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!
Continue reading
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…
Continue reading
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!
Continue reading
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!
Continue reading
I know I said the next Gundam review would be me finishing off my coverage of the Cosmic Era shows, but I do try and get reviews for the seasonal shows out as close as I can to when they aired, so you’ll have to bear-with! That being said I’m always happy to talk more about The Witch from Mercury as although parts of the ending definitely felt rushed the second half / season of the show was once again great, full of fun twists and turns and great visuals and music. Let’s take a closer look!
Continue reading
It’s time once again to do an overall look at a Gundam show for the sake of consistency and now it’s SEED Destiny’s turn, a rare sequel to an alternate universe series. While some will tell you the series is the worst Gundam show ever or something along those lines (they clearly haven’t watched Victory Gundam all the way the through like I did a few years ago…) and while the show isn’t without its problems, especially with its central protagonist, it’s far from bad, just not particularly stand out and feels like it’s on a holding pattern. Interested? Don’t want to read my four previous episode batch reviews? Well, read on!
Continue reading
We reach the end of SEED Destiny and with it the major complaint people, in my opinion rightfully, level at the show and that’s Shinn’s complete removal from the role of lead protagonist (to the point where the fourth opening debuting in this batch opens with a shot of Kira and Athrun and it takes a few scenes before he appears alongside other side characters…) This is also the only chunk of episodes where the fact I’m reviewing the HD version of the show has any effect as the original recap episode 41 is removed entirely and a new Episode 50 is in its place using footage from the “Final Plus” version of the compilation films. Does it make a major difference? Nah, not really, but less recap filler is always good in my book!
Continue reading
The next chunk of SEED Destiny pulls the trigger on several bubbling plot-threads, most notably the Shinn-Stella / Kamile-Four homage as well as the Neo Reonoke reveal (that… yeah, I’ll get to that…) and puts a greater share of the spotlight on Rey as well. Let’s take a look!
Continue reading
The next chunk of Destiny episodes sees everything on something of a holding pattern for a bit before getting to the next major battle. That being said it does set up a few things for later and develops Shinn a bit more, again sadly for no reason as it later turns out, but hey-ho. Let’s take a look!
Continue reading
It’s been a little while but it’s time to cover the second half of the Cosmic Era Gundam shows with Destiny, once again the “HD Remaster” version though this time it doesn’t cut out the recap episodes so there seemed to be little point in it really, forced 16:9 aside, but you know… I like consistency! The original SEED anime followed the original Gundam series quite closely for a lot of its run and while not as blatant Destiny does also have several things in common with Zeta Gundam, mostly a new protagonist who a bit of a knob. Let’s take a look at the first 14 episodes!
Continue reading
Hogan Reviews 