Review of Mobile Suit Gundam 00

If I were to rate this like a hollywood film, I'd say it's a popcorn action movie. It stands as an interesting followup to the Gundam Seed premise (the plots are in no way or form linked) and as a solid stand-alone work. It explores more fully the ideas expressed in the last two Gundam series, the idea of fighting to end war. Story: Doesn't really add many twists to say the least. A little background on the world in this series. It's the first Gundam series that takes place in the AD time continuum, the beginning of the 24th century. The majorityof the world is grouped into 3 factions, all of which hog a share of the only remaining energy resource which is solar energy being "farmed" from massive sollar arrays ringing around the planet. Despite free and renewable energy, wars continue based on who has the energy, and more traditional reasons like religion.
The story starts out and the organization Celestial Being, with it's 4 pilots called "Gundam Meisters", begin operations to end war. They do this by sending the ridiculously overpowered Gundams to destroy any forces involved in conflict. They enjoy enormous success at first despite the four Meisters all possessing massive character flaws and/or traumatic pasts. In typical Gundam story-telling the team of heroes is betrayed and they lose their technological edge. There are a lot of small plot twists and many of the seemingly stray plotlines converge in the second series. The whole Saji/Louise subplot finds resolution in the 2nd series so don't be confused by it's rambling nature.
I found the initial reactions of the nations to be logical, but they increasingly become less so and the seemingly jaded opinion of the writers that the public would so quickly reject a vigilante military organization is a touch out there.
I could explain it further, but I'll leave that to the people who choose to view this show. I thought it worked but had some logic gaps, as most Gundam series do since they are typically aimed at the teenage male bracket.

Art: The different designs were very well done and a pleasant change from the generic designs of SEED. Nothing wowed me, but you can tell the characters apart and they do wear more than one outfit (a sign of poor art standards if they only wear one; see April O'Neil in TMNT and think body odor).

Sound: The soundtrack always fit the mood, the openings are great. I'd add either of the openings to my MP3. list, though the endings were pretty bland.

Character: Setsuna is the most boring main character ever. His motivations are clear, his "monk in a monastery" attitude towards female interaction are severe even by the celibate Shonen anime standards. He appears to be in his mid-teens, acts much older of course in that he never seems to let loose or even smile. His tortured past in being manipulated by radical muslim extremists is interesting, but barely seems to add or subtract to his personality. It is interesting that he's probably the first Kurdish hero of any anime.
Lockon Stratos is the likeable, older brother of the group. Of Irish descent, his family (except his twin brother) were killed by the same extremists that Setsuna once belonged to. He's the most relatable of the 4 meisters.
Allejuah Haptism is a young man (turns 21 at the beginning) with his normal personality and then his psychotic alter ego Hallejuah. He was formerly "Super Soldier" test subject who managed to escape the program. He has a strange mental link with the other Super Soldier, Soma Pieres, who is involved in the HRL (one of the nations) efforts to capture a Gundam.
Last of the Meisters is Tierria Erde. His background is not explained much in the first series, but he is able to link directly with the group's super computer "Veda". He's not entirely human and doesn't want the others to know this. He's also the "jerk" of the group until he confronts his own shortcomings and is not rejected by the others.
There are many other characters, most of whom are interesting in their own ways. The one other character who's (in my opinion) worth noting in this review is the tactician or "tactical forcaster" for Celestial Being, Sumeragi Noriega. She is very reminscient of Misato from Evangelion. She drinks frequently and wears skimpy clothes on occasion, but is all business during combat operations. She's haunted by a terrible accident early in her military career that resulted in a massively fatal friendly fire incident.

Enjoyment: It's perhaps the thin plot and simplistic characters that make this show such a fun watch. Especially at the beginning, anyone watching could seem themselves wanting to join Celestial Being. Fighting to end the countless "brushfire" wars across the globe with weapons and machinery that far outpaces anything in use at the time. That quickly ends, as some of the hallmarks of any Gundam series are warmongers, conspiracies, and the fact that the Gundams are always fallible in some way. You are always rooting for Celestial Being, though for some reason everyone in the anime seems to hate them for their "hypocrisy" (still think it's flimsy". The other constant in the series that whenever it seems that the Gundams are finished, they always get a new ability or specialty that tips the odds.

Overall: I like this series, plain and simple. I watched the first season(shown on Sci Fi channel in the US) and wait eagerly to watch the new episodes (second season) online each Sunday (currently waiting for the dubbing of the final episode). It doesn't have great characters like Code Geass, Naruto, or Rurouni Kenshin; but each are interesting and memorable in their own ways. The plot is annoyingly simple, but you still are on the edge of your seat.
The one thing that I can say that REALLY puts this anime far apart from most others is that the action keeps going. Rather than have all the character development happen in between the fighting, most of it occurs mid combat and I don't think there is a single episode where at least some sort of skirmish is going on.
So I recommend this movie to anyone who wants an engrossing anime, with loads of actions, and doesn't want their morals or beliefs challenged.
If you are looking for a character driven anime (see Death Note), a mecha as metaphorical experience (Evangelion), or light-hearted adventure (Naruto) then I wouldn't recommend it.