Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam - Full TV Series Review / Rant
Ever since I first got into Gundam some 16 years ago and started going into the Universal Century era, I was always told how I should watch Zeta because it’s so great and how SEED Destiny is shallow imitation of Zeta. Now I am that kind of person who often reacts with being told that something is the best, all the time with the opposite reaction but in Zeta’s case I always did want to watch it. It was just that I never had the motivation to do so.
Year ago, I did watch the movie trilogy version of Zeta and I thought the first movie was hands down the strongest one with it’s opening song Metamorphoze performed by Gackt. My only complaint was that it felt like the movie was rushed. But who could forget such an fantastic ending scene of Char and Amuro meeting face to face for the first time after the One Year War?
The other two movies I barely remember anything from.They really didn’t stand out a whole lot to me. Henken’s death scene was better graphically and emotionally I believe.. Perhaps. Not sure, I’d have to rewatch that. But I definetly know that the ending to Movie 3 “Love is the Pulse of the Star” is far better and far more emotional.
So this finally leads us into our collected review of the entire Zeta Gundam TV series, and I will sum it up with one sentence here:
It’s bad, it’s really really bad.
About a month ago, a friend and I discussed TV shows and anime and we got into the discussion of Gundam where I spoke fondly of the various shows, especially the One Year War part of the Universal Century. He expressed an interest in watching that with “I should probably watch Gundam at some point” so I suggested that we can watch it together, that I could be his guide to Gundam, and so we got started. We went through the original MS Gundam TV series where at it’s conclusion, I concluded that the movie trilogy is far superior as it cuts out needless fat like Doan’s Island, and the White Base insistence on sending the Guntank out into combat, in space, since in the movie they replace the Guntank with a second Guncannon instead. After this, we proceeded to watching War in the Pocket, 08th MS Team, MS Igloo series, and finally 0083 Stardust Memory.
This finally lead into us starting to watch Zeta Gundam, TV series together. Oh boy, if I thought the movies was rushed, I was in for a surprise. Right from the get go, the story jumps from beat to beat at a rapid pace, giving us no clear sense of time progression at all, yet it’s suppose to take at least two days in terms of time from Char’s team locating the Gundams, to Kamille getting captured and held in detention, to the inevitable Gundam-jack, but all of this happens in the span of Episode 1 making Kamille seem like an insane highly emotional unstable kid.
From here on onward, it’s a constant battle in every episode. I don’t think a single episode went on without at least one Mobile Suit combat scene but I could be mistaking. Character motivations is all over the place and they flip-flop faster than pancakes. Now we can understand Emma’s motivation, she had no idea that the Titans were such murderous totalitarians as they turn out to be. This makes her one of the better characters in the show per default.
Reccoa is probably one of the worst characters in the show. From the very start, it’s clear that Kamille wants to ‘engage docking procedures’ with her fast and hard from the start, and they even make this a point of him being a hormonal teenage boy and Reccoa an attractive woman. She’s supposed to be a good spy but frankly, she’s the worst spy ever. She does nothing but to get caught and she claims that she enjoys spying because she lost herself after the One Year War, but what this really means is that she wants to dock with Char but he has no interest in her, so she takes this to mean that men only use women as tools. Until she meets Scirocco who is the, and I quote, only Man to treat her as a woman first. Because that is what is important to her, that she has T&A and is acknowledged for that.
Or to put it in far more absurd terms, Reccoa is the perfect justification that the American Military would love to have in order to ban women from serving. She’s that bad of a character.
Perhaps ironically, this leads us into the character known as Paptimus Scirocco who is hands down the best character. He treats everyone with respect and friendliness, even Yazan. Perhaps you could claim that this is a manipulative tactic of him but in that case, you can never trust anyone ever who is kind because they’re only out to manipulate you. That being said, we do know that he has an ulterior motive but we never truly learn what this motive is. Perhaps it’s divulged in the Crossbone Manga that deals with the Jupiter Empire.
But oh, let’s not forget about Beltorchika, or as I’d like to called her Bel-“DOCK ME AMURO”-chika. No really. She goes from I’m a character to throwing herself into Amuro’s arms and demanding he do her there and now. Okay not like that but might as well be since she just out of the blue wants him to kiss her, and he does. It makes no fucking sense. On top of that, she’s a total bitch towards Kamille and other characters. Awful!
And don’t get me fucking started on Katz, a more worthless character together with Sarah is hard to find. Why is he even on the Argama to begin with, why did he go into space? There’s absolutely no fucking reason to other than Amuro sent him there. Besdies, we all know that Kikka was the ace soldier of the One Year War’s White Base Children Platoon anyway.
And Sarah, fucking Sarah. What a despicable character. Eventually, whenever I saw her I’d just be screaming “ SHUUUT HEEEER! ”
I think it’s a damn shame that Zeta Gundam TV series did not live up to my expectations, instead just feeling like a repeat - almost like a prototype - of Neon Genesis Evangelion. From character’s having extremely poor characterizations, to random segments of drama and angst thrown in just for arguments, to the extremely poor quality of the show, Zeta Gundam is a complete disappointment.
But that’s my opinion after all. Perhaps you’ll enjoy it more.But for all my opinion’s worth, you’re better off watching the Movie version. it keeps a better pace of things and it gives you a cameo in the form of Advance of Zeta, the Hazel II Gundam.
All said and done, let’s enjoy some burgers.
- Zeithri