Please note that I am not a critic, I just want to offer another view on this widely-disliked series. However, I will be taking this review from the perspective of a person who got into writing because of this series and has a lot of sentimental value to it, and you are fully allowed to disagree. Story: 7 The story is basically the "group of heroes saves the world(s)" trope. Is it cliche? Yes, but cliches are not a bad thing. They exist for a reason, and aren't made any worse by the frequency of their appearance in other unrelated works. The story in this anime remainsconcise and coherent, and by the end of the series, just about all questions have been answered. It's simple, but it's effective in its own right and that shouldn't be ignored.

Art: 7

Is it jaw dropping like the art of Madhouse or Type-Moon? No, but it wasn't supposed to be either. This anime was made at a time when moving hair and fabric was considered Pixar-level animation, and was one of the first really big dips for Japanese animators to try CGI. It's dated, and the hiatus between the first and second half shows different qualities in animation, but anyone who truly loves animation can recognize that it has just as much importance as the 2D animation. This series was made to test the capability of CGI animation at the time, and I think it succeeded in showing that it's a viable way to animate.

Sound: 8

The sound - and music specifically - is always very recognizable to me. It has something I just don't get from other anime's OSTs, and I often listen to it when I write.

Character: 9

This is what really makes me love this series. Are the characters cliche? Yes, and as I said before, that's not a bad thing. However, there is more to them than that. Captain Gundam on his own has so much character development in just the first few episodes, going from a cold, secretive, non-emotional officer to someone who (though naive) is learning the importance of allies. That is often one of the most important lessons a person can learn, that they never need to be alone. The characters that were are the ones that failed, and its something very seldom remembered in the time this review is being written.

Enjoyment: 10

This is the only anime I can watch over and over again and still get a dumb grin on my face from, and the only series that can cheer me up in my worst moods effortlessly. I genuinely enjoy the story and the characters, the antics they get into, and the horrors they have to push through as their lives quite literally crumble around them. Ignoring the sentimental value it has as my inspiration for my own writing and the friend I've had for 12 years now because of it, it's fun to just sit back and watch.

Overall: 9

There has never been an anime I have watched that means more to me. It's certainly not the best, but no story is perfect by any means. It's certainly not as bad as the reputation it's been given either. It's certainly not for everyone, but no anime is either. If you're looking for something you don't really want to think too seriously on, have a look at this one. Just enjoy it for what it is. Don't worry, you'll still get the dark stuff later in the series - forbidden love to the point of obsession, mechanical cannibalism, psychological torture, civil warfare, large-scale militaristic attacks, implied genocide in the form of petrification, all the hallmarks of a gundam series. You just need to look at it.