Post by ravenwithoutcause on Feb 3, 2005 14:50:57 GMT -5
Quite honestly, I'm not a big Gundam guy. That's not to say I've never been exposed to it, however. I'm well-rooted in the Universal Century and After Colony Gundam shows, the One Year War, "newtypes," and other such whatnot. There's also quite a few Gundam shows I'm an avid fan of: I count the goofy shounen action series G Gundam as sort of a religious experience, and I likewise feel affection for the gritty 08th MS Team OVA series. But, when it comes down all the different colors and models and makes and moustaches of our favorite mecha in action, the titular Gundam and its seemingly endless stream of merchandising opportunities, I simply couldn't care less.
That brings us to Japan's newest Gundam incarnation, Gundam SEED. The show was a massive hit in Japan (Animage's recent readers' poll has it in second place, behind Fullmetal Alchemist), with a second season currently on the air and enjoying healthy ratings, while the first season has been airing on Cartoon Network's Toonami block for a while now. Normally when a Gundam series turns out to be rather popular on both sides of the pacific, I traipse with caution (Gundam Wing, ahem).
Imagine my surprise to discover that Gundam SEED is actually… good. Dare I say, very good, even. It's not as much fun as G Gundam, nor does it have the flair and panache of 08th MS Team, but what SEED has is a rather simple yet interesting story of a bunch of likeable kids in the midst of an intergalactic war.
Gundam SEED is obviously not a part of the original Universal Century timeline, but what's interesting about SEED is that it reinvents some of the more well-known Gundam themes into its background. The world of Gundam SEED is currently in the midst of a rather bloody culture clash between "Coordinators," genetically modified superhumans with unnaturally heightened combat abilities, and the "Naturals," our garden-variety everyday human beings. Enter Kira Yamato, a highly skilled Coordinator who had henceforth been residing on the neutral space colony of Heliopolis, yet has fond schoolboy memories of his effete, purple-haired schoolmate Athrun. (Yes, "Athrun." That's what Bandai has on the DVD, and I'm not about to delve into the gazillion other possible romanizations.) Things soon grow hectic for Kira and his new friends when the ZAFT organization and its elite army of Coordinators receive intelligence of Heliopolis secretly developing Mobile Suits for the opposing Earth Forces. The ZAFT forces strike swiftly, capturing four of the five Mobile Suits being held in Heliopolis, before Kira commandeers the remaining fifth Gundam, the "Strike" Gundam, to rescue his pals and drive away the ZAFT attackers. In the middle of the fray, Kira runs across Athrun, one of the ZAFT recruits dispatched to Heliopolis, which is forced to make a hasty retreat thanks to Kira's superb piloting skills. After ushering his friends onto an Earth Forces battleship for safety, he's stuck with an unfortunate dilemma; should he fight against his old friend in order to protect his new ones?
From that premise, the show could've turned into a cheap, murky mess of teenage drama and angst. Thankfully, Kira's a pretty strong and reliable main character, who's sensible enough to think on his toes and defend his friends when necessary without letting his conflicting emotions turn him into the next Shinji Ikari. Some of the secondary characters stand out as well, like the Earth Forces' Mu La Flaga, who acts as a sort of father figure to the confused Kira.
That said, Gundam SEED isn't without a few nicks and tears in its overall presentation. The show's digital animation leaves something to be desired, as it's full of gaudy looking 60 frame-per-second pans and some rather inconsistent animation. Hisashi Hirai's character designs are also somewhat unsettling, with many characters looking outright identical. Not to mention how often the animation will veer crazily off model, resulting in squashed heads and faces that, to me, seem distinctly pumpkin-like. I do, though, like the cheesy lines shouted at the end of the next-episode previews, which are usually along the lines of "RACE INTO THE FUTURE, GUNDAM!" I find it quite fun to make up my own to accompany each episode. "PULL MY FINGER, GUNDAM!" "NUMBER ONE WITH EXTRA RELISH, GUNDAM!" "YOU OWE ME FIVE BUCKS, GUNDAM!" Ad infinitum.
Gundam SEED won't amaze anyone with its visuals or win over many non-Gundam fans with its storyline, but anyone searching for some solid mecha action would do good to check this series out. It's also a great fit for US broadcast, as I'd imagine the former Gundam Wing fanboys and girls will discover a lot to love here. At 51 episodes and a still-airing second season, SEED may well end up running out of gas, but based on these first five episodes this show has a lot of promise and a lot of entertainment value.
Bottom line, a 9.5/10
That brings us to Japan's newest Gundam incarnation, Gundam SEED. The show was a massive hit in Japan (Animage's recent readers' poll has it in second place, behind Fullmetal Alchemist), with a second season currently on the air and enjoying healthy ratings, while the first season has been airing on Cartoon Network's Toonami block for a while now. Normally when a Gundam series turns out to be rather popular on both sides of the pacific, I traipse with caution (Gundam Wing, ahem).
Imagine my surprise to discover that Gundam SEED is actually… good. Dare I say, very good, even. It's not as much fun as G Gundam, nor does it have the flair and panache of 08th MS Team, but what SEED has is a rather simple yet interesting story of a bunch of likeable kids in the midst of an intergalactic war.
Gundam SEED is obviously not a part of the original Universal Century timeline, but what's interesting about SEED is that it reinvents some of the more well-known Gundam themes into its background. The world of Gundam SEED is currently in the midst of a rather bloody culture clash between "Coordinators," genetically modified superhumans with unnaturally heightened combat abilities, and the "Naturals," our garden-variety everyday human beings. Enter Kira Yamato, a highly skilled Coordinator who had henceforth been residing on the neutral space colony of Heliopolis, yet has fond schoolboy memories of his effete, purple-haired schoolmate Athrun. (Yes, "Athrun." That's what Bandai has on the DVD, and I'm not about to delve into the gazillion other possible romanizations.) Things soon grow hectic for Kira and his new friends when the ZAFT organization and its elite army of Coordinators receive intelligence of Heliopolis secretly developing Mobile Suits for the opposing Earth Forces. The ZAFT forces strike swiftly, capturing four of the five Mobile Suits being held in Heliopolis, before Kira commandeers the remaining fifth Gundam, the "Strike" Gundam, to rescue his pals and drive away the ZAFT attackers. In the middle of the fray, Kira runs across Athrun, one of the ZAFT recruits dispatched to Heliopolis, which is forced to make a hasty retreat thanks to Kira's superb piloting skills. After ushering his friends onto an Earth Forces battleship for safety, he's stuck with an unfortunate dilemma; should he fight against his old friend in order to protect his new ones?
From that premise, the show could've turned into a cheap, murky mess of teenage drama and angst. Thankfully, Kira's a pretty strong and reliable main character, who's sensible enough to think on his toes and defend his friends when necessary without letting his conflicting emotions turn him into the next Shinji Ikari. Some of the secondary characters stand out as well, like the Earth Forces' Mu La Flaga, who acts as a sort of father figure to the confused Kira.
That said, Gundam SEED isn't without a few nicks and tears in its overall presentation. The show's digital animation leaves something to be desired, as it's full of gaudy looking 60 frame-per-second pans and some rather inconsistent animation. Hisashi Hirai's character designs are also somewhat unsettling, with many characters looking outright identical. Not to mention how often the animation will veer crazily off model, resulting in squashed heads and faces that, to me, seem distinctly pumpkin-like. I do, though, like the cheesy lines shouted at the end of the next-episode previews, which are usually along the lines of "RACE INTO THE FUTURE, GUNDAM!" I find it quite fun to make up my own to accompany each episode. "PULL MY FINGER, GUNDAM!" "NUMBER ONE WITH EXTRA RELISH, GUNDAM!" "YOU OWE ME FIVE BUCKS, GUNDAM!" Ad infinitum.
Gundam SEED won't amaze anyone with its visuals or win over many non-Gundam fans with its storyline, but anyone searching for some solid mecha action would do good to check this series out. It's also a great fit for US broadcast, as I'd imagine the former Gundam Wing fanboys and girls will discover a lot to love here. At 51 episodes and a still-airing second season, SEED may well end up running out of gas, but based on these first five episodes this show has a lot of promise and a lot of entertainment value.
Bottom line, a 9.5/10
