#some spoilers for gundam seed and destiny

[flameof]

Okay, Gundam SEED Freedom has completely taken over my brain for the past 24 hours. I ABSOLUTELY MUST GUSH LORE AND PUT IT DOWN SOMEWHERE.

Naturally, there will be major spoilers for Freedom below the cutoff. If you don't want to be spoiled, then TURN BACK NOW, PLEASE.

Okay, we good? Good.

First the lore: A major theme throughout quite honestly the entire SEED series is that of Destiny. Rau le Creuset believed it was humanities destiny to destroy itself, Gilbert Durandal believed humanity would be happiest if their destiny was determined by genetics, and Foundation, the nation introduced in Freedom, follows in Durandal's footsteps, only to a more violet degree.

The main thing that differs Foundation from Durandal is the existence of Accords; basically Ultimate Coordinator MK2. At some point between Ulen Hibiki's initial experiments that created both Kira Yamato and Rau le Creuset, and Durandal being a part of whatever it was when he devised the Destiny Plan (as well as whatever created Rey za Burrel), two particular individuals were a part of the overall scheme. These two were Aura Maha Khyber (the blonde loli), and Lacus' mother.

That's right. Lacus Clyne is an Accord. She, alongside Orphee Lam Tao (blonde dude), were designed with the express purpose of running the Destiny Plan as a couple. Arranged marriage between Coordinators is no big surprise, let's be real. Hell, Lacus was probably genetically coded to be attracted to Orphee, shown in the movie by certain scenes (not show how else to describe them).

But, as you might guess (or know, if you've seen the movie), Lacus still chooses Kira over Orphee. Why? Well, time for some theorycrafting.

It's my believe that the main message of Freedom is one of Nature VS Nurture. Who we are genetically vs Who we are, raised by our environment.

Kira Yamato is a First Generation Ultimate Coordinator, so while he's outstanding compared to normal Coordinators, he pales in comparison to the Accords. But, Kira always said he was more than just the byproduct of Ulen Hibiki's hubris. More than a child of Ulen, he is a Yamato; raised and nurtured by Caridad and Hamura Yamato, after being entrusted to them by Via Hibiki, his mother by blood. Kira's kindness may very well be engrained into his DNA, but it was something he was taught to value by the Yamato's. He could have easily become conceited, like so many other Coordinators, but he didn't.

Just the same, Lacus Clyne, as far as we knew up to Destiny, was raised by the late Siegel Clyne, who almost certainly taught her to value people based on who they are, not what they represent. She can be cunning underneath her cheerful exterior in her youth, but she gravitated towards Kira because he was Kira Yamato; the kind boy who stuck his neck out for a stranger.

A wise dragon once said: Destiny is little more than the sum of our choices. I feel this quote perfectly encapsulates the core of SEED as a whole, not just Freedom. Destiny shouldn't be something chosen for you; it should be something you yourself choose. And in the end, Lacus chose Kira. A common theme in Freedom was the idea of 'Loving someone because you need them', which Lacus herself refutes with "You don't love someone because you need them; You need them, because you love them". Its a sentiment that Kira actually shares, when the woman holding Lacus at knife point threatens to cut our her tongue, or gouge her eyes out, and see if Kira still loves her then, Kira's immediate response... is of course I'd still love her; she's Lacus.

The Destiny Plan, laid out by Durandal, and worked on by so many, like Aura and Lacus's mother, was (ha ha) destined to fail, and I believe it all comes back to the choices two parents, unrelated to each other, made for the sake of their children. Because Via Hibiki got Kira and Cagalli to the Yamato's and Athha's, and all because Siegel Clyne taught Lacus to value the kindness of a stranger, over the power of your destiny.

Funnily enough, I'm remembering a line Kuzzey says back in SEED, about just how much work went into making Lacus's voice the way it is. Turns out; a lot.

It also makes me wonder if Meer Campbell was something of a backup plan, since she sounds identical to Lacus.

Okay, gushing about the new lore done. Now, let's talk about the awesome.

First off: The Immortal Justice is a Shinn Asuka suit, not an Athrun Zala suit. I don't make the rules, but Athrun never sat his ass down in the Immortal Justice.

Next, Agnes Giebenrath can literally be described as 'Coordinator Flay Allster', and I appreciate her for that.

Then, there's all the callbacks to other characters that had passed away, specifically Nicol and Natarle. Those two had complete maneuvers and tactics named after them. They're gone, but never forgotten.

As I mentioned in my last SEED Freedom post, Athrun did stuff with the Z'Gok that would make Char envious. The way Athrun handled that machine made me think he was Master Asia, Undefeated of the East.

Next, as we all well know by now, the way Athrun managed to get one up on the Black Knights' ability to read his mind; by thinking about having sex with Cagalli.

Next! Once more Mu La Flaga proves himself to be the man who does the impossible... by face-tanking FREAKING REQUIEM WITH THE AKATSUKI! Man practically said he had to stop doing that.

Then, there's the new warship, Millennium. Not only is it state of the art, but Murrue, once she starts captaining it, gets her own assault deck where she controls FREAKING GUNBARRELS! The Millennium is a warship sized Moebius Zero!

Finally, for the last thing I want to gush about: Shinn Asuka. Just... all of him. From the fact that he's calmer, earnest, stands up for Kira, drinks his 'respect' juice, and at the end, when he gets the Destiny Gundam back, he faces off against four of the Black Knights, and kicks their asses... WITHOUT TAKING MAJOR DAMAGE. Not only that, but STELLA LOUSSIER makes a comeback, proving definitively that Shinn Asuka is the Kamille Bidan of the CE era, by protecting Shinn's mind from being probed by the Black Knights, freaking them out by going all nightmare on their asses (which is probably just a representation of them being scared by just how much darkness is in his heart), and then immediately followed by him putting the F91 to shame and using the much meme'd about afterimages to kick ass and take names. Shinn may have lost to them before, but only because he wasn't using the machine literally built for him. Also, before I forget, when Shinn went SEED mode during that same battle, the Black Knights couldn't read his mind. Shinn's instincts are just that good.

Okay. I'm done. I've gushed all I can.

[carnelianwings]

Went and saw Gundam Seed Freedom in theatre last night, I have so many thoughts about it (as you'd expect for a long time fan - I've been waiting for this movie ever since they announced it), there will be spoilers behind the cut, but the spoiler free highlights:

This movie is everything I ever wanted out of a Gundam Seed movie - the characters, the mecha, the OST, the cast, everything. It is as much a continuation of Cosmic Era as it is a celebration of Cosmic Era at its best, there's so much love put into this movie I can genuinely say I enjoyed every minute of it from the beginning to the end. My one and only nitpick is that they recasted Cagalli, but Mori Nanako does a fantastic job, so much so I don't have anything negative to say about her performance. (More on this behind the cut below, as I will delve into spoilers.)

Story pacing was actually really good here, in that there's no true retread/recap of both Seed and Seed Destiny. The movie assumes you've seen both, and while you could arguably get away with a cliff's notes version of Seed Destiny (even I know how much of a Base Breaker it is from watching it as it aired in Japan), if you sat through it you're rewarded between the shout outs and extra emotional impact from some of the scenes. There's a few brief clips of flashbacks to the prior series, but to me they feel like they're providing context (as you don't get to hear the characters' inner thoughts the same way you would out of a manga or a novel of the same story).

The animation just looked so good on the big screen, even the CGI used for the Gundams (like they've been doing in the newer Gundam series) looked fantastic. So smooth, no stock footage, you can tell where they made obvious homage shots to the original, but they're clearly redone for the movie. It was a feast for the eyes, in more ways than one.

The OST is fantastic, the way Sahashi wove the various melodies from songs past and present were a delight to the ears. I particularly love how he kept using various melody lines from Shizuka na Yoru ni as a way to musically reflect Lacus's journey and arc through the movie - just a line or two of the main melody, sometimes shifted into minor key, sometimes intertwined with another character's theme (usually whoever she's interacting with at that moment). There's also some glorious reprisals from both Seed and Seed Destiny, all rearranged to give it a grander, more spectacular sound to match the on-screen spectacle. Definitely one of Sahashi's best works, and I'm really happy they brought him back for it. Also, if at all possible - don't listen to the OST before seeing the movie. It will spoil key moments for the final battle, especially if you know which themes are used where.

Now, onto spoiler territory.

First and foremost, I really feel like Seed Freedom manages to redeem Seed Destiny as a whole. My biggest complaint in Seed Destiny is and always has been that Shinn's redemption happens in 5 minutes in an epilogue that was added on in an extended cut - I loved the idea and potential of Shinn as something of a Villain Protagonist early on, and even as we watched him spiral further and further into his grief and anger throughout Seed Destiny, the fact we never got to see what redemption and atonement meant for him was something of a sore point. One of the things I love is a good redemption arc, where the character learns from mistakes they made and improves themselves as a person, as an individual, and we finally get to see that here in Seed Freedom.

Shinn finally gets to do what he really wanted to when he enrolled into the academy, and under Kira's command he shines. For a character that was so heavily defined by his grief and anger for 50 episodes, he's done a 180 here, putting in the work and effort to turn his life around - we get more scenes of him smiling and eagerly working to help Kira as part of the team in COMPASS than angrily scowling or yelling at someone. He's finally found someone he can look up to and work towards being; it's clear he looks up to Kira as something of a role model, both as a goal and commanding officer, and has been rewarded accordingly as the pilot of the Immortal Justice. He's a lot calmer now, long gone are his days fighting for glory on the battlefield, he puts a priority on COMPASS's main mission of intervention and protecting civilians (so much so he'll voluntarily use Immortal Justice's shield to protect them over keeping it to defend himself). But it's not to say his past is completely forgotten or even retconned away - he gets called the Freedom Killer multiple times here (largely as a way to get at Kira too) and while Shinn never denies having been that person, his reaction shows he treats it as Old Shame, something he did but is no longer proud of.

And the true pay off to his arc comes in the end, when he gets reunited with the Destiny thanks to Cagalli upgrading it to the Spec II in the final stretch of the movie. He greets it like someone would greet an old friend, proudly and triumphantly launching this time to the fanfare of Seed Destiny's next episode preview bgm - it's hands down Shinn at his most heroic, and it's a moment he's earned. He's finally become the person he wanted to be at the beginning of Seed Destiny, before he let his grief and anger cloud his mind, before he was manipulated by Durandal. And in the end, his journey through the darkness that was his time under Durandal's command become his strength, granting him a spectacular flawless victory over the Black Knights achieved through his own skills - Stella protects him from the Black Knights' Mind Control, and his instinctual berserker Seed Mode keeps them from reading his mind to predict his moves. It's after all the trials and pain he went through that he comes out at his absolute best, and the Seed Freedom version of Shinn is hands down the best version of him.

Character development aside, it's genuinely heartwarming to see a character that was so narrowly defined by his grief and anger to be the one who brings a lot of the light and levity in what's otherwise a fairly heavy movie. Seeing him as a Big Eater during the ball at Foundation, his entire reunion with Lunamaria after she thought he'd been KIA'ed in the joint operation on the Blue Cosmos base, him getting hit by both Kira and Athrun during their brawl (with neither of them noticing ^^;;) - he's come so far since his Seed Destiny days he's (and I can't believe I'm actually saying this) one of the major highlights of the movie. And then there's his smile at the end when Kira finally relies on him and his cheerful response.

And of course, I can't talk about Shinn without mentioning Lunamaria - they've both come a long way from their days at the ZAFT military academy (if you go off the prequel novel Moonlight Valkyrie) and even from their time on board the Minerva. You can tell there's genuine love and affection between them, mutually supporting each other both on and off the battlefield, between them sharing a room onboard the Millennium and the energy transfer moment between the Impulse and Destiny. There's even a clear moment of redemption for Lunamaria's shooting skills when she shoots down a tactical nuke in her Gelgoog. And while she's definitely not one of the main focus characters in the movie, she still gets her moment of triumph, launching in the Impulse once more after Shinn's Destiny. Even though she's relegated to the Designated Chick Fight, it's a moment of personal triumph for her - she's grown as a person since her academy days, her time on the Minerva and with Shinn and Rey has changed her, and she's a better person for it. Even her time pursuing Athrun (even though he doesn't return her affection at all) comes back as a Meaningful Echo in how she ultimately deals with Agnes. Instead of choosing to kill Agnes in her GYAN, Lunamaria does something of a "pay it forward", disabling the GYAN and returning to pick her up from the moon after the fighting is over. Like Shinn, it's clear Lunamaria's in a better place than she was during the finale of Seed Destiny, and she also gets to join in on some of the lighter moments of the movie next to Shinn.

Onto Kira (because I'm saving my favorites for last), who is most definitely the main focus of the movie, along with Lacus and his relationship with her. Is his story arc a rehash of Seed? In many ways yes, and in so many ways, no. On a surface level, sure - we once again have Kira trying to shoulder the entire burden of the team on himself, of trying to do everything without relying on anyone else, of pushing himself to his limits, and as icing on the retread cake, we're even treated to a CV Kuwashima Houko girl (Agnes) trying to get his attention and affections. And that's about where it ends, because Agnes' motivations are vastly different from Flay's, Kira's circumstances this time around are entirely different from when he was in Seed - this is more about Kira realizing he really doesn't have to shoulder everything by himself, that even if Lacus is a non-combatant, she's there to walk next to him side by side, that Lacus's love for him is completely different from Flay's (initial) love for him. For Kira, it's The Power of Love while also echoing Seed's earlier themes of how easy it is to fall into old habits and make the same mistakes again. It's about Kira finally breaking past his remaining trauma with his relationship with Flay - he finally realizes that Lacus wants to be with him for him, that she never expected him to hand her everything she wanted on a silver platter, that she's willing and ready to work and walk with him to their final goal and destination, wherever that may take them. His relationship with Lacus was never a transactional one like it was with Flay - even if Flay genuinely grew to love Kira in the end, her true feelings for him never managed to reach him before she dies. And in the end, once he realizes what he has with Lacus, once he gets a chance to talk to her and clear the air, he's rewarded with a shiny new upgrade to the Strike Freedom, Lacus voluntarily joining him in the battlefield, and of course, that ending on the beach.

As for the whole "Is Kira Yamato a failure because he was a failed Accord or just Orphee insisting that he is superior to even Coordinators as an Accord" debate, ultimately it doesn't matter (at least in terms of Kira's arc - on a meta level, yes I absolutely want to know lol). He's got the one thing Orphee will never have (Lacus's love) and with that behind him he can overcome anything.

Honestly, if this is where we end Kira's story, where he gets to go off into the sunset with Lacus, to live quietly in the middle of nowhere (or even return to Marshall Islands to stay with Reverend Malchio) where he doesn't have to fight anymore, where he can just spend his days with Lacus until there's some world-ending reason to step back into the cockpit, I'm good with that. Kira never wanted to be a mobile suit pilot to begin with, he only ever did it to defend the people he cares about, and if this is where we part ways with him, because in learning to rely on other people, he also realizes he can hand things off to Cagalli, Athrun, and Shinn (and by extension, Lunamaria), I'm good with that. (I'll get to Cagalli and Athrun after Lacus, I want to save my favorites for last lol)

Lacus always came off as a little too perfect, a little too good with her words, and with a Seed Mode that ... didn't activate like your traditional Seed Mode (for one thing, she never gets the Seed burst animation on screen when she goes into it; she almost always monologues her way in). And I have to say it was satisfying to see that crack some more this time around, where her decisions are a bit more questionable, where she's finally having to deal with some of the consequences of her actions (and by extension Kira's as he answers to her and only her within COMPASS). But ultimately in the end, she's still the same Lacus as ever - Silk Hiding (nerves of) Steel, steadfast in her love and support for Kira, something that nothing can change, not even meeting her genetically destined partner in Orphee. And yes, while even she gets in on the action this time, quite literally delivering the Proud Defender to Strike Freedom to upgrade it into the Mighty Strike Freedom, I don't really have much to say about her.

I will say this though (because it gets very indirectly touched on by Athrun) - if Lacus hadn't fallen in love with Kira, and had continued with her engagement to Athrun as set up by their parents, would she have gone with Orphee? Would that alone have changed events enough so that Athrun might've been conveniently KIA'ed so Orphee would've been able to sweep in?

Now, onto my personal favorites (and complete show stealers this time around): Athrun and Cagalli.

Where do I even begin? Athrun being a Big Damn Hero for Kira not once, but twice? Cagalli taking over Lacus's role for being Crazy Prepared, Bearer of (Gundam) Gifts this time around?? The complete insanity that is the Z'Gok hiding the Infinite Justice Type II??? The (remote) Battle Couple fight????

Cagalli's just pure Crazy Prepared this time. She's learned from the painful lessons of the past 4 years, ensuring there's a plan in place to get her people to safety, immediately issuing evacuation orders for the civilians to avoid direct orbital laser bombardment from Requiem. She's made peace with the fact that sometimes, you really do just need to hop into a Gundam to get shit done, so she's seen to it that the Gundams for the top COMPASS pilots are available should they ever need it. She's the one who came up with COMPASS in the first place, providing some much-needed legitimacy for what Kira and Lacus want to do. She's also very clearly been training with Athrun for mobile suit training - where she once Could Not Keep Up, she's able to seamlessly pilot the Infinite Justice Mark II remotely, a less advanced unit than Shura's Shi-ve.A, without Shura ever realizing it was someone else piloting it. She's back as the Goddess of Victory, now older and wiser and all the better for it.

For all that she hardly showed up on screen, her presence was felt everywhere, most especially whenever Athrun's on screen. Really, I wouldn't even be surprised if the next time we see Orb get threatened by Orbital (Laser) Bombardment, she tells her people to get inside to safety before turning on a shield to protect the cities and then taking the field again.

And as for Athrun - it makes sense he didn't join COMPASS, even though the fact he has a custom COMPASS pilot suit and the Immortal Justice was clearly designed with him in mind. He's found his place in Orb, staying by Cagalli's side as her personal knight. He's even got his own custom suit with the Z'Gok-hiding-the-Infinite-Justice-Mark-II - he's got everything he could ask for while still being able to do his part to maintain peace. And in a double redemption moment - Athrun's the first one to throw the punch this time when Kira starts wallowing in his self doubt and lets his insecurities get the better of him, repaying the favor Kira did back in Seed Destiny when he, well, Saviour'ed the Saviour. Athrun's the one to remind Kira that as a close friend of Lacus's that her actions this time don't sound like the Lacus that he knows, and this time (unlike when he did something similar with Shinn) it works and gets Kira back on track. Poor Shinn - he thinks Athrun's about to do the same thing to Kira that Athrun did to him during his time on the Minerva, but while Shinn's not entirely wrong, he's also misreading the room a bit, not realizing this is a "They're really good friends, and sometimes they just gotta throw some punches to work shit out" moment.

Because in overcoming everything that happened in Seed Destiny, Athrun and Cagalli have finally grown into the people they both want to be. They've found their way, fighting for what they both believe in. Their time apart in Seed Destiny forced them both grow as individuals, so that when we get to see them working together again it's in perfect sync. In so many ways, Athrun and Cagalli (and not Kira and Lacus) are the ideal the Cosmic Era wants to push - two people working together side by side, regardless of genetics, as partners and equals. The dream of Coordinators and Naturals, living and working side by side in harmony - that's them. And ultimately, it is what they do that brings the heroes victory and lets everyone fly off into the (metaphorical) sunset together. They played the long gambit - creating COMPASS (giving Shinn and Lunamaria a means to atone for the things they did, giving Lacus and Kira a legitimate way to stop skirmishes), upgrading the Gundams, being there for their friends and allies when they needed it (Athrun literally knocking sense back into Kira, Cagalli coming in with the equipment upgrades) - all while keeping their priorities in order (first the civilians, then reequipping allies, and then finally going into combat together to take down Shura), and it all pays off in the end.

Really, is it any wonder, then, when Shura tries to read Athrun's mind in the final battle he's just thinking of hot (naked) Cagalli?

[by-ethan-fox]

So I saw Gundam Seed FREEDOM...

... and honestly it defies analysis.

I will avoid spoilers for major plot elements in this write-up.

I'm a huge Gundam fan. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who has followed my work for a long time, as I frequently bring it up, even in entirely inapplicable situations.

But even though I've been a fan since the late 90s, I'd never had a chance to see any of it in the cinema - so when AllTheAnime organised a special short run of the movie for UK theatres, I jumped at the chance.

What I saw surprised me.

To clarify, I'm not one of those Gundam fans who hates SEED. Sure, I love the UC, but I'm not gonna lie, Wing was my genesis within the fandom so I'm as likely to watch G-Gundam as 08th MS Team, though I do lean towards the grittier side of the franchise, with War in the Pocket being my favourite entry.

But most relevant to this is that while I enjoyed SEED, I've always been critical of Destiny for some really bizarre plotting that, frankly, kinda left the CE timeline in a mess. Like many fans, with the show having been off the air for nearly two decades, I gave up on the idea the movie might exist literally years ago.

With all that out of the way...

The movie does exist. Finally. And is it good? Bad?

The weird thing is I don't know what to say, and that's weird for a writer.

It's awesome. It's terrible. It's goofy. It's clever. It's idiotic. It's bizarre.

But it's over 2 hours long and, honestly, I was never bored, which I guess is a success?

Perhaps most surprisingly, the movie expends ZERO ENERGY on helping you if you haven't seen the near-100-episodes of CE anime which came before this. Like, if you haven't seen SEED and or Destiny, you are just utterly fucked. The show wheels characters and plot-beats from the prior material in-and-out in a manner I could best call aggressive. I last watched Destiny about ~7 years ago, and I'm a self-admitted Gundam nerd; but even I had to look up a few things on my phone afterwards.

Then, fan-service. Of both kinds. All sorts of things get pulled out of cold storage for the movie... But it works. Though that also stands as a testament to how this is, in the truest sense, a 2004 anime throwback. I actually heard some people in the cinema groaning at some of the Gainax Bouncing going on; but then given the jiggly silhouette in EVERY OPENING TO SEED, frankly it would've been stranger if it had been absent.

I think the movie has loads of problems. Even by CE standards, some of the storytelling was really goofy and dare-I-say-it, "cringe". It recycles probably too much and certainly doesn't stand on its own as a piece of media (though that's not so much a failing as a clear, conscious choice).

Also... It has that "anime movie" thing where the plot feels a bit filler. The first time you have this new guy on the scene with shock-white hair, being all edgelord as he talks about war and destiny and fencing or some other weird metaphor you kinda see the entire movie unfurl before you. If you're a longtime anime fan this isn't so much your first rodeo as your daily commute.

From there, the story takes numerous predictable turns, dips liberally into melodrama, sets up some great Mobile Suit fights, with relatively few surprises (note, however, I'm not saying "no surprises", as there are some, and also, I'm not suggesting it's tedious).

And yet...

It's fun.

It's really, really fun.

That's the crux of all this. That's what really matters. And honestly, when that new theme comes out of the speakers, sounding in perfect key with the types of music that ran through SEED's run, and Kira's onscreen, and he's locking onto a dozen targets and beams are spamming everywhere and everything's exploding in that weird pink way that things in SEED explode...

Have you ever tried to play a videogame from the 90s that you haven't played in years? And do you know how touch-and-go that is?

Gundam Seed FREEDOM is, if I'm to compare it to anything, like that.

But thankfully, it's one of the times when your memories might have been optimistic, but they're not wrong. That game may be a bit crude, a bit rough around the edges, and have more boob and ass jiggle than you recall... But it's good. So good that you find yourself sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of your console, grinning like an absolute loon, until it's 2am and you can no longer feel your feet.

If you have fond memories of the SEED era of the Gundam franchise, don't miss it.

[gremoria411]

A twofer today, just some general impressions on the ASW-G-16 Gundam Zepar (left) and the AWS-G-61 Gundam Zagan. I still haven’t watched Urdr hunt unfortunately, so I’ll be mostly talking about Zagan’s design, as opposed to anything that goes on in-series.

Another reason I’m pairing these together is because they’re both Post Disaster Gundam units, that have a two-syllable name beginning with a Z and a serial number that has a 6 in it. I’ve been able to remember them by the fact that the Zepar is Zippy. And that the Zagan has nothing to do with Carl Sagan.

Moving on from naming conventions, what do I think of them? Starting with the Zagan, I like the weight it brings to the table, it feels like it could compete with other heavyweights without much difficulty, essentially functioning as a giant can-opener to the mobile armours. It should be noted that with the possible exception of Agnika Kaeru himself, the Issues were the most prolific killer of Mobile Armours during the Calamity War. Presumably some of that was by dint of its pilot, but the Zagan cannot be discounted. It’s possible the apparent focus on defence aided in its survivability, enabling it to cope with battles of attrition better, functioning as an anvil to the other Gundam Frames’ hammer. It’s also possible that it’s missing some armament, since the hands are free. I know there’s precedent for knuckledusters in IBO, but it only being armed with the shields feels a little odd.

The design specifically reminds me of the Gremory (most likely the armour) and the Abyss Gundam from Seed Destiny (colouration and bulk, though I always remember it bigger than it actually is)

The Zepar I have considerably less to say on - it’s a nice design, agile and suited to closing the distance and stabbing things, but I do want to talk about it in relation to House Kujan, Specifically Iok Kujan.

Iok is……hm. He’s essentially a perfect example of somebody you don’t want in command. He’s a twit, and furthermore, he’s a dangerous twit, since his actions have a tendency to backfire on literally everyone besides himself. But let’s walk back a little. Who is Iok in relation to the story?

Iok Kujan is the heir to House Kujan of Gjallarhorn’s Seven Stars, the Seven Noble Families that wield the most power in Gjallarhorn, as McGillis, Gaelio, Carta and Rustal are to each of their houses (and of course Nemo, Elek and Gargin, but they’re less focused on). He only ascended to the position fairly recently, but everyone has high hopes for him since his late father was beloved.

Unfortunately, he’s really bad at it. He’s reckless, callous of those he’s fighting against and is absolutely unable to recognise his own failures.

@wordsandrobots has done an excellent analysis on Iok which I’m just going to link to here, since it’s very good:

But the crux of Iok is that he represents a great many of the failings of nobility - he’s incompetent, he’s unqualified and he displays a lack of care for how his actions effect others - not out of malice, but out of stupidity. He is a walking talking, killing example of how promoting based on blood rather than ability is such a poor idea.

But then look at the Zepar. Look at how it stands, how it moves. There’s a poise to it, an elegance, a sense of nobility. It’s armed with a sword and shield - simple, yes, but something that focuses on defence, on protection. Even the way it fights seems to be in pushing the enemy away from something, protecting it. So I would say that if Iok is representative of the realities of nobility - the incompetence and disregard for others, then the Zepar is the romanticisation of it - of a noble, red-armoured knight who would protect the people. It also represents how far the Kujan family has come since the Calamity War - Once a great and loved pilot who fought at the frontlines using a Gundam Frame, to a lacking and foolish one who fights from the rear and has to be bailed out at the cost of his subordinates lives. (I know Iok’s father didn’t pilot the Zepar, but it ties in with the theme of Iok being the end result of a lineage, rather than the beginnings).

It also draws attention to the Gjallarhorn’s meritocratic roots - Embrilla Kujan was able to slay multiple mobile armours using this machine, whereas Iok is too blinded by his own self-importance to recognise the threat that they pose, to the point he severely underestimates what it will take to kill one.

[maple-rose]

I went to see Gundam SEED Freedom tonight.

I don't ever talk about it here, but before I fell into the Fire Emblem hole, Gundam SEED was my obsession throughout highschool and university (if you ever find my deviantART or livejournal account, uh.... the proof is all there, embarrassingly...).

Anyway I've been waiting for this movie for like 15 years. It's kinda surreal that it even exists, amidst rumors of it being cancelled and all.

I wore my Murrue cosplay jacket I made 15 years ago (it still kinda fits, lol), brought a Haro plush and a Lacus plush.

The movie itself, it was fun! Lots of fanservice (both in terms of people and mechs). The pacing felt too fast in the 1st half, and most of the new characters aren't very well developed but that's kinda expected given the run time. Other than that, as a long time fan, it was a good movie!

Also it looks really nice! SEED/Destiny always had inconsistency in art and animation so it's good to see more good animation.

Some specific thoughts under the cut (spoiler warning):

Mu x Murrue scenes! screams Have I mentioned they were my OTP throughout highschool and university? Mu cut his hair and it looks way better! The new ORB uniforms look good, though kinda wish to see Mu in casual outfits more

RIP Archangel T__T You went through and survived so much…

Mu said his line lol (actually 2 of them, Shinn called him an Ossan and he said he's not an Ossan (callback to same exchange with Dearka))

Kira's pinboard has some nostalgic photos on it! Including the shot of the Archangel crew from the 3rd Destiny ending <3

Lacus got so many new outfits! I'm not sure if I like her role in this but she is more interesting than in Destiny

I got new respect for Athrun now. I was hoping someone would slap Kira out of his slump and he delivered!

I actually like Shinn more now too, when he's not being an angsty teen and instead a simpleton kid/the comic relief

Kira.. I think this Kira is an improvement from Destiny at least; he was really boring in Destiny… so it's good to see some emotion and see him crack. But also be more honest with his feelings

New girl Agnes is Flay 2.0? but if Flay could actually pilot a mech?

I was expecting more new mechs (to sell kits), so I'm really surprised they brought back so many existing ones (even the Buster and Duel… but not Aegis)

Though when Freedom deployed and they played Meteor, it was very nostalgic! (Meteor is basically Freedom's theme song, it first played when Freedom was first shown SEED)

New songs by TMR, Nami Tamaki, and See-Saw (who broke up pretty much after Destiny ended, came back for another song)! Also some nostalgic BGM came back

The new antagonists aren't really redeemable or sympathetic, which is a shame 'cause that's one of the things I liked about SEED; but with the runtime I get it, they're supposed to be the "bad guys" so the main crew can come together

It's kinda funny how that guy keeps calling Kira a failure, 'cause Kira is literally the Ultimate Coordinator

Lacus's pilot suit is really funny. This is actually the first time she's been sexualized like that; usually she's the pure one

The final scene is.. what I expected from a SEED climax, but a lot more hammy lol. Power of love!

They did end up confirming AsuCaga, but funny thing is Athrun and Cagalli never actually talked to each other or were in the same room even.. Meyrin is the one with Athrun (not sure if I like her new hair...)

Who is that kid with Cagalli?? He called her "Nee-san". He looks like Mu... it can't be Mu's kid, he looks too old for that. Another clone of Mu's dad? Some new guy who happens to look alike?

I saw a lot more cameos than I thought I would. The whole Archangel crew, Miriallia and Sai, Erika (ORB's head of tech, the one who gave them all Gundams), Arthur (Minerva's 2nd in command guy), Andrew Waltfeld (why didn't he have a bigger role?! He was just shown in 1 passing shot). Even some dead people were shown in flashbacks. Actually I think the flashback at the end showed all the major characters who died.

[gatormeister]

Gundam SEED Freedom!

I enjoyed the hell out of this movie.

Some spoilers for the film ahead

Let’s get this part out of the way fast. The villains suck. The Accords come outta nowhere, rehash both Le Creuset’s and Chairman Zala’s “kill all naturals” and Durandal’s “we’ll make everything eugenics” plots. They just exist for Cosmic Era to say “eugenics is bad,” “war is bad,” “peace and love good,” all over again. There is nothing complex to this plot outside of figuring out how to make Kira and Compass the bad guys to the rest of the world.

We don’t get the character drama back- well we sorta do, but it’s mind control weirdness and does not last long, but you do get to see a lot of nice small interactions and moments between the main cast, something that the first show did great and was less present in Destiny. Kira just sort of goes and does his character arc from SEED over again. Athrun shows off why he’s a better mc. Shinn decides to spec harder into being a human puppy with how he acts. It’s all great stuff. Lacus I’d even say is at her best in this movie, having a full character arc of her own. Agnes is a new character, she’s a very jealous traitor, who really just feels like she exists just so that Lunamaria can fight someone at the end. I wasn’t a huge fan.

The action is mostly done in 3D, and I’d say it looks great the whole way through. The new designs were fantastic. The Mighty Strike Freedom feels like a massive improvement of the original Strike Freedom’s. Athrun’s Z’gok is great alongside the Infinite Justice hidden inside it. The Rising Freedom is also a very good design. The Impulse is mostly the same as Destiny which is to say fantastic. The Gelgoog Menace is yet another incredible SEED variation of an OG suit like the Z’gok. The Gyan Storm is okay, wasn’t super big on its original, and this is about the same. The Knights’ suits are cool enough, but I don’t think I’d jump to build one.

Great movie overall. Not as good as the two Thunderbolt movies or Endless Waltz, but it is absolutely no slouch either. Well worth watching.

I suppose Hathaway’s going to the next Gundam thing I watch. It’s the last of the early UC stuff for now, so might as well knock it out. I’ve heard great things.

[filmtrees]

REVIEW: Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM

tl;dr:

An okay start, but the story was never strong, and the lack of strength in the narrative threads meant everything pulled itself apart by the end. Could have been significantly better as a mini-series.

Full review under the cut (Spoilers):

'Freedom' started off better than expected, but immediately began falling victim to the exact same issues as 'Destiny' did, which feels even worse considering this movie was released just shy of a full 20 years after the end of 'Destiny'.

Many of the concepts, such as genetic determinism, were written and implemented like a complete rehash of the original 2 series. Many of the new characters were unimaginative derivatives of their originals. As an example, the antagonist faction used 6 "shonen villain teens" with brightly coloured hair who are all angry and irrational. This is the 3rd time the 'SEED' series has used this exact concept, and they acted the same as each of the iterations before them, without any added depth or growth in the concept.

But even then, the primary antagonist faction had an interesting core concept behind them; what happens when the humans designed to be the "Genetic Future" of humanity become 'outdated'? The root of the conflict in 'SEED' was always this rift between the Naturals and the Coordinators, and so what would happen if the Coordinators suddenly became less-than? However this was barely explored beyond the surface, other than lines from the villain like "Shouldn't you be happy when your inferiors listen to you?".

As far as the protagonists go, there's also very little growth there. In fact, most of 'Freedom' feels like a callback (very nearly with winking included), rather than a natural continuation of the Cosmic Era. The characters are almost entirely the same, the mobile suits are almost entirely the same. They blow up some ships, and they keep others for no real reason.

And with all of that said, the story would have benefited an incredible amount from adding a significant time gap between the end of 'Destiny' and the entirety of 'Freedom'. Less than a year divides these two parts of the CE timeline, and the entire franchise has taken place over the course of 5 years. This opens too many questions for the film to answer in 2 hours of run time, and it chooses instead to answer almost none of them except with a few handwaves and references to 'Destiny' and the original 'SEED'.

Where did Kingdom of Foundation come from? How did they amass this huge glut of resources in a single year? There are story beats that indicate to some degree that the antagonists were part of a parallel/back-up plan from the primary antagonist of 'Destiny'. But even if that were true, how did Foundation get the mobile suits, warships, personnel, AND the primary superweapon that was supposedly destroyed at the end of 'Destiny', all into working order on a scale large enough to go toe-to-toe with the primary factions of the series?

It's also important to mention that if the last 30ish minutes of the movie had never happened, I could have given this movie a 6 or even a 6.5 out of 10 on a nice day. However the the last quarter of the movie was just very bad fanservice that spits in the face of the rest of the movie. Lacus Clyne, a dignified woman who is a core part of the narrative and has been striving for peace her entire life is fitted into a skintight "spacesuit" complete with individual boob AND ass socks, a trampstamp design on the back. Her boobs are animated with jiggle-physics.

Other characters suddenly gain immense powerups (like full-psychic communication from the Moon to Earth) without build-up that makes any sense. And many mobile suits are just given things that seem like someone said "that would be cool" and just added it to the final fights without any thought or attempt to make a part of the story.

Frankly the entire movie is missing significant emotional weight. The horrifying use of the Requiem superweapon on the city of Moscow (resulting in it's obliteraion), and even some nuclear cruise missiles, are barely a footnote. Even the emotional conflict between characters is contrived, and feels meaningless.

The threads it was trying to use to weave this story tore apart before anything worthwhile was made, and then it just threw it all away anyways.

2.5/10

[the-eeveekins]

Saw Gundam SEED Freedom in theaters last night! My spoiler free verdict?

It's good, I loved it. It's definitely got problems here and there, but the finale was great. I was having so much fun during the final battle that it helps smooth out a lot of the rough edges. Once it stops taking itself too seriously and just has fun the movie turns into an absolute blast! It's pretty much pure SEED, from the melodrama to the ridiculous battles. Shinn & Lunamaria got some much needed justice after all these years, and the battles were great, especially the warship combat!

Really my only significant complaint coming out of the movie was all the weird fanservice and sexual harassment bits. The bedroom scene wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I could have done without the weird camera angles on Lacus and Shinn accidentally groping yet another girl. I know it's SEED and Fukuda, but that could have stayed in the early 2000s.

If you hated SEED before, I don't think this is going to change your mind on the series. But if you enjoyed either of SEED or Destiny, I think you'll enjoy the movie.

SPOILERY THOUGHTS BELOW!

Ah man, that moment where the Mighty Strike Freedom is formed and fucking Meteor drops was the hypest shit, brought a tear to my eye. What an awesome final battle, from Murrue's moment in the Millennium, Shinn absolutely stunting on the Black Knight Squad and the Mighty Strike Freedom vs. Cal-re.A.

Agnes was an...interesting character. I don't dislike her but I feel like the format didn't do her any favors either. So glad that Luna nailed that shot on the nuke and had her moments, especially after 2 decades of awful aim jokes. And YES, Shiho Hahnenfuss! I enjoyed every second of her very brief screentime. She even got an audible gasp this time! Maybe 20 years from now she'll actually get a line of dialogue 😂 Hopefully by then they'll finally run out of Destroy Gundams and someone will finally PROPERLY dismantle Requiem.

Anyway Shinn, my child, I love you, but you are a fucking dumbass for that stunt you pulled with Luna. You're lucky you only got slapped.

[iiyanadesu]

I just watched Gundam Seed Freedom! This is a movie full of cringe and fun(ny) moments lmao.

If you need tiny spoilers (which is kinda big too but eh): The movie is set in C.E. 73, i.e. about a year or two after events in Gundam Seed Destiny. A new group called the Foundation tries to pursue the Destiny Plan made by late PLANT Chairman Gilbert Dullindal. Shenanigans ensue.

Major spoil points and rants under cut.

Being a former fan of Gundam Seed, who is more into the people than the machines, I find this movie delightful. And cringe. And fun. Basic plot is still about war, destroying lives whether soldiers or civilians, groups protecting their loved ones, etc. Back then I was a fujoshi (maybe I still am) so the interactions I love the most are between main character Kira Yamato (first name last name basis) and his best friend Athrun Zala.

I was Athrun's fan.

For those who are curious, Gundam Seed series is about war between 2 factions of humanity: one is genetically-enhanced human beings called the Coordinators based in space (the base is called PLANT, the military is called ZAFT), and the other is non-genetically-enhanced Naturals based on Earth (military is called... Earth-something, I forgot). At first the war is just between these two factions, and Kira and Athrun were on opposite sides despite both being Coordinators (Kira was with Earth military, Athrun was with ZAFT), but as time goes they end up defecting from their military groups to form a third party wanting peace between both races.

SEED is a special trait that some Coordinators have; they become basically invincible in battles. It's like The Zone. SEED mode.

Enough for the introduction. Let's go!

1. The movie is set in C.E. 73 (C.E. means Cosmic Era). Like I said earlier, a group called the Foundation is trying to follow the Destiny Plan made by late Gilbert Dullindal.

2. What is Destiny Plan? Destiny Plan is a... idk, doctrine? Not sure. An order to assign each and every person in the world different jobs based on their genetics. But it's one-sided; Coordinators are genetically enhanced in everything (looks, intelligence, battle prowess) so they will surely get good jobs while Naturals may or may not get good ones. So battle-powerful Kira and Athrun, and their politically-powerful girlfriends Lacus Clyne and Cagalli Yula Athha, join forces to stop that plan.

3. A year later, Lacus is appointed Chairman of PLANT. Cagalli is the Prime Minister of Orb Nation. Together with a few other countries, they form an alliance called... I forgot lol

4. A new nation called Foundation ruled by Queen Aura wants to join forces with the alliance. However it's a trap; they wanted to lure Lacus away from the alliance. Their plan caused the relationship between Kira and Lacus to waver.

5. Add to it a lil b*tch called Agnes also likes Kira, and since Kira is a non-confrontational person Agnes attacks him with words, saying Lacus is not suited with him. This b*tch knows nothing, but maybe because Kira hasn't really said "I love you" to Lacus that he's kinda... shaken? What

6. Ok there's a former enemy-turned-follower named Shinn Asuka and his girlfriend(?) Lunamaria Hawke. They are both ZAFT soldiers. Shinn used to hate Kira so much because he thought Kira killed his ex-girlfriend Stellar Loussier (an Earth soldier). Turned out Kira was trying to stop Stellar from rampaging; her death was unintentional. This info is important later on.

7. The Foundation has a battle team called the Black.. Uh, whatever and know Agnes the... uh, Moonlight Valkyrie (err...). They tried to engage in swordfight with Kira, but Kira isn't very proficient in swordfight (he was a civilian thrown into war because of his mecha programming skills). So Shinn (a trained soldier) offers to do it on Kira's stead, and lasts for a while before defeated.

8. The Foundation's Prime Minister, whose full name I already forgot, only remembering Tao, kinda fell for Lacus. So this Tao guy somehow managed to insert himself into Lacus' memories, saying that he's more fitting with her instead of Kira. Drama ensues. It was super cringe I went 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

9. Turned out that Tao has some ulterior motives with Lacus. Apparently Lacus and Tao are both created by Queen Aura. They are a race more superior than the Coordinator: the Honda Accordion 🤣😂🤣��🤣😂 Ok, they call themselves the Accords.

10. The Accords have the ability to hack into a Coordinator's mind and control them. They can also use telepathy. So they managed to hack Kira's mind, causing him to stray from his supposed mission, leading to the Black Ops thingy to launch nuclear missiles against civilians and the entire alliance's battleforce in an attempt to frame Kira of massacre.

11. Oh, I didn't mention before, but the alliance's battleforce consists of Kira and Athrun's friends. They're called the Archangel based on the ship they work on, but the Archangel is damaged from the chaos.

12. Kira is almost killed by the Black Ops before a saviour arrives: Athrun! I was squealing happily when he appeared lmao Athrun rescued Kira.

13. Lacus boarded the Foundation's ship, so when she heard Kira went rampage she did not believe. Tao wanted Kira dead. When they heard the alliance got obliterated in the nuclear missile attack, Lacus passed out. Meanwhile, b*tch was picked up by the Black Ops; Kira's rejection was too much for her to handle that she defected. Damn b*tch.

14. Kira was all gloomy and told his team he was entirely at fault for not being strong enough, and rambled on and on (it was cringe to hear it really, I was already wishing for Athrun to slap some sense into him) and Athrun went and punched him. lmaoooooo gj Athrun 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Athrun was super annoyed - just tell us what you want, we can help you out, you're not fighting alone damn it! Kira said he wanted to talk to Lacus.

15. With most of their machines destroyed, Team Archangel had to resort to stealing ZAFT's ship the Millennium. But not only the Millennium's captain is super cool with it, they also provided Gundams! Shinn is happy to get his Destiny back (it was damaged in the battle against Kira in the last war), Kira gets his Strike Freedom Gundam repaired, Lunamaria gets Impulse, while the war-seasoned Athrun gets... a red Zaku. (Athrun is infamous for having destroyed all his Gundams - Saviour, Justice, Infinite Justice... 😂🤣😂🤣)

16. But even then they deploy a trap. Athrun uses Strike Freedom to bait the Foundation into thinking it's Kira. Kira uses a machine with transparent ability to sneak in. (After Kira successfully retrieved Lacus, they swapped places.)

17. Ok lalala, battle ensues. One of the Black Ops member Sh.. forgot his name, let's call him Shalala engaged against Athrun and tries to hack into his mind, but Athrun imagined Cagalli naked, trying to kiss him 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣 Apparently Shalala has no love experience and was caught off-guard lmao (Meanwhile, Cagalli who is remote-controlling Athrun's Zaku be like "wtf Athrun??? ⁄⁠(⁠⁄⁠ ⁠⁄⁠•⁠⁄⁠-⁠⁄⁠•⁠⁄⁠ ⁠⁄⁠)⁠⁄")

18. One of the other Black Ops members tried to hack into Shinn's mind, but Shinn's mind was protected by Stellar's spirit, who turned into a monster 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂 The Black Ops were like, "omg this kid's darkness is so intense!" But Shinn is like, "???" Stay that way, Shinn.

19. After taking Lacus back into Millennium, Lacus asks Captain Murrue to let her send Strike Freedom's METEOR set to Kira personally. But. Her suit was too skintight unlike other girls who have some kind of paddings; you can practically see her boobs and butt cleavages wtf is with that design. Who designed that suit? It's cringe af.

20. Strike Freedom with METEOR controlled by both Kira and Lacus in SEED mode is freaking OP. Enough said. Befitting of Kira's nickname J*sus-kun.

21. Not said before, but now I'm saying it: the whole war is the Millennium team trying to stop the Foundation from attacking Orb Nation using the all-powerful, formerly ZAFT's super cannon, the Requiem.

22. T.M. Revolution's METEOR plays during the entire Strike Freedom + METEOR entrance. Nostalgic. I forgot part of the lyrics, but I still sang along.

23. Once war ended, Kira and Lacus strip themselves naked standing on the beach, holding hands and kissing. I was like, "What the hey?? Yameteeeeee" (at them being stark naked) These kids are not afraid of getting sand onto their bodies and genitals I guess ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

24. There are no mid or post-credit scenes.

25. And yeah the ending is that the entire Foundation team dies, Team Millennium and Orb Nation won, Kira and Lacus both frolicking stark naked at the beach. Oh yeah, b*tch was disarmed by Lunamaria for insulting Shinn. The end lmao

26. Bonus: Kira still loves belts.

27. Bonus 2: Athrun is in serious need of a fashion coordinator. He can pull off uniforms, but casual clothes... err...

28. There's a cameo of this one-eyed guy from Gundam Seed. I forgot his name, but what I do remember is that he used to have a girlfriend named Aisha. Why I remember non-plot details but can't even remember the main enemies' names is beyond me lol

30. Missing info: At one point Tao was pissed because he wanted Lacus but Lacus loves Kira, so he almost SA'd her. (Pushed her onto bed and slid hand trying to rip her dress.) Luckily Tao was distracted with the news that Kira is still alive and is coming at him, so Tao stopped and went to stop Kira from approaching base.

[wordsandrobots]

This is not in response to anybody in particular but I’m going to be grumpy and pedantic for a moment (I’m in a mood this week, sorry).

Throughout the Gundam franchise, far more major stories end on ‘hopeful’ terms than do not. This is entirely reasonable because hopeful endings are oftentimes more broadly appealing and therefore more saleable. Working shown below, but my point is that liking the qualities in a particular ending is distinct from categorising it. Whether something executes a ‘hopeful ending’ with technical competence or to your liking are important questions, but the truth is, few Gundam shows are totally bleak. A lot of them would probably hit harder if they were, but that isn’t the kind of product they are. I don’t even say that as a value judgement; it’s simply a consequence of what they are and the many, occasionally competing influences upon them.

I suspect this is one of those places where the franchise’s reputation is clashing with the reality, which is why I felt it necessary to write this out. Similar to earlier comments regarding the body-counts in various series, from what I can gather, the . . . let’s say, utter grim and bloodiness is largely restricted to particular iterations (Zeta, Pocket etc.). Again, that’s not me saying ‘that’s bad’ (or even ‘that’s good’). It’s simply a facet of the general tone of the thing.

This isn’t Blake’s 7 or, I dunno, some more culturally up-to-date reference to something that ends horribly my brain is too frazzled to produce. Gundam is more often ‘hope emerging from adversity’ than it is not.

SPOILERS PAST THIS POINT. AS IN, END-OF-THE-SHOW SPOILERS.

I’ve cludged a couple of the movies together with the series where I think it’s funnier to give the filmic endings, but the endings of those particular series don’t go against the trend. Some of the ones I don’t list are more ‘neutral good’ endings than actively hopeful, too, so it’s not like everything not here is automatically hopeless. (Gosh, it’s handy having all these typed up in list form already; usual caveat that I haven’t watched Victory.)

(Also, the IBO part features me going off on one because of course it does. Again, sorry.)

Mobile Suit Gundam (1979): the crew of the White Base reunites as the war finally comes to a close; it is both a happy ending and one that points towards their capacity to be/become newtypes.

Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (1986): Judau and co head into new lives with (some) maturity and responsibilities. Even prior to that, it takes the route of a triumphant recapitulation of Zeta’s explicitly harsh ending.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack (1988): Char’s cynicism is disproved, the rock is moved, the sky literally lights up with the power of the human heart.

Mobile Fighter G Gundam (1994): the power of love defeats the Devil. In space!

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing/Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz (1995/1997): peace is restored, the weapons are discarded, Heero finally gets to rest.

After War Gundam X (1996): the entire philosophical underpinning of the UC timeline is ejected in favour of working together to restore the Earth.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team (1996): star-crossed lovers ditch the war entirely to live together off the grid.

Turn A Gundam (1999): a new understanding between the Moon and Earth is made possible; Loren and Diana settle down into queerplatonic domesticity.

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (2002): The war is ended, the mega weapons are busted, Kira and Athrun part on speaking terms.

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Destiny (2004): Ditto.

Mobile Suit Gundam 00/Mobile Suit Gundam 00 the Movie: A Wakening of the Trailblazer (2007/2010): Setsuna (the world’s least people person) becomes a vector for understanding between species; humanity journeys to the stars.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Unicorn (2010): A broadly positive resolution despite the losses; Amuro, Lallah and Char fly off into eternity together because . . . sure.

Mobile Suit Gundam AGE (2011): The Earth and Mars make peace and work towards recovery, the family is reunited, and Flit is remembered as a unifier.

Gundam Reconguista in G (2014): Bellri ditches his responsibilities for a world tour, also everything else finally calms down a bit.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans (2015): For goodness sake, this series ends hopefully. You can problematise the heck out of some of the things we’re shown but if you don’t see the survivors of Tekkadan getting to grow up and (by and large) live peaceful lives as a hopeful ending, I genuinely question your understanding of the term. Hope gained at cost is still hope, hope tinted with bittersweetness is still hope, hope alongside tragedy is still hope.

Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative (2018): Most everyone dies but even so. There are still things to live for and both living and dead find peace.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway (2021): Mafty gets away with it by the skin of their teeth; yes I am aware where the rest of the story goes but this film ends unquestionably upbeat.

Mobile Suit Gundam the Witch from Mercury (2022): Not actually an outlier on this particular score.

[cinderthefallenmaiden]

G-Witch season 2 trailer: The Knife Point Shot

Spoiler Warning: This post contains spoilers for the new trailer for Gundam G-witch season 2

So, after watching the G-Witch trailer one thing that stood out to me was this shot of someone holding someone else at knife point.

After doing some digging looking at shoes (totally legit theory crafting exercise I swear 😅) I think I know who are are two mystery people are. the person with brown shoes and a knife is Lauda Neill. The one at knife point is Nika Nanaura. So, yeah poor Nika is in a bit of a pickle.

I think while Lauda is investigating the circumstances of his father's death (And possibly his brother's imprisonment) he will discover Nika's connection to Dawn of Fold (Or Shaddiq will simply spill the beans) leading to this scene.

Now, my Gundam knowledge is somewhat limited having only finished Gundam Seed/Stargazer/Destiny and G-witch season 1. However, in the former one of the reoccurring things that happens is you have a tragic female character who is the love interest for the main protagonist(s) lead die tragically. Now while Chuatury is not the main character, she does have a bond of sorts with Nika. However, since this shot is in the trailer, I somewhat doubt Nika is gonna get stabbed and die just like that.

I will admit I am biased about this because I want Chuatury and Nika to be our third wlw couple in the series and for them to survive if not be rather traumatized which is probably unavoidable at this point😅

Edit: Having paid attention to shoe color I have overlooked a few major details to the point that I'm pretty sure it's safe to say Lauda is out of the running to be our knife welder

[kimium]

Warning I’m getting a bit sappy here, so that’s why I’m putting most of this under the cut. Also this isn’t planned. This is just me rambling.

I don’t usually talk about what I watch here, however, earlier in December I posted about how I was re-watching Gundam Seed.

As it happens, usually in December, I get a burst to rewatch something nostalgic and this year I felt like rewatching Gundam Seed. However, even though I watched Gundam Seed years and years ago, I never got into the sequel, Gundam Seed Destiny. So, I decided to fix that and give Gundam Seed Destiny a try.

This feels so strange. Normally my nostalgic anime dip doesn’t go further than me just rewatching the series and then moving on. Having an opportunity to rewatch not just Seed, but watch Destiny for the first time has been an experience for me.

It’s been a wild ride. It astounded me how much of Seed I remembered. I’m equally surprised how much I enjoyed Destiny. I remember when it first came out I was wary and that wariness lead me to not watch it until now.

To finish this off, I want to just list some of the points I enjoyed in Seed and Destiny.

-Anna ni issho datta no ni is still, in my opinion, the best ending to the series.

-Find the Way needed to be used more as an ending because it’s amazing.

-Lacus’ insert songs still hold up (Mizu no Akashi, Shizuka na Yoru ni).

-Wheel of Destiny still effs my emotions over.

-Actually that entire scene with Cagalli and Athrun with the stand off is absolutely breath taking and is probably one of my favourite scenes in the entire anime series.

-I’m surprised that in an action series my favourite songs are the softer ones.

-Fields of Hope is probably the only song in Destiny I enjoyed entirely.

-The fight scenes were pretty good considering the show clearly had a limited budget with the reuse of shots.

-I genuinely enjoyed the relationships in Seed. Destiny, I may be a bit more hesitant, but Stella and Luna are good girls.

-I liked Shin more than I anticipated. Sure, there were some scenes I wanted to hit him but in the end I do like him as a character.

-Mu and Murrue Ramius are legit as a couple and if you think I don’t also have an OT3 with Waltfeld in there you’re sadly mistaken.

-Yuna’s scenes leading to his death and his death were glorious and cathartic to me.

-I expected myself to dislike Meer Campbell but I genuinely like her and I’m Extremely Shocked because she was one of the reasons holding me back all those years from watching the series proper.

-The Chairman really worked well as the main “antagonist” in Destiny and I am pleased because my pet peeve in series is when the radical antagonist who truly believes they are helping the world is clearly Stark Mad. I always say they have to be charismatic or it feels unbelievable to me.

-My favourite side character is Miriallia because she was a brief foil to Flay. I also like her and Dearka together.

-Nicol is Best Boy and I still am a bit upset

-I think Yzak has been the fastest character for me to go “I dislike you so much” to “Holy Crap I like you”

-Mu La Flaga’s entire story premise in Destiny is My Jam and I’m All In for the trope. 100/10.

-Finally, I really like that no matter what happens, Kira pilots Freedom and Athrun ends up piloting Justice. It feels very symbolic and I love stuff like that.

[carnelianwings]

Finished Mobile Suit Gundam: the Witch from Mercury and oh my god that series finale. One of the best I’ve seen in a while, probably the only one where I feel satisfied by the ending for the main ship.

(Spoilers behind the cut, plus some rambling as a casual Gundam fan - mostly of Wing/SEED/00 for comparison)

First off - explicit confirmation that SuleMio got married during the time skip? Can’t believe Bamco really said “Finale airs close enough to the end of June, let’s not only have both of them survive, but we’ll have them get married.”

I know there’s some people who think it wasn’t overt enough but if you ask me, this is the sort of ending Gundam does for their main ships. Like yeah Kira/Flay got pretty explicit but she wasn’t the End Game girl for him, that was Lacus and Kira/Lacus is super chaste in comparison (and we’re not going to get into the potential Unfortunate Implications of that here). But even then, in the SEED Destiny remaster finale all we get is a Big Damn Hug for them. The most we ever got for Heero/Relena was the moment where Heero tells her he’ll take out the leaders of both the Earth and Space Colony factions to lay the world at Relena’s feet for her to lead into a new era of peace. (There’s a reason the BL ships are way more popular in Wing fic than the canonical one! 😂) And as for 00’s Setsuna? He merged with an alien consciousness and essentially gets Put On A Bus for 50 years and reunites with his Princess when she’s 81 and blind.

Which brings me to my next point - because the lead writer for G Witch worked on Valvrave (trigger warning for sexual assault if you want to watch Valvrave - it was a late night anime and it showed), I was worried they’d either kill off Miorine in the series finale or put Suletta in a coma (highly possible with how Gundam technology works in universe, plus all the warning signs around Calibarn) to keep things “nebulous” between them and give the writers an out for not having a F/F ship final couple. And it’s not like Gundam doesn’t have precedent for that either - see the Zeta Gundam finale and what happened with Kamille (not sure if that ending got changed with the movies).

But no, we get an “and they lived happily ever after, making their dreams a reality one step at a time” for both girls. I couldn’t believe my ears when Eri referred to herself as Miorine’s sister in law. I started crying when I saw the rings, not just because that was Suletta’s dream, but also the fact that it meant they got married, and that they’ve just been put on a level above most other (Straight) canonical Gundam ships. (Seriously I can’t name another canonical Gundam ship where the characters met, dated, and got married in the course of their own series.) It also meant all the times Miorine reached out to Prospera by saying they’ll be family wasn’t just lip service but had some very real weight behind it. That the Ship Tease moments were meant to be real romantic relationship development beyond the sort of “fake engagement” set up they had in the beginning. And somehow just by doing that it also means they had a much stronger and better fleshed out relationship than what I’m used to for on screen main Gundam ships.

So there you have it. My (not so) hot take on the G Witch finale.

Final rating: 🌈/10, thank you for not Fridging/Coma-ing either Suletta nor Miorine, would watch again, would definitely buy and play their Super Robot Taisen debut game (assuming I have a platform to play it on). Second season could’ve been better with an extra ep in there especially with all the rapid fire politics and side switching, but at the same time I feel like it might’ve slowed things down a bit much so I’m happy with what we got. Also, Super Robot Taisen debut when, Bamco?

[locria-writes]

it’s been almost 20 years since gsd came out and i’m still mad about how it all fell apart smh

[eigwayne]

Picked up Rebirth for You again. I know this show has bad reviews for being nonsensical so I’m not expecting much. And like, parts are okay, and parts are like, ugh that was just moronic.

Cutting for spoilers. Some good points at the end but I need to vent first:

Baoning was kind of okay at first but her petulance is getting old; I know Ju Jingyi isn’t famous for her acting skill but I saw Legend of White Snake, I know she can lift her chin and not pout, at least. And she wants to be free of the emperor but whenever she’s inconvenienced, she runs back to him to throw his weight around. No wonder he hasn’t backed off yet, he clearly thinks she values him. And she already knows she’s into Li Qian but she isn’t willing to speak up for herself or him at all? He’s got a small army and a father who can send more troops if he needs them, he’s clearly not a complete nobody. If she stopped lying to her grandma about it, grandma might be willing to look into him and support Baoning in getting him out of the Dowager Empress’s control.

Not a huge fan of how she’s leading Zhao Xiao on at the moment, either. I know he turns into the villain later so something is going to sour, but for now? He’s got a crush on a girl and she’s willing to marry him, so he’s stoked. He’s willing to fight for Baoning’s hand, even if it’s against the Emperor. He’s doing nothing wrong and doesn’t realize something’s wrong on her end. Because she didn’t tell him. She’s not into him, her grandma gave her an out, and she didn’t take it. Right now, she’s setting up her own unhappiness and taking him down with her, and I can’t feel sorry for her.

Also, not sure why the show is setting up the duel against an injured Zhao Xiao and the Yongqing prince (love rival #4, by the way, and we’re only on ep 9). Wouldn’t it have been better for Li Qian (who is not injured) to sub in for Zhao Xiao (who was recently STABBED)? The drama of one partner fighting for the other is superb, just look at Hao Du and Leyan in The Long Ballad. Instead they’re deflecting to Zhao Xiao, which takes a prime opportunity for Li Qian and gives it to someone else.

(Granted, it would make far more sense for Known Suitor Zhao Xiao to fight the duel, if he were at full strength. But he’s not, and they had an out and didn’t take it. This is like, the show of wasted opportunities. I thought I wasn’t watching Gundam Seed Destiny again but maybe I should check the headers.)

Plus sides? Li Qian hasn’t gotten to do that much but Joseph Zeng is performing him adequately and I do like him. His side-plot was set up as the main plot in the first ep, and while it is taking a backseat a bit, it’s still the driving force so far and is far more interesting than Baoning’s Reverse Harem Goes Wrong. Wang Zhuocheng is doing well too! He sometimes chews the scenery a bit in other shows (I loved him as Jiang Cheng but he was Acting instead of acting sometimes), but he’s been good so far and his puppy eyes at Baoning are Grade A. And Ju Jingyi’s stupidly dangly headpieces may be elaborate-in-the-wrong-way in this setting but they’re nice inspiration for First Age Tolkien elves, who are renowned for their sparklies~

[scope-dogg]

Knight’s and Magic: Final Thoughts

Isekai anime have been very popular in recent years, and 2017′s Knight’s and Magic was one of many cashing in on that trend, with the added twist of being a mecha series. However, what many may not realise is that the Isekai genre of anime was originally born out of the mecha genre, with the first Isekai anime arguably being the 1983 classic Aura Battler Dunbine by Yoshiyuki Tomino. While Isekai has split off and diversified into its own extremely prolific and popular genre, mecha has kept a foothold within it, and subsequently some of the greatest mecha shows have been fantasy-themed, with great titles like Magic Knight Rayearth and The Vision of Escaflowne following in Dunbine’s footsteps over the years, so really Knight’s and Magic should be viewed rather as the continuation of a fairly long tradition of fantasy mecha rather than Isekai but with robots. Adapted from the early volumes of a currently ongoing manga by the same name, it’s a short series, but one with high production values, superb mechanical design and entertaining action. It’s also a series that I ultimately simply cannot stand.

The plot setup is that Tsubasa Kurata is an unassuming but highly talented programmer working in contemporary Japan - or at least he is until he’s killed in a road traffic accident. As he dies, he has but one regret - that he’ll no longer be able to live with his hobby of building plastic model kits of giant anime robots. As is often the case with such a setup, he finds himself reborn into a fantasy kingdom called Fremevilla as the son of nobles called Ernesti Echavalier. However, to his joy, he finds out that the main weapon for fighting back against these monsters is the Silhouette Knight, a kind of gigantic magic-powered mecha. Thus, he devotes himself to the art of learning everything there is about these machines and one day building and piloting one of his very own.

There’s nothing really wrong with this premise, but Knight’s and Magic is flawed in how one-track it is. The show’s really only about one thing - how robots are cool. Of course, I agree that robots are cool. Knight’s and Magic’s lineup of robots in particular is very cool, both in their form and unique functions. However, anyone who’s actually a fan of the mecha genre knows that just having cool robots isn’t enough to carry a show - you have to have compelling characters and interesting narratives. The all-too-frequently trotted-out line of “[x mecha show] is actually good, unlike the rest of the genre, because it focuses on the characters instead of just the robots” is probably the single most effective thing you can say if you want to piss off a mecha fan, because that sentence describes literally every mecha show that was ever worth a damn, even going back to the genre’s roots in the 70s. However, it arguably doesn’t really describe Knight’s and Magic. The series’ creators come off as just as obsessed with robots as its main character, and it comes at the expense of the characters and setting. Each new episode comes with a cool new robot or a cool upgrade for an existing one, but practically none of them feature development of the setting or its characters. Fremevilla and its neighbours never come off as anything more than “generic fantasy kingdom”, the supporting cast are all cut from extremely generic-feeling moulds, and Ernesti never undergoes any growth or exhibits any notable character traits beyond “likes robots.”

Now, there have been several characters in mecha anime who are in large part defined by their dedication to giant robots as an ideal, or simply to their aesthetic, and some of these are truly excellent characters. For instance, Gai Daigoji from Nadesico, Akagi Shunsuke from Dai-Guard, Noa Izumi from Patlabor, Sei Iori from Gundam Build Fighters, or the Super Robot Wars Original character Ryusei Date. The difference between all of these and Ernesti is that being fans of robots isn’t the only thing that makes them relatable or endearing characters, whereas in Ernesti’s case it’s basically the only thing that defines his personality. It also doesn’t help that he’s perhaps the biggest Mary Sue main character that I’ve seen in a mecha anime. His gimmick is that his past-life experience as a programmer also makes him profoundly adept at magic, and that he’s a genius Silhouette Knight designer. He’s always totally successful at everything he tries and everyone loves and respects him for his accomplishments. Ironically, it’s this that makes him an unlikable character for the viewer, because, again, he has no real admirable qualities beyond liking robots and being good at making and using them. It’s a character’s struggles and tribulations that ultimately make them truly sympathetic, and Ernesti is never really challenged until right at the very end of the series, and ultimately that challenge only feels like a mild speed bump for him. This results in a series that despite all its cool robots and flashy battles is fundamentally dead as a story at its core.

However, all of this simply describes a series that I would find boring and mediocre rather than one I actively disliked in a serious way. However, this is arguably the first series I’ve watched since Gundam Seed Destiny that really ground my gears quite badly, and it all boils down to one specific moment in the show’s narrative. To explain why, I need to diverge from my usual review format and spoil not only this show, but also it’s forefather, the original mecha Isekai, Aura Battler Dunbine. I really don’t think spoilers for the former is anything to worry about but spoiling the latter is probably more of an offense. As such, the remainder of this review is below this spoiler cut:

Dunbine is not everyone’s cut of tea. It’s old, has bad animation, it’s long-winded and has a sometimes confused and scrambled narrative in accordance with some of Tomino’s worst habits. However, it was also a work of great imagination that really delivered on communicating a valuable message in some engaging ways. It’s a message that Knight’s and Magic cheerfully and infuriatingly tramples all over. Let me explain.

In Knight’s and Magic, the show’s hero is an outsider who enters into a fantasy world and uses his real-world knowledge to bring about a revolution in technology. This also happens to be the chief descriptor for a major character in Dunbine too.

However, this isn’t the description of the show’s protagonist, Show Zama.

It’s the description of the show’s villain, Shot Weapon.

Shot Weapon is the creator of the Aura Convertor, the technology that powers the show’s mecha, the Aura Battlers, and other weapons besides. The introduction of this technology destroys the peace of Dunbine’s world, Byston Well, and causes it to descend into anarchy and bloodshed. However, the real devastation doesn’t occur until Shot’s creations are transported back into our world, where they inflict destruction almost beyond imagining. Ultimately, Shot Weapon’s actions condemn him to a punishment of being forced to live forever in Byston Well in a state of eternal suffering, like Cain after murdering his brother Abel. Dunbine’s ultimate, most crucial message is that those who manufacture weapons and spread death are to be condemned.

Knight’s and Magic gave itself the exact same opportunity to deal with this exact same theme. The show’s final arc is that a kingdom called Zaloudek has accumulated vast military power and used it to invade its neighours. We get to see as they descend into a neighbouring kingdom, slaughter its just and rightful rulers and install themselves as tyrants. Now, enter Ernesti and his friends at the conquered kingdom’s borders. At this point he’s achieved his aim of creating his own unique robot called the Ikaruga, and in its first battle effortlessly dispatches the Zaloudek soldiers guarding the border. In the aftermath, he examines the wreckage of a destroyed Zaloudek Silhouette Knight. He and everyone else see the obvious - this machine, the Tyranto is based on Ernesti’s designs. Previously, one of the prototype Knights he’d constructed in an earlier arc was stolen by a mysterious foreign agent, and now it’s become clear what happened to it. The source of the military strength that’s fuelling Zaloudek’s ambitions of conquest are the new technologies that he created, reverse engineered from the stolen mecha. As he looks upon the wreck of the Tyranto, the show is presented with a unique opportunity to do something that it’s thus far not done - challenge its protagonist with the consequences of his actions. Sure, Ernesti is not exactly the same as Shot Weapon - he only wanted to create robots because he thought they were cool, while Shot Weapon wanted power. However, in this case the end result has been the same - death, destruction and oppression. Ernesti has a chance to think about whether the things he’s done are right and acknowledge that he’s at least somewhat responsible for the disaster that’s played out, even if it’s just to acknowledge that he has a duty to set things right by beating Zaloudek. This is an opportunity for him to grow as a character for the first time.

The show swerves this opportunity without flinching.

Sure, Ernesti does liberate the kingdom in the end, but it’s clear that it’s not as a result of any real moral calling. He just wanted to build more robots and fight with them. His motivation in the final battle is that he wants to destroy the enemy’s flying battleship because he’s worried that battleships might replace Silhouette Knights if he doesn’t. He remains a totally one-dimensional character right to the end.

As I said before, Ernesti’s obsession with cool robots arguably mirrors that of the creators of this show, if its myopic focus on them is anything to go by. Perhaps this seems extremely out of character for me to say, but this is an infantile obsession. Yes, I like giant robots, but I don’t like them so much that I miss the point. The core of not only the real robot genre that both Knight’s and Magic and Aura Battle Dunbine belong to despite the fantasy trappings of the show, but arguably of the mecha genre as a whole, is that technology can be a force of destruction and great evil when not used responsibly. Yes, the protagonist mecha in these shows are meant to be heroic, but only in their opposition to those who’d use technology as a tool of death and oppression. This is the core of the soul that makes mecha as a genre compelling. It’s a point that Knight’s and Magic completely misses and why it’s fundamentally a failure. It’s as if it’s trying to be what the mecha genre’s detractors try to paint it as.

That said, despite my misgivings there is entertainment to be found if you only want dumb action. But I’d highly encourage you to check out any alternative. If you want a fantasy mecha series, Dunbine, Escaflowne and Rayearth are all much more compelling stories than this - even ones I’m not so keen on like Panzer World Galient and Ryu Knight are fundamentally more interesting as stories than this. If you want a story with a mecha fanatic in the lead role, you’re much better off watching Patlabor or the chronically underrated Dai-Guard instead.