Forum - View topicREVIEW: Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ Blu-Ray
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Kicksville
Posts: 209 |
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Here it is, one of the secret best Gundam shows.
Oh, I remember years and years ago, when it was largely unavailable, those who had seen some of it taking it as their moral duty to WARN US about The Dreaded Moon Moon Arc...and then when I finally got to see it, all two episodes of it, it's one of the high points of the show. So much for that, randos from Gundam.com! The humor is something it appears people have developed a better appreciation for - or if not that, at least an expectation for - thanks in part to all of Yoshiyuki Tomino's TV shows now being out there one way or another. It's not quite as much of a shock when you know about Daitarn 3, or Xabungle (especially Xabungle), or Overman King Gainer. Of course, ZZ is still a sequel to dark show that takes place mere hours after the last one's conclusion... I am curious to see what the review for the second collection is like though, since for seeming mostly positive, it sure does take a turn in that last paragraph. I suppose I generally didn't find the characters to be unlikeable, even if a fair few of them are basically jerks (hey, it's part of Beecha's charm!). But a particularly favorite character of mine from this show is Roux Louka, who is pretty much as good a Gundam pilot as Judau, although she's not originally one of the junkyard kids...well, plenty of interesting stuff with her in the second half. |
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FenixFiesta
Posts: 1923 |
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The tonal shift description for season ZZ is clearly on the money, but for my tastes it works out.
Future works that mix up moments of bright comedy with significantly dark tragedy certainly are much better at the craft, the most recent example would be Re:zero. Tomino had an idea on what type of narrative he wanted to present at the time, the issue is that akin to his ability to write a "love story" it simply ends up missing the mark with the themes of intentional comedy and tragedy mixing more like oil and water in place of amplifying the others effect as seen in works such as RE:zero. Ple is the elephant in the room of sorts, she is a loli character, an exceptionally young Child soldier,spoiler[ a genetically modified human], and she is clearly mentally unstable, Tomino clearly wanted Ple to be part of the Gundam verse as once she arrives she quickly becomes a primary cast member and many future events are outright shaped because of her actions. The most important part probably is that she is NOT an annoying piece of trash like Katz, spoiler[she messes with the cast not because she inept but because she is a damned yandere psychopath.] And of course, the totally 80s fashion that is on ALL the principle cast when they are not in space combat wear. |
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stowrag
Posts: 20 |
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I hated the tone shift towards humor the first time I watched ZZ. It just never seemed to have a place in a war drama, which is what I always thought Gundam was supposed to be about. I think I might be more receptive to it today. I doubt I'll ever enjoy watching Moon Moon though.
What really got to me was the complete 180 Haman's character takes spoiler[when she seemed to change from a master manipulator trying to rule the universe through a puppet child dictator to someone who apparently genuinely thought a 10 year old would make a good ruler for the universe.] That, and the spoiler[Sayla Ex Machina.] But yeah, Roux is amazing at least. |
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Vaisaga
Posts: 9745 Location: Windsor Ontario |
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Double Zeta is my favourite of the UC TV series. After the joyless slog that was Zeta Gundam it was nice to have something with some humor and personality.
Eh, Roux screwed up all the time and her accomplishments aren't very noteworthy. Now Elle, on the other hand, took the vastly obsolete Gundam Mark II and put it to good use. Her only slip ups in battle were Beecha's fault. |
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Sailor Sedna
Posts: 332 |
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That's odd...I thought Lauren said this Gundam wasn't worth watching at first...but then again, watching a show again could change your opinion.
I've only heard the first theme for this (Anime ja Nai) and it's awesome! The opening with the skull, apes and cavemen could be in a Planet of the Apes anime... |
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Kikaioh
Posts: 963 Location: Antarctica |
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I just wanted to point out, Domon Kasshu in G Gundam, along with most of the other G Gundam pilots, weren't teenagers, they were young adults for the most part. | ||||||||
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MadHi
Posts: 86 |
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For me, slapstick comedy never really mixed well with Gundam and it could have done without it, more so for Victory. That being said, it's not a terrible Gundam series. I'm more annoyed that it still didn't get a dub after all this time and it's FINALLY released in the west. | ||||||||
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thekingsdinner
Posts: 609 Location: Terheijden, Netherlands |
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So I finished rewatching ZZ just 2 days ago and I have to say that I like it even more than the first time I saw it. At first, I liked it equally to Zeta, but for different reasons... now I admit I like ZZ just a bit more because it feels so refreshing after watching Zeta. I like it for the really dumb (but funny) slaptisck humor and, unlike what is being said in the review, I felt like they kept the humorous tone after the first half fine. I mean, it's by far not as prominent, but it's there (just wait for episode 40).
Also I just want to point out that I enjoyed Moon Moon. Those 2 episodes get so much hate and yesthey're kinda ridiculous for Gundam standards, but I liked it fine. I didn't mind the tone shift either. I thought it was nicely done and it flowed well. What stands out for me though is the new cast of characters. Judau is awesome and so are all his friends. It's too bad not many characters from the first Gundam series reappear in this one but hey, at least we still have Bright for the whole series which is always a plus in my book. Gundam ZZ is my third favorite Gundam series (still doesn't manage to beat the original and G) and I'm excited to get this on Blu-ray... if it came at a different time because I can't afford it atm... I'm also rather disappointed it still didn't get an english dub. I know that's not rightstuf's thing but... yeah :/ Last edited by thekingsdinner on Tue Jun 07, 2016 1:04 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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SilverTalon01
Posts: 1147 |
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God, that sounds an awful lot like the train wreck dubtitles the original US Zeta release had.
You're spoiler there is wrong. Elpeo Ple is a spoiler[genuine newtype. Her clones are considered cyber newtypes though similar to the people modified into being newtypes like Four.]
Yeah, Roux wasn't that great of a pilot. Certainly no where near Judau. Sure, when they introduced her it sounded like she was suppose to be this great pilot sent over, and she does act the part. However, what she actually manages to accomplish tells a completely different story. |
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H. Guderian
Posts: 558 |
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While I still hold Zeta is one of the pinnacles of 80's TV anime storytelling, I don't hate ZZ. It sure is goofy as hell for the first half, but manages to do enough world building to be a decent foundation for Gundam Unicorn. In the end ZZ seemed to be trying to pull itself in too many directions, funny one moment, cruel the next, all while having an unlikable cast. The unlikable cast can be good/fun, but when the show keeps flopping its tone it becomes very easy to find areas of ZZ that are just plain unpleasant.
The Dublin arc is one of the best in the franchise, I hold. But that's all the way in the 2nd half. |
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penguintruth
Posts: 6923 Location: Penguinopolis |
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Gundam Double Zeta is a lot of great potential peaking out from a pile of garbage. If it had been an AU completely unconnected to the UC timeline, or at least to its predecessor, the silly slapstick antics might've worked, but as the reviewer asserted, it's deeply disrespectful coming on the heels of a horrific three-way war and the devastation and death from Zeta Gundam. The show does eventually pick up Zeta's tone and storyline, with the more active role Haman's scheming takes in later episodes (though it still takes a dip in the silly pool, maybe once too often).
I'd also point out that, for the most part, Judau's friends are paper-thin, character-wise, with little if any discernible personalities, and the ones that do have personalities, you don't want to spend any time with. They're these broad stereotypes that feel super redundant, just character filler to round out the cast. Ino, especially, is a completely worthless character, and Elle is just there for Fraw/Fa "best friend-maybe-more-but-not-quite" duties. |
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DuelGundam2099
Posts: 414 |
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Moon Moon episodes were the turning point from really boring episodes to "oh yeah, stuff happens in this series" (and really, what's wrong with Aztec Space Ninjas?). Judau confirmed for being canonically the most powerful newtype, I mean the guy can spawn duct tape out of thin air and spoiler[beat both the Psyco Mark 2 and Quebeley Mark 1]. | ||||||||
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Angel'sArcanum
Posts: 242 Location: Toronto, Ontario |
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Seeing your other posts about your love of Zeta and now your thoughts on ZZ, it's interesting to see such a wildly different experience from my own. I found ZZ's cast charming and memorable, getting back to Tomino's great characters from 0079 after Zeta's didn't register with me at all. They are all kind of cheery and optimistic in their own ways, these glowing youth. Judau was an orphaned older brother who wanted the best for his sister and would do anything to give her a good future, and when that was challenged, it furthered his personal drive to stop the fighting after he gradually warmed up to helping the Argama earlier. He's stubborn and outspoken but also friendly and cooperative. Beecha grows from being a selfish traitor to a trusted comrade in MS skirmishes to even spoiler[ captain of the Nahel Argama]. Iino is more like a support member of the crew, but he's the most sincere of the bunch but dependable and assured when needed (like the Zeta Zaku episode). Elle is the spunky kind of motherly figure that keeps them in line and does some fighting herself, she's a bit bossy but really looks out for her friends, and she has her own little quaint romantic subplot. Roux is a silly, independent and initially condescending girl who teases the group a bit and does what she wants, but she starts to value them as equals more as it goes on and buckles down when need be. Puru is an adorable and misguided child who just wants to be treated like a normal human and know what it's like to have a regular life but Glemy and some of the other Neo-Zeon guys keep trying to use her as a weapon, I really sympathized with her. Lastly Mondo comes out from being Beecha's lackey as it goes on, he's easily the weakest of the bunch, but he's helped the crew a bit as well and had a thing for one of the Moon-Moon girls. Fraw and Fa were EASILY waaaaaaay more annoying than Elle was, both of them got a bit better in their following sequels (Fraw whining less in Zeta, Fa being more mature and protecting the Argama early in ZZ) but Elle I think was still the biggest asset of the 3 for their respective main series IMO. I love ZZ, I love it's cast, I digested its mix of comedic and serious tones easily (I think it's exaggerated really, some episodes have serious bits like with Mashmyre's fellow troops being more driven in their missions and causing chaos, it seems to mount gradually), etc. C- is a bit scathing for story, but having seen it all myself recently I respectfully see quite differently. |
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FackuIkari
Posts: 93 Location: Argentina |
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Slapstick Gundam didn't work for me at all, like, we came from 2 really good war drama series and then this happens, wtf? | ||||||||
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jr240483
Posts: 2970 Location: New York City,New York,USA |
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Ex Machina ? what does that supposed to mean. also there were some signs of haman being someone with genuine human feels back during Char's flashbacks from zeta. and considering how meneva is now during the UC arc and not like the rest of her family , i would say haman did something right for once. also the comedic tune was basically a mood point cause back then some people were complaining about the dark tone of zeta which was why they did that but went back to the dark tone after ep 19 cause gundam fans were complaining more. especially later one in the series when the first neo zeon war was under way and they killed off a very important character which drove another important character to the loony bin which in turn lead to the events of the char's counterattack movie. so for those that didn't liked the dark tone of zeta, better drop the series while you can cause its gonna get even more darker now. |
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