First Date: Gundam 00
- Title: Gundam 00
- Studio: Sunrise
- Genre: Mech
Ratings (out of 5):
- Story: ♥♥♥
- Animation: ♥♥♥♥
- Character Design: ♥♥♥
- OP/ED Themes: ♥♥♥
- Overall: ♥♥♥ (You’re so pretty, I can’t help but want to give you another shot…or five.)
Thoughts:
For all the buzz and excitement– and even my own anticipation –I don’t have a lot to say. The first episode of Gundam 00 was solid: it introduced the characters but not too many too quick (though oddly, probably a similar number to Dragonaut, but the pacing was better on it). It introduced the basic plot point: the Gundam pilots (or “Meisters”) are fighting for a private army called Celestial Being, whose goal is to eliminate war by beating the snot out of the people who start wars. (The inherent oxymoron has already been noted by two characters, in case you worried that they’d just ignore it.) The animation is good, and the character designs are distinct and easy on the eyes.
But there was nothing really exciting, either, thus far. Only three characters show the slightest amount of energy: the AEU pilot Patrick, who gets beat up by main character Setsuna in the first five minutes; the girl in the cheongsam who doesn’t look quite as distressingly skinny as she did in certain previews, and a Celestial Being member whose name I didn’t quite catch who starts boozing on the job. All of these are secondary characters. There’s another secondary character at the AEU who acted kind of energetic but in a rather cliche way (a blonde. Forget his name, too.)
The leads are, thus far, fairly uninteresting to me, which I think is why the show doesn’t really excite me yet. Kind of like Final Fantasy XII, the leads– and almost everyone eles –are all so serious and stuffy in the first episode that it makes the whole show seem a bit dour. (Of course, I’m not big on mechs in and of themselves; someone who is might find it more exciting.)
But as with Dragonaut there’s a lot of potential here, so hopefully those leads will perk up a bit. I just can’t help wishing Duo was there, though…
Tags: first-dates, gundam-00