The series is set in the years 2307-2308 AD of the Gregorian calendar. During this time, fossil fuels became exhausted and the distribution of fuels became imbalanced. Humanity must rely on an array of solar power generation systems orbiting the Earth, and supported by three orbital elevators, each one pertaining to one of the three "major powers" on the planet.
The Union of Solar Energy and Free Nations, consisting of the Organization of American States, Australasia and Japan, control the elevator located in South America. The Human Reform League, consisting of China, Siberian Russia, India, the nations of South Asia (excluding the middle-Asian states of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan), Mongolia, the member states of the ASEAN, Papua New Guinea, the Korean Peninsula, and Taiwan, control the elevator located in the Pacific Ocean. The Advanced European Union (AEU), consisting of Iceland, the islands of the Barents Sea, Greenland, Anatolia, European Russia and the entirety of the traditional continent of Europe, control an elevator built in the middle of the African continent.
With this infinite source of energy benefiting only the major powers and their allies, constant warfare erupts around the globe for fuels and energy. The nations that rely on fuel have plunged into poverty. Many believed that solar energy threatened the "promised land of God". The chaos lead to the formation of a private military organization, called Celestial Being, dedicated to eradicating war and uniting humanity with the use of four humanoid machines called Gundams.
The series follows four mobile suit pilots termed Gundam Meisters, sided with Celestial Being. The protagonist is 16-year old Setsuna F. Seiei, a quiet, taciturn young man who grew up in the Kurdish Republic, and a Gundam Meister for two years. He pilots the GN-001 Gundam Exia, a high mobility mobile suit effective in melee combat.
By: zegesbar79
Story & Characters
This is a Review of Gundam 00 Season I :
Introduction :
It is the Year 2307 AD . Fossil fuels were no longer used and three major powers are governing the world. Union , Human
Reform Group and the AEU. However , the world has yet failed to unite , a pointless power struggle is happening between
the three groups. Civil war and terrorism lives on despite the seemingly unlimited amount of power provided by the
Orbital Elevators , Solar Energy being the newest source of energy. Out of no where , during a military exhibition of
mobile suits , a mysterious group , proclaiming to be the Celestial Being , appeared. Utilising cutting edge technology
mobile suits by the name Gundam , they claim to end all wars by force.
Terminology Sypnosis :
Gundam : A new series of Mobile Suits that belong to the Celestial Being. Their power is unmatched. As of now , only
four of them exists and belongs to this mysterious organisation. Namely Exia , Dynames , Virtue and Kyrios.
Gundam Meister : Selected people , chosen by Vadar , whom pilots the Gundam Suits. Secrecy is a practice used in
Celestial Being so the background information of all the Meisters and staff of Celestial Being were not revealed to
their colleagues.
G.N. Particles : Mysterious particles released by the Gundams. It doubles as a weapon and an energy source.
Veda : The core system of the organisation Celestial Being. It's a super computer that provides and protects
information of Celestial Being and providing support to the Gundams.
Character Sypnosis :
Setsuna F Seiei :
Codenamed Setsuna F Seiei and the youngest selected Gundam Meister of Celestial Being in it's history. Setsuna was
also a survivor of a country that was destroyed by war and civil unrest. Losing everything as a child , he seeks to
change the world by becoming one with his Gundam , Exia.
Personality :
Appearing cold and indifferent most of the time , Setsuna shuns away his neighbours after returning to his hideout when
there are no missions to do. However , Setsuna cherishes his teammates and the people around him , rushing head first
into battle to save those in need.
Lockon Stratos :
Codenamed Lockon Stratos. His the pilot of Dynames and also the Sniper in the team. He also have a Haro which helps him
out in battles , it acts as a companian as well.
Personality :
Comparably more sociable and outgoing compared to his fellow pilots , Lockon gets along with everyone else extremely
well. His also the one whom Setsuna is able to talk to normally.
Allelujah Haptism :
Codenamed Alleluah Haptism. His the pilot of Kyrios and can be considered a bombardment unit. Allelujah , like most of
his Meister team mates , have a past that causes him to fight on to change the world.
Personality :
His considerably more gentle and soft-spoke compared to the other Meisters but there is another side of him as
well...
Tieria Erde :
Codenamed Tieria Erde. His the pilot of Virtue , a Gundam with high firepower capabilities. Tieria follows orders
extremely strictly and his even less sociable compared to Setsuna.
Personality :
He have a pretty edgy personality , often getting into fights with Setsuna and criticising the faults of others. However
, despite this personality of his , he cares for his team mates deeply and when time calls for it , he can work fluently
with Setsuna.
Other Characters : ( Skip this if you want to )
Sumeragi Lee Noriega :
The tactician and Captain of the battleship , Ptelemaois. Her strategies had almost always led to flawless
victories.
Feldt Grace , Christina Sierra and Lichtendahl Tsery :
Operators of the ship , Ptelemaois. Feldt is relatively emotionless , but she does soften once in a while. She also
seems to have a crush with one of the Gundam Meister , Lockon. Christina on the other hand , often tries to make Feldt
open up and tends to bring her out rather than letting her drown in work. Lichtendahl on the other hand , seems to have
a crush on Christina.
Aeolia Schenberg :
The one who had started the Celestial Being and the one who envisioned an united world. His literally wrapped up in
mystery , as he was a notable figure who had lived 200 Years ago so his supposed to be dead now. So how did he govern
the Celestial Being? How does he predict the events that have occured? Who exactly is he?
Wang Liu Mei :
A beautiful Chinese girl who acts as an agent of Celestial Being. She passes information around the organisation. She is
often accompanied by Hong Long , her bodyguard.
Saji Crossroad and Louise Halevy :
A pair of young unmarried student couple who lives near ordinary lives. However , their normal lives are affected by the
actions of the world and the Gundams.
Marina Ismail :
Princess and Governor of Azadistan , a country which is suffering from Civil War and the lack of resources. She have
great love for her country and it's people.
Overall :
Gundam 00 starts off in a seriously lame manner. A group appears out of no where , owns the enemy and win without any
flaws for the first few episodes. The characters' personalities are half-baked and everything was left hanging.
Just when I thought I was disappointed with this series , suddenly , it made a major bounce back. The characters'
personality were explained as their past were explained and Setsuna's cheesy love for his Gundam was explained. We
get to look into the system of the overly mysterious organisation , Celestial Being. The overpowered Gundams start to
meet their match ( Hey , seeing confirmed victories all the time gets boring y'know ) Near the ending , there are a
lot of deaths and their not pulling any stops either. Some of the character's true intention and personality turned
out to be quite a twist as well.
Gundam 00 is also relatively more political and is more focused on the characters. It is also interesting to see the
whole warfare in different views as the focus in the Anime is switched from characters to character. From the Gundam
Meister to the ordinary citizens ( Saji and Louise ) and how their lives were affected by the actions from either sides.
In short , it's like a roller coaster. You will have to drag yourself through the fairly ordinary first few
episodes before you can enjoy the ride downwards.
Rating: 8
Art
Artwork Review :
Like always , you have to love the new set of Gundam designs.
Either way , if I have to compared this to Gundam Seed , I would say that the lighting effects were improved. You can
very clearly see the lighting and shadows on the Gundam in most space battles and the coloring scheme is a lot more
richer. The explosions , slicing and damage caused by beams and bullets are a lot more detailed as well.
Rating: 9
Sound
Sound Review :
I swear I got some goosebumps at the Second Opening. Generally , the music of the Anime is extremely well done and the
lyrics kinda fit into the theme , but it doesn't work out all too well either.
List of Openings and Endings :
Daybreak's Call ( Opening I )
Wana ( Ending I )
Ash Like Snow ( Opening II )
Friends ( Ending II )
Love Today ( BGM )
Rating: 9
Presentation
This is a Review of Season I :
All in all , this particular Gundam series seems to focus a lot more on the characters rather than how interesting the
Gundam look. As I said in the Story Section , the first few episodes are simply horrible. Cheesy concept , cheesy
characters and cheesy battles. But things get better and better as it goes on as the details were explained and the
battles got tougher and tougher for our heroes. It's also nice to see the lack of clear cut black and white
morality in this Anime since both sides are actually doing the things they believe in and in the course of that , both
sides shed blood and sacrifices were dished out mercilessly.
Overall ( Others ) :
Age Recommendation : 13 +
Genre : Mecha , Political / War , Action
Romance? :
To be honest , I feel kinda annoyed that romance seems to be almost non-existant for our main lead , Setsuna. There are
faint hints of sparks between him and Marina Ismail but hell , after the characters have gone all mushy in Gundam Seed ,
it's unbearable to sit through this vague romance. *rocks in chair in a maniacal manner* Well , there are other
couples here and there though.
Gore :
Interestingly , the amount of gore have elevated a little. Rather than minimal amount blood sprays that you see in other
Gundams , there are actually missing limbs in this. Well , it's not particularly violent and it doesn't occur
often either to be honest.
Trivia :
- There are several novel versions of Gundam 00. Gundam 00P , a prequel , Gundam 00V , a side-story Sequel that focuses
on another character and Gundam 00 , which follows the Anime's plotline.
- There is a Manga of the same name , it's slightly more comedic and different in storyline sequence. There is also
Gundam 00F which is a side-story and Aoi Kioku which tells us more about the Gundam Meisters.
- There are two video games for this. Gundam 00 and Gundam 00 : Gundam Meister. The first one is released on the DS
while the latter is released on the PS2.
- A drama CD set , Gundam 00 Another Story : Mission-2306 is a prequel and Road to 2307 is also another prequel. I
assure you , after getting through all this , you will be more attached to the Gundam 00 like a leech on a
wound.
I am currently watching the Second Season and will do a review on it once I'm done.
Rating: 7
Final Verdict
8.0000 (good)
Reviewed by z827, Apr 03, 2010
