Sage Shinigami
Member
I'm starting at the end of a three-part trilogy, but Gundam bored me to tears and I finished Zeta after I left here.
However, I'll be talking about Zeta in comparison to this series whenever I add on to this. I get the feeling, what with all the Code Geass fans, I might be talking to myself a lot, but I'd really love it if that didn't happen. Despite Double Zeta's supposed flaws, its an excellent anime, and is an important part of mecha history.
The opening, Anime Ja Nai, was really stupid to me at first. Likely because I didn't expect "Its not Anime!" yelled at me when I started watching this series. But when you see the translation of the lyrics, you really get it. There's a bit in there that's something to the effect of, "You adults say that we watch too much television--but I never, ever tell a lie." I read this interview of Tomino once, a few months back, that basically summed up the theme of UC Gundam: The Adults are evil.
However, that's more a metatextual theme. The primary theme that seems to be carried through Tomino's trilogy is the necessity of humans "leaving the nest" and carrying on to our true Following Stage, becoming true spacenoids. Hence the line, "Through the glasses known as common sense, you Earthlings forgot your dreams." Ties both themes pretty well--this song fits the overall Gundam series great.
Anyway. Episode one: I wonder who's idea it was? Tomino's? Network? Sponsors? Either way, this is the difference between continous series like Naruto or DBZ and ones that exist in a single universe but have closely related, different series. Our first episode is devoted entirely to summarizing the events of the past two sagas and the heroes involved in them, Amuro Ray and Kamille Bidan.
Heh, knowing what I was getting into, I expected this to be a lighter affair than Zeta but wow. Judau is SO different from Kamille. Granted, Kamille had a lot more reason to be all depressed, given
, while Judau has long gotten over all his losses and is just trying to eke out a living on the colonies.
The lighter tone is probably a result of the writer's desire to shake things up after the end of Zeta, given that at the end of the last series
[HIDE]the majority of the cast is all dead, and the main character is pretty much mind-screwed into childhood again and eventually catatonia[/HIDE]. It makes sense that the strapped-for-cash heroes would recruit the only people available to them--shockingly competent kids (which is nothing new given Kamille, Amuro, White Base, and on....)--which is basically free labor until you can change things. And given this is pre-Evangelion, the kids are light-hearted instead of depressed.
What's really interesting is to watch Judau's skills develop. His first win in the Zeta (which is impressive from the name alone now, much like the first Gundam) is primarily through accident and luck, since he doesn't even learn to close the cockpit until episode four or so. But there's a steady growth that eventually leads to him gaining a win by 5, and his first kills occur in 9. (Shockingly, since by this point you expect a bigger deal to be made of it.)
Even the villain's amusing (for now). This really honorable (kinda) guy who obediently follows Haman Karn's every word, and somehow the flashbacks are all these noble, inspiring pieces of wisdom; even though we know she really isn't like that.
I'm a fifth through the show right now with ten episodes, and I'm really eager to finish it. Who else has watched this?
However, I'll be talking about Zeta in comparison to this series whenever I add on to this. I get the feeling, what with all the Code Geass fans, I might be talking to myself a lot, but I'd really love it if that didn't happen. Despite Double Zeta's supposed flaws, its an excellent anime, and is an important part of mecha history.
The opening, Anime Ja Nai, was really stupid to me at first. Likely because I didn't expect "Its not Anime!" yelled at me when I started watching this series. But when you see the translation of the lyrics, you really get it. There's a bit in there that's something to the effect of, "You adults say that we watch too much television--but I never, ever tell a lie." I read this interview of Tomino once, a few months back, that basically summed up the theme of UC Gundam: The Adults are evil.
However, that's more a metatextual theme. The primary theme that seems to be carried through Tomino's trilogy is the necessity of humans "leaving the nest" and carrying on to our true Following Stage, becoming true spacenoids. Hence the line, "Through the glasses known as common sense, you Earthlings forgot your dreams." Ties both themes pretty well--this song fits the overall Gundam series great.
Anyway. Episode one: I wonder who's idea it was? Tomino's? Network? Sponsors? Either way, this is the difference between continous series like Naruto or DBZ and ones that exist in a single universe but have closely related, different series. Our first episode is devoted entirely to summarizing the events of the past two sagas and the heroes involved in them, Amuro Ray and Kamille Bidan.
Heh, knowing what I was getting into, I expected this to be a lighter affair than Zeta but wow. Judau is SO different from Kamille. Granted, Kamille had a lot more reason to be all depressed, given
both his parents were dead before we got past episode 5
The lighter tone is probably a result of the writer's desire to shake things up after the end of Zeta, given that at the end of the last series
[HIDE]the majority of the cast is all dead, and the main character is pretty much mind-screwed into childhood again and eventually catatonia[/HIDE]. It makes sense that the strapped-for-cash heroes would recruit the only people available to them--shockingly competent kids (which is nothing new given Kamille, Amuro, White Base, and on....)--which is basically free labor until you can change things. And given this is pre-Evangelion, the kids are light-hearted instead of depressed.
What's really interesting is to watch Judau's skills develop. His first win in the Zeta (which is impressive from the name alone now, much like the first Gundam) is primarily through accident and luck, since he doesn't even learn to close the cockpit until episode four or so. But there's a steady growth that eventually leads to him gaining a win by 5, and his first kills occur in 9. (Shockingly, since by this point you expect a bigger deal to be made of it.)
Even the villain's amusing (for now). This really honorable (kinda) guy who obediently follows Haman Karn's every word, and somehow the flashbacks are all these noble, inspiring pieces of wisdom; even though we know she really isn't like that.
I'm a fifth through the show right now with ten episodes, and I'm really eager to finish it. Who else has watched this?
