Vashdaman
Za Warudo
Yeah sorry I was properly zonked yesterday. I think it's more than living up to my expectations in pretty much all the areas I had high hopes for, and exceeding my expectations in some places I had fears about. Basically it's got all the talky, po faced, meticulously considered hard sci I could have hoped for, in a rich world that feels like it has a real history and weight and has been fleshed out painfully over years. But it really does a good job of explaining that world too, and I've not felt too lost at any point, despite having never seen anything in Gundam aside from a handful of Wing episodes I can barely remember. I always unfairly assumed for some reason that the series was full of nonsensical logic, unnecessary convolutions, and a chronic lack of explanation that all in all made it a chore to watch. There is very little of that to be honest, aside from two or three instances I consider minor offences such as I couldn't fathom just what Princess Zabi was hoping to achieve by talking to that Federation politician, there was no attempt to explain her rational there, it was just like "right I'm off to earth to talk to this guy and err hopefully do something good". And I guess the whole LA+ program thing with it's coordinates and all that was kind of never properly introduced clearly..
But it's a great world. It's incredible how many anime have pilfered and rehashed and recycled the motifs of Gundam, with the whole space colony terrorists vs oppressive earth government thing. I've seen at least several mech anime (though not to completion) with that same backdrop before and a lot of the same themes as Unicorn (which I assume generally recur in most Gundam shows), but I don't think the richness and detail of their worlds can really compare. Yeah the main characters in this aren't anything particularly special nor stand out to me, just perfectly serviceable, and the themes aren't anything new (even to a non gundam veteran, by now) but those themes and motifs are just classic, and they are executed so well in this.
Even though all the references and in jokes in this are lost on me, I can just imagine how satisfying it is to someone already well versed in the world.
anyway, roll on episode 5
But it's a great world. It's incredible how many anime have pilfered and rehashed and recycled the motifs of Gundam, with the whole space colony terrorists vs oppressive earth government thing. I've seen at least several mech anime (though not to completion) with that same backdrop before and a lot of the same themes as Unicorn (which I assume generally recur in most Gundam shows), but I don't think the richness and detail of their worlds can really compare. Yeah the main characters in this aren't anything particularly special nor stand out to me, just perfectly serviceable, and the themes aren't anything new (even to a non gundam veteran, by now) but those themes and motifs are just classic, and they are executed so well in this.
Even though all the references and in jokes in this are lost on me, I can just imagine how satisfying it is to someone already well versed in the world.
anyway, roll on episode 5
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