Anyone up for a Gundam Unicorn watch-along?

HdE

HdE

Comic Book Guy
Hey all.

Having recently taken delivery of the fourth and final volume of Gundam Unicorn on DVD, I've decided that, from tomorrow night (Saturday), I'm going to watch an episode per evening and finally get this titan of a show watched.

Those who know me know I'm a huge Gundam nut, so this is going to be a big deal - I'm mandating a takeaway and something fun to drink with each episode. I thought it might be fun to start a thread and if anyone else who feels inclined might want to join in and post their thoughts, it could make for a fun discussion.

Any takers?

Only rule will be: no spoilers for future episodes as we discuss the episode we've just seen. This is partly because I'm a SUPER LAME fan, and I haven't seen anything past episode 2 yet. It's also good etiquette not to spoil too much for innocent bystanders.

(Snacks and fun drinkies are optional... but I see no reason why we can't talk about those too! :p )
 
I've been holding out for a collected release which will probably never come... But with Reconguista available now that is tempting.
 
It kind of needs to be done, doesn't it? Especially considering the show's status within the franchise.

RightStuf! have put out 4 DVD volumes Stateside in partnership with Sunrise, and these are pretty much identical in terms of their format to the 1st (and only) DVD Bandai put out before they shut up shop way back. Two episodes per disc for less than £20 a pop, except for the last volume which is a single episode plus some special features, and a big ol' waste-of time clip-show recap 'episode'.

Still better value than the blu rays.
 
Four DVDs averaging $20 each is certainly better value than seven BDs averaging $50 each, that's for sure. What a ridiculous discrepancy, the fact the DVDs work out that cheap makes the BD pricing all the more baffling (as does the low price Anime Ltd. have made the brand new Reconguista available for in HD).

I may order those DVDs and uh... speed up the process of obtaining the episodes by slightly grey means so we can get started. Well I'll have paid for them, won't I?
 
So much I could say about those blu-ray prices...

I prefer to keep all my whining and bitching about the cost of anime to a consumer-level perspective. Frankly, if anyone thought Unicorn was going to be a big deal outside of Japan at the prices Bandai were asking, I'd recommend them for immediate brain surgery. Paying over a pound per minute of animation, plus the risk of import taxes and handling fees? Ridiculous. I was primed and ready to buy my firt blu ray player when I heard about Unicorn being a blu ray exclusive. That changed as soon as I saw prices of £50 and upward being quoted for the first volume.

Sadly - and I hasten to add, I have no way of corroborating this - I hear that Bandai's first DVD volume of Unicorn sold less than 1,000 copies in North America. I can only imagine what kind of reaction that must have provoked at Bandai HQ.

BUT - ON TO MORE POSITIVE THINGS!

I sat down and soaked in episode 1 last night, and will press ahead with new episodes each night this week. I'd love to say 'hang on, and I'll wait for you to catch up', but work and comics commitments sort of dictate to me at the moment.

But do pitch in when you feel like it! I'll be happy to yakk about the show in this thread as and when.

For now all I'll say is that I'd forgotten just what a great looking show Unicorn is. PQ on this DVD release is, as you'd expect, really superb. There are a few juddery panning shots, but those are easy to overlook. I want my very own Khsatriya after last night's episode!
 
While I hate to interrupt, it's precisely £27.99 for the first BD with no import taxes at all (new, shipped from the UK). I got mine for £25 or so at Expo IIRC. The BDs are more expensive than a UK release because they're a JP import which happens to come with the full multilingual treatment and localised packaging; doubtless a cheaper edition would exist if it was licensed in the UK for a fully localised DVD version (as with the US).

Sure, it's rather expensive compared to most other things, but let's use real numbers rather than scaring off potential buyers ^^;;

R
 
I was using real numbers Rui.

If you check out the asking prices on Amazon for Unicorn on blu-ray, you'll see they range from just under £50 now to almost £90 per volume. That may not sit well with your entirely reasonable point of view... but they are real numbers.

If you aren't in a position to attend expos and pay expo prices, online retail is your most likely alternative. And, sadly (stating this by way of offering a distinct consumer perspective) there's a goodly chunk fo the fanbase who quite simply couldn;t care less about details like multilingual format, import taxes, licensing, etc. They just want the product. And if they see a price that seems crazy to them, they'll pass.

In this case, it's not even like we got a proper UK release - remember the debacle that was Unicorn's international release, whereby 'international' appeared to selectively define market territories? Not a show you'd find in your local Zavvi or HMV, unfortunately.

It's a case where the asking price is the asking price for a some people. And there's simply no NEED to scare off potential buyers with those prices. Because fifty-to-seventy quid for an hour of anime is almost certain to immediately polarise people in terms of whether they'll stump up the cash or not.

Currently on Amazon you can buy the 7th and final episode on blu ray for MORE than it would cost to buy all four DVD volumes. Now, you can take my drawing attention to that as a slam on the blu ray prices, but you could also take it as a hugely advantageous selling point for the DVDs.

Fans would do well to investigate that. I've actually learned (to my surprise) since posting this thread that a lot of Gundam fans in the west seem to be completely unaware of these DVD volumes. That's a crying shame... it sort of paints a picture of a show stuggling to reach its audience outside Japan.

Sorry if it seems like I'm on your case or gnawing over a well chewed bone here, Rui. I just believe - as a fan who wants to support this franchise - that some extremely stupid decisions are made when it comes to marketing it at times.
 
You don't have to buy at Expo, though ^^;

The Amazon pricing is terrible, but it's far from the only series in that situation. Order direct from somewhere UK-based like JP Books and the prices are much lower for most volumes: http://www.jpbooks.co.uk/en/index.html

(There were a couple of other places which sell directly by mail order IIRC but I don't remember them as I already have the series. It all became a mess when Beez vanished off the face of the earth so it's a miracle that its limited UK distribution was actually completed at all.)

I agree that it's not really easy to know how to obtain it on either format in the UK if you weren't following the very first press releases where they explained how to buy it, as nobody has said anything on Unicorn since. There's nobody who coordinates these releases and puts the information out there; it's an import release where the UK market is merely an afterthought (though lucky to be one if you want to watch in HD, as buying the single volumes is a lot cheaper this way than it would be by importing). I'm simply objecting to spreading inaccurate information based off Amazon UK's bizarre pricing scheme ^^;

Heck, you can buy the exact same discs direct from Japan for less than Amazon UK is charging. There's been no proper UK release at all because it's not been licensed by any of the UK companies, like most other Gundam shows since Beez departed.

I just wanted to make it clear that this isn't a case of a company doing a proper localised release which intentionally fleeces customers in the UK. It's a niche release which gives hardcore UK importers a chance to save money and import taxes if they want to buy the first edition, not a proper localised release pitched at the mainstream like the US DVDs.

Personally, I'm happy I bought the BDs (especially as I didn't pay Amazon UK's prices). I don't mind the Japanese OAV funding model at all, and I'm happy that people who don't mind waiting also have an option with the US DVDs. Maybe it will get an actual UK release one day too if Andrew thinks it will be a good title to push?

R
 
To the 'average consumer' the Gundam Unicorn Blu-rays are expensive; but lets not forget these are Japanese produced Blu-ray releases which have been localised for sale within America and Europe.

The DVD's on the other hand, which have been released by Bayview Entertainment (USA) & Madman Entertainment (AUS) have been produced locally in that country; hence why they are a lot cheaper.

I guess it depends on how much of a 'gundam' fan you are, as I have no issues paying £50 (per volume) for a superior release of a franchise I really enjoy.

FYI I managed to get Volume 1 to 4 off ebay for £90 (which made them £23 each) the remaining volumes I paid £48 for from United Publications; although at the moment I've still yet to pick-up volume 7
 
I got an American friend to order me Volume 7 from Right Stuf, something the pair of us haven't done since the unfortunate delays that hit Volume 1 in the UK. I paid high price to import AGE, SEED HD and Destiny HD on Blu-ray but the cost on Amazon for an hour or so episode....sorry but no. I'm Gunota enough to be silly with my money for the hobby but that's where I draw a line. Even with international shipping from America, doing it the way I did was cheaper than what it would have been to buy it straight from Amazon UK.

I'm all for supporting the industry over here, but on ocassion you have to vote with your wallet and show a company there's a difference between being loyal and stupid.
 
What the hell, I'll bump this thread. Any post with actual content in the viewing journal thread just drowns in a list of [title][episode number]

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn: Episodes 1 & 2

Well, my viewing of Unicorn has been a very long time coming but it was certainly worth the wait. Gundam done... almost to perfection, from what I've seen so far.

Boy meets girl, boy unexpectadly recieves Gundam, boy pilots Gundam because adults are being ********s, lines are being drawn in potential love triangles, major characters have ended up in the midst of their adversaries and are casually chatting about their plans and beliefs and at least one person has said "I'll never forgive you"... So far so Gundam. But what's setting Unicorn apart is that it's taking time to explain and expand the UC universe in a way that's very pleasing to watch for someone who loves that universe as much as I do. And you know I mean that, I even love ZZ.

The Psycoframe is back and makes Banagher "Banaji" Links' inevetable instant transformation into ace pilot a little more believable, as does the technical limitation which makes him quite literally the only one able to pilot it. It feels a bit like the Gundam crew are finally confident in taking back their ideas (particularly from Zeta) that Evangelion took and ran with - And using them in a sensible way that works in the Gundam universe, which I like a lot. Almost as much as I like the Mobile Suit airbags. Banagher himself is a fairly likable protagonist, if rather bland and familiar and not really making much of an individual mark on the franchise yet, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. As for Full Frontal, who escaped censorship by the BBFC even when in the presence of a minor, every Gundam has its Char so having one who nobody (in universe or out) is quite sure if it's really Char or not was pretty clever. "That's Char's voice..." certainly had me grinning, as did "It's approaching at three times the speed of the other Mobile Suits!"

As for the Mobile Suits themselves, they are things of beauty which do nothing but add to my enjoyment. Pure white was, apparently, what the original RX-78-2 was supposed to be before Bandai told Tomino to make it more "toyetic" and the primary colours scheme was born, so it's great to finally see an all-white Gundam. It's no RX-178 or RX-93 in design terms, but it's pretty damn nice. The Sinanju is probably the best Char Custom there has ever been and the Kshatriya just makes you fall in love with Qubeleys all over again. Ahem.

The themes of the earlier UC shows are all there and being expanded upon in even greater detail than before (Newtypes and Zeon Zum Deikun's philosophies, the factionalism within the various Neo Zeon movements and the strained relationship between Anaheim and the Federation, with Anaheim taking on an increasingly Weyland-Yutani like role) and if you're well versed in the earlier shows in the UC timeline, Unicorn is a real treat. If you're not, well why the hell not? Go watch them all right now. My only criticism so far is that none of the characters really seem to "shine" (with the exception of Full Frontal for obvious reasons) but hopefully they'll come into their own soon.
 
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Well it didn't happen back in November - At least I didn't end up watching and HdE didn't end up posting.

I am watching now though, and will probably be posting my thoughts on the remaining episodes throughout the week. By all means join in, it's always nice when discussion forums actually involve discussion.
 
I have all 7 volumes on BD...yes i stumped up the price for the BD but i got vol 7 from CDJapan as the japanese release worked out cheaper. When i got vol 7 i marathoned them all. Such a great show and just talking about it makes me want to watch it again. Its one i can watch over and over again. It also helps that i'm a huge Gundam fan.
 
You mean there might actually be FOUR people interested in discussing a show at the same time (if HdE resurfaces)? that's got to be a record for 2015.

Seriously though, that's great. Let's talk, why not? How is the most Gundam and why?
 
I thought Unicorn was really classy too, and the soundtrack is absolutely incredible stuff. I dunno if I'll contribute much but I'll enjoy reading any discussions :D

R
 
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