The Official Gundam AGE Anime Thread Mk 1

[Kaioshin Sama]

To all those asking about the Naruto comparisons, it's simple. Naruto is kind of series where you can say it's some stupid crap popular with kids when you want to make an insulting comparison with something by saying it appeals to the Naruto crowd. And I would guess that most of the people who make these insulting comparisons have never seen Naruto, so they exaggerate it to be far dumber or kiddie-oriented than it actually is. This isn't just on Mecha Talk, mind you; I see it everywhere.

As to your suggestion Kaioshin, yes, I have thought about that topic many times. However, given the mecha nature of it, it's probably something I'd discuss on Gundamn. You all can be sure that the next episode of Gundamn (after the one coming out very soon) will feature a segment on AGE.

Nice, I'm looking forward to it after just finishing the last one. By the way I completely feel your pain right now. I would not want to be a moderator on a mecha board right now with this news breaking. Best of luck in keeping a semblance of a lid on all of this till the show actually comes out.

[Nowhere Man]

I wonder how they're going to juggle these generation gaps, exactly? Spacing it all out linearly would be boring; as soon as one character grew on us, it'd be off to his descendant. My bet is that they're going to interweave them together -- perhaps starting with the POV of Frite, and flashing back to how his forebears' actions directly effected the situation at hand?

Narratively, this interests me. As it seems to be targeting a younger fanbase, I'm excited to see how they'll piece it all together without leaving their target audience scratching their heads.

I wonder if you ever heard of Kamen Rider Kiva before? The plot device Kiva used (story that involves 2 protagonists from different generations) is quite similiar to AGE, although Kiva only has 2 generations, and AGE has 3.

I can't say that I have; how did they handle it?

[Koshernova]

Wow. All the memories of the first reactions to 00 are coming back. THE PAIN! GAAAAAHh--

okay.

So, time for some home truths.

I love Gundam. Okay, I love it. It's not all perfect. I prefer some shows over others, some games over others, etcetera etcetera. In the end, however, Gundam is a few things:

1) A mecha franchise with serious sci-fi aspirations (which it can and does fulfill when the creators feel like it)
2) The biggest commercial mecha franchise in Japan
3) A vehicle to sell merchandising

To second what Chris said: Gundam would *not* have lasted were it not always trying to capture new audiences. The hardcore Gundam fans in Japan, the US and elsewhere?

They are not Gundam's target audience.

Oh sure, they're Unicorn's target audience. They were 08th MS Team's target, and 0080's. But a franchise doesn't get as big as Gundam does by targetting the hardcore. Ever. Ever. EVER. Seriously, if that was the case, The Five Star Stories would be the biggest manga in the world since it's made for a devoted fanbase with little interest in appealing to the mainstream.

All of this 'Gundam is dead forever' is nonsense, and furthermore, Bandai-Sunrise don't care. They care about making shows that are commercially viable. Personally I find it odd they've gone a bit lower with the age group AGE seems to be aimed at. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I always considered Gundam aimed at a teenage crowd due to its level of violence. In any case, I don't really care. My wish is that they'd made a full TV series out of Gunpla Builders, but hey.

I will agree that in the search for profit, the quality of Gundam shows can suffer. SEED Destiny is the best example of this: a cynical, by-the-numbers Gundam show that sold models, toys, singles and videogames by the bucketload. In the end, Bandai-Sunrise is a corporation, and that's what they care about: the bottom line.

Does that mean all Gundam sucks? No. I personally feel Gundam 00 managed to perfectly marry BSG-style commentary on contemporary politics with an interesting sci-fi setting (with robots).

The best comparison is really what other people are making: G Gundam. G came out at a time when everyone and their aunt was making shounen fighting anime, and the 'international tournament' style was in vogue. So, the staff of G went with a ridiculous idea: let's grab a franchise known for big epic war stories, and turn it into a shounen fighting anime. Let's grab the icon of real robots and turn it into a super robot anime.

It worked. G Gundam is exciting, it's fun, it has interesting characters. And, see that three-letter word in there? It's FUN. It was also incredibly heretic to the traditional Gundam fanbase.

This is why, for example, I keep getting crap when I tell people I like the Clone Wars CGI cartoon. People are still SO SO SO hung up on how George Lucas did a poor writing job with the prequels (which nevertheless captured a new generation of fans) that they're unwilling to see the good things coming out of that universe now. Love it or hate it: the Star Wars prequels were about capturing a new market for Star Wars, the originals be damned. This is what Gundam is all about, except in Gundam they do it a bit more intelligently. First, they did it with big timeskips. Then they started creating Alternate Universes that, basically, cannot affect the old UC continuity. It's a genius idea to keep a brand going, and I'm shocked Star Trek only figured out the idea of alternate universes now (whereas Star Wars doesn't even bother).

[ / tangent]

I will admit, when I first saw the scan of Gundam AGE I felt a small inner troll rage for a few seconds. Then I told her "there, there". I pet the troll and told her, "look at that shelf over there". She saw the Shining Gundam and, next to it, with its glorious nanomachine butterfly wings, the Turn A Gundam. "Remember?" I said. The troll sighed and was gone.

Listen.

I think the idea of controlling a giant multicolored robot with a mobile phone is pretty silly.

Other ideas that are pretty silly:

-extracting a sword out of a girl's chest every episode

-a film where the bad guys wear white plastic armor

-a story about a bored genius guy who finds a book that lets him kill people and he writes and epic music plays in the background

-Or how about this: an anime about a guy who builds computers and knows how to pilot a complex, state-of-the-art humanoid combat machine after reading the manual for two minutes and memorising the specs from his father's hacked computer and then he becomes the best pilot in the entire space fleet.

It's all silliness, and it's all franchises/storylines I enjoy, which have varying amounts of depth, fun, or both.

"It's just a mecha show, I should just relax."

tl;dr let's be chill, yo.

[AmuroNT1]

I wonder if you ever heard of Kamen Rider Kiva before? The plot device Kiva used (story that involves 2 protagonists from different generations) is quite similiar to AGE, although Kiva only has 2 generations, and AGE has 3.

I can't say that I have; how did they handle it?

Kiva primarily used flashbacks, jumping from the protagonist in 2008 to his father in 1986, with some degree of crossover (such as a monster from 86 showing up in 08). In a couple of instances time travel is used, especially in the final story arc, but for the most part it's just back and forth.

[Deathzealot]

Honestly, I only heard about Gundam AGE last night and that was only after seeing Chris's post on the Main MAHQ Site. This was before I even saw any of the scans, and only read the plot synapse linked by Chris in the mentioned post. My thoughts on it was basically "YES! Another Gundam Series that is not UC!" and did dance a little jig in excitement. Now seeing the scans linked in this thread, that excitement hasn't at all left me. For I always have one specific quote in mind, "Its Gundam. Its all Good." when reading about some sort of new Gundam series,manga,game,etc.

Moving on, I shall just say I am going to reserve my judgment on this series till it actually comes out. I don't let reviews, or other people tell me that a movie or series is bad. Eight Times out of Ten I actually enjoy something that had been badly reviewed or a friend told me it sucked. Even if I don't like what is coming out, I will watch it at least once for its Gundam and its all Good.

Anyways my two cents on the matter.

[Chris]

For I always have one specific quote in mind, "Its Gundam. Its all Good." when reading about some sort of new Gundam series,manga,game,etc.

I'm glad you're excited about the show, but please don't bring that GundamWatch nonsense into the discussion. No, it's not all "good." If there's nothing that's "bad," then how can you determine what is "good?" That phrase is completely nonsensical and only served the purpose of attempting to quell flame wars.

[Deathzealot]

/shrug/ So that is where it is from. Sorry about that. It is a quote I honestly took to heart. I know not all Gundam is good and such.....errr never mind don't want to go off in mini-rant about it.

Anyways I apologize Chris, shall not bring it up anymore then.

[J-Lead]

Although it's been noted that some of these Gundam 'fans' just flat out nerdraged, overreacted and proclaimed the end of gandamu as we know it, it's quite interesting that people here in defending this Gundam show (and Naruto and all the other kiddie shows) have the same knee-jerk reaction about opinions against them. LOL yeah, I don't care if Naruto's story is deeper than the wannabe ninja's portray it to be, I don't need to watch the entire show to dismiss it as a kiddie show.

Of course, one would defend that "Gandamu shows have always been aimed at kids!!1" ... True. Will this Gundam AGE have the same level of awesome as, say, Unicorn, or even 00? I can't tell right now. But what I do have with me is the pictures of the characters and mecha. And the pictures suck.

Like I said, I'm not upset about this. I just don't care about the art right now. And if the show does end up being similar to a Nicktoons fodder, then I just won't watch it. Like that cliche :Herp derp if you don't like it don't watch it derp."

^I think this pretty much sums up the negative reactions people have been having without being overly douchey about it. While not everyone is as picky about it, artstyle can make a big difference for some people. For example; the artstyle of of Code Geass gave me a headache that not even SEED's character designs could have managed, so much so that I couldn't make it past a few episodes. I'm sure it was a good show, but every time I start watching it again, I stop halfway through an episode because the character designs are downright hideous to me and the mecha have this clown-ish look that make even Gundam's use of the color spectrum seem practical.

The artstyle in Gundam AGE, even based on the few images we've gotten, is most obviously meant to appeal to a younger, and I mean younger audience, both character and mecha-wise. With this in mind, the series could have Shakespearean writing, yet the aesthetics would still be off-putting to certain people with taste that might not be as broad as others. Basically what I'm saying is; you can't really blame someone if they look at character and mecha designs that are obviously meant to appeal to a age group far younger than them and say "Eh, I think I'm going to sit this one out."

For I always have one specific quote in mind, "Its Gundam. Its all Good." when reading about some sort of new Gundam series,manga,game,etc.

I'll be honest, I've been let down one too many times by this franchise and other various Japanese intellectual properties to have such a mentality. Yes, being someone that isn't from Japan, or even Asia, Gundam isn't meant to appeal to me, but that's exactly the reason behind my caution these days. Based on what I've experienced of the Japanese entertainment industry, I've long since come to the conclusion that culturally, the Japanese have tastes far removed from my own, so I've taken to approaching any piece of Japanese media, be it video games or anime, with a sense of mild skeptisicm and a mental preparedness for something that may not be so mind-blowing in my book. (Just to give some context, Gundam 00, Final Fantasy XIII, and Metroid: Other M are all perfect examples of media that made a great first impression in their promotion or otherwise and yet fell drastically short of my expectations.)

Although I to be honest, I can't really look at Naruto and dismiss it as a kiddie show. It's got an atrocious fanbase, sure, and I can't really bring myself to get too far into it (aside from the games, those were kind of fun) but it's can be rather violent and sadistic at times. There's a reason it appears in Shonen Jump and not...well, CoroCorro.

[Dark Duel]

the artstyle of of Code Geass gave me a headache that not even SEED's character designs could have managed, so much so that I couldn't make it past a few episodes. I'm sure it was a good show, but every time I start watching it again, I stop halfway through an episode because the character designs are downright hideous to me

I had the same problem with Heroic Age a while back - I started watching it, but I was so sick and tired of Hisashi Hirai's designs that I gave it up as a bad job after a few episodes. Plus the plot line seemed a little too cliché for me.
I think I've decided to give it another shot though.

[Outlaw]

Personally I have no problem with people saying they don't like it, even if it might be premature at this point. My problem is more directed at how people express their opinion. Jumping in and lobbing derogatory statements everywhere (crap, suck, stupid, kiddie, etc.) is a poor way of presenting your point and more importantly is nearly a guarantee that no one will take your position seriously. Also, using your opinion of another show (Avatar, Naruto) or network (NickToons) as an example of why this might be bad is a fantastic way to offend a lot of people and rope in more adversaries that would be otherwise civil.

Another problem (and this is a massive pet peeve of mine) is when people take these opinions and elevate them to fact, this is why I don't like critics (not personally, of course). Because, no matter how much you love/hate something, no matter how much "proof" you dig up, or how many people you can get to agree with you, an opinion will never, ever be fact. Even the finely honed, time honored standards we use to judge all stories are really just finely honed, time honored opinions.

I've counted at least nine posts in this thread alone that expressed distaste towards this announcement; nobody attacked them, no one shouted them down, nobody ever told them they were wrong. Why? Because they came in made their opinion known and left it at that. If you don't like the something, just say so. You don't need to go on a crusade to make it fact or bring the whole thing down.

"Of all the horrible things that humanity has created; all the blades, guns, bombs, chemicals and diseases. The most terrible of all is the word "know"." -personal quote

[Soma Taozi]

Lol, you're such a woman.

Unbelievable.

This may just be my pain meds for my wisdom teeth talking (so I am a bit on the grumpy side), but that brat is going to get it from me.

Anyway, after having some time to think about this series and rewatching the miniseries/pilot of BSG (thanks Chris ) I have come to the conclusion that the only thing I am disappointed about from these scans and the released info is that in three generations of the Gundam pilot protagonists for Gundam AGE, not a single one of them is a female.

I mean seriously, what are the odds?

Oh, Sunrise/Bandai and Japanese culture…how long do I have to wait? *she says with bitter-sweet fondness.*

[Chris]

I have come to the conclusion that the only thing I am disappointed about from these scans and the released info is that in three generations of the Gundam pilot protagonists for Gundam AGE, not a single one of them is a female.

I mean seriously, what are the odds?

Oh, Sunrise/Bandai and Japanese culture…how long do I have to wait? *she says with bitter-sweet fondness.*

Gosh, everyone knows that little girls don't build gunpla. You have the wrong parts!!

[Darkerangel]

This is a bit off topic, don't see it being such news for a thread itself. Simple yes or no explanation will do. I'm curious now, with all this kiddie talk, wasn't Gundam ZZ geared for kids aka younger viewers?

[Brave Fencer Kirby]

I'm glad you're excited about the show, but please don't bring that GundamWatch nonsense into the discussion. No, it's not all "good." If there's nothing that's "bad," then how can you determine what is "good?" That phrase is completely nonsensical and only served the purpose of attempting to quell flame wars.

That seems like an odd stance for a Gundam fan forum to take. One would think that, as a general Gundam forum (rather than a UC forum, or a Wing forum, or a 00 forum, etc), MAHQ would be open to the concept that the Gundam franchise is rather diverse and appeals to a wide range of tastes so that, even if every show doesn't appeal to every fan, every show appears to some fans.

That's what makes us Gundam fans, after all.

[Chris]

That seems like an odd stance for a Gundam fan forum to take. One would think that, as a general Gundam forum (rather than a UC forum, or a Wing forum, or a 00 forum, etc), MAHQ would be open to the concept that the Gundam franchise is rather diverse and appeals to a wide range of tastes so that, even if every show doesn't appeal to every fan, every show appears to some fans.

That's what makes us Gundam fans, after all.

What's odd about it? It's a statement from another forum that was forced down people's throats to prevent flame wars. Yes, Gundam does attract a diverse crowd and not everyone will like the same things. But to say that ALL Gundam is good, as though it's all on the same quality level? That makes no sense. How can anything be good if nothing is bad? Take that same statement and replace it with Star Trek or Star Wars. Is each and every thing in those franchises all good? No, of course not. And yeah, you're not going to get everyone to agree what's good and what's bad, but it makes no sense to say all of it is good, because that's just not possible.

[Brave Fencer Kirby]

Well, flame wars are something to be avoided, yes? And given that this is a Gundam forum, any given Gundam show is likely to have a fan around, saying "it's all Gundam, it's all good" seems reasonable, given that all of it is good by someone's standards (or else they wouldn't be a Gundam fan, and thus wouldn't be here).

[Chris]

I don't think you understand the point I'm getting at. Yes, flame wars are best avoided, but not in the way Gundam Watch did. The mantra of "It's all Gundam, it's all good" was rigidly enforced on all members. You weren't allowed to think that any one series was better than another or make comparisons, because it led to flame wars. That mantra was an absolute - every Gundam thing ever made is all at the same level of quality, no exceptions.

We know that's not true. Take any long running franchise like Gundam, Macross, Star Trek, Star Wars, or Doctor Who, and no one is going to like every single aspect of it. Again, it's not an issue about people agreeing what's good or bad, it's about this blanket assertion that everything is good. Kirby, do you think each and every Gundam anime, manga, game and gunpla produced over the last 32 years are all good, with no exceptions at all? Think about it and you'll realize it's a ridiculous statment.

[G-Slayer]

Gosh, everyone knows that little girls don't build gunpla. You have the wrong parts!!

Now that's uncalled for!

Now that the Tetra Wars have ended, I'd first like to say that I'm currently watching the SD Gundam Sangokuden series--one of those so-called kiddie shows that everyone's not so fond of--and so far I can't complain. I've also the SD Gundam Force show when it aired in America; not my cup of tea but I still couldn't complain. After I slosh through the SD's, I'm gonna buy my all-time favorite AU Gundam show on DVD--G, to see all the super robot madness, all the over-the-top martial arts, all the cameos made by that one-eyed announcer. But most of all, I'm buying the series to watch Rain squeeze herself into that Mobile Trace System.

Now I'm looking over the Gundam AGE scans, along with the AGE units, and I'm thinking, "So that's what AGE-1 will digivolve into."

Also, I already want the Titus unit in Gunpla form. I don't care what it does, I don't care for the gaping holes in its chest, I just want it. At least that's what I thought until I've heard that no tools would be needed to build it. Not to jump the gun here but in that area, I have concerns.

[zerogradius]

I'm intrigued by the three main character concept. I once thought of writing a story about a conflict that takes place over several generations, with the main character of each generation being the descendant of the former. I'd like to see how it is handled here.

I wonder if this will be a fifty episode anime, or if it will be split into two seasons. If it is split, I wonder how the story will be divided with the three main characters. Maybe there'll be three seasons, one to focus on each one, though I suspect they won't separate it into seasons just to simply things.

One thing I'd like to know is if it will start at the beginning of the hundred year war, or if it will begin several years into it. If it starts at the beginning, then the third main character would have to be a great great grand child of the first. It'll be interesting to see how characters are developed and handled with the large time gaps between the MCs.

As far as the character designs go, I'll admit that I was put off by it, and I understand why others are put off by it as well. However, I don't think that's a good enough reason to dislike a show. When I first saw Cyborg 009, for example, I was put off by the old school designs, but eventually got used to it as I enjoyed the show. I'm just wondering, for those who dislike the character designs, would any of you hate the Gundam series that you already like if the characters were simply drawn differently?

[Mr Bushido]

Well now I have a taste of what Chris and co have said about when the previous series have been announced, people were rage bitching about it's going to suck. I'm honestly ashamed at some of these so called fans particularly at one major annoyance in this thread. I've seen this kind of outright hate on another forum I go to and gosh it's pretty terrible.

About AGE, I actually find this to be interesting with these 3 protagonists so I'll definitely be looking forward to more information on this show. I enjoy Gundam collectively as a whole and I can see and judge them for what they are and that's it. About AGE being targeted at kids, I would probably think a bit negatively if I hadn't listened to Gundamn and thought about the point Chris made about Gundam is pretty much nothing more than a toy commercial just with a story. Though I just had a small discussion with a friend and he argues that Unicorn (using as a specific example) is not a toy/model commercial but is instead as a continuation to UC timeline, and was then made into toys/models. And AGE is one specifically made to sell toys for obvious reasons.

Also I will definitely be looking forward to the next Gundamn ep with the Straight Talk on this new series.