Gundam Franchise.
In a shorter batch of episodes (as it was so well contained as a stand alone story arc, I couldn’t resist) but a significant one. We not only get to see Amuro Ray return to piloting suits, but we also get our first mentally unstable Cyber-Newtype, a trope that will appear endlessly throughout all future Gundam shows… Let’s take a look!
My sort-of-in-order watch through of Universal Century era Gundam continues, sadly skipping the OVAs (as I may as well wait for a possible blu-ray release…) and heading straight for Zeta Gundam. I haven’t watched the show in nearly 10 years, but I still haven’t forgot never really liking Kamille, and it seems for good reason! Let’s take a look at the opening chunk of 13 episodes, shall we?
I actually watched this back in September, so it’s been existing as a few notes I took while watching for a while now. I was busy at work for most of that time, but I also think it’s a hard series to get motivated to review because it’s not … that good. But it’s also not so terrible that it will be fun to sarcastically tare apart, either. Hey ho, I wanted another Gundam series I never saw before done (and was in the mood as it was in the run up to the release of PS4 game Gundam Versus) so there we go. I had planned on watching the Universal Century stuff in order, but never mind… This is technically the “Regild Century” anyway, even if it is the same timeline! So let’s take a look already!
Although I normally don’t do “overall reviews” for series without a clear narrative throughout the series, Gundam falls awkwardly in between the two extremes. A lot of the episodes or smaller story arcs are stand alone, but the development of Amuro and Char, as well as the latter’s revenge against the Zabis, and their budding rivalry does go across the whole series. Plus the One Year War itself, although already underway when the series starts, is also sort of a running narrative. So let’s take an overall look at the original Mobile Suit Gundam series…
To celebrate the last part of my review of the Original Gundam series going up on the main review site, I thought I’d review the first Gundam game I ever played over here on Hogan Game Reviews. Dynasty Warriors: Gundam was not only the first Gundam game I played, but it introduced me to the world of Gundam outside of Wing and Seed, the only two series I’d seen at that point. Ignoring all that, though, what’s it like to play now?
The original Mobile Suit Gundam series comes to a close with this last batch of episodes. These 11 episodes show the series at its best and really give a good sense of pay off after 31 episodes of varying quality and wavering personalities. It goes full force with its more fantastical elements like Newtypes with psi powers and gives a satisfying end to the major plot points to tie the series up with a neat bow. Let’s take a deeper look…
The watch through of the Gundam Blu-rays goes part the half way mark as we see Amuro and the White Base crew encounter more Zeon forces and the return of Char Aznable! This batch also ends with the White Base back in space, setting up the last big push of the One Year War. Let’s take a closer look…
The original Gundam series moves forward with the next batch of episodes as I watch the Blu-ray release for the first time. Char leaves a notable interest-hole (which is a phrase I just invented) but the addition of Ramba Ral as antagonist is at least a decent trade off… (note that as this is based off the English territories release, the real Episode 15 that only ever existed in Japan is omitted from the review due to… well, it not existing anywhere, and it makes it easier if I stick to the English numbering.)
The original Gundam series is a mix of obviously old-school animation with some plot lines that are ahead of its time. The influence of the series is obvious, but does it still hold up? My first watch of the blu-ray releases has coincided with this blog, so it seemed like an ideal show to review, albeit slowly, so let’s take a look at the first batch!
Hogan Reviews 