Anime Review: Gundam 00 Season 1

What could be more appropriate for the first review of this blog than one of the best Gundam series of all time?

I'm talking, of course, about Gundam 00.

For the sake of readers who haven't seen the series, I'll try not to give too much away, but it's hard to write a review without a few spoilers. For the time being, I'm not going to cover season 2, but a review will be coming, so you'd better watch it soon!

Gundam 00 is the first Gundam series set in the Anno Domini timeline. 2307 AD, to be precise. The Earth's fossil fuels have become severely depleted, leading to the creation of three massive orbital elevators, which are used for solar energy collection. These are controlled by several large groups of nations. The Union of Solar Energy and Free Nations (The Union), consists of America, Canada, Mexico, South America, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. The Advanced European Union (AEU), comprised of Europe, Greenland, Iceland, and Africa. And finally, the Human Reform League (HRL), consisting of Russia, China, India, and much of the rest of Asia. These three groups compete against each other and the Middle East's oil reserves in the hopes of controlling the global energy market. This often leads to conflict, and innocent lives lost. Now the private paramilitary organization "Celestial Being" has begun armed interventions with the use of the mobile weapons called "Gundams", in the hopes of ending conflict forever.

The story on this series is brilliantly written, keeping you in the dark not only about the plot, but about the main characters histories as well. Just as you begin to guess where the plot is going, it takes a massive twist, usually for the worse.

Everything about the series is designed to give it a very "modern warfare" feel. The themes of religious conflict, terrorism, discrimination, and government corruption run rife throughout the first season. Even the main character, Setsuna F. Seiei, is a former child soldier. Forced to commit unforgivable atrocities, Setsuna is outwardly cold and unshakeable, but on the inside he's a pretty torn up and guilt ridden character.

"I am a Gundam!"

Unlike the previous series, which featured garish and impractical Gundam units, the Gundams in 00 have a distinct air of realism about them. They are angular and unrefined, and compared to the original RX-78-2 Gundam, barely human. This actually makes them more appealing in my opinion, because it helps add to the "real world" theme.

Exia, Setsuna's Gundam

The other Gundams: Dynames, Kyrios, and Virtue

The other Mobile Suits in 00 fit this more modern theme as well. Unlike most of the vast majority of Gundam series, everything actually looks how it should for the job it's required to do. The Union and AEU units resemble conventional fightercraft, even in their alternate humanoid form. This is most obvious in the Union's Flag model, with a lightweight frame and a myriad of wings and jets built into its' back. The AEU Hellion is another such example. These Mobile Suits are built for flight, and aerial dogfights are preferred to the brutality ground combat. On the other hand, the HRL's Mobile suits are, for lack of a better term, walking tanks. The mainstay of the HRL forces is the MSJ-06II-A Tieren ground-type. These units focus more on armour and firepower than maneuverability. For me, the Tieren is the Mobile Suit that best represents the "modern" style.

Overflags and Tieren GTs: Two sides of the same coin.

But perhaps my favorite part of 00 is the Gundam Throne units. I'm sure that at least some of you have played the ever popular Armored Core™ series. Every aspect of the Thrones resemble AC's, most likely this was done as a tribute to the series. Take their physical appearance, for example. The Thrones have elongated torsos and a simple body frame, complete with double jointed legs and boxy, irregular armour. Even their weapons are an almost perfect match, from the shoulder-mounted High-Mega Cannon, right down to the grip of the Throne Eins' beam rifle.

The Thrones: Bringing Sexy and Armored Core back.

So, what's the verdict? Well, out of ten (ten being the highest)...

Story: 9/10

Characters: 8/10

Mobile Suits: 10/10!

Other Units (Tanks, Mobile Armours, etc.): 7/10

Voiceover (JAP): 9/10

Voiceover (ENG): 6/10

Visual Effects: 9/10

Sound Effects: 8/10

Soundtrack: 10/10!

Theme Songs: 7/10

Overall: 9.5/10

Definitely one of the best Gundam series so far.  And guess what, season 2's even better!

As a side note, the new Last Exile Complete Series boxed set came out yesterday, but I had trouble finding it at the major stores. It turns out that the only place around here that had it was a smaller dealer with one, and only ONE, copy in stock. So I rushed over there and bought it. Now I'm broke, I need a job. XD

Shiiiiinnnyyyyy....

The artwork on this series is amazing.

Looks like a user's manual. :)

Last Exile is quite possibly my favourite series. It's fun, but still serious, and the characters and environments are amazingly put together. I've always been a fan of the Steampunk genre, and Last Exile is one of the best Animes of its kind. If you've never seen this series, I suggest you get your hands on a copy. Even if you have seen it, you'll definitely want to watch it again.

Well, that's it for now, but I'll be back soon with more!