killatopak
Member
Prepare for walls of texts. Also not a native speaker so prepare for bad grammar as well.
I was a big Gundam fan when Gundam Wing first started airing and it was gone as fast as it had come cause there were no follow up shows on Toonami. Until Gundam G that is which my friend introduced to me. Bless him. Gundam G showed me the "super" side of Gundam and made me feel like a kid again. while Wing showed me the cool and political side of it. I remember my mother telling me I was murmuring "Gundam" in my sleep. I knew I was hooked. Since then I was hungry for more. I found SEED because at the time, there was this classmate of mine who can't stop talking about it. I watched it and it showed another side of Gundam for me which is the effects war on people. I really liked how the Kira's growth was pronounced all the way til the end. Retroactively, I hated how it turned into beam spam after he got Freedom but I digress. I really enjoyed SEED and I read stuff about it after watching it. Learned that it was supposed to be more grim and how it stopped being a homage to Gundam 0079 and how it stopped being good after the desert arc. This led me to UC.
Oh boy, was I in for a ride. Tomino you sob, you may be a depressed man but boy do you make great anime. They really captured the depressing side of war much better than SEED did. I watched 0079 and Zeta blind. All the twist and turns was amazing. The drama, the ending, the betrayal. They were unarguably a classic. What do I do next? Of course I have to watch the sequel ZZ Gundam but I made the big mistake, I looked to see for other people's opinions first unlike how I went blind with 79 and Zeta. Everybody, at the time, unequivocally said that ZZ sucks ass and turned super goofy. I watched the first few episodes critically until fucking Moon Moon and I gave up feeling that the whole thing is gonna be like that.
Since then I avoided it and watched others like the Destiny, 00, Age, Unicorn, Stardust Memory, and 08th MS Team. 08th MS team and Unicorn probably stood out the most to me during that time which are all UC based so I knew which universe was my favorite. I recently played Super Robot Wars V which featured ZZ gundam. I found that the characters and the mech were pretty enjoyable over all. It also convinced me that there would be no Unicorn without ZZ Gundam since Marida and by extension Ple were in it. I decided to rewatch ZZ Gundam from the beginning with a clear mind devoid of expectations.
From episode 1 to Moon Moon, all the cringe was gone and I found myself chuckling from time to time. I don't know if it's because I went it without expectations or because I lost my teenager edginess. I thought it ain't half bad. 0079 and Zeta was depressing as fuck and while I enjoyed that, ZZ is a breath of fresh air that was needed and it reminded me of how goofy Gundam G, which I enjoyed a lot, could be. Then episode 21(Cecilia The Crybaby part 2 or something) happened. I was like oh shit is Tomino depressed again?! Since then there was a series of great episodes that I enjoyed a lot and damn am I glad to have held on for this long.
I am currently at episode 27 and each episode makes me optimistic for the later episode. This made me realize I really have to watch other Gundam series. I have also put off G reco and Turn A because of the character designs alone. Definitely gonna watch them as well.
Anyway, for the pros and cons as of now.
Pros:
-Main cast are very smart with their tactics it's also the first time I saw the protagonist use other gundams than their own. Judau likes to use the Zeta for mobility for example. Most protagonists just use brute force.
- Surprisingly funny at times. Well this just my personal opinion.
- I enjoyed the soundtrack with its mix of Zeta soundtrack. Both OP were catchy as well.
- I really liked how the crew grew and became more mature as time go on. They are increasingly becoming likable.
- I like Marida so it automatically makes me like Ple. I found her to be a bit bratty but I realized that these were probably the effects of the brainwashing, loneliness, and how spoiled she was by Neo Zeon.
- I really like the contrast between the comedic parts and the serious parts of the story. It's like everything was all fun and games because everybody was inexperienced, even the Neo Zeon troops Mashymre was heading with all their honor and such. Going out of Shangri-la and finally seeing the world themselves allowed them to grow as a pilot and as a person. With Judau and Glemy Toto being the biggest examples.
Cons
- Beecha and Mondo are fucking idiots.
- There were tons of time I thought Judau was a hypocrite. For example he was blaming Neo Zeon for using civilians and children for war while completely forgetting that he himself was a civilian and a child.
- Mashymre Cello was forgotten like an unwanted child along with the transition from comedy to a more serious vibe. I really enjoyed the serious moments of ZZ but removing Mashymre ,who was a very high ranking officer and even higher than Glemy Toto ,which took front stage after the transition, was very jarring.
- There were some strange technical inconsistencies like Gundam Mark 2's bazooka previously firing had missile sounds and in the next scene, when it fires it, it turns into beam rifle sounds.
- Really takes time to ramp up. Reading right now most people enjoyed the series only after episode 18 where I did at episode 21.
Sorry for the wall of text.
TL;DR
I watched ZZ gundam for a dozen episodes, hated it, watched it again from the beginning, enjoyed it.
I was a big Gundam fan when Gundam Wing first started airing and it was gone as fast as it had come cause there were no follow up shows on Toonami. Until Gundam G that is which my friend introduced to me. Bless him. Gundam G showed me the "super" side of Gundam and made me feel like a kid again. while Wing showed me the cool and political side of it. I remember my mother telling me I was murmuring "Gundam" in my sleep. I knew I was hooked. Since then I was hungry for more. I found SEED because at the time, there was this classmate of mine who can't stop talking about it. I watched it and it showed another side of Gundam for me which is the effects war on people. I really liked how the Kira's growth was pronounced all the way til the end. Retroactively, I hated how it turned into beam spam after he got Freedom but I digress. I really enjoyed SEED and I read stuff about it after watching it. Learned that it was supposed to be more grim and how it stopped being a homage to Gundam 0079 and how it stopped being good after the desert arc. This led me to UC.
Oh boy, was I in for a ride. Tomino you sob, you may be a depressed man but boy do you make great anime. They really captured the depressing side of war much better than SEED did. I watched 0079 and Zeta blind. All the twist and turns was amazing. The drama, the ending, the betrayal. They were unarguably a classic. What do I do next? Of course I have to watch the sequel ZZ Gundam but I made the big mistake, I looked to see for other people's opinions first unlike how I went blind with 79 and Zeta. Everybody, at the time, unequivocally said that ZZ sucks ass and turned super goofy. I watched the first few episodes critically until fucking Moon Moon and I gave up feeling that the whole thing is gonna be like that.
Since then I avoided it and watched others like the Destiny, 00, Age, Unicorn, Stardust Memory, and 08th MS Team. 08th MS team and Unicorn probably stood out the most to me during that time which are all UC based so I knew which universe was my favorite. I recently played Super Robot Wars V which featured ZZ gundam. I found that the characters and the mech were pretty enjoyable over all. It also convinced me that there would be no Unicorn without ZZ Gundam since Marida and by extension Ple were in it. I decided to rewatch ZZ Gundam from the beginning with a clear mind devoid of expectations.
From episode 1 to Moon Moon, all the cringe was gone and I found myself chuckling from time to time. I don't know if it's because I went it without expectations or because I lost my teenager edginess. I thought it ain't half bad. 0079 and Zeta was depressing as fuck and while I enjoyed that, ZZ is a breath of fresh air that was needed and it reminded me of how goofy Gundam G, which I enjoyed a lot, could be. Then episode 21(Cecilia The Crybaby part 2 or something) happened. I was like oh shit is Tomino depressed again?! Since then there was a series of great episodes that I enjoyed a lot and damn am I glad to have held on for this long.
I am currently at episode 27 and each episode makes me optimistic for the later episode. This made me realize I really have to watch other Gundam series. I have also put off G reco and Turn A because of the character designs alone. Definitely gonna watch them as well.
Anyway, for the pros and cons as of now.
Pros:
-Main cast are very smart with their tactics it's also the first time I saw the protagonist use other gundams than their own. Judau likes to use the Zeta for mobility for example. Most protagonists just use brute force.
- Surprisingly funny at times. Well this just my personal opinion.
- I enjoyed the soundtrack with its mix of Zeta soundtrack. Both OP were catchy as well.
- I really liked how the crew grew and became more mature as time go on. They are increasingly becoming likable.
- I like Marida so it automatically makes me like Ple. I found her to be a bit bratty but I realized that these were probably the effects of the brainwashing, loneliness, and how spoiled she was by Neo Zeon.
- I really like the contrast between the comedic parts and the serious parts of the story. It's like everything was all fun and games because everybody was inexperienced, even the Neo Zeon troops Mashymre was heading with all their honor and such. Going out of Shangri-la and finally seeing the world themselves allowed them to grow as a pilot and as a person. With Judau and Glemy Toto being the biggest examples.
Cons
- Beecha and Mondo are fucking idiots.
- There were tons of time I thought Judau was a hypocrite. For example he was blaming Neo Zeon for using civilians and children for war while completely forgetting that he himself was a civilian and a child.
- Mashymre Cello was forgotten like an unwanted child along with the transition from comedy to a more serious vibe. I really enjoyed the serious moments of ZZ but removing Mashymre ,who was a very high ranking officer and even higher than Glemy Toto ,which took front stage after the transition, was very jarring.
- There were some strange technical inconsistencies like Gundam Mark 2's bazooka previously firing had missile sounds and in the next scene, when it fires it, it turns into beam rifle sounds.
- Really takes time to ramp up. Reading right now most people enjoyed the series only after episode 18 where I did at episode 21.
Sorry for the wall of text.
TL;DR
I watched ZZ gundam for a dozen episodes, hated it, watched it again from the beginning, enjoyed it.
