We who have seen a lot of Gundam will never be surprised by what this show does in its first episode. We who have seen a lot of Gundam and love the franchise will not mind. Gundam AGE is wonderful stuff. It’s the Gundam show for the kids, for the kids who haven’t seen any of the Gundam series. With this I won’t have to force elementary school-age nephews to watch Gundam 00 or SEED, nor start them off on the wrong foot with G Gundam.
Yes, as awesome as Mobile Fighter G Gundam is, it isn’t the show I’d recommend to someone who I want to become a fan of the franchise as a whole. And W is something I can’t recommend in good faith. So AGE represents the possibility of being the Gateway Gundam for a truly new generation, and not just an introduction for anime fans who just happen to not have seen any Gundam yet.
For those kinds of folks, there are other shows to start with. But for now, let us talk about AGE.
The setting is a distant future wherein the Gundam was a legendary weapon from a distant past. Mobile suits would seem to be a similarly legendary kind of weapon, but there are bipedal mecha in existence and a GM-lookalike as well. In the original Mobile Suit Gundam the GM is the mass-production mobile suit that is derived from the Gundam prototype. Thus, humanoid mecha isn’t an outlandish idea in this setting.
The protagonist Flit, is entrusted with the legendary hero weapon by his mother who died in a fire – presumably during some kind of war or terrorist conflict. She gave Flit the key, for that thing he has to do in the future:
http://twitter.com/#!/ghostlightning/status/122982303025741824
A mother working on a Gundam unit her child will pilot isn’t a new convention. Seabrook’s mom did so in Mobile Suit Gundam F91 way back in 1991 (yes, Tomino did this before Evangelion – but don’t give him too much credit, the film sucks). What made AGE different is how Flit already knew about the Gundam at the beginning of the narrative, and chose it. He was not forced into it by circumstance. He knew someday he will seize the reins of history and he did.
In this case he’s somewhere between Amuro Ray/Kamille Bidan reluctant pilots and the nutjob Setsuna F. Seiei (who wants to be a Gundam). I am totally okay with Flit’s determination, and naïve sense of heroism. Why? It’s because this is a kids’ show, where ideals are easy and are important. The conflicts will come mostly from enemies, who will be met with heroism.
Internal conflicts will have to do with acknowledging the contributions of others, trusting one’s teammates, extending one’s shield of protection to others who seem undeserving, etc. You know, kids’ stuff (that we probably don’t practice diligently as adults, let alone as adolescents – don’t even think of fronting, you punkasses).
The mobile suit designs and action animation won’t fit the tastes nor meet the standards of someone like me who’s idea of TV anime Gundam benchmark is the first season of Gundam 00, but is otherwise spoiled by OVAs like Stardust Memory and Unicorn. It’ll take me a lot to get used to the Digimon-esque transforming dragons, though they really come from the tradition of the Ispano Guymelef from The Vision of Escaflowne.
In any case, the enemies (who may not be evil, even if led by a selfish, evil guy) have attacked the peaceful colony and Gundam AGE has begun, and so I imagine quite a few lifelong love affairs with Gundam among these lucky, lucky children.
If the spirit of this first episode is maintained, and the execution of the production doesn’t fail, then I look forward to the day when I finally introduce my daughter to this cartoon franchise that I love so much.
We Remember Love 
I think it’s important to note that the fight scene in this episode was *really cool* insofar as something that would’ve been my favorite thing in the history of time as a kid. The Gundam pulls a knife and stabs the enemy 4 times, just for the hell of it, and an eruption of sparks shoots out of the hole. This right here is what will make ten year-old boys fall in love.
I’m with you… only that I’ve seen far more violent robot shows as a pre-schooler LOL and those super robots… they know how to give a fucking beatdown, and especially killing/finishing moves:
So you’ll forgive me if I wouldn’t have been blown away by this as a 10-year old. Still, the Evangelion-esque knife stabbity stuff is pretty good, in the real robot environment and would’ve been something a ten year-old version of myself (who was already in-love with Macross) would see as a differentiator in terms of action.
That vid was great. Sadly, I had nothing this violent and crazy as a kid. Though I did have Power Rangers which was at least kind of like a super robot show.
I got a bit scared when he started eating the toast, but thankfully he finished it before running out the door.
LOL, this qualifies him to SEIZE THE REINS OF HISTORY
Unfortunately the only fansubs so far is this idiotic 10-bit garbage…will have to wait for someone sane to encode this properly.
“So AGE represents the possibility of being the Gateway Gundam for a truly new generation”
When did that ever work ? Kids who will love this will not watch other Gundams just because of the title. They wont. Not until they grow up, or decide to look it up for some other reasons, not because of this show.
10bit will be the mainstream from now on, get proper codecs or soon you won’t be able to watch anything new.
All that matters is that the seeds are planted. Mike saw Robotech when he was a kid and didn’t see Macross until his late twenties or some shit. But THE SEEDS WHERE SEWN MUCH EARLIER.
By the way 10-bit is great. It looks as good as 8-bit but the filesizes are smaller. Everyone is switching to 10-bit, so you will need to get on-board if you want to keep watching fansubs.
I didn’t get to watch Gundam until I was an adult but…
I watched Macross back when I was 8. This made me eat up all of Robotech when I was 17, then Macross Plus at 18, etc etc. Macross lifer etc.
Yeah it could work.
Know what, as much it was same stuff different show for me for the first episode (having seen a lot of the same first-ep scenarios of peaceful times -> colony attack -> kid gets in Gundam and launches -> explosions everywhere), Sunrise succeeded with the pilot when it comes to introducing new kids to the franchise. That’s exactly how you do it – like how the mother of all Gundam shows did it.
As a casualfag, I’m pretty much interested in it as well, especially on how the show will play the “three generations of Gundam protags”, and how they’ll show a sorta 0079->Z->ZZ transition in one whole show.
So glad to have a weekly Gundam show back.
Yes, a weekly Gundam show! Feels good, feels right. If it turns out really good then it’s wonderful. I like time skips, so I look forward to how they do it here.
I will be dropping this show if the second protagonist is half as unlikable as Kamille.
Kamille is awesome (is a man’s name, etc.)
http://is.gd/NNAWCq
That’s worth rare literal lol.
I’m still undecided if I like this or not. It is a show intended for kids, but I’m not a kid for decades now. It will all depend on how they will present things, they plan to show 3 generations of pilots over the span of 100 years, that definitely sparks my interest. One thing I can’t ever like is the dragon-like design of the UE mobile suits, I’m with Ghostlightning on this one, I prefer the ones from 00 or even SEED. The rest is something that I can get used to, like the character designs etc.
I do think that the best way to enjoy this show is to view it with a child’s perspective — but this is impossible to maintain all the time. Yet, I can do it for long enough stretches to enjoy the show viewed straight, then let my adult fan play around with it after each episode — and this allows me to view it in the context of the whole franchise, remember love, etc.
But if you’re going to view it with an attitude of “okay, I’m waiting to be impressed,” I don’t think you’ll get much out of it.
I can do what I do because I’m a fan of Gundam in a big way, so I really can’t expect casual viewers to get close to the same value, let alone share the same experience. It’s not impossible at all, but I can’t count on it.
So you’re saying the show is the atypical Gundam formula tailored down to fit for children? In a way that the franchise hasn’t done since the original 0079 series? If so, cool stuff. Level 5 has a pretty solid success rate with their game productions, here’s hoping this show keeps it up. Gundam via the spirit of Gaogaigar.
I’m just praying they go easy on the tie-in merchandising, I don’t want to see battle after battle won by the protagonist using his mega rare Blue Eyes White Dragon Card, or scanning cards through his custom made card scan morpher (only 30000 Yen at your nearest Toy store!) to unlock his Super Saiyan 5 mode.
Such heavy merchandise whoring is part and parcel of any modern kid’s anime, but too much could easily kill whatever drama the show is trying to create. There’s a reason Tomino tried to keep that crap from ruining Gundam in the first place, and why it took the movie trilogy to fix the mistakes of toy company executives.
I want them to go HARD on the tie-in merchandising, but I want them to be geniuses about it. Why? I want kids to get addicted to this stuff LOL, the way I ended up making my mom buy me a Variable Fighter pencil sharpener back in the second grade. Yes, it has Gerwalk mode.
But as I said, they gotta be slicker than anything else I’ve seen. They gotta be slicker than Gunpla Builders Beginning G. Otherwise it’s going to be harder for adults to watch.
You’re just trading one kind of merchandising for another, honestly. I’m glad the plastic models this show sells will mostly be robots, if you get my drift.
Amen to that.
It turned out a little better than expected, it could’ve been worse. And of course I’ll watch all of it anyways no matter what.
Yes, I think it’s going to be really bad in places but it’s going to be solid overall, and maybe have a few outright awesome moments, for kids or otherwise.
This show being the one that lets you introduce your daughter to Gundam would be the greatest gift of all I would imagine. I mean what more can you ask of a starter Gundam?
I know what: a good dub.
You’ll want to blame that on the Ocean Group and they’re unequaled ability to read all their lines with as little personality and emotion as possible. To call them wooden would be an instance of praise sadly.
I haven’t felt this way about a new anime show since I saw the first episode of Digimon Adventure when I was in 5th grade. This new Gundam show is gonna be AMAZING, especially for the intended demographic but also for dudes of a certain age who just want to remember the simple joys of a good cartoon unburdened by wangsty existential conflicts and other crap like that.
AGE, unlike, say, Mazinkaiser SKL, G Gundam or GaoGaiGar, doesn’t need to have the immaturity (it’s what makes shows like this appealing in the first place) as a “refuge in audacity.” There’s no need to excuse Gundam AGE as “freakin’ awesome!” when really what we mean is “yeah I know it’s dorky as heck but I like this kind of childish stuff. G Gundam is a good show for men-children (and I rank myself as one of those; no doubt about it) but Gundam AGE is a good show for actual kids. There’s not a lot of cynicism here, and that is to be lauded in today’s yeah-whatever-hipster culture.
And by the way, the white Genoace that’ll appear soon is Tallgeese. The pilot, he is a Char. I am 10 kinds of happy right now having made this prediction.
Just to throw it out there, hipsters hardly own cynicism. I mean, consider: hipsters have been around five, ten years tops. Mobile Suit Gundam came out in 1979. And it’s way more cynical than hipsters, because its cynicism isn’t a weak veneer to cover cultural ennui.
Don’t count out the inevitable shoutouts and easter eggs for the oldfags! They’re going to be there, for us to remember love.
Oh I shall not forget about the easter eggs! They’re already there (see my previous comment about the Tallgeese/all white Genoace connection) for me! Man oh man am I ever excited about this show!
Ohhh I am so with you Ghost! The fact that Flint knows about the Gundam and built it makes me really happy! Soooo many other pilots either find one or “fall” into one and BAMN they are suddenly stuck with it. Now I don’t expect Flint to be a bad ass pilot yet! He does need some time to learn the important parts.
The UE I think are aliens! Or they really want us to believe that, but I have a feeling we will who they really are soon enough. As for the character designs they slowly began to grow on me, sure they are really different for this but I like the changes 😀
Well, the classic way to possess a real robot is to fall into the cockpit and SEIZE THE REINS OF HISTORY (with your improbably high level of piloting talent).
I can’t say I think I’ll go easy on this show just because it’s a kid’s show and may abstractly bring in future fans. Avatar: The Last Airbender and Wakfu have utterly demolished the notion, to me, that being a “kid’s show” means you should be lenient in terms of expectations of raw enjoyable quality.
That said, it may mean that the violence is a little less realistic than I’d like or that the characters cleave to certain conventions, and that sort of I am willing to forgive to an extent.
TLDR: It’s not the people you’re marketing to that define the show, it’s what you DO given those limitations. I’m very interested to see what AGE does.
I can’t say you’ll be alone since the internet seems pretty prepped to grill this series on any and all fronts more than any other this season. Wouldn’t be a Gundam series though if that weren’t the case I suppose.
I wouldn’t say “more” than any other season, for me, at least. In fact, I really want to like Gundam AGE. I mean, there are plenty of AU Gundam series that I never even gave a chance (00 – didn’t like the Wing-style mechanical designs, Seed Destiny – duh). AGE has some good things going for it. I actually like the mechanical designs, for starters, which isn’t unimportant.
Having now actually seen the first episode, I have to say, it was better than I expected. I like that Flit has a more active hand in shaping his own destiny than most UC Gundam protagonists – after all, he may have gotten the data to build the Gundam from his mother, but he was the one who made the project happen. I also liked the mechanical designs, even the transforming dragon things. My biggest concerns are as follows:
-It has lots of potential to fall into “Super Robot slide,” wherein it suggests in the first episode that it’s going to be more on the Real end of the scale but then rapidly abandons this pretension in favor of GN particles and invulnerability shields that turn the battlefield into a stagnant quagmire of emotions where strategy and tactics play no part. This happens A LOT in “Real Robot” series, which is to say, practically more often than not.
-AGE’s animation budget isn’t great, and we just saw the first episode, which is usually the nicest looking. Full Metal Panic! had a much nicer looking first episode, but it was eventually ruined for me by its degrading budget. Now, Sunrise is better with this sort of thing than Gonzo, but still, I feel it’s a reasonable concern.
-The plot is going to turn out to be stupid. Whenever a “mysterious force/enemy” is involved in anything, there is a risk that the whole plot will turn out to be way dumber than you imagined.
Anyway, enjoyed the first episode of AGE, which was suitably violent and contained enough action to satisfy me (even if I’d really like to have seen the heavier mechs taking damage – even trivial damage – from projectile fire). The onus now rests mostly on the story.
It isn’t a matter of “going easy” as requiring a different set of criteria for evaluation.
If I judge Mobile Suit Victory Gundam as a kids’ show it will fail spectacularly. Its fans love it for believing it is a mature and adult show (as funny as that sounds; disclosure: I am not a fan of V Gundam, but it has many fans).
Ghibli films are kids’ cinema right?
But as far as Gundam AGE is concerned, its peers are Yugi-Oh!, Pokemon, Bakugan, etc. One can extend this to the many Brave series of shows by Sunrise in the 90’s. Avatar? Probably not, but if you want to hold it to that standard you’re probably going to be disappointed at the show for not doing what you want it to. I suppose that some viewers take more enjoyment out of the evaluation of the subject viewed. I do so at times, but it is subordinate to the “fan experience,” especially regarding Gundam.
Let me put some color on why I chose Avatar as an example of my argument. Avatar comes off Nickelodeon, a network which is mostly populated by shows that are fundamentally the same as the Yugi-Oh!s, Pokemon’s, and Bakugan’s of the world – which is to say, they often skimp on depth of narrative and characterization simply because they believe that they can. Many are outright bad, but far more are merely middling – capable of being clever or interesting at times, but usually disappointing in the end.
And yet despite the fact that many of Avatar’s contemporaries aspire to mediocrity on their good days, it is a genuinely enjoyable series aimed at the exact same audience as all of its erstwhile siblings. And, ultimately, it proved to be successful enough to run for three full seasons, spawn an intensely ill-conceived but nonetheless high-budget Hollywood movie, and get a sequel series.
Now, of course every show aimed primarily at kids will not be as good as Avatar. Most shows, period, will not be as good as Avatar, though. What Avatar demonstrates is that kid’s shows don’t need special consideration regarding their most fundamental elements when I evaluate media. They can stand on their own two feet, without being propped up by excuses or “it could be worse”-isms.
I won’t take a completely hard-line stance here. Of course, there are some things that are “good” in media in general but would be “bad” in a kid’s show. I don’t think there’s any way that a work with themes like those of Kara no Kyoukai could be made appropriate for children (though the effort would probably be hilarious, if unintentionally). It is simultaneously far to violent and far too boring to be appropriate for most children.
But these restrictions have far more to do with themes than the fundamentals of good storytelling. Kids like good storytelling, too. Characters with depth, stories that resonate, scenes that excite – for me, at least, these have been important as long as I can remember. There is no particularly good reason that a kid’s show can’t or shouldn’t incorporate these things.
This is why I, personally, do not change my fundamental metric for media when watching kids shows (I do allow for some thematic shifts, mostly regarding oddities around the softening of violence, but if handled properly even this fades into the background). I can accept that one would have reasons for doing so – I don’t have kids, so appropriateness (or hilarious breaches of it, as in Wakfu) isn’t a concern for me. I have no stake in the financial side of things. But assuming I’m watching a show for myself, and not for someone else*, I rarely change the criteria by which I grade it based on the age of the intended audience.
*I get the sense, though perhaps this is mistaken, that you, GL, are in fact watching AGE in part not for yourself but with the subjective experience of fans to come in mind? In which case, I do understand your position – I just don’t happen to take it. I may be way off base here, though.
Again, I stress that what you consider run-of-the-mill kids’ shows aren’t necessarily bad cartoons; just because they are thin on plot or characterization, or are naively didactic or are built around merchandise. They are made around those parameters and I evaluate them on those parameters. Avatar is a possibility and example of excellence (disclosure: I’m no Avatar fan — my wife is, and we watched huge stretches of the show together, I’m just not into it), but it is an outlier rather than a useful standard. It’s not built around selling action figures, albeit it does sell them, it’s not built around model kits, nor collectible card games.
So what I will appreciate, will be good storytelling within the constraints and limitations of selling plastic models to kids, and not try to lament an inability of a should have been classic piece of children’s fiction weighed down by the necessity of merchandising. Constraints make for the fun and creativity and it is in the understanding of these conventions that I will look for the gold in AGE.
I AM a fan of Gundam. AGE appeals to me in an intense way, different from other, more teenager-targeted shows in the franchise. AGE for me represents a niche that for me, has been neglected but is so very necessary in growing the mecha fandom as a whole. I WANT the merchandising to succeed. I want little kids to fall in love with the toys they make their parents buy. I WANT Bandai to make gobs of money from AGE so that it can continue to fund works like Unicorn.
Now, having said all this: does AGE have the slimmest of chances in ranking among the best anime I’ve seen? Probably not. But then again, I’m not a good/bad show kind of anime blogger. I’m an appreciator than a reviewer, an advocate rather than a ‘guardian of good taste.’
I think the major difference here is that you see the foibles of many kids’ shows that make them less enjoyable to adults as necessary constraints that ONLY occasional, odd shows can surpass (tell me if I’ve mis-characterized your position here).
On the other hand, I see these “necessary constraints” as unnecessary limitations that the shows place upon themselves because they believe them to be necessary (or they believe exceeding those limitations to be unnecessary for the sale of merchandise, or whatever). The shows that you call outliers demonstrate to me that there is no reason EVERY show with a decent premise couldn’t overcome those foibles. This is not to say that every one – or even hardly any – WILL do this, but in the end, they had as fair a shot to be good as any “adult” show in my book.
Now, I’m not disagreeing that there ARE real limitations on kids’ shows (there are real limitations on all works, of course). They are limited in how much sex and violence they can show. They are often required to work in didactic lessons. They often need to get a certain amount of “product” on screen in some form or other. They are limited to a half-hour format, and may be limited to a certain number of episodes. I recognize that others probably feel differently, but none of these put a meaningful cap on the my potential enjoyment of a series.
No real limitations prevent the elements that I DO find truly fundamental to good storytelling (complex and memorable characters, good dialogue, interesting conflicts) from existing in kids’ shows. Therefore, if they do not exist in a show, it is because somebody involved in its creation (be they writer or executive) made a mistake or decision that makes the show (for me, subjectively) crappy. Is it possible that a given bad show was a great concept that was a victim of circumstance, dragged down by meddling executive mandates, budget cuts, and unfortunately timed recessions? Hell, it’s PROBABLE. But this fact doesn’t make the show any better. And I’m not going to hold back my meaningless, subjective criticism just because dropping the ball is the norm.
One thing i noticed about the gundam’s design, looks like a hybrid between Exia and the RX-78-2.
Now to continue wondering whether i should click on the play button for Shiki episode 3.
You are right, but the AGE has this hideous centerpiece. Also, it’s smaller than both suits.
I don’t want to been seen as someone who is ignorant, oblivious or a troll, but I would like to sincerely ask you. Why should this show be seen solely or predominantly a kid’s show? (kid’s show not meant to be derogatory)
Is it because of the minds behind the show who contributes to Gundam Age’s relatively “different” art? Is it the plot? It is the protagonist?
As far as the first episode goes, unlike the previous series, we are not shown any military factions, instead we are given a seemingly unified human race, spearheaded by a shounen in a war against aliens. Its not necessarily a “Saturday Morning Cartoon” exclusive plot — reminds me more of a recent Gundam movie.
Call me captain obvious, but I want to be sure first about the reason/s why the latest iteration of the franchise should be branded as” Gundam for kids [only]”, before entering the discussion.
I will not deny that the art would most definitely appeal to children. However, I disagree that an adult or non-kid should view the show through “a child’s perspective” to get the most out of it.
The way I see it, Gundam can be enjoyed or hated by kids, preteens, teens and adults based on their own respective evaluating mechanisms. Of course, it’s possible for the young and old to like a series for similar if not the same reasons.
Seriously, it has the word “Gundam” in its title right? Then why treat Gundam Age differently? Why can’t it be viewed with mature eyes? Why limit its potential? As far as the first episode is concern, I can’t see why.
It is its branding and positioning, which informs the other elements of the show:
It’s positioned to sell simpler, more collectible toys for younger children as opposed to the rather complex model kits and figures aimed for older teens and adults. To appeal to kids the character designs will reflect a younger, shonen-style look reminiscent of the Brave series of the 90s to use a Sunrise more recent example.
Elements such as use of stun weaponry, a lot less killing and death will be the norm. This will tame/replace the “War is Hell” theme of the Gundam franchise. War is Hell will be mostly War is Bad.
It is NOT for kids’ only. It won’t, however, contain many of the things I and many older Gundam fans love about the franchise: despair, bitterness, violence, and death so much death.
Gundam AGE will be more FUNBRIGHT than it is GRIMDARK relatively speaking (amongst Gundam shows).
It’s true that the series targets a younger audience—the elementary kids, about 13 yrs old and below—but it does not necessarily mean that it could not also cater to the older generation of Gundam fans. Instead of seeing Gundam Age as focusing on the younger viewers, I see it as an attempt at expanding Gundam’s demographic, encompassing the youth who are new to the franchise AND the mature fans who watched Gundam as they grew up or already as adults .
A younger audience may indeed limit the depiction of certain themes that Gundam is loved for but it does not mean that Gundam Age will be less emotionally and/or intellectually engaging to an older viewer. Age’s Hundred Year War may provide the setting for a different —as opposed to a lesser— appreciation for these themes.
Of course I can be wrong and Gundam Age truly is a kid’s show in its execution, themes and messages. If that was indeed the case, I believe I can be flexible enough to enjoy the show for its true merits. However, we are only a few episodes into the series. As such, it’s still too early to dismiss Gundam Age’s potential to entertain the mature viewers outside the use of kid googles, Easter eggs and/or parental bonuses.
It CAN, it’s not impossible, but it doesn’t mean it HAS TO.
But all this is moot because I just watched episode 03 and it’s good, really good. I’m sold.
After watching just the first episode…I’m not happy with this. Just because its for kids doesn’t mean it has to be stupid and bad and hyper-derivative. I know its anime. I know its Gundam. I know its for kids, but it doesn’t have to be this sub-par. A movie can be Ponyo, or it can be Happy Feet Two. Things don’t have to be low quality to be “for kids”, they just have to be easier to understand (basic plot points) and have less violence/sex. I’m actually kind of offended by the idea what kids are only supposed to watch garbage. 0079 was “for kids” and its still enjoyable for adults. Is anyone who is 8 years old now going to buy Gundam AGE when they are 38 and enjoy it? I mean, the ones who aren’t mentally challenged? I can’t imagine they would. The target age range for this show is, what, 4 years? I was under the impression that the whole purpose of the Gundam AGE multimedia onslaught was to bring Gundam to a newer, younger audience. I’m sure they did this…but for how long? There is nothing of substance to keep kids watching G shows. They are quite likely to jump ship, IMHO, for whatever card/monster/top battling show makes it big next.
There is not a single cut in this episode that I haven’t seen a million times. I’m sure that, if given enough time, a person could literally recreate this episode from footage of other shows, scene for scene, including every line of dialogue (proper nouns excluded). It is EXCEEDINGLY unoriginal.
The kids look like they are 4 years old, the adults look like muppets. The Gundam…its not bad. I like it more than 00. The enemies are not cool at all. The animation is pretty good.
Of course this show could go anywhere from here, so I’ll give it a chance (watching EP2 now) but so far its looking like its only preferable to Igloo (which was mega ugly) and 00 (which was so boring I literally couldn’t watch it without falling asleep).
I disagree that it’s stupid, bad, and hyper-derivative (unless we dismiss most Gundam for being hyper-derivative). I’m more okay with being tougher with a show such as Guilty Crown for being guilty of hyper derivativeness. But a Gundam show? It’s there to be Gundam.
You want to see what innovation and originality in gundam can look like, you’re more likely to get something like this:
No I don’t get it I either.
I don’t look for originality in Gundam. It’s not what it’s for. I look for Gundam-ness in Gundam. And before we confuse things any further, when I watch Gundam, I am a Gundam fan first, an animation fan second. I’ll let the non-fans argue about originality, novelty, quality, etc. If I wanted something transcendent of Gundam and robot anime, I’ll look elsewhere.
Now, does this mean I won’t appreciate what you look for? No. I’m just not hung up on it if I don’t get it. AGE has its place, Unicorn does the other awesome things.
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I don’t know why you only mentioned Seabook’s mom, since lolTomino’s convention has always been the teen hero’s parents designing the Gundam. Amuro’s dad, both of Kamille’s parents, Seabook’s mom, and Uso’s mom all helped to design the Gundams their respective sons end up piloting. (The UC universe seems to be equal opportunity at least in regards to science, engineering, and being a shitty parent.)
The One, The Only, Judau Fuckin’ Ashta is the only Tomino protagonist to NOT pilot a Gundam designed by a parent. Other than Loran, who isn’t UC. Technically. And we don’t know anything about his parents, so who knows amirite?
I was in the horrified oldfag crowd when AGE’s character designs were first unveiled, but you make this show sound like it’s really worth a look. I’ve at least been getting a lot of laughs out of your posts, so I hope you succeed in your vow to blog all of it.
I did overlook Usso’s mom, but I was more concerned about mothers than parents in general because this convention is old as fuck. Voltes V was built by the father of 3 of the pilots, after all. The mom thing is significant because well, Evangelion made a big deal out of it.