Shelf Life

One Good Turn

I'd somehow managed to dodge this franchise in all my years of watching anime, but I guess I had to bite the bullet sometime. I was too young for Toonami's run of Gundam Wing, so this is my first exposure to that titan of anthropomorphic hunks of metal punching each other, Gundam. As a result, I'm not going to be able to tell you how this stands in the overall series canon. Fortunately, Turn a Gundam (really ∀ Gundam, but not called “Upside-down A Gundam,” for some reason) seems to be one of the few that exists in its own separate continuity, so you won't have to have seen any of the other dozens of shows to understand it. At least I haven't been having any trouble so far. So Gundam vets, be easy on me considering that this is all from a newbie's perspective. I may not have my WaDoms straight from my Kapools, but based on the first half of Turn A Gundam, I'm not opposed to sticking around to figure it out.

In the world of Turn A Gundam, humanity is split in two. The Moonrace has spent millennia waiting for the Earth to recover from the environmental devastation it sustained during the “dark history.” But during that time, the planet-bound survivors have recovered to industrial revolution-level technology, forming the Earthrace. When the time comes for the Moonrace to recolonize the Earth, they face unexpected resistance from its current inhabitants. Loran Cehack is one of the Moonrace's scouts. Sent to verify that the Earth is habitable before their full-scale invasion, he integrates himself into the wealthy Heim household as a domestic servant. Over time, Loran comes to love the Earth and its people. But when the Earthers begin to resist the Moonrace's impositions, his loyalties are torn. The only thing that he knows for sure is that he hates the devastation both parties are inflicting on one another. When he discovers an ancient mobile suit, the Turn A Gundam, encased in a local mountain range, he's suddenly able to do something about it. Loran becomes a wildcard in the conflict, alternatively helping the Moon or the Earth, but always with the intent of furthering peace. Will his idealism change both groups for the better, or will he be crushed by the horrors of war?

For as much as my taste swings towards intimate character pieces, there's something to be said about sci-fantasy romps with archetypal characters and exciting, world-ending conflicts. The problem with these types of shows is that there are so many of them, but few do it well. It's an easy genre to do – rip a few pages out of Tolkein, come up with some factions, and find new names for the elves and/or giant robots – but a hard one to do well. Out of anime, I'd say that The Vision of Escaflowne succeeds at being both a classical narrative and a narrative classic. Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo accomplishes something similar, albeit with a coating of gritty urban space France. And now there's Turn A Gundam. It's not a deep show, at least not yet. It has general anti-war and anti-colonialist themes, but it's far from an exhaustive examination of these topics. Rather, it's just a ton of fun – likeable characters, an intriguing conflict, brisk pacing, action, comedy, and even pathos. What more could you ask for?

The characters are archetypes but very likeable. Beyond Loran, the leads are two women, Kihel Heim and Dianna Soriel, the Moonrace's queen. The bulk of the plot in this first half is a Prince and the Pauper-type situation involving the two of them. By sheer coincidence, their appearances are identical, and they end up switching places for an extended period of time. The result is an extended experiment in empathy – Dianna learns about life on Earth while Kihel tries to divert the Moonrace from their militant ambitions. Not that this switcheroo is a source of too much conflict. The two women are nearly identical in worldview and personality. They're still likeable though, active and personable figures, and its not like the men are any less simplistic. The other mains are Kihel's tomboyish sister, Sochie, and the resident “Char-clone,” Harry. Sochie is a belligerent foil to Kihel. Overshadowed by her more beautiful and feminine sister, she joins the Earthrace army to avenge her father. Harry is Dianna's loyal guardsman and another Gundam pilot. While he takes up the role of Loran's rival in the story, his full purpose hasn't been revealed yet.

The Gundam guy, Yoshiyuki Tomino, has been working since the 60s, and it feels like it. I associate this time period with a combination of sincere emotion, a high concept premise, and accidental camp with anime from the 70s and 80s. There's a lot of stuff in this show that feels like it has to be a joke. Loran first pilots the Turn A Gundam while nude except for a Borat-style string mankini with a toy fish for a crotch. Characters will, on occasion, wear the stupidest outfits ever conceived by humans like it's no big deal. Why would professional writers and artists think that this was a good idea? And why would their superiors allow them to implement this? I have no idea, but I'm glad that it all went through, since it's hilarious. It's like I'm watching Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind or Toward the Terra or something, and the tonal standards for fanservice, comedy, or serious moments are completely different from what I'm used to in anime now. It threw me through a loop, but in a good way.

That's not to say that the show looks bad. It was one of the last shows to be animated by hand on cell right before the onset of digipaint. This is only a DVD release, but the colors are vivid and the action clear. The show has some great art design, distinct and attractive. The concept art, which is printed on all of the discs, renders scenes from the show in the style of impressionist painting. It's an inspired look, and even carries over into the show. It's all soft but bright colors, gentle curves, and pastel-ish landscapes.

If you're a huge fan of giant robots (and somehow haven't yet exhausted this franchise) Turn A Gundam is allegedly light on the fight scenes. I didn't mind – the plot's machinations were more interesting – but if you want constant action out of your anime, this may have slow bits. I like the Turn A's design. Goofy and cute, it suits its wielder.

Sunrise's release is sparse, only containing the show in Japanese with English subtitles. Not that I mind very much – I'm happy to own Turn A Gundam. It is, above all, eminently watchable. I was always happy to go back to it, and even completed the show before my scheduled for-review deadline. That's rare, even for shows I praise highly. I'm looking forward to reviewing its second half over the next few weeks. Congratulations, Turn a Gundam, you've made a solid debut for yourself and your fellows. Not that it's hard to follow up Argevollen.
-Gabriella[TOP]