The Official Gundam AGE Anime Thread Mk 1

[Deathzealot]

For my "Its Gundam, Its all Good" thought all I am going to say about it is that I look at complete different then what Chris is trying to say here but that is only my opinion on the matter, and I can see where Chris is coming from. With that said I better get back to topic before Chris strangles me or worse kicks me off the forum.

Now that this thread is properly back on topic, I would like to throw my two cents in about the series. For me I am interested in what this enemy is going to be. Is it going to some sort of Alien menace like some Super Robot Shows out there, or is going to be the typical Earth VS Colonies fare of the majority of the Gundam Shows have. If it is the later I can see it being Earth and its surroundings (aka Earth Sphere) against colonies at Mars or further out at Jupiter or something like that. Heck! I could see it somewhat similar to Nadesico where the Earth Military by large all think their attackers are aliens from Jupiter calling them "Jovian Lizards" not that they known how they look like since much of the attacking force of the Jovians are automated and controlled by computers. Only later do they find out that the Jovians are in fact disgruntled human Colonists that the Earth sent out to the planet ages before. Anyways moving off from that thought, I would like to say that I for one would like to see it like this for it would be a change from the normal Earth VS Colonies and spin it into something far newer.

Moving on, I also am interested in this One Hundred Year War, and my thoughts on the subject is that is not really an entire war that last throughout that time. Granted I could see it happening similar to how the world is before the start of the Game Freelancer. It is explained in its intro the best, basically the two factions have fought for decades never really gaining anything at all and many have forgotten why they started fighting in the first place just that the other faction was their enemy. Getting off topic here basically my own thoughts on how the War is basically that it is a long drawn out Cold War with several flare ups during that time. Basically similar to how the conflict between the Federation and the Zeon remains after the end of the OYW in UC Gundam just extended massively. Anyways my thoughts on that matter.

With that said that is my two cents (or rather twenty-five cents) on this subject.

[mobiusdiablo]

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.

I could not put it better myself. I've seen some harsh fanbases, but this takes the cake. Anyway, when I first saw the thread of "New Gundam Anime", I simply thought DUDE NEW GUNDAM! Yeah, it does have a different artistic look, but that means little to nothing, since we have next to zilch when it comes to material on AGE. I am actually looking forward to this new show to see how they put their spin on the traditional Gundam story, and to see how the multi-generation protagonist and AGE system itself plays out.

[Vent Noir]

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.*

Well, the odds would be 1 in 8.

Actually, I was going to make the same complaint, but decided to hold my tongue. Given the track record, there should be more than one Gundam in the show, so I'm still living in hope. And, as I've said before, shows designed for a younger audience do have a tendency to do better with gender equality than more "mature" shows (the example I typically bring up is Super Sentai/Power Rangers)

That having been said, I would still be surprised if there was a female pilot (pleasantly surprised, but surprised nonetheless).

[Chris]

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.

Not to go too far off topic, but I don't see how your friend could make that argument with a straight face. Point out to him that EVERY Gundam anime ever is made to sell toys. You think Bandai cares about continuing the story of the UC timeline? Unicorn already had model kits when it was still a novel. Given how they're trotting out every old suit from Z, ZZ and CCA they can find and making a model kit out of it, yes, Unicorn is just as much a commercial as AGE. Just because Unicorn has a "serious" story and atmosphere doesn't make it any less a toy commercial than something blatantly targeted at kids.

[yazi88]

Let's see, hundred-year-war? Maybe Chirico makes an cameo? Aliens controlled by Wisemen?

[Chris]

TOMOPOP has posted a scan of the kits for the vanilla Age-1, Sparrow and Titus. Gives us a better look at the proportions of the suits, since magazine illustrations will always differ from lineart and kits.

[Mu La Flaga]

Those kits don't look that bad, to me the design looks like a blend of like Strike and Exia.

Just a small thing.
I suppose that and when people saw the artwork didn't leave the best impression.

Anyway, apart from the other bits of info that have come out.
I'm just wondering who the enemy will be in the series.

[Kenji]

In regards to art style, I think I only need to put up this example. Those of you who know what this is, know exactly what I mean. For those of you who don't, take a gander at the comments.

[Mr Bushido]

Not to go too far off topic, but I don't see how your friend could make that argument with a straight face. Point out to him that EVERY Gundam anime ever is made to sell toys. You think Bandai cares about continuing the story of the UC timeline? Unicorn already had model kits when it was still a novel. Given how they're trotting out every old suit from Z, ZZ and CCA they can find and making a model kit out of it, yes, Unicorn is just as much a commercial as AGE. Just because Unicorn has a "serious" story and atmosphere doesn't make it any less a toy commercial than something blatantly targeted at kids.

Yes I agree, it's very obviously when Bandai started making both Dreissens and the GM III. Seeing as how loads of people love to think that only AGE is the toy commercial and other series aren't, why is it that they think it this way? It really confuses me and I'm hoping you'd have an answer for that. And I'll stop there since I don't want to go off topic.

TOMOPOP has posted a scan of the kits for the vanilla Age-1, Sparrow and Titus. Gives us a better look at the proportions of the suits, since magazine illustrations will always differ from lineart and kits.

The red one kinda reminds me of Gundam Maxter. I'm more interested in the one with the blue armor since that one looks pretty cool. I hope I can get a better picture scan of these 3 and maybe some other suit designs.

[Chris]

Yes I agree, it's very obviously when Bandai started making both Dreissens and the GM III. Seeing as how loads of people love to think that only AGE is the toy commercial and other series aren't, why is it that they think it this way? It really confuses me and I'm hoping you'd have an answer for that. And I'll stop there since I don't want to go off topic.

This applies not just to AGE, but a lot of anime in general. For some people on some level, I think they feel insecure about watching anime. We've all experienced a particular situation before: we tell some non-fans that we like anime, and they'll respond with something like "Oh why do you watch cartoons for kids?" Because of this, they feel they can justify watching anime to themselves and to others if they try to prop up all anime as dark and serious stuff for adults. But we know that most anime isn't like that, because it's meant for kids and teenagers. So when something like AGE comes along that's more obviously kid-oriented with little maneuvering room, it runs counter to the false aesthetic they've built up for themselves of anime being serious things for adults. So they'll bash AGE as being a toy commercial but try to justify Unicorn as being for adults.

[yazi88]

For all the flak this show is getting, I'm just glad its not a another SEED series. Is that movie still in production hell? I haven't heard any updates about it in over a year.

[jabman025]

let me just say that we should all give this show the benifit of the doubt. Is it going to be aimed at a younger audience, probably (which is not all that shocking because Unicorn is aimed at an older audience). Will that make the show uninteresting to older viewers, maybe and maybe not. There a lot of shows that are aimed at younger crowds that adults still watch. Transformers anyone? This show may suck or it may be great we have no way of knowing this early in the game. Lets all adopt an attidute of lets wait and see.

[RLZIII]

Like I did with Mobile Suit Gundam 00 when it was announced, I've set up a website to compile all of the information that we've gathered so far about Mobile Suit Gundam AGE. This isn't a fansite per se; it's more of a place to quickly view information that's been released so far. Once the anime starts to air I will likely stop updating the website (like I did with the Gundam 00 website), as it's really only supposed to be used up until the anime is released just as a place for consolidated information.

I know that back in 2007 when Gundam 00 was announced, my similar website helped out a lot of people; it helps me out to make these sites because I can remember more about the anime and I'm sure that this time around it can still help some others out. Of course any questions, comments, or concerns can be posted here (or, perhaps to make sure that this thread stays more on topic, emailed to [email protected]).

http://sites.google.com/site/mobilesuitgundamage/

UPDATE: New website URL: http://www.mobilesuitgundam.net/

[Deathzealot]

Sweet! Thanks RLZ. That will help a lot to inform my friends about the new series without dishing out a series of links to show it.

[Hi_Nu_Gundam]

The Mecha just doesn't do anything for me, it feels too "safe," just another RX-78 retread. I'm still hopeful for the series though, I downright hated the mecha designs for G Gundam and disliked V Gundam's but I still loved the shows regardless...

[Zechs Merquise]

For all the flak this show is getting, I'm just glad its not a another SEED series. Is that movie still in production hell? I haven't heard any updates about it in over a year.

You and me both friend, I would just skip that all together.

[Heecarl_Reez]

Somehow the live streaming announcement doesn't work on me... Anyway Official Site open, starts on October.

[Chris]

Somehow the live streaming announcement doesn't work on me... Anyway Official Site open, starts on October.

Bandai always puts IP restrictions on their video so that you can't watch it outside of Japan.

[Mr Bushido]

I'll just wait for the bloggers to post whatever comes out of this announcement. I probably won't be able to view the livestream anyhows.

[SNT1]

For all the flak this show is getting, I'm just glad its not a another SEED series. Is that movie still in production hell? I haven't heard any updates about it in over a year.

You and me both friend, I would just skip that all together.

What makes y'all think this would be better than the SEED series?

I've had some thoughts like that when I was watching 00. "At least it's not [Destiny]."

Then I saw A Wakening.