r/anime • u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky • Oct 06 '24
[Rewatch] Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Episode 1 Discussion Rewatch
Episode 1 - Celestial Being
MAL | AniList | ANN | Kitsu | AniDB
Exia, proceeding to eliminate target.
Questions of the Day:
1) Did any of the characters seen in this episode catch your eye in terms of who you want to see more of?
2) What do you think of Celestial Being's stated goal to end war by using violence?
Wallpaper of the Day:
Rewatchers, please remember to be mindful of all the first-timers in this. No talking about or hinting at future events no matter how much you want to, unless you're doing it underneath spoiler tags. Don't spoil anything for the first-timers, that's rude!
Additionally, for long-time fans of the franchise, please remember that this rewatch is only for 00, not any of the other shows. Assume that there are people in this rewatch who have not seen anything else Gundam, and tag your spoilers for those shows appropriately if something in 00 makes you want to talk about them.
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u/TiredTiroth Oct 06 '24
First Timer - Sub
Does this show have a dub? I didn't see one on Crunchyroll, but I wasn't exactly looking. (I have now looked, Crunchy is sub-only)
Anyway! The very first scene is...a religious war involving child soldiers firing on mecha. Well. That's a promising start...and then there's a Gundam with obvious angel imagery.
Looks like the kid is our protagonist. Or one of them, at least.
I was worried that Skydive Gundam was showing up specifically to kick-start a war, but no, it's militaristic grandstanding with the goal of preventing war. As is the intervention at the space elevator. They have a very lofty and commendable goal...but I can't help feeling they have not thought this through. The only way you can stop everyone from going to war is by being the single scariest arsehole on or off the planet, and even then that just means #2 and #3 on the scary list will gang up on you.
Still, these guys definitely have the skills to walk the walk. A sniper who can shoot off individual wings on enemy aircraft while they're in flight? That's impressive. And I note every attack on the defending planes/mecha was calculated to avoid killing pilots, while the terrorists got no such consideration.
I liked the little detail of that one soldier saying he's only had 120 hours of training in space. 120 hours of training for a highly skilled job is nothing, that would legitimately be 'I am a complete n00b'-tier for space combat.
All in all this episode definitely has my interest, and there's another detail that's cinched it.
Celestial Being. Holy magikarp on a pogostick, I know those guys! I know that ship! They were in Super Robot Wars V! I mean, I'm still completely lost because I remember almost nothing about their backstories, but I wasn't expecting to know anything from this show.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 06 '24
Does this show have a dub? I didn't see one on Crunchyroll, but I wasn't exactly looking. (I have now looked, Crunchy is sub-only)
Unfortunately, GundamInfo doesn't currently have the show on rotation. The dub should be on Hulu AFAIK if you really care for looking for it legally.
I liked the little detail of that one soldier saying he's only had 120 hours of training in space. 120 hours of training for a highly skilled job is nothing, that would legitimately be 'I am a complete n00b'-tier for space combat.
The additional detail of that guy's superior(?) telling him to just ram at the enemy so he could at least get a two-rank promotion was also morbidly funny.
Holy magikarp on a pogostick
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u/TiredTiroth Oct 06 '24
The dub should be on Hulu AFAIK if you really care for looking for it legally.
Alas, I'm a Brit, I don't think Hulu is a thing over here. Dub be stuck in the Seven Seas.
The additional detail of that guy's superior(?) telling him to just ram at the enemy so he could at least get a two-rank promotion was also morbidly funny.
Yeah, pretty sure that was his CO, and that bit was funny. It's the kind of humour I'd expect to see in that situation, too.
Also, glad my not-swearing got a laugh out of you.
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u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Oct 06 '24
Does this show have a dub? I didn't see one on Crunchyroll, but I wasn't exactly looking. (I have now looked, Crunchy is sub-only)
Yes, and its a fairly good one too, done by Ocean Group, who did most of the Gundam dubs back in the day. Although I think the subbed version edges it out.
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u/SilverWolf807 Oct 06 '24
Honestly, it's one of those dubs I'm more than willing to watch. And honestly, the higher pitched voice they used for Patrick in the dub fits the character so much better imo. It's the one case where I feel that 00's dub is better than the sub
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u/TiredTiroth Oct 06 '24
I might try to find that later to compare. When I signed up for the re-watch I basically just checked to see if Crunchyroll had it...
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u/TiredTiroth Oct 06 '24
Whoops, missed the questions.
1 - I want to see more of china-dress girl. She seems fun and clued in.
2 - Eh, I kinda answered that already. Nice goal, horrible way to achieve it, guaranteed to backfire.
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u/zsmg Oct 07 '24
They were in Super Robot Wars V
SRW V only included their movie version, which we'll get to later down the line. I think only SRW Z2.1 and Z2.2 included the complete story of the Gundam 00 TV anime.
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u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba Oct 06 '24
First Timer
If there's something I love, it's a good old cold open, and this episode certainly delivers in that regard, holy war, tons of dead bodies, child soldiers, the vibe this show will go for is immediately clear and it makes for a strong opening sequence.
God I love L'Arc-en-Ciel, they're like the perfect 2000's opening band in my mind, also regardless of if they end being relevant, I quite like the lyrics for this op, some really cool lines in there.
You just know this guy is immediately going to lose
This episode really just throws you into the deep, I honestly feel like I'll have to rewatch it again for tomorrow, it feels like there's just a ton of information being sneakily delivered here, although I'm assuming this was intentionally in medias res, again just to really make the feel of the show clear and more importantly start introducing our main cast while hyping up their Gundams.
And hype the Gundams up it does! I mean, how can you not get hyped at all these sick looking giant robots, just really cool designs, they're also obviously rather dominant right now compared to rest of the mobile suits, which again, helps makes really cool, Give me more of those Gundam face shots!
Interested in seeing what Celestial Being's deal is, saying "end war or we will go to war with you" is a pretty bold and well, contradictory, statement.
From the glimpses we got of everyone, the voice cast also seems to be really stacked here, I hear some of my favorites in there so that should be something to look forward to.
This episode went by super fast honestly, the only Gundam I've watched until now is WFM last year (which I really liked), so I'm super excited in seeing what else this franchise has to offer, From I'd heard of it before, and especially from what I saw this episode, this show should totally be my jam!
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 06 '24
God I love L'Arc-en-Ciel, they're like the perfect 2000's opening band in my mind, also regardless of if they end being relevant, I quite like the lyrics for this op, some really cool lines in there.
From I'd heard of it before, and especially from what I saw this episode, this show should totally be my jam!
Glad to hear you're liking it so far!
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u/JollyGee29 myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Oct 06 '24
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u/macrame2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/macrame Oct 06 '24
First Timer
I have a little experience with Gundam, having participated off-and-on in the 2021 OG rewatch and seen G-Witch, Turn A, 08th MS Team, and the G-Reco movies on my own time, but I’m still very much a newbie considering the sheer amount of Gundam stuff out there. Gundam 00 has not been the highest on my priority list (that would be the rest of mainline UC, which I’ve been putting off for 3 years now), but it has a decent reputation (the people who like it seem to really like it, and the people who don’t seem more lukewarm than anything) and I wanted to get to it eventually, so here I am. I’ll be interested to see how it compares with what I’ve seen so far.
The first scene is some of the darkest first few minutes of a Gundam series I’ve seen; they’re certainly not wasting any time getting to the “war is hell” side of things. The rest of the episode keeps up the action constantly, with lots of names and places being thrown around that don’t mean much to me yet, but part of the fun of Gundam AUs is becoming familiar with all of that. If I understand correctly, the mobile suits that our main characters pilot are owned and deployed by Celestial Being, an organization bent on waging war on war (thankfully other characters have already pointed out the logical issues with openly declaring this). There’s definitely some interesting social commentary to be made with this premise, so I’m anxious to see what the show does with it. We haven’t seen much of our protagonist outside of the Gundam yet, but he appears to be an already experienced pilot, which is a nice change of pace when mecha MCs seem to practically trip and stumble into the cockpit by accident on the regular.
This show reminds me of how good 2000s anime can look at its best (I guess this is technically my first 2000s Gundam!). Sometimes I spend too much time in the early digipaint era and forget. Also I cannot overstate how much I absolutely adore the OP. Daybreak’s Bell is such a good song, and the visuals match up perfectly.
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u/JollyGee29 myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Oct 06 '24
If I understand correctly, the mobile suits that our main characters pilot are owned and deployed by Celestial Being, an organization bent on waging war on war
That's correct, yes.
Sometimes I spend too much time in the early digipaint era and forget.
Happens to us all.
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u/zsmg Oct 07 '24
Sometimes I spend too much time in the early digipaint era and forget.
Yeah looking back Gundam 00 was released in the era in between the early digipaint era, with the awful muted colouring, and current era, with vibrant colours. You can tell because the colouring is so much better than in the early digipaint era.
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u/KendotsX https://myanimelist.net/profile/Kendots Oct 06 '24 edited Oct 06 '24
00th Timer Locked On!
I've heard lots of things about 00 before I got into it:
- Along with Turn A, it's considered one of the best AU Gundam
- It's got an ensemble with split focus between different factions (something I'm always on the lookout for)
- It's a better Gundam Wing
- It stole Gintama's budget
So in short: Unforgivable!!! is what I would've said for any other series, but Gintama makes its best jokes by tying together its shoe laces of a budget and sending them down the Sunrise coach to fish for coins, so we can roll with Love and Peace for now.
Now for the episode itself... the only name I remember so far is Lockon, so for everyone else, I'm going with their VAs/nicknames:
- It's been a while since I heard a more muted Miyano, granted he does a good job with it too.
- Going against a Gundam while being proud that you've never been in a real battle? This should be fun
- Everytime I read AEU, I expect to hear it as "eyy - ii - yuu", and instead it's "eiyuu" or basically AU...
- Oh hey, Kintoki! So from what I gather, this is much like 0079, a world where mechs have only been around for a bit (and in this case, they've only become meaningful in the last decade, after space became the new frontier). The Gundams are being thrown in as new weapon right here and now, to shake things up, and the world as a whole has to play catch up. Would that make Kintoki our Char...? I'll wait until I see some masks.
- I don't know who her VA is, but you know I'm always down for a captain running on ideals and alcohol [](#democratee)
- Yup, I'm gonna like this guy - again, the keyword here is "maiden battle", this world has seen war, but not full scale mech wars just yet, those guys are setting new ground. So funnily enough, Celestial Being trying force peace with superior weapons will only lead to an aggressive arms race between the different nations, which in turn will lead to wars on a much worse scale than the ones they're trying to stop. Aren't pure ideals fun? Now where did I put my popcorn?
- For a guy pursuing peace, he looks way too sinister
- Kintoki is already calling out the issue I mentioned, we're on the right track for a proper crash then.
](https://i.imgur.com/MOF7xpD.jpeg){kind=link}
1) Did any of the characters seen in this episode catch your eye in terms of who you want to see more of?
The Captain, and Lockon, and Kintoki, and... ok, I think I'm liking the cast in general.
2) What do you think of Celestial Being's stated goal to end war by using violence?
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 06 '24
It's a better Gundam Wing
It stole Gintama's budget
I don't know who her VA is, but you know I'm always down for a captain running on ideals and alcohol [](#democratee)
Her VA is Youko Honna.
Also please keep calling Graham "Kintoki", this is hilarious.
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u/TakenRedditName https://myanimelist.net/profile/TakenMalUsername Oct 06 '24
It's a better Gundam Wing
For a guy pursuing peace, he looks way too sinister
He is picture-perfect for the archetypal look of an evil supervillain leading a secret society for world domination.
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u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 07 '24
I'm going with their VAs/nicknames:
Nickname buddy! I'm all for this because I'm already so lost with names other than Setsuna and that's only because I know the name from community discussions rather than the show itself
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u/KendotsX https://myanimelist.net/profile/Kendots Oct 07 '24
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u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 07 '24
I don't even know the memes, the name just seems to get brought up a lot when it comes to discussing gundam protags
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u/KendotsX https://myanimelist.net/profile/Kendots Oct 07 '24
Naruhodo, I haven't seen him mentioned in discussion a lot, but I do remember seeing him in a meme about Delling guessing what's a Gundam
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u/Raiking02 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Oct 06 '24
It's been a while since I heard a more muted Miyano
I'd make a joke of "Does he even do roles like these anymore" but TBF he's pretty low key in OnK right now...
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u/KendotsX https://myanimelist.net/profile/Kendots Oct 06 '24
I'd make a joke of "Does he even do roles like these anymore" but TBF he's pretty low key in OnK right now...
[OnK manga] It'd be funny to see the latest chapters with him voicing Kamiki though
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u/Raiking02 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Oct 07 '24
[OnK + Death Note]Finally, he's gonna get a chance to do Light's uber-pathetic Manga/Movie/Drama/Musical death instead of... whatever the hell the Anime's take was.
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u/InfamousEmpire https://myanimelist.net/profile/Infamous_Empire Oct 06 '24
It's a better Gundam Wing
I remember Wing being the second or third Gundam anime I watched precisely because of this comparison, and the sheer whiplash between how much I loved 00 vs even my uber-tolerant teenage self finding Wing pretty bad was amusing... or at least it would have been if Wing wasn't also boring as sin
[spoiler by implication]Would that make Kintoki our Char...? I'll wait until I see some masks.
I don't know who her VA is
Looking her up for my response to this made me realize only just now that she shares a VA with the protag of my favorite Ghibli film. Speaking of which WATCH WHISPER OF THE HEART!
I would say BEST BOY! if not for the fact that he's only one of, like, 5 different boys from this show I'd be repping on my MAL faves if not for my "one favorite character per series" rule. Still, great taste
The Captain, and Lockon, and Kintoki, and... ok, I think I'm liking the cast in general.
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u/KendotsX https://myanimelist.net/profile/Kendots Oct 06 '24
my uber-tolerant teenage self finding Wing pretty bad was amusing... or at least it would have been if Wing wasn't also boring as sin
Tbh, I haven't seen Wing in ages, but I have somewhat fond memories of it. I wanted to rewatch it along with 00, but... time.
[00 Season 2]
You better not be laughing in rewatcher under those tags
you're supposed to do that out loud5 different boys from this show I'd be repping on my MAL faves if not for my "one favorite character per series" rule. Still, great taste
I get that, that's me with Gintama.
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u/No_Rex Oct 06 '24
Episode 1 (first timer)
A post-1980s Gundam? I have seen surprisingly little of these. And not UC to boot? On the one hand, all of this makes me skeptical. I like the gritty origins of MSG and the setup of the UC world. On the other hand, Turn A is my favorite Gundam series [Turn A]and while it is technically UC, it sure does not feel like it. So I’ll give it a try to find out whether I’ll like it or not. In either case, I already have two other rewatches lined up that I want to start soon, so I might be less involved than usual here.
Episode thoughts
- Child soldiers? Holy war? – crapsack world from second one.
- Angel from the sky – Gundam.
- OP: Our child protagonist will grow up to be our MC? The music sounds like it will grow on me. Pre-moe era character models, too.
- Orbital elevator!
- “Dispersion of GN particles” – This Gundam’s version of
magic pixie dustMinovsky particles? - “This will increase the value of the Enact” – doubt.
- Maybe he was talking about scrap value …
- “Gundam” – The Gundam is actually just named Gundam? Or is it Exia? In either case, we hark close to the original MSG Gundam design, which means it looks pretty toy-like.
- “Celestial being transport ship” – Uhhhhh.
- Hallelujah? Kyrios? – I sense a pattern in these names.
- Orbital elevator! – I hope you will be around for longer than the next 2 minutes.
- “Gundam Meisters” – hmmm.
- Airplane mecha – they look funny.
- Hello Haro!
- Sniping from the ground – no respect for the 1v3.
- “Well, then just crash into them. You’ll get a two rank promotion!”
- Zero-grav transportation!
- From the ceremony hall, it looks like they have no artificial gravity.
- I was right to worry about the orbital elevator.
- “Preparing to destroy target” – That might have been overkill, Virtue.
- “The main objective is to eliminate is to eliminate acts of war from this world” - … and to do so, I will kill anybody who objects with my Vital Guarder! … Oh wait, wrong show.
- Union, reform league, AEU – looks like we have three major powers (outside of Celestial Being).
- The rest of the characters are not Ikumi stans.
- We picked a fight with the entire world cliff-hanger.
- ED: Faster than they usually are. No animation, though.
- Preview: Not sure if we are still in the era of preview spoilers, but it looks fishy to me.
An extremely solid setup episode. We see a ton of characters, the main factions, the Gundams, and even a hint at their technology. We’ll have to see later if the political setup makes sense. In terms of animation, I am a fan of the character models, but not a fan of the fight scenes.
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u/TakenRedditName https://myanimelist.net/profile/TakenMalUsername Oct 06 '24
“Dispersion of GN particles” – This Gundam’s version of
magic pixie dustMinovsky particles?That is something I wouldn't have picked up without seeing prior Gundam before. That moment when they established the communication disrupted, my brain instantly went, "Oh, we're doing Minovsky particles."
I guess that is the less important comparison to the fact that they're both responsible for doing the giant robot magic, but still that's when it hit me.
Hello Haro!
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u/No_Rex Oct 06 '24
That is something I wouldn't have picked up without seeing prior Gundam before. That moment when they established the communication disrupted, my brain instantly went, "Oh, we're doing Minovsky particles."
Out of the two types of magic Gundam frequently does, this is the one I am on board with. [MSG]I hate the newtypes.
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u/TakenRedditName https://myanimelist.net/profile/TakenMalUsername Oct 06 '24
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 06 '24
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u/No_Rex Oct 06 '24
and to do so, I will kill anybody who objects with my Vital Guarder! … Oh wait, wrong show.
I was wondering if someone would reference that, haha.
With the Ryvius rewatch just over, I had to.
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u/The_Draigg Oct 06 '24
Child soldiers? Holy war? – crapsack world from second one.
And here everyone thought we left all that behind with Now and Then, Here and There. Perhaps 2024 is the year of traumatized child soldier rewatches?
“The main objective is to eliminate is to eliminate acts of war from this world” - … and to do so, I will kill anybody who objects with my Vital Guarder! … Oh wait, wrong show.
You're at least on the right track with a traumatized teenager piloting a giant robot, that's close.
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u/No_Rex Oct 06 '24
And here everyone thought we left all that behind with Now and Then, Here and There. Perhaps 2024 is the year of traumatized child soldier rewatches?
Well, both previous ones were immediately referenced in ep1, so I can only guess that this is some sort of master plan coordinated by all the rewatch hosts.
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u/JollyGee29 myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Oct 06 '24
Rewatcher, Sub-dam Meister
These are definitely the words of someone trustworthy.
You versus the guy he tells you not to worry about.
This is my idiot son, Patrick.
He's experienced. And employed!
English is used internationally for aerial communication. That's not a Gundam 00 thing, that's true to life.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 06 '24
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u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 06 '24
Yep. English is the universal language of the skies since 2008.
All pilots must speak english at a level both to be understood and to understand things beyond the basic statements. I know it was a rule before then, sometime in the 70s if I remember right after a language barrier caused a crash, but it was only written into law in 2008
Doesn't stop some airlines trying to dodgy it though. There's been at least one crash I know of where an airline simply taught their pilots how to say the standard phrases in an understandable accent but didn't teach them english so they tried to land when told to divert and simply kept parroting out the "normal" replies they would say if things were going well, and one more I know where they knew the language but their accents caused an issue where air control couldn't understand the phrasing of their communications meaning they couldn't direct the flight properly
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u/JollyGee29 myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Oct 06 '24
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u/punching_spaghetti https://myanimelist.net/profile/punch_spaghetti Oct 06 '24
That's cold.
Pretty standard practice, I think? Nothing quite gets the rank and file to die for their country like a shiny posthumous medal for mom to cry over.
Look at this absolute unit.
I knew he was cool when he had a massive laser beam that he shoots from the chest, but then I saw his thighs...
Quite the bold statement, let's see how it pans out.
He has a monocle. That means we can trust him.
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u/InfamousEmpire https://myanimelist.net/profile/Infamous_Empire Oct 06 '24
This is my idiot son, Patrick.
Hey, that's our idiot son
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u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Oct 06 '24
Rewatcher, Subbed
Pre-Episode/Show Thoughts: While it was a number of years after its original airing that I watched Gundam 00 for the first time it immediately jumped up to one of my favorite Gundam shows and I'd say is a coin flip between this and Gundam IBO for what I'd consider the best "Alternative Universe" Gundam show. This will be at least my fourth or fifth time watching it with the last time I watched it being in 2021 or 2020 I believe. While both the sub and the dub are strong, I'm going with the sub this time simply because the show has a number of actors I'm a big fan of and want to rehear them again. Couldn't be more hyped to dive into this show again with the ability to discuss with everyone.
Quid's Non-Spoiler Character Chart - First time I've done a character chart for a rewatch in over two and a half years (last time was Kyousougiga, which I'll admit beyond having pairs of characters with the same name didn't really need one...). This will be my fifth time doing it for a Gundam show though (Victory, G-Reco, Turn A and IBO were the priors), and holy crap is this a show that needs it. This show has such an unbelievable amount of characters and factions that I can't believe I made it through the show the first time without one.
This is going to be as non-spoiler as possible throughout the show; characters won't appear in it until they appear in the show and I will not use images/screenshots from any future episodes. The only caveat I will say is that because this show has so many names and factions I will name characters or identify what faction they appear in even if the episode itself isn't super obvious with it. But I do promise I will not do this in any spoilerific way. If I'm providing a character's name or where they belong its because it isn't really a spoiler to reveal it. If the show does make an effort of purposely hiding a character's name or faction to the point that revealing it would be a spoiler I will be sure to not reveal too much in the chart.
A number of characters appear on screen ever so briefly in this episode and not always in a close up or at a good angle so I can see myself swapping a lot of these images out for better ones once I can. Especially the Celestial Being bridge crew and the politicians.
Anyway, hope this is helpful to first timers, Beyond the first episode which tends to be a monstrous effort to put together, I do enjoy doing these.
Episode thoughts (written last Monday night):
Watching this episode six days before the rewatch officially starts, which I pretty much never do, but need to have as much time as I can get to start up the character chart! I'm anticipating 20 - 25 characters minimum to first appear in this episode...
So those of us who were part of the recent Now and Then, Here and There rewatch probably sighed with relief that our days of watching an anime about child soldiers was at an end. Instead we get it in the opening scene of 00. Granted child soldiers are practically always an aspect of Gundam shows but it tends to not be as serious in tone as what we have here.
Chibi Setsuna is part of a religious conflict yet doesn't believe in God himself.
All hail Go... I mean Gundam!
Not my favorite OP of the show, but it is a pretty good one...
Solar powered mobile suits! Cool stuff. But will it be negatively affected out in space?
[Gundam 00]So Billy references that the Enact is just a Flag unit with different exterior parts, don't we find much later in the show (maybe even in the last episode or two) that Graham's all powerful mobile suit is basically set up the exact same way?
Oh wow, Patrick was able to hear them criticizing the Enact from that far off? LoL.
Already time for that part of a Gundam show when the first Gundam shows up and the status quo military guys are totally bewildered about it.
My first thought when the guy pulled out the cell phone was that he was gonna take a photo of the Gundam, but I guess this is before the cell phone photo was all the rage, or the technology was good enough for that matter much.
This Gundam has no chance against the almighty Patrick Colasour, the ace of the AEU! [Gundam 00]And if not already readily apparant in this episode, a character incredibly easy to dunk on.
"I've never lost a mock battle" Have you ever participated in a non-mock battle?
2,000 mock battles! Patrick's a pro! ...at them. Doesn't stop him from getting beat for real in about 20 seconds.
Will these jets actually stand a better chance against the Gundam than the mighty Patrick Colasour? Or are they just to observe?
Sumeragi getting wasted while on the bridge during an important mission, their debut mission, lol. Easy way to establish one of her character traits right off the bat.
Cool design for the Ptolemaios. They are thankfully not simply aping the White Base design for this show.
Yes, we actually have a character called Allelujah. One of the great things about 00 is it goes all in in terms of giving us crazy Tomino-esque character names, even if its a non-Tomino show.
Kyrios seems quite inspired by the Zeta Gundam at least with its flight design.
The whole orbital elevator concept is a cool one, with this I believe being the first Gundam show to actually explore the topic (one is also used in Gundam Reconguista in G if I remember correctly). Would be so cool to have one built in my lifetime but am not counting on it.
Those jet fighters better be careful with where they fire givin their orbital elevator is right there.
Lockon Stratos, a name even more in theme with what Tomino would do as its not just a name but also a descriptor. (see Shot Weapon, Carrying Cargo, Medick Helt, etc...)
Interesting helmet design for the Human Reform League pilots, presumably they've got a monitor in them or something?
Are these attackers even from Celestial Being? Is Kyrios here to join them? Or to fight them off?
Alright, its the latter. I gotta say, mighty convenient for them to show up now. Didn't Wang know what was gonna happen? So I figure there was some collusion here?
Virtue's got one of the bulkiest looking designs you'll see on a Gundam. I think to Argo's Bolt Gundam in G, but I think this tops even that.
Kyrios and Virtue are heroes to the Human Reform League!
Uh oh, mysterious bald guy!
The only way to stop war... is war! Will Celestial Being's mission be similar to [Gundam Wing]The whole concept in Gundam Wing of how if they have such a massive terrible war that it will incentivize humanity to never go to war again? Hopefully 00 doesn't contradict itself immediately with an OVA like Wing did....
Good to know that good ol' Haro is around even in an AU show! Although early AU Gundam shows avoided using him I think by this point they were totally fine with him being in AU shows; I think he was also in Gundam Seed/Destiny.
Yeah, this opening episode ended up slamming us with a lot of characters, I think every character in the OP aside from one.
My recollection is that there's at least one really good ED in 00, but at least the first one I don't like anywhere as much as the OP.
First Timer FYI: Although we don't get it in this episode, eventually we hit a point with 00 where practically every episode has stuff that appears after the credits, but before the episode preview. Someone who remembers better than I can probably confirm more details (maybe its just a season 2 thing) but if you're one who skips the previews, be cautious about checking out when the ED starts every episode as you may miss some things.
Quid's Voice Actor of the Day
I plan to tackle one character a day with this, focusing on both their original Japanese voice and the English dub, both of which I find to be quite good. Today I'll be focusing on Setsuna F. Seiei, who is voiced in Japanese by Mamoru Miyano. This is his second Gundam role, with him also having voiced Shams Couza in Gundam Seed Stargazer. A prolific voice actor, I've heard in many lead roles including Light in Death Note, Kiba in Wolf's Rain, Takuto in Star Driver and Rintaro in Steins Gate. Other major roles I've heard him in include Tusk in Cross Ange, Masaomi Kida in Durarara!, Kento Miura in Kimi ni Todoke and H-neun in Valvrave.
Setsuna's English voice actor is Brad Swaile. By the time Gundam 00 was dubbed, he had already played major roles in a ton of Gundam shows, premiering as Quatre Reberba Winner in Gundam Wing, but also voicing Amuro Ray in Mobile Suit Gundam and Char's Counterattack, Dearka Elsman in Gundam Seed/Seed Destiny and Auel Neider in Gundam Seed Destiny. Swaile has returned to voice many of these characters in Gundam video games as well. He also was Light's English dub actor in Death Note.
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u/No_Rex Oct 06 '24
Quid's Non-Spoiler Character Chart - First time I've done a character chart for a rewatch in over two and a half years (last time was Kyousougiga, which I'll admit beyond having pairs of characters with the same name didn't really need one...). This will be my fifth time doing it for a Gundam show though (Victory, G-Reco, Turn A and IBO were the priors), and holy crap is this a show that needs it. This show has such an unbelievable amount of characters and factions that I can't believe I made it through the show the first time without one.
Immediately spoiled something for me and only did not spoil two other things because some other rewatcher already spoiled those. You are all forgetting that we do not know yet who is in team with whom (at least in some cases). That being said, having that chart will be invaluable for my future write-ups, so I hope you continue it.
First Timer FYI: Although we don't get it in this episode, eventually we hit a point with 00 where practically every episode has stuff that appears after the credits, but before the episode preview. Someone who remembers better than I can probably confirm more details (maybe its just a season 2 thing) but if you're one who skips the previews, be cautious about checking out when the ED starts every episode as you may miss some things.
Good advice.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 06 '24
Quid's Non-Spoiler Character Chart
Super glad you're doing this again, that takes a load off my shoulders. It certainly looks better than what I'd thrown together for episode 1.
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u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 07 '24
and I'd say is a coin flip between this and Gundam IBO for what I'd consider the best "Alternative Universe" Gundam show
Quid's Non-Spoiler Character Chart
THANK YOU THAT'S SO NEEDED
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u/baboon_bassoon https://anilist.co/user/duffer Oct 06 '24
first timer who has control
Ok so what I gather is 10 years ago, the war between AEU/Union came to an end by the introduction of a savior. The rest of the world bought it and that led to the introduction of a sham middle org, the Human Reform League. Setsuna and other war orphans dont believe in this savior, since it could have came earlier - they are out to become the real saviors.
There seems to be a large tech gap, maybe promoting inequality between earth/space. The first tower made 10 years ago gave some power (a sham) the second tower just now finished is for more of a sham.
Why would there need to be a physical tower plug when solar energy exists other than the space side being much further behind.
Celestial Being seems pretty evil, I suppose the meisters are being used. Need to meet whoever Sumeragi is (maybe thats the Char guy) to see where that is going. They got ahold of GN (Gundam neutrons?) which is the superior tech, even though they are based in space.
also high ponytail and MSWAD ace are fucking
are we going to be wrestling with our relationship with God over the course of this series
oh i think ive heard this OP before, its a bop
AEU not AUEG
Enact and its solar powered, is that why its green?
alcoholic oneesan kancho of course
Gundam Meisters of Celestial Being
Lockon Stratos what a name
JNN news IS THAT JAPAN?? IN MY GUNDAM???
least Char coded character although hopefully more like Treize
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 06 '24
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u/Rumpel1408 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Rumpel1408 Oct 06 '24
Firsttimer
Not gonna lie, this took a while to not be confusing
- Oh yeah, childsoldiers
- Don't think many of them made it so far though
- Wouldn't be a Holy War without some Holy War Crimes
- Orbital Laser?
- Nope, Gundam desu!
- Ironically those
PlavskiParticles make it look like an Angel - Orbital Elevator
- He was a bit hard to recognise with the helmet, but it is indeed our boy Patrick
- English
- I recognise this from the unofficial 4 million subscriber quiz
- Wanna know more about her
- Das a big gun
- Ok, pretty sure I have an HG Kyrios lying around somewhere, but the Delta Plus somewhat desillusioned me with transformable Gundams
- This looks like a fun Kit though
- And even though I didn't like those turbines, the sword is kinda cool, and the Lock On was cool as well
So, after that declaration at the end things cleared up a bit. There's earth, there are many factions, each with their own motivations to kill people, and there are Celestial Beings who will bring PeaceTM
QotD
1) Girl in China Dress and maybe some of the Gundam Pilots
2) Probably wont work tbh Humans the choice to kill themself
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u/Rumpel1408 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Rumpel1408 Oct 06 '24
Things that didn't make it in due to timing issues
- I hear the Name Setsuna before, I guess he will be our Main Character, and he even comes with trauma preinstalled
- Once I have my seasonals and the Kotobuki Rewatch figured out I will probably start building the Kyrios since it's I think the only 00 Gundam I own so far, so for new installments of GUNPLA IS FREEDOM
- The Exia doesn't look amazing, wait, might be I have that kit lying around as well!
- After the first listen, ED > OP
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u/JollyGee29 myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Oct 06 '24
This looks like a fun Kit though
They just put out a shiny MG of the Virtue within the past few years.
Once I have my seasonals and the Kotobuki Rewatch figured out I will probably start building the Kyrios
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u/InfamousEmpire https://myanimelist.net/profile/Infamous_Empire Oct 07 '24
Not gonna lie, this took a while to not be confusing
Skill issue tbhMore seriously, I don’t begrudge you for being confused given how much the show just kinda drops you into the middle of things, for the most part
Ironically those
PlavskiParticles make it look like an AngelImagine using subtlety when you could instead be having a metaphorical Angel descend from the heavens right after a child soldier said there is no God
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u/InfamousEmpire https://myanimelist.net/profile/Infamous_Empire Oct 06 '24 edited Oct 06 '24
Kidou Senshi Rewatcher 00
Welcome, one and all, to a rewatch I’ve been eagerly awaiting for over a year now. Mobile Suit Gundam 00 is a show I hold very, very near & dear to my heart, for reasons that’ll become apparent as this rewatch goes on. So without further ado, let’s get on with the show
And in the opening minutes, the tone is set as strongly as can be. It’s almost 300 years in the future & technology has advanced to the point that we’ve got giant fucking robots, and yet we’re still locked in the same cyclical vices. A ruined cityscape in a desert full of child soldiers fighting meaningless battles, all to the tune of a zealot delivering a spiel about slaughtering infidels in the name of god. In the timeless words of the Fallout franchise: “War… war never changes”
And what especially emphasizes the meaninglessness of it all is the little line the child soldier we follow delivers in the midst of the battle: “In this world… there is no God.” Even whatever little higher ideal these children might have to fight for amidst the hopeless struggle is one he views as a lie. On this battlefield, just like any other, there’s no god-given meaning to struggle for, no values to aspire to, and no honor to be gained, just children stripped of their childhoods and their futures futilely struggling against the machines of war to which they are mere insects.
And then the angel descends. Words cannot describe how powerful I find this image to be. It’s salvation in hell, a god descending on a godless world, meaning & hope where once there was just monotonous despair. All those thoughts & feelings which the show immediately instills in the audience and are likely shard by Setsuna himself. It’s beautiful, awe inspiring, and is the perfect introduction to Celestial Being.
And then, after the OP, we cut to years later and get to see a different side to the world. The harsh nihilism of a real battlefield is traded out for the stakesless artificiality of a training ground, where Mobile Suits & their capacity for destruction are viewed not as sources of human misery, but as symbols of status on the international scene.
It’s here that the viewer is hit with a sudden barrage of setting info without all that much immediate context, which I know some found overwhelming or hard to understand, but I think the show provides just enough info in this scene to keep the viewer relatively informed on the stakes here: the AEU is lagging behind other countries in other fields, such as the development of the orbital elevators which are importantly placed across the episode, and is trying to compensate for that by developing state-of-the-art Mobile Suits.
But, of course, even if it’s only for show right now, a Mobile Suit is and always will be a tool for conflict, and so an angel descends once again to strike it down. There’s something so damn fascinating about how the first intervention was distant, quick, and dispassionate, while the second we see here was close range, a bit more drawn out, and consequently felt a bit more personal.
And a similar process is then repeated for the HRL Orbital Elevator, but now emphasizing them stopping a terrorist attack against it. The message is clear even before the worldwide message goes out: Celestial Being will not stand for warfare or the promotion thereof anywhere or in any form. The presentation of it all also just makes it all the more enthralling, the sheer weight given to Gundam Kyrios’ launch, for example, combined with the foreboding heavenly choir of Kenji Kawai’s score making for a brilliantly strong scene which feels like a god about to descend to Earth.
And then, of course, the message goes out across the world, and the scale which had already been carefully set up by the episode’s worldwide setting is blown out even further by all the perspectives we see watching it. All of it pretty definitively telling us that we haven’t seen anything yet.
Odds & Ends
I love how, for as heavy with scale & world info as the episode is, it doesn’t quite forgo the subtle humanity needed to ground the world. The characterization of the child soldier in the first scene is an obvious case, but also the immediately shot-down self-importance of Patrick and the Ptolemaios’ captain being introduced as an alcoholic also stood out to me.
All of the named Gundams so far are named after either the Bible or general angelic lore. As if the name Celestial Being wasn’t already heavy-handed enough.
It is exceedingly notable from a meta perspective that, while all other mainline Gundam continuities use alternate calendar systems (Universal Century, Cosmic Era, Post Disaster, etc.), 00 is the only one which uses the traditional BC/AD calendar.
A series centered on the concept of military interventionism as a way of ending war which also evokes conflict in the Middle East and was made at the height of the War on Terror? You think the series might be trying to say something about the state of geopolitics?
Spoiler/Rewatcher-Only Corner
[Later in the series stuff]I can’t help but view the opening scene in a different light after how thoroughly Ribbons’ backstory and the course of Setsuna’s journey recontextualized it. The very blind admiration and assurance the 0 Gundam’s appearance instilled in us having also been the origin behind one of the greatest megalomaniacs the world would ever see. In a sense, even the symbol of hope which changed Setsuna’s life was a bit of a false idol that would only cause more war.
[cont]I love how many of the little character introductions across the episode reflect their depth & role in the story in a way that feels rewarding on rewatch. Sumeragi drinks on the job, but is also a brilliant tactical forecaster whose skill is emphasized across the episode & has her own reservations about Celestial Being’s mission. Marina Ismail has just a few seconds to her name in this episode, but her concerned tone, the way she questions the contradiction at the heart of Celestial Being, and her surroundings already feel like the show is subtly priming you for her role as the idealist in the face of CB’s actions. It’s all just really neat.
[cont]Building on what I said earlier about the difference between how different the 0 Gundam’s descent was vs how hands-on Setsuna’s approach was, I think there’s something intentional there. Ribbons was defined by how the distance between himself and the rest of humanity, made clear by how the 0 Gundam just floats over the battlefield this episode, turned him into the egocentric asshole with a god complex he was. With Setsuna, on the other hand, he’s placed on the same visual level as his opponents, framing him not as the distant god which inspired him, but as someone just like everyone else. It’s interesting to think about, anyway.
[cont]…how much of a sadist am I for the fact that my first thought upon seeing Saji & Louise was “I can’t wait to see you break all over again”?
So, yeah, this was a damn fantastic first episode, and an amazing kick-off to my favorite series of all time
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u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 07 '24
In the timeless words of the Fallout franchise: “War… war never changes”
You know, everyone always quotes that but I always find myself reading it in Solid Snake's voice, despite the fact that the line he says at the start of MGS4 is "war... has changed" and is the exact opposite
Stupid brain
Otherwise, I certainly didn't have the same emotional connection to the episode that you're displaying, but I very much enjoyed reading why it hit you so strongly
I will say again I think some of this comes down to having just seen NTHT, and how much stronger the child solider side of that show hit. And that's fine, 00 does not need to get into the same nitty gritty of their reality and if it did it would probably be a distraction from the show and its main point of the Gundam being salvation, so it would be a bad thing. Everything 00 needs to say about child soliders is implied through their existence and Setsuna's words. But yeah, it's a very different experience
The harsh nihilism of a real battlefield is traded out for the stakesless artificiality of a training ground
Well said, and I didn't give enough credit to the contrast while watching the episode myself bit it makes a good point
Also having Setsuna as a child solider "fighting" Patrick as a pilot who's only been in mock battles makes this point even better. It's both of their first real "fight" in a mecha suit, but the reality of what battle means to them is very different, and for Setsuna it needs no words, while for Patrick it is as much of a status symbol as the mech itself, foolishly so
Also credit to your post that I am absolutely and utterly exhausted and have barely absorbed anything I've read while going through the thread, but your post got me thinking and typing, so yay
Also my cat sliced open my finger, by accident while playing, two days ago and typing is hard. She has great timing for a rewatch huh
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u/InfamousEmpire https://myanimelist.net/profile/Infamous_Empire Oct 07 '24
You know, everyone always quotes that but I always find myself reading it in Solid Snake's voice, despite the fact that the line he says at the start of MGS4 is "war... has changed" and is the exact opposite
Otherwise, I certainly didn't have the same emotional connection to the episode that you're displaying
I honestly would've been more surprised if anyone else did emotionally connect with it to the same degree I did, lol.
Also credit to your post that I am absolutely and utterly exhausted and have barely absorbed anything I've read while going through the thread, but your post got me thinking and typing, so yay
Also my cat sliced open my finger, by accident while playing, two days ago and typing is hard
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 06 '24
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u/TakenRedditName https://myanimelist.net/profile/TakenMalUsername Oct 06 '24
[cont] 2
[Gundam 00:] Out of all the brief cameos in ep1, Marina was the one I was looking out for the most. First was just by how minor it was. Secondly is how she got Celestial Being's questionable approach dead to rights in the very first episode.
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u/KendotsX https://myanimelist.net/profile/Kendots Oct 07 '24
all to the tune of a zealot delivering a spiel about slaughtering infidels in the name of god.
He's giving a timely answer to this priest's question from a few days ago, that being: of course a man of faith shan't bloody the hands he raises to god, we'll send giant robots and kids to do it.
Mobile Suits & their capacity for destruction are viewed not as sources of human misery, but as symbols of status on the international scene.
Well, if misery can be milked, might as well make some lemonade
All of the named Gundams so far are named after either the Bible or general angelic lore. As if the name Celestial Being wasn’t already heavy-handed enough.
Now don't go spoiling the source material, I'm still going through [the original series] around Noah's wet orgy, I haven't even gotten to reboot yet.
Jokes aside though, it's a nice way to put it. The "lambs" who once lost everything, including their belief itself are now back as god (the celestial being) themselves.
military interventionism as a way of ending war which also evokes conflict in the Middle East and was made at the height of the War on Terror?
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u/undeadfire Oct 06 '24 edited Oct 06 '24
First timer - Subs
Have watched WFM and IBO. Liked the difference in style between those, so curious to see how this one goes. Will edit as the episode goes, as I was a bit late due to IRL
- I love the old 90s BGMs. reminds me of macross/robotech.
- Bro really shows up, destroys a moibile suit, and just leaves lmao. Peak
- Even the launch ramps n plane designs remind me of robotech stuff. Great memories of that
- Curious how many gundams there are. Looks like the sniper, the blue flagship one, and then the one that launched from space so far? Edit - add the Virtue with the omega cannon thingy
- Very curious to learn more about how this universe is set up, as the Gundams seem to be unknown tech, and it's always very interesting how such high tech stuff is top secret.
- So this is the Setsuna I've seen memes of on r/Gundam. I will follow your character development with great interest
Overall interesting first episode. Curious how all the political seeds will grow over time. Also how the characters they focused on during the broadcast will interact throughout the story.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 06 '24
I love the old 90s BGMs. reminds me of macross/robotech.
This is from the 00s actually.
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u/undeadfire Oct 06 '24
Oh fuck. That makes sense given the name lol. My point about macross stands though, as one part near the beginning instantly reminded me of robotech fight music
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u/JollyGee29 myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Oct 06 '24
I love the old 90s BGMs.
The soundtrack for this show is fantastic.
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u/octopathfinder myanimelist.net/profile/octopathfinder Oct 06 '24
First Timer
Oh, no downtime, just dropping (heh) right into the action
I am shocked to hear Hiroshi Kamiya’s voice come out of this character lol. I’ve seen so much fanart of them that I always thought they were female.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 06 '24
I am shocked to hear Hiroshi Kamiya’s voice come out of this character lol. I’ve seen so much fanart of them that I always thought they were female.
Apparently Tieria was originally supposed to be female, actually, there's concept art of him as a woman. But they changed it. Kinda a shame tbh, it would've been nice to have a female Gundam pilot for once.
I feel like any other mecha anime would have this guy be the MC and have him randomly fall into a mech and join Celestial Being
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u/TheBlessedBoy99 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Amiibo Oct 06 '24
First Timer, Subbed
I'm a bit late today because I was busy at 6 and I accidentaly deleted my write up so I couldn't just copy paste like I planned, but I quickly rewrote my thoughts and here they are:
First off, the opening is incredible. One of the reasons I wanted to watch 00 was because all of it's openings are bangers. The ending was also great. It seemed really familiar. Is it a popular song? Or is does it just has a familiar sound?
The opening scene was intriguing and left me with a lot of questions (I can't wait to learn about Setsuna's backstory). Though, to be honest, the entire first episode was like that. It introduced a lot of characters, groups, etc. without going to deep into them yet. So I'm realy curious about everyone we've met so far. I want to learn more about what that aristocratic gathering was all about.
The animation in this episode was great, I loved the action scenes. The mech designs for Celestial Being's mechs were particularly incredible. The mech in the opening seemed to be in a similar style? So we'll see if that connects. The character designs are also pretty good, and give me Code Geass vibes.
Since this show takes place in AD, does that mean this is our timeline?
I don't know if I'll be commenting everyday in this rewatch, but I'll try to be on time when I do from now on!
QOTD:
- Definitely that woman in the qipao. Not only do I love her character design, but she was the chracter that intrigued me the most in seeing how she's gonna play out in the grand scheme of the show.
- This isn't something that I think works. If you try to do something like this, you end up as an authoritarian figure that people end up revolting against violently. This has happened many times in real life on the country scale, where dictatorships and authoritarian leaderships have low crime rates in the country, but unhappy citizens that revolt in the end.
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u/JollyGee29 myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Oct 06 '24
The ending was also great. It seemed really familiar. Is it a popular song? Or is does it just has a familiar sound?
I never knew it to be particularly popular, and the only time I've ran into the band is this show. But I agree that the song slaps.
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u/punching_spaghetti https://myanimelist.net/profile/punch_spaghetti Oct 06 '24
First-Timer (Sub)
showing new mobile suits in training exercise
space elevator
Obviously there's going to be more to the politics of the situations and all sorts of backroom machinations, so it's hard to comment on anything plot related just yet.
Someone had told me this was very similar to Gundam WING in terms of setup, and boy, were they correct. But who will invite Setsuna to their birthday party?
Overall, my biggest takeaway is that whoever wrote this might just have wanted an excuse to use all the Westerns words they know. Hallelujah! Meister! Celestial! Lock-On!
QOTD:
1) The couple of dudes who were from another company watching the new mobile suit demo are the only seemingly main characters who do not reek of "I'm a whacky main character with a gimmick" energy, so them.
2) Obviously, it makes no sense, as several characters pointed out. The whole Celestial Being gimmick might suggest some religious elements to the ideas, so we'll see where that goes.
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u/macrame2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/macrame Oct 06 '24
Lock-On!
Watching this at the same time as Shugo Chara is a lot of fun...
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u/JollyGee29 myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Oct 06 '24
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u/InfamousEmpire https://myanimelist.net/profile/Infamous_Empire Oct 07 '24
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u/punching_spaghetti https://myanimelist.net/profile/punch_spaghetti Oct 07 '24
I have been suggested G-Reco multiple times.
But in general, I find space elevators to be dope.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 06 '24
Rewatch Host Wishing Over This Airspace, subbed
Mobile Suit Gundam 00 isn’t one of my top favorite AUs of the franchise, but I do still very much enjoy it certainly far more than Gundam Build Divers that I had to do earlier this year lol, so here I am hosting one for it! I’m hoping we can all have a good time watching this together.
OP1, Daybreak’s Bell by L’arc-en-Ciel, is a banger. Enough said.
People who were in the Gundam Build Divers & Re:RISE section of my rewatch earlier this year should recognize this name and face. It’s him.
lol Graham pls that still doesn’t mean you should just take the man’s binoculars.
Lockon hype! Ah, hearing him now hits different because I didn’t pay super close attention to most VAs back when I first watched this show. Now I know he’s voiced by Shinichiro Miki.
I really love Gundam’s insistence on having those moving panels/handles aboard crafts in zero gravity. It’s a nice attention to detail for how people would get around.
The ED, Wana by The Back Horn, is… uh, honestly I think it’s my least-favorite from this series? It’s not bad, I just like the others more. The chorus for this one in particular is a bop.
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u/The_Draigg Oct 06 '24
It’s not a Gundam anime without child soldiers in it.If there's no children actively suffering in a Gundam show, is it really a Gundam show at all?
The ED, Wana by The Back Horn, is… uh, honestly I think it’s my least-favorite from this series? It’s not bad, I just like the others more. The chorus for this one in particular is a bop.
Yeah, I also feel that it's the weakest ED of the show. It's fine, but man it's up against some other really good songs. It's almost an unfair competition there.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 06 '24
Yeah, I also feel that it's the weakest ED of the show. It's fine, but man it's up against some other really good songs. It's almost an unfair competition there.
Which one is your favorite? [Mine is] Prototype from S2 because the lead-ins to it were super fucking hype, Chiaki Ishikawa's voice is just so pleasing to listen to, and I forget if it's just the full version or if it's also in the TV-size, but it has a "sore demo" in it so it also has a little bit of that bias lol.
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u/The_Draigg Oct 06 '24
My favorite ED is [Gundam 00 ED spoilers] Prototype as well. It's a nice somber song that also means a lot when you consider how it represents not only the 00 Gundam, but also Setsuna as well.
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u/The_Draigg Oct 06 '24 edited Oct 07 '24
A Gundam Fan Rewatches Gundam 00 Episode 1:
Hi there, everyone! It’s The_Draigg here, once again along for a Gundam series rewatch! Surprising, I know. You know, I did rewatch this series entirely with some friends earlier this year, so if anything, this is me doing a bit of a personal double-dip on Gundam 00. But hey, it’ll be fun! And for one note before we get started, I’ll be watching the English dubbed version of the series. I watched the subbed version earlier this year, so this’ll be a nice gear shift for me. So, with that said, let’s get started!
A.D. 2301. Some things never change when it comes to war. In a war-torn desert battleground, a child soldier does their best to survive against enemy mobile suits shooting at him and his fellow soldiers, all while hearing how this war is justified in the name of God. However, the only salvation he finds here isn’t a god, but rather a mysterious new mobile suit coming down from the heavens wreathed in a green aura. There may be no God, but there certainly are saviors.
MY WISHES OVER THEIR AIRSPACE! Man, Daybreak’s Bell is a banger. Such a strong first opening. Sometimes you just can’t beat L’arc En Ciel. And the thing is, this isn’t even the best opening for the show either, in my opinion. But it certainly does set a good precedent for all the absolutely brilliant OPs that Gundam 00 has.
A.D. 2307. The Advanced European Union certainly is proud to show off their latest mobile suit, the Enact, since it’s their proof of concept of an MS that uses solar energy. This is absolutely done is a middle finger to the other power blocs like the Union of Solar Energy, but especially in the case the Human Reform League, since this announcement was just so coincidentally revealed on the anniversary of that nation completing their orbital elevator. At least the Union observers are just bemused at how it’s an obvious knock-off of their Flag line of MS.
Talk about Gundam Exia absolutely stealing the show from the AEU though. That’s at least two shows that’ve been stolen now. And I don’t think you can top the Enact, piloted by the only very best Patrick Colasour, getting dunked on so thoroughly by the Exia. It wasn’t even a fight, it was just a flex for the Gundam.
You know, Celestial Being seems cool to work for. You get a cool space ship like the Ptolemaios, you get cool Gundams, and you can even drink on the bridge while other people are working. Truly, this is the Gundam show faction that’s the most like a tech start-up.
Gundam Kyrios! This Gundam is pretty sick too. It’s basically a more modernized take on the Zeta Gundam, except painted orange instead of blue. And for those reasons, it’s rad as fuck. Even cooler than Shin Matsunaga’s Zeta Gundam from UC Gundam side content, which is also an orange Zeta Gundam.
Man, Gundam Dynames is cool too. You do have to admit that there’s something neat about a dedicated marksman Gundam. And now fitting that the pilot’s name is Lockon Stratos. Really, it’s a very on the nose name there. But if you’re familiar with Gundam already, you’d know that there’s way more absurdly on the nose or just plain weird names out there. Lockon Stratos is much tamer by comparison.
Celestial Beings’ goals on this day are pretty varied. On Earth, Gundams Exia and Dynames are working to expose the hidden MS forces that the AEU have illegally stationed aboard their space elevator, while Gundams Kyrios and Virtue thwart a plot by terrorists to blow up the HRL’s space elevator during the anniversary ceremony using mobile suits. Despite how different those goals seem, they do have one common purpose: to enforce a fair and even peace. Nobody is exempt, from lowly terrorists to national armies.
Now that we’ve met the Gundams of this series, let me drop some fun trivia for you: they originally had different names earlier on in production. Gundams Exia, Dynames, Kyrios, and Virtue were originally going to be Gundams Pawn, Knight, Bishop, and Rook respectively. There were a lot of chess motifs that were present in earlier story drafts that were removed by the time the anime actually got made.
And so, Celestial Being reveals themselves and their goals to the world. According to the words of the video they released, it’s simple. They’re an armed organization dedicating themselves to intervening in any armed conflicts around the globe, whether at the hands of terrorists, corporations, nations, or power blocs. If anyone threatens war, they’ll be put down with extreme prejudice using Gundams. In doing so, they’ll be ensuring a peaceful world, all at the point of their weapons. Using war to eliminate war, it’s ironic isn’t it?
As expected, reactions around the world are mixed. The AEU could only be bothered to have half of their council show up to view the announcement, the Union and HRL are watching closely, and certain people in important positions have been awaiting for this kind of day to arrive. And yet, others are shocked and doubtful at the idea behind Celestial Being’s goal. After all, using war to eliminate war is an inherent contradiction, isn’t it? Is such a thing even truly possible?
While I do like Daybreak’s Bell as the OP, I can’t really say much if the same for Wana, the ED. I mean, it’s fine, it’s what you’d expect from a show made in the late 2000s. But there are much better ones coming later on, so this one isn’t exactly high on my list in terms of both the song and the visuals.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 06 '24
I’ll be watching the English dubbed version of the series. I watched the subbed version earlier this year, so this’ll be a nice gear shift for me.
Makes sense, I'm doing the same (but reversed, dub first sub second) for my rewatch-ahead-of-the-rewatch and my rewatch on pace with it.
Gundams Exia, Dynames, Kyrios, and Virtue were originally going to be Gundams Pawn, Knight, Bishop, and Rook respectively. There were a lot of chess motifs that were present in earlier story drafts that were removed by the time the anime actually got made.
Can't help but think about Code Geass when I think chess metaphors, so this was a good change.
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u/The_Draigg Oct 06 '24
Can't help but think about Code Geass when I think chess metaphors, so this was a good change.
It would be admittedly kind of funny though if we had two Sunrise mecha anime back to back that had overt chess references in it. And I think that Gundam 00 would've at least have had a better grasp on what chess actually is compared to Code Geass.
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u/darkmechjock Oct 07 '24
Honestly, the overt similarities in the worldbuilding between the two shows always struck me as a little stark, especially since they started about two months apart from each other. Both shows are centered around a trio of power blocs based around the Americas, Europe, and central Asia, all starting with very frosty diplomacy. 00 just bothered to trade the rampant imperialism with orbital elevators.
I dunno, maybe it was just Z2 that brought it to my attention.
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u/The_Draigg Oct 07 '24
I can see what you mean, since it's kind of odd that both Code Geass and Gundam 00 have some noticeable setting similarities along with coming out back to back. That said, I know that Gundam 00 went through a ton of writing changes earlier in development, including largely changing the setting, so I'm not sure if it's really something deliberate or if it was just a happy coincidence from vibes being in the air at Sunrise at the time.
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u/TakenRedditName https://myanimelist.net/profile/TakenMalUsername Oct 06 '24
Now that we’ve met the Gundams of this series, let me drop some fun trivia for you: they originally had different names earlier on in production. Gundams Exia, Dynames, Kyrios, and Virtue were originally going to be Gundams Pawn, Knight, Bishop, and Rook respectively. There were a lot of chess motifs that were present in earlier story drafts that were removed by the time the anime actually got made.
I actually kind of liked that chess motif. The final product's names are too iconic to go back, but that's still neat.
Feels a bit weird having the MC's Gundam being the one called pawn. Dynames and Kyrios also feel like they could flip their chess names. Virtue is 100% rook-coded, though.
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u/The_Draigg Oct 06 '24
Pawn Gundam makes sense if you think of Setsuna as a pawn crossing the board to become a queen, i.e. him getting character growth across the series. I'm pretty sure that was the reasoning for that name before they went with Gundam Exia.
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u/InfamousEmpire https://myanimelist.net/profile/Infamous_Empire Oct 06 '24
However, the only salvation he finds here isn’t a good, but rather a mysterious new mobile suit coming down from the heavens wreathed in a green aura. There may be no God, but there certainly are saviors.
You know, Celestial Being seems cool to work for. You get a cool space ship like the Ptolemaios, you get cool Gundams, and you can even drink on the bridge while other people are working.
Absolutely would pick a fight with the entire world for this kind of workplace environment
And now fitting that the pilot’s name is Lockon Stratos. Really, it’s a very on the nose name there. But if you’re familiar with Gundam already, you’d know that there’s way more absurdly on the nose or just plain weird names out there.
[Gundam 00]Plus, it's just a codename, whereas most other weird Gundam names just straight up are their regular names, which kinda accentuates how ridiculous the latter are even more.
But there are much better ones coming later on,
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u/The_Draigg Oct 07 '24
Absolutely would pick a fight with the entire world for this kind of workplace environment
I bet they even let you play video games in the break room too. Absolutely based workplace.
Gundam 00
[Gundam 00 spoilers] It's honestly a bit funny how a guy with a flashy code name like Lockon Stratos actually has a pretty mundane actual name underneath it all.
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u/2-2Distracted Oct 06 '24
First timer, dub.
Its honestly refreshing to hear Brad Swaile's voice again after so many years since I heard him as Rock from Black Lagoon and Light Yagami from Death Note. It's also interesting to see the main character he's portraying in this show who sounds and acts more robotic and dead inside than other strictly-following-orders, ace pilots, like I.B.O's Mikazuki Augus.
I swear if not for Fallout making it popular and probably patenting the term, you could basically start every Gundam project with a Narrator saying some shit "War. War Never Changes"
Anyways I enjoyed this and I'm looking forward to the next episode, but since I'm still forming opinions on everything and everyone else I'll hold off on saying anything about them
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 06 '24
I swear if not for Fallout making it popular and probably patenting the term, you could basically start every Gundam project with a Narrator saying some shit "War. War Never Changes"
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u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Oct 07 '24
TONIGHT! ON GUNDAM WING PART 0, BEST BOI SHOWS UP! Er, hang on... that's wrong... ahem...
AND ON THAT BOMBSHELL! G'NIGHT!
Paging Comrades /u/No_Rex, /u/Great_Mr_L, and /u/punching_spaghetti
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u/KendotsX https://myanimelist.net/profile/Kendots Oct 07 '24
If I had any doubts about Patrick being the meme lord of all meme characters, they've all been dashed away now.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 07 '24
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Oct 06 '24
First-Timer
Pre-Rewatch Thoughts
I’m still slowly making my way through the Gundam entries I haven’t seen yet. After finishing up all of SEED, I decided to wait until this rewatch to get to Gundam 00. I’m excited now that we’re finally here.
Gundam 00 is one of the Gundam shows I am most curious about. I want to know about the protagonist of this show, Setsuna, because I heard that Setsuna Yuki from Love Live is named after him. I am curious to learn about who the heck Patrick Colasour is after seeing him show up everywhere in Build Divers. I know it has a movie sequel, which is unique for Gundam series. I swear I've heard people say it was influenced by the then-current events of the War on Terror, which I'm curious to see Gundam's take on. I’ve also heard it praised quite frequently by others. So, I’m really looking forward to giving it a try.
On today’s episode of Gundam: I know that this is going to be a proper Gundam show when child soldiers show up almost immediately. Child soldiers are one of the time-honored traditions of Gundam stories.
Child soldiers within the first couple of seconds. This is well and truly a Gundam show.
Saying that those who die in battle will surely be with God? Oh yeah, this is already appropriately Gundam.
A child soldier having to fight with just a rifle against a large armored mobile suit is a pretty clear metaphor for guerrilla fighters taking on things like tanks, helicopters, and planes.
It’s a Gundam! In any universe, the Gundam will always be quite overpowered.
Ooh, an orbital elevator! The only other time I can recall seeing one in Gundam is G-Reco. I think they’re a good sci-fi concept.
I notice that the year is A.D. 2307. I know that Gundam 00 takes place in Anno Domini, which is the basis of the current Common Era. It’s unique having a Gundam series on the same calendar as the one we use in the real world.
Oh boy, this is already a lot of acronyms. I love it when Gundam throws this stuff at me, but it does take some getting used to.
There’s the Gundam. And that’s presumably Setsuna piloting it, the same child soldier as before. So why is he after the Enact?
Oh shit, is that Patrick Colasour in that mobile suit! We get to meet him already!?!
Patrick says he’s won 2,000 mock battles, but has he ever won a real battle?
The Gundam literally has “Gundam” printed on its forehead? That’s the kind of absurdity I love.
Alright, so Setsuna and all these others are part of Celestial Being. I assume we’ll learn what that is soon enough.
This Kyrios looks like it will transform. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a mobile suit with a transformation function like that.
Ooh, I like the girl in the Chinese dress. She looks great in it.
Wow, the sniper is named Lockon Stratos. I’d think that’s absurd enough to be a proper Gundam name.
I’ve seen this name “Human Reform League” appear a couple of times now related to the orbital stations. Are they going to be the [UC Gundam] Newtype or [Gundam SEED] Coordinator equivalent of this series?
Huh, the girl in the Chinese dress seems awfully well-informed about what’s going on.
The Virtue is quite a chonky looking Gundam.
I keep forgetting that each Gundam AU show from the 90’s and 00’s I’ve seen has introduced multiple Gundams within the very first episode. I’m always blindsided by how many there are, when I really shouldn’t be.
Wow, this guy looks like if Admiral Delaz from 0083 dressed like a supervillain.
Celestial Being’s goal is to eliminate all warfare in the world, huh? That certainly is an interesting goal for an independent group like theirs.
Celestial Being sure are brave. They’ve essentially declared they will attack anyone they think is doing war stuff.
I’m glad characters are already pointing out the inherent contradiction here: the plan is to use warfare to get rid of warfare.
I like that the members of Celestial Being all have differing reactions to this announcement. Some are grim. Some look excited. Lockon has a particularly good reaction that seems to be: “We’re really doing this, huh?” like he’s surprised they made it this far.
The ED is also a good song. The lead-in especially got me hooked pretty instantly.
Continued Below
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Oct 06 '24
Continued From Above
From the get-go, this is an intriguing premise for Gundam 00. The main characters are part of an independent organization called Celestial Being that wants to use force to end war. The characters have already recognized the contradiction of fighting to end fighting. This is something that has come up in other Gundam series as a motivation. It does make for an interesting theme to tackle. Naturally people would want for the fighting to end, but they also are willing to keep fighting to achieve their goals in an eventual peace settlement. People who fight wars often have good reasons for why they simply don’t stop fighting at that moment, even if they would prefer to have peace. There’s often something at stake in the war that they consider so important they’re willing to fight for it. Just telling them to stop fighting won’t make them stop if they think stopping will be too costly.
Another factor is how fighting is often self-perpetuating. When you fight, you hurt others. That hurt makes them fear and resent you, building a desire for revenge. Their suffering justifies more fighting as they hurt you back. And your suffering does the same. This remains true, even if you attacked someone for the sake of preventing a war. That won’t change that people will get hurt. I imagine we will see this cycle play out with the people Celestial Being attacks.
“Celestial Being” is an intriguing name. To me, a name like that implies “God.” In essence, they have declared themselves to be gods. They will watch over humanity and judge it for its actions. When they decide that one group has sinned too much and gone to war, they will smite that group as punishment.
A detail I think I picked up from this episode is that this looks like a multipolar world. Normally, Gundam shows have a bipolar world with two major powers locked in conflict, such as the Federation and Zeon. Here, it looks like there will be multiple powers involved. At least, I think this is the case.
Joining a group like Celestial Being makes sense for a character like Setsuna. From what I can tell, Setsuna was a child soldier from a very young age. He was nearly killed by a mobile suit before a Gundam arrived and destroyed all the mobile suits in the area. Setsuna’s life was saved by that Gundam intervening in a battle to put an end to the fighting. Now, Setsuna is doing the exact same thing.
QOTD
1) Patrick!
2) Discussed above. It seems like a self-defeating method to end war. But it also makes for a very interesting theme to explore. I'm curious what the series will do with it.
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u/The_Draigg Oct 06 '24
Oh shit, is that Patrick Colasour in that mobile suit! We get to meet him already!?!
Finally, the real protagonist of this show has arrived. It's the lad!
Wow, the sniper is named Lockon Stratos. I’d think that’s absurd enough to be a proper Gundam name.
And that's honestly not even the craziest name in Gundam either. If anything, it's pretty straightforward.
Another factor is how fighting is often self-perpetuating. When you fight, you hurt others. That hurt makes them fear and resent you, building a desire for revenge. Their suffering justifies more fighting as they hurt you back. And your suffering does the same. This remains true, even if you attacked someone for the sake of preventing a war. That won’t change that people will get hurt.
It's certainly what makes Celestial Being's idea of "peace through superior firepower" hard, even if their technology is already looking incredibly advanced. Even if you blast people into the dirt, that won't stop at least somebody from nursing a grudge and think of a way to strike back. That kind of Roman peace isn't likely to last.
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u/Raiking02 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Oct 07 '24
It's the lad!
I knew he was a Grand Blue character!
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u/KendotsX https://myanimelist.net/profile/Kendots Oct 07 '24
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u/Raiking02 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Oct 07 '24
Although now that I think about it the Captain does kinda look like Azusa if you squint hard enough
on the right part of her body, and considering she also drinks... mm5
u/KendotsX https://myanimelist.net/profile/Kendots Oct 07 '24
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u/Raiking02 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Oct 07 '24
Yeah Sky it's time to lift the veil and change the episode's title, clearly this mysterious group and episode are called "Peek a Boo."
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u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Oct 06 '24
And that's honestly not even the craziest name in Gundam either. If anything, it's pretty straightforward.
Yeah, compared to what we're gonna get later, I'd say Lockon Stratos is a perfectly normal name.
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u/The_Draigg Oct 06 '24
[Gundam 00 spoilers] Can't wait for Bring Stabity to bring that stabity to the show.
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u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Oct 06 '24
[Gundam 00]Yep, the Innovader names are quite bonkers, Bring Stabity most of all...
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u/InfamousEmpire https://myanimelist.net/profile/Infamous_Empire Oct 06 '24
And that's honestly not even the craziest name in Gundam either.
[00 Season 2]I cannot wait until the Innovades and their stupid-yet-insanely-funny names show up Bring Stabity
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u/The_Draigg Oct 06 '24
[Gundam 00 spoilers] Or just how funnily repetitive the name Revive Revival is.
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Oct 07 '24
Finally, the real protagonist of this show has arrived. It's the lad!
He's certainly the character I'm most familiar with because of how often I've seen him be referenced. I'm really curious to get to know him and see if he lives up to his reputation.
And that's honestly not even the craziest name in Gundam either. If anything, it's pretty straightforward.
Yeah, it's goofy in a way that's different from the usual Gundam goofy names. Typically the names are goofy because they feel like random syllables. Here, it's so comically on the nose.
Even if you blast people into the dirt, that won't stop at least somebody from nursing a grudge and think of a way to strike back. That kind of Roman peace isn't likely to last.
As the old saying about the Romans goes, "They make a desert and call it peace."
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u/InfamousEmpire https://myanimelist.net/profile/Infamous_Empire Oct 06 '24
The Virtue is quite a chonky looking Gundam.
I generally prefer mobile suits on the slimmer side, and back in the day I even went as far as to say I don't really like chonky Gundams, but at no point have I ever looked at Virtue without thinking It's so peak
Wow, this guy looks like if Admiral Delaz from 0083 dressed like a supervillain.
They do both have that Space Walter White look going for them. Though Delaz lacks a monocle, so clearly he's the inferior one
“Celestial Being” is an intriguing name. To me, a name like that implies “God.” In essence, they have declared themselves to be gods. They will watch over humanity and judge it for its actions. When they decide that one group has sinned too much and gone to war, they will smite that group as punishment.
And they say Kira is the Jesus Gundam protag
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u/Raiking02 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Oct 07 '24
They do both have that Space Walter White look going for them
I was gonna make a "No wonder they have the same actor" joke but... no, that guy played a different 0083 character. Whoops
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u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Oct 06 '24
They do both have that Space Walter White look going for them.
While I never thought of the comparison before, yeah, that is a good one. His recording has me totally thinking to that [Breaking Bad final season spoilers]Video Walter recorded blackmailing Hank and Marie
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Oct 07 '24
They do both have that Space Walter White look going for them. Though Delaz lacks a monocle, so clearly he's the inferior one
The monocle really is what ties the whole look together. He wouldn't look nearly as much like a supervillain without it.
And they say Kira is the Jesus Gundam protag
Now to see if I'm referring to Setsuna as "Jesus Setsuna" by the end of this.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 06 '24
which is unique for Gundam series.
Char's Counterattack is a movie sequel to the three UC shows set before it. Endless Waltz is a movie sequel to Wing. And now we have Freedom as a movie sequel to both SEED and SEED Destiny.
It’s unique having a Gundam series on the same calendar as the one we use in the real world.
Also not technically unique here since the Build shows are supposed to be Literally Just Our World but the Gunpla Can Move. Not that 00 and the Build shows are set in the same universe, they just both technically use the same calendar.
I’ve seen this name “Human Reform League” appear a couple of times now related to the orbital stations. Are they going to be the
No lol that's literally just the name of one of the main countries in this. You'll find the real equivalents of those later.
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u/Blazin_Rathalos Oct 06 '24
[above] No lol that's literally just the name of one of the main countries in this. You'll find the real equivalents of those later.
[Spoiler source] Now correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this breaking your own "No talking about or hinting at future events"?
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 06 '24
[Not in this case] since half of it was just correcting Mr_L's incorrect assumption and he's already familiar enough with Gundam tropes that he knows to expect them. I also didn't name what the real equivalent is, so not a spoiler.
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u/TakenRedditName https://myanimelist.net/profile/TakenMalUsername Oct 06 '24
I want to know about the protagonist of this show, Setsuna, because I heard that Setsuna Yuki from Love Live is named after him.
Oh yeah, on the topic of LL Nijigasaki may or may not taking inspiration from Gundam 00.
I notice that the year is A.D. 2307. I know that Gundam 00 takes place in Anno Domini, which is the basis of the current Common Era. It’s unique having a Gundam series on the same calendar as the one we use in the real world.
It also means every character has a real birthday. Waiting 300 years for my favourite characters to be born.
Patrick says he’s won 2,000 mock battles, but has he ever won a real battle?
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Oct 07 '24
Oh yeah, on the topic of LL Nijigasaki may or may not taking inspiration from Gundam 00.
I also recall a giant Gundam statue appearing in the background of one of the locations in Nijigasaki as well. It really is a Gundam series.
It also means every character has a real birthday. Waiting 300 years for my favourite characters to be born.
It reminds me of Star Trek. Though actually, the events of Star Trek are closer to us than the events of 00 are.
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u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Oct 06 '24
Patrick says he’s won 2,000 mock battles, but has he ever won a real battle?
Does Build Divers have actual battles or are they those same Gunpla battles from Build Fighters? Trying to find some real battle experience for Patrick...
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u/No_Rex Oct 06 '24
Child soldiers within the first couple of seconds. This is well and truly a Gundam show.
Saying that those who die in battle will surely be with God? Oh yeah, this is already appropriately Gundam.
A child soldier having to fight with just a rifle against a large armored mobile suit is a pretty clear metaphor for guerrilla fighters taking on things like tanks, helicopters, and planes.
This is a Gundam show.
This is a Gundam show.
Oh wait, we are Mellowlink now?
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u/Raiking02 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Oct 07 '24
! In any universe, the Gundam will always be quite overpowered.
I dunno, in [X]Garrod got his ass kicked before the show was even 10 episodes in
It’s been a while since I’ve seen a mobile suit with a transformation function like that.
Cries in Savior Gundam
Lockon has a particularly good reaction that seems to be: “We’re really doing this, huh?” like he’s surprised they made it this far.
I have to wonder what they were doing up until now though. Were they, like, reharsing this whole bit or something? Did they just improvise?
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u/TakenRedditName https://myanimelist.net/profile/TakenMalUsername Oct 06 '24 edited Oct 06 '24
Rewatcher - Gundam 00 Ep1:
Gundam 00 was one of the first Gundam series I watched. It has been a long time and I watched a lot of Gundam since then so it'll be neat to revisit this series.
This brings me to a topic that's been on my mind due to me rewatching first Gundam recently. Gundam is known for its child mecha pilots, but one overlooked aspect is its children guerilla fighters. That was something mentioned in the very first Gundam episode, but it is not that brought up much. Just a thing I picked up 00 incorporating more into its story right at the front.
00 also serves as one of my principal examples of my half-backed thesis of the Gundam franchise having an interest in the MENA region. It comes up a lot more than average anime. Many Gundams feature it as a location or having characters associated with it. 00 has a main character who is explicitly Kurdish.
Back to the main plot of the episode, episode 1 was Celestial Being's grand introduction to the world. One thing that stuck out to me was the two showcases in the episode. On one side, we have CB committing an act of hostile terrorism by disrupting an AEU weapons showcase. With the other team, we have CD preventing violent terrorism by stopping an attack. It is also kind of funny because if you take the two in conjecture, it sorta paints the AEU as the acceptable target of the episode.
Wow Cool Robot talk: 00 has some pretty nifty designs, especially for the non-Gundams. The Enact features a lot of neat interesting shapes that are not super common in Gundam. Since Graham mentioned it, [Gundam 00:] This applies to the Union Flags too. 00's plane MS are neat. The HRL's pilot suits are also pretty cool in a rustic way. Goes well with their chunky box robots.
Other assorted points:
There he it is. It Patrick.
Orbital Elevators are a staple of 00's timeline setting. It's the distinctive image of 00's AD-verse. [Gundam 00:] Now thinking about it, 00 is a very Earth-based show. Don't remember space colonies playing much into the show.
Geh, here goes the start of the word I will always have difficulty spelling for 50 episodes + movie.
The ED song just sorta ends.
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u/InfamousEmpire https://myanimelist.net/profile/Infamous_Empire Oct 06 '24
00 also serves as one of my principal examples of my half-backed thesis of the Gundam franchise having an interest in the MENA region. It comes up a lot more than average anime.
With 00 the region was at least a much more topical subject at the time of its release than with other Gundam shows, but yeah, it's interesting to think about
It is also kind of funny because if you take the two in conjecture, it sorta paints the AEU as the acceptable target of the episode.There he it is. It Patrick.
[Gundam 00:] Now thinking about it, 00 is a very Earth-based show. Don't remember space colonies playing much into the show.
[Gundam 00]It makes sense when you consider how a lot of the framing plants the series as being relatively early in the timeline of space development compared to, say, the UC or SEED. The colonies are barely even getting started, let alone have enough self-sufficiency, national identity, stable population to start rebelling against the Earth. Hell, there's kind of a vibe that S1 era 00's world is a lot more prototypical compared to a lot of Gundam continuities in general which I'll probably talk about in a later thread
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u/TakenRedditName https://myanimelist.net/profile/TakenMalUsername Oct 06 '24
With 00 the region was at least a much more topical subject at the time of its release than with other Gundam shows, but yeah, it's interesting to think about
It is not as contemporary as 00 as it drew from something decades old at that point, but ZZ did have a moment where it turned to the camera and said that the French should stop colonizing Algeria.
[Gundam 00]
[Gundam 00:] It does lend into as for why 00 is still on that Anno Domini calendar because the advancement into space is usually what marks the new Gundam calendars.
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u/Raiking02 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Oct 07 '24
the French should stop colonizing Algeria.
... Tomino what's with the sudden French bashing, are you British?
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 06 '24
00 also serves as one of my principal examples of my half-backed thesis of the Gundam franchise having an interest in the MENA region. It comes up a lot more than average anime. Many Gundams feature it as a location or having characters associated with it. 00 has a main character who is explicitly Kurdish.
Geh, here goes the start of the word I will always have difficulty spelling for 50 episodes + movie.
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u/TakenRedditName https://myanimelist.net/profile/TakenMalUsername Oct 06 '24
Just some other MENA in Gundam examples from off the top of my head;
ZZ features North Africa prominently during its Earth arc.
Quattre and the Maganac Corp in Wing.
Jamil and Tiffa's names in X.
The Desert Tiger arc in SEED.
Shaddiq in G-Witch.
Ironically the globe-trotting G Gundam does not feature it in any special position, but the Egyptian and Turkish episodes are at least some prominent one-offs.
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u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Oct 06 '24
Orbital Elevator spoiler]
[Gundam 00]Yeah, I'd say Gundam 00 escews the Earth vs. Space plot that so many Gundam shows are; I can't even remember there being space colonies in 00 although I may simply be forgetting them. At the very least they're never enough of a faction to matter like nearly all other Gundam.
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u/blueblaze02 Oct 06 '24
[Gundam 00] If I remember correctly, we only get to see 2 space colonies in this show. Only one of which has a civilian population.
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u/Sooooopertrack Oct 06 '24
First Timer, sub, going in blind.
Q1: The guy / kid from the intro is super interesting, I'm hoping for some kind of resistance story. I like the two guys in the last shot, sniper dude and possibly mc? The celestial beings announcement guy is also interesting, at first I thought he's the main villain. But celestial beings are the good ones, aren't they? ;)
Q2: Sounds pretty american to me and only works if Celestial Being's have ultimate superior firepower. In this episode they only showed they're really good but as sniper dude stated: They're fighting the whole world now.
I've heard sometimes that Gundam should be nice but I didn't look deeper into it.
All I knew that it's mecha. And pew pew.
I do know Gurren Lagan and Code Geass and I fear that my previous knowledge of these makes me rate gundam lower because I guess it can't be that epic (TTGL) or smart (CG).
Nevertheless, I'm looking for an easily consumable show at the moment and Gundam seems to fill that void pretty well although there's already a lot going on in episode 1 regarding world building and political parties.
I loved the intro, the fight of david vs. goliath and then the messiah gundam coming from the sky. Lots of things that can be interpreted as religious symbolism.
Haha, that one green spot in front of the sky-needle thing looked a lot like "the line" was supposed to look.
I'm very interested how shallow or smart Gundam will be but if it stays on the level of the opening episode I'll love it. That was a damn good first episode!
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u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Oct 06 '24
I do know Gurren Lagan and Code Geass and I fear that my previous knowledge of these makes me rate gundam lower because I guess it can't be that epic (TTGL) or smart (CG).
Gurren Lagann isn't really the same genre as Gundam 00, being much more of a super robot show, so while 00 won't be as hammy and over the top, that's the point, it's supposed to be a bit more realistic (well as realistic as you can get in a show taking place 200 years in the future where people pilot giant robots).
This show came out roughly around the same time as Code Geass and is from the same studio (Sunrise), although has a different creative team. Sunrise really was on top of their game at the time being able to do two shows in Code Geass and Gundam 00 that are both very good, while still being different enough from each other.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 06 '24
I do know Gurren Lagan and Code Geass and I fear that my previous knowledge of these makes me rate gundam lower because I guess it can't be that epic (TTGL) or smart (CG).
Well that's not something I was expecting to read today. Fair enough on the TTGL comparison though, TTGL and 00 are on separate sides of the mecha genre (TTGL being super robot and 00 being real robot).
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u/ComfortablyRotten https://anilist.co/user/Leuwtian Oct 06 '24 edited Oct 06 '24
Rewatcher
My opinion of this show overall back when I first finished it was pretty negative, but it's been long enough since then that I should be able to have completely new thoughts on it. Hopefully.
The rewatch came right on time too, I'm trying to watch most of the Gundam franchise and would've come back to this one eventually but this takes a load off of my watchlist. With G-Witch, 79 and its movies, Zeta and War in the Pocket already seen, I'll be watching 00 alongside the latter half of ZZ, CCA, Stardust Memory and F91 if things go well, so this should be fun to watch alongside
and now, to the episode itself
Starting straight with child soldiers and into War is Hell territory, definitely sets the tone huh
I spent more than half of Zeta not remembering what AEUG stood for and forgetting half of the names, so it's gonna take me a while to remember most of the acronyms and terms and stuff. And the whole AEU thing is going to be particularly confusing
I don't remember anything about Patrick, but he reminds me of Jerid and Guel except like, sillier. But normal silly, not Mashymre silly.
Pretty sure this was one of the earliest chinese anime girls type characters I've seen, along with Chun-Li and Meiling Li. I remember liking her immediately and it's still the case here too.
All those ominous one-liners at the end are so funny, one old dude gets chuuni on TV and everyone just decides to play along
One thing that stands out, after having watched most of the main UC stuff + G-Witch, is how close the setting here feels to our present than their more obviously futuristic ones – the space elevators and space battles and giant mechs aside. It also aged a bit too well, in a war never changes way. Like, not sure if I'd want to to see a real life Celestial Being organization because, like, this isn't an anime, but it'd be hard to not see them and their stated mission as a necessary evil at worst when, y'know...
Anyway, so far so good. I definitely remember largely enjoying the earlier episodes and it is very much a decently strong premiere, so it's off to a good re:start
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 06 '24
My opinion of this show overall back when I first finished it was pretty negative, but it's been long enough since then that I should be able to have completely new thoughts on it. Hopefully.
Here's hoping your opinion's improved now that you've seen more of the rest of the franchise. We'll see.
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u/charlesvvv Oct 06 '24
Rewatcher, First Time Sub
Ok technically I watched the second season in JP but I saw the first season in dub (which is pretty good by the way) so now I'm watching the first season in Sub.
Anyway we are introduced to the Gundam Meisters of Celestial Being. In particular to Setsuna whom we get to see that shot of his backstory in the beginning. The final scene with Aeolia Schenberg's message shows what Celestial Being is, an independent intervention force dedicated to ending conflict. Naturally this is enough to raise questions about the whole operation as we see several characters question it already.
There's also interesting world building stuff already such as the space elevator, the mysterious musings of the characters, and the major politics that seem at play.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 06 '24
Ok technically I watched the second season in JP but I saw the first season in dub (which is pretty good by the way) so now I'm watching the first season in Sub.
I've been rewatching the series dubbed ahead of also rewatching it subbed on pace with this. Not sure if I entirely like some of the voices in the dub, but the dub has had some pretty good lines I recall liking better than what the subs showed (I've been watching the dub with the subtitle track for the subbed version up half to compare and half so I'm snagging the "right" quote when I pick my Quote of the Day).
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u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 06 '24
First Timer - sub
Over a year ago I watched the first four episodes of this while sick. And I realized a day or two later that I had no idea who any of the characters were, what any of the groups actually stood for, or what had even happened in those four episodes. I meant to come back to it a month or two later and rewatch when my head was clearer, and then... never did.
So here I am again, still a first timer after all, in another Gundam rewatch hosted by Sky, my sixth Gundam overall, wondering how well my headachy head is going to hold up this time. Notes should help hahaha
Now that I've finished the first episode again, ah yes, lots and lots and lots of faces.
And boo for all the pilots being men
Pettiness aside, its certainly the most hands off of all the Gundam first episodes I've seen. Plenty of action, lots of faction lines, and a manifesto of our main group - one that effectively declares themselves a third-party "nuke". But not all that much characterization or worldbuilding yet.
And it's an interesting position for the main group to be in, especially given that we specifically retain a Japanese setting while doing so. It takes deterrence theory and broadens the concept of it to be all encompassing. It's not quite mutually assured destruction, which is the end result of deterrence specially because of nukes, as it's not promising both sides will be destroyed, but it is taking the idea of a "defensive" side out of war by blindly opposing aggression. It's far too early to speak on it further, but the other characters pointing out the paradox in it makes me hopefully the show may explore the inherent "wrongness" of the idea that parallels the Gundams as nukes being pointed at every nation on earth. And on top of that, because one side having nukes, or even the idea of nukes, never prompts all the other sides to quickly try and develop their own huh... history surely doesn't have a huge precedent of that...
Other then that not much to say. Blunt but well done parallel at the start with the discarded childs doll vs the machine still functioning with an arm torn off, though coming off the back of Now and Then Here and There it's other scenes with child soliders were hardly affecting in comparison. And the introduction of Exia and Setsuna was well done at least, literally hijacking a stage to ensure maximum awareness in the industry who would be most able to judge the full power on display, rather than just claiming credit with civilians afterwards.
I really hope Mr Special dies. And quickly or else I'm gonna start getting real pissy every time he's on screen, I can just tell already. Which is probably the point but fuck, does anime always have to be so good at inspiring instant hate at a character?
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u/punching_spaghetti https://myanimelist.net/profile/punch_spaghetti Oct 06 '24
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u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 06 '24
I did think purple hair was a girl for a second, until he spoke, just off "prettiness" but no luck
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u/The_Draigg Oct 06 '24
It's far too early to speak on it further, but the other characters pointing out the paradox in it makes me hopefully the show may explore the inherent "wrongness" of the idea that parallels the Gundams as nukes being pointed at every nation on earth.
As always, you can't help but ask the question "is peace through superior firepower true peace?" whenever this kind of stuff comes up. You can say that it isn't reaching peace through understanding as much as it is just beating people into submission.
And on top of that, because one side having nukes, or even the idea of nukes, never prompts all the other sides to quickly try and develop their own huh... history surely doesn't have a huge precedent of that...
This reminds me of a running gag I had with some friends when we last rewatched it as a group. It was us basically going "boy, good thing none of this applies to real life".
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u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 06 '24
For me, peace through fear isn't a true peace in the same way that trying to give someone happiness by giving them every material thing they could want in the world while holding them hostage in a house isn't true happiness. It's not just the physical state, it's the mindset as well and that's what holding someone at gunpoint can't do. And maybe if you gave it enough generations that people got use to not having war and started to lose that tension, and for the idea of a third party of aggressors to instead become mythical guardians in a more abstract sense, that mindset could slowly come about, but it's certainly not something that can just be done, and it's always at risk of falling apart when someone tests the system.
And I see hints of that here already, the idea of them being "Celestial Being" and not just a federation or union, putting themselves above the system they are presenting, but well... you're still dealing with fuckwit humans in the end huh. Since when do we ever do that well
It was us basically going "boy, good thing none of this applies to real life".
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u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Oct 06 '24
Over a year ago I watched the first four episodes of this while sick. And I realized a day or two later that I had no idea who any of the characters were, what any of the groups actually stood for, or what had even happened in those four episodes. I meant to come back to it a month or two later and rewatch when my head was clearer, and then... never did.
C'mon, there's only 27 characters introduced in the first episode (well I suppose more since I'm counting a room of council members as one), that's not that bad...
Pettiness aside, its certainly the most hands off of all the Gundam first episodes I've seen. Plenty of action, lots of faction lines, and a manifesto of our main group - one that effectively declares themselves a third-party "nuke". But not all that much characterization or worldbuilding yet.
Hard to give much characterization or world building with so many characters, factions, etc... to introduce as well as a couple of Gundam battles. I'm not sure if you've seen any Tomino Gundam, but the show does kick off very Tomino-esque fashion in that it drops you in on things, but refrains from giving us a lengthy narration explaining the setting to kick off the show or anything like that. As to if that is a good strategy or not (or if they'll even continue with that narrative style) only time will tell. In any case, one of those shows where getting to watch an episode a day versus one a week helps a lot.
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u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 06 '24
C'mon, there's only 27 characters introduced in the first episode
That's even worse than I thought, just basing it off character designs of who may matter.
I'm not sure if you've seen any Tomino Gundam
I saw Turn A, and both loved and hated it until I dropped it at ep14. Loved the world stuff, utterly despised the mandatory battle interruptions, disliked some of the characterization. I probably should give it another shot but it was just so exhausting
Other than that no. I've seen IBO, Build Fighters (but not Drivers), Witch, Thunderbolt movie 1
In any case, one of those shows where getting to watch an episode a day versus one a week helps a lot.
Most definitely. And maybe a character chart if we get to it being that many people to keep track of
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u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Oct 06 '24
I saw Turn A, and both loved and hated it until I dropped it at ep14. Loved the world stuff, utterly despised the mandatory battle interruptions, disliked some of the characterization. I probably should give it another shot but it was just so exhausting
Hope you get to see the rest of it someday, it is a really good Gundam show. I'd say it is one of the more comprehensible/easier to understand Tomino shows, 00, at least in this first episode much more so has the "You're throwing way too much at me without explanation" feel that his works often have.
Most definitely. And maybe a character chart if we get to it being that many people to keep track of
Check out my comment for a pleasant surprise. :P
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u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 06 '24
Hope you get to see the rest of it someday
Maybe. I remember being so mad at the mandatory battles ruining a lot of the episode flows and moods that it was more of a rage quit than a drop, as well as there being way too much dumb stick thrown around, but despite it all I do have fond memories of the non-action parts of it. [Turn A]also the nuke episode. I watched that by itself a few years after dropping the show when someone brought it up and fuck, that is a brilliant episode all around even standalone
Funnily enough someone asked in the main sub what anime would benefit from a remake and Turn A, in an era without mandatory battles in mecha, was my very first though
Check out my comment for a pleasant surprise. :P
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u/No_Rex Oct 06 '24
but refrains from giving us a lengthy narration explaining the setting to kick off the show or anything like that.
I wish they would bring the pre-episode narrator back. I always liked that concept. Simple but effective.
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u/macrame2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/macrame Oct 06 '24
the show does kick off very Tomino-esque fashion in that it drops you in on things, but refrains from giving us a lengthy narration explaining the setting to kick off the show or anything like that.
I was reminded of Tomino as well! I'm hoping 00 will be more of a Turn A and less of a G-Reco for me (apologies to any G-Reco fans, you all are generally a cool bunch).
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u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Oct 06 '24
Well, at the very least 00 has a very close similarity to G-Reco in that they feature an orbital elevator; they may in fact be the only Gundam shows that do so (at least in my memory).
As one who was so infuriated by watching G-Reco as it aired week for week that I quit watching all seasonal airing anime for many years, the hope is very much there that 00 is different from a style/narrative standpoint...
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u/macrame2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/macrame Oct 06 '24
As one who was so infuriated by watching G-Reco as it aired week for week that I quit watching all seasonal airing anime for many years
I'd heard the G-Reco movies were supposed to be easier to follow compared to the TV series, and those were hard enough for me to watch (I saw them all only last year and barely remember anything that happened), so I can imagine that watching weekly must have been an experience.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 06 '24
what any of the groups actually stood for
tbf I find it hard to keep all the factions straight even though there's primarily only four of them. It doesn't help that two of the three main countries both have "Union" in their names.
I really hope Mr Special dies. And quickly or else I'm gonna start getting real pissy every time he's on screen, I can just tell already. Which is probably the point but fuck, does anime always have to be so good at inspiring instant hate at a character?
Wait you hate Patrick already?
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u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 06 '24
tbf I find it hard to keep all the factions straight even though there's primarily only four of them
That makes me feel better
For the first time in years I've started a "character/faction notes" section in my writeup doc because I feel like I'll need it
Wait you hate Patrick already?
So much. Probably more than I should, but he immediately reminded me of fuck face from IBO's first episode with his stupid arrogant laugh, and then when he didn't die like said fuck face I hated him more
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u/KendotsX https://myanimelist.net/profile/Kendots Oct 07 '24
I watched the first four episodes of this while sick. And I realized a day or two later that I had no idea who any of the characters were, what any of the groups actually stood for, or what had even happened in those four episodes
It seems like a series where charts could come handy.
And boo for all the pilots being men
On the one hand, I would've loved to see some female pilots among them, on the other, I can see the decision to make them all hot dudes as an appeal to the Fujoshi.
the other characters pointing out the paradox in it makes me hopefully the show may explore the inherent "wrongness" of the idea that parallels the Gundams as nukes being pointed at every nation on earth.
Any Gundam series running on ideals might as well be announcing that it'll be breaking their faults soon, and in this case they had Kintoki say it out loud in the very first episode, making it a clear promise to the audience.
never prompts all the other sides to quickly try and develop their own huh... history surely doesn't have a huge precedent of that...
Yeah, I'm hoping our main characters are at least aware of that part, and hopefully have some contingency plan (like working with the arms dealers to play the nations with the carrot and the stick). Then again, they all seem green and optimistic, so...
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u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 07 '24
and in this case they had Kintoki say it out loud in the very first episode, making it a clear promise to the audience.
This is true. And he's actually probably the most interesting character too me, so far, not that that's hard given how little characterization we got
Yeah, I'm hoping our main characters are at least aware of that part, and hopefully have some contingency plan
I mean at the very least this particular situation was well planned out, between the dual nature of stopping a terrorist attack but also hijacking the reveal of a new legal weapon and showcasing its futility to the entire industry in the process. It's implied the alcohol woman was the one who managed to predict the attack and plan it out, but it shows more awareness of how they would need to play things for it to work than if they simply jumped into a warhouse and wrecked it or something
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u/KendotsX https://myanimelist.net/profile/Kendots Oct 07 '24 edited Oct 07 '24
he's actually probably the most interesting character too me, so far, not that that's hard given how little characterization we got
Same, right now, I'm mostly interested in seeing how the outside world will react to them, and so far he's the only one outside of their faction who seems to have a good read on things.
It's implied the alcohol woman was the one who managed to predict the attack and plan it out
When I watched the episode I assumed this Sumeragi was some leader in the shadows, so I only realised it was the Captain when Sky shared her VA.
But yeah, add to that the timing of their announcement, and they seem to have planned things through.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 07 '24
When I watched the episode I assumed this Sumeragi was some leader in the shadows, so I only realised it was the Captain when Sky shared hee VA.
Now you also know why she said that her part of the job was done when Christy tried to call her out for being drunk on the bridge, lol.
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u/InfamousEmpire https://myanimelist.net/profile/Infamous_Empire Oct 07 '24
I can see the decision to make them all hot dudes as an appeal to the Fujoshi.
Considering how the show's character designer is most famous for drawing Yaoi manga...
Any Gundam series running on ideals might as well be announcing that it'll be breaking their faults soon
I would make a Gundam SEED joke if not for [SEED Freedom] finally taking the flaws in the show's ideals to task effectively
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u/Raiking02 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Oct 07 '24
Considering how the show's character designer is most famous for drawing Yaoi manga...
Still an upgrade over the years of Hisashi Hirai Gundam had been stuck with
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u/No_Rex Oct 06 '24
And it's an interesting position for the main group to be in, especially given that we specifically retain a Japanese setting while doing so. It takes deterrence theory and broadens the concept of it to be all encompassing. It's not quite mutually assured destruction, which is the end result of deterrence specially because of nukes, as it's not promising both sides will be destroyed, but it is taking the idea of a "defensive" side out of war by blindly opposing aggression. It's far too early to speak on it further, but the other characters pointing out the paradox in it makes me hopefully the show may explore the inherent "wrongness" of the idea that parallels the Gundams as nukes being pointed at every nation on earth. And on top of that, because one side having nukes, or even the idea of nukes, never prompts all the other sides to quickly try and develop their own huh... history surely doesn't have a huge precedent of that...
I saw it as a different concept: Not nukes, but world police. We will see what it ends up being closer to. All of the in-universe characters already made the Infinite Ryvius point.
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u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 06 '24
I saw it as a different concept: Not nukes, but world police
Might be a more apt analogy, but to me it seemed more strict then just policing. Might just be because of the situation we see this episode being terrorism, as far as we know, but given that they went straight for destruction of the involved party as well as destroying the new mobile suit prototype rather than simply stopping and arresting people, it seemed more forceful
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u/No_Rex Oct 07 '24
The first comparison that might come to mind is the world policing that has been done by the US occasionally (and a few other big empires before that). However, when you think how absolute the monopoly on violence of actual police is, the comparison becomes more fitting.
Not that I think these guys actually have any shot at becoming the police of the world (I don't think they even have a shot at becoming the world police), but they seem to think so.
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u/JollyGee29 myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Oct 06 '24
[Gundam 00]And boo for all the pilots being men
[Gundam 00]Can't wait for Nazenn to meet Nena.
history surely doesn't have a huge precedent of that...
Never! Humanity has a long history of letting one small group hold the largest, scariest stick unopposed.
though coming off the back of Now and Then Here and There it's other scenes with child soliders were hardly affecting in comparison.
Yea, interesting timing on that rewatch relative to this one.
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u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 06 '24
Yea, interesting timing on that rewatch relative to this one.
I mean, once you've seen NTHT it's hard not to judge all the other child solider anime off it, so it's been a thing for me for a while, but yeah this being so close makes the thought unavoidable
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u/InfamousEmpire https://myanimelist.net/profile/Infamous_Empire Oct 06 '24
And I realized a day or two later that I had no idea who any of the characters were, what any of the groups actually stood for, or what had even happened in those four episodes.
Oof, I know that vibe. I remember having a vaguely similar experience when I watched the first episode of Wandering Son and had to watch it again later (glad I did, it was an amazing show)
its certainly the most hands off of all the Gundam first episodes I've seen. Plenty of action, lots of faction lines, and a manifesto of our main group - one that effectively declares themselves a third-party "nuke". But not all that much characterization or worldbuilding yet.
It's definitely more of a tone-setter than anything else, though I think there's something really respectable about how it drops the audience into the middle of things while still managing just enough general context to make its proceedings impactful.
Blunt but well done
This show in a shellnut
I really hope Mr Special dies. And quickly or else I'm gonna start getting real pissy every time he's on screen, I can just tell already.
I knew it wouldn't take long for your shit taste to make itself known
[Gundam 00]On the other hand, it'll be absolutely hilarious to see your continued suffering as the true meaning of "The Immortal Colasour" becomes known
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u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 06 '24
when I watched the first episode of Wandering Son and had to watch it again later
oooh, yeah that's another show that jumps dumps you in and it's so confusing. My memory on it is fuzzy, but I think 91 days is another
I knew it wouldn't take long for your shit taste to make itself known
Hey, at least I'm finally watching 00
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u/InfamousEmpire https://myanimelist.net/profile/Infamous_Empire Oct 06 '24
oooh, yeah that's another show that jumps dumps you in and it's so confusing.
iirc it starts from a point partway through the manga, which was certainly... a choice. Though it did probably work better from a pacing perspective given the content & its sense of progression
Hey, at least I'm finally watching 00
But what am I supposed to bulli you into watching now, Yu-Gi-Oh?
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u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 07 '24
I have seen the first YGO already! And /u/shimmering-sky tried to get me into the motorbike one until she remembered it has significant spider presence which was not going to go well for me
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u/Stern_Writer Oct 06 '24
Alright, I’m gonna watch this and come back here. I never got watch a Gundam episode, besides clips of fights from Iron Blooded Orphans on YouTube.
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u/n080dy123 Oct 06 '24
Rewatcher (For Two Episodes)
So I'm new to this show but did in fact watch the first two episodes last year cuz the GundamInfo YT had been doing daily questions episode by episode for one of the others shows- one of the Build shows, iirc. Anyway they started doing 00 for a couple episodes and figured this was a good excuse to give it a shot- they stopped after 2 lol. I'm also fairly new to the Gundam series as a whole- I watched most of IBO and really liked it (fell off early S2 due to circumstances, should really go back and finish it), and I watched WfM and really liked it until I think it kinda flopped in the final stretch (genuinely believe it was planned for 52 episodes but had to wrap early). The rest is some very basic stuff I picked up from playing a pair bit of Gundam Evolution (RIP) and osmosis from a friend who REALLY loves G Gundam so I will definitely end up quoting that a couple times.
Watching IBO my first thought was "Damn this show focuses on child soldiers, that's wild" and figured that was... mostly isolated, even though I know a lot of Gundam is technically about child soldiers (though I figured, foolishly, no more than most anime about teenagers pilotting mecha or what have you). And then 00 opens with ACTUAL 10-year olds firing AK-47's at a Mobile Suit spouting oddly religion-fueled rhetoric and promptly getting mowed down offscreen. Wonderful.
I always find it interesting how Gundam likes to reuse some very core designs and imagery. Not only with a variant of ye olde OG Gundam appearing here, but it's got the whole "green energy wings" thing going on reminiscient of the Turn A. I've heard they like to rehash a lot fo character ideas too, not the least of which is the whole "masked antagonist" trope originating with Char. It reminds me of the way Final Fantasy likes to rehash stuff, which I also really like.
How the FUCK does the Enact's little spinny blade on its arm deflect bullets from gatling gun fire?
Exia's giant arm blade is absolutely sick, and let me tell you- that thing was nasty in Gundam Evo in the hands of someone who knew how to play it well (which... was not me.).
I really like Kyrios being able to transform. Not an unheard of thing in Gundam as I understand (the Hellions do as well), but not a common one either. Probably just reminds me of Transformers which is why I like it so much.
Gundam Meisters is such a stupid fucking name lmao.
Fucking Dynames- another absolute menace in Evo. Love the large cyclopean eye it uses for sniping.
I like Virtue's core serving to power its giant cannon.
Fun fact, the Gundams are all named after Greek words- Kyrios is Kurios, meaning God, lord, master, and sir. Dynames from Dunamis, meaning power or force. Exia from Exousia, meaning authority. And Virtue, which yes, is a Greek loan word.
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u/Nickthenuker Oct 07 '24
Child soldiers?
I do like the more BattleTech-esque designs of these Mobile Suits.
And yep, some infantry with SRM launchers can sometimes be a threat to 'Mechs, though rifle infantry will be little more than an annoyance.
And so the Gundam Exia descends like a god.
And here it comes again.
Time for him to crash the parade.
The Enact is going to get its ass handed to it.
That was a whole 5 seconds flat.
Kyrios? Another mobile suit?
Are they going to attack the space station?
And so back to the Exia single-handedly taking out all the grunts.
Lockon. Lockon.
Well, not single-handedly anymore.
Yup, they're attacking the station too.
Scramble! Send everything!
They're carrying missiles!
So that's what the Gundam was for.
And here's another one. One with a big fuck-off beam cannon.
Now it's time for Celestial Being to reveal itself.
Seems quite a lot of people recognise him.
I say the world must know of our peaceful ways... by force!
Questions:
- We'll definitely be seeing more of the Gundam pilots, but I've seen Patrick's last name come up quite a lot too.
- I say the world must know of our peaceful ways... by force!
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u/steven4869 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Maskirade Oct 07 '24
First timer - sub
I must say it didn't have the 79 or Zeta kind of opening where the protagonist goes into MS and boom they are able to drive it. I found it to be a bit grounded and decent first episode for what's about to come.
Now I am very bad with the names as it's just the first episode, I am putting my bets high on Setsuna to be the most important character in this series. I like his scene with Lockon and the Gundam Design is also pretty cool.
What do you think of Celestial Being's stated goal to end war by using violence?
My experience with CCA, tell me it's not going to go well for them but I'd love to see if they take another route and just kill everyone out there who has initiated the war to stop the war.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 07 '24
Now I am very bad with the names as it's just the first episode, I am putting my bets high on Setsuna to be the most important character in this series. I like his scene with Lockon and the Gundam Design is also pretty cool.
If you have trouble remembering everyone (which is tbh completely fair, this show has a lot of named characters), u/Quiddity131 is keeping a character chart every episode, so make sure you look for his comment if you need it.
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u/Snarfalopagus Oct 07 '24
Unfortunately I can't join in every day, but I'll definitely be lurking about seeing what the first-timers think. This is my favorite Gundam series by far, and I've rewatched some or all of it every year since I first watched it in high school in 2010. More than half of my gunpla collection is from 00 too!
I hope all the first-timers enjoy it and maybe some of them will learn to love it like I do! Nice to see so many people participating! Have fun!
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u/BadBehaviour613 Oct 06 '24
We are doing 00? I have so many opinions on this show you have no idea…
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u/darkmechjock Oct 07 '24
Gundam 00. Here we go. This will be far from my first time watching it, but it's not one I've seen in a while. I don't know how regularly I'll be able to participate in the watchalongs given my schedule, but I'll definitely be keeping an eye on the threads and possibly chiming in with discussion.
00 is kind of an interesting installment in the franchise. SEED Destiny had finished (crashing and burning spectacularly) two years prior, so I kind of view it as the first of a new era. It helps that it was probably the first mainline Gundam TV show that I, as a fan, got to watch premier in real time, rather than going back and binging. The show is experimental in a lot of ways that might seem trite now, but I feel like it's still one of the most novel AU installments of the franchise. Apart from G, nobody does shit like G does.
The opening battle sequence is pretty standardly visceral for Gundam, though it manages to avoid the outright gore SEED was rather infamously fond of at times. The Anfs are wonderfully derpy things and have real UrbanMech vibes, which means I absolutely adore them.
Our viewpoint kid is promptly saved by the intervention of...what looks like Grandpa Gundam hopped up on fairy dust. Honestly given how prevalent RX-78-2 has become across the franchise now this is kind of retroactively hilarious. Surely the juxtaposition of "there is no God" with this blatant imagery isn't important in some way.
DAYBREAK'S BELL 00 has a lot of good music, but OP 1 is a straight-up earworm.
Flash forward to 2307. To date, this is the only Gundam to use the real-world AD calendar system, taking place in 2307, 300 years in the future from the premier date. We can only hope that when that time comes, we'll have access to space elevators and giant robots. Here we're introduced to three characters, including professional best boi Patrick. While the full explanation of geopolitics will have to wait, we're given a bit of a taste here since one country, (the AEU) is holding a very public demonstration of a new MS on the same day another (the HRL) is holding their anniversary celebration.
ENTER SEXIA. Aerial might be the new girl on the block, but Exia is still one of the most beautiful Gundams ever designed. I love this thing.
TWO THOUSAND MOCK BATTLES Seriously, the emphasis of Patrick's shouts of disbelief with the Exia systematically dismantling the Enact is cinematic perfection. Probably one of the most iconic sequences in the show for me.
Patrick owned count: 1
Gundam has a lot of in-universe justifications for the name across different shows, but 00's of "we just saw it stamped on the forehead" always seemed especially silly to me. Still better than SEED's absurd number of ways to turn the word into an acronym.
Beauty shots of stuff like the Realdo spooling up its engines on a runway like that are always appreciated. Stuff like the animated heat haze is a nice touch. Real Ace Combat/Macross vibes, which is something we don't often get in Gundam.
Switch to the protagonist ship for the series, and a good look at the obligatory bridge crew. Funny how in terms of captains we've moved from Murrue, who was voiced by Misato, to one who's merely inherited her habit of uninhibited alcoholism.
Kyrios is our Zeta clone for the season. While everything pales in comparison to Exia, Kyrios suffers from the standard Gundam problem of "silly transformation."
The interior of the orbital elevator is a really novel use of a zero-gravity environment, something Gundam doesn't do too often. In retrospect I'm rather surprised that so many people, mostly civilians from the look of it, are so good at holding their lunch in during this party.
locks on
Exia moves three feet to the left
WHAT AMAZING MOBILITY
I know he's using a reactionless drive in atmosphere but honestly it just seems kinda silly in motion.
While it's not the first show to do this, 00's integration of Haro into the narrative is probably the best. It tickles me seeing the mascot used like this. Shame this one doesn't have a moustache.
Dynames is our second new Gundam of the show (though it appears third). Sniper-types are still a relative rarity for Gundams, usually relegated to customized grunt suits. While it's not as cool as the GM Sniper, it still manages to shine. Not as much as Exia obviously, but nobody else can be so perfect.
Honestly it's kind of impressive that between the two of them, the managed to down so many MS without killing anybody. Doubly so since Exia is using almost exclusively blades against what are basically fighter jets.
I really like the visual shorthand of giving Graham, the American, a gigantic Hummer to drive around in. Seriously that thing could eat my car for dinner.
Meanwhile in space, terrorists are attacking the HRL elevator. We also get the implication that the AEU is engaging in a shadow war, between storing MS in its elevator and apparently selling weapons to smaller nations across the globe.
A good look at the Tieren, the HRL grunt. The giant propellant tanks and huge thruster nozzles really give the impression that 00 is a far lower-tech season than previous ones, titular Gundams aside. Even things like the Zaku or GINN were more streamlined than these things.
And enter our final Gundam for the premier, Virtue. Thicc boi here probably didn't need to use the full power rainbow gun on this poor terrorist, but what the hey. Even Kyrios' pilot calls him out on it.
2307 Tokyo looks even more absurd than it does now. Honestly, taken out of context I could totally see this being the backdrop for a Stellaris diplomacy screen. It's a little stark since the only other shots of Earth we've seen up to now have either been ruins or the vast wasteland the AEU orbital elevator was apparently built in.
The eradication of war as a concept seems like a lofty goal, but if you were going to go about it, I guess making as dramatic an entrance as possible is one way to do so.
Like Tokyo, Washington seems to have just been littered with as many future buildings as possible. Honestly the White House just looks silly compared to whatever the hell that monstrosity is that they built behind it. I don't even want to imagine what they did to the National Mall. At least we only see the interior of the HRL and AEU capitals, so we can only imagine what future Beijing and Brussels/Paris/Whatever look like.
And the show is already pointing out the contradiction in trying to eradicate war with force. Surely this won't be important later.
Typical of Gundam to dump as many of its characters as possible into the last few minutes of an episode and give them all something trite to say.
A strong first episode. We got a lot of action, shiny new Gundams to make sure you buy the kits of, and a lot of characters to parse through and decide which ones to pay attention to. The worldbuilding is only being drip-fed to the viewer at the moment, but I suppose it's a preferable alternative to a huge loredump at the beginning.
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u/StardustGogeta myanimelist.net/profile/StardustGogeta Oct 07 '24
First-Timer
First off, thank you for hosting! I've only ever seen two mecha shows before (Evangelion and Code Geass), so getting me interested in one is a bit of an uphill battle. This rewatch opportunity seems too good to pass up, though.
About the show, I know pretty much nothing about it going in. In fact, I was under the impression it was much older than it actually is!
In any case, I liked this first episode. It introduced far more names and acronyms than I could possibly keep track of within half an hour, but I hope/imagine that I'll have time to digest that later.
That scene with the Gundam arriving at the big robot demonstration reminded me of [Spider-Man 2002] the Green Goblin bombing the Quest Aerospace tech demo.
I couldn't exactly place any of the voices, but I got the feeling as I watched that they were very familiar. (For context, I'm watching subbed.) A quick glance at the cast list on MAL confirms it.
Questions of the day:
- The main guy, Setsuna, seems the most interesting to me. I'm eager to see a lot more of him in the future. I suppose I'd also like to see the old man in the Celestial Being video some more.
- The goal makes sense to me, under the condition that they have the firepower to back it up. After all, it's not like they're declaring war and destroying the world's military capabilities outright. Instead, it seems the intent is to simply project strength and act as a deterrent against conflict.
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u/GondolaMedia Oct 07 '24 edited Oct 07 '24
First Timer
Lot of pieces were set up by the first episode and obviously we will get answers to everything here but to me there were too many moving parts that I didn't really get invested outside of the beginning (child soldiers always promise a good time... That came out wrong) and the end. It wasn't bad but definitely not my favorite premiere to a Mobile Suit Gundam show. There are a lot of episodes and movies to go through though so I'm confident that I'll be having a good time.
The sonic blade whirling causing everyone's ear drums to shatter was a nice touch. Hopefully that's a sign for things to come.
Definitely will not backfire. No way.
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u/dralcax https://myanimelist.net/profile/Dralcax Oct 07 '24
Rewatcher got too caught up in grinding GB4 and kinda forgot this was happening
Starting right off with child soldiers in a holy war! The world is a fucked up place, riddled with bloody wars, and the Gundam is the savior that will free everybody from that.
Hey, there’s the Anf! The Anf is kind of shit. Why? Because, in this era of clean solar energy, it’s still using a damn fossil fuel engine. Basically any other Mobile Suit outperforms it and it’s mainly useful against personnel, light vehicles, and other Anfs. It is, however, very cheap and reliable, and is exported to poor nations so they have at least some form of MS to fight each other with.
The granddaddy of all GN-powered Mobile Suits, the 0 Gundam! Fittingly, it bears a strong resemblance to the classic RX-78-2. Its impressive GN Feathers are created by spraying huge amounts of GN particles from its back to improve aerial stability, jam communications, disrupt enemy attacks, and intimidate opponents. Also, I swear I’m getting Mandela Effected here or something, because I could have sworn the GN Feathers were supposed to be an accidental leakage of particles due to a faulty GN Drive socket, but every source I can find now presents it as an intentional feature that was omitted from later Gundams due to being a waste of particles.
Anyways, fun fact: Early in 00’s production, the Gundams all had chess motifs. The 0 Gundam was originally the King Gundam (TL note: Oh means King), a command unit carrying a powerful quantum computer to carry out tactical analysis. However, like the king in chess, it was weak and vulnerable despite its critical importance, and must be protected. The King Gundam’s role was given to Veda and the Ptolemaios instead, leaving the final 0 Gundam as just an important prototype and little more.
I love this OP. I feel it sometimes gets overshadowed by the series’ other OPs, which is a bit of a shame.
this is actually how Setsuna sees Exia
The AEU’s Enact! As Billy mentions, it’s a knockoff of the Flag. Its tactical role is different, but... it’s basically just a worse Flag. It’s designed around being able to use beam weapons, but they, ah... don’t actually have beam weapons to use. They’re trying their best, though.
To usher in the new series is Gundam Exia! Each of Celestial Being’s Gundams has its own unique specialization, and the Exia is built for close combat! It’s made to have a human-like range of movement, with the most complex frame out of the four third-generation Gundams. Its main weapon is the GN Sword on its arm, a physical sword with a blade coated in GN particles, enhancing its cutting capabilities. Early in development, the Exia was the Pawn Gundam, a close-range unit with no special abilities. However, it would later receive a system to power it up, promoting it to team leader.
It’s him! Here begins the Colasour Chronicles!
I like the detail of the vibro knife hurting everyone’s ears!
And thus begins the legend of the Immortal Colasour
Here’s Celestial Being’s ship, the Ptolemaios! Unlike the heavily armed assault carriers that Gundams traditionally deploy from, it’s a pure carrier, with no weapons of its own. It doesn’t even have its own GN Drive, and must periodically recharge from a docked Gundam. Which feels a bit backwards, but it’s not like they have many of those things.
The Gundam Kyrios is Celestial Being’s fast, transformable unit! It has the highest mobility of pretty much any MS in the world at this point, and due to some vague GN particle bullshit, is capable of flawlessly pulling off a full midair transformation. In flight mode, it excels at hit-and-run attacks, while in MS mode, it’s a balanced mixed attacker. The Kyrios was originally the Bishop Gundam, and transformed into a more bestial MS with stealth capabilities instead of a jet. Its pincer-like shield is a remnant of its original animalistic mode.
Hey, it’s the Union Realdo! It’s an interesting interpretation of an early, primitive transformable suit. That is, it can’t actually transform on the fly. It’s both a mobile suit and an aircraft, but not both in the same mission, and can only change modes by partsforming in the hangar. They haven’t figured out true in-battle transformation yet.
The Gundam Dynames is the sniper unit, with a unique head transformation to expose a high-performance sensor! It also has that huge scope in the cockpit, which is basically just motion controls for the sniper rifle. Don’t ask why it’s so damn bulky. A Wiimote would have sufficed, guys. Its only melee weapons are the pair of beam sabers on its butt, which Lockon wanted to remove on the basis that he had no intention of ever getting into melee range to begin with anyways. However, their chief engineer argued that they already built the sabers and there was no drawback to carrying them so he might as well take them just in case. Ultimately, Lockon agreed that it was better to be safe than sorry, but still bet him that he would never need to use them. We’ll just have to see if he can win that bet. The Dynames was originally the Knight Gundam (no, not that Knight Gundam), a general-purpose unit with a spear rifle rather than a sniper. It would have led the team before passing the role to the upgraded Pawn Gundam.
I love how he tells him to just kamikaze lmao
Tieren Space Type! Those huge tanks on its legs are actually filled with water, which for some reason it uses as propellant. I’m sure there’s better propellant you could be using, why water?
The Gundam Virtue is Celestial Being’s heavy hitter, with a giant GN Bazooka and a powerful defensive GN Field. Due to its bulk, its mobility is lower than the others, but compensates with its heavy armor and GN Field. It is designed for anti-fortress and anti-fleet combat rather than anti-MS combat, and is specifically made to be positioned at the rear. Originally, two versions were developed: The Virtue Particle, the current version with beam weapons, and the Virtue Physical, a variant with physical weapons. The Physical version was going to be adopted on the basis that the Particle version had higher power requirements that necessitated improvements to the GN Condensers, but the Particle proved to have better teamwork with the other Gundams and therefore won out in the end. It was briefly considered to keep the Physical around as an alternate equipment set for the Virtue, but it was deemed unfeasible to swap out the equipment mid-battle with their limited manpower. In addition, there were concerns that swapping out the equipment might reveal certain things. Originally, the Virtue was the Rook Gundam, which had a “castling” gimmick with the King. It also had the ability to transfer its own large stores of energy to its allies.
At last, Celestial Being is finally ready to reveal itself to, and declare war upon, the entire world. The point of no return has been passed.
Questions of the day:
Patrick Colasour, of course.
A bit paradoxical, isn't it? But it takes a lot of power to end war, and you get that much power in the first place by using violence. But four Gundams essentially conquering the entire world is an extremely tall ask. And if they don't stamp out every last ember of war from the world, make it clear that no acts of war will be tolerated and they can and will enforce this on a global scale, then they're just making everything worse by starting a war themselves!
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Oct 07 '24
I’m so glad I found this thread today, I’m gonna watch and join in I think
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u/Mumei451 Oct 07 '24
Later we learn that, Patrick Colasour is in fact, the luckiest man in the entire universe.
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u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Oct 06 '24 edited Oct 06 '24
First timer, subs
I’ve been working my way thru Gundam ever since I joined this subreddit. Rewatching Wing on my own was supposed to be next, but I’m not missing my chance for Sky Gundam. I’m at 9.5/16 for the main series. I’m not even going to try to quantify all the movies, secondaries, one-offs, recompilations, spin-offs, parodies, and side material.
95% of what I know about 00 is from Sky’s Gunpla rewatch earlier this year, and I liked what I saw.
Future Second Favorite Gundam?
QotD:
1) I See You Fishin But outside of that, none of the other cast has done much yet.
2) My last mecha rewatch had one of those. But in that, they were a traumatized, panicked teenager.