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Sep 27, 2024
Not a good first impression for the Grendizer/Mazinger universe.
I have never seen the original Grendizer or any of its related properties, but hearing that Gundam Seed's director Fukuda was helming this anime, I was excited to give it a chance. It's not good. If you look at the episode comments here on MAL or people talk about it online, its almost entirely fans of the series who have any praiss for it (mostly just comparing the story beats to the original). As someone with no prior knowledge, I dont think I have any positives from what ive seen of this show.
The animation is poor,
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the character designs are bland (I later looked at clips of the original show and I think the older ones look better), the story is quite stupid and even less engaging than an avg Power Rangers episode. The 3D models of the robots look pretty good I'll admit, but the fight choreography is bare bones and doesnt do anything cool with them.
The pacing in particular seemed messed up to me, like they were phoning it in while making the storyboards. The only positive imo was the pilot of the Mazinger's optimism and love for his grandpa's robot, which led to a nice monologue from him after a particularly tough situation.
TL;DR: Its a terrible anime in all aspects, and is not a good entry point to the franchise. Gundam SEED's director does not add anything to the table and I wouldnt be surprised to find out he just sat in on Zoom calls while some rich bigwigs from Saudi Arabia (the project was funded there) made all the main decisions on how the show would go.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Sep 25, 2024
Its simple and fun, with a charming plot and nostalgic anime character archetypes. The enemy robots are funnily reminiscent of Gundam: War in the Pockets 'Hygogg' and 'Kampfer', while the group of goofy officers who hire and support the main character are funny. The first episode is the stronger of the two, with Marons introduction being particularly memorable. Im a fan of this era of japanese idols as well, so the small references to real world people and programs of the time was neat to see.
Its only two episodes, so you cant really complain about wasting time. I think if you enjoy 80s-early 90s anime
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like Ranma 1/2, Kodocha, and Dragon Ball you will at least smirk and enjoy your time with the show.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jul 14, 2024
Not a good replacement for the show. It's not good for a rewatch either, I would say the value is for fans who loved the original and want to see the differences.
This movie cuts out a lot. The character of Will Game does not appear despite being a major plot point of the original. The content of the first 10 episodes or so go by at lightning speed, but admittedly, the pace improves by the halfway point.
Like I mentioned, the main appeal of the film is to catch the slight differences in dialogue and animation, which could be fun for a diehard fan. Do not
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try to use this as a replacement for the show.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Jun 14, 2024
Extremely plain 80s mech anime that struggles to justify its episode length. It starts off as pretty good "sister-series" to Gundam ZZ, light hearted and enjoyable. But commits the cardinal sin of "being boring", as it starts to ignore the group dynamic of the main trio and focus either Kaine, or later in the show, a goofy Mad Max inspired enemy squad. This part was especially disheartening, as they had already introduced interesting foils in the dutybound Char Aznable-clone Meio Plato and his group of loyal subordinates. These characters, as well as ongoings of the evil Giganos Empire, too is sidelined to make way
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for the meaningless shenanigans with this squad.
The show from the beginning had a lot of Gundam ideas copied over, but in the last couple episodes hits the viewer over the head with a lot of Zeon imagery while tension is low since the narration in plain terms tells the viewer that things are going well. Oh yeah, and the suit designs are overall middling. Hard to recommend unless you just really like robots.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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May 30, 2024
This show is overhated. But Im not going to call it great either. It's Turn A/Evangelion/G in Reconguista wrapped up into one atmospheric low-budget package. The soundtrack is one of the all time best (better than Yoko Kannos work that followed in Turn A Gundam), the mechs and world has a creepy 3am in a subliminal space feel to them, and the voice cast features the debut of Sai from Gundam Seed as well as Loran and Sochie from Turn A Gundam. (There are a lot for recognizable names on the list too.
If you are a big Gundam fan you can really see how this
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fits neatly between Victory and Turn A in terms of themes as well as art direction. It was a weirdly bingeable series and I could feel my brain working in hyperdrive going through each episode. Unfortunately you can tell they were short for time on some episodes, with really crap animation happening every now and then.
Now you may have noticed I haven't said anything specific about the plot. Well, the plot is actually simple at its core, but stuffed with so many asides and character moments that it can feel overwhelming despite it. Like G in Reconguista, it's a show that does not care if the viewer knows what's happening, and often we are given information by characters who ALSO don't know what is happening. However it does a better job at making most of it click by the end. I did feel the the end was somewhat unsatisfying though, as the focus shifts to the underlying plot rather than the weird cast of individuals.
If you watch a lot of Tomino-directed shows, or are a fan of the off putting apocolyptic atmosphere of shows like Evangelion or Gun Busters, you should check Brain Powerd out.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Mar 4, 2024
It's kind of funny sometimes, and the fights have cool effects, but this show is structured badly and the mc is terrible. The main girls of Shadow Garden hardly get any screen time and the show is building towards nothing. It seems the only goal was to check all the boxes that 14 year old boys might like. So, if you are a 14 year old boy go ahead you will likely enjoy it. But if you are expecting ANYTHING of value from the show beyond 100 girlfriends with magic powers stay away. I made it to episode 10 convinced that some subversion or twist
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was coming, but it doesn't, and it won't. It's just a maniac that got isekaied to a world where he can do anything and doesn't treat anyone like a human, more like toys.
I actually feel betrayed by the MAL rating as this thing was a pile of garbage. However it isn't poorly animated, and most of the voice acting is good, so 3 is where I'll leave my rating.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Feb 20, 2024
Not very good at all, but at the very least gets better over time.
Positives: +robot animation +OP/ED +Basically pornography
Negatives: -Boring plot, -Boring characters, -Basically pornography, -Cookie cutter mecha scenarios
It's very hard to focus or care about anything in the show early on, besides when they get to clobbering time in the Goddannar robo.
However, around episode 9 things start to get a little more interesting. In fact interesting enough that you might feel compelled to see what happens in season 2.
I myself haven't decided whether to or not, but I think if you are a big mecha fan and a big fan of water balloons
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attached to every woman's chest and back, you might like this more than I did.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Jan 27, 2024
The culmination of Lacus and Kira (light non-specific spoilers)
First, some background. I did not watch SEED when it first came out. In fact, I watched the original, Destiny, and Stargazer for the first time of the course of the last year, partially because I wanted to be ready to see an all new Gundam movie on opening day.
This film was expected to be a lot of different things by a lot of different people. One thing that it definitely lands is being a celebration of all things SEED, almost to the point of detriment. Fake out deaths, soap opera drama and misunderstandings, ignoring established in
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universe rules for the sake of "rule of cool", all of it turned up to 11. The movie starts powerfully; the new song FREEDOM blaring over images of Kira and friends fighting to stop a skirmish between warring factions. As is usual for Kira since his appearance in Destiny, he is an unstoppable force, able to completely disarm hordes of enemies on his own without killing them.
Except unlike Destiny, he looks different, he looks tired. This film finally addresses how Kira feels about what has happened to him over the course of two series: the blood on his hands, denying humanity the guide that was the Destiny plan, and his feelings for Lacus. I really enjoyed seeing a return to SEED Era Kira, no longer space jesus,but human. Him confronting the psychological damage from his relationship with Flay, as well as his role as a warrior, is the crowning achievement of this film. Lacus lays bare her intentions as to Kira too, and their story actually bears striking similarities to the final arc of Mobile Fighter G Gundam.
In addition to Kiras resolution as a character, and abundance of fan service, the fights are all fantastic, especially any time Destiny's Shinn takes the stage. In fact, one could argue he steals the show (he is absolutely hilarious). I think many Destiny haters will reevaluate their stance after seeing the Destiny-related elements in this film.
But the film is no perfect masterpiece. After the gripping first sequence, the movie quickly dives into 30ish minutes of mind boggling directorial decisions, full of questionable dialogue, off-looking facial animations, and strange shoujo anime-reminiscent shots.
The movie also decided that every location change MUST be accompanied by a subtitle telling where the location is, even places as obvious as "the palace garden" or "cafeteria".
Another point that gave me pause was Lacus's character. From the moment she triumphantly appeared in her shogunate inspired robe to take command during the battle of Jachin Due at the end of the original SEED, to her master planning in Destiny, including the secret production of the Freedom Gundam and juggling of Durandal/Blue Cosmos and Orb, Lacus has been shown to be a capable and determined leader. Similar to Cagallis arc in Destiny, though, she is shown to be completely out of her league early in Freedom, even asking Cagalli (who is practically shelved in this movie to become a proper leader of Orb) for advice on COMPASS affairs.
Not only does her leadership and planning aptitude disappear in this film, but (once again similar to Cagalli in Destiny), she starts to fall for the advances of a shady new character. This time around, Lacus is a fairy tale princess waiting for her prince's arrival. The plot hits a couple good points that feel like old SEED, but stakes start to lose their luster when plot armor rears its ugly head early and often. By the end of the film, it begins to feel obvious that the movie is not willing to throw the same punches the previous series had.
Despite these negative points, I think most SEED fans will come out happy with their time with SEED Freedom and willing to overlook some outright WACKY moments that put other "wacky" Gundam shows like G-Reco and ZZ to shame. When it comes to the West, I'd encourage anyone with any investment in the Cosmic Era to give it a shot.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Sep 23, 2023
Only for fans of Asemu Arc from the original show. The first episode of the OVA isn't so bad (feels like a retelling almost), but the second episode carried expectations that Zehearts character would be expanded upon beyond the unsatisfactory development he had in the original show. That is unfortunately not the case, as they simple double down by showing more scenes that affirm that he is a stupid character, and basically ignore the actual plot ofnl the show to just show him moping on the mothership.
I can't recommend this to people who haven't seen AGE, as it (especially in episode 2) expects you to
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fill in missing pieces with knowledge of the actual show. It also is FIRMLY Zehearts perspective, but despite that sounding like a good thing on paper, they don't actually add anything to his characterization. The OVA does have some nice newly interpreted fights from the show that fans can look forward to, though.
I would have been really happy if they focused more on Rosamys role in the story of Xeheart and Asemu, they could have fixed a lot that was wrong with those two characters roles in part 3 of AGE if they had done that. Unfortunate. At least episode 1 is "fun". (As a side note, Kio and Flit barely even cameo in this version of the show)
Unlike the great Wing OVA "Endless Waltz", this can only be recommended to Gundam AGE diehard fans.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Sep 21, 2023
It's really good underbelly stories of the One Year War from Zeons side. Yes, the animation is old "Butt Ugly Martians" style, but this is as good as its gonna get for a tv show in 2004. Each episode focuses on a different experimental Zeon weapon that undergoes live combat testing during the event of the One Year War.
The suits and battles still hold up, and has one of the best opening songs in Gundam. Fans of "08th MS", "Stardust Memory", and "War in the Pocket", will certainly find some enjoyment in this short series focused on the gritty side of war and on new
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machine development. (The second episode being the best)
That being said, if the art bothers you too much, don't force it. The faces are a bit creepy, and there aren't any particularly memorable characters, it's more about their actions taken when faced with tough situations that shines the most.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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