The Gundam Thread

I've been chipping away at Turn A since Christmas. I'm nearly up to the end of the first half now, and it's pretty interesting. It's unusual to see a giant robot show where their movement actually seems...well, robotic. In most shows, pilots can move the robot as fluidly as their own body. There's some of that here, but in Turn A you also have robots falling over, weapons clanging against armour as the pilot misjudges the distance to the enemy, pilots leaning out of the cockpit while the robot is left in an auto-run cycle etc. I also like all the mundane uses that people come up with for the Gundam, from a makeshift bridge to a clothesline. The shows has a really weird sense of humour too, with scenes like the Gundam chasing after its own decapitated head, or Loran running around naked with nothing but a fish covering his modesty.
 
I'm having trouble finding a particular cue on the Turn A Gundam soundtracks. The only clip I can find of it on Youtube just has the tail end of it in the first 15 seconds of this video:


It's a fairly short track, but it's used in almost every episode during the latter half of Turn A. It's mostly low strings and occasionally what sounds like Shinto shrine bells. Does anyone know what that track is called?
 
0080 is Gundam summed up in 6 episodes.
'Child learns what war is all about' is not a cliche.

And 0080 is a masterpiece.
It absolutely is Gundam’s central message distilled into a short runtime, but I think in much the same way I’d rather drink several pints of beer than a half-pint of vodka, I’m more a fan of long-form Gundam.

One of the issues I take with all the high praise for 0080 is would it be so good... if the rest of the Gundam franchise that existed at the point it was made didn’t already exist? Perhaps you believe that to be the case, in which case fair enough, but I’m not so sure myself. I think watching characters like Amuro, Char and Kamille get gradually shaped and consumed by war (not to mention all their friends and comrades who die along the way) has a far greater impact in terms of the “war is hell and ruins lives” message (and is also a big reason I really enjoy ZZ, because by contrast Judeu straight up refuses to let war turn him into something he doesn’t like, which seems more like the TRUE message of the show: Don’t let what happened to Kamille happen to you, kids). I don’t really dislike 0080, but I do think it goes way too heavy on the cheap pathos to make you care about the characters rather than developing them.

Putting this here because it is in no shape or form a discussion about Anime Limited any more.
 
It is. I’ve seen it a lot. Or similar versions

That isn't what it takes to be a cliche.

Also, how many times had you seen it in works that predate War in the Pocket? In the anime medium, I can think of Barefoot Gen, Grave of the Fireflies and the original Gundam series - all of which are very different takes from each other and from 0080. While there are obviously numerous works in live action, the vast majority don't give their child characters the agency that the characters in 0080 have.

Personally, I think that 0080 does standalone pretty well and I don't think the perception of its quality (or otherwise) would be affected by the non-existence of the other Gundam series.
 
I think that’s my problem I would show to a newcomer of Gundam but as part of a franchise it works less than it would on its own, I think it would work better completely blind. It won’t diminish it that much but I do think it’s main strength would be as an introduction to Gundam which I feel is it’s point a bit.
 
So allegations have emerged that Roberts is a sexual predator.

Wanting to support this movie just got a whole lot harder...
It's always worth pointing out that allegations are just that. We should let the courts handle it before jumping to conclusions. Mob mentality has ruined many people's lives who turned out to be falsly accused.
 
Don't have a problem with this; Netflix have more money than sense and seem pretty happy to sink it into directors' visions. Vogts-Roberts is a good fit for the material. It's hard to think of anyone who would be better anyway.
 
So the SD Gundam World Heroes anime is airing. It's a globe trotting adventure which keeps the real world map but gives every country new names and turns them into parodies of their culture.
Not wanting to bog this thread down too much with reality, but find it morbidly amusing this is how they depict the cop character from America.
dRwAky2.jpg
 
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