Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam 50
That last death. I don't even. Holy balls of fire. WHY. WHY? WHAT WAS EVEN THE REASON? I guess at least they excelled at portraying the feel of senseless violence? Tomino was just like, "Screw it, after making this cast live out the same 5 scenarios ten times, I don't know what to do with them, SO I WILL KILL EVERYONE. THAT'S RIGHT, NOBODY LIVES."
Words cannot convey how thoroughly disappointed I am by this show. I went into Zeta Gundam with considerable hype, since people have ventured to call it the greatest of all Gundam shows, and for the first act, it was certainly a worthy successor to Mobile Suit Gundam, which was a really good show.
Then, once Four dies, the show dies with her. From that point on the viewer is subjected to random, aimless plodding through teenage drama and repeated, rehashed plots for more or less the rest of the series. It could perhaps best be described as "the plot moves, but nothing happens." Why was Four brought back and then dropped again in the space of the same episode? What was the point of Rosamy? How many times can Sarah escape from the Argama? How many times can Katz steal the G Defenser of Gundam or whatever he's stealing this weak? It's just an endless bout of these things time and time and time again, with no meaning given to them at all. Shit happens, but there's no rhyme or reason to it. The English VAs did not help, but this goes beyond that. Even Kamile, whose character was perhaps the best part of the show, does not escape this wretched mid-section alive. Then the ending comes, and rather than resolve the myriad meandering plots going on, Tomino just fucking kills everyone.
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam is not the worst Gundam show at all. Even at its worst, its better than the out-and-out actively awful levels of Destiny, Stardust, AGE and 00, but it is, without a doubt, the series that has disappointed me most. I didn't expect Stardust Memory or AGE to be good. I knew Destiny was so-so. I expected 00 to be good, yes, but Zeta I expected to be on par with its predecessor, and it simply is not. After that stellar first act, the show dips, and just as it starts to redeem itself, Tomino kills everyone and calls it a day.
Now, ZZ Gundam is next in the UC timeline, correct? Should I even watch that, or just skip to Char's Counterattack? Also, I really do hope Turn A and Unicorn are everything I've heard, because I need a reason to believe in Gundam again.
