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[durendal]

It's technically about everything. It's a story about a young teen protagonist struggling amidst a looming war. How he was a civilian caught up in a military operation and all the tragedies that befall an individual during times of war. Characters die unexpectedly like how in a real war would. There is no "they are the good guy so they will come out unscathed". The political machinations are also something to be fascinated about. The Titans, an elite military outfit of the Earth Federation is now abusing it's authority killing innocent just to capture rebels (how the Titans was formed was explained in a separate OVA, Stardust Memory), and they are being opposed by AEUG (Anti-Earth Union Group), which serves as a splinter group where the lead character reluctantly belongs to.

And what is so good about this is that something happens in each episode. So the enitre 50 episodes has no fillers. It's not just about Gundams duking it out, it's about the personal challenges each individual faces when they prepare to go out to war. There are characters developments and there are lots of it. We see how Camille starts out as a childish teen into a matured ace pilot.

Also, believe it or not, there was a character named Quattro Vagina! I kid you not. Well, at least that how it was spelled in other official sources.

[Mirabilis]

Durendal hit alot of good points but what he was refering to was specifically to Mobile Suit: Zeta Gundam. Zeta gundam was really good, it did have some moments that rathered annoyed me I will say (the whole Katz crap for ex). But it was really something worth while.

But ryuki, you said you have never seen a gundam show, and want to know, what it is that makes it worth the time. Well to try to explain it, there are so many different shows and sub arcs, so not all of them are in the same timeline or universe.

There is respectfully:

Universal Century (UC)

Future Century (FC)

After Colony Era (ACE)

Cosmic Era (CE)

and

Correct Century (CC)

I believe this is correct, Durendal please correct me if I am wrong about this. The orginial Gundam takes place in the Universal Century which is the main Gundam franchise.

Now to me, what makes Gundam so amazing, is its never ending surprises. The politcal parts are always moving around in a spiral, while it shows how the people have to suffer. It goes on to show how rough the battlefields are, (which by the way the battles are always planned out so well). The fights are incredible, and the brutality of war is shown first hand. As well as how each persons motives change drastically throughout the course of the story, and how sly the politicians are in achieving their goals. The incredible awe of space, and how people live in the conditions. The terminology and the powers that come with the

Newtypes

I mean it is really a great show. (Though some people don't like it, becuase of how big the robots are) but personally I don't mind it.

Now my favorite gundam show thus far, is Mobile Suit: Gundam Wing this show takes place in the After Colony Era, and doesnt have anything to do with the original gundam, or the UC timeline. There are several reasons why I like this show the best so far, one of which is I love how all the main hero's have a common goal, but not only do they have completely different methods of achieving that goal

which at times pit's them against each other

but they all have different motivations for doing the things they do. Another reason why I like it the best, is all the characters

have their own unique gundams, and special names for them, giving them a more personal connection to them, as if they were companions.

There are many other reasons why I like this show the best so far, character development I think was done extremely well, along with the obsessions of achieving specific tasks, from key players. The political parts where well played, and

it showed how one party will use the other to achieve its own ends, as well as discard them when they no longer have any use for them. It also showed how secret organizations infiltrate other parties to take em out from the inside.

The battles were always awesome, I thought so anyways, and finally like Mobile Suit: Gundam 08th MS Team it was animated for a more mature audience giving it a even more realistic feel to the events.

If you want to watch the primary series in order though, here is the list of events that take place. (Again Durendal please correct me if I'm wrong)

Mobile Suit: Gundam

Mobile Suit: Gundam 08th MS Team

Mobile Suit: Gundam 0080 War In the Pocket

Mobile Suit: Gundam 0083 Stardust Memory

Mobile Suit: Zeta Gundam

Mobile Suit: ZZ Gundam

Mobile Suit: Char's Counter Attack

Mobile Suit: Gundam Unicorn

Mobile Suit: Gundam F91

Mobile Suit: Victory Gundam

I believe that is all the (UC) material, and here is the official gundam website were you can find more information if you are interested. I hope this wasnt too overwhelming hehe...

My link

[durendal]

Yup, that's that.

Although I have to say that my opinions of the other Gundam shows are different most specifically the other non UC universe. Mainly because most of the non-UC universe borrows elements from the UC universe. Char Aznable, the main antagonist of the first Gundam series has spawned a lot of clones. Zech Marquise (Gundam Wing), Harry Ord (Turn A Gundam), Rau Le Crusset (Gundam Seed), Asthrun Zara (Gundam Seed Destiny, ala Quattro Vagina), Neo Roanoke (Gundam Seed Destiny, with the mask thing), Graham Acker (Gundam 00, again, the mask thing) and a lot of others I can't remember at the moment. And finally the first official Char Clone

Full Frontal from Gundam Unicorn

.

Char has in fact become an icon in Japanese Culture, that anything marketed as Char's Custom "something" is always colored red and performs 3 times as normal. At one point in time, I even decided that I would name my kid "Char Casval".

Also, aside from the ones mentioned by Mirabilis, there are other side stories that are similarly good. Although they are rarely animated due to them having a conflict on a smaller scale. Like Crossbone Gundam with is a continuation of Gundam F91, Sentinel Gundam which depicts another conflict in the same war as Z Gundam, and a lot of Side Stories that happened in the first Gundam series.

[*Jess♥]

wow, thanks guys, you wrote so much.... and it's so confusing, and i really can't follow it.

so I'm afraid it didn't help.

do you have a 'in a nutshell' version? about what is good about gundam?

or at least something that doesn't involve so much complicated things?

i dunno if i can watch it because i am thinking it may not be good for me to get involved in such a large franchise. after watching naruto it was difficult to adjust to having no constant series.

dragonball was a substitute of sorts but it still left me with a difficult adjustment when kai ended.

I don't have a series that i watch every night now and maybe it is best that i don't. or maybe i can make sure i take a different approach if i do watch it.

so i decided to pick up an anime that taka subs are picking up. it's called ano hana.

haven't watched it yet so I dunno if it's any good.

[durendal]

Hmm.... in a nutshell? I guess you could say political drama and personal tragedy with a slice of life. Of course one that involves giant robots.

You don't need to watch all of the Gundam to get into the franchise as there are quite a few series which are independent of the other series. For starters, you might want to check out Gundam 00. It has only 2 seasons, is quite modern (actually the latest series), and you can watch it without any prior knowledge of the franchise since it is contained in its own universe.

Additionally, all the good Gundam Series are somewhat old. Z Gundam came out in like 1988, so the quality of animation is very far from the current ones. That alone might discourage you from watching them. But if you're looking for great story like a Space Opera, gundam also caters to this as well.

I think you may have caught what I would call anime addiction, as it looks like you are having withdrawal when you're not watching any series.

[*Jess♥]

no, I've got no withdrawal or anything even remotely like that.

I've got a spot in my daily schedule that I'm trying to reliably fill.

watching naruto was like being welcomed into a family. when naruto finishes, it's like being cast out.

it was something i could count on to be there every day. each night, I knew i had that to look forward to before i go to sleep.

so i tried that ano hana. boring. it seems like complete slice of life. nothing really unique.

I thought i would like slice of life, but then i realised the ones i had watched like soremachi, actually have mysterious events happening.

and it has a intriguing comedic style.

maybe i'll watch that gundam 00. as you said the other ones are old, I can probably forget about them.

[durendal]

Yes, old, but still epic to this day. You got to wonder how the Gundam franchise managed to survive for more than 30 years and still going strong.

[Purgstall]

00 Gundam shown alot of potential at being a great Gundam series during the first season, but I felt that they wasted it in season two and the movie. I'd still recommend though especially if you don't like watching older anime. To be honest I almost shedded a man tear near the end of season one. Not gonna say why.

Just skip the SEED series as it was awful in my opinion.

Turn A Gundam and Gundam X are both good. Gundam Wing is alright, its not the best Gundam series but its a decent one and I would definitely show it to a guy thats getting into the series.

G Gundam is just fun, fun, fun. I'm not a huge fan of the Super Robot genre, but this is an exception for me. It was essentially Street Fighter with giant robots. Plus, the show gave birth to two of the most badass Gundam characters of all time...Master Asia and Schwartz Bruder. I probably wouldn't recommend it for a new Gundam fan though since this was so different from the rest of the other Gundam shows.

The UC Gundam series are highly recommend if you don't mind watching older anime.

[Toku Warrior]

I just started watching the new Yu-Gi-Oh! series today which is called Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL. Seems pretty interesting enough.

Here's the OP theme for the series.

Mastermind

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3H3v5uG8-g

[ErutanXiku]

I started watching Code Geass - interesting first episode...though pacing seemed a little fast :/

To rewind a little, the only Gundam I've seen is Gundam Wing and Endless Waltz, which was aired on CNX many years ago I really enjoyed watching them for the action (loved the Mech battles!) and drama aspects, but now that I'm older, perhaps I'll appreciate it more as a whole for the more political and finer aspects. I meant to pick up Gundam SEED and acquired a few episodes, but ultimately never watched them because they were part of a bigger universe that I only remembered a fraction about.

So, I plan on watching the series in its entirety at some point. Along with Macross...one day. Right now, I am also acquiring Tytania, which is written by the man behind my two first and favourite anime's.

Edited April 26, 2011 by ErutanXiku

[durendal]

For the love of God! Avoid Gundam Seed at all cost unless you want to endure watching Emo characters going emo. Well, Seed is somewhat tolerable, but Seed Destiny is unbearable.

You can't go wrong with Macross. It's a classic.

As for Tytania, it's great. Too bad it's still unfinished. I'm still trying to find the novel so I can find out what happens to Van Hyulik as well as the other Tytania Count, presuming that it's already written.

[ErutanXiku]

Guess it's a good thing I completely skipped it

But does it really not add anything to the story or Gundam-verse?

There have been a few titles I've been planning to re-watch, like Outlaw Star and Virus Buster Serge. Outlaw Star is an odd one...I enjoyed it, but I don't remember it being the masterpiece that most people I come across cite it to be. I remember it was enjoyable, but certain aspects of it I didn't quite like.

Such as the Gene/Melfina relationship...that was weird, considering I was under the impression that he viewed her as a sister in the beginning...

[Purgstall]

Guess it's a good thing I completely skipped it

But does it really not add anything to the story or Gundam-verse?

No, it doesn't really add much to the Gundam mythos. It just spits out alot of the same old stuff we've seen already like the giant laser cannon of doom, the attack of a neutral colony, Gundam jacking, the friendly desert ace pilot thats on the opposite side of the protagonists, etc.

As for the faults of the SEED series, well where to start?

-It uses alot of stock footage

-There's too many clip shows. Yes, alot of the Gundam series have a clip show or two but the SEED series had way too many of them.

-Piss poor writing, especially in Destiny.

-The first half of SEED was practically a remake of the first MSG, which made the show rather predictable for a while. Again, bad writing here.

-Kira "Jesus" Yamato is a whiny protagonist and an awful one at that.

-Deus Ex Machina and plot armor galore!

-As mentioned earlier, it spits out alot of stuff we've already seen in various Gundam shows without trying to bring anything new to the table.

- The mechas weren't that original, especially in Destiny as they were just revamped versions of Zeon's old mobile suits like the Gouf and Zaku II. And what the hell is it with them giving the Gundams insanely huge backpacks?

-SEED Destiny had the worst final episode for a Gundam series.

-In Destiny they brought back a character that died in SEED despite the fact that there was literally no way he could have survived it. This helps go back to my point that the writing to the SEED series was awful.

But yeah, stay far away from SEED.

[durendal]

Like I mentioned previously, Gundam 00 is a good series to continue. It's independent as it is contained in its own universe like how Gundam Wing and Endless Waltz are in one single continuity. If you don't want to get wrapped up in the vast Gundam Universe, it be best to skip the UC timeline as mentioned in the previous post by Mirabilis, which pretty much covers everything.

If you're looking for Epic anime, I can name tons of them, as they're pretty much what I'm into. Though I haven't seen much anime lately.

I think it's either I can't find any anime that are interesting anymore or I have already outgrown watching anime. *shocks* I hope not.

[LordSpleach]

Still have to finish Yu Yu Hakusho, Gundam 00's movie, the Gurren Lagann movies, and just started Tekkaman Blade.

[Mirabilis]

I just finished Mobile Suit: Gundam ZZ yesterday and I didn't like it at all, major dissapointment. It became more like a chore watching it, instead of enjoyment. I hate animes like that, but atleast now I know what happened in terms of events, personally I thought it was a joke of a series, and I don't consider it to be apart of the Gundam franchise much like how I don't consider G Gundam or the Guyver Live Action movies to be apart of their franchise. I could go on about why I didn't like it however I feel as if it'd be mute to do so, but thats just me alot of people really liked it and enjoy the show, don't let me scare you away from it, this series just wasnt for me.

Edited May 17, 2011 by Mirabilis

[durendal]

Yeah, ZZ is a joke Tomino played. He wanted it to be a joke series with lots of humor, but all of it didn't add up. I didn't even expect that Judau would get the ZZ so soon. So next up is 0093 for you. The epic final confrontation of Amuro and Char.

Thinking about it now, perhaps it is high time I rewatched V Gundam. I literally fell asleep when I watched it so I really didn't know what happened. The only information I have about that series is based on the Gundam games that I played.

[odin]

I am currently watching Toriko, I never thought that a shonen series dealing with food would be so bizarrely entertaining, currently watching the series on funimation, its up to episode 6 for free legally on funimation, give it a watch if you guys get the chance. here is the them song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHdaNY5DY2Q&feature=related

Edited May 21, 2011 by odin

[*Jess♥]

I saw a review of it. I'm not sure if I want to watch it though. not my style i think.

I did take an interest in nichijo.

I'll think about it some more.

[odin]

well you may never know until you try, give it a test run and see if its your cup of tea. what is nichijo about?

[durendal]

There was previously an anime and manga that deals with food. Chuuka Ichiban, it's about the art of cooking chinese food. I did enjoy the series, but I never found out what happened in the later part of the series, as those parts of the manga were never animated. I think.

Also, no idea what Nichijo is. Googling netted a handfull of results, so I'm not sure which one you're talking about.

[*Jess♥]

nichijou currently airing is an anime of a comedy manga.

it seems to me to be similar to pani poni dash in that it doesn 't really have what looks like a solid plot.

i recognised this picture, i've seen it a lot somewhere.

another one i've taken an interest in, Denpa Onna.

it looks very cute. a girl who thinks she is an alien but actually isn't.

[Toku Warrior]

That images reminds me more of Azu-manga Daioh! than anything else.

Denppa Onna is another series I have on backlog which means I'm downloading it but haven't started it yet.

I did start watching Ao no Exorcist though and it look pretty good with an anime art style similar to FMA...I think it's the same studio.

I'm also DLing these following series:

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai (Ano Hana for short)

C - The Money of Soul and Possibility Control

Hanasaku Iroha

Hidan no Aria

Nichijou

Sengoku Otome Momoiro Paradox

Oretachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai

Dog Days

SKET Dance

I've slowly started C but the others I'll wait until another day or so before I begin watching them.

[odin]

@ Ryuki, interesting i may watch it some time, I am also currently watching Deadman Wonderland, it is a pretty messed up series, a lot of awful things happen to the protagonist and question myself how can a kid of his age suffer through all that without a going insane? I think the voice actress for naruto is doing the voice of him, It really caught my eye this series, i am hoping big things from it since it has a lot of potential in my opinion.

here is the opening btw, pretty cool

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfTL4MPMwQo

Edited May 25, 2011 by odin

[xfool]

@ Ryuki, interesting i may watch it some time, I am also currently watching Deadman Wonderland, it is a pretty messed up series, a lot of awful things happen to the protagonist and question myself how can a kid of his age suffer through all that without a going insane? I think the voice actress for naruto is doing the voice of him, It really caught my eye this series, i am hoping big things from it since it has a lot of potential in my opinion.

here is the opening btw, pretty cool

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfTL4MPMwQo

Just started watching this, its quite twisted but nice.