Burke's First Impressions of Gundam Seed!

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Arbiter GUNDAM
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Re: Burke's First Impressions of Gundam Seed!

I forget to talk about Natarle! Yes, poor Natarle. I actually do like her and the dynamic she has with Ramius. Certainly she's a better tactician than Ramius but she unfortunately can't get over her devotion to duty in time. Though the reason I can't hate her for it is how she goes out. Let me see, Azrael shot her in the leg, the arm and the gut right? It's actually a good thing she got vaporized 'cause that would have been a pretty painful death.
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In one of the DS games can't you get an alternate ending where Natarle locks Azrael in the bridge and escapes? Wait, wouldn't that mean she'd die with Flay?
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Re: Burke's First Impressions of Gundam Seed!

Arbiter GUNDAM wrote:Another Big Reveal, our buddy Kira Yamato is a perfected Coordinator. And? Um, not much. Rau does the big shocker of revealing to Kira his origins and... so? Kira doesn't gain any new powers as a result of this.
It might have been a Big Deal if Kira had grown up in PLANT instead of Orb, and if Murrue, Cagalli, and Lacus hadn't gotten to him first. Kira isn't the sort of guy (at this point) to care if he was supposed to be some superman. He is Kira Yamto, warrior for peace, and that's all that matters to him.
It seems to ultimately have more to do with Rau than Kira, giving him another reason to want to judge humanity. And perhaps explain Kira's preternatural piloting ability. *shrugs* They coulda just made him a Newtype like Mu for all the good it does us.
Yeah, it seems like an explanation of predestination that Kira was badass because he was intended to be the Ultimate Coordinator. But, no one ever gave Kira a title or buildup or special treatment. If he is an Ultimate Coordinator, then he did it on his own. Probably all for the best, really. Imagine if Kira had gotten the star treatment, would he have been as sympathetic a character?

To my mind, if a title has to be given for Ultimate Coordinator,it belongs to Lacus. After all, when it comes to "coordinating" the actions of people, she is the best! No ulterior motive either, she wants everybody to interact with each other, instead of closing their minds and hearts.
Who is Al Da Flaga really?
Al Da Flaga gets no further mention in SEED history, which is a disappointment, given the prominent role his offspring play in the anime! I suspect that at most he was a prominent and wealthy EA man with a huge opinion of himself! He wanted his perfect-copy offspring of himself, and Dr. Hibiki used Flaga's morally questionable commission as a research testbed towards the Ultimate Coordinator project. If Hibiki is supposed to be a Dr. Frankenstein questing to make the perfect specimen of humanity, then does that make Rau the Monster?
Were they killed by Blue Cosmos?
Given that Blue Cosmos hates Coordinators to such an extent, the existence of a Coordinator research facility with the taunting name of Mendel must have been a constant irritation. I suspect Mendel was a priority target, and they eventually did for the colony. Dr. Hibiki ignored all the threats and warning,s, and paid the price for it. Kira's adoptive mother took the infants and fled to a safe haven in a neutral power. Mendel remained abandoned because nobody wanted to rehabilitate a known target.
How was Lord Uzumi mixed up in this and how did he get the children? Why did he keep Cagalli and what made Kira's foster parents the best choice for keeping his secret?
I really don't know, which supports your reason for wanting some answers earlier in the story. The early revelation of the Mendel project (at least for Kira & Cagalli) might have been used to help underline the extremism of the war, instead of relying on platitudes.
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Re: Burke's First Impressions of Gundam Seed!

"Ultimate Coordinator" doesn't mean you have any special powers. It means you turned out exactly the way someone designed you. And the psychological, social, and philosophical ramifications of being able to design people down to the last detail, not allowing them their mistakes or "freedom", so to speak, (as well as hey, Hibiki's massive 'scientifically-justified' sexism...) are incredibly disturbing.

Rau's tale of Mendel is violent, ugly, and cautionary for a reason.

"Ultimate Coordinator" is not a thing to be proud of, as he reminds us again in the final battle.
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Re: Burke's First Impressions of Gundam Seed!

THOUGHT: Given Al Da Flaga's legacy in Cosmic Era, I really wish he'd been explored more (or even somehow came back for real in the "in-development-hell" SEED Destiny sequel). However, I have an idea. Rau's voice being like Flay's father is never explained, unless it's a psychological thing on Flay's part and the creators playing that up with the VAs. But, what if Al, and by extension, Rau, was a cousin or close relative of Flay's family. It's possible similar vocal tones might be brought up socially and genetically. AND, both Flay's family and the Flagas are higher-ups in the EA, making for a legitimate connection point. Perhaps that is the reason/irony for the Rau/Flay side plot?
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Re: Burke's First Impressions of Gundam Seed!

At long last (okay, it's only been a few days since I started this, but hey! :P ), here's my review of the home stretch and finale, Episodes 46 through 50 of Gundam Seed!

The ZAFT ships launch their mobile suits and release the pod carrying Flay, who's scared out of her wits and tries to contact the Archangel. The ZAFT forces are targetting only the Eternal, which turns to fight them with the Kusanagi, while the Archangel stays focused on fighting the Dominion. The M1 Astrays fight the incoming GINNs, and Yzak in the Duel faces off against Dearka in the Buster. Meanwhile, Kira is losing focus and seems to be exhausted. Lacus orders the three ships to push and rush past the ZAFT ships, make a break to escape to hopefully avoid pursuit. Archangel (whose starboard Gottfried cannon was blown up in the last battle but it's now miraculously back :P ) has to deal with Dominion first, while Flay screams for help on a general rescue broadcast channel, and saying she has a key that will help end the war.

Everyone who knows her is shocked to hear her voice. Kira remember the last time he saw Flay, promising to talk to her, so he rushes to rescue her. Natarle orders Calamity to retrieve the pod, so it's a race. When Kira's distracted, the Raider & Forbidden manage to decapitate the Freedom, but Kira continues, determined to rescue Flay. Calamity gets to the pod first and gets back to Dominion, after Athrun stops the Raider, and forces Kira and the damaged Freedom to turn back. Kira tells him, "She's someone that I hurt! She's someone that I must protect!" Old habits die hard... I suppose Kira never understood that Flay was using him, despite the feelings she developed for him. Poor Kira has such a big heart, though, it must be hard to let things go.

Flay and the "key" she carries are in the hands of the Earth Forces, just as Le Creuset wanted. During the battle, he just watches and smiles...

The Three Ships Alliance make their big push through the ZAFT ship squadron, manging to destroy the Vesalius before getting away. Le Creuset orders a retreat on the 2 surviving ships.

On the Dominion, Azrael's learned that Flay is the daughter of the late Vice Foreign Minister George Allster, and Flay gives the "key" data disc to her. When he asks where it came from, she says Commander Le Creuset gave it to her. Considering that Le Creuset and Azrael have collaborated together in the past, I'm assuming this disc landed in exactly the hands Le Creuset wanted it to. Flay's also surprised to see Natarle captaining the Dominion, and ends up crying in her arms.

Azrael examines the data disc... and makes a shocking discovery. This is the same data Le Creuset was looking at earlier, that he picked up from a contact in a bar at the PLANT. It's not just ZAFT's stolen intelligence data on the Earth Forces' three Gundams... and it does -not- mean (as I mistakenly thought earlier) that they have N-Jammers... the Earth Forces didn't have this technology. The disc, in fact, contains the data on the N-Jammers themselves! This is a major turning point, and took me by surprise! I honestly wasn't sure what Le Creuset meant by this "key," but this changes everything. Azrael cackles with mad glee - both sides in the war can now restore the use of nuclear reactors... and nuclear weapons. Le Creuset told Mu he wants to annihilate the human race - he's just handed Azrael the key to do that from his side.

Back on the Eternity, Lacus comforts Kira, who cries because he wasn't able to rescue Flay. Murrue's in sickbay spending time with recovering Mu, looking at the photo album Le Creuset gave them back at Mendel Colony. Mu says his father was an arrogant an unreasonable man, who died when he was little, but he doesn't remember anything else of him. Mu's statement about Le Creuset having no past and no future, and perhaps not even an identity, is confusing. Le Creuset has a past, and told a tiny piece of it (or at least the version he wants to be known) to Mu and Kira. He has his hatred of humanity, his motivations and desires... these all come from one's personal history and experiences and thus, an identity. I'm not quite sure what Mu's getting at with that idea.

Meanwhile, Kira fainted, and Cagalli comes to see him. She's shocked to see a 2nd copy of the picture of her and Kira as babies by his bed - the copy Le Creuset gave Kira. Kira wskes up, has a brief flashback of naked Flay kissing him when he sees Lacus. (Yeah, I'll be that was an awkward moment. Let's hope he doesn't call out Flay's name if he ever gets in the sack with Lacus. :P ) Cagalli is upset, but Athrun tugs her out of the room, telling her to wait for a better time to ask him about the photo.

Kira tries not to cry, since he promised never to cry again. Lacus tells him it's okay, so he does cry, and cry hard. I'll admit, I cried a bit too during this scene. Kira's been through so much, and despite the drama he went through with Flay, his grief at being unable to rescue her is genuine, and I totally empathize with him.

Meanwhile, a certain pinkish-colored MS is being assembled in one of the Three Ships Alliance ship's hangars... :D

The Earth Alliance leaders compliment Azrael on getting his hands on N-Jammer Canceller technology, but question his proposal that they use that technology to launch an all-out nucleaer attack on the PLANTs and wipe out all Coordinators. They want to focus on solving Earth's energy crisis first, but Azrael says they shouldn't have a problem with using nukes, since they've done it before. But one of the councilmen says, "You did that on your own." Oh my... so Azrael is the one who started this whole war to begin with! I'm both shocked, and yet not surprised in the least. Azrael says that you make weapons to use them. They've spent a lot of money building nukes, so they should use them and put an end to the war.

Nukes begin to be loaded on Earth Forces ships at the Lunar base, with a fleet ordered to take off and launch a direct attack on ZAFT's defense satellite Boaz... and the PLANT homeland. The assault on Boaz soon begins, a very ferocious battle. The Earth Forces are determined, and Le Creuset notices this and points it out to Zala, "wondering why" they're so bold now. What a good actor this snake is. Natarle's Dominion (with Flay now on board as a bridge bunny comm tech) leads a squad of Agamemnon-class ships carrying nukes to the battle area, launching the 3 Druggies' Gundams to clear the way. The Agamemnons launch their nuke-carrying Mobiuses. Boaz is nuked. Azrael is happy. Natarle looks troubled. And Flay is saddened and shocked. I have to wonder if Flay has any idea of her "part" in this, being used by Le Creuset to give Azrael the key to annihilating part of the human race? I doubt it, but if she knew... I wonder how she'd react? She's already so lost, I'd think something like that might push her over the edge into a full-fledged mental breakdown. :(

Azrael is happy to see the mighty Boaz fall to nuclear weapons. Natarle asks if he has any remorse for the lives lost, and he says he's surprised to hear that from a soldier. "I think I am a lot kinder than someone who sends his subordinates out to die in a battle that cannot be won." Um, just what do you think you've been doing all this time, scumbag? With Boaz eliminated, the Earth Forces fleet move onto their next target: the PLANT mainland. Zala is angered at the loss of Boaz. He orders a defensive line put up, and tells Le Creuset that he's going to Jachin Due, and they'll counter with the Genesis (the mystery seems-to-be-a-superweapon hinted at in a previous episode).

The Three Ships Alliance learn of the Earth Forces' attac and set sail to try to stop an even bigger disaster. Kira asks Athrun if he thinks the PLANTs will respond with nukes. Athrun says if his father were sane, he'd doubt it, but right now he can't be sure. Kira asks out loud why there are things like nukes and MS and guns.

As the EA fleet prepares for the next wave of its invasion, Natarle looks like she's finally starting to have doubts about the Earth Forces and those in charge. Flay comes to see her. Natarle says she could have stayed behind on Luna, that there's no guarantee they'll cross paths with Archangel again. Flay says she has to see and talk to Kira again. Natarle says things are only going to get worse - Flay doesn't have to be on the bridge and see the horror, she can stay in her quarters. But that's all Flay ever did on the Archangel. Flay is upset, she says Le Creuset told her that the war would end. Natarle replies that it will - when every last enemy is destroyed. Sigh...

Yzak's mother and Zala flunkie, Ezalia Joule gives a big troop-rousing, morale-boosting speech, vowing that another nuke will never fall on the PLANTs. The Three Ships rush to the battle, Lacus saying they mustn't allow a single nuke to hit the PLANTs, that it will only lead to more death and hatred. "We declare peace, but with weapons in our hands." It's a very moving declaration of Lacus, though I'm not sure I totally understand (or even agree with) it. But I can't help hearing, "We come in peace, shoot to kill, shoot to kill, shoot to kill!" when I think of this line. :P

The Three Ships launch their mobile suits - and Freedom somehow has a brand new head. (Does the Freedom have a huge hidden compartment somewhere that stores lots of spare parts & limbs?) Freedom and Justice link up with some very, very, very cool looking mobile armor/weapon platforms called METEORs. I want a model of this. They look like, leaner, meaner, more stylish re-designs of the GP03 Dendrobium. :D

Yzak in his Duel Gundam is leading the ZAFT MS defense, but it's a desparate holding action with the Druggie Gundams making minced meat of them. The Earth Forces' Mobius units launch their nuclear missiles... and here comes METEOR-equipped Freedom & Justice to do a super-big blammo-awesome beam-n-missile spam thing and they shoot down -all- the nukes in one go! Then Lacus broadcasts to everyone, demanding the Earth Forces stop their attack at once (and is ignored, of course). Ezalia wonders what Lacus is trying to pull, and Azrael doesn't care at all - he says it's time to get rid of Archangel once and for all, and orders nukes launched at them - which get shot down by the Buster and Duel! Looks like Yzak is finally taking the talk he had with Dearka to heart, and is taking matters into his own hands to do what he feels is right, not just blindly following orders and running on rage from humiliating defeats.

At Jachin Due, Zala wonders what Lacus is doing, but it doesn't matter, Genesis is ready to be activated. It's finally revealed to be a giant gamma ray laser satellite weapon, powered by a nuclear cartridge, hidden behind Jachine Due the whole time, because of its Mirage Colloid system (the stealth system used by the late, lamented Blitz Gundam), and is also equipped with Phase Shift armor to keep it from getting destroyed (at least from the -outside- :P ). Yzak warms Kira and Athrun to get ouf of the way when he receives a "clear the area" warning to all ZAFT forces. Zala gives the order, and Genesis fires in a huge, very colorful and devastating blast. The attacking Earth Alliance fleet is decimated. Natarle's Dominion retreats from the area. Zala and Le Creuset are happy. Everyone else is horrified.

Natarle takes command of the remains of the fleet and orders a retreat. Waltfeld contacts Murrue and suggests they retreat as well. Zala gives a speech, responding to the EA's attempted nuking of the PLANTs. "This is no longer a war! This is a massacre!" He declares today the start of a new world, "of the new mankind, Coordinators!" The ZAFT troops are fired up and eager for blood. Le Creuset smiles smugly. ZAFT's mobile suits pursue the retreating Earth Forces fleet, the pilots full of rage. Kira intercepts the ZAFT pursuers, disabling to keep them from attacking retreating enemies.

Azrael is on the comm, yelling at and arguing with the Earth Forces brass (I assume), saying this disaster is because of their negligence, letting the war drag on for so long. He then argues with Natarle, who wants to retreat and lick their wounds, but Azrael wants to regroup, get reinforcements from the Lunar base, and attack again and take out Genesis. He estimates that it has the power to destroy Earth.

On the Kusanagi, Erica Simmons has analyzed the data on Genesis and reaches the same conclusion, that it has the power to destroy Earth's surface. Waltfeld points out that normally, long range weapons of mass destruction are deterrents, but in this case, they've already been used, so there'll be no hesitation to use them again on either side. Lacus asks, "Is it weapons that give birth to battles? Or is it the human soul?" Ohh, it's humans themselves, Lacus. People who are fearful or jealous of others, and rather than putting their intellects and talents to work to try to solve problems, they instead make nastier tools for killing people and destroying things and creating -more- problems...

ZAFT is scrambling to make repairs to the Genesis and replace its focusing mirror array so they can fire it again, while the Earth Forces fleet regroups and links up with reinforcements. Le Creuset asks if they should attack the fleet while it's waiting for reinforcements & supplies, Zala says it doesn't matter. After the Genesis fires its second shot, the war will be over. Le Creuset asks if he will fire it at Earth. Zala says if they continue to retaliate after he destroys their lunar base, then yes.

Yzak meets his mother at Jachin Due. He thinks of his meeting with Dearka and the doubts he has, starts to ask Ezalia where the next target of Genesis will be, but is interrupted. She says she'll make sure Yzak's team is further back in a safer position, since he'll be busy with duties and responsiblities after the war. Yzak is troubled...

The Earth Forces' fleet's preparations are finished and they launch for their next assault. The Three Ships Alliance pilots go to take off in their mobile suits, but Lacus stops Kira first... and gives him a ring. "Please come back safely. To me." She looks like she wants to say more (probably drop the 3 big words), but she can't quite do it yet. Kira kisses her cheek and tells her to be careful too, and takes off. Awwwww! :D

Cagalli and Athrun go to the hangar, with Cagalli saying she can go out too, using the Strike Rouge they brought out of storage and reassembled. Athrun is worried for her and doesn't want her to go out, but she's determined to, saying it's the necessary thing to do, and she's has MS pilot training. She says she won't let Athrun die, nor her "little brother" Kira. Athrun teases her about the "little/big brother" thing, then hugs her tight, says he'll protect her, and then gives her a kiss! Hooray! It's about time you two crazy kids got together! :D

The battle resumes between the Earth Forces fleet and the ZAFT defenders of Jachin Due. The Three Ships head for the battle, looking for a separate Earth Forces unit that should be carrying nukes. Dearka feels annoyed that they have to stop both the nukes and ZAFT's Genesis, and Miri teases him a bit, and tells him to be careful out there. It's a sweet little moment for these two. I get the impression that they've certainly come to care for each other, in probably a big brother/little sister sort of way. :)

Murrue comes to see Mu in his Strike before he launches. She's wearing the locket from the dead mobile armor pilot she was... involved with? Married to? Mu says not to worry, that he'll be right back with victory in hand, and they share a warm kiss.

All these sweet send-offs between these couples... okay, who's going to die? I really hoped all these characters would make it through okay, but this is Gundam. Stay tuned, folks...

The Genesis is about ready to fire on the Lunar base. Zala orders Le Creuset to sortie to help with the defense, warning him not to make any more blunders - like letting the Eternal get away, and then the Eternal turning around and attacking the PLANTs - even if it means killing Athrun. God, this guy is sooooo delusional, he seriously thinks Lacus is an enemy. He's totally lost it, totally paranoid, seeing enemies everywhere, even in the people who's trying to save his home.

Le Creuset pops some pills then takes off... in a new Gundam, the Providence! I think it looks pretty neat, though at first I wondered what that big fat round thing with the pointy things sticking out of it was... :D

And the Genesis fires again... the Earth Forces' Lunar base is destroyed, as well half of the reinforcements on the way from there. Lots more fighting and shooting and explosions among everyone. Then Azrael orders the nuclear weapons to be prepped to launch at the PLANTs and not Genesis. Natarle argues with him, but he pulls a gun on her, right in front of Flay. Archangel detects the Dominion's change in course, and goes to intercept it. Murrue instructs Eternal and Kusanagi to go after Genesis.

Azrael and Natarle keep arguing, with Natarle remembering Murrue's words about her having doubts about the Earth Forces as a whole, and also remembering Natarle's conversation with Murrue before she left Archangel, about the need for military discipline, the need to follow orders by superiors who have the big picture, and Murrue telling her she'll make an excellent captain. It looks like Natarle's figured out Murrue was right - she -is- an excellent military warship captain, just a tool for others, someone just being used and carry out orders, no matter how wrong or immoral, without question. The Archangel approaches the Dominion, and Azrael tells Natarle to get back to work and sink that ship full of traitors once and for all.

So much happens so fast that it's pretty much just a fast blow-by-blow right now. The Earth Forces launch their next wave of nukes, but they're all shot down by the METEOR-equipped Freedom and Justice. (I'm not going to bother to point out the "seed-burst" thing anymore - at this point the only time they show it is when Kira or Athrun do a beam spam. It's starting to feel kind of cheap.) The Raider is about to shoot down Yzak's Duel when he's saved by Dearka's Buster. The Calamity attacks the Justice, and Cagalli's Strike Rouge shoots down more nukes. Archangel targets the Agamemnon class ships with Dominion, the ones carrying the nukes. Archangel and Dominion start firing at each other, taking damage. Mu Newtype-detects Le Creuset and goes to fight him. Natarle keeps trying to tell herself the war will end when they destroy the PLANTs. The cute M1 Astray Orb pilot girls get killed. Cagalli gets angry at this, and she... has a seed-drop moment?! But she's a Natural! She quickly blows away a lot of enemies, but... why did that happen? Or is there more to Cagalli than we know...?

Genesis's 3rd mirror focusing array is almost in position...

Yzak and Dearka save Cagalli from the Forbidden (sorry, at this point I still haven't memorized which pilot flies which Earth Forces Gundam - they're all basically the same character, and I just don't -care- enough about any of them individually to have bothered :P), and a big nasty fight between them ensues, which ends with Yzak's Duel putting its close combat abilities to good use, stabbing the Forbidden through the cockpit and blowing it up. One Druggie down, 2 to go!

Mu in Strike versus Le Creuset in Providence, and the Providence has FUNNELS/BITS! Le Creuset tells Mu that he's only doing what people have always wished for - to be better, stronger, but get jealous, hate each other, and eat away at each other. Le Creuset sees himself as the final product of human evolution and desires, that humanity will ultimate destroy itself. Mu vows to stop him.

Athrun's Justice+METEOR destroys the Calamity Gundam. 2 Druggies down, one to go! Yzak and Dearka destroy the Agamemnon class ships carrying nukes.

Lacus watches the battle around her, and gives one of my favorite monologues of the entire series, questioning why humans fight, what sort of future humanity is fighting for. "Is happiness to be found in a future that is grasped with blood-stained hands? Well, is it?" Her monologue is full of important questions, questions some people have been asking for thousands of years. Unfortunately, not enough people -are- asking those questions, I think, both in the real world and this ficticious Gundam world.

Murrue orders all their mobile suits to go after Genesis while Archangel handles the Dominion. Mu's Strike is badly damaged by the Providence, and he returns to Archangel. The ship is paused, waiting to receive Strike for landing. Azrael sees the chance, orders the Dominion crew to open fire, but Flay broadcasts a warning to Archangel. Azrael attacks her, tries to shoot her, but Natarle stops him, they struggle and fight. She orders the crew to abandon ship, and for Flay to get to the Archangel. Azrael shoots Natarle in the gut, then tries to run, but she locks the door from her captain's chair. Natarle: "You are a monster who deserves to die! Right here with me!" He shoots her again and again, then he gets on the weapon controls, aims the Lohengrin big gun at Archangel. He's stark raving mad and totally lost it. He fires the big blast right at Archangel's bridge - and Murrue and crew are saved at the last second by Mu in the Strike! He absorbs the blast and dies when Strike explodes! Murrue screams in anguish. Natarle tells Azrael, "You lose." Azrael shoots her AGAIN! In anguish, and with Natarle screaming at her to fire, Murrue has Archangel fire its Lohengrin at Dominion's bridge, and the ship explodes! Natarle dies with a smile, a hero's death, even if her life and decisions up to that point had been questionable and even flat-out wrong... she finally saw the light at the end and made a small difference. And the Dominion's escape shuttles/pods fly towards Archangel, Flay in one of them. On the Archangel's bridge, Murrue sobs, saying "you said you were coming back!" Poor Mu... and poor Murrue. I had a feeling Mu would die from early on the series. I'm glad he didn't get the standard mecha series "sempai death" earlier on - he was there right up until near the end, defending the woman he loves. And Murrue loses another love, another pilot. Heartbreaking. :(

Lacus calls out on broadcast, demanding that ZAFT stop using Genesis immediately, asking what will be accomplished if ZAFT fires it, if they kill more innocents who have done nothing wrong. The battle continues to rage at Jachin Due and Genesis. The Raider Gundam's battery runs low, and the pilot starts having drug withdrawl pains and seems to retreat...

Kira senses something and flies off, telling Athrun to take care of Cagalli as they continue towards Genesis. Le Creuset's Providence attacks Archangel, launches its bits, and there's a BIG crazy, dramatic fight between Justice, Buster and Duel vs. Providence. The Buster gets totally trashed, but Dearka is still alive. Freedom's METEOR starts taking damage as Kira and Le Creuset fight, with the masked one yelling diatribes about how Kira shouldn't exist, blah blah blah. The Raider shows up again, the pilot is totally whacked out from withdrawl, attacking Yzak's Duel and the remains of Dearka's Buster. Yzak snatches the big gun off the Buster and fires it at the Raider, making it go boom. Bye-bye, Druggies! The Archangel is badly damaged and in no condition to fight.

Kira and Le Creuset continue their crazy dogfight/argument, with Kira yelling, "My strengths aren't the only thing that make me who I am!" After all the hype Le Creuset raised a few episodes ago about Kira being the "Ultimate Coordinator," the hopes and dreams of mad scientists like Dr. Hibiki, and the demonstration of Kira's Coordinator abilities (though I really never saw anything that made me think he was -particularly- better than any other Coordinators, I suppose only that he was genetically "perfect" according to Hibiki's designed and desired outcome), Kira Yamato speaks a very important and simple truth in this one statement to Le Creuset. He's a human being. He has emotions and frailties, strengths and weaknesses, just like anyone else, Normal or Coordinator. He has great empathy for other people and a big heart, and he only wants to protect those he cares about, and stop the senseless war and violence. This isn't the "Ultimate Coordinator" speaking and acting, this is Kira Yamato, Human Being. Go Kira! :D

During their big crazy battle, with the Freedom and its METEOR taking more and more damage, Kira, sees the escape shuttle with Flay inside. He ditches the METEOR as Le Creuset's funnels blow it up. He flies towards it, desparate to save Flay. Le Creuset fires his beam rifle at the shuttle... and I could only stare in shock as Kira flew to it, in a gut-wrenching repeat of the atmospheric entry episode so far back, when crazy, angry Yzak shot down the shuttle carrying the Heliopolis refugees and Kira couldn't reach it to save it in time. Only this time... KIRA SAVES IT!!! Big happy moment, as Kira saves the girl he... well, if not loved, had lots of sex with. :P And then... complete shock and heart-breaking tragedy, Kira seeing Flay's smiling face one last time through the shuttle window, followed by one of the Providence's funnels shooting and blowing up the shuttle from another direction! Oh no... no no no...

Kira screams in anguish when Flay is killed... but he instantly has a "Newtype naked ghost communion" moment with her. Her spirit speaks to him, apologizing for what she did to him, because she was hurt and scared and clueless. But now she's finally free, and she can see and understand Kira clearly now. Kira cries, because he was unable to protect her in the end. But she says it's okay, that she will protect him with her feelings. So sad. So gut-wrenching, heart-breakingly sad. It's hard to believe this character, this twisted girl I hated so much long ago in the series, could make me feel grief and sadness when she dies, because she changed so much, she came around to becoming a real, empathetic human being again... I was in tears during this scene. It hit me hard, perhaps even more than when Murrue watched Mu get killed (maybe because I always halfway expected his death). Flay's death is just so sudden and shocking.

The big fleet battle continues at Jachin Due & Genesis. The Kusanagi and Eternity get in firing range, but Genesis's Phase Armor prevents it from taking damage from Kusanagi's Lohengrin big gun. Zala orders the Eternity to be destroyed quickly, and the Genesis aimed at the east coast of North America. One of Zala's aides questions his orders to fire on Earth, citing that it'll destroy half the life on the surface. Zala takes out his gun and shoots the officer down! Zala and Azrael... two of a kind. Insane, bigoted, delusional, mudering monsters.

Athrun says they can get inside Jachin Due and destroy the Genesis controls. His Justice and Cagalli's Strike Rouge go in, while Le Creuset's Providence attacks Eternity and Kusanagi, both ships take heavy damage. Kira's Freedom rushes in, an even bigger, crazier dogfight between them. Kira and Le Creuset argue philosophy and human behavior some more as they fight. Another line of absolute truth from Kira: "You were brought up not knowing anything else!" To which Le Creuset replies, "Of course I know nothing else! People only really know about themselves!" And here's where Le Creuset is so wrong about himself. He believes he's a "final product of human evolution and desires" - which is to "perfect" itself into self-annihilation. Yet he was cloned from, and for at least a few years, raised by, Al Da Flaga, an arrogant and unreasonable man, as his son Mu described him. Flaga was so selfish and self-important that he cloned himself out of a bizarre notion of "immortality" and went to raise that son/clone himself - instilling the twisted, arrogant, messed-up values he himself had. Here's where the "nature vs. nurture" issue comes in, and when it comes to one's personality and beliefs and ideologies and such, that comes from the environment one is raised in. Rau Le Creuset may be a genetically flawed clone of his father, but that didn't make him an arrogant genocidal maniac. His father's -behavior-, not his genetics, did that.

Meanwhile, Zala is lost in his own breed of insanity, activating the Genesis for firing himself, while another officer objects that their own troops are still in the way. However, the officer Zala shot is still alive. This nameless hero pulls out his gun and shoots Zala down! At that moment, Athrun and Cagalli reach the Genesis control room, seeing Patrick Zala floating and bleeding. The room's staff flees, while Zala speaks his dying last words to Athrun, telling him to fire the Genesis, to make the world belong to Coordinators. Athrun looks shocked and grief-stricken, but... he seems to be holding it together, at least far better than Kira would. I think deep down, Athrun knew his father had this fate coming.

ZAFT begins abandoning Jachin Due. The Archangel arrives, escorted by Yzak in the Duel Gundam - he may not have "switched sides," per se, but he's definitely doing the right thing, at long last. Bandaged-up Dearka is back on the Archangel, on the bridge with Miriella.

Athrun finds the Genesis control computer has already been activated by Zala, it's on a countdown to self-destruct Jachin as well as trigger Genesis. Athrun is unable to stop it, and the ZAFT personnel still in Jachin Due's control room who are loyal to Zala (including Ezalia Joule) are shocked to learn Zala's blowing them all up, but the control room is them stormed by soldiers accompanied by Eileen Canaver, the PLANT councilwoman who was a supporter of Siegel Clyne. Looks like the more sensible people have come to arrest the war criminals and their supporters. :)

Athrun and Cagalli leave Jachin Rue and go to Genesis, looking for a way in. Athrun says he'll use the self-destruct on the Justice Gundam to destroy it from the inside. Athrun tells Cagalli to go back, but she follows him anyway, reaching the core of Genesis. She tearfully tells him, "Stop running away! It's more of a battle to continue living!" I wonder if she has a double meaning - that living life can be tough, but it's a worthwhile challenge... and that her life would be even harder if Athrun weren't in it...? :)

Kira's Freedom gets trashed slowly, losing limbs and weapons, down to a beam saber as he flies in for the kill, telling Le Creuset, "There's a world I want to protect!" He stabs Providence through with the beam saber, breaching the cockpit. Le Creuset smiles, his helmet visor cracking open, mask flying off... but right then, Jachin Rue explodes, and then Genesis starts to fire again! Kira tries to get Freedom out of the way, the start of the beam hits and blows up the Providence... and looks like it -starts- to incinerate Freedom... but then Genesis explodes, too! The bridge crews of the Three Ships Alliance are shocked and grieving, thinking Cagalli and Athrun and Kira are all dead.

Eileen Canaver broadcasts intentions to start truce negotations with the Earth Forces and PLANT sponsor nations. Following this, the PLANTs Provisional Supreme Council will request that the Earth Forces stop all combat activities in restricted areas.

Athrun and Cagalli made it out together in the Strike Rouge (or what's now left of it) and are alive! Crying and hugging each other tight, they then see Birdy (what's Birdy doing there, where's Birdy been for... I don't know how long?) flying by. They move to follow Birdy... who leads them to Kira! Kira's still alive, floating away from the remains of the Freedom, with the ring Lacus gave him hanging on the string around his neck, floating up into his helmet faceplate. He sees Birdy coming towards him, followed by happy, tearful Athrun and Cagalli in the Strike Rouge. Kira's last words, and the last words of the series: "It's our world..."

I cried.

Only two miscellaneous notes/comments this time, and a few things I want to say in this post to wrap it up.

Another Murrue Ramius Bridge Battle Boobie Bounce! We haven't seen that particular piece of stock footage in quite a while, actually. I could be wrong, but by my count, we see it 5 times throughout the series. Oh, and she's still hot. :P

And I saw the mention of the "After Phase" 5-minute epilogue that was on the Japanese DVDs (and sadly not on the North American ones *sigh*), so I went out and found a copy right away after finishing Episode 50. It was... ah... subtitled in Portuguese, I think... but coupled with Chris' synopsis/review on MAHQ, I got the gist of it. I thought After Phase was pretty nice, though shorter than I'd have liked for a "and life goes on" epilogue. Not a lot to say about 5 quiet minutes, except that my heart aches for Murrue, and I'm happy to see all those kids (and the adults, too) go on to have a quiet, peaceful life after the war. And I'm especially happy that Kira, Athrun, Lacus and Cagalli are more or less joined at the hip - they really are a family, in more ways than one. :)

Alright... now that my reviews and comments "on the fly" for the series is done... wow. I have so much to say about this series, but it took me a few hours just to write up -this- post. And I want to apologize to everyone for my extra-long and very verbose review posts. It's a bad habit I've had since writing book reports in childhood - I go into far too much detail. I don't synopsize very well. :P

But, I still have more to say about Gundam SEED. Probably in the next day or two, I'll put up another big post that's just stream-of-consciousness, getting a lot of my thoughts and questions and comments about the series as a whole here in words for you all. For now, though, I need to log and sit down to watch Captain America with some loved ones this evening. :P

I'll be back to talk about more. Until then... here are a few words that describe what I'm thinking and feeling about Gundam SEED...

Tearful.

Exciting.

... and I think, most of all, with as much strong emphasis as I can say it with...

SATISFYING. :D

Until the next post in this thread...
Believe in the sign of Zeta!

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Re: Burke's First Impressions of Gundam Seed!

Remember how hard it is to kill a major character in Seed? Keep that in mind when you go to Destiny. Destiny, alas, did a lot to cheapen...well, a great deal of the final episodes in Seed. Not that Seed itself shied away from cheapening some characters' actions by having them be not-dead-yet, so Flashback-'em-all at least gave those of us who watched Seed warning.
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Re: Burke's First Impressions of Gundam Seed!

Burke Rukes wrote: The Three Ships launch their mobile suits - and Freedom somehow has a brand new head. (Does the Freedom have a huge hidden compartment somewhere that stores lots of spare parts & limbs?) Freedom and Justice link up with some very, very, very cool looking mobile armor/weapon platforms called METEORs. I want a model of this. They look like, leaner, meaner, more stylish re-designs of the GP03 Dendrobium. :D
Maybe you didn't realize it, but there is a time gap between Mendel and Boaz assault. I forgot the timeline, maybe few weeks or a month. EAF need quite some time to make those nukes, and plenty of time for Freedom to be repaired (maybe Junk Guild involved in providing spare parts for stolen MS? I'm not sure). And this also shows Fllay's resolve; she could just go back to earth if she wants to during time gap, but she chose to stay in Dominion, hoping to meet Kira. She took a risk just for that, she's really changed. And also note how she wear standard white Alliance uniform instead of her old pink one. I don't know if that means something, but my theory is that she took comm.officer training seriously, and passed the qualification test in order to board Dominion (and met Natarle's high standard). All for the sake of the chance to meet Kira and telling him her true feelings. Gotta respect her for that.
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Re: Burke's First Impressions of Gundam Seed!

reeoyuy wrote:Maybe you didn't realize it, but there is a time gap between Mendel and Boaz assault. I forgot the timeline, maybe few weeks or a month. EAF need quite some time to make those nukes, and plenty of time for Freedom to be repaired (maybe Junk Guild involved in providing spare parts for stolen MS? I'm not sure). And this also shows Fllay's resolve; she could just go back to earth if she wants to during time gap, but she chose to stay in Dominion, hoping to meet Kira. She took a risk just for that, she's really changed. And also note how she wear standard white Alliance uniform instead of her old pink one. I don't know if that means something, but my theory is that she took comm.officer training seriously, and passed the qualification test in order to board Dominion (and met Natarle's high standard). All for the sake of the chance to meet Kira and telling him her true feelings. Gotta respect her for that.
Ah, I see - I had no idea at all about any time gap. That would explain those things, certainly. I did notice Flay wearing a standard uniform on the Dominion, and just assumed that the situation was serious enough to require her to be in "all the way" with regards to the Earth Forces, not a half-serious volunteer in a hot pink non-standard uniform like many of the "traitorous, rebellious" Archangel crew.
Black Knight wrote:Remember how hard it is to kill a major character in Seed? Keep that in mind when you go to Destiny. Destiny, alas, did a lot to cheapen...well, a great deal of the final episodes in Seed. Not that Seed itself shied away from cheapening some characters' actions by having them be not-dead-yet, so Flashback-'em-all at least gave those of us who watched Seed warning.
Considering all the hate and controversy surrounding Destiny, I've already decided to take at least a couple days' break before starting into watching it. Seed has left me so very impressed, and with good feelings, that I just wanna hang onto it and savor it a bit longer before I experience Destiny (whatever -that- ends up holding for me). :)
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Re: Burke's First Impressions of Gundam Seed!

Burke Rukes wrote:The cute M1 Astray Orb pilot girls get killed. Cagalli gets angry at this, and she... has a seed-drop moment?! But she's a Natural! She quickly blows away a lot of enemies, but... why did that happen? Or is there more to Cagalli than we know...?
This is proof that SEED-Factor is not limited to Coordinators, as would be assumed given that the other three people to have SEED-drop moments in the show (Athrun, Kira and Lacus -- perhaps) are all coordinators.

Note that when in SEED-mode, people's eyes also turn funky. While we never see (that I recall) Lacus have a Seed-drop moment, during one of her speeches from Eternity we see her eyes in the same SEED-mode form as happens to Kira, Athrun, and Cagalli. I don't know if it was ever confirmed yes-or-know if this was Lacus going SEEDy or mere animation flub. But I've always assumed Lacus had SEED-factor.

You also missed that back in Mendel Kira begins having "Newtype Flash" moments, which only served to further sideline Mu's abilities (as if having him perform better with a Moebius Zero against Rau's CGUE than with Strike against Rau's GuAIZ wasn't bad enough).
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Re: Burke's First Impressions of Gundam Seed!

Random replies:

*Cagalli is a Natural. SEED mode is possible for BOTH naturals and Coordinators it turns out. Lacus ALSO had a SEED mode during her speech if you watch her eyes.

*Athrun Gundam self-destruction to stop doomsday; like Heero was going to do to Libra before Zechs bailed him out. :)

*I think the director said the Newtype moment with Flay didn't actually happen, but was rather an expression of what would have happened, a communion of what was on both of their minds and how they my have found closure.

*There are rumors that at one point Kira was supposed to die at the end of SEED. But that didn't happen...

*Let me just say something. Gundam Wing gets hammered for having some of the same kinds of philosophical and/or political monologues/dialogues as SEED and SEED Destiny. I, too, like philosophical monologues/dialogues in my Gundam. But I hope these things you praise in SEED were not maligned in Wing. :|

*SEED Destiny. Let me say a few things, non-spoilers. It really picks up the series where it left off in the best way possible. The first 6 or so episodes are riveting, and there are many more enjoyable or thoughtful episodes and/or stretches of episodes. Some GREAT new additions in terms of characters. Some of the UC stuff it tries to emulate, it actually does better, IMO. It's a better, more entertaining series than people give it credit for. I was captivated the first time through, ignoring a lot of the flaws for the sake of seeing the next revelation. I actually think it's a little better than 00 "as a whole," though SEED Season 1 is still the most complete and satisfying from start to finish of the newer Gundams. So, go with an open mind. SEED Destiny has a lot of good things to offer; it's just unfortunate that it steps on its own toes and the toes of its predecessor as it goes along, particularly very late in the game. But having thought about it, it still makes sense. It's just lackluster execution deep into the series. Some of that "cheapness" late is SEED also makes a roaring return in Destiny. It feels like a show that had internal staff arguments, too. But Stargazer ONA/OVA helps capitalize on some of the ideas of Destiny/CE to round things out a bit.
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Re: Burke's First Impressions of Gundam Seed!

Black Knight wrote:Remember how hard it is to kill a major character in Seed? Keep that in mind when you go to Destiny. Destiny, alas, did a lot to cheapen...well, a great deal of the final episodes in Seed. Not that Seed itself shied away from cheapening some characters' actions by having them be not-dead-yet, so Flashback-'em-all at least gave those of us who watched Seed warning.
I wouldn't go quite THAT far, other than a bit of 'how is that even POSSIBLE', the certain character we're both thinking of was handled fairly well. The main problem with the series is that the main character is decidedly not the protagonist. When you get that into your head, Destiny is a much easier watch.

I also don't want to shy Burke away from it. I'm genuinely curious how he'll view it.
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Re: Burke's First Impressions of Gundam Seed!

I'd say it was handled fairly well...except for the creative re-editing of certain episodes of Seed which had to be done right before Destiny, so that they could resurrect someone.

That's not "well done", that's "oh, hey, we should totally bring that guy back to boost ratings." Much like Zechs in EW (oh, the irony of that, too...).

At least in 00, they introduced a twin before killing someone.
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Re: Burke's First Impressions of Gundam Seed!

Burke Rukes wrote:Kira screams in anguish when Flay is killed... but he instantly has a "Newtype naked ghost communion" moment with her. Her spirit speaks to him, apologizing for what she did to him, because she was hurt and scared and clueless. But now she's finally free, and she can see and understand Kira clearly now. Kira cries, because he was unable to protect her in the end. But she says it's okay, that she will protect him with her feelings.
It's not really a "communion" because they're having two independent conversations. In a post series interview, the director explained that those are all the things she wanted to say to him, but didn't get the chance to, and he can't hear her because she's a ghost. It doesn't look that way on the first watch, but if you notice he's just sad about things on his own and isn't directly responding to what she's saying.
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Re: Burke's First Impressions of Gundam Seed!

Jaynz and Black Knight, too much info on Destiny and 00! I mean, I know you're not outright saying something, and that that something is sort of obvious in many ways, but maybe spoiler tags are necessary when talking about characters.
Spoiler
Like Neo, Shinn, and Lockon for instance
.

Be careful reading there, Burke. Also, Chris clarified my mentioning of the Flay and Kira scene, which wasn't what it seemed.
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Re: Burke's First Impressions of Gundam Seed!

There you are, then. :)

The final 5 episodes of SEED have, for me, some of the most memorable scenes of the series. The launch of the final battle, with all parties taking off to the sound of one of the best tracks in the SEED OST, "Tachiagare! Okori yo!" (you can find it on Youtube) still gives me chills, because it is just so dramatic, and with the Providence shown exactly in time with the cymbal hit is just excellent. You so know it's going to be a good final battle.

And then of course Mwu biting space dust, and Murrue's heart-rending scream. Powerful stuff.

And Captain Crazymask (tm to Thundermuffin; you might want to read his Seed/Destiny parodies over at Fanfiction side of the forum once you're done with Destiny) plasma-ing Flay right after Kira thought he saved the day was a wonderfully brutal surprise.

I do have to say, though, Burke, that I'm willing to bet that Destiny WILL seem like a disappointment to you soon after GS. While, as some have said, the beginning is excellent, the plot unravels a bit faster and it undoes some greatness of GS, for which I distinctly remember resenting it. First time around. But, as I mentioned, if you give Destiny a second chance after you've dealt with the "all it could've been" -remorse quite likely of the first viewing, it is better. And as such it really IS worth seeing, and I hope we get to re-live it with you. :)
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Re: Burke's First Impressions of Gundam Seed!

Burke Rukes wrote:At long last (okay, it's only been a few days since I started this, but hey! :P ), here's my review of the home stretch and finale, Episodes 46 through 50 of Gundam Seed!
Are you out of coffee yet? :) Wow, you were really into the final five, it really made my day reading it. Glad you enjoyed it s so much!
Flay screams for help on a general rescue broadcast channel, and saying she has a key that will help end the war.
Everyone who knows her is shocked to hear her voice. Kira remember the last time he saw Flay, promising to talk to her, so he rushes to rescue her. Natarle orders Calamity to retrieve the pod, so it's a race.
Kira flubs his chance to be Big Damn Hero again, as his desire to rescue Flay ironically blinds him to danger. He quite loses his head over her. :D Kira really did mean to try again with Flay, since he never knew she was using him. However, it's not meant to be. Kira has met his soulmate, and it's not Flay. Interesting haow the overall story themes of unification and separation get played out in the interpersonal drama, ne?
On the Dominion, Azrael's learned that Flay is the daughter of the late Vice Foreign Minister George Allster, and Flay gives the "key" data disc to her. When he asks where it came from, she says Commander Le Creuset gave it to her. Considering that Le Creuset and Azrael have collaborated together in the past, I'm assuming this disc landed in exactly the hands Le Creuset wanted it to. Flay's also surprised to see Natarle captaining the Dominion, and ends up crying in her arms.
Yes, the data came to its intended destination, and it will lead to further pain and destruction later on in CE time. But that's for later.... The reunion between Natarle and Flay is touching, concerning its brevity. Flay is home at last...or at least recognizes someone from home.
Murrue's in sickbay spending time with recovering Mu, looking at the photo album Le Creuset gave them back at Mendel Colony. Mu says his father was an arrogant and unreasonable man, who died when he was little, but he doesn't remember anything else of him. Mu's statement about Le Creuset having no past and no future, and perhaps not even an identity, is confusing.
Mu means that Rau was not conceived and raised to be his own person, but as a stand-in for another person's vicarious pleasure. Rau only attained his own identity, because of the physical defects in his clone body. Of course, that self-identity and self-awareness is embittered by perception of failure, magnified into malignant monomania and nihilism. So rau can be said to have no past (failed clone), no present (nothing/ no one to live for), and no future (kill all failed humanity).
Kira wskes up, has a brief flashback of naked Flay kissing him when he sees Lacus. (Yeah, I'll be that was an awkward moment. Let's hope he doesn't call out Flay's name if he ever gets in the sack with Lacus. :P ) Kira tries not to cry, since he promised never to cry again. Lacus tells him it's okay, so he does cry, and cry hard. I'll admit, I cried a bit too during this scene. Kira's been through so much, and despite the drama he went through with Flay, his grief at being unable to rescue her is genuine, and I totally empathize with him.
Kira has lost another person in his life, and the hello/goodbye progression is taking its toll on him. The Flay situation also allows him to uncork all the bottled-up feelings resulting from the Mendel escapade. By this time in the series it seemed obvious that Lacus had completely fallen for Kira, and would have happily taken Flay's place in bed if it made Kira feel better. Kira doesn't want to go down that road gain, at least not until he can get some things straight. He and Lacus can take their time in romance, instead of hopping into the sack and dealing with the situation afterwards. (BTW the role reversal between clueless Cagalli and sensitive Athrun is good. :))
Nukes begin to be loaded on Earth Forces ships at the Lunar base, with a fleet ordered to take off and launch a direct attack on ZAFT's defense satellite Boaz... and the PLANT homeland.
This is the time-skip place, as indicated by your other respondents. CE never got a nicely arranged timeline like UC, so pegging down events in sequence while allowing for elapsed time is difficult. We the viewers are aware of elapsed time, but not the exact amount. To the casual viewer it must seem that SEED characters work marvels overnight. :)
The assault on Boaz soon begins, a very ferocious battle. The Earth Forces are determined, and Le Creuset notices this and points it out to Zala, "wondering why" they're so bold now. What a good actor this snake is.
Cool as a cucumber, that is Rau. It makes him a first-rate villain though, and a nice foil to the scenery-chewing Azrael.
Boaz is nuked. Azrael is happy. Natarle looks troubled. And Flay is saddened and shocked.
Natarle knows that escalation will be answered in kind by ZAFT, due to the N-Jammer deployment earlier in the war. Even if OMNI gans the victory here, thanks to Azrael the potential losses could make it a hollow one. Flay has seen the war progress, confronted Kira's possible death, seen the escalation from Yzak nd Rau's perspective, and now sees Azrael order & revel in the destruction she naively endorsed earlier. She is a sadder, wiser person now.
Flay is upset, she says Le Creuset told her that the war would end. Natarle replies that it will - when every last enemy is destroyed. Sigh...
Note that Natarle is not giving Azrael's party line here, she is warning Flay that the end of the war will be slaughter, not battle. In her own way Natarle is trying to get Flay to stop the cycle of retribution. Flay is about ready to do so herself....
"We declare peace, but with weapons in our hands." It's a very moving declaration of Lacus, though I'm not sure I totally understand (or even agree with) it. But I can't help hearing, "We come in peace, shoot to kill, shoot to kill, shoot to kill!" when I think of this line. :P
Lacus is saying that in spite of the TSA's good intentions, they are going to have to separate the battling sides by force. And all WMD must be destroyed, lest another blast leave hate-filled people eager for retribution.
Freedom and Justice link up with some very, very, very cool looking mobile armor/weapon platforms called METEORs. I want a model of this. They look like, leaner, meaner, more stylish re-designs of the GP03 Dendrobium. :D
Yes, the similarity to the Dendrobium Orchis armor mode is there...and not a coincidence. Both are supposed to be brute-force multipliers, with no room for subtlety. There is a 1/144 scale version, very expensive! IIRC a 1/550 version exists, nice looking, and it won't take up all your display space. :)
Azrael doesn't care at all - he says it's time to get rid of Archangel once and for all, and orders nukes launched at them - which get shot down by the Buster and Duel! Looks like Yzak is finally taking the talk he had with Dearka to heart, and is taking matters into his own hands to do what he feels is right, not just blindly following orders and running on rage from humiliating defeats.
Kira and Athrun just saved ZAFT's bacon, so Yzak owes them one in return, ne? Lacus's announcement reaches at least person, and Yzak responds with a will! He finally joins the TSA, and now its all of them against everyone else, with the clock running....
At Jachin Due, Zala wonders what Lacus is doing, but it doesn't matter, Genesis is ready to be activated. It's finally revealed to be a giant gamma ray laser satellite weapon, powered by a nuclear cartridge, hidden behind Jachine Due the whole time
Somewhere the ghost of Gihren Zabi is applauding. Colony lasers are very appropriate final battle weapons! :)
Zala gives a speech, responding to the EA's attempted nuking of the PLANTs. "This is no longer a war! This is a massacre!" He declares today the start of a new world, "of the new mankind, Coordinators!"
Apparently Gihren Zabi is also ghost-writing Zala's speeches too. :D
Kira intercepts the ZAFT pursuers, disabling to keep them from attacking retreating enemies.
"What part about end the fighting did you people not understand?!" TSA can't show favorites here, based on their strategy.
Lacus asks, "Is it weapons that give birth to battles? Or is it the human soul?"
To ask the question is to know the answer. :)
Yzak meets his mother at Jachin Due. He thinks of his meeting with Dearka and the doubts he has, starts to ask Ezalia where the next target of Genesis will be, but is interrupted. She says she'll make sure Yzak's team is further back in a safer position, since he'll be busy with duties and responsiblities after the war. Yzak is troubled...
I was wrong earlier, this is Yzak's breaking point. Yzak may be a bastard, but he's an honest bastard who cares about the people serving under him, and alongside him. This sort of "let the little people pay while we elites clean up" attitude of Mama Dearest really rubs him the wrong way. He is no longer the smugly superior red coat who raged because he got scratched.
The Earth Forces' fleet's preparations are finished and they launch for their next assault.
It's do-or-die time, down to the wire, clock is still running.... Everybody in the TSA knows it, and does the Big Goodbye scene. WAFF all around! I remember being very worried, because the death flag was being run up the pole. SEED at this point looked like it was gonna pull a Zeta and thin out the cast with a vengeance! Remember, it's a Gundam anime, and no one has immunity going into the final battle....no one. Why yes, I am a long-time UC fan, how can you tell? :D
Le Creuset pops some pills then takes off... in a new Gundam, the Providence! I think it looks pretty neat, though at first I wondered what that big fat round thing with the pointy things sticking out of it was... :D
This must be Rau's personal high point in the anime. Everything has gone to hell, both sides are in Ragnarok mode, and he gets to watch it from the cockpit of a Gundam. "It's the end of the world as we know it..."
So much happens so fast that it's pretty much just a fast blow-by-blow right now.
The final battle justifies my first-time fears, as people drop left and right in an Aboawaku-style brawl where death can approach from any angle.
Cagalli gets angry at this, and she... has a seed-drop moment?! But she's a Natural! She quickly blows away a lot of enemies, but... why did that happen? Or is there more to Cagalli than we know...?
Black Knight got there ahead of me, so I'll just support his reply.
Mu in Strike versus Le Creuset in Providence, and the Providence has FUNNELS/BITS!
They are called Dragoons, and are regular remote weapons instead of being psychokinetically directed, but yeah, Rau has awesome guns. :) Awesome duel here, as are all the final fights.
Lacus watches the battle around her, and gives one of my favorite monologues of the entire series, questioning why humans fight, what sort of future humanity is fighting for. "Is happiness to be found in a future that is grasped with blood-stained hands? Well, is it?"
The answer is blowing in the wind.... The balancing act a moral government must walk to avoid aggression, while simultaneously defending itself from that aggression, and persuading other nations to deal with them via diplomacy and commerce instead of war, is not an easy one. Gundam anime likes to ask the serious questions, which is no small reason why I am a fan. :)
Murrue orders all their mobile suits to go after Genesis while Archangel handles the Dominion. Mu's Strike is badly damaged by the Providence, and he returns to Archangel.
Major drama scene here, as comrades past and present die so others may live, and end the killing. Mu goes out in style as a hero; same for Natarle, who decides that Archangel will nicely solve the genocide dilemma. in the end, she is too much the professional officer to burn PLANT for no military reason, unlike the raving Azrael.
Providence attacks Archangel, launches its bits, and there's a BIG crazy, dramatic fight
Another awesome fight! Kira and Athrun both get to confront their personal demons now.
During their big crazy battle, with the Freedom and its METEOR taking more and more damage, Kira, sees the escape shuttle with Flay inside.
Another big dramatic moment as Kira's win/win happy ending literally is blown up in his face. Poor Flay never gets to tell Kira how sorry she was for hurting him. Kira's hopes for reconciliation are broken along with his heart. He goes ballistic and goes for broke against Rau, who seems to have wanted it this way.
Athrun looks shocked and grief-stricken, but... he seems to be holding it together, at least far better than Kira would. I think deep down, Athrun knew his father had this fate coming.
Athrun knew after his previous visit to PLANT that the good man who was his father had been consumed by the war. Patrick Zala had looked into the abyss too long, and it had filled him up with unreasoning hatred and a desire to destroy that subsumed his original desire to protect PLANT. The nameless officer saved him further heartbreak from having to put his father down for the good of Coordinators as well as Naturals.
but the control room is them stormed by soldiers accompanied by Eileen Canaver, the PLANT councilwoman who was a supporter of Siegel Clyne. Looks like the more sensible people have come to arrest the war criminals and their supporters.
Lacus's broadcasting has paid off; her father's supporters have organized, and are now willing to call things off. Athrun uses a Gundam's self-destruct to good effect twice! Cagalli keeps him from using the second detonation as honorable suicide, and live on. His life will get better, especially if Cagalli and Kira are there to help him! Athrun chooses the happy end. :)
Eileen Canaver broadcasts intentions to start truce negotations with the Earth Forces and PLANT sponsor nations. Following this, the PLANTs Provisional Supreme Council will request that the Earth Forces stop all combat activities in restricted areas.
We have a winner! It is the Three Ships, who stopped the slaughter and sent everyone home, to try this "peace" thing. Don't get too comfortable guys, a lot of people out there in PLANTs and EA haven't gotten the message yet, or need a remedial lesson....
Athrun and Cagalli made it out together in the Strike Rouge (or what's now left of it) and are alive! Crying and hugging each other tight, they then see Birdy (what's Birdy doing there, where's Birdy been for... I don't know how long?) flying by. They move to follow Birdy... who leads them to Kira! Kira's still alive, floating away from the remains of the Freedom, with the ring Lacus gave him hanging on the string around his neck, floating up into his helmet faceplate. He sees Birdy coming towards him, followed by happy, tearful Athrun and Cagalli in the Strike Rouge. Kira's last words, and the last words of the series: "It's our world..."
I cried.
Happy ending all around! :) Glad you liked the anime and really got into it. Nice to see your Gundam spirit ahs revived!
"I am fire. I am death. I am Hashmal."

"Discontent is the first step in the progress for a man or a nation." - Oscar Wilde
Burke Rukes
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Re: Burke's First Impressions of Gundam Seed!

I'm back to share some overall thoughts and questions about Gundam SEED as a whole. At the end of my last episode block review post, I listed a few words that summed up my impression and feelings about the series, after watching the finale (and After Phase): tearful, exciting, and satisfying. There's one more word, an important one, that I forgot to add (and part of why I cried at the end of Episode 50), and that's hopeful. The Gundam franchise has had its share of mixed endings, some dark and depressing (Zeta, 0080, 0083), some a little sunnier and happier (08MST, X, Turn A), and others somewhere in the middle (the original Gundam, with its "yay, most of us survived the war, life can go on now" ending). Every Gundam ending always has a bittersweet taste - I mean, characters always die along the way - but if there's another theme, another feeling that most of the Gundam shows and movies and OVAs end with, it's hopeful.

I'm going to talk about specifics about the series, don't worry, but please indulge me for a little bit while I wax philosophical first. I'm also aware that discussions of politics and religion are verboten here on Mecha Talk, and I'll do my best not to dive into those subjects as much as I would love to, since they're such important themes in the whole Gundam mythos. So I'll try to keep my remarks here in context of the Gundam franchise and SEED world/story, and hopefully not get into trouble. :)

The heroes of Gundam SEED, mostly among the Three Ships Alliance, but other characters on either side of the Earth Alliance/PLANT conflict, as well, ended up fighting for something important - an end to war, the vicious, seemingly-endless cycle of death followed by hate followed by more death, the eye-for-an-eye mentality that has plagued the human race ever since that Monolith dropped by at The Dawn of Man to show some primates how to use animal bones as blunt weapons (or whatever happened in real life :P). Violence against your fellow humans is a rotten, pathetic, and ultimately wasteful tragedy, the ultimate failing of the human race's potential.

Throughout human history, and extending into the ficticious future(s) of Gundam, this violence has not abated. There are people with warped minds and twisted ideas, abused and hurt and damaged people who grow up, have innocent children, and end up inflicting the same abuses and damage on them, thus keeping the "endless waltz," to borrow a phrase, of war, peace and revolution cycling non-stop. Aside from a few people who've gone totally crackers in SEED (Le Creuset, Azrael, Zala), most of the cast of characters desire peace. I mean, everyone wants to life in peace, happily ever after, right? Right? So why doesn't it actually happen?

Gundam SEED ends on this very hopeful note, that peace has come at last, that the horrors of war have been so obvious, so widespread and so shocking that everyone should say, "What have we been doing? This has to stop! We're not going to do this anymore!" Kira's last words, "This is our world..." chill me and send me into tears. The idealists, the ones with hope for humanity's future, seem to have won, and have achieved the world they wanted, a world without war, at peace.

However, the ending is so abrupt, and taken in the context of this series alone, ignoring the fact that there's a sequel called Gundam SEED Destiny that takes place 2 years later, it leaves me wondering. Looking at the 5-minute "After Phase" prologue, we see our heroes in the new time of peace, living their own happy lives (more or less... poor Murrue... :( ), back to a sense of normalcy, or enjoying their newfound peace and happiness with new families and loved ones. We see the PLANT and Earth Alliance governments deep in peace negotiations. Things are looking up, aren't they?

And yet... I can't help wondering and worrying about the future of the Cosmic Era. Ignoring SEED Destiny, which I'll start watching (and reviewing) soon, let's think about what's still around in this post-war environment. Muruta Azrael, the leader of the anti-Coordinator hate group Blue Cosmos, is dead. Many (if not most) of the Blue Cosmos members who were in the Earth Alliance military have been wiped out by Genesis and lesser weapons. And yet... I'm sure there are still a lot of Blue Cosmos people out there, particularly among the civilian population. In most of the flashback murder scenes we see of Blue Cosmos members killing Coordinators and the scientists who create them, the Blue Cosmos murderers look like civilians to me. I can't help thinking there's still a lot of them out there, spewing their hate, reciting their "for our blue and pure world" slogan, channelling the "ghost" of Jack D. Ripper and ranting about preserving precious bodily fluids and that water flouridation being a Coordinator commie plot. These people will be feeling hate and jealousy for their Coordinator cousins, since many of Blue Cosmos' membership were annihilated in the war, itching for revenge. Azrael may be dead, but -someone- will replace him.

What about the Earth Alliance civilian government? What little we saw of them in the series had them reluctantly supporting Azrael's warmongering and genocidal policies. I'm certain most of them weren't on those Earth Alliance ships or at the Lunar base when they were wiped out by ZAFT's Genesis weapon (politicans, after all, send other people to kill and die for them, never doing the bloody work themselves). Are these same people still in charge of the Earth Alliance? Or was there a "cleaning house" on the part of far more moderate or peace-desiring elements of the government, similar to when we saw Eileen Canaver and Clyne Faction troops coming to arrest Ezalia Joule and other Zala supporters. I can only assume that Ezalia and her ilk get tried and imprisoned or executed for war crimes, but I just don't know what happens yet. When it comes to the political leadership side of things, we saw far more on PLANTs' side and with the Orb Union than we did the Earth Alliance.

But ultimately, sooner or later, the bad people are going to get their hands on the guns and power of government and start the whole bloody mess all over again. These people will invariably always be in charge, as long as people let this kind of power linger. We see Lacus Clyne, the leader of the Clyne Faction and Three Ships Alliance, proponent of peace and opponent of war and violence, in After Phase having some much deserved peace and quiet with her loved ones at Reverend Malchio's orphanage. Is she just there on vacation, resting up and enjoying some quiet, before going back out in the world to continue preaching the message of peace and cooperation? I hope so. Lacus is a natural leader, a prominent public figure (and celebrity) that people listen to. I hope she'll be out there helping to keep the waters calm and using her talents to win people over to her side, or at least get them talking about it.

However, Gundam SEED is a work of fiction, and in the real world, there are no super-heroes with fantastic powers or mobile suits to stop the bad guys, followed by everyone saying, "Oh okay, that was wrong, we'll all behave now," when the conflict ends. The bad people with the guns and the claims of "moral authority" ('cause "might makes right") are still in charge in the real world. To truly bring about a peaceful world, where people discuss instead of argue, where people cooperate instead of fight/compete, where violence isn't even considered a solution to -any- problem, wont' happen overnight. That stuff happens in movies and comic books... and in anime. The reality is that it'll take generations, when enough people realize the problems, and raise their kids to be better than they are, to spread the ideas of peace and cooperation, like seeds (pun intentional) planted to spread through the minds and hearts of humanity.

Gundam SEED tells an exciting and emotional and entertaining and hopeful story of good people overcoming bad obstacles to try to make a better world. In that department, SEED succeeds very well, even if it does leave the big questions of "how" after the fact unanswered, perhaps to the viewer's imagination (or in Destiny, as I'll learn one way or another soon). But it's often said that artists are sad and disappointed people, who express their disappointments with the real world, or their desires for a better world, through their art. And maybe, that's the whole point of this story... not just to give us a ficticious vision of heroes fighting to bring about a better, peaceful world... but give us the audience, you and I, something to think about and talk about, and make such a world a reality. Hopeful, indeed. :)

Alright, I'm going to step off my soapbox now, and get into other lingering plot point questions, opinions of the series overall from various technical standpoints, and all that good stuff.

I'm sure my opinion will change a bit here and there over the years on repeated viewings, but the bottom line is, as it stands, I feel that Gundam SEED is one of the best series/stories in the entire franchise. It set out to be a 21st century "re-imagining" of the original Mobile Suit Gundam, but also borrows a lot of great elements and the usual tropes from other Gundam shows and even other mecha franchises... and it does it extremely well! Some people may complain about "lack of originality," but really... is there such a thing? A wise man once described creativity as taking known, familiar elements and arranging them in new and interesting ways. SEED does exactly this, using what works with the old, but putting it in a new pattern that makes it truly stand on its own, a worthy holder of the Gundam name.

The animation looks fantastic for a TV series. Granted, I haven't seen any newer anime (aside from a couple of other things, including Unicorn) in the last 10 years, but the clean linework, the vibrant colors, the blending with some CG cell-shaded modeling and CG effects looks very very good. I would love to see more old Gundam shows re-animated with modern tools and techniques. Granted, I did watch the Zeta Gundam movie trilogy a few months ago, and was very impressed with the new animation. And I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Gundam: The Origin will be all we hope it to be. But for a first taste of modern animation techniques, SEED is a wonderful appetizer. My only big complaint about the animation - or rather the editing - is the over-use of stock footage, particularly in the 2nd half of the series. It's okay to see a stock shot used on occasion, but when the same shots are repeated in the same battle, in the same episode, it gets a bit tiring and strikes me as a bit excessive beyond the usual mecha anime stock footage cost-cuting. But... at least it's very nice stock footage. :)

The music is also excellent. SEED fortunately (from what I heard) didn't seem to re-use the same stock musical cues on every episode. There are pieces which are only used once, or only occasionally, and haven't been memorized/stuck in my head yet. But what I heard was impressive, and I'm going to try to get my hands on soundtracks for this series and savor the music.

The characterizations, overall, were wonderful. If there's one thing I can appreciate in a good story, more than anything, it's character change and growth. The people you meet at the start of a story may not necessarily be the same people you know them to be by the end of the story. Core personality traits may remain the same (such as Kira holding on to his desire to not kill anyone, and to protect his friends and loved ones), but other elements evolve. People react differently to many things at different points in their lives. A staunch pacifist one day may be a reluctant soldier later on, capable of killing if they think it's for the right reason (Kira, Cagalli). An angry child who desires revenge one day may be a sympathetic hero later on, changing sides or turning on allies because it's the right thing to do (Athrun, Flay, Yzak). A staunch soldier who aids and defends the heroes one day may be a deadly enemy another day, because obeying orders and not asking questions is the "right thing to do" in their mind (Natarle and, um, Natarle :P). And so on and so on... each of the main cast of characters has their own journey, their growth that changes who they are, how they react to things, what they do.

A few characters, however, remain who they are, through and through, even if we don't immediately understand them or realize what they're truly capable of at first. Villains like Rau Le Creuset, Patrick Zala and Muruta Azrael are first-rate villains, so lost in their own anger and hatred and delusions, products of their twisted fathers or societies or whatever other bad environments shaped them into the evil persons they grew up to be. For the discerning viewer who wonders about the roots of "good and evil" as I do, the relationship between Athrun Zala and his father Patrick is a lesson in morality and psychology.

Patrick Zala is an angry, bigoted, genocidal lunatic, reliving whatever childhood trauma he was subjected to by his own parents or environment, lashing out at the world around him, first at the Normals he sees as his race-enemy, then at his own son and his own military officers when they dare to question him. Athrun, however, is his father's son. When his mother died in the nuclear attack on Junius 7, he was a good soldier, following his father's orders to get revenge for his mother's death. And yet... Athrun, could have turned out to be just like his dad, but he didn't. He had doubts, he dared to question his orders, and eventually, after a long and painful journey, which culminated in his mad attempt to murder his childhood friend, he turned his back on his father, his cause, his need for revenge, because it was the right thing to do. Why is this? Surely it had nothing to do with Zala - or, on the other hand, everything to do with Zala. Perhaps Athrun's mother was a gentle soul, who treated young Athrun with respect and sympathy and kindness, nurturing him enough to grow up and not be the brainwashed, useful tool that Patrick Zala wanted his son to be. Perhaps it was his childhood friendship with Kira Yamato, another kind and gentle soul, who was his best friend and, in a way, very much like a brother, who left an impression on Athrun, and then, when he found himself at odds with Kira, began to wonder what's right and wrong.

Thankfully, Athrun's one of the lucky ones, the kid who made bad choices at first, who could've grown up to be a monster like his father, but was lucky enough to have the right kind of people, kind and sweet and wonderful people like Kira, in his life to eventually steer him from this path. Sadly, not everyone in this world (the real world, I mean, though certainly the ficticious world of Gundam, as well) is lucky enough to have or encounter the right circumstances, the kinds of people who can influence them in a way to help them grow into better people than their abusive parents. Athrun's journey is the hardest in this series, I think. No less painful than Kira's, but a much more difficult path to take. Kira Yamato, the kind, sympathetic, reluctant hero of the series, despite the surface changes he goes through in the story, remains true to himself through and through. In the end, he's the same sweet boy he was in the beginning, the only big difference being he's a little wiser about the world now. Gundam SEED is ultimately the story of Kira and Athrun's journey together, but it's Athrun's journey that, in the end, is the far more interesting one to me. :)

I can't skip saying something about Lacus Clyne and Cagalli Yula Attha. I love Cagalli, she's a wonderful character, but ultimately, there's not a lot to say about her character growth, because she's pretty much the same character through the series. However, it's great to see her become a steadfast ally and family/love interest of Kira and Athrun. Lacus, on the other hand.... Lacus, Lacus, Lacus. Probably the most surprising character in the series, evolving from air-headed pop idol ditz to inspiring and staunt moralist and revolutionary, helping Kira and Athrun along on their respective journeys, and bringing them to her cause. Gundam SEED is Kira and Athrun's story, but Lacus is ultimately the real power behind the pilot's seats.

So many other great characters... Murrue Ramius, the most awesome, compassionate, determined and sexiest ship captain in Gundam franchise history. Mu La Flaga, a wonderful mentor/sempai whose presence will be sorely missed. Flay Allster, the girl I didn't even love to hate, just hate, period, who went through her own traumatic journey, and despite using other people for her own ends, and then being used herself, redeemed herself and actually made me feel sorry for her and sad when she died.

I could go on and on about the characters and their developments, but this post is already turning into yet another short book. :P

Let's talk mecha! Forget what I said earlier about Gundam SEED's point being getting us to think and talk about big world sociological issues, the real point of this series is to make money for Bandai through model kit and toy sales! :P

The designs of the Gundams, for the most part, are pretty slick. Even though Kunio Okawara had a hand in their final designs, seeing them in action, they don't look or feel like Okawara designs, and that's a very good thing. Though I still think the Forbidden is very ugly, and some of the other Gundams have varying degree of coolness, overall they're very satisfying and impressive looking. The Strike is my favorite - it's lean and mean and the vibrant traditional colors and plug-and-play hardware are big wins for me, and I've already got a MG Aile Strike kit ordered and on the way to put on my very limited shelf-space. The Freedom looks good, though I'm not too crazy about the color scheme. However, the METEOR is totally awesome - it's Dendrobium Lite! A METEOR model/toy might be nice, but I dunno where I'd put it. :P The Aegis and Justice are so-so - I'm just not crazy about salmon pink for a Gundam, and that super-tall forehead camera/crest fin is kinda silly. My 2nd favorite design from the series is the M1 Astray - the design is slick, and the color scheme is very attractive to me. The Buster, despite my initial dislike of its color scheme, I warmed up to as the series went on. The Blitz, Duel, Raider and Calamity are varying degrees of so-so/meh.

The ZAFT designs, likewise, give me mixed impressions, though overall not as good. The GINN is yet another boring Kunio Okawara recycled design, with a very goofy huge forehead fin, a feature on many ZAFT mecha that I'm not fond of. The GuAIZ and DINN look much neater to me, as does the aquatic ZnO. The Zoids-esque BCUE and LaGOWE, however, I don't like the looks of at all, though I am impressed by their performance and their necessity in the context of their environment.

And the Archangel! As I've said before, it's my favorite Gundam ship to date. It's White Base with style! Simply outstanding, it looks fantastic from every angle, has impressive forepower, making it just as capable as a warship as it is as a MS carrier. I would love to get a nice, not-too-big toy or model of the Archangel. :)

I still have a lot more to say about Gundam SEED overall - I haven't even touched the genetic engineering/Coordinator theme, and a lot of the lingering questions I still have about certain character backgrounds, and the failure of follow-through on certain issues. But I think the series' flaws and shortcomings are far outweighed by the positives and plusses. I'm truly impressed and entertained by the series, and I hope to watch it again not too long from now. Maybe I'll give the English dub a whirl and see how it holds up. :)

I'll be back soon with another post, to get to more of my thoughts and questions. Until then...
Last edited by Burke Rukes on Fri Oct 28, 2011 2:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Burke's First Impressions of Gundam Seed!

I don't want to set you up for disappointment, but DESTINY is going to end up undoing a lot of the things you enjoyed about SEED, thematically, character wise and especially animation wise. DESTINY is crawling with flashbacks, not just from its own series but also SEED, and it's also full of stock footage that has been slightly modified with new suits or background. This is a very small taste of the loads of footage that gets reused. Heck, having just watched SEED, you'll probably notice a lot of it on the fly without having to check the internet.

Still, it's been interesting seeing your first time thoughts on SEED. It's like having an old school Gundam fan go through a time warp and skip nearly an entire decade. I'm eager to see what you think about DESTINY and eventually 00 and AGE.
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Re: Burke's First Impressions of Gundam Seed!

On the complaint about stock footage, they just announced a HD remaster of the series, which supposedly have new animation and probably remove a lot of the flashbacks. You can always try that for a rewatch.
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Re: Burke's First Impressions of Gundam Seed!

This whole topic is making me want to actually finish watching Gundam SEED, or more likely start from scratch.

I'm not so much an old fan returning after a decade then a new fan who has a lot of catching up to do, and I've already seen a good mixture of old and new mecha shows. However (and this topic is making me regret this), I first started watching SEED with a rather strong bias against it because of everything I had heard about SEED Destiny. Instead of trying to enjoy the show for what it was and what it had, I kept looking for things to prove the bias I had developed, such as stock footage or that the story was too similar to MSG, and stuff like that. Funnily enough, though, I did enjoy many parts of it anyway. The attack on Heliopolis was very cool, I personally liked the GINN and its headcrest after seeing it in animation, but I'm a sucker for grunt suits anyway, and I immensely liked Lacus after she ordered Rau not to start a battle. That was epic win.

So, now is the time to ignore the old bias, and to start SEEd anew, so I can develop a proper first impression of it. And I don't care too much for spoilers this time around. I had already learned 99.9% of the stuff that was going to happen in MSG, but still loved it regardless. At least I get to see the magnificent GINN blow up all over again...
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