into oblivion? Who doesn’t love pilots screaming and crying inside their cockpits after killing 20 or 30 people? I know I do. Or that might just be my sociopathic tendencies. Whatever, on to the review. Mobile Suit Gundam takes placefar into the future, where humanity now lives in space colonies scattered across the galaxy. An opposing government, The Principality of Zeon, has declared war on the Earth Federation in a battle for superiority. During an eight-month break from the war, a young man named Amuro Ray stumbles upon a secret Earth Federation project named, “Gundam,” which is meant to turn the tide of war. In a cruel twist of fate, Amuro pilots the Gundam and lives him, and his friends become embroiled in the decade-long argument which cost the lives of millions.
First and foremost, Mobile Suit Gundam is an anti-war show. Although it does tend to glamorize war with the epic bouts between giant robots, giant robots and laser swords, the anime focuses on how war effects those involved. It doesn’t necessarily takes a psychological approach, but it does touch upon how war impacts both sides. Zeon, nor the Federation, is painted as good or evil. The show adds a broad stroke of ambiguity. There are despicable characters on both sides of the war, but they hardly represent the entirety of either movement. What I appreciate is the show never has to regurgitate trite lines like, “War is hell.” Or “War is bad” or something to that effect. It would much rather show how much destruction it brings to everything in its path. That works to its advantage.
Mobile Suit Gundam also has some layers of complexity to it as it delves into politics now and again. The most attractive side, have to be Zeon and its Monarchal structure. The show expands upon how the Zabi family came into power, who is involved, what roles do the family members serve in government and the corruption that comes along such as system. The show never dedicates a substantial amount of time to politics, but it always plays a role in every major plot occurrence.
I was surprised that the animation wasn’t that bad as I thought. Yes, it is ancient when you compare it to more recent anime, but I can see why people were amazed when it first aired. And, to my surprise, there weren’t that many reused battle scenes that I noticed(unlike Gundam SEED).
What I dislike about Gundam is how the episode structure becomes repetitive after a while. Most episodes have a strict formula: White base runs from Char, White base stops someone, they talk to locals, and then white base gets attacked. Not every episode is essential to moving the plot forward, nor does it necessarily develop or characterize the cast. At least, ten episodes amount to filler. Another issue I have is the introduction of a new story element near the end of the show. It comes from left field and to me, it feels as though it undermines individual characters. As opposed to being skilled through talent or experience, characters are skilled do to an almost supernatural ability. It doesn’t exactly ruin the show, but it did put a damper on my enjoyment.
The cast is nothing fantastic, but it does have a few characters that I did like. Amuro is a well-developed protagonist. Almost every combat experience added to his character in some way. Some events cause him to a breakdown in tears while others serve to strengthen his resolve. He also transitions from a whiny brat to an independent adult. His nemesis Char is an iconic character for a reason. He is suave, charismatic, witty and downright lovable. There aren’t many episodes dedicated to Char’s character, which is a shame. But nonetheless, I was enamored with him. The supporting cast is nothing to speak in-depth. Most of them remain static throughout the show
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Mobile Suit Gundam is a series that spawned an innumerable amount of spin-offs, games, and other merchandise. It has become one of the most cultural important anime of all time. While by no stretch would I call it a masterpiece, it is an enjoyable experience.
VengefulAura
This series was so awesome.. the first of the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise! The art style is dated and animations are dated but it's a classic. I think the show holds up pretty well especially from being from 1979. The dub was good in my opinion. The sound, music, OP and ED were nice as well, the opening is kinda happy, and the ending is kinda melancholic. White base is a bunch of civilians who were thrown into the war with no experience. They start off as weak, scared, not very good, but they develop into such a strong independent crew that no one candefeat. Bright Noa is an excellent commander. They all created such a tight bond between each other that they are all practically family at this point. They lost friends/teammates along the way, but it made them come back stronger. Gun Cannon, Gun Tank and Mobile Suit were the first lines of Defense. Amuro, Kai and Hayato worked together so well. Amuro starts off as a total whimp, then slowly develops into an amazing pilot who defeated basically everyone that crossed him. He even rivaled Char Aznable, the red comet. This show has nothing but excellent characters, battles, and has so much charm too it. Char is the most likable antagonist. I found myself not knowing who to side for.. Zeon or Federation. They both just want independence. Char is unique, charming, a perfect leader, very smart, doesnt back down, pilots the coolest gundam, and is the ACE pilot of Zeon. This show pioneered the mecha genre.
bloodyboy
The one that started it all. The codifier of Real Robot anime- Gundam Mobile Suit Gundam (or Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 nowadays/ Gundam 79 for short) is the first Gundam series set in Universal Century, and the first Gundam series overall airing in 1979. We deal with a war against the Principality of Zeon, with the Federation fighting against them. A 15 year old boy named Amuro Ray accidentally jumps in the cockpit of the RX-79, the namesake Gundam. Amuro then fights against the Zeon soldiers.That's on the surface, on the inside we actually have character relations explored from the White Base crew, the original cool ship!
This series also deals with a masked man named Char who works for the Zeon but has a hidden agenda.
Overall, the series is actually a good series, many people would get turned off by the art style, but it still has good action scenes, and I genuinely enjoyed it. I recommend a watch.
