Forum - View topicMobile Suit Gundam: Where to Start and What's Worth Watching
|
Goto page Previous Next Note: this is the discussion thread for this article |
| Author | Message | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Utsuro no Hako
Posts: 1035 |
|
|||||||||
|
At this point I think the Gundam: The Origin manga is the best starting point (at least until the whole series gets an adaptation). You get the whole story of Gundam 0079, but refined and streamlined, making it more palatable to modern audiences than the meandering mess that the original series was for a large part of its run. Yeah, it might not fit perfectly with the other UC series, but the quality is high enough that nobody should care.
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Hoppy800
 Posts: 3331 |
|
|||||||||
|
Victory is decent and definitely the most brutal of the Gundam series, although Iron Blooded Orphans might end up on par with it but I doubt will exceed it.
ZZ is a love or hate situation, you'll like it if you watched the first 10 episodes right after Zeta or are prone to bad ending depression, but you have go in wanting to have a short break from the somberness of Zeta or with and open mind or you'll hate it for those episodes. Seed period is a no, both Seed and Seed Destiny are garbage. Stargazer is ok but not Gundam quality. If you want Astray, read the manga, they are far better than those 2 OVAs and better than the main Seed series, although Seed Destiny Astray does have a love or hate protagonist. |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Angel M Cazares
 Posts: 5431 Location: Iscandar |
|
|||||||||
|
Thanks for writing this piece; it is very helpful. Universal Century is my favorite timeline, but I appreciate the insight into the other timelines/series that I am not that familiar.
I think the first Gundam I watched was Wing, and I remember liking it quite a bit. I have not watched it again though. After that I watched Gundam 0079, but where I really felt in love with Gundam was in Zeta. I have enjoyed my Gundam experience, and I would not change my viewing order. |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
ChexGuy
 Posts: 22 |
|
|||||||||
|
ZZ is a worse version of L-Gaim
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
Yohann Piga
Posts: 1 |
|
|||||||||
|
Damn. There are some really weird choices in that list. But I'd say I agree with you for the most part.
Must-see: - Mobile suit Gundam : The original story with establishes everything. - Zeta gundam: The sequel of Gundam and the high point of the franchise. It's dark, tense, violent. - Char's Counterattack: The final episode of the main UC story. It has to be seen! It's an okay movie but the fact that it's the end gives it more value. - ZZ Gundam (the second half) : What most people (and anime reviewers apparently) dont know is that the second half of that show is actually pretty good and much more darker than the beginning. It paves the way to Gundam CCA. Good to see: - Gundam build fighters: Very good and fun series. It's full of fanservice and therefore, only for fans. - 00 Gundam: The beginning is very good, on par with Zeta Gundam. The second season is okay and wraps everything up. The movie is... different. - Gundam Seed and Destiny: Nice kinda-remake of the original series. I enjoyed it. - Stardust Memory: It's... nice. The story paves the way nicely to Zeta Gundam and you actually hear Vegeta's voice actor doing a different role... which is weird. - Gundam War in the Pocket: Nice story but if you expect some Gundam goodness you will be disappointed. Crap: -G Gundam: I've got some tenderness for that show but frankly, it just sucks. The story is stupid and so as the characters. - Gundam Wing: Just like G Gundam, let's face it, in all honesty, it's just bad. Stupid story, bad characters, bad designs, bland direction... The OP¨is good though. - Gundam Age: I don't understand the article. Good designs?! It's Gundam turned into a kiddie show. You like Pokemon? Well, you might like this. That's all I've seen for now. Iron Blooded Oprhans looks very good and promising. |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Hellsoldier
 Posts: 761 Location: Porto,Portugal,Europe,Earth,Sol |
|
|||||||||
Okay, I'm going to put my finger on the biggest problem with G-Reco: It looks just like a show who was all of the sudden cut short. It seems like it has a story, but that it was a story that required 50 episodes. Meaning: It took too long to arrive to the point of conflict, and it ended abruptly. Also, I have a couples of questions regarding the Kuntala. |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Barbobot
 Posts: 460 |
|
|||||||||
|
Thanks for the very helpful article on Gundam. There are of course gonna be disagreements, but this is a good starting point to go on as opposed to asking a rabid gundam fan what to watch who may just say everything. I've seen some of the non-UC storyline series like Wing, 00, Seed/Destiny, G-Gundam, and bought Turn A Gundam (stilll need to watch it), but have no real experience with any of the UC shows. I remember starting the original Gundam a few years back, but got maybe 5-10 episodes in before losing interest. It looks like it may be easier for me to just go to the 3 compilation movies if I want to get into the UC timeline.
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
konxeptionz
 Posts: 41 |
|
|||||||||
|
I'm going to go against the grain here, but I really enjoyed Gundam X and Mobile Fighter G Gundam.
Seed and Destiny, to me, were mediocre at best. However I REALLY did enjoy the art style of this particular series. It's probably why I also really liked Cross Ange too, since you see a mixture of art and character designs bleed into the latter. And Gundam 00 was great too, since battle scene wise, it was a breath of fresh air to not see recycled scenes for their epic battles. |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Cyclone1993
 Posts: 947 |
|
|||||||||
|
I have a very tumultuous history with Gundam. I had heard such wonderful things about it and after doing quite a bit of research and taking recommendations into account, I watched SEED.
It wasn't awful by any means, but it just was just lacking something that made it really stick out. It kind of made me bitter to the Gundam franchise for awhile. Then I heard about G-Reco. Character designs from one of the designers of my favorite mechs series, the original Gundam creator involved? Centered around a boy meeting a girl? I was really hyped. I figured it would be the series I was looking for. Then I watched it. I watched the first 14 episodes and I absolutely hated it. It was basically irredeemable by nearly every account, and it really turned me away from Gundam. Surely I'm missing something. I want to enjoy the franchise but everything I've seen is either average or straight up terrible. There must be something I'm just not getting... |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
WashuTakahashi
 Posts: 415 Location: Chicago, IL |
|
|||||||||
|
Wow, so much hate so fast.
Thanks for writing this, it was really helpful! I started with Wing back in the Toonami days, and rewatched it about 2-3 years ago (or tried to. Got more than half way through before life sucker-punched me with more important things) I still enjoyed Wing even during my rewatch, though I'm sure a good chunk of that could be nostalgia blinding me to ow terrible it might actually be haha. The only other Gundam I've seen is a large chunk of Seed, back when it was on Adult Swim. Either they didn't finish it, or I just lost interest somewhere, since my memory of that show seems to drop off mid plotline. Saving this and hope to tackle the Gundam universe again someday! Question though, is Gundam build fighters really worth watching? I'd love to hear some other opinions on it. It looks like it'd be for children, and just not overly enjoyable. |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Dessa
 Posts: 4438 |
|
|||||||||
|
I do have to echo the complaint many people have voiced, in that there was a bit too much personal preference.
"Worth Watching" should have been 2 separate questions. First would be "Vital viewing" (i.e. needed to understand other parts, for UC-based this would be if it's referenced in other things, for alternate continuities it would likely be "if you're going to watch the others in the continuity"). This would be a non-biased answer, for people who are looking for facts in helping them get into Gundam, not opinions. The second would be "Personal Take." This is where the author can put their personal opinions. Additionally, a few of the entries in the "why" read to me as if the author has not seen the title, and is basing their opinion on availability and, presumably, comments from other people. Furthermore, the single most important piece of information, IMO, is missing from the article as a whole: Where to find these. Yes, some are not [currently] available in the US, but Sunrise and TRSI have basically said that, eventually, every series will be released in the US. As has already been pointed out, there are some titles available streaming that are listed as "unavailable" in the article. There are also entire franchises missing, such as the SD Gundam series, which also aired on US television, and may have been the first exposure many people had to Gundam. |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
Hedd
Posts: 10 |
|
|||||||||
|
I've never been a Gundam fan at all. I had seen early eps to alot of the earlier series and came back with something between hate and indifference. Then I watched Gundam 00. It was so good to me that I actually make efforts to test new Gundam series that come out though I find myself alone alot as someone who only liked Gundam 00.
The last few have been trash imo, though I'm kinda digging Iron Blooded Children so far, we'll see. |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
jojothepunisher
 Posts: 799 |
|
|||||||||
|
Most people will not watch most of the early Gundam shows because of the vast difference in style between old and new anime.
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
|
|||||||||
From the intro:
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
FilthyCasual
Posts: 2212 |
|
|||||||||
|
So where does Cross Ange fit into this?
Worth watching or worth watching? |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group