Anime: Mobile Suit Gundam

[Nevix]

I... rather get the "Don't really give a F*** anymore" response. We need to give Chuck better anime to review.

Maybe some Cowboy Bebop, or some Trigun, or... or...

Wow. Chuck deserves a medal for raising his kids.

Oh right! Good anime. Outlaw Star, Fullmetal Alchemist, or maybe something a little more grounded and not as crazy, with less scifi and more... well, trek or something.

Tenchi Muyo's got a relatively decent dub performance for its day.

True! It's also pretty good too, though not as big a favorite as the others mentioned.

Funnily enough, Big O and Tenchi Muyo were some of the absolute first anime I ever saw, way back when I could only see Cartoon Network at my grandmother's during holidays.

[APlotdevice]

It's an old show, that was teetering on cancellation most of its run, and has a large number of "futuristic" fake names. And Japanese uses Italian vowels, AND half the cast didn't get the memo that it's Mirai (future) not Mira (which WOULD work as a name). Oh, yeah and sometimes the subs probably mention a name that no one actually said (they may have been "zero-pronouned" or referred to by title).

Well to be fair it's not a natural thing to sound out for an English speaker, especially if all you're given is a word on a piece of paper as they probably were.

[APlotdevice]

It's an old show, that was teetering on cancellation most of its run, and has a large number of "futuristic" fake names. And Japanese uses Italian vowels, AND half the cast didn't get the memo that it's Mirai (future) not Mira (which WOULD work as a name). Oh, yeah and sometimes the subs probably mention a name that no one actually said (they may have been "zero-pronouned" or referred to by title).

Well to be fair the spelling would throw off most English speakers without any prior experience with other languages. English is kinda weird when it comes to vowels. The orthography poorly matches with the sounds.

[AkatsukiLeader13]

I've been waiting to comment on your MSG reviews until they were done. While I am a little disappointed in how you felt about the movies, I understand why you feel that way as well. While other Gundam fans have recommended the movies as a starting point for newcomers to see if they like the franchise, I don't.

To me, the films are too condensed and bare bones for a newcomer to easily grasp. Especially if they are new to the genre/subgenre and unfamiliar with the tropes that were... well born out of Mobile Suit Gundam.

Frankly if someone wanted to get into Gundam they have to start with one of the main series, such as MSG, Wing or SEED. The OVAs are a possibility but at the same time, they're often quite invested in the setting, making it hard to fully get into them without the previous knowledge of the setting.

[MithrandirOlorin]

He should have done the Dubs, his reasoning for not doing them basically comes down to not wanting to use a Pirated source. They're actually quite easy to find online when you're not trying to stay legal.

[Edvarius]

To me, the films are too condensed and bare bones for a newcomer to easily grasp.

Really, that's probably a problem with compilation movies in general. It might seem to people who are familiar to the series to be a good thing for introduction as it presents the story in a shorter, easier to digest format, often with some improvements in animation due to higher budget. But at the same time, they can't really judge what's newcomer friendly as they no longer have that mindset. The various things that were slowly fleshed out in a series over time are cut to cram in the plot points, leaving out the character development. With somebody who is already familiar they may not notice the lack, but it's a pretty important one.

As for MSG I can't really say much. I never actually took the time to get familiar with what seems to be the basic setting. I remember being a fan of Gundam Wing and G Gundam when they were showing on TV, but those were both alternate settings.

[AkatsukiLeader13]

To me, the films are too condensed and bare bones for a newcomer to easily grasp.

Really, that's probably a problem with compilation movies in general. It might seem to people who are familiar to the series to be a good thing for introduction as it presents the story in a shorter, easier to digest format, often with some improvements in animation due to higher budget. But at the same time, they can't really judge what's newcomer friendly as they no longer have that mindset. The various things that were slowly fleshed out in a series over time are cut to cram in the plot points, leaving out the character development. With somebody who is already familiar they may not notice the lack, but it's a pretty important one.

As for MSG I can't really say much. I never actually took the time to get familiar with what seems to be the basic setting. I remember being a fan of Gundam Wing and G Gundam when they were showing on TV, but those were both alternate settings.

Indeed. A couple of years ago, a classmate of mine, after noticing a Gundam wallpaper I had on my laptop, asked me about getting into the franchise and I told him that while there are shorter OVAs and the compilation films, they're really depended on having already gotten into the franchise.

So I told that he should probably start with the original MSG, Wing or SEED. MSG because it's the original, the one that launched the franchise and the genre. Though with the note that it is old and dated in a lot of ways. Of all the spin off series, SEED is the closest to MSG, taking much from MSG and telling it in new ways. It's the closest to a MSG 2.0.

As for Wing, well it's one of the most beloved of the spin-off series. While it's a different beast from MSG, it still touches on many of the same ideas and themes.

Indeed, most of the Gundam series do. Really it's only G Gundam Fighter and the Gundam Build Fighters that stand apart from the rest of the franchise. The former being an over the top martial arts mech fighter series and the latter being Gundam Model Fighter the series.

So aside from those two series as well as Zeta and Double Zeta as they are sequels to MSG, any of the full Gundam series are fine starting points for newcomers. My recommendations are as I said, MSG, Wing and SEED. Double Zero I never really liked as I found most of the main characters dull and boring while most of the mech designs were unappealing. I keep meaning to sit down and watch Iron-Blooded Orphans but I've just not had the time. And I haven't seen any of the ones that have only been subbed beyond the first couple of episodes.

[MithrandirOlorin]

For me the movies are how I first watched the saga of the One Year War and it was perfectly fine for me.

Of course my first introduction to Gundam as a whole was Gundam 00, 00 is the best version of Gundam.

[BBally81]

I've showed the trilogy to two of my friends, both of them having different reactions. They're both anime fans but one watches them in Japanese with subtitles while the other prefers dubs. My first friend liked it so much, he would later cosplay as Char at a con while the other like Chuck had a more lukewarm reaction and basically said that he doesn't get the appeal of it.

It's interesting to see the different reactions the film compilation trilogy can bring up.

[chaos42]

I think he has a point. These movies don't work as well unless you know its episodes that have been stuck together. And they do edit a bunch out like mquva and the black tristars but overall i think these are more for fans. Also not understanding something is hard enough when a lot of the designs are using the older art style.

However don't show him ZETA or he is going to go nuts over Kill them all's ending to that series. The movies maybe but the series ya he would flip his wig