The Official Gundam Unicorn Anime Thread Mk III

[Kratos]

That's too bad, I was kinda hoping we could have a little Anno Domini reference.

There probably never will be. Keeping Gundam's exact date ambiguous is an important way of helping it remain timeless across the decades.

[kayone73]

Finished watching ep 3 last night, wow, so far I'm very impressed with the series, and not just the animation and HD presentation, but the maturity and complexity of this story. Sure Banagher acts and talks like your typical teen 'why me?' Gundam protagonist but the whole plot surrounding the secret of La+ and the revelation (i'm sure MORE will be revealed) about the truth behind the intent of the NT-D system...it is a very cynical view on the future of Newtypes in the UC timeline, which makes sense with the later entires in the UC continuity. This whole 'unravelling a old mystery/conspiracy' storyline makes for a great, engaging story requiring a bit of thought, and so far I don't really indentify any clear 'heroes' or 'villains' as everyone feels like a real character and are likeable to some degree. They are just on opposing sides of the same chase.

That's too bad, I was kinda hoping we could have a little Anno Domini reference.

There probably never will be. Keeping Gundam's exact date ambiguous is an important way of helping it remain timeless across the decades.

yeah it's the 'floating timeline' plot device, as the franchise gets on in age, a founding date like 2057 will make less and less sense as our real world approaches the 2020s and 2030s.

[Kratos]

Sure Banagher acts and talks like your typical teen 'why me?' Gundam protagonist

I like Banagher for this very reason, although I never found the others particularly overbearing in their angst (with the notable exception of Kamille, who frequently flies off the handle at people with little to no provocation). I've always thought Amuro to be about as measured as Banagher, Judau almost TOO chipper, and...I actually haven't seen F91 or Victory, so I'm not sure about their respective protagonists.

[Dark Duel]

Seabook (F91) was...actually, a lot like Banagher IMO, at least in terms of personality; Of course, the resemblance is exacerbated by the fact they're voiced by the same actor in the dub.

[swiftninja]

I liked episode 3 I do get this strange feeling with shows put in the middle of an existing story that they don't count for anything makes me wonder if the end of it will mean anything.

I don't remember F91 that well but Seabook felt a bit like a one night stand cool girl great guns (VSBR) you meet her one night she seems cool you have some fun then you never see them again. Although I guess you do meet Seabook again in Crossbone. I don't really feel anyway about Banagher not in a bad way he is just kinda there and seems decent enough, bloody good pilot though.

[Kratos]

I think Unicorn will be important in that it's the most Newtype-centered series in all of UC, where they're actually examined and talked about (as opposed to most, where they're more or less an excuse to make teenage boys into ace pilots and nothing more). This alone make it an important OVA - certainly far more essential to the overall Gundam mythos than the other OVA series. Unicorn also has the advantage of taking place the latest in the "early" UC series. The long gap of time between it and F91 means that it can effectively do whatever it wants short of disbanding the Federation and destroying Earth.

But you're right: being inconsequential to the grander picture is an inherent problem to this sort of series. All the other OVAs are as well (though you can argue pretty well that that's the whole point of 0080). That's why things like character in these series are especially important: while certain outcomes within a prequel may be pre-determined, the fate of its original characters is not, so if the audience is made to care about them, then a reasonable sense of suspense can be built. That's why shows like 0080 and 08th MS Team succeed so well.

[J-Lead]

I don't really feel anyway about Banagher not in a bad way he is just kinda there and seems decent enough, bloody good pilot though.

I actually was under the impression that Banagher was more of an average pilot of mild talent, bountiful courage, and a LOT of luck, supplemented by the psychoframe and the NT-D's ferocious nature. I actually kind of like it that way; it makes him seem a lot more human and relate-able, in that not every newtype kid has to be some piloting prodigy from the start. Kind of like how Judau started out, but this time, it's not played that way in the name of comedy. I don't doubt that he'll get better, if events from the novel are any indication.

[Koshernova]

Honestly, I don't think Unicorn's story is inconsequential.

Think about it in terms of 0083. Whatever issues that OAV has, from the outset of the story we know a few things about how relevant it will be. However, that OAV covers the gap between 0079 and Zeta and does so while introducing many of Zeta's concepts, and providing more background for that story. Is it necessary? Probably not. Is Zeta better or worse as a story because 0083 was produced? Neither, really.

However, remember that Unicorn is in that part of UC continuity that is very rarely explored. Consider, for a second, the world-building: we had two TV shows in the 0087-0088 timeline, then nothing for 5 years, then CCA, nothing for 30 years, then F91, and then, again, nothing for a further 30 years. Unicorn is filling a *big* gap between productions, in a point of the timeline where we don't know that much about what's happening. Furthermore, by the time F91 rolls around, there have been massive social and political changes in Earth and its colonies, many of which feel a bit out-of-the-blue, even if properly explained in animation and related sourcebooks.

So far, Unicorn has done a terrific job of bridging the gap between the early and late UC. Spoiler-tagged:

Spoiler

-Miniature MS are introduced with the Loto.

-The NT-D system hints at a larger intention to quell the nascent Newtype population.

-The smallest Zeon remnant yet provides us a view of just *why* Zeon keeps coming back and remains relevant, as a movement, for spacenoids.

-The Federation keeps leaving the dirty work to smaller, semi-autonomous task forces (ECOAS and Londo Bell) rather than employ its main forces, which may be symptomatic of the stagnation of the EFSF in general and the Federal government in particular.

-And last but not least, this will probably be the last Zeon-based story in animation, which will finally tie up that arc and explain why Zeon vanishes from history. Think about it: Zeon as a movement lasted for around 30 years (if we include the pre-Principality Republic of Zeon). Mineva is the last member of the Zabis, and we see in Unicorn that the Sleeves are even smaller than Char's ragtag Neo-Zeon from CCA. There is the potential that this storyline will give us final closure on Zeon, which, again, we *know* takes place, but we have never seen it happen.

tl;dr : Even if you know the outcome of a story, it's much more important to know how you get there, and good writing can make it interesting even if you know the future parts of a timeline. That's where the meat and potatoes of dramatic fiction exists! Ask Mamoru Nagano: the first volume of The Five Star Stories included a detailed timeline which, while added-to in the past 25 years, has largely been untouched. It doesn't lessen dramatic impact.

[kayone73]

Spoiler

-The Federation keeps leaving the dirty work to smaller, semi-autonomous task forces (ECOAS and Londo Bell) rather than employ its main forces, which may be symptomatic of the stagnation of the EFSF in general and the Federal government in particular.

I think you have the right idea, but wrong wording. The use of smaller task forces is the quell small 'skirmishes' before they flare up into all out war. Once the main Federation forces become involved, it becomes a very visible committment and could raise the flag that all-out war is being declared, which for diplomatic and political reasons, would want to be avoided. A smaller task force is good for 'sweeping things under the rug' to maintain the semblance of peace and stability in the eyes of the general populace.

[TetraVaal]

English dubbing for episode 4 is under way.

I wonder if a trailer will be soon to follow.

[Kratos]

I wish Amazon itself would get Episode 3. There's still no cheap way for a poor Canadian to get his hands on it...

[yazi88]

I think you have the right idea, but wrong wording. The use of smaller task forces is the quell small 'skirmishes' before they flare up into all out war. Once the main Federation forces become involved, it becomes a very visible committment and could raise the flag that all-out war is being declared, which for diplomatic and political reasons, would want to be avoided. A smaller task force is good for 'sweeping things under the rug' to maintain the semblance of peace and stability in the eyes of the general populace.

Look at Taskforce Alpha from Gundam Sentinel. That's a really good example.

[latenlazy]

Wrong Thread.

[LightningCount]

I've caught up. Saw Episode 3. The takeaway from this episode was the last scene with Daguza. Outside of that, I just found it to be rather mundane. Above average in visual quality more often than not; yet, mundane overall. And by that I mean, not adrenaline-enthralling or super thought-provoking. The biggest problem I have is that a majority of the cast feels kind of, well, milquetoast--and more so than usual in this volume. There have been moments where they break out of their shells, but usually they just feel like UC placeholders. Like someone said, Banagher and Seabook are reminiscent of one another, though I prefer Seabook. The speechifying seems to be beating me over the head now in such a way that it feels removed from the plot (And as a Wing fan, I like speeches/wisdom nuggets, so that's saying something. Unicorn feels like it's doing it in a dumbed down--or at least superfluous--kind of way lately).

Now, at the end of the day, I guess I'm just not a hardcore "mainline" UC guy. Besides being too ethereal, usually, there's just not enough nuanced eccentricity or variation/contrast from piece to piece; and unlike past UC OVAs, this one isn't taking a lot of liberties to craft characters like Mischa, Norris, Sanders, Gato, Cima, Aina, etc. (Or if we go AU, think Frost Brothers, Roby, Witz, Treize, Tuberov, Master Asia, etc--there are loads of vivid "personality" in AU). The sorts of characters pop out and accentuate/drive the plot. Mainline UC has it at times, too, don't get me wrong, but it isn't usually as much a priority due to the framework. Marida and the "Master" had a lot of potential, but they've become less compelling to me lately. Daguza was in the ballpark but...you know, splatter house.

Also, of note, the budget and choreography seems to be slipping since Volume 1, and neither 2 nor 3 have surpassed the excitement Volume 1 produced despite its familiar setup. Well, I think I'm maybe going to wait until the last 3 volumes are all released before continuing, so that I can get a better sense of momentum and development. It seems to me that this series may work better as a movie, as it already is doing a lot of quick cuts from sequence to sequence, and doesn't cover as much ground per episodes as earlier, longer OVAs.

Nonetheless, I'll conclude by saying there were some positive things from this 3rd volume besides Daguza's poetic commando act. That being:
-Nice brief snippets of grunt MS battling (though they felt disjointed from the characters).
-Custom Dom's Bug-like blade funnels
-Funnel reversal
-La Place speech being possibly connected to Banagher's conditioning
-The La Place sequence felt like the story was breathing some of its own life again as opposed to living off other stories...(until Banagher had his forced atmospheric kill moment. *cringe*)

Finally, a few random notes:
-I'm beginning to wonder if La Place's Box is analogous to the Philosopher's Legacy from the Metal Gear Solid series
-I swear I saw a Zeon MS in this that looked like Chaos Gundam's MA mode.
-Argama's particle gun reminded me of the kind from Zoids: Chaotic Century.
-Thinking about Char's Counterattack, and then about what they said about the Unicorn releasing a light that has strange powers, I realized that UC has GN Particles, too.
-Did Marida survive without a helmet? Confused.
-NT-D is feeling more like EXAM from Blue Destiny lately.

That's all for my first impressions of Volume 3.

[Dark Duel]

-Custom Dom's Bug-like blade funnels
-Funnel reversal

-It's called the Dreissen. It's a mobile suit from ZZ Gundam. And yeah, it is pretty cool. The weapon in question is called "Triblade"
-Yeah, that was stupidly awesome. Don't think something like that's ever been done before.

-I swear I saw a Zeon MS in this that looked like Chaos Gundam's MA mode.

Hmm...that would be one of the old Gaza-series. Either the Gaza-C from Z Gundam or the Gaza-D from ZZ. There were a few in there.

-Thinking about Char's Counterattack, and then about what they said about the Unicorn releasing a light that has strange powers, I realized that UC has GN Particles, too.

Yeah, I actually remember making that connection waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back when I first saw the trailer for 00. It's especially obvious when you compare Char's Counterattack to 00 Season 2 Episode twenty-something when he does the whole "Trans-Am Burst" thing.

[EscapeArtist]

-Did Marida survive without a helmet? Confused.

This confused me at first, too. Then I watched the scene again, and closely. You can actually tell from Marida's hair that the breach gets shut, probably by an emergency shutter closing off the hall they're in. After her helmet comes off, her hair is pulled toward the breach by the vacuum. In the last second of the scene before they cut away, her hair settles.

Also, I cannot wait for that preview to come out! It'll be interesting to see the one, possibly two familiar faces in this upcoming episode.

At Anime Central this year, I was hosting a Gundam trivia panel, and we weren't allowed into our room until like 10 minutes after we were supposed to start because a guy called Michael Sinterklaas was holding things up... Dang that I didn't know at the time that he voiced Angelo- I would have hassled him about it!

[Sume Gai]

...because a guy called Michael Sinterklaas was holding things up... Dang that I didn't know at the time that he voiced Angelo- I would have hassled him about it!

Not only that he's the Voice Director of the English dub for Unicorn as well as the founder of the Studio doing said dubbing, NYAV Post. He's at least partly responsible for the incredibly good dubbing the OVA has so far received.

*is a bit of of a Sinterniklaas fanboy*

[EscapeArtist]

Aw man, and here I was doing my best to look irritated and hurry him out of the room!

[Mu La Flaga]

...because a guy called Michael Sinterklaas was holding things up... Dang that I didn't know at the time that he voiced Angelo- I would have hassled him about it!

Not only that he's the Voice Director of the English dub for Unicorn as well as the founder of the Studio doing said dubbing, NYAV Post. He's at least partly responsible for the incredibly good dubbing the OVA has so far received.

*is a bit of of a Sinterniklaas fanboy*

On a related Sinterniklaas fanboy note, he was also Gai from GaoGaiGar's dub.

[Arbiter GUNDAM]

Since he's a major player in DWG3, I have to ask. Just where did the name Full Frontal come from? Did the Japanese writers honestly not know what kind of subtext that name has in english?