so nothing happened in gundam, right?

Slow-moving, prodding, deliberate, gentle… it’s like Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou except with huge, honkin’ robots, right?

Definitely like the new OP, Namida no Mukou. Feldt is awesome as always (damn Lockon should have gone for Feldt and not Anew), though don’t you feel gypped that Sumeragi and Marie weren’t included? *sob*

(Notice how in the first 3 OPs, the Gundam Meisters are in lock step, but, in this OP, they are moving away from each other?)

The new ED, Trust You, is also vastly superior to the overly homoerotic second ED of the first season, Friends. I really enjoy the shots of the Gundams rusting like extras from Casshern. I think that’s how the series needs to end… a world that doesn’t need Gundams. (I meant their world, not ours since I’ll be deprived a major pillar of my blogging inspiration if we didn’t get any more Gundam… uh… I hope it won’t be like the two year wait between Seed Destiny and 00… then again, how many years has it been since Haruhi Suzumiya?)

The only way to defeat Celestial Being is to create an organization that has even more homoerotic overtones than Celestial Being… Ribbons and the rest of the Innovators succeeded! At least in being the most gender confused villains of all time in giant mecha anime. Maybe after taking down Celestial Being, the Innovators will take up shop next to the music room and challenge the Ouran Host Club for campus dominance.

(Gotta like the names they have… “Ribbons”… “Revive”… “Regene”… “Anew”… “Bring”… “Healing”… they sound more like spells from Final Fantasy than evolutionary beings. “Shit, Basch is low on health, I better have Penelo cast regene on him.” My favorite is definitely “Revive Revival.” I never thought that random names could ever bring so much joy.)

*shakes head*

And Setsuna became the magic fairy of the battlefield, sprinkling his magic dust on everyone. What the hell happened to Gundam?! Ore no Gundam! Ore no Gundam!!!

(You know what show Gundam 00 has started to remind me of? Chaos Head. There’s a show about society outcasts having delusions… and the typical harem loser lead uses delusions to fight. Isn’t that what Setsuna is doing now? It’s not like the Jigan from Getbackers or mind control… it’s about peeling back the memories of all the characters to get to their core. And instead of having Di-Swords to manifest their delusions, they have Gundams.)

(Honestly, it’s not a bad plot device, just I already saw it in Chaos Head. Though that raises the odds of Gundam 00 having a similar ending where an Innovator develops the same ability to force meta-psychological confrontations like what Setsuna is doing now. Of course, that could happen since tecnology is constantly transferred in Gundam. Then they try to use it on Setsuna, but he fights back by recreating a harem romance comedy to escape into, just like Takumi from Chaos Head! Yes, I love the “escape into your own harem comedy to defeat the bad guy” ending. That would be fantastic and completely redeem this series for me. Especially if we got to see school girl Feldt, school girl Marina, school girl Ms Wang, and nurse Sumeragi trying to seduce Setsuna.)

(Damn, now I regret not making a real Chaos Head post.)

Though Setsuna’s magical fairy dust causes people to disrobe…

Whenever someone professes love in Gundam 00, something bad happens to that person or the object of their affection. I’m damned sure this is why Setsuna hasn’t yet reconciled his feelings for Marina– he’s the sane one!!! This is also probably why Tieria didn’t give Setsuna that giant chocolate heart for Valentine’s Day. Though I’m shocked that Setsuna has become the dependable one… it’s like if Sunohara suddenly became uber-reliable, went to MIT, founded the next Intel, ended world hunger, and made billions while curing cancer… and bag Tomoyo and Haruka Minami on the way to the top… while Tomoya became a drunk, negligent, and abusive alcoholic like his dad.)

Gundam once again can’t stop from resorting to disposable characters… with the ever increasing body count, I’m surprised Ian didn’t get whacked. I don’t understand the point of killing off Christine. I don’t understand the point of killing off Anew after less than ten episodes of her. I don’t understand the point of killing off Katharon. None of those people or organizations had a part large enough to be actually “part” of the show. Just when they start being interesting, they get yanked from us. The better developed the characters, the more impactful their death would be, like Hughes from Full Metal Alchemist or Kamina.

I actually cared more for Ian’s injury than Anew… since I knew not to get attached once she fell for Lockon and the whole Innovator thing when everyone but Celestial Being realized. Plus, Feldt is the only bridge bunny that I care about anymore. I mean, Anew’s name! Does it pass the Final Fantasy spell test? “Haha, even tough I couldn’t kill Bahamut before his countdown, I at least had Rosa cast anew on herself.” It could be a spell… a-ha! Innovator!

(The whole plot point that started 00 S2 about how A-LAW was created to fight Katharon… I mean… that’s a huge mismatch. Wouldn’t someone sensible by now noticed, “Hey, do we really need this large of a powerful organization to chase Katharon?” It’s beyond the original Dream Team at the 1992 Olympics. And the original series had something about solar energy… yeah… I shed a little tear for abandoned plot points.)

(Why does Ian look so much like Tomoya’s dad?)

Such a waste… such a waste… Sunrise did nothing with her plot and completely trivialized her in 00 S2. And didn’t even give her a costume change. Even if she isn’t dead, her character is dead to me. (At least until she shows up in a nekomini meido outfit.) Why even feature her in 00 if she’s just a paperweight in 00 S2?

A death that mattered. Though for the honorable soldier, that was just a sad way to go out. Stabbed to death by his enraged son while piloting a dinosaur mobile suit… while his adopted daughter watches and snaps out of her previously happy life. You could try to convince me that Sergei’s death is the most impactful one so far in 00 S2.

Though I’m still receptive to the idea of a Minmay Defense ending where Setsuna projects Marina’s voice to save the world seconds before utter calamity. I think this could happen. Sadly this is an actual possibility… though it’s still better than Lacus, Kira, Athrun, and Meyrin going shopping two episodes before the final battle.

I enjoyed the fight against the first Momento Mori. Best action sequence so far this season… only it was totally cheapened three episodes later when Setsuna just swung his oversized sword and smashed the second one. Uh, why couldn’t Setunsa just do that for the first one… ? He was there. O-Raiser was there. It’ll be a lot easier with Setsuna slicing it form afar with the other Gundams flanking him than a suicidal charge into the heart of the Momento Mori’s defenses.

Why is there always new mecha introduced in every A-LAWS / Innovators / Celestial Being battle? I can’t keep up with the toy merchandising anymore. What does a “Jinx” look like again? It’s at least a nine episode old design… ancient! Outdated!

(Hasn’t Louise received like four different suits already? And she hasn’t killed anyone yet? She’s like Ryan from The Office… in love with the biggest loser on the show and hasn’t made a paper sale in four years.)

I like how puny humans have discovered the secret to Trans Graham, but the Innovators are still trying to steal 00. I also like how the best mobile suit pilot in the whole series isn’t an Innovator– if I were Ribbons, I’d be more concerned about Graham making me look like less of a man than anything else. Oh wait, I forgot, Ribbons’ goal is to throw away his masculinity.

(If they ever dub Gundam 00 with Hollywood talent, Graham would have to be Tom Cruise. Unfortunately, the best possible actor combination for Tieria and Ribbons is no longer possible: Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal.)

Don’t really understand Marie’s Mini-Me suit… does it have an actual Solar Furnace? What does it run on? How does it hope to compete without a Solar Furnace?

Can’t wait to see more Gundam 00 S2… it’s the epitome of driving past a major car accident. Just can’t stop gawking, even if I might cause a major car accident myself.

40 Responses to “so nothing happened in gundam, right?”

  1. Anew’s name was suspicious, but I think it was her random introduction that really tipped me off. I was like “Hmmm, they just introduced a character that seems totally unnecessary this late in the show, she must be an Innovator spy”.

    I hope Anew’s death isn’t a reason to return to last season’s Lockon/Tieria subtext.

  2. I’m wondering why Revive.. uh Revival whatever and Anew didn’t kill as many of the crew as possible..-Ian, no repairs, – Saji, no whining, – Feltd, no awesomeness… hm that’s a problem. Well that would’ve made too much sense anyway.

  3. it’s like if Sunohara suddenly became uber-reliable, went to MIT, founded the next Intel, ended world hunger, and made billions while curing cancer… and bag Tomoyo and Haruka Minami on the way to the top… while Tomoya became a drunk, negligent, and abusive alcoholic like his dad.

    I would watch that. The Sunohara Show would be better than the original.

  4. then again, how many years has it been since Haruhi Suzumiya?

    There’s Suzumiya Haruhi-Chan and Nyoron Churuya-san (BEST. ANIME. EVER.). I think you should check those out. At least to tide us over.

  5. Knowing Sunrise, and the fact that “innovators copied out data from the Ptolemaios” we might be getting Ribbons in a Twin GN-Tau drive mecha with Trans-Am soon and Louis in a Regnant II as the 00-Raiser equivalent supplemental mecha for Twin GN-Tau.

  6. >>Why is there always new mecha introduced in every A-LAWS / Innovators / Celestial Being battle?

    Did you completely forget Zeta? It was like 3 new suits every episode

    Oh and the answer is merchandising.

  7. Louise doesn’t have to do anything because she is funding a big part of A-LAWS I think. Also, I think she is like the “90-lb girl” in 40 year old Virgin.

  8. *shakes head

    that is it? that is all we get for Tieria in a dress?

    you could have at least give us this

    “I don’t care anymore. Just shoot me. No way there’s a penis on this. None. I won’t accept it. “

  9. Yes, I knew it. Yes.

    I knew I shouldn’t delete this blog from my bookmarks. I knew it’ll pay off eventually.

    And it did.

  10. Oh how I missed these Gundam 00 entries so.

  11. I’m happy I still check this place every day. It makes watching Gundam 00 worth it.

  12. Sunrise have really lost the plot. Killing off meaningless new characters and meaninglessly killing off old characters just like in Geass S2. I really think they need to send their scenario creators on some kind of writing course.

    >> What does a “Jinx” look like again?

    Final Fantasy spell? Pokemon?

  13. Time to start watching Gundam 00 again :D

  14. Haha, the only way to beat Celestial Being is to create an organization with even more homosexual overtones.

    Sergei’s death probably was the most meaningful. He still had a lot more to do while the other characters were just kind of hanging out. His death seemed really tragic because he couldn’t help heal the pain his son was suffering and he couldn’t create a world for Marie to live in happily and peacefully. In the first season he was always the voice of reason and the person I thought most likely to make the world a better place, he led fairly and didn’t hate Gundams just for being Gundams. Now the series is just filled with people confused with their sexuality and Feldt who needs way more screen time. Also in the ED isn’t Feldt and Lock-On’s jackets being cast off together just after Lock-On walks between some sheets rather suspicious. Does that mean that Lock-On is finally going to make a good decision and go after that or is that supposed to be the old Lock-On and symbolizing the love that’s lost. Who knows, I really like the new ED.

  15. >> I like how puny humans have discovered the secret to Trans Graham, but the Innovators are still trying to steal 00

    makes my day :D

  16. >>Though Setsuna’s magical fairy dust causes people to disrobe…

    Admit it, Jason, you wish you had that magical fairy dust for yourself.

  17. Love the mention of Sergei in a Dinosaur suit. Seriously, was there any reason for him to have that besides an excuse for another Model?

    Will come back and re-read post once I watch ep. 20.

  18. this made my day <3

  19. Phuong, if Jason doesn’t want it, I’ll sure take it.

  20. Should I be unsurprised or frightened by the fact that Jason chose to blog the show after they started whipping out naked Setsuna and Saiji action, with one basically mounted behind the other?

  21. Dustin, the jacket is Anew’s. While Feldt’s is more pink, Anew’s is a little redder. And I think Feldt deserves someone better than any of those nut-jobs. With only 5 episodes left, I’d like to see how Sunrise manages to pair her up with someone. Then again, the Meyrin Hawke surprise in GSD was totally left field so anything is possible.

    Setsuna? Age-wise it’s more appropriate. I never liked the Setsuna x Marina coupling–has been done in Wing already.

    Finally, the GN Archer and 0-Raiser have GN Condensers that need to be recharged. Here’s a funny idea, make battleships that house the GN drives and then a bunch of mobile suits that charge from their mothership. That way Celestial Being doesn’t have to be ridiculously out-numbered all of the time.

  22. I always knew Lockon would get together with Anew. I kept wondering who was that person reaching out to Lockon behind the sheets in the first ED, and the second ED confirmed my suspicions by showing a glimpse of Anew’s head for about two frames:
    http://img2.pict.com/be/c4/f1/.....tsanew.jpg
    (I’d recognize that hair color anywhere! So nice of Sunrise to color-code their characters.)

    Since then, I kept hoping Anew and Lockon would stay together till the very end, despite also suspecting that Anew was an Innovator the moment I saw her and heard her name. I guess that just makes me a romantic pussy.

    On another note, I was really having a “WTF moment” when Setsuna first activated Trans Am in 00 Raiser, and began spreading GN pixie dust everywhere and causing everyone to start hearing voices and hallucinating. But then a little later, Marina began talking about how Setsuna was searching for a way for people to “understand each other” and I instantly put the two together. I knew Sunrise was going to do something like this. What better way for people to understand each other than by psychedelic GN-particle-based, telepathic communication? Sure it’s a bit of a stretch, and it’s so corny there’s no way it’s a USDA certified plot-device. But Sunrise is based in Japan so anything goes.

  23. Frack, I should have watched my backlogged episodes before reading all that. I got spoiler’d for like the next 5 episodes.

  24. “Time to start watching Gundam 00 again :D”

    QFT.

    “The only way to defeat Celestial Being is to create an organization that has even more homoerotic overtones than Celestial Being…”

    Yes. This is what has been missing from my life! I’ve tried the other bloggers, but only you can make homophobia this unconscionably hilarious.

    Like two lovers eternally committed to one another, our time apart has only strengthened our uncomfortably more-than-just-friends bonds. Jason’s blog entries during these bleak and dreary days of winter season anime warm my hearts, if just by a little bit.

  25. Woo Jason’s back!!

    Let’s not forget that A-Laws really isn’t evil. They’re just the military of the world government, and most people in A-Laws want world peace. Unfortunately the writers realized that so they had to make Andrei as much of a putz as possible so we could cheer against A-Laws, President Obama, and the Earth government.

    Actually the best 2 pilots are Prince Ali and Bushido Bob.

    I’m just hoping that the end doesn’t involve any last-minute super weapon Gundams.

  26. Rumor has it there will be yet another (UC era) Gundam series in the near future.

  27. GUNDAMMMMMMMYES

  28. “Rumor has it there will be yet another (UC era) Gundam series in the near future.”

    Substantially more than just a rumor, suddenly my wild imaginations of Sunrise plundering and pillaging the universe that built much of my anime fandom now looms large, like a haunting spectre that threatens to leap from my swirling, fevered dreams to the world of the living. Little solace I take in the fact that the professed ages of the main cast (32, 24, and 20) might indicate more nuanced storytelling and mature themes befitting of an older audience that grew up with the franchise, capable of appreciating the classic plotlines of past… Oh who am I kidding. It’ll be all hax mobile suits, WTF retconning, and not-so-ambiguously gay underpinnings.

    Is nothing sacred?!

    *weeps*

  29. Rumor has it there will be yet another (UC era) Gundam series in the near future.

    It’s called Gundam Unicorn.

  30. Final Fantasy Spell Test is the new Voight-Kampff Test

  31. Hey, Jason… there’s a Kamen no Maid Guy PSP game out. :D I’d link it, but this thing would block the post…

  32. No idea why I watched Chaos;Head. The randomness of the swords threw me off. (Yes, I get the point of most of it, but still….)

    >(BEST. ANIME. EVER.)
    No, the new KyoAni cashcows are shit. No need for a blog entry about it.

  33. I would point out that they are currently FREE on Youtube directly from the distributing company (subbed in English even), and thus cannot yet be “cashcows”.

    Clannad on the other hand might make money.
    K-on and Munto TV are still in question.

    And Haruhi something is happening in April…but that is about all we know…that something is happening, but not what or when…or why for that matter.

  34. Great to see you blogging about this show again. Much more entertaining than the stuff on THAT, where 1/2 the captions are quotes of song lyrics.

  35. Jason and Sunrise. Always a good read.

  36. Graham is dead only Bushido Bob remains and he has not surpassed the feats of Prince Ali who took on two Gundam at once without Trans Graham.

    Louise is on number three, but recent events make me think she is going to be Quess instead of Gato in her Mobile Armor. Still I think that this is headed for a spectacular wreck unless they save it in the next four eps. If only we could have the Krauser II defense.

  37. The latest ep (21) give more story about Ms. Wang ~

  38. I’m sorry, is it just me or…is that screenshot of the glowing rings shaped like a sideways 8 and the stuff coming forth from it look a LOT like someone jizzing all over the place? I know it’s gross of me to point it out but…I can’t get that out of my head

  39. It’s indeed a pity about Ms. Wang. Miss her fashion plate days. Plus she’s been demoted to Mr. Un-Macho Ribbons punching bag… Anyway… Do not fear, another Gundam series is here! (or so I heard). Going to be a Universal Century one.
    http://www.moetron.com/2009/02.....-revealed/

  40. “Can’t wait to see more Gundam 00 S2… it’s the epitome of driving past a major car accident. Just can’t stop gawking, even if I might cause a major car accident myself.”
    That’s reminds me of something I heard on the radio about the octuplets mom. The radio personality was expressing her outrage at why people care so much about such a woman. A listener ringed in and said “It’s like a car wreck on the interstate. It’s so bad you want to keep looking.”
    I wonder if you were listening to the same radio station. ^^

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