The All Purpose Mobile Suit Gundam Thread

Izekiel said:
ilmaestro where did you purchase it from? The Beez shop (French site) or US?
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Knowing ilmaestro as i do his is probably the japanese version :P

Do let us know your coherent thoughts once you've rewatched it Mae ;) I'm tempted to do that as well. I didn't think the pacing was that off though, time or more less flew by when i was watching it and i'm just annoyed that we have to wait so long before ep 2.
 
kupocake said:
BlackWolf said:
i would even blindly buy Gundam X since i know it can't be the worst gundam show ever made.
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Actually, Gundam X is easily one of the least watchable in my opinion. You're right that it's not 'the worst gundam show ever made', but both of those were at least direct sequels to worthwhile series, and at least had some kind of sideshow value in how frequently rubbish they were. Gundam X is just a humming fridge of absolute tedium. Just about every aspect of it failed to register any kind of feeling at all, though I do at least remember that at least the characters being notably terrible.

But then it's Gundam. Terrible is plentiful.
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I Can't disagree more, after watching Zeta, Seed and a number of Gundam films is one of the most likeable series to date. Garrod IS very generic but for some reason he has so many redeeming qualitys that you cant help but like him (plus he doesnt cry as much as other leads!). The love he has for Tiffa also feels genuine and you really feel a sense of longing between the two when they are separated, its simple yet not as complex and deep as the other gundams. There also seems to be less crazy humor that Tomino normally fails to interpret throughout MSG or Zeta.
After War Gundam X isnt as deep and emotional as the other shows and was cut short but it still holds up as a good gundam show. It may not be Zeta / Seed tier but i found it really enjoyable.

tldr; good gundam stop, moaning.
 
ilmaestro, does the Japanese version of unicorn have english subtitles then? if so then i'm heading straight to the amazon japan sight and ordering me a copy ^^ espesh as the japanese are the only ones so far to have it on dvd and not just blu-ray.
 
Lockon: as kupo says, they basically released the exact same disc in Japan and America, the Japanese disc has all the European/Chinese subs, and both (HD 5.1 and 2.0) English tracks.

Reaper: There is no Zone marking on the package, which I have been informed in the past means it will not be locked. I don't have a dedicated Zone B player to try it on, though, as my PS3 is Japanese and my standalone plays discs from all Zones.
 
Not having a Blu-Ray player of any sort has really hurt this Gundam fan... Still, I can hope that by the time I do get one (who knows when) maybe I can get a few of the Unicorn volumes at once.

Also there has been talk on these forums about wanting to get ZZ, V, Turn-A and X released because they've never been licensed, but surely without an English dub no UK Anime company would risk releasing it? I mean I can't imagine a sub-only version of an older Gundam show having much wide appeal.

I would however like to plead to Beez (or someone else for that matter) for a proper release of the original Gundam series. All that's out there are the sub-only compilation movies or US singles that are dub-only and really hard to find. Surely it wouldn't be too difficult to get the dub, stick on a Japanese/sub track on there and release them as two Anime Legends sets, or even just normal sets if the cost of making these new discs would be too much.
 
I think the time for legacy Gundam DVD releases has long since passed. We're not getting any more, and Beez sure as hell won't be the local division to churn them out anyway.

There's an outside chance for streaming releases., but there simply aren't enough Gundam fans out there to make it worth risking money on releasing anything but the newest titles.
 
kupocake said:
I think the time for legacy Gundam DVD releases has long since passed. We're not getting any more, and Beez sure as hell won't be the local division to churn them out anyway.

There's an outside chance for streaming releases., but there simply aren't enough Gundam fans out there to make it worth risking money on releasing anything but the newest titles.
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Totally agree with this.
 
ColdCobra said:
Not having a Blu-Ray player of any sort has really hurt this Gundam fan... Still, I can hope that by the time I do get one (who knows when) maybe I can get a few of the Unicorn volumes at once.
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I hear that - I'm in a similar position myself.

Bottom line, I'm not afraid to say I think it's a really stupid marketing move to make Unicorn a Blu-ray exclusive.

ColdCobra said:
Also there has been talk on these forums about wanting to get ZZ, V, Turn-A and X released because they've never been licensed, but surely without an English dub no UK Anime company would risk releasing it? I mean I can't imagine a sub-only version of an older Gundam show having much wide appeal.
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I dunno. I'd prefer to see the shows dubbed for Western release, but to be honest, I'd take 'em however I could get 'em.

The issue of Gundam's popularity is a funny one, I think. To be blunt, if the show didn't have its fans, there'd be nothing like the proliferation of different shows and merchandise. Of course, if the issue is that there aren't so amny Gundam fans in a particular spot (like the UK) then that's a problem.

I'm convinced there's an audience in the West for those shows. If it was a case of the USA getting Turn A, ZZ and whatever, and I had to buy the R1 discs, I'd settle for that. I just wish we had access to them somehow - and not being a streaming fan, obviously I want nice, shiny DVDs.

I fully intend to stamp my feet until I get this! ;)
 
HdE said:
Of course, if the issue is that there aren't so amny Gundam fans in a particular spot (like the UK) then that's a problem.

I'm convinced there's an audience in the West for those shows. If it was a case of the USA getting Turn A, ZZ and whatever, and I had to buy the R1 discs, I'd settle for that. I just wish we had access to them somehow...
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IMO the way forward is for regional markets become a thing of the past and for products recieve one global release for the English speaking world. Beez/Bandai seem to be moving towards this with their Blu-ray releases, which is why I think it's a very good thing to support even when they are BD exclusives. I'd like to see more releases like that.

Now that PAL and NTSC are out of the way with HD, all that's necessary for true worldwide releases is for companies to own multi-country rights, to not use region coding and finally (as the non-simultaneous non-release of Unicorn in the UK has shown) the designation to the wood-chipper of history of national ratings and censorship boards.
 
HdE said:
I'm convinced there's an audience in the West for those shows. If it was a case of the USA getting Turn A, ZZ and whatever, and I had to buy the R1 discs, I'd settle for that. I just wish we had access to them somehow - and not being a streaming fan, obviously I want nice, shiny DVDs.

I fully intend to stamp my feet until I get this! ;)
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Oh trust me I'd love it as much as anyone, I've watched ZZ and Turn-A on my PC monitor with my not-very-comfortable office chair and low quality, so I'd do anything to have them permanently and be able to watch them on my TV in comfort. Its just with each new Gundam franchise that gets released the older ones get pushed back from unlikely to "not going to happen at all at least until this series ends".
 
I recently watched Mobile Suit Gundam and adored it.

I am now on episode 38 of Zeta Gundam, hailed by almost all fans as the best of the franchise. Now. So far, it's been alright, not mindblowing, but alright. It's slow, fuzzy, and the characters are dislikeable (exceptions being Char and Amuro). However, having reached the 30s, I can see some fantastic developments up ahead, especially where Char is concerned. And I'm looking forward to watching Char's Counterattack for the ultimate Char experience.

Clearly, this show is one of those 'slow burn with delayed rewards' types a la Haibane Renmei. What I'm wondering is what the heck made it so lauded? Is it that, at the time it was released, it really was the bees' knees? I would love a discussion on Zeta Gundam, especially with people's insights on the characters.
 
Your points on Zeta I have to agree with, it does tick over fairly slowly, but I think that the end of the series really makes up for that as it is building (won't do any spoilers...) and once you've seen it definetly go watch Chars Counter Attack and then go get a copy of Unicorn in whatever manner you can!

I've always found it odd myself that Zeta is hailed in such high regard, how ever I got introduced to Gundam with Wing, then saw SEED and then decided to go back over the franchise in more depth, so I guess it could of been the gloss of the newer series getting in the way, though watching Zeta a 2nd time over really made me appreciate it more.
 
Hi Izekiel,

I watched SEED, Wing, Wing Movie, War in the Pocket years ago and am now only checking out the originals. I have the first episode of Unicorn, but only intend to watch it once I've finished Char's Counterattack.

I agree that the newer shows might have spoiled my view of Zeta, although they didn't have that effect in regards to my view of Mobile Suit Gundam. In fact, in watching MS Gundam, I've come to reevaluate SEED's performance as stemming from simply copy-pasting the original work. Gundam 00 might be the modern-day Zeta. Either way, I find the former two more memorable and emotionally engaging than the latter.

But yes, this final third of Zeta is going to be epic. I can feel it like a storm coming.
 
I too was pretty clueless as to why Zeta is ranked as one of the greats. Don't get me wrong; It's good entertainment, but nothing exceptional. Despite enjoying them, the major criticism I have of all the Gundam TV shows is that they're too long. 35 or so episodes would be more than enough to tell the same stories, avoid repetition and keep the main storyline tight.

Char is obviously the coolest character in the UC Universe, you'll get no argument there. Kamille was a very... odd character. I mean okay, his parents both die early on (for which he shows a worryingly small amount of remorse) but his behaviour is bizarre, even for a teenage boy. At times I sympathised with him, but the constant flipping (rather than any real sense of conflict) between would-be pacifist and fighter was grating. Personally I thought Jerid was a more interesting character with his lust for power and the vendetta / inferiority complex he had with Kamille. I would like to have seen more of him. Haman Khan is probably my favourive Zeta Character though.
 
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I have yet to truly experience Haman Khan, since she's only popped up once so far. I've read in another review that she's a great character, so I look forward to more from her.

I agree with your points on Kamille, ayase - interesting, because I made those exact points in the review I'm working on. His reaction is too shallow after that particular event (although his emotions are much better handled in the Japanese dub than in the US dub, where he sounds like that kind of thing happense very day), and he's just too extreme to be convincing. Anyone else got completely annoyed by him constantly getting beaten up? I swear everyone on the Argama has punched this guy at least once. Not to mention he develops feelings for anything with a female shape that walks by.
 
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