Gundam Gundam Discussion Thread

Terthna

Professional Lurker
Gundam is one of those franchises that frustrates me; because its core conceit (war is bad, and gets people killed) does not interest me in the slightest. I simply don't like watching shows who's entire point is to get me interested in their cast, just so that I'll feel bad when they start killing them off. What this means is that I gravitate towards the series with comparatively much lower body counts of named characters, and cleaner distinctions between good guys and bad guys (shows like G Gundam, and Gundam Wing), while avoiding those that everyone else in the fandom seems utterly obsessed with like the plague (for example; everything to do with Universal Century).
 

Nitramy

The Umbrella that Smites Evil
Gundam is one of those franchises that frustrates me; because its core conceit (war is bad, and gets people killed) does not interest me in the slightest. I simply don't like watching shows who's entire point is to get me interested in their cast, just so that I'll feel bad when they start killing them off. What this means is that I gravitate towards the series with comparatively much lower body counts of named characters, and cleaner distinctions between good guys and bad guys (shows like G Gundam, and Gundam Wing), while avoiding those that everyone else in the fandom seems utterly obsessed with like the plague (for example; everything to do with Universal Century).

That's well and good; it's also why the Gundam franchise has lasted for so long, they've branched out into other universes to experiment with other ways of telling a giant robot story. Sometimes it's okay to have moral ambiguity and sometimes it's okay to watch a clear-cut good versus evil story.

Heck, they even made a show about the model kits and it was one of the best toy commercial (made with love, heart and soul) anime.
 

Aaron Fox

Well-known member
It also doesn't help that the fandom has a disturbing tendency to fracture every time a new continuity shows up and starts flame wars...

We still live with the scars of the MSG/Wing flame wars and the MSG/Wing/SEED flame wars to this day in the US...
 

bullethead

Part-time fanfic writer
Super Moderator
Staff Member
It also doesn't help that the fandom has a disturbing tendency to fracture every time a new continuity shows up and starts flame wars...
That's not disturbing, that's to be expected when each show has a different tone, story elements, and themes. The people who like the 90s UC OVAs are not necessarily going to like the mainline UC stories, the people who dislike a lot of UC's more out there elements probably won't like 00 S2 (especially if they liked S1), the people who like IBO may not like original UC stuff because Tomino has a hard time conveying character motivations, etc...

Gundam's problem is that the fandom is big enough that no one show outside of original Build Fighters can possibly appeal to everyone, and even OG Build Fighters has a few people who hate it.
 

Aaron Fox

Well-known member
That's not disturbing, that's to be expected when each show has a different tone, story elements, and themes. The people who like the 90s UC OVAs are not necessarily going to like the mainline UC stories, the people who dislike a lot of UC's more out there elements probably won't like 00 S2 (especially if they liked S1), the people who like IBO may not like original UC stuff because Tomino has a hard time conveying character motivations, etc...

Gundam's problem is that the fandom is big enough that no one show outside of original Build Fighters can possibly appeal to everyone, and even OG Build Fighters has a few people who hate it.
No, some level of fragmentation is to be expected, it is just that Gundam's fractured fandom is almost as bad as Mutants not Allowed part of the Fallout fandom...
 
SD Gundam Battle Alliance Announced (Multiplatform, Localized)

bullethead

Part-time fanfic writer
Super Moderator
Staff Member
Guess what - there's a new Gundam game coming out this year:
Article:
Bandai Namco will release SD Gundam Battle Alliance for the Nintendo Switch sometime in 2022. Information regarding the title appeared during a Nintendo Direct. In the presentation, several key gameplay features were revealed. This includes the ability to form battle alliances with other players. Online co-op will be available. However, consumers will need a Nintendo Switch Online subscription to access online features. Update: Bandai Namco confirmed it will come to the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC as well.

The short trailer also revealed players will be able to upgrade their individual Gundam using parts. Characters from a variety of Gundam series will appear in SD Gundam Battle Alliance. This includes Kira Yamato from Gundam SeeD, and Mikazuki Augus from Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans. Players will lead three Mobile Suits into battle as they uncover why the various timelines have come together.


screenshot03

Article:
A Battle Alliance to Correct a False World

In SD Gundam Battle Alliance, Mobile Suits and characters from across Mobile Suit Gundam history take center stage in this all-new action RPG.

• A Battle Alliance to Correct a False World
The story takes place in G: Universe, a world where Gundam canon twists and turns in ways no one can predict.
To correct this world's distorted history, the player leads a 3-unit squadron consisting of Mobile Suits and pilots from across Gundam history - a true Battle Alliance.
What Awaits Beyond False History...

• Combo action with stunning visuals and dynamic animation
Indulge in a wide array of Mobile Suit weaponry to crush many foes with! Control Mobile Suits portrayed with realistic weathering that showcases them as weapons of war as they tear across the battlefield with dynamic animations.

• Strange phenomena known as Breaks are twisting legendary moments from Gundam history, and you're in charge to fix them.
Experience Gundam history's most famous scenes as you develop new Mobile Suits to add to your arsenal. Gather Capital and expansion parts to transform your favorite machine into the ultimate MS.

• Tackle missions with friends in multiplayer!
Launch into battle with 2 partners to back you up. In multiplayer, you can play through the game with up to 2 other players in a 3-person team. Enjoy this new SD Gundam action RPG solo, or with friends.

• Featured Series
Mobile Suit Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team
Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt
Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack Beltorchika's Children
Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn
Mobile Suit Gundam F91
Mobile Suit Crossbone Gundam
Mobile Suit V Gundam
Mobile Fighter G Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing
After War Gundam X
Turn A Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED VS Astray
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny
Mobile Suit Gundam 00
Mobile Suit Gundam 00 The Movie -Awakening of the Trailblazer-
Reconguista in G
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans
 

bullethead

Part-time fanfic writer
Super Moderator
Staff Member
The prologue for the newest show, Witch of Mercury, will be shown at Comic Con:
Article:
Comic Con International: San Diego's website lists that the Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Prologue anime, a prequel for the first new Gundam television anime series in seven years titled Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury (Kidō Senshi Gundam: Suisei no Majo), will screen at the event on July 21 at 12:30 p.m. PDT. The screening will mark the U.S. debut of the anime.

Comic Con International: San Diego will take place from July 21-24 with a preview night on July 20.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Prologue will debut in Japan on July 14 at the Gundam Factory Yokohama (the site of the life-size moving Gundam statue), the life-size Gundam Unicorn statue in Tokyo's Odaiba, the life-size Freedom Gundam statue in Shanghai, the life-size RX-93ffν Gundam statue in Fukuoka, and the upcoming Gundam Base Virtual World in Bandai Namco Group's planned Gundam Metaverse project. The project will then debut in events in Japan and around the world at a later date.

Bandai Namco described the Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Prologue prequel anime as a full-fledged project that will feature its own story and mobile suits, including the Gundam Lfrith and Beguir-Beu.
 

Val the Moofia Boss

Well-known member
Hopefully the mecha are not 3D CGI, but given that their flagship Hathaway movie got stuck with the 3D CGI treatment, I'm not optimistic.
 

Aaron Fox

Well-known member
Hopefully the mecha are not 3D CGI, but given that their flagship Hathaway movie got stuck with the 3D CGI treatment, I'm not optimistic.
... it isn't like hand-drawn 2D was any better...

... or have you outright forgotten? Again. I could point out to an '80s/90s anime animation style done in CGI' video but from the sound of it, you'll deride it completely. CGI is a tool, a tool that has been, sadly, misused to simply cut costs.
 

Val the Moofia Boss

Well-known member
... it isn't like hand-drawn 2D was any better...

... or have you outright forgotten? Again. I could point out to an '80s/90s anime animation style done in CGI' video but from the sound of it, you'll deride it completely. CGI is a tool, a tool that has been, sadly, misused to simply cut costs.

Forgive me for thinking a visual entertainment medium should have appealing aesthetics.
 

Aaron Fox

Well-known member
Forgive me for thinking a visual entertainment medium should have appealing aesthetics.
One, appealing is in the eye of the beholder, and two, traditional 2D animation went out outside of a handful of projects for very good reasons. And not because corpos are cheap bastards. People here forget that one tiny mistake will set you back weeks at best. Even with Disney -being the mad fucking genius of animation he was- working his damnest to make the process cheaper (basically inventing image layering), traditional animation costs mundo bucks (as in time, manpower, and materials), especially in the 'high detail' (which, all in all, only happened in a handful of times) shots.

As an artist I follow, Jollyjack, demonstrates:
1_to_1000_by_jollyjack_dbd8jgn-fullview.jpg

Hell, CGI has made an artist's job easier because he can do things like save backup versions and control + z the problem away (and let me tell you, that function saved me a lot of grief over the years).

You've been consumed by the damnable meme of 'all CGI is bad'. The reality is a lot more complex than that Luddite meme.

I mean, we wouldn't have a Gundam series past Gundam X (or, really, any anime) without CGI. Traditional animation was literally on its way to the trash heap no matter what you spout.
Thoughts on these videos? I haven't started on Seed yet?
Largely a GATTACA retread of UC Gundam for the first quarter before starting to diverge into its own thing. Also, questionable decisions done by the head writer. Also, prepare for flashback episodes, especially in Destiny.

Also, from what I've heard, there was some serious theatrics behind the scenes that caused the VA of Cagali to perma-quit any future SEED projects.
You could do a decent Gundam live action.

At its heart the original Gundam and its sequels are war story. It would be easy to keep the general story without chnagi g much for it to he accepted in a wide market outside anime fans. Unlike Ghost in the Shell which deal with more existential topics like what what makes you human Gundam focus on the horrors of war and fighting for what you believe is right. Much easier topics to convey in a movie format without scenes that may fall flat.

The big problem is that you would need Blockbuster money or at least Games of Thrones money. Just look at the Pacific Rim or Transfromers. You can have nice looking gaint robots fights and Gundam is about the robots as much as it is about the war.

That means big action scenes that cost money. Anime live actions are generally a risk and have seen poor returns. After Ghost in the Shell I expect it will be a while before a large Amercian production company takes a chance on a anime again. While the live action adaptations from Japan lack the special effect and budgets I think to do Gundam justice.
Also, please note that G-Savior didn't do live-action any favors, even though it's an actual endpoint of what was set up (i.e. Gundam V basically made the Federation a literal house of cards that could be easily blown over, and it would certainly will due to the setting, especially after it's general inaction during most of the series).
 

WolfBear

Well-known member

bullethead

Part-time fanfic writer
Super Moderator
Staff Member
What are your guys' thoughts on the Gundam character Soma Peries (nee Marie Parfacy)?
She got done dirty in 00 Season 2, but pretty much everyone who wasn't Setsuna and Tieria got screwed by the absurd amount of characters and plot packed into that season.

It would've been nice if Soma/Marie and Allelujah/Hallelujah were constantly switching personalities and interacting with each other, like that one hentai that literally gives them more character development than most of S2.
 

Aaron Fox

Well-known member
She got done dirty in 00 Season 2, but pretty much everyone who wasn't Setsuna and Tieria got screwed by the absurd amount of characters and plot packed into that season.

It would've been nice if Soma/Marie and Allelujah/Hallelujah were constantly switching personalities and interacting with each other, like that one hentai that literally gives them more character development than most of S2.
To be honest, 00 Gundam was one of three continuities up to that point that got more than one season/show... so I wouldn't be surprised that the writers had to dump as much character and plot into the season because it was far more likely that they'll never get the chance to again.
 

TheRomanSlayer

Unipolarity is for Subhuman Trogdolytes
The Innovades were only useful in Season Two, but at least, they had some character development, which is more than what I can say about the Trinity siblings.
 

bullethead

Part-time fanfic writer
Super Moderator
Staff Member
To be honest, 00 Gundam was one of three continuities up to that point that got more than one season/show... so I wouldn't be surprised that the writers had to dump as much character and plot into the season because it was far more likely that they'll never get the chance to again.
Honestly, it felt like Bandai didn't allow any of the season 1 characters to die or replaced them with identical twins so they wouldn't have to change their merchandising stuff. So you wound up with tons of redundant characters all competing for the same amount of screentime, because Bandai didn't want to fully embrace the multi-season model.
 

Aaron Fox

Well-known member
Honestly, it felt like Bandai didn't allow any of the season 1 characters to die or replaced them with identical twins so they wouldn't have to change their merchandising stuff. So you wound up with tons of redundant characters all competing for the same amount of screentime, because Bandai didn't want to fully embrace the multi-season model.
From my understanding, that isn't entirely the case. The biggest problem is that no other continuity has the sheer staying power that is UC Gundam's thing, at least until Build Fighters came around. Gundam lives and dies with gunpla/model sales, ever since the original.

In addition, Japanese TV is vastly different than everywhere else, as Syndication never took off there, from my understanding. That and shows got increasingly expensive to produce... forcing them to rely even heavier on their model sales...

If Front Mission's IP owner isn't such an asshole, Bandai would be in deep shit just because the IP was built to be a multimedia franchise and satisfied both western and eastern audiences... though it runs straight into the problem that you've got the fandom baying bloody murder every time a spinoff that isn't Alternative comes out...
 

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