Gundam Thread

[Miles Marsalis]

Because I know there are Gundam fans on this forum, gundammit. :^D

I just made this thread to any and all things Gundam. Any Gundam series is up for discussion, even the Build series. I myself have been a Gundam fan for awhile since Gundam Wing, like every American fan, basically. I've seen the original Mobile Suit Gundam, 8th MS Team, Gundam Wing (obviously), G Gundam, Gundam X, Gundam 00, and Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blood Orphans. I'm open to any suggestions for series I haven't.

 

[CrookedCroc]

Funny, I've never seen Gundam before but I love Gunpla, I even bought a HG Zaku II F2 recently.

In your experience if I wanted to get into the show where should I begin?

Posting a custom Zaku cuz they are pretty freaking cool

 

[Miles Marsalis]

Funny, I've never seen Gundam before but I love Gunpla, I even bought a HG Zaku II F2 recently.

In your experience if I wanted to get into the show where should I begin?

Posting a custom Zaku cuz they are pretty freaking cool
View attachment 49172

The custom Zakus are sweet. How else would you know who Zeon's best pilots are?

I would say start with Gundam Wing definitely, because it is a classic, and the original Mobile Suit Gundam since it basically sets up half the shows and movies in the franchise. If you want me to tell you which one to watch first, go with Gundam Wing. Most people have favorable opinions of it and in my opinion it is the anime equivalent of Star Wars. (Yeah, I said it.) The movie/OVA Endless Waltz serves as a nice capstone to the series proper.

 

[Yakamaru]

I've seen Gundam Wing, Gundam 00 and Gundam SEED, currently looking into whether Gundam Unicorn and/or Iron-Blood Orphans is worth getting into. I have some Manga here too, tho it's severely lacking(like a lot of my other Manga too).

I have 2 volumes of Gundam 00F, and it's pretty good.

 

[CrookedCroc]

The custom Zakus are sweet. How else would you know who Zeon's best pilots are?

Funny, I haven't seen the show but I already know who Char is and I know about his custom red Zaku

If you want me to tell you which one to watch first, go with Gundam Wing. Most people have favorable opinions of it and in my opinion it is the anime equivalent of Star Wars. (Yeah, I said it.) The movie/OVA Endless Waltz serves as a nice capstone to the series proper.

Nice nice nice, I'll check it out later today, thanks a lot dude

 

[Miles Marsalis]

I've seen Gundam Wing, Gundam 00 and Gundam SEED, currently looking into whether Gundam Unicorn and/or Iron-Blood Orphans is worth getting into. I have some Manga here too, tho it's severely lacking(like a lot of my other Manga too).

I have 2 volumes of Gundam 00F, and it's pretty good.

I haven't read the manga. Does it add to the original anime or no?

I missed Gundam Unicorn due to work and not finding out it was on Adult Swim until halfway through the season. However, I can't recommend Iron Blooded Orphans enough. It managed to jump on my favorites list despite coming out fairly recently. It basically combines everything I liked about the previous Gundam series I have seen and added newer tropes for good measure.

Nice nice nice, I'll check it out later today, thanks a lot dude

Let me know what you think of it.

 

[Imperial Impact]

I would say start with Gundam Wing definitely,

Lmao. That's one of the worse shows out there.

 

[Miles Marsalis]

Lmao. That's one of the worse shows out there.

And why, may I ask?

 

[Imperial Impact]

And why, may I ask?

-Abused of stock footage.
-Overall mediocre to bad animation.
-Completely uninteresting main cast, Outside of Zechs and/or Noin.
-HUGE lengths of episodes that dragged on and on.
-Relena is an awful love interest and Heero is an even worse lead.
-Inconsistent and, again, Awful writing.
-the main leads Gundams are unused/rehashs of G's
-Soundtrack is great, But that's not enough to save the show.
I would say that Gundam OO is a better show and it does and all of Wing was trying to do and more. (Barring the awful season 2.)

 

[Miles Marsalis]

And so the Super Robot Wars began ...

Just kidding, but some of what you said I agree with, @Imperial Impact . Some plot arcs did languish at times and Relena as a character could be grating at times. (Her pacifism could be suicidal at times. The Sanc Kingdom arc proved this and why nations have armed forces. Plus, I never really got the relationship between her and Heero. For Gundam romances, Domon and Rain in G Gundam had a more interesting dynamic. And of course a you pointed out, Zechs and Noin were interesting characters with a decent and complicated relationship dynamic.) The soundtrack was amazing and orchestral, which subsequent Gundam installments could take hint from, definitely. Gundam 00 had a strong first season which built on some of what was best about Gundam Wing and the first episode of the second season did have promise, but the second season could been better. I really didn't like how Graham Aker suffered motive decay as a character; they made him into a Zechs clone which annoyed me. I also didn't like how they used the GN particles as MacGruffins to explain everything.

All that said, the writing was pretty decent to me and the animation was pretty high quality for its time. The Gundam franchise in general hires more artists than other anime series in general to draw complex animation scenes, so I was surprised to hear that criticism. What inconsistencies did you have in mind?

I wouldn't hearing recommendations for other Gundam series from you, to be honest.

 

[Imperial Impact]

And so the Super Robot Wars began ...

Just kidding, but some of what you said I agree with, @Imperial Impact . Some plot arcs did languish at times and Relena as a character could be grating at times. (Her pacifism could be suicidal at times. The Sanc Kingdom arc proved this and why nations have armed forces. Plus, I never really got the relationship between her and Heero. For Gundam romances, Domon and Rain in G Gundam had a more interesting dynamic. And of course a you pointed out, Zechs and Noin were interesting characters with a decent and complicated relationship dynamic.) The soundtrack was amazing and orchestral, which subsequent Gundam installments could take hint from, definitely. Gundam 00 had a strong first season which built on some of what was best about Gundam Wing and the first episode of the second season did have promise, but the second season could been better. I really didn't like how Graham Aker suffered motive decay as a character; they made him into a Zechs clone which annoyed me. I also didn't like how they used the GN particles as MacGruffins to explain everything.

All that said, the writing was pretty decent to me and the animation was pretty high quality for its time. The Gundam franchise in general hires more artists than other anime series in general to draw complex animation scenes, so I was surprised to hear that criticism. What inconsistencies did you have in mind?

I wouldn't hearing recommendations for other Gundam series from you, to be honest.

Wing's arcs are infuriating because it takes tens episodes for a big build up then it reset itself instead of a normal show to move forward (That and the fact it's cast is huge). The reason I can come up with Heero X Relena is that the Zero system brainwashed Heero into a good loyal knight for her. While Zechs and Noin were interesting characters because they're simply adults. I do recall Turn a Gundam having Yoko Kanno as it's composer, You should really check out her work for it and Brain Powerd.I do agree that season 2 of 00 was rushed due to the complains of 2chan.

-Quatre pulling a wing zero out of nowhere when his other MS blew up.
-"Heero is the heart outer space!"
-Heero glowing when he fell out of the 2nd Wing Zero later in the show.
That stuff, I think Wing was written by three different people.

 

[Misha Bordiga Zahradník]

I used to have Gundam Zwei from the 00 series. You'll have to settle for yet unpainted T'au models. If you want pics.

Need to watch more mecha anime tbh.

 

[Miles Marsalis]

I used to have Gundam Zwei from the 00 series. You'll have to settle for yet unpainted T'au models. If you want pics.

Need to watch more mecha anime tbh.

I was late replying to this, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't recommending something poor.

I would say if you are looking for a Gundam series to watch that you might like, I would start out with Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans. As for newer mecha series, Aldnoah.Zero is also refreshing unique and Gurren Lagann is a classic.

 

[Water Draco]

I have not seen Gundam for years. I think the original series dates back to the 70's

I think it was the 95 season Mobile Suit Gundam Wing was the last season I watched.

 

[Miles Marsalis]

I have not seen Gundam for years. I think the original series dates back to the 70's

I think it was the 95 season Mobile Suit Gundam Wing was the last season I watched.

The original came out in '79. Gundam Wing was the gateway series for me, then I saw the original. I enjoyed both, though they are very different series.

 

[Misha Bordiga Zahradník]

I was late replying to this, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't recommending something poor.

I would say if you are looking for a Gundam series to watch that you might like, I would start out with Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans. As for newer mecha series, Aldnoah.Zero is also refreshing unique and Gurren Lagann is a classic.

So far I'm liking elements of Aldnoah.Zero, but I'm getting a mary-sue vibe off the kids.

 

[Miles Marsalis]

So far I'm liking elements of Aldnoah.Zero, but I'm getting a mary-sue vibe off the kids.

It may seem that way at first, but give it a chance. I also think you'll appreciate some the historical and philosophical allusions.

 

[Misha Bordiga Zahradník]

It may seem that way at first, but give it a chance. I also think you'll appreciate some the historical and philosophical allusions.

It's starting to grow on me

 

[CrookedCroc]

So, I tried to watch Wing but it felt pretty long and a bit uneventful, a friend recommended me to watch the original movie trilogy and it was pretty darn good. The animation was a bit limited but it was kind of charming and a breath of fresh air compared to current anime that tends to look pretty samey.
Gonna watch Char's Counterattack tomorrow and after that I might start watching 00 or Wing (again lol)

 

[Miles Marsalis]

So, I tried to watch Wing but it felt pretty long and a bit uneventful, a friend recommended me to watch the original movie trilogy and it was pretty darn good. The animation was a bit limited but it was kind of charming and a breath of fresh air compared to current anime that tends to look pretty samey.
Gonna watch Char's Counterattack tomorrow and after that I might start watching 00 or Wing (again lol)

I'm about to call it a night, but after you watch Char's Counterattack, you may want to check out the Gundam Unicorn OAV. It's actually got me interested in what they have planned for the UC timeline series.

It's starting to grow on me

When you've finished the series, let me know what you think of it. I wouldn't mind having a discussion here about it.

 

[Miles Marsalis]

Kicking this up to say I saw Turn A Gundam and Gundam SEED. Turn A Gundam was definitely a departure from what I was used to with Gundam, but I liked the dieselpunk and steampunk elements. Loran Cechack or Laura Rola was a different but decent character too. Gundam SEED struck me as remake of the original Mobile Suit Gundam, but I did like the deconstruction of the original series. I also saw Mobile Suit Gundam SEED C.E. 73: Stargazer, which I like more than Gundam SEED weirdly enough. The ending made by girlfriend cry, lol.

 

[CrookedCroc]

Here's the Zaku II I mentioned before.
When it arrived I was kind of disappointed with the color it had so I customized it a bit.

I painted the armor white, did some panel lining, added some details with acrylic paint, painted the tubes with a metallic paint and then used some matte sealer to finish it off.
It was a pretty fun build, might try to get the Zaku sniper with the backpack and knee support sometime soon.

Sorry in advance for the shitty camera

 

[Miles Marsalis]

Here's the Zaku II I mentioned before.
When it arrived I was kind of disappointed with the color it had so I customized it a bit.

I painted the armor white, did some panel lining, added some details with acrylic paint, painted the tubes with a metallic paint and then used some matte sealer to finish it off.
It was a pretty fun build, might try to get the Zaku sniper with the backpack and knee support sometime soon.

Sorry in advance for the shitty camera
View attachment 58059

The way you customized it makes it look snazzier than the average UC Zaku, really. I like the craftsmanship.

 

[CrookedCroc]

The way you customized it makes it look snazzier than the average UC Zaku, really. I like the craftsmanship.

Thanks, I was originally gonna add some green stripes and accents but I ran out of green paint, ended up adding one red strip on the shield.

 

[Miles Marsalis]

Thanks, I was originally gonna add some green stripes and accents but I ran out of green paint, ended up adding one red strip on the shield.

Eh, the way it looks now is pretty understated in cool way. I can see adding the shield stripe, however.