That’s a long-arse title, but my review of the Deluxe release of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Volume 1 (which is technically Volumes 1 and 2 of the original release) can be found by clicking HERE.
Good fun, great artwork, ugly cover. That about sums it up!
While I do plan on covering a Gundam series next in the older anime reviews bit (once I’m done with the first batch of DBZ Movies anyway) a new Gundam show has aired, so let’s quickly dip into that before anything else (Also: why has Seed Freedom still not arrived on UK shores?! I really am going to have to pirate / VPN it at this rate…) “GQuuuuuuX”, pronounced “Gee Qwucks”, is a Gundam show created by the Evangelion team that’s set in an alternate Universal Century Timeline where Zeon won the war, but about halfway through the series it takes an even weirder turn continuity-wise…
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I should have been thrilled when I heard a new Universal Century set Gundam series was being made but it soon became obvious it was a CG show, which rarely hits with me, and then as more and more trailers came out it seemed less and less like Gundam and more like generic “hoo-rar” American army stuff with UC era mobile suits in it, the often super realistic CG only serving to make things even less appealing as it crossed over to the uncanny valley. At six episodes it didn’t over-stay its welcome at least, but I’m glad the recently revealed new Gundam show “G-Quuuuux” or however you write that insane title shows this extremely Westernised take on Gundam isn’t a new direction… Let’s take a look!
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After the marathon that was Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, and before the equally long game I’m playing now, I wanted a couple of smaller games to wind down to. As if hearing my call this game was dramatically reduced to the point where it would have to be REALLY bad to not be worth the price. The “gamble” paid off, as while I wouldn’t rank the game as a great it did keep me entertained for a couple of weeks. Let’s take a look!
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Thanks to a production delay meaning the Gundam Seed movie wasn’t released until literally now as I type this in 2024 (blimey…) Gundam 00: Awakening of the Trailblazer became the first non-UC Gundam movie released in cinemas and with it a lot of controversy. You see, as teased at the end of Season 2 the main threat of the movie is an alien race known as the ELS (“Extraterrestrial Living-metal Shape-shifters”) making this the also the first Gundam… anything to have aliens in it, something more associated with Super Robot shows than the “Real Robot” ones that Gundam pioneered. Does it work? Well, sort of. It matches what 00 has been going for from the start narrative-wise but sadly regardless of the aliens I find the film a bit of a slog… Let’s take a deeper look!
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You can read my review of the first half of Season 2 by clicking HERE.
Gundam 00 reaches its TV series conclusion with a string of pretty crazy episodes, both plot-wise and action set pieces-wise. While there are some definite highlights and the final confrontations at the end are very satisfying it is hard not to once again look back at the more varied and interesting world of Season 1 instead of the more straight forward good vs. evil plot featured here, but that’s still not to say this season doesn’t have some great moments, just that I do now understand when people say that Season 1 was better, where as before it all sort of blended together in my mind due it being so long since I watched them. Anyway, let’s take a look at the end of 00! The series. The actual end comes after this…
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Gundam 00 kicks off its second season with some fun revelations and scene-setting but also one of the worst cases of backtracking I’ve seen in any media that even though I knew it was coming it still made me shake my head. Thankfully once you get past that bit the series is once again really fun, with great character and mech designs, though the enemies are a bit more clear-cut this time, making for less political intrigue. Let’s take a look!
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For a look at the first half of Season 1 (including a lore breakdown!) click HERE.
Gundam 00’s first season comes to a close with another great set of episodes, full of action and drama on and off the battlefield, just how we like it. Even the very Seed-like sudden introduction of three new Gundams is handled better, although by the end of the season I’m not convinced they still weren’t inserted purely for more sweet Gunpla money, but hey-ho. It also has a hell of an emotional plot twist that sadly retrospectively loses some of its lustre, but not as much as I thought it would this time round. So let’s look at the end of what was technically the first ever Gundam season, since all the other series just ran straight through…
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When I started this run-down of the Gundam series I was looking forward to two things in particular: watching all the UC series in order for the first time (and Victory for the first time in general) and finally getting round to re-watching Gundam 00, and it’s time to finally check the second one off the list. I have very fond memories of this show, though I’m interested if its because this was the first Gundam show I watched weekly as it aired and discussed each episode online with other fans or whether the show really is as good as I remember. Judging by the first thirteen episodes though I have a feeling it really is that good, especially the character and mech / mobile suit designs and world building. So, let’s take a look!
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After a brief break to cover the recently-aired shows we have one last visit to the Cosmic Era of Gundam to go before moving on to our next older anime review chunk and it’s Stargazer, the three 15-minute episode OVA series, or ONA I should say, it was an early example of Original Net Animations! This is my first time watching the “series” as it wasn’t released on DVD here with the rest of SEED so its inclusion with the rest of the SEED Destiny box is my first chance to sit down with it. Turns out it’s pretty good, for a 45 minute story anyway. Let’s take a look!
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Hogan Reviews 