I agree the movie is really disappointing. But the canon seasons are my favourite Gundam series.
Mobile Suit Gundam 00 tv Review
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
Story Introduction
After the events of the second season , the final and true purpose of the Celestial Being - as well as their GN Drives -
finally comes into play as the reason for their forceful tactics in ensuring a united government is done before the
"Dialogues to come".
ELS - a metallic morphing alien-life form appeared and had attacked the people of Earth for reasons unknown.
Story Overview
I guess you can say that I am sorely disappointed.
Gundam 00 had a rather impressive setting in the previous two seasons prior to the Movie - Awakening of the Trailblazer
- but in this Movie , all of a sudden , it was as though I am watching the Macross installment where everyone on Earth
tries to resist an alien assault from the deep depths of space.
It had deviated too far from typical Gundam settings for the audience to feel comfortable about it considering that most of the other Gundam installments involves a war between two or three factions and battles between Mobile Suits - not alien life-forms with a weird biological structure.
However , the Movie does play a heavier emphasis on the importance of mutual understanding between individuals - a common concept within the Gundam installments and this had become the central aspect of the entire Movie - understanding each other.
Another interesting point to note is the changes in some of the characters - such as Saji whom had matured greatly after his encounter with the Celestial Being and Graham Acker whom had finally decided to ditch playing as Mr. Bushido and see the larger picture of his environment.
However , the Anime does bring back Nena Trinity whom was presumed dead in the previous Season - she grew to be less
psychopathic and became more or less an overly attached lover of Billy.
Bringing back Lockon Stratos was acceptable considering that they've actually made arrangements to make it look
less like a fan-service cameo but bringing back Nena is overdoing it.
Overall , there isn't really much to speak about the Movie and it is simply tying things up from Season II where
the true purpose of the GN Drive is exhibited and true peace is achieved in the world.
As I've said before - the developers had placed a much heavier emphasis on "understanding each other" ,
so all in all , I guess you could say that this is a "moral film" though not exactly a well executed one like
Brave Story.
Rating:
Art
Artwork Review
Again , I can't really say that I'm impressed.
Anime Movies are known to be borders apart from the TV counterparts in terms of artwork , lightning effects and
shadowing but the Movie seems to be slightly inferior to the Second Season in this aspect - Animation-wise and
coloring-wise.
The movement of the Mobile suits seems a bit jagged and blurred in the edges at some scenes - not to mention the whole
Animation wasn't quite as impressive as the second season where the viewers get to have close-ups with
Setsuna's GN Blade mania and a generally smoother Mobile Suit movement animation.
Still , I'll give them credit for structuring a messy large-scaled battle without turning us into cross-eyed audiences owing to the mass amount of movement on the screen.
Rating:
Sound
Music Review
Well , annoyingly enough , compared to the Anime installment there isn't quite as much memorable tunes within the
Movie as compared to the TV installments.
That's saying something considering that Gundam Movies like Char's Counterattack and Gundam F91 had notable
songs like SWAN and Eternal Wind.
If there's any comfort at all , the sound effects and voice acting were as good as before but I was really hoping for a distinctive soundtrack within the Movie as it is a usual pattern amongst Gundam movies.
Rating:
Presentation
This is a Review of Gundam 00 : Awakening of
the Trailblazer
Generally speaking - I'm not amused.
Whilst the movie may had a memorable final scene as with any other Gundam movies , the general plot , the deviation from
the previous installments and the flimsy build-up really makes it a nasty slap in the face for those whom were
anticipating this film.
Whilst one may argue that it's a film made to broadcast the importance of understanding each other and what not ,
it is undeniably poorly executed with zero immersion compared to the previous installments.
Overall ( Others )
Pros
- Memorable ending scenario
- Heavier emphasis on the importance of understanding compared to other Gundam series
Cons
- Flimsy plot
- Deviates too far from typical Gundam settings
- Feels like your watching a poorly made Macross movie
Genre : Mecha , Action
Romance
The Romance factor is... terribly weak in this one.
All of a sudden , Feldt decides to fall in love with Setsuna and Setsuna in turn harbours emotions for the princess ;
Marina Ismail.
It's ironic how Setsuna and Marina ends up being with each other despite the fact that the two of them BARELY
COMMUNICATED throughout the entire series.
The romance factor is a poor excuse and it's like it was hastily stashed in there at the last minute to beseech the
fanbase.
Admittedly , the ending was quite touching but the overall build-up was mind bogglingly bad.
Deviation
Generally , the entire structure of the Movie deviates too far from a typical Gundam setting which knocks it off the
field further away from even the G Gundam's plot setting.
It's like watching a badly made Macross film with no music , no proper romance but with the element of bridging
trust between the aliens and the humans.
Combat
Again , it's another disappointing factor in the film.
Combat in the Anime was great - with each of the Gundam units having their own specialties with intensive Mobile Suit
combat scenarios.
However , in the Movie , it is laser beams , gigantic leaser beams and colossus laser beams.
There's explosions and beams in like almost every frame of the battle - it kinda kills the point of 00 considering
that one of the major strengths of the series is the unique combat scenarios.
Rating:
Final Verdict
5.6667 (average)
Reviewed by z827, Sep 05, 2012
Comments
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WalkingEncyclopedia Sep 06, 2012
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CyanideBlizzard Retired Moderator Sep 06, 2012
Well now I definitely know to stay away from the film and just focus on the TV series.
I like how you focused the review as well. Since, generally speaking, the ones who would be watching this would be those who have seen the television show, it's nice to get an a strong opinion based upon someone who has seen the show, instead of else wise.
Strong review, Z!
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blackhei711 Feb 05, 2013
If you ask me Gundam 00 ended after season 1. When the end credits were rolling during awakening of the trailblazer, I had the most sour face on.
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cassia Mar 09, 2013
I think the story led too far away from the original story of the TV Series, which in my opinion was a lot better than the movie. Nice Review! O(^O^)O
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