I've just finished watching the first episode of Gundam Age. So thought I'd list down some observations without too much spoilers.
-Character depth: Pretty good. It could be due to the sharp animation that draws out the facial expressions and emotions of the characters. You already start feeling for the protaganist, Flit Asuno, a precocious green-haired kid.
-Character design: This one's subjective. Personally, I feel it's too kiddy, and some of the characters look like they stepped right out of a Dragonball cartoon. It's hard to fit it to the gritty battlefield sequences Gundam is well-known for. I'm assuming Flit matures as the series go along, just like Setsuna, so he should look better. Right now though, I don't really know what's up with the spikes in his hair just above his temple,which resembles the charactersitic V-fin of Gundams. Really?? lol
-Plot: It's still too early to tell. But judging by the going-on in the first ep, the plot seems pretty simple. Story opens tragically on the battlefield with a very young Flit witnessing utter destruction, just like Setsuna in the 00 series. That's all I'll reveal. Will it have the grit and depth of the 00 series or its predecessors? Hard to tell. Don't expect much as well, given it's obvious they've targeted this at kids. Watch this space.
-Mecha design: Ah yes, the part everyone's probably got their eye on. The Age 1 Gundam does kinda grow on you. Although I still can't shake off similarities to the 0 Gundam. As for the designs of the enemies, presumably aliens, I don't really dig them. But they do look better in action on screen, than their still images that Bandai has released, so maybe there's hope yet. There's an MS known as the Genoace by the good guys, meant to complement the Gundam, but these are mostly cannon fodder, and not much thought has been put into their designs.
So where does that leave us? Personally, I'm kinda hopeful for the series. It wasn't as bad as I suspected. The animation is crisp and sharp. Fight scenes are top notch. I'm not sure how the plot can get deeper or more complex, given the seemingly kiddy nature of the characters, and whether other Gundams besides the Age will arise from this series, like DOuble 0 and its Celestial Being gang, is anyone's guess. So far it seems only one Gundam, in various incarnations throughout the series, takes centre-stage. We'll pray for more....
Till the next episode...It's back to working on GBWC!
6 comments:
I actually enjoyed the designs of the enemies. The two other designs besides the Gafran(ones in this ep) look pretty sweet. The Genoace is also nice by my tastes. It's plain, but that just leaves lots of room for improvement both in the show and by us modelers.
Yeah bro I do admit the designs are kinda growing on me. But I've yet to reach that level where the designs, simple or not, make me feel strongly enough about them to wanna go out there and buy the kit and make it. Except maybe the Age Gundam. We'll see...
Personally, I found the character art styles to resemble the Megaman Zero/ZX series, which is a plus for me. The Gafrans are also easily the best mook designs an enemy faction has ever gotten. Heck, make that any faction. The Genoace only loses out to the Djinn from Seed and the Flags from 00 in terms of design(for me). For quite possibly in a while, the protagonist does not accidentally receives his Gundam. This time he actually designs it for an experienced pilot, only to head out due to the lack of one. Rather refreshing. The first fight of Age does remind me much of Megaman Zero 1's intro mission(ie, picking up a weapon from fallen ally, only to find that it does not work on the boss. Melee weapon appears and asses are kicked). The UE seem to be very, very genre savvy. They destroyed their own ally so as to prevent their tech from falling into enemy hands. They even retreat after losing one of their number, which shows their commander's competence and caution. Like it very much.
Hey Thanks for the review, i personally dont like the animation of the characters, too kiddy for me, its fine to have young characters in the show, thats what all gundam series have but its the drawing of the characters itself. I agree that the genoace looks too plain, even the pistol it uses looks sad.
However on the plus side i do like that the beginning is no longer "boy accidentally stumbles upon mech and miraculously is an ace at piloting" but is more well thought of. Also the predictability of the UE attack reminds me of episode 1 of battlestar galactica, 33, giving the UE even more mystery. I also though that the animation of the suits were good, so overall im still looking forward to it.
Thanks for your thoughts fellas! I'm waiting for ep2 coming out in under 24 hours time. Woot.
Episode 2 makes it all the more awesome. Their main mothership is essentially a giant core fighter, and the AGE system kinda reminds me of Turn-A's nanotech system. And the beam rifle created? Very clearly a Unicorn throwback. And oh, Tiffa Adil returns to Gundam.
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