Review of Mobile Suit Gundam 00
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.