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 Mobile Suit Gundam 00 : Second Season :
Introduction :
It has been 4 years since the last battle and intervention done by the Celestial Being and the death of Lockon Stratos.
The world has changed but had it changed for the better? No , a new leading group , called the A-LAWs , took the role of
being the leaders of the unified humanity , corruption lies in the government , the world has not changed at all and
thus , Celestial Being returns once more.
Terminology : ( Some terms are not mentioned since their already posted in the previous Review )
Trans - AM : A System that greatly enchances the ability and performance level of a Gundam for a set period of time.
However , this will also decrease the performance of the Gundam below average levels after it deactivates as it consumes
a large amount of energy.
Innovators : Beings who are beyond the levels of humanity. A group of Innovators is currently behind the events that
takes place.
Innovade : Term will not be fully explained due to spoiler reasons but Innovades are similar to Innovators , but their
not True Innovators.
A-LAWs and The Federation : A-LAWs is something like an elite group , the higher ups in other words. While the
Federation is the main government body of the united humanity.
Character Sypnosis : ( Critical Roles Only )
Gundam Meisters :
Setsuna F. Seiei :
4 Years after the last battle , Setsuna , apprently , left Celestial Being. However , after seeing the world as it is
and how it changed for the worse , he began piloting his Gundam once more , to change the world. He now pilots Gundam 00
, a Gundam with ranged but mainly melee capabilities.
Personality :
Setsuna became relatively more social , though still retaining a bit of his indifferent personality. He cares for his
comrades and he seems to have became somewhat similar to the previous Lockon Stratos , talking to some of his comrades
when their emotionally confused. His also greatly influenced by Marina Ismail and the previous Lockon Stratos and thus ,
he attempts to change himself for the future.
Tiera Erde :
His the only Gundam Meister who remained with Celestial Being after the battle. He , along with the other remaining
members of Celestial Being , attempts to bring back Setsuna to resume their interventions to change the world once more.
He now pilots Gundam Seravee , which is quite similar to Virtue but with a lot more...say...interesting
features.
Personality :
Compared to Season I , Tiera became more sociable ( All right , he became MUCH MORE sociable ) and he even jokes at
times. He , too , was greatly influenced by the previous Lockon Stratos and he now became more accepting of human error.
He now also views himself as a human and becomes more emotionally so.
Lockon Stratos :
After the death of the original Lockon Stratos , Setsuna F. Seiei. soughted out Neil Dylandy's twin brother , Lyle
Dylandy. Lyle was fairly cynical at first but he eventually accepted the post of being in Celestial Being , though it
was for his own motives. He is the pilot of Cherudium , a unit extremely similar to Dynames if you don't consider
the extra features.
Personality :
Compared to his twin brother , his relatively more rash and hot-headed. He doesn't get along with the Gundam
Meisters initially either. However , otherwise , his actually quite similar to his older brother.
Allelujah Haptism :
After the conflict 4 years ago , Allelujah managed to survive but was captured by the Federation. However , he was saved
by his friends and rejoins the Celestial Being , though somewhat troubled by the situation of Soma Peries , or rather ,
Marie. He now pilots Gundam Arios , which...well , again , is somewhat similar to Kyrios but significantly more
enchanced.
Personality :
I guess throwing him into a room all tied up isn't gonna change his personality much. Like before , Allelujah is
relatively more reserved compared to his fellow Gundam Meisters. However , if Marie was involved , he'd get fairly
emotional and may act irrationally at times.
Crew of Ptolemaois : ( Note , your free to skip the rest of the character list )
Feldt Grace :
One of the remaining members from the original crew. She , too , stayed with Celestial Being after the previous mission.
When she had first seen Lyle Dylandy , and his uncanny resemblance to his twin brother , Feldt was somewhat swayed but
snaps out of it after a conversation. She retains her role as a co-ordinator.
Saji Crossroad :
After getting caught up in a life threatening situation , Saji was taken in , against his will , by the Celestial Being.
He was confined to himself at first due to his hatred and misunderstanding of the organisation but his view on it
changes after several battles. He also looks forward to being with Louise once more.
Sumeragi Lee Noriega :
She became a wasted drunkard as she was thoroughly put down by her failures as a strategist 4 years ago. However ,
Setsuna managed to force her to return to Celestial Being and over time , Sumeragi regained her confidence as a
strategist.
Anew Returner :
A newcomer of the crew. She appears to be multi-talented and was personally recommended by Wang Liu Mei
herself.
Others :
Soma Peries / Marie :
The person of affection of Hallelujah , whom was deeply confused by her denial of the name Marie. She remained as a
Super Soldier and fights against the Celestial Being.
Louise Halvey :
After their seperation ( with Saji ) , Louise joined the military and attempts to seek vengeance for her family. Her
body is also badly affected by the cells which were damaged by the fake GN Particles 4 years ago.
Innovators :
Their leader is Ribbons Almark , proud , haughty and arrogant , the Innovators are extremely certain of their own
abilities and looks down upon humanity.
Wang Liu Mei , Nena Trinity and Hong Long :
Nena Trinity was taken in by Wang Liu Mei , who become a double faced agent who aids both the Innovators and the
Celestial Being. Hong Long remains as her supposed bodyguard but well , let's just say there's an unexpected
dialogue about Hong Long's identity.
Marina Ismail , Shirin Bakhtier and Klaus Grad :
Shirin Bakhtier , after leaving Marina as her advisoer , joined Klaus who was a commander of an anti-government force
called Katharon. Marina on the other hand , struggled with the situation of her country and she later 'joins'
Katharon after a sequence of events , well , more like taken in like as a refugee anyway :P
Overall :
To be honest , Season II was a major leap from Season I. The character personalities were GREATLY improved. I mean ,
Tiera was so annoying in Season I that I feel like slapping him in the face at times. In Season II , he became extremely
likeable. Setsuna also stopped his bad habit of squealing *ahem* screaming... "GUNDAAAMMMM!!!!" and he found a
new and more...reasonable reason to fight rather than trying to live as a Gundam all the time. As for Allelujah...well ,
with the general absence of his alternate ego , he became far less bad ass compared to Season I and what's more he
became all "love-love" with Soma Peries. ( It's not really a bad thing , right? ) It's also
interesting to see that even though the current Lockon looks and somewhat behaves like the previous Lockon , their
actually really different if you think about it. But honestly put , I prefer the original Lockon. This one is a bit more
cynical.
Well , pushing this matter aside...
Psychologically speaking , the characters can get a bit unsettling as well. Particularly characters like Louise who had
lost her entire family and all. Some of the characters make me feel like punching them head on in the face , such as
Wang Liu Mei ( Despite her beauty , she's one manipulative brat , though her personality was explained in the later
episodes. ) and Nena Trinity. In short , the developers of the Anime sure knows how to make the audience love or simply
hate the characters they intend to develop in that sense.
In terms of storyline , well , like Season I , it starts to pick up in pace as the story progresses. Things get REALLY
emotional as the story progresses and sacrifices were dished out mercilessly. Though it does get a bit unrealistic as
the amount of coincidences is high. For example , a main character in Group A have to fight his / her lover in Group B.
You get the idea , the enemies and the heroes are almost always related in some way or the other.
As for the black and white morality concept , which was pretty much grey in the previous Season , became more clear cut
in Season II. Well , it's easier now to see whose right and whose wrong , especially since there are arrogant mules
like the Innovators as the antagonist. But there are still...say..morally upright people fighting on the enemy's
end due to their beliefs. But expect to see this concept a lot in this Anime. "Old enemies becoming new
friends" Yup , that's like the new theme of the Anime or something. Retriubution and evil doers facing
judegment is also depicted fairly clearly in this Anime.
Generally speaking , the storyline is actually pretty well done , though hampered with several unexplained loopholes ,
several over-dramatic sequences ( Well , I actually kinda like the melodramatic sequences , but I udnerstand that some
people may hate it ) and unrealistic coincidences.
Rating: 9
Art
Artwork Review :
Well , since 4 years had passed , the characters appearances have obviously changed a bit. To be honest , Setsuna's
change in facial shape was a bit unsettling at first but you'd get used to it after a while.
In case you didn't notice , Tiera's hair is a bit longer on one end as well :O
Feldt's hairdo has also changed a bit.
....Wait , this is getting too trivial.
By the way , the Innovators' clothings can really cause a gender confusion. I mean , the Innovators , in terms of
appearances , can easily be either male or female and now , they have to confuse us even further by making them wear
some feminine clothes :O My head ached when I tried to figure out whether some of the Innovators are male or female ( It
doesn't help either when their Seiyus sound tomboyish ) Overall , it's kinda interesting to see that the
Innovators tend to have twin versions of themselves and how a weeny bit of change can...well , cause a gender confusion
:P
As for the Gundam designs... other than 00 Gundam , I don't really see much of a difference in the other Gundam
Meister's Gundams. I mean , Seravee looks identical to Virtue , other than the gigantic face-like structure on
it's back. I have a trouble telling Arios and Kyrios apart and Cherudium isn't all too different from Dynames.
Gundam 00 has also retained it's Opening and Ending pattern , such as the Opening sequences being packed with
battles and all while the Ending sequences are a bit more descriptive of the Gundam Meister's personality.
Rating: 9
Sound
Music Review :
I have nothing much to say for this :P Well , if I must write something out...then it would be the lyrics. Generally ,
like Season I , the lyrics had quite perfectly defined the theme and the situation of the Gundam Meisters ( and some of
the other characters ) .The theme of the tune is fairly unique as well.
List of Openings , Endings and BGMs :
Hakanaku mo Towa no Kanashi ( Opening I )
Prototype ( Ending I )
Namida no Mukou ( Opening II )
Tommorow ( Ending II )
Trust You ( Ending III )
Unlimited Sky ( BGM )
Seiyu :
Meh , can't believe I forgot about this in the previous Gundam 00 Review.
Mamoru Miyano is the Seiyu for Setsuna F. Seiei , he has also played the roles of..of.....of....NO WAY!! Yagami Light of
Death Note!? He had also played Tamaki from Ouran High School Host Club.
Shinichirou Miki is the Seiyu for both Lockon...which makes sense :O He had played roles like Takumi from Initial D ,
Assassin from Fate / Stay Night and Kurz from Full Metal Panic.
Allelujah is played by Yoshino Hiroyuki , who took on the roles of Masayuki of Love Hina , Fuyuki of School Rumble and
Roa of Tsukihime.
Our emo hero Tiera...I mean , our hero Tiera ( Just a joke :P Don't be offended :O ) , is played by Kamiya Hiroshi
, who took on roles like Shinji from Fate Stay Night , Michael from Full Metal Panic and Yuuta from Honey and Clover.
Rating: 8
Presentation
This is a Review of Gundam 00 : Second Season : ( Don't read this if you haven't finish the First Season as
there are several references being made , what? I can't help it! T_T )
The Second Season is a major improvement from the First Season. The characters become relatively more likeable (
Remember Setsuna having a unconditional love with his Gundam and Tiera being a arrogant mule? )
and some of the characters deserves a place under the heels of every audience watching this Anime ( Like Ribbons , Nena
Trinity and Wang Liu Mei. Sure , their beautiful...oh wait , that doesn't sound right for Ribbons. But their
manipulative and corrupted :O But at least , Wang Liu Mei is what I call "sympathy-worthy" )
The series also became much more light hearted and alas! Love have sprouted! But not between the characters I intend to
see!! :P
It's also amusing to see what Gundam Setsuna used for his final battle , so the older model of the Gundams
isn't exactly entirely abandoned in Season II.
Well , as I said in the story section , things get relatively emotional and depressing here and there. Though the only
cast being sacrificed were side-characters in this Season , their characters whom you'd definitely miss. Well , not
all of them perhaps.
Things also got less political in this one since it's mainly the government fighting against the anti-government
troops , though there are methods of propaganda , deceit , betrayal and corruption within the government itself.
It's also to see that the character personalities and their reason to fight was improved from the previous season.
Overall , this Anime kinda lives off it's cast of characters.
Overall ( Others ) :
Age Recommendation : 14 +
Genre : War / Mecha , Action , Romance ( Minor )
Romance :
Well , expect a bit of love here and there and some unfufilled ones as well. But heck , where the hell is my Marina x
Setsuna situation!? *rants and grumbles on for an hour...* Well , either way , it's as though the developers are
teasing us or something , the two of them treats each other in a fairly abnormal way yet they claim their nothing more
than friends.
Gore :
The bloodshed involved is significantly reduced. No more visible broken limbs and legs! Hooray for queasy
audiences!!
Fan Service :
Well , there are some in the second opening and for the girls , you'd get to see Setsuna's and Saji's
masculine figure :O
Trivia :
( For most of the other trivia info. , it's in the Season I review )
- The theme song for the upcoming Movie is called "Change"
- The Movie might be released in 18 Sept 2010
Rating: 8
Final Verdict
8.5000 (very good)
Reviewed by z827, Apr 24, 2010
