The year is Universal Century 0087. Seven years have passed since the end of the One Year War. In its
zeal to stamp out any remaining opposition, the Earth Federation has organized the Titans, an elite
fighting force. However, the Titans soon get out of hand, committing atrocities on par with the worst
the Principality of Zeon had to offer during the war. In response, dissatisified citizens, former Zeon
soldiers, and even members of the Earth Federal Forces form a resistance group known as the Anti-Earth
Union Group, or AEUG. As the next war is brewing, a small AEUG group arrives at Side 7 to investigate
the new Gundam Mk. II...
(Source: Anime News Network)
Waring this review may contain spoilers. Frist impreions, so my first impression was that this is going to be a continuation of one of the most important anime of the 1970s and also considering i have gundam in my username name so why wouldn't i watch it and review it. Story, 7/10 7 years after the one year and stardust happened an elite military group known as the Titans have come to power who job is to hunt down the remaining Zeon forces, but soon after the organisation devolves into a tyrannical group that opposes the local space colonies and becomes even worse than the very Zeon forces that they where fighting, but hope is not lost as a ragtag group known as the AEUG have come to challenge this tyranny and hopefully restore freedom. Our story begins with main character Kamille who to make a long story short in a temper tantrum steels a prototype Gundam unit and joins the AEUG. so basically zeta Gundam did attack on titan years before attack on titan even did it, but jokes aside lets get into the real meat of this review. So when compared to the original gundam series, zeta gundam is a lot more focused and polished. When it comes to the of the idea of war is bad and what's happenens during war, like the pure destruction of city's, forests and other locations or the lost of human or wildlife during this confits. Like for example There are entire scenes where its dead humans and animals in the backdrops of destroyed cities and jungles on fire. while at the same time talking about political and ecological themes like for example humanity should leave mother earth behind and take to the stars, before war and contamination destroys the planet and most importantly the human race with it, or the political theme of how the space colonies should have the right of self-govern and not have to bow down to the whims of a super-government. Those kind of messages I feel are quite relevant today considering the grave predictions from ecologists or how member states of the EU are leaving because of various reasons. But for the negative and there are quite a few problems with this series, Like the main conflict which is about as black and white as you can get as the Titans are portrayed in a way that makes you not care about them while making the aeug out as the good guys. Which goes against what other series or Gundam shows have done by showing the negative and positive aspects of both sides But no such things happen in zeta. because let's be honest about 99% of the Titans themselves are more are less a band of stick up the ass knight templar grade psychopaths who give zero fucks about civilian deaths, commit wholesale war crimes and most importantly disregards and even undermines the authority of the government. Which makes the aeug completely justified in almost any act they do, even though they could have made it a bit more morally ambiguous. The next nail to stick out is while zeta Gundam focus on the horrors of war it also has a big focus on the human element which is both this series of the high and low point. On the one hand, the drama is stort of justified because they are in a middle of a war. but on the other hand, its used for over the top mellow drama that overstays it's welcome and I am not joking when I say that almost every episode either has someone getting the shit beat out of them or the emotions running at an all-time high which leads to more drama. Which in retrospect derails a lot of the series stronger points. Another one of Zeta Gundam problems story-wise is that the pacing is very slow and there are quite a few moments where I am like oh my god get to the fucking point already and there are episodes that feel like filler like the one episode where this woman thinks Kamille is her older brother and I found this episode along with a few others completely unnecessary and episodes like that don't really contribute anything to the overall narrative or themes. But While we are on the topic of themes I do want to mention that while I feel that some of the presentations of these themes are kinda dated when compared to other series that talks about similar ideas, but I would say it does a lot more with the content when it comes to more recent series. Characters, 6/10 So main character Kamille oh where to i start with this dude. Well Kamille is probably one of my lest favourite gundam protagonists, more and less for the reason he is exactly like eren yanger from attck on titen. At the start he is this reckless and arrogant teenager that's full of angst and while I like to appreciate what he brings to the series. Becuase that pure blind anger fits pretty well in a war setting and his reactions feel a lot more organic than compared to Amuro's reactions that felt at times a little robotic. Now i will say that he goses though i little bit of character development as he become more motivated to bring an end to the war not just for himself but also the people around him. Which is better than i going to kill every last titen and gargle on there blood motivation he had which he still hasn't dropped completely. When it comes to the side cast of characters, there are quite a lot of new characters with also some old favourite added in like amuro ray and Char Aznable. When it comes to the cast as a whole they all have sort of personality and quite a few of them go though some nice character development and fleashing out Like for example, Amuro development is basically him getting over the past and moving forward or Emma who was once a member of the Titans but joined the aeug when she realizes that things aren't as black and white as she first thought as let's be completely honest the Titans aren't exactly the most honest or kindest bunch. But the elephant in the room character wise is that zeta gundam has some of the worse character handling i have seen in a gundam show so far not counting gundam seed. There are just tons of death and betrayal left and right. for one example the character Reccoa who about 3/4 into the series, she betrays the AEUG to the Titans with reason being that men are mean and she wants a strong man in her life, so bottom line it was feminism and toxic masculinity to blame. But jokes aside that's just one example in quite a few I can name where characters just go off the fucking rails because reasons that make no sense in the grand scheme of things or situations that are being blown way out of proportion, Which also results with more slaps to the face or at worse another beating. Like the human drama almost drags the characters down to the abyss as character motivations become extimety hard to follow as character will continuety switch sides Becuase reasons. But one thing that kinda saves it are the character interactions and relateships. One of my favourite being Amuro and Char interactions because where pretty interesting considering their history together or how char and Amuro are in this mentor figure role for Kamille which is also pretty cool as well. But the rest of the character interactions feels very disjointed because almost every episode someone is beating slapped and the shit beaten out of them out of there comrades, and this problematic because for a military group like the AEUG there is no sense of comradery or any cohesiveness what so ever. Its like they took a bunch of assholes, put them in a room together and sied hay you guys are now a team, go fight titans and good luck. Art,7/10 for the time it came out Zeta gundam had very good art and animation because sunrise knew how to do a good bugget, and considering how clanky and stale some series from the 80s looks visual wise. Zeta gundam has aged pretty well considering and I would say the dated aspects of its visuals adds some grittiness to the whole series, which helps the show portray war in a more honest way. On the negative side though the backgrounds are slighty above average and the mech battles are kinda meh. When it comes to character design its more a less an updated version of what we got for and I have nothing negative or positive to say about them, but when it comes to mech design I actually really love it because I am quite the big fan of mecha and Zeta Gundam just takes the 70s design, updates them to feel more real and adds some new designs which also look cool. Sound, 6/10 First oping song is pretty great and so is the second opimg song,but I prefer the first oping becuase i feel its fits the series more. When it comes to ending songs there also decent and worth a listen even if I don't really like them that much. When it comes to ost its has a wide range of moods and atmosphere it wants to protry and I really dig that part about it, but the problem is that this is probably one of more weeker ost wise when compared to something like gundam seed ost, Which gave this grand feeling and also added so much emotions into the scenes. The ost was done by Shigeaki Saegusa who done the ost for series such as astro boy. Sub and dub are pretty decent, but I would say that the dub feels a bit more chessey when compared to the sub which is a bit more dry. Enjoyment, 6/10 When it comes to enjoyment, I really like the ideas that Zeta Gundam brings up. Becuase I really like it when series take ideas like politics and ecological issues because it showcases that anime isn't just for kids just because it's animated or is all about fan service. It shows cases that even anime can provide an intriguing thought peace. But really hammered my enjoyment is that war and conflict is piss poor and as the series goes on it de-evolves into the most derivative space opera I have ever had the displeasure of sitting through. Overall, 7/10 In conclusion Zeta Gundam is probably one of the more thematically rich Gundam series so far because not only does it develop and flesh out its own ideas, but the ideas it brings up are still relevant today and that in itself gives it a value that can help it transcend the generational barrier and makes it a true anime classic. But if you're watching it for its war and human drama aspects I feel you are goi g to be very disappointed as the conflict is about as black and white as it can get and the human drama so over bloated that not even the war backdrop can fully justify. My advice is don't take the war or character drama seriously and view Zeta Gundam as more of thought piece you will see where its true quality shine.
Well, after I finished watching Zeta Gundam I felt compelled to write a text about my experience watching the anime and describe the negative and positive aspects of the work. Zeta Gundam is undoubtedly one of the most praised Gundams by the community, but that does not mean that he does not have any inconsistencies. img400(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/798291340495945752/798729544110309386/images-1.jpeg) The year is Universal Century 0087. Seven years have passed since the end of the One Year War. In its zeal to eliminate any remaining opposition, the Earth Federation organized the Titans, an elite combat force. However, the Titans soon get out of control, committing atrocities on a par with the worst that the Principality of Zeon had to offer during the war. In response, dissatisfied citizens, former soldiers of Zeon and even members of the Federal Earth Forces form a resistance group known as the Anti-Earth Union Group, or AEUG. As the next war is brewing, a small AEUG group arrives at Side 7 to investigate the new Gundam Mk ll. Animation: Well, it's clear that the animation has improved a lot compared to the Gundam of 79, both on the part of the character design and the part of the mecha. I really wanted Zeta to have a soundtrack to match the action / battle parts, and I think this is one of the points where Zeta sins the most. img400(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/798291340495945752/798730559432949770/images-2.jpeg) Characters: Kamille, in my opinion he is one of the characters I dislike in theZeta, because he is quite impulsive and acts without thinking about the consequences of his actions and without considering his options and often, these actions end up, including, harming the people around you. img400(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/798291340495945752/798728109955874816/images.jpeg) Char Aznable: He's my favorite character from Gundam and undoubtedly one of Zeta's strongest points, compared to Char 79, and I think he's had an incredible development over the years. Not to mention the sensational background he had in Origin. Ithink the interaction he has with Amuro in some parts is incredible and one of them is the iconic phrase "I came here to laugh at you" although they were rivals in 79 they changed a lot in the way of thinking and I was happy that both made up. img400(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/798291340495945752/798728787830505532/20210112_224231.jpg) I think the "romance" between Kamille and Four is one of the things that bothered me the most about Zeta, I think that romance doesn't suit Gundam much. It's very cliché and it gets to be quite boring at almost every moment, and there are also other things I didn't like. img400(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/798291340495945752/798737245136748584/images-3.jpeg) I think Qum and Shinta are the only kids I didn't like about Zeta, because there are some moments when it gets to be super boring and stressful. img400(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/798291340495945752/798738429017980948/images-10.jpeg) I think that some female characters could stand out more, I think the only one that had a better development was Reccoa, despite, and because of Quattro's indifference to her feelings for him, she eventually deserted the Titans under the spell charismatic of Paptimus Scirocco, that is, since she doesn’t have a male that satisfies on the side of the good guys she preferred to join the enemy, she is the only one in whom I managed to see a small development, but I still hate her for her attitudes. So, even with these inconsistencies, Zeta manages to be very good and presented me with several cool moments and I think it was worth taking a while to finish the anime.
__In order to get what I do and extremely dislike about Zeta Gundam, it’s equally important to start with what I do love about the original Gundam.__ It’s uncompromising, yet shaky depiction of war, the effect war has on Amuro Ray and how he is treated because of it, the ambitious mobile suit designs, Sayla’s entire character and, among other positives I could note, the sudden arrival of Newtypes into the mix. But for every right Tomino exhibits on the MSG show, a lot of what he’s doing has a wrong to go along with it. Most of the cast are underdeveloped as characters, character interactions that feel genuine are few and sparse and the way female characters are treated (outside of Sayla) highlights a lot of 70’s/80’s misogyny on a downright disturbing level. (Hell, Mirai gets violently slapped by a man who she barely even knows and the very next episode, she’s kissing him and turned on). Basically, the original Mobile Suit Gundam isn’t without its dark spots. But I think the good balanced out the bad to where you could ignore it for a time. Zeta, unfortunately, holds none of that balance and instead leans into MSG’s worst impulses, rather than away. While it does have stronger visuals, drastically better scoring and fights that get increasingly more dynamic and explosive, it stumbles with everything else. Let’s take character development and interactions for one: Kamille, the main character of this series, loses both his mother and father to the ills of war. After being confronted by Jerid, the man that directly killed his mother, Kamille’s response is…perplexing. He proclaims that he already forgives him for killing his mom and is instead mad at war and military institutions that put him into that position in the first place. The problem isn’t that Kamille comes to this (totally right) conclusion, but that it comes so early in his character arc that it is both uncharacteristic of an “always ready to deck someone in the face” kid who has spit at abusive authority figures at every turn. It removes suspense from his overall growth trajectory and, instead of making the Jerid v Kamille fights into bitter grudge mecha matches, just makes Jerid seem like a whiny brat in the face of a teenager that’s better than him at everything. These characters have interesting enough motivations, but the execution of their growth and their interactions as a whole are more half-baked than anything in MSG. You have Katz (the young screwup that never obeys even the most logical of orders), Emma Sheen (who starts out well, but ultimately has nothing to do), Reccoa Londe (who we’ll…get into later) and Fa Yuiry (who everyone around her tries to set into a forced motherly position). Other than Amuro and Char, both notably from the former series, there really isn’t a character with an arc that feels well-earned or well done. It makes the interactions these characters tend to have, mostly fueled by awkwardly written romance, hurt that much more. The second aspect where Zeta falters so much in comparison to the original is how it respects (or doesn’t) its female cast in the long run. While the original show had Sayla as a counterbalance to how badly done Fraw Bow was and how wishy-washy Mirai could be, there is no such solace here. Now every woman is either relegated to the status of housewife (Fraw/Mirai), the love interest/childhood friend and nothing more (Fa Yuiry) or sacrificed and fridged for the furtherance of a man’s arc and character moments (any female character surrounding Jerid, Kamille and Katz come directly to mind). Not to mention the two biggest of my faults of the female Gundam cast to date – Emma Sheen and Reccoa Londe. Both represent a bundle of potential that could have been reached had their characters been written with any true ounce of care. Emma is a former Titan that is forced to come to terms with how monstrous and inhumane the group’s actions are and Reccoa is a former member of the AEUG that prioritizes the need to feel pleasure and “what it means to be a woman” over moralistic check points. Unfortunately, they are not given much of a mile to get there and the character beats aren’t built up in any convincing manner. Emma is, I guess, less offensive by some degree and definitely doesn’t fit too much into the tropes for female characters that the early franchise of Gundam seemed to have settled on…But it still feels like they completely missed the mark with her. She defects from the Titans, sees what the Titans have done by going to a defunct space colony where an awful gas was deployed and…that’s it. No interesting character moments to speak of, outside of her final battle with Reccoa. Speaking of… Reccoa runs to the Titans because she doesn’t get enough romantic attention from Char but finds that attention and comfort in the man who slapped her silly the first time he saw her and ultimately forces her to commit genocide via gas attack on a space colony of thousands (possibly millions). This man, Paptimus Scirocco, is defined by Reccoa as “the first one to actually treat her like a woman!” Note, again, the fact that he hits her on their first encounter. Not only is the turn soaked in misogyny and put all of Reccoa’s goals and reason for being and doing anything on the axis of two men, but it completely takes a steamy dump on what is established from her previously. Reccoa knows (and even told Emma Sheen) about the horrors the Titans have committed, including genocide. So why she would not only be surprised that they would make her commit it to prove loyalty, but also ally herself with a man that commits such genocide on a daily basis like Reccoa? There are many more aspects I could write on and on about with regards to how women are treated (how Katz is excused and treated vs how Fa is), but I’d say that Reccoa’s arc and its sheer mismanagement is all you need to spell it out for you. Moving on to a third point where I think Zeta Gundam misses the mark almost entirely is its depiction of war. In the original series, I don’t think there’s an antagonist on the Zeon side of the One Year War that ever comes across as “cartoonishly evil”. In fact, I wouldn’t say the bulk of the characters that served Zeon came across as evil or even “wrong”. Tomino makes it a deliberate point to name every single character that we see pilot the Zakus and other mobile suits on the side opposite the Earth Federation. He has a Zeon soldier help a woman and her son on their way to their hometown. He shows the love some soldiers have for not only their comrades, but also their families and loved ones. It’s not exactly overt and beat over your head, but it’s nuanced in a way that you can’t help but admire. Whether it’s the Federation Force of Earth or the Principality of Zeon, the true villain is war and what it forces good people on both sides to do. This same nuance, unfortunately, cannot be applied to how Zeta mostly approaches the issue. There is one moment I can remember and point out, but for the most part – the Titans are as evil and cartoonish as they come. Don’t get me wrong – it’s great that Tomino is going so far as showing technical members of the Earth Federation breaking war crimes and treaties that they themselves constructed and agreed to. Gas attacks, nonchalant conversations about slamming space colonies into the Earth, plans to bomb cities and parks full of children…it’s all great stuff to explore through the lens of the work. But it just stops there. We barely get a show of Titans that openly disapprove of what they’re doing or take a second to pause about their actions. We don’t get acquainted with every Bill and Jack and Martha that pilots a mech this time around. Some may take the stance that that’s a better approach, but I’d disagree from a full fundamental aspect. Humanizing at least some of the Titans would take the subject matter even further than its presented. Rather than getting a Jerid that laughs when he realizes that he’s killed an innocent boy’s mother, cheers for gas attacks and in general commits to being a stereotypical mustache twirler, wouldn’t it be nice to delve into the entire depth of the situation? Examine why Jerid has such a lust for power and the means to dominate? But unfortunately – it’s the mustache twirler we are left with. For lack of a better metaphor, Zeta’s perspective on war is like putting quality gas in a run-down rust-bucket of a car. Do all of those issues sound bad or at the very least, middling? Great! Because the final episode of the series is all of it mashed into 22-24 minutes! From Katz disobeying orders for the 10th or so time and immediately dying for it like some sort of sympathy play to Jerid dying to Kamille in lack-luster, mustache twirler fashion to Reccoa making the statement that men only use women as tools while fighting for a man that surely sees her as the same? Characters that had no real character or development to speak of give their lives in the final battle for no real reason? And it all culminates in a scene where all the dead characters come back to help Kamille fight and kill Scirocco (because, that’s a thing, I guess?), even Reccoa, who apparently realizes how wrong she was off screen in the afterlife? Welcome to Zeta Gundam, baby! I’d be lying if I said it was all bad, though. After all, I’m still giving it a 6.8/10! And I think it’s a hard-fought score, because when Zeta Gundam wants to, it can be absolutely brilliant! Amuro’s reluctance to join yet another war after spending 8 years living in solitude, tormented by the previous one? Char’s speech about war and the Titans polluting the Earth even more so? That same speech inspiring more impressionable Titans to take a stand against the others? Kamille’s matter of fact reaction to the death of his “sister” and subsequent mental breakdown at the end of the final battle? Peak fiction and peak Gundam! With all that it does wrong, sometimes it hits just the right note with just the right melodrama to become truly compelling! Which, at the very least, has me excited to go on to ZZ and Char’s Counterattack. For all my misgivings about Zeta, it’s finer points remind me what I love about the first series, IBO and what is surely to come…
The one thing that zeta delivered in spades was the quintessential 80s character and mecha design which kept me hooked no matter how crappy some of the other elements were. Going from the 0079 mech design and animation to this is something that I deeply appreciate. Starting with the opening credits and boy, do I get a fucking boner whenever I remember the visuals of those credits. We have even more sleek character And mecha design, in both openings they kept it Same for the most part as if it was that good..And they were absolutely correct. The songs for both the openings were pretty great as well, OP 1 was cheerful and upbeat and it was accompanied by the grown up versions of the heroes of the One year war looking defiant and confident at the viewer. The second opening however provides a stark contrast when it comes to the song choice. It had this sad nostalgic feel to it which had Camille's lover '4' mimic Lalah's psychedelic sequence back in ms gundam 0079, in the foreground. Thereby giving away a massive spoiler in advance. But that didn't hinder my experience in the slightest. Now we come to the plot. If 79 was a cycle as far as pacing is concerned, then zeta would be a ferrari. It is a fast paced character driven drama with an abundance of political intrigue. We zip from a space colony to Granada, then to Jaburo, Earth And back to space while tons of character interactions And battles take place in the foreground. Another major distinction that can be drawn between zeta And 79 are the several political factions that are involved in this power struggle. In 79 we just had the Zabis And the EFF, in zeta we had the EFF, Titans (which is a growing power that seems to be on the side of the EFF initially.), The AEUG which is against the EFF And by extension, the titans. It came into being when people started noticing the decay And corruption in the EFF, Paptimus scirocco who is on the side of the Titans but is an ambitious political leader and last but not the least, the Zabis. The power struggle is One of the parts of the show that is somewhat satisfactory/well done. The character interactions can get a bit grating at times due to the unlikable nature of some characters which might have been a result of poor writing. Also, I do Not know what to make of the absolute clowning of Bright noa lmfao. If you are a huge fan of the 79 heroes then maybe this isn't for you. On a more positive note, the allegiance to the "good" side/ a good cause have been turned on its head in this part. In 79, the EFF were the good guys while the Zabis along with Char were the bad guys. In this part however , the EFF were the antagonists And the titans only amplified that fact. The AEUG, with Char Aznable among their top ranks, were the good guys. Char however gives himself the Name "Quatro Bajeena" along with some Clark Kent tier way of hiding his previous identity which doesn't seem to be hidden from the top brass at the AEUG. His development over the 50 episodes was nice tho. Speaking of old characters, More than a few of them showed up in the series. Amuro Ray stayed on earth And fought against his inner voice that told him that he was no longer needed in space And he had done his part, And tbh that isn't necessarily a wrong idea that he feeds himself. However, due to increasing hostilities, his presence was required And he succeeded in that internal conflict. Kai And hayato have now grown up to be people of some influence. Katz along with letz And kikka are now adopted by hayato And fraw bow, who are also expecting a child of their own. Katz joins up with Camille and Char to fight the Titans. A few episodes later Camille encounters One character who influences him greatly for the rest of the show, 4. A new type of 'newtype' that have been artificially made into newtypes. These beings are called cyber newtypes Due to the radical experimentation conducted on these individuals, the balance of their mental state fluctuates very frequently. And later on in the series, a few other such characters are introduced who at times devolve into this childlike state. Now back to the aforementioned psychedelic sequence, 4 sacrifices herself to protect Camille from his nemesis, Lt. Jerrid Messina. When it comes to the significance of this event, it was an essential repeat of Lalah sacrificing herself for Char in his battle against amuro. And the presence of both char And amuro at the scene of Camille mourning 4 only amplified the importance of the scene by leaps And bounds And of course how can I forget the instrumental version of the second opening playing while all this took place...that was just the cherry on the top. Jerrid Messina is One nemesis that was similar to Char in 79 in the sense that he took only L's. But unlike char, Jerrid had a few female compatriots along the way who also sacrificed themselves to protect him. The death of Hilda didn't hit me hard Or At all tbh because she barely had any screen time. Lila on the other hand had More screentime And her growing fondness for jerrid made it somewhat saddening? I guess. And while we are on the topic of female sacrifices, Sarah being under the influence of scirocco to the very end was somewhat irksome but understandable, simultaneously.... The amount of wamen killing themselves for the sake of growth of certain characters reminded me of 'fridging' Or woman in refrigerator, a similar phenomena in western comic books where a female character close to the protagonist dies because of the association with that character, while its Not a 1:1 comparison but it is certainly similar . I dont necessarily care about that aspect a lot, but One can only ask themself the question that is this a result of poor writing in many instances? Food for thought. The cruelty only increased in this instalment of gundam. But It did Not feel as impactful when compared to that of the Og gundam. The fast paced nature of the show did Not help this aspect in any way. From gassing colonies to blasting a laser through another colony, we had a lot of casualties but Not enough time to realise the gravity of the situation. There was only one scene which actually seemed haunting And had the potential to be much More than it actually was but was again, just rushed a bit. The scene in question is Rosamia holding a dead child in her arms, who had just been recently gassed. Ah yeah Rosamia, Gundam And its retarded habit of introducing new characters that are important to the plot/protagonist right at the very end, seems to be a feature And Not a bug. That And the plot armour which was excessive in some parts of the show was a bit irritating. But I gotta say, the whole 'newtype' thing had just been explained away with a simple 'change in physiology due to living in space' And the other aspects of being a newtype I.e tapping into a dimension where they could communicate with each other And their fallen comrades was also Not explained in a proper way, I look forward to some semblance of an explanation in the next instalment of gundam Camille's growth had stopped Midway because it seemed that it had peaked. But there were More than a few internal conflicts that he had to go through as More time went by. The number of L's the AEUG took in the second half was surprising to say the least. And char stepping up And taking the initiative to lead the AEUG was a treat to witness. In conclusion, Zeta had a few lows And an almost similar amount of highs, but were the number of highs And their quality sufficient for me to say that I had a decent time overall? I'd say yes.
webm(https://animethemes.moe/video/ZetaGundam-OP2.webm) I tried my best not to spoil Zeta Gundam, so no character deaths will be listed here. This review is specifically about the final episode. When Yoshiyuki Tomino created Mobile Suit Gundam, I wouldn't say that how he changed anime wasn't as dramatic as people claim. For a long time in the 1970s, creators had been steadily depicting more and more out there and less child friendly things, that had ironically enraptured children as well as young adults and teenagers. To roll back the clock just a few years before Gundam's debut, you could see this mindset in things like Muteki Koujin Zambot 3, an anime series very much about the "real" war stories and the "real" war, terms that people would later use to talk about Gundam. At around the same time you have Ken Ishikawa writing Getter Robo which slowly transformed to be more mature than its toy commercial beginnings, or Go Nagai pushing the boundaries in many of his works. What the creation of Mobile Suit Gundam did was fully speak the words many creators had wanted to hear at the time, and it wasn't just because the main characters had interpersonal drama, or seeing large amounts of destruction portrayed as a bad thing, and it wasn't seeing these giant machines, ostensibly made to sell toys, be destroyed. What Tomino did was in a sense make our characters the machines, so the machines could act as characters. When you see a Zaku gets destroyed in 0079, you don't just see it explode, you see the pilot inside viscously die and cry out one last time. Not only has the machine in effect "died", but so has the one piloting it, and you are forced to see this happen. This element, in addition to the others listed above (and generally a less episodic structure) is what made Gundam a bigger deal than something like Zambot 3. This is all important for what I'm about to discuss as death is very important in Zeta Gundam, anyone who has seen the anime would know this. It's not a pure "Kill 'em all Tomino" moment, but the body count is high. This all comes to an end in the final episode, when Kamille and Scirocco confront each other. Scirocco is one of many antagonists in Zeta, but he is ultimately the one we have known the most up to this point (I don't consider Jerid as much an antagonist as I do a rival for Kamille), and we have seen the atrocities committed under his command. When Kamille calls out Scirocco for thinking of war as a game, he's absolutely correct. He did not see these pilots as people, he saw them as machines, cogs in this greater war. Despite being a newtype himself, he doesn't see the truth, or rather, he ignore the truth. These people and their giant robots have become one. So, ultimately, when Kamille fights Scirocco in the Zeta Gundam, he wins through the strength of those whose wills he carries with him. Everyone who he has managed to find connection with in this brutal war comes to help him, and with that he declares that he feels a power moving through him, and it always gets a chuckle out of me when Scirocco says "How can that defeat a mobile suit?" He could never understand the power of the human spirit that lays inside these machines, these machines engineered for death and destruction that now carry the spirits of the deceased with them, spirits that amplify Kamille's, and the Zeta Gundam's powers into something far greater. img2200(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/811111525729042453/907844617918099476/mpv-shot0295.png) img2200(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/811111525729042453/907844623425220670/mpv-shot0296.png) It in a way shows that all this death and destruction wasn't meaningless. These characters who have passed on were able to help Kamille in that final hour, Kamille who had found connection with them, while Scirocco, who had remained apathetic to many of the characters and uncaring of the casualties was left to die. I didn't really have a whole lot to say about Zeta Gundam in general, but that conclusion, and how it uses death, which has coloured this genre for ages, left a large impression on me. I believe there are many other aspects of Zeta Gundam that are great, but I'd find it more interesting to discuss them under different context. _You will see the tears of time._
In accordance with the brutality of it's prequel, Mobile Suit Gundam, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam followed after greatly, improving everywhere it had previously lacked before. Beautifully improved animation and Mobile Suit designs, a brilliant continuation of the story and characters after a long time skip, a hauntingly sounding orchestrated soundtrack used impressively in execution, and even more chaotic space battles, furthering the self-destruction of mankind. The structure of the dialogue, pacing, and progression of the story all flowed amazingly. As the episodes went on, there is massive build up as the political struggles savage the colonies, and death soon follows. Alongside the old cast, as they slowly get pulled back again into a new war, a bright and shining new cast emerges. Kamille follows in the spirit and greatness of Amuro and Cosmo from space Runaway Ideon. A hot tempered boy with many insecurities, he many times too honestly confronts and fights. He has a soft side, and yet the tragedy is the war begins to break him mentally as he gets accidentally throw into it and becomes an important part of it. After meeting Jerid, a furious new rivalry begins as they become the Amuro and Char of Zeta. From within different corners in space, the peace that was achieved eventually expired, as new powers begin to emerge with lustfully brutal ambitions. The Titans emerged in order to prevent the Zeon from reviving, and yet the leadership of the Titans has a different agenda. Through political trickery, they begin to take over the federation through key campaign victories and force. Thus, their corruption expanded, until it was met by the creation of the A.E.U.G. Among them is Quattro Bajeena, who immediately is shown to be a fake identity and is actually the supposed deceased Char Aznable. As a key member of the A.E.U.G., he once again enters a new war to fight the Titans and to secure peace. Still, he seems more of an independent force with his own agenda above it all. He may be a man that lives for war. He might even have a love for it. Without war, Char seems to be the type of man that loses purpose. He is fighting because he has noticed the rise of the corrupt Titans. Then again, despite that this seems to be a noble cause, he admitted early on in this series that being a soldier is the only way he knows how to live. He needs an enemy. I would have a bad feeling if he didn't have one. As a result of all this, he never married as to bring a potential family into all this madness. He now seems much more level headed and not as sadistic as in Mobile Suit Gundam. Despite that, just his appearance alone still scares people. As he grows his resistance, he begins to take notice that the crew of the White Base is slowly re-emerging, including Amuro, and fighting alongside him against the Titans. There is an irony in this as they were his mortal enemies just a few years ago. As the struggle continues, he gets thrown into and propped up as a leader. Despite this, he is not one to be leader. He'll throw his pride away if he has to, and make speeches if need be, but what really is he up to? The mystery of his character continues. Among the Titans and Federation, there is an obvious third power slowly rising. The Zeon are still around. It's clear as it was shown in the prequel that the baby of the Zabi survived. They are the 3rd key into opening a possible end for the human race. The Newtypes get expanded upon. It's an interesting theory, that as humans venture out into space, they begin to evolve and develop a new sense. This is a power that later on gets abused as humans try to manufacture it as a weapon of war. This gives people abilities that probably inspired how sensing worked later on other anime such as Dragon Ball. If I was to complain, I wasn't satisfied in how some character were teased, and barely there. It felt so shameless in one character as she didn't even speak. I also found it odd that the former crew of the White Base seemed to just accept Char. This is odd because Char was trying to kill them beforehand and caused a lot of their own comrades to die. Kai seemed to be the only one with any kind of sense about this. You could say the war brought the necessity of them to have to struggle together, and yet I still found it a bit strange for Char to be breaking bread with both the strict and disciplined Captain Bright and Amuro. The limitations are there as it is an older work, and yet I have more respect for how natural they try to make movement and body language feel with the characters as it puts to shame a lot of lazy still frame and slide show animation that still goes on today on a grand scale. In the second half of the story, even more new characters appear that definitely make an impact and change the story a lot for the better. The war intensifies as Tomino reaches brutality that nears that of Ideon. I can't deny this was one of the best experiences I've been able to have with anime. This was everything I wanted it to be and more.
I feel I enjoyed this show a lot more than others. I know people hate the newtype stuff in Gundam, and this show really feels like it's mostly about that aspect of it. I wish it played more into that honestly, but it's not _my_ show. I will say that it's pretty difficult to follow. This is good in some regards, like, when we aren't focusing on the main cast, a whole other side of the war is happening, and when the main cast returns to that side of the war, to these characters we haven't seen for a long time, they're in a completely difference space. I think that's neat. But also, it seems a lot of stuff that should be said, isn't. Like, why has the tables turned in such a way? Maybe it's the subtitles I used. But it just seems confusing, and the characters say things that don't make sense (another sub thing)(possibly used dubtitles, so it could apply to dubs too) That adds to the disjointed feelings I got from this show. It's difficult to follow a character. Like, I don't want things totally spelled out for me, and the show is alright in letting the audience figure out why a character is behaving a certain way, but sometimes... well, you expect some things to come up more often, make the show easier to follow. I don't like being a critic. It's okay if a war drama is hard to follow. I do think this is also a symptom of the show not being cleverly written, and by that I mean set-up and payoff isn't really there, or at least I am not good at recognizing it here. Episodes start to become pretty self contained part way through, and near the end it's like... ~!Okay, it seems this thing that's brought up in the final episode that was sort of built up to in some ways is now how we're defeating the final bad guy, who's motivations I just barely grasped in this episode. I wish the thing used to beat the bad guy was more what the show is about. I wish more time was spent on the character's motivation!~ I just want to understand this show more! That's what I'm left with, I want to understand the show better, which is absolutely a good thing. Some people just have issues with the story itself, why things are happening, not just the writing. To that I say, it's not good to be a critic, let it tell its story. I don't know, I just don't get that side of criticism. It has something to say, let it say it. "uh 0079 was better because both sides were both good and bad and this just has a bad guy" Yeah well maybe that's interesting to me and seems like a real evolution of this universe. Animation is really fun, even with some budgetary decisions. It's really fun to go from this show from 0079 and see how it's evolved, and it has evolved. The designs are also really fun, lots of gunpla you could make. I also really like the pacing in it. It's hard to describe, but it just makes sense, and feels _real_ and enough is introduced every episode to keep you going, even if it's not really explained much or held onto long lmao. I think this show is for me. I like it, even with the issues I have with it. I think if you dislike the Newtype stuff, you won't like this show. I think if you're open minded and willing to work with the show and let it do it's thing without judgment, you'll like it too. If you're the type to always have your critic brain on and nitpicking every thing, you'll soon grow tired before the 50 episode run is up. Not that it's so flawed it's somehow bad. It's confusing, but you can live with confusion. It doesn't have some traditionally good things that make a "good" script, but that doesn't mean it's good in other ways and can't exist beyond missing some set-up and payoff that someone as lowly as me would enjoy. If I had to diagnose a problem between this show and 0079, I would say that Zeta tries to do too much, even for it's 50 episode run.
I've been stewing with Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam on my brain for little over a couple of years by this point. Initially I was frustrated a lot by it, considering my first experience with the Universal Century was through Unicorn (a series written by the man Tomino despises the most, Harutoshi Fukui, aka Japanese Tom Clancy). Kamille was annoying to 18 year old me, a lot of the dialogue felt stilted(?) and people had the wackiest decision making I had ever seen (until I saw Code Geass). It was a frustrating experience initially, but as I started mulling over it while continuing my marathon of the rest of the Gundam series, I became significantly less harsh on it, and now I think its the closest we'll ever get to an objective anime masterpiece (outside of One Piece or Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood). Zeta Gundam picks off almost a decade after the original series left off. With General Revil's death days before the battle at A Baoa Qu, the Earth Federation quickly spiraled into corruption and decadence, and by UC 0083 (beloathedly thanks to Stardust Memory), the Titans private army is established to snuff out future resistances against the Federation government, effectively acting as a publicly funded and heavily armed group of bullies traveling around the Earth Sphere shoving people into lockers (the Colonies). This is what leads to a bunch of people from all corners of life, Federation, civilian life, the private sector, and even former Zeon, to band together and form the Anti-Earth Union Group, or AEUG, to combat the Titans' shenanigans and actually restore sanity to the Earth Sphere once again. They get mobile suits of their own to do combat against the Titans in various pockets across Colony space, and one of those conflicts arrives on Kamille Bidan's front door step on the Titans HQ of Green Noa in Side 7. Kamille very swiftly does the Gundam protagonist thing of hopping into the conveniently nearby Gundam Mk. II and escapes with the AEUG strike team to take the fight back to the Titans. Zeta very quickly retreads the steps of the first 12 episodes of the original series within the first 5 episodes to get people back into the feeling of Tomino's writing, and then as soon as we're back in step it immediately devolves into a really dark kill em all fest with bits and pieces of black comedy sprinkled all throughout. Zeta Gundam was birthed right in the middle of Tomino's "Kill em All" character arc, when Sunrise and Bandai's executives made him feel suffocated and strung along with their antics. He even wanted Gunpla to just not be a thing, even though it was the reason Gundam got a sequel in the first place. So Tomino during Zeta's (and Victory's) production had a LOT on his mind, and he was letting loose right out of the gate. Multiple character deaths happen all across the series, and they kill off ~!Kamille's parents as well as a couple of Titan girls that Jerid rizzes up!~ to send the message that everybody is expendable right off rip. And they continue killing, over and over and over again. Kamille arguably sees way more body bags than Amuro ever did, and the only Gundam protagonist that experienced as much death as Kamille was Uso in Victory. This series, and I have to emphasize this, is NOT for the light-hearted in any capacity whatsoever. On the same coin, this series is also not for the neurotypical in any way whatsoever, since Kamille Bidan himself is anything BUT neurotypical. Where do I even begin with Kamille Bidan… I guess I’ll begin straight from the horse’s mouth. webm(https://media.tenor.com/TRpga9027C4AAAPo/autism-gundam.mp4) webm(https://media.tenor.com/D0p9NR3dbO8AAAPo/kamille-hits-johnny-gundam-zeta.mp4) My Spirit animal on god frfr Yeah Kamille is a like, really special case. And he's also the main reason Zeta is such a god tier show. Through inadvertently (or not, I have no clue how accurate the autistic child sub actually is to the original Japanese) making him the most blatantly autism-coded/neurodivergent-coded protagonist ever, it acts as a sort of allegory for how suffocating it feels being a high-functioning autist, in a world where nobody tells you the rules and then yells at you for breaking them as if you kicked their dog. Having gone through Life™ for the past 2 years after finishing Zeta, I began to draw similarities between Kamille's suffering in Zeta, and my own personal hell. It's nowhere near the same mind you, I've never actually seen people die in front of me in real life, but I still feel incredibly sympathetic towards him as a character. He, like Amuro, is just a normal teenager with pent up emotions fighting through a situation that brutally punishes him for wanting anything else. Even if unlike Amuro he chose to enter the war on his own volition, it STILL ate his soul away all the same as the series progressed. By the end ~!when he's about to finally end the conflict and be free of it all, the universe itself chooses his enemy in their final moments, and fucking zaps him into a vegetable.!~ Its so... fucking... depressing. It's also so emblematic of the experience of being a high functioning autist. Just constant suffering until the end because nobody is able to understand your desires at all. Also SAO tried copying Zeta's flow by having Kirito suffer the same fate as Kamille for like a minute before being powered back up beyond comprehension in the final arc lmao. Reki'll never be like Kill Em All Tomino. Anyways uh talk to me on my profile! and watch Zeta it's peak fiction idk this was a short ramble that went nowhere. webm(https://v.animethemes.moe/ZetaGundam-OP2.webm)
~~~img220(https://i.imgur.com/WdjLPdU.png) I won’t lie, I picked up this series before the original series. In retrospect I understand how absurd that is. Trust me, I am thoroughly embarrassed by having admitted that. But this was recommended to me, and I watched the first episode on a whim. Much to my surprise, by the time the episode finished I was not only in shock, but thoroughly confused. Not so much by the plot, but because of how erratic characters were from the start, specifically that Kamille kid. I thought this kid’s actions were so violent and over the top. “This kid had to have had trauma from an event in 0079, huh?” was my only rationalization for his behavior. I was also left wondering why this place called Side 3 was under attack for a hardly discernible reason. So I did my homework, watched the original MSG, and came back to Zeta. Confident that I’d be less confused. NOPE, Kamille’s nonsensical actions along with seeing the AEUG lauded as the protagonists of sorts still eluded me. Had I only known what was in store for me beyond that first episode. This series is often duped as the darkest Gundam series in the franchise. So why is such a dreary Gundam installment one of my all time favorite anime? Also to the people on MAL who said you can watch this without having seen the original series, stop putting out misinformation, or else… The original Gundam had its share of moments with melodrama, dealing with death, deceiting your comrades, and judging others by what they appear to be rather than who they actually are. Zeta takes this concept and runs buckwild with. Death up the wazoo, killing your family, killing your romantic partner, killing your mom, killing your dad, killing your personality. Lots of killing. Don’t forget all the crying, fighting, and slapping. To say that this is a step in a more serious direction than 0079 is an understatement. That’s not to say that “edgier=better”, but there were situations in the original Gundam where the situations felt weightless. Or at the very least, like everything’s going to turn out okay. The same cannot be said for Zeta. You can never tell which characters will live or die, and from the get-go the situations have much more emotional baggage behind them. Within the first few episodes, Kamille is being blackmailed with his mother’s life on the line, and his father sides with the titans. If there’s one thing this show doesn’t do, it’s kid around. img220(https://i.imgur.com/KOGegIX.gif) One thing this show does do, is have excellent visuals. Unlike many I enjoyed 0079’s artstyle/animation, and still do. However it goes without saying that I preferred Zeta’s grittier, shadow heavy, battle hardened character designs. And its dark, ambiguous chic is visually impressive and pleasing to look at. I think of Zeta’s artstyle as the prime example of gritty, stouthearted mid 80s mecha anime. The dark atmosphere exacerbated by the show’s use of dirty pastel colors fills the show with a looming sense of dread and much like the characters, you never know what’s lurking beyond the shadows. It should also go without saying that the mobile suits have also gotten a huge visual upgrade since before. With much more attention to detail giving the suits steely and rugged designs. Minus Char’s and my favorite Suit, Haman Karn’s. Also known as the “AMX-004 Qubeley”. With its smooth and swift design, it nicely contrasts the other more rigid suits in the series. Appearing like a hybrid between a moth and an elegant knight. With white being its primary color, and touches of pink and purple throughout its troughs. Despite Zeta’s darker aesthetic, it still has a shimmery sheen of an optimistic light glossing over it, an accolade only mutually exclusive to Zeta, and Zeta alone. Another mutually exclusive positive aspect of Zeta is the way its characters are written. If it’s not abundantly clear by this point, the characters can seem psychotic. In fact, I’ve heard many call the cast and their actions chaotic, schizophrenic, idiotic, and erratic. And those are all well deserved. That’s why Zeta’s writing and its characters are my favorite aspect of this show. More so than any anime I’ve seen thus far, Zeta perfectly articulates what it's like to act under pressure, acting on raw emotion over reasoning. Never have I ever seen a show present the panic and seemingly outrageous decisions most people would realistically make in times of war or under extreme amounts of pressure. This show demonstrates exactly why more anime shouldn’t include the MC’s internal thought process. It makes these situations more true to life, and unpredictable. You can only sit there and speculate what’s going to happen next, there’s hardly any rhyme or reason to the actions these characters do in the moment, just like in times of distress. Not many shows do that in the same way that Zeta does, which it excels at. In fact, Kamille’s entire reason for joining the AEUG is because of his raw and visceral hatred towards the titans. Not for some noble cause, he just wants revenge. Kamille is an angsty, insecure teenager who acts on impulse and resorts to violence as soon as possible. Much like Kamille, the rest of the cast is just colorful and big in their personalities. My favorite being Char. Now with an even bigger appreciation for Earth, and even lower opinion of Zeon, decides to side with the AEUG. He takes on an older brother/mentor role towards Kamille. Don’t be fooled by me duping him as such, Char still struggles with opening up his emotions and being straight forward. Char tries his hardest to not only keep his cool, but to also look the part. But even Char himself is prone to emotional outburst. And that goes for all the characters in this show. No matter the faction, they are always at wits end and make little to no sense in their actions. Usually when people work together towards a shared goal there’s a sense of relief especially if everyone’s on the same page. Not with Zeta, in fact engaging with each other usually makes the situation they’re in worse than it needs to be. It’s also in Zeta that we’re introduced to cyber-newtypes who act as off putting and weird as the process required to create them. The only characters with a modicum of common sense and good moral judgment aboard the Argama are Cpt. Bright and Emma. The latter of which isn’t present much in the latter half of the series. Leaving Bright to once again take on the role of the Argama’s babysitter. img220(https://i.imgur.com/CIDgokm.gif) On the complete opposite spectrum of Bright and Emma you have Recoa. Like many, Recoa was one of my least favorite characters for some of her actions down the line. Though upon some research this may not be entirely a fault on the writer’s behalf. There’s a point where she begins to lament about how she’s never been treated like a woman. Feeling as if men use women and “humiliate” them. Many suspect that “humiliate” in this context is a rough translation of a japanese word/phrase that alludes to feeling shameful, particularly after being a victim of sexual assault. This makes her feel more comfortable in the arms of Scirocco (Axis leader/professional groomer) who, on the surface, treats her more like a woman, than Char who’s too cool for school. Despite their erratic nature, the characters and their relationships to one another are the heart and soul of this show. And trust me, I can write another essay detailing my favorite and least favorite aspects of each and every character, but I’ll spare you the pain…for now. Instead I’d like to switch my attention to the show’s aural department. Firstly with that initial opening, I may hum “Anime Ja Nai '' more often to myself. But nothing got me more psyched for an episode than hearing “Toki wo Koete '' by Mami Ayukawa. Those epic drum tom hits and snare snaps sounding like a rocket is being shot, that begins to gradually increase in speed before turning into a lucid and cool upbeat space synth song is an audio experience second to none. Couple that with the visual flair of the opening. Where the mobile suit’s eyes illuminate through the shadows piercing through the viewer’s screen. And lastly, I must give props to Kamille’s, Amuro’s, Bright’s, Haman’s, and Char’s seiyuu. All of which did more than just bring their character’s to life, as their voices oozed through my ear canals with their distinct personalities. Especially when anybody, especially Shūichi Ikeda as Char, says either, “Haman Karn…” or “Amuro…”. Or anybody yelling Kamille’s name as he’s running off doing something he probably shouldn’t. As hilarious as Kamille’s action can be, it’s truly devastating to imagine what the kid is going through mentally. So why is such a depressing installment of Gundam one of my all time favorite anime? Zeta Gundam is about as insane as you can make a story, while still retaining the ability to tell a brilliant, touching, and cohesive narrative. And though the character’s actions can be amusing to watch, this show is anything but a joke. It pulls no punches in presenting the chaos and heartbreak that war and an unchecked government brings. This show is groundbreaking for anime as a whole, not just gundam. This series was able to present an audaciously scary chronicle of events where the main antagonist is left up to interpretation, but with tension so thick that it’s almost tangible. To think Gundam started out as a toy commercial! img220(https://i.imgur.com/gIvn56O.gif)~~~