The Official Gundam AGE Anime Thread AGE-7

[ShadowCell]

i imagine people still listen to Flit because practically every time the Federation ever succeeds, it's got something to do with him--a Gundam he built or a strategy he devised or whatever

on the other hand, now he's kind of gone off the deep end, and with the way they set up that scene i think AGE might be setting up just that. i get the feeling Flit lied about having Algreus' permission to use the plasma diver missile. it wouldn't make sense for Algreus to order an operation to retake the Luna base if he was just going to plasma dive it to death anyways.

as for the no-kill policy, it still irks me, but compared to the likes of SEED i think AGE has actually been pretty nuanced and sensible about it. he doesn't insist everyone else does it; he uses a bunch of precisely-controlled flying knives instead of those clumsy and random blasters; Vagan mobile suits are actually fairly good targets for that, since the cockpits are in the heads; he usually has the sense to destroy the beheaded mobile suit afterwards; even he knows it's kind of crazy; and he's so far not been shown as some kind of invincible demigod whose mere presence reduces everyone else to stupidity and helplessness (although Zeheart doesn't count because Zeheart is already pretty helpless), since his allies are still in danger

this is particularly shocking in light of how heavy-handed and hamfisted the Second Moon arc was, although AGE has plenty of time left to screw it all up, i suppose

[Destiny_Gundam]

Oh come now, Final Plus gave an epilogue and the last compilation movie......... Well aside from putting Luna in a regular ZAFT uniform I don't think they did anything worth mentioning.

No, I meant the way Kira vs Rey ended.

In any case I don't remember it being particularly as exciting as watching Kio fighting Zeheart and Fram in this ep. For saying she lacks piloting experience Fram did a pretty good job and actually has the sense to retreat when she's outnumbered.

[angelwingzero]

I want to see a scenario where Kio's forced to either kill the someone or have others get killed instead. It could be an enemy pilot, or someone being used like Yurin was. Will he try to talk things out like Lockon, or shoot like Setsuna? That type of situation would show his resolve with his whole "No-kill" thing.

[Deacon Blues]

For those that are interested, AGE is doing terribly in the DVD/Blu-ray category:

機動戦士ガンダムAGE 【全13巻】
巻数 初動 2週計 発売日
BD(DVD) BD(DVD)
01巻 1,991(*,***) 2,343(*,***) 12.02.10
02巻 1,655(*,***) *,***(*,***) 12.03.23
03巻 1,380(*,446) *,***(*,***) 12.04.20 ※合計 1,826枚
04巻 1,565(*,***) *,***(*,***) 12.05.25
05巻 1,470(*,486) *,***(*,***) 12.06.22 ※合計 1,956枚

[DuelGundam2099]

So....... Not well?

Edit: http://age-game.channel.or.jp/movie/pv2.php

Why was pinwheel Age-1 never put into the series? That thing actually looks kind of cool.

[Raptor]

So these games are going to tell an original story, showcasing Flit as he grows older, and is a Federation pilot, more of his time with Emily, and him fighting against Dole.

WHY WASN'T THIS IN THE SERIES?!?

Take some time away from Zeheart and Asemu in school! Or from the entire Fardain Arc! This would have been so much better!

-Raptor, out.

[Kenji]

If that game ever came here (being PSP, and Bamco, I'm sure it won't), I'd get it, even though I feel lukewarm towards the series. What makes for poor-to-meh television can make a pretty engaging game, if handled right. Customization (mecha and PCs?) would also be a big plus.

As for the AGE numbers, I wonder how Bandai will respond. I also wonder if anyone can break down what AGE lacks that SEED, Destiny, and 00 S2 all had. I was disinterested from the get-go, and I'll admit I'm not entirely sure why. Something was just not engaging, to me, but I can't put my finger on it...

[Raptor]

I won't claim Gen 1 was the best thing since 00 Season 1, but Flit is one of my more favorite MCs in Gundam. I'm all for revenge driven characters, and Flit was very interesting as an vengeance driven kid, who still had a kid's sensibilities.

I wouldn't say that it lacks something SEED/Destiny and 00 had. I'm liking it about as much as SEED, which is more than Destiny but less than 00. AGE has some really great parts to it, it's just mired by some cliched writing.

-Raptor, out.

[ShadowCell]

AGE is pretty much written like a video game anyways (the Gundam even levels up when it gets enough experience), so for all i know it would actually work better that way.

[DuelGundam2099]

I also wonder if anyone can break down what AGE lacks that SEED, Destiny, and 00 S2 all had.

Simple: While those (and Turn A) were aimed for children they did not ACT like they were. Gundam series usually have a mature science fiction style to them that make it seem like they are more than kid shows. Age on the other hand does not bother hiding it and therefore it only seems natural that children think Age looks like something for those younger than them.


On an unrelated note am I the only person ever that liked 00's second season over it's first one? I mean for pete sake their mobile suits/armors looked and felt more like Okawara-ish and more like gundam then some modern knockoff.

[Raptor]

I won't say I liked it more than Season 1. For starters, Season 1 of 00 had Neil, Awesome Hallelujah, Robot Tieria, Soldier Boy/Second Coming of Heero Yuy Setsuna, and Flag Fighter Graham. Not to mention all of the twists with the Trinitys and Prince Ali. I also liked the designs of the Gundams themselves more. And finally, the last six episodes or so had me glued to my screen wanting to see what happened next.

However, Season 2 was no slouch. The 00 Was nice, and the Raiser even better. Lyle was fun. The (So)Marie plot was interesting. Things ramp up to eleven as the whole Innovator/Innovade conspiracy is blown wide open, and we get one of the coolest setpieces in Gundam, the Fall of the Orbital Elevator. Moreover, we get to see the resolution of the characters that Season 1 gave us, and not all of them make it, or have a good ending.

But, I still like Season 1 more. It had it's problems, and was slow to ramp up, but I was so much fun.

And at the end of the day, that's why I watch anime anyway. For fun. And I'm still having fun with Age.

Not sure where I was going with this post, in hindsight...

-Raptor, out.

[ShadowCell]

okay where the blue bloody baby hell do you people keep getting this "AGE is a kids show" crap from?

weak writing didn't make DESTINY a kids show, and really, AGE isn't anywhere near that level of lazy, baffling writing.

in fact, in terms of tone, there is no show that AGE reminds me of quite so much as the original Mobile Suit Gundam. ye olde original Gundam certainly had moments of darkness, but it also had goofy lighthearted moments, and it also played into conventional contemporary tropes and cliches. AGE's writing may certainly be weaker than Mobile Suit Gundam, but weak writing does not a kids show make.

[Raptor]

I can't help but get a kick of out a few claims on various blogs that AGE is a kid's show, when some of the same blogs have touted GaoGaiGar and Getter Robo for it's brilliance.

I'll be the first to defend GaoGaiGar, but it didn't get anywhere near as dark as AGE until the end, so here I find myself agreeing with Shadow Cell again. Strange, how that seems to happen more often lately. Mayhaps I'm just getting more cynical...

In all seriousness though, say what you will about AGE, but Getter Robo killed off a character we barely knew in the first episode, and GaoGaiGar waited until episode 34, I believe, before it did the same. But AGE gave us Bruzer almost right away, and made us care even slightly about the old man.

-Raptor, out.

[Arbiter GUNDAM]

Well, technically speaking AGE is a kid's show. It's no secret that its primary audience was supposed to be pre-teen boys. Not that those are the ones actually watching the show...

[Destiny_Gundam]

AGE is a kid's show. However to people here in the West, kids shows are seen as simple, sometimes dumb things that are only appealing to a child's limited knowledge and designed to be as friendly to those children as possible by having nothing 'mature' in them. In Japan, however, they have a different standard for kid's shows. I can't begin to tell you of all the messed up stuff I've seen in Kamen Rider shows.

[Amion]

I think AGE is trying to be both a kid's show, and a serious Gundam work. I agree with Shadow that the writing is sloppy, the question that has been running through my mind is, IMO, whether or not this bad writing was directly resultant from the fact that the intended audience is preteen boys. What would the AGE staff at Level 5 have done if they were making a Gundam drama for adults?

I honestly think they would have done better, but that's optimistic. At the least, the CD dramas I've been hearing about say something for what could have been.

[HellCat]

To be honest, the idea I get is the plan was always to focus the show on the main conflict and use the sideworks to fleshing out the romances and such. In theory that could work well but it just leaves a ton of characterisation missing from the show.

[YazanGable]

Re: the kids' show claims.

That's something Bandai has been pretty up front about since the show was announced, really. Part of why they went to L-5 in the first place. They're trying to get more of the younger demographics into the franchise. L-5 has been making out like bandits with them, so Bandai approached them about a Gundam game. Hino gave them a whole storyline and they got stoked.

Which brings us to about now.

Further, Hino kind of confirmed this after that rather unfortunate press conference where he responded to criticism by older fans saying, effectively, 'well, the show isn't for you anyway'

[Compass]

IMO, it's probably how it's presented that causes most of the issues. Most characters we see in Gundam are developed over dozens of episodes and continue to evolve.

In this, we get a character for a dozen or so episodes and bam they magically change or age out of their respective character roles.

Compare this to the development of Setsuna or Saji from 00, on the other hand. Sure, there's a time jump, but it's not to the point where your characters that you watched are no longer recognizable.

The Flit we see now is miles away from Flit from the first arc. Same with Asemu.

If the stories had been fleshed out instead of short time jumps, we'd feel a lot more stable about this show, IMO.

You know what it feels like? It feels like every 16 episodes we cover a single gym in the local Pokemon league, then we skip to the next league with new party and pokemon but similar concepts.

[Zeino]

Since we getting near the end, How many character deaths do you'll think Age's finale will have?