Hi! This is Cloud98 and welcome to my report card! Here in my report card I'll be reviewing what I want to review (of course); mainly anything I've watched recently from anime to TV shows to movies. I’m gonna give you my in-depth view of it and give you my final grade at the end of my review. Now let me start my review with an anime: Gundam 00, season 1.
Mobile Suit Gundam 00 – and take note it's 00 as in double 07 and not zero-zero or oh-oh, ok? Like the other Gundam series, it takes place on an ATE – that's short for Alternate Timeline Earth. In this ATE, set in the 24th century, 2307 AD in fact, earth's fossil fuels – mainly oil, natural gas and coal – are in short supply and the nations of the earth turn to solar power. Those who harvest the power are 3 groups made up of conglomerates of nations. These “power blocs” build up massive armies and fight senseless wars to maintain “balance of power” in the world. Out of this mess comes “Celestial Being”, a paramilitary organization whose aim is to eradicate war and unite mankind while wreaking disarray on the power blocs. Celestial Being's secret weapon? 4 Giant Robots called “Gundams”; each one with superior weaponry and technology and piloted by 4 uniquely talented “Gundam meisters” each of whom have dark secrets and axes to grind. The first season is a virtual cat-and-mouse chase between the power blocs who attempt to find and put a stop to Celestial Being and their Gundams while the latter 2 attempts to destabilize the power blocs.
That's it for story summary; now for my review. First I'll start with Classification; this is the part where I classify this series whether it's Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Horror, etc. and whether it's for all audiences, parental guidance or for adults only. Gundam 00 is an action/adventure, mecha or robot anime series, which I rate PG-13 (meaning it's not safe to watch alone for people 13 years old and below) due to scenes of violence and some scenes of women dressed in provocative swimwear.
Next I review Gundam 00's storyline and characterization. Watching the series, I can't help but compare this to another Gundam incarnation, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. This I feel is one of the series’ weaknesses - it lacks a sense of originality and gives me the impression that the Gundam series is running out of ideas. Also the series’ tackling of themes on political and economic manipulation, religious fanaticism, backstabbing, etc. were a bit too fast-paced and complicated as compared to previous Gundam series like Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny. In terms of characterization, I felt that the main character, Setsuna F. Seiei was too stereotypical of the male lead in Japanese action anime – cold, lackluster, dull, boring. The rest of the characters weren’t even interesting and lacked character development. By far the only character in 00 that sparked my interest was Allelujah Haptism, one of the Gundam meisters who turned out to have a split personality – an after effect of human experimentation done to him. Thankfully this is only the first season and we hope to see more personality and a much better storyline on the next season.
As for the art and animation, let me say that the art in Gundam improves with each new series and 00 is no exception. I can see a lot of detail on the artwork, especially on the mobile suit designs. The robot fight scenes were very fluid. Add to the fact that the series was animated in widescreen and high definition and you have a very good looking series.
The soundtrack of the series was also exceptional. It jives with the mood and action of the series. The opening and closing themes were done very well.
So overall while it’s not the best Gundam series out there, it’s still good to watch. I recommend renting it on DVD though so you can play it again and again and get a clearer picture of the story.
Here’s the report card’s grade on Gundam 00:
Story and Characterization: C
Art and Animation: A+
Sound Track: A
Final Grade: B
Mobile Suit Gundam 00 – and take note it's 00 as in double 07 and not zero-zero or oh-oh, ok? Like the other Gundam series, it takes place on an ATE – that's short for Alternate Timeline Earth. In this ATE, set in the 24th century, 2307 AD in fact, earth's fossil fuels – mainly oil, natural gas and coal – are in short supply and the nations of the earth turn to solar power. Those who harvest the power are 3 groups made up of conglomerates of nations. These “power blocs” build up massive armies and fight senseless wars to maintain “balance of power” in the world. Out of this mess comes “Celestial Being”, a paramilitary organization whose aim is to eradicate war and unite mankind while wreaking disarray on the power blocs. Celestial Being's secret weapon? 4 Giant Robots called “Gundams”; each one with superior weaponry and technology and piloted by 4 uniquely talented “Gundam meisters” each of whom have dark secrets and axes to grind. The first season is a virtual cat-and-mouse chase between the power blocs who attempt to find and put a stop to Celestial Being and their Gundams while the latter 2 attempts to destabilize the power blocs.
That's it for story summary; now for my review. First I'll start with Classification; this is the part where I classify this series whether it's Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Horror, etc. and whether it's for all audiences, parental guidance or for adults only. Gundam 00 is an action/adventure, mecha or robot anime series, which I rate PG-13 (meaning it's not safe to watch alone for people 13 years old and below) due to scenes of violence and some scenes of women dressed in provocative swimwear.
Next I review Gundam 00's storyline and characterization. Watching the series, I can't help but compare this to another Gundam incarnation, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. This I feel is one of the series’ weaknesses - it lacks a sense of originality and gives me the impression that the Gundam series is running out of ideas. Also the series’ tackling of themes on political and economic manipulation, religious fanaticism, backstabbing, etc. were a bit too fast-paced and complicated as compared to previous Gundam series like Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny. In terms of characterization, I felt that the main character, Setsuna F. Seiei was too stereotypical of the male lead in Japanese action anime – cold, lackluster, dull, boring. The rest of the characters weren’t even interesting and lacked character development. By far the only character in 00 that sparked my interest was Allelujah Haptism, one of the Gundam meisters who turned out to have a split personality – an after effect of human experimentation done to him. Thankfully this is only the first season and we hope to see more personality and a much better storyline on the next season.
As for the art and animation, let me say that the art in Gundam improves with each new series and 00 is no exception. I can see a lot of detail on the artwork, especially on the mobile suit designs. The robot fight scenes were very fluid. Add to the fact that the series was animated in widescreen and high definition and you have a very good looking series.
The soundtrack of the series was also exceptional. It jives with the mood and action of the series. The opening and closing themes were done very well.
So overall while it’s not the best Gundam series out there, it’s still good to watch. I recommend renting it on DVD though so you can play it again and again and get a clearer picture of the story.
Here’s the report card’s grade on Gundam 00:
Story and Characterization: C
Art and Animation: A+
Sound Track: A
Final Grade: B
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