GPDP
17th August 2009, 08:58
I'm getting into it myself. I think it's interesting not only because of the big robots battling to the death, but also because it tends to have an interesting storylines (it's primarily a military drama) and good character development.
It's not a part of the main series proper, but I recently got through Gundam Wing. I used to watch the show when I was younger and it was on TV, but I didn't really get it back then. Now that I saw it, it's actually kind of ridiculous. The characters are ok, though a lot of them don't really develop until late into the series.
What really gets me is the plot, and the shit politics the show espouses. It's so fucking unstable. The protagonists are fighting one group first, but then that group turns out to have an agenda to overthrow the government of the world, and then it starts to split into factions once it becomes the new government, and the factions turn against each other, and the space colonies have their own factions, and the Gundam pilots are caught in this gigantic shitstorm of factions... by the time the show ends, there's about five different factions all with their own interests, and you're struggling all the while trying to figure out who is with who and what their motivations are.
And the politics... oh god. In this show, either you are a total bleeding-heart pacifist, or you're a warmongering militarist. The whole theme seems to revolve around the best path to peace, and how to stop war and fighting between people and nations, as well as between the earth and space. Obviously, the militarists believe war and battle is in human nature, while the pacifists believe it can be stopped if only EVERYONE were a pacifist and all weapons were destroyed, which can be done through dialogue. Did I mention both sides are made up of aristocrats and monarchists? I was appalled to see not once single person ever raise the issue of material interests and the inequalities of power which give rise to such drives, but there it was. Somehow, we're supposed to accept world peace will come if only an ideologue of a queen comes out and promotes total pacifism with unrelenting persistence? And that it will last?
Of course, the Gundam pilots are kinda sympathetic, but pretty much do their own thing all the while. At least some of the battles are enjoyable. But it doesn't help the pilots are so one-dimensional for much of the series.
Overall, watching this show definitely took my nostalgia goggles off. I recommend the vastly superior Gundam 0082: Stardust Memory.
It's not a part of the main series proper, but I recently got through Gundam Wing. I used to watch the show when I was younger and it was on TV, but I didn't really get it back then. Now that I saw it, it's actually kind of ridiculous. The characters are ok, though a lot of them don't really develop until late into the series.
What really gets me is the plot, and the shit politics the show espouses. It's so fucking unstable. The protagonists are fighting one group first, but then that group turns out to have an agenda to overthrow the government of the world, and then it starts to split into factions once it becomes the new government, and the factions turn against each other, and the space colonies have their own factions, and the Gundam pilots are caught in this gigantic shitstorm of factions... by the time the show ends, there's about five different factions all with their own interests, and you're struggling all the while trying to figure out who is with who and what their motivations are.
And the politics... oh god. In this show, either you are a total bleeding-heart pacifist, or you're a warmongering militarist. The whole theme seems to revolve around the best path to peace, and how to stop war and fighting between people and nations, as well as between the earth and space. Obviously, the militarists believe war and battle is in human nature, while the pacifists believe it can be stopped if only EVERYONE were a pacifist and all weapons were destroyed, which can be done through dialogue. Did I mention both sides are made up of aristocrats and monarchists? I was appalled to see not once single person ever raise the issue of material interests and the inequalities of power which give rise to such drives, but there it was. Somehow, we're supposed to accept world peace will come if only an ideologue of a queen comes out and promotes total pacifism with unrelenting persistence? And that it will last?
Of course, the Gundam pilots are kinda sympathetic, but pretty much do their own thing all the while. At least some of the battles are enjoyable. But it doesn't help the pilots are so one-dimensional for much of the series.
Overall, watching this show definitely took my nostalgia goggles off. I recommend the vastly superior Gundam 0082: Stardust Memory.