Monday, January 19, 2009

Gundam 00 - "I believed, perchance, that our fates would once more be intertwined!"


I have a strange relationship with Gundam 00. It's got beautiful animation and superb mech design, which is something I'm pretty vulnerable to. I've always been something of an enthusiast for a good mech. Seeing a flying bipedal machine having a midair swordsfight with another flying bipedal machine is just undeniably cool. I have known this truth ever since I first saw Heero fight Zechs in a snowplain when I was 14 and it's still true now with Gundam 00.

But the problem with Gundam 00 is... um... everything else. Fuck, what a mess. So submitted here for your approval is
my very own 'Top 5 things I hate about Gundam 00'...



5) The Innovators


There have been a lot of secretive evil organizations in 00's course. It's hard to really keep track... there were those guys that that guy was talking to back in season 1. The Observers I think they were called? Whatever happened to those guys anyway? And then there's that Mei-Ling girl who's always going back and forth... but oh well, even though they're probably being used by someone else, the Innovators have taken center-stage in 00 and it's hard to think of a less credible antagonist.

It's not just that they're a bunch of girly-men... the problem is that they're that particular brand of villain whose egos never seem to deflate a bit after their asses are kicked. "Muhahaha," says the Innovator after it gets blown up once again, "The inferior humans cannot stand against us!" You'd think there'd be a chink in the ideological armour after a while.

4) Saji


The obligatory pacifist-in-a-warzone character. Nothing really needs to be said about him. He's like everything anyone has ever complained about in a Gundam character combined into one thoroughly unlikeable person. And no, his relationship with Louise does little to improve him.

3)
Setsuna's retarded backstory



Gundam 00 gave up trying to do political commentary about halfway through season 1, which is something we should all be thankful for. But the damn writers can't seem to resist the urge to trudge through the Middle East a bit while they go along their merry way.

It would really have helped if they had at least done a google search before they dove into it. "Kurdistan was under attack and so I had to kill my parents for the Jihad" makes no fucking sense. Maybe they could have put just a bit more effort into it... made it so maybe Setsuna's parents were collaborating with the Iranians (I think it was the Iranians that invaded the Kurds there?) or... something. Because just making him say 'God told me to do it, so I did!' is about as shallow a reading of Middle Eastern cultures as you can get.

2) Marina Ismail



If you were to put Relena and Lacus into a giant blender, you would probably end up with a bloody mess of torn flesh and shattered bone. If you were to then take this mixture and filter out all the bits that made the two characters above so powerful and compelling and then use the remains to build a new person, you would probably end up with Marina.

I think what bothers me most about her is how passive and weak she is. While everyone else is off playing at war, she's busy being motherly to those stupid orphan kids, spouting tripe about war being bad and, of course, worrying about Setsuna who is forced to fight, even though he only wants to live in peace! Gag.

1) Who else could be #1?


If you can take Mr. Bushido seriously, then something is wrong with you.

Gundam 00 is really just an incoherent mess of bizarre plot devices, wooden characters and random retarded bullshit. But in that intricate web of awful, the Mr. Bushido farce really takes the cake. Back when he was just Graham he wasn't exactly an interesting character, but ever since he put on that fucking mask it's just been unbearable. On and on he goes about fate and the way of the warrior and his thirst for revenge... it's like they took out the manual of cliche anime badass traits and crammed as much as they could under his stupid mask.

Is there a point to this stupid fuck? He's in no way relevant to any of the factions or political groups... he's just there to inconvenience Setsuna by appearing at awkward moments to challenge him to a ONE ON ONE FIGHT. He's sort of like Gary from Pokemon, really. Ich, whenever I see a stupid fucker running his mouth about Bushido's BADASSERY I just want to destroy this world and everything in it.



4 comments:

  1. Yeah, I'm going to have to agree with Sput on this one. Mister Bushido makes the show. Plus you could probably write an essay or novel on the symbolism of the American that dresses up like a Japanese swordsman of old.

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  2. hey moron. in case your too dumb to notice. MR.Bushido was the one who awaken setsuna as an innovator.
    and in case you haven't watch the movie. this guy had the biggest role in it.
    dumbass

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  3. Yeah I agree with you on Marina. She's a hoe! She is like the worst on the damn show! The plot could totally carry on 10 times better, no 100 times better without her! It seems like every time they turn around in the show they have to save her pacifist butt!

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