Final thoughts on Gundam 00 (Season One)

Finished watching Mobile Suit Gundam 00 last week. I think I used up an entire roll of tissue paper while watching the last few episodes.

WARNING: THE REST OF THIS POST CONTAINS A LOT OF SPOILERS.

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Too many deaths and painful losses were depicted in this series. Although it hurt and made me cry so hard my eyes were swollen for a day or so, I still enjoyed watching the entire thing. For some reason I liked how series captured the kind of things that happen during times of war. No one is safe from it, not even the civilians ensconced in their homes or the supposedly powerful Gundam Meisters. No uber Mary Sues or Jesus Yamatos in this series; no sir.

Lockon Stratos broke my heart. I adored him from the beginning, but then he just had to up and pull that stupid revenge stunt. I literally screamed when he got injured saving Tieria, and I couldn’t stop crying when he died because of that hot bastard Ali.

Speaking of psychos…the Trinity siblings? I hate them, especially Michael and Nena. Johann was tolerable (except for his strange preference for cycling shorts), but Michael and Nena were just infuriating. I was very, very happy when Ali killed Michael and Johann, but was disappointed that that bitch Nena got away.

I absolutely despise Nena. I’m fine with cutesy characters, and I can tolerate psychos to some extent. But a psycho who acts like an innocent twit just to get away with the shit that she does? I hate it. Fuck you, Nena Trinity. I hope you die a slow and painful death in season two.

…dammit, now I’ve lost my train of thought and wasted my time ranting about her and making a fugly image of her. Ffffffffffff.

Anyway.  What else can I say about Gundam 00… the animation is consistently good; I didn’t spot a single episode with animation/art that looked rushed or subpar. The music is great…but then with big shots like L’Arc~en~Ciel and Stephanie doing the theme songs and BGMs composed by Kenji Kawai (the same guy who composed music for the Ghost in the Shell movie), you can’t really go wrong. The mobile suit designs are awesome. They look sexier less clunky compared to most other mobile suits from the other Gundam series, and somehow the designs seem to make more sense…well, I still sort of don’t get Nadleeh’s “hair”, but it apparently has a function and still looks cool in its own way.

I think my only complaint about the series is the fashion design. I mean, sure, some of Sumeragi’s outfits were cute, but some of the clothes were just awful, as illustrated by Johann’s cycling shorts and Tieria’s pink cardigan.

All in all, Mobile Suit Gundam 00 is one of my favorite anime series to date. And with those damned cliffhangers at the end of season one (…is that a Tieria clone or did he just get a perm…?), I need to buy myself a copy of season two before I start trawling the net for spoilers.

Random thoughts on Gundam 00 (Season One)

I just started watching Mobile Suit Gundam 00 recently (which might probably come off as strange because I bought my Gundam Nadleeh before I even got to watch the series), and I can honestly say that I like it. Watching some of the other Gundam series (like Wing and Seed) was kind of a chore for me, so I’m surprised that I’m actually looking forward to watching more of 00.

I like how the story centers on the the power struggles between nations and the prevention of war and terrorism. I find it somewhat timely, and the themes are something that most people can relate to. The characters seem pretty decent too. None of them are really annoying (i.e. so stupid and/or badly written/designed that I can’t stand them) thus far…although I sometimes want to punch Setsuna F. Seiei in the face for being a robotic, Gundam-obsessed moron and bitchslap Tieria Erde for being such a tight-ass.

Lockon Stratos is my favorite so far. Not just because he’s the hottest Gundam Meister there is, but because I like his laid-back-but-serious-when-necessary attitude, he pilots a smexy Gundam, and has an entire crew of cute little bouncing Haros.  Ali Al-Saachez is hot too, but I’ve been warned about his personality beforehand, so I’ll try to stay away from him.

I have mixed feelings about Allelujah Haptism. Growing up in a predominantly Catholic country, his name just makes me frown whenever someone mentions it. And his voice is…too young. Whenever he and Tieria are having a conversation, I catch myself wishing that their voice actors would trade places. My boyfriend says that there’s a reason for his voice being like that though, but since I have yet to find out what those reasons are, my dislike for it will remain. Al (I will call him that because his real name is a pain to type and, like I said, it makes me frown) is pretty okay overall, though; his name and voice are the only things about him that bug me.

Seeing as I’ve only watched ten episodes of the series, my opinions are subject to change. I have a feeling I’ll eventually start hating/bitching on something (or someone), and I’ll be sure to post my raves/rants here.