The Official Gundam Unicorn Anime Thread Mk VI

[Kratos]

Also, they never seem to update the JPN PSN regularly. I remember when it was supposed to have Gundam Breaker I had to wait an extra day, and with Extreme Vs Full Boost, it was released on time.

It's out on the Japanese PSN, just not the NA one. It's a bit expensive to rent when there's no guarantee of English subs though, so I'll wait.

[Gundam420]

As long as the ending is different from the novel's one, there's nowhere it really can go but up, at least, compared to what I've been told/some bad translations seemed to have had. (I don't know if they did, I'm avoiding spoilers for the anime version.)

Also, they never seem to update the JPN PSN regularly. I remember when it was supposed to have Gundam Breaker I had to wait an extra day, and with Extreme Vs Full Boost, it was released on time.

I see you've changed your original quote. Eh well anyway to answer your previous question (before your edit)...

Episodes 5 and 6 did what they needed to do in terms of progressing the story. Don't mind balofo adopting the extreme troll mentality of "complain without taking time to think about or analyze it". Of course /m/ on 4chan is reacting with a similar if not more extreme attitude. The episode has been released but with Chinese subtitles, so my advice: just watch it and decide for yourself. I saw it but I'll watch it again in English of course to get the gist of everything. But anyway, the whole "it sucks because it's not like the book" mentality is an ultimately futile one because in the end why make something exactly like the book? Just read the book (oh wait). Books are a completely different medium, they're longer, they allow for more elaborate descriptions and intricate details of things. The film medium (in this case animation) is not designed for that, relying more on the visuals to tell the story, with dialogue as a supplement. Most of all when it comes to adaptations, you have two different creators with two different visions. So of course the adaption won't be like the book. I'm not saying you have to like the adaptation, but in the end you have to take it for what it is. Whether or not you like it is all opinion-based. Plus making something exactly the same as it's previous medium is pointless if nothing interesting is done with the material. Look at the remake of Psycho or the animated adaptation of Batman Year One.

[Xenosynth]

Sorry, I kept editing it because I didn't wanna come across as too confrontational, and I wrote that while in an annoyed mood.

[toysdream]

I think balofo does have a point - for people who wish the anime had stuck closer to the novels, the Bande Dessine really is the best of both worlds, so there's room for everyone to find their own bliss. The anime version may be the official one, as per Sunrise's "filmed works" rule, but from an entertainment standpoint the comic isn't a bad consolation prize.

-- Mark

[Kratos]

Right, but he could be less aggressively negative about it. Nobody takes kindly to borderline trollish bashing of something they enjoy, regardless of the point being presented.

But anyways, Mark, I actually have a question. Rewatching the show subbed, I noticed that on at least two occasions, the word 大人 is translated as "man" rather than the usual "adult; Frontal says "That is the privilege of being a man" versus "sore wa otona no tokken da" in episode 2, and Otto says "...and as a man" versus "hitori no otona toshite" in episode 6. Any insight on why the English script went with "man" over "adult"? The former lends itself to a whole different meaning than the latter, and it's never really struck me as an ambiguous Japanese word.

[latenlazy]

Given how complex the novel is, and consequently how complex adaptations have to be, I do think there are some pretty straightforward and easy criticisms to levy against the OVA. I personally felt that they didn't make the best directorial and narrative choices in communicating the themes and essence of the work (until number 5). It seems to me that they were rushed to turn out a story, and therefore didn't really put all the effort they could into telling the story cohesively. For example, I suspect that if they followed the events of the novel less linearly, they could have set up some of the later conflicts better, built greater tension to them, and give greater depth and insight to the ideas and themes that the book explores. On the by and large, I definitely don't think the OVA is perfect, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't work at all or that it's terrible. To invoke that binary is to make the perfect the enemy of the good, and I see no reason outright rejecting what I thought was solid B+ material.

EDIT: Actually, I just realized that my criticism here was pretty similar to my criticism of Zach Snyder's adaptation of The Watchmen, except I do think Unicorn did a better job. Still I wish the creative team were more creative about the narrative devices they could have employed. I've often found that the best way to adapt a written work into a visual medium is to do away with the written works narrative structure even as it preserves as much content as it can (note I make a very important distinction between structure and content here). In a sense, I think the OVA was almost TOO loyal in the wrong way.

[Xenosynth]

I don't mind criticisms being leveled at Unicorn, it has plenty of problems. Again, it's mostly just the attitude that's been displayed a few times about it with the constant negativity that frustrates me. I am very much enjoying Bande Dessinee and I might even like it more than the OVA, I just think him bringing it up constantly is a bit frustrating given that it just leads to circular wank arguments, and that he hasn't really provided much in the way of constructive criticism, rather for the past few times, just going 'disappointed' or otherwise just using negativity without critiquing it, you know what I mean?

Latenlazy, for example provides lots of very valid points in his criticism, whereas with Balofo's it's been less critique and more 'Novels and BD are better in every way.' Balofo is also the same person that said in another thread 'liking mecha anime for story is like enjoying fighting games for story' and then basically made fun of everyone in that thread that was excited over The Origin, and just generally being rude and unhelpful after that for a while, so maybe I just have a bias against him.

Anyway, enough on that.

[Deacon Blues]

I'll have to wait and see if I can freeze frame some more of this, but these are some of what the provisions of the Charter of the Universal Century say... albeit in Engrish at times. Please keep in mind that some of the text is truncated. When they release the final Unicorn mook the full text will likely be in it... unless Mark can chime in and share this with us

Spoiler

Article 3

The Earth Federation and its Member States, in order to expand space activities for the survival of the human race, must play a constructive role in accordance with the fundamental principles of the Earth Federation

CHAPTER III DEVELOPMENT OF SPACE SETTLEMENTS

Article 4

...development of space settlements, including settlements on the Moon and other celestial bodies, the Earth Federation and its Member States shall be guided by the p... equal emphasis upon both development and the protection of the Earth's environment, with due consideration of cultural and social diversity.

Article 5

...space settlement projects shall be integrated at a high level into the policies of the Earth Federation and ensured in accordance with the principle of social stability

CHAPTER IV SPACE EMIGRATION POLICIES

Article 6

The Earth Federation and its Member States shall execute active space migration practices so as to ensure a decent existence for all those who lack resources.

Article 7

Every citizen of the Earth Federation and its Member States has the right to freely move to and reside in the federally approved space settlements, including the settlements on the Moon and other celestial bodies, within the limitations of federal laws.

Article 8

...shall manage all space settlements including the settlements on the Moon and other celestial bodies, in the interests of the Earth's environment and the...

Article 9

...shall function as a local public agency of the Earth Federation and its administrative function shall in principle belong to the central government of...

Article 10

The Earth Federation shall legislate specifically for the space emigration if displaced persons and citizens of third countries who need the support of the Federation

CHAPTER V. RIGHTS AND INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE SPACE SETTLEMENTS

Article 11

The Earth Federation, under federal laws, shall pursue the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms without distinction as to race, sex, language, for all citizens of the space settlements, including settlements on the Moon and other celestial bodies.

Article 12

The Earth Federation, in order to create and maintain an amenable environment for the human race, shall establish public infrastructure for economic, society, culture, education, and health care in the space settlements, including settlements on the Moon and other celestial bodies.

CHAPTER VI GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 13

This Charter shall not be misinterpreted as giving any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of the rights recognized in this Charter.

Article 14

This Charterr, authentically written in the English text, shall remain deposited in the archives of the Earth Federation or of such representation as the Earth Federation may designate.

CHAPTER VII FUTURE

Article 15

The Earth Federation shall prepare the following articles for the future of the human race with high hopes and expectations.

1. In preparation for an extraterrestrial biological emergency, the Earth Federation shall increase and expand research and preparedness.

2. In the future, should the emergence of a new space adapted human race be confirmed, the Earth Federation shall give priority to involving them in the administration of the government.

[toysdream]

The first part of Article 15, obviously, relates to anti-ELS countermeasures.

-- Mark

[Deacon Blues]

The first part of Article 15, obviously, relates to anti-ELS countermeasures.

-- Mark

Also seems like a nod to Crossbone Ghost with the "space bacteria" crap... :/

[gunform1010]

So guys, what's up with that ring around the Neo Zeong...

[PowerdGNFlag]

So guys, what's up with that ring around the Neo Zeong...

I think we will have to wait for the HGUC instruction manual to get more details on the Neo-Zeong. What we see on the animation doesn't really help much.

Spoiler

1. Those MS-control tentacles: a more useful version of Unicorn's psycommu weapon hijack?
2. Psyco-shard (aka ring around the Neo Zeong): overloads compressed mega particles (and ordinary ammo? I doubt that the Unicorns' vulcans are beam)
3. self-disintegration: Psycommu/psycoframe overload?

Not meant to be official explanations, but a starting point for discussion.

[Gundam420]

I think balofo does have a point - for people who wish the anime had stuck closer to the novels, the Bande Dessine really is the best of both worlds, so there's room for everyone to find their own bliss. The anime version may be the official one, as per Sunrise's "filmed works" rule, but from an entertainment standpoint the comic isn't a bad consolation prize.

-- Mark

Well said good sir. Well said.

Given how complex the novel is, and consequently how complex adaptations have to be, I do think there are some pretty straightforward and easy criticisms to levy against the OVA. I personally felt that they didn't make the best directorial and narrative choices in communicating the themes and essence of the work (until number 5). It seems to me that they were rushed to turn out a story, and therefore didn't really put all the effort they could into telling the story cohesively. For example, I suspect that if they followed the events of the novel less linearly, they could have set up some of the later conflicts better, built greater tension to them, and give greater depth and insight to the ideas and themes that the book explores. On the by and large, I definitely don't think the OVA is perfect, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't work at all or that it's terrible. To invoke that binary is to make the perfect the enemy of the good, and I see no reason outright rejecting what I thought was solid B+ material.

There's also the fact that the OVA was initially going to be 6 Episodes, so you've got a point there.

I don't mind criticisms being leveled at Unicorn, it has plenty of problems. Again, it's mostly just the attitude that's been displayed a few times about it with the constant negativity that frustrates me. I am very much enjoying Bande Dessinee and I might even like it more than the OVA, I just think him bringing it up constantly is a bit frustrating given that it just leads to circular wank arguments, and that he hasn't really provided much in the way of constructive criticism, rather for the past few times, just going 'disappointed' or otherwise just using negativity without critiquing it, you know what I mean?

Latenlazy, for example provides lots of very valid points in his criticism, whereas with Balofo's it's been less critique and more 'Novels and BD are better in every way.' Balofo is also the same person that said in another thread 'liking mecha anime for story is like enjoying fighting games for story' and then basically made fun of everyone in that thread that was excited over The Origin, and just generally being rude and unhelpful after that for a while, so maybe I just have a bias against him.

Anyway, enough on that.

No I don't think it's a bias. He's just being a douche. No one would take kindly to the unpleasant attitude he constantly throws about. Besides how ironic is it that he says "watching mecha anime for the story is like playing fighting games for the story", yet he's always complaining about Unicorn's story. Yeah, no disconnect there whatsoever.

[ieh4f]

just watched ep 7, have a couple of questions:
how the rozen zulu get attacked by its own "hook"?
l heard the voice of real char and amuro, does this confirm they are dead after CCA?

[ieh4f]

and the gundam the bald guy pillot against neo zeong MA, is that silver bullet?

[latenlazy]

Watching right now without English subs. Can only read the Chinese at half speed, but it feels like the first thirty minutes are rushed. A bit unfortunate. Maybe they should have committed to a full series, though given the production quality that would certainly be prohibitively expensive.

[Ferrus_Manus]

What the hell?

Spoiler

Angelo killed his own comrades so he could fight Banagher alone oO

[PowerdGNFlag]

just watched ep 7, have a couple of questions:
how the rozen zulu get attacked by its own "hook"?
l heard the voice of real char and amuro, does this confirm they are dead after CCA?

1. Unicorn hijacked it, similar to how it took control of the Kshatriya's funnels back in Episode 3.
2. Most likely, unless you believe that they can project themselves as ghosts to mess up with people like wannabes.

and the gundam the bald guy pillot against neo zeong MA, is that silver bullet?

Yes. I was surprised and pleased when it appeared. Makes for a good ad for the model.

[latenlazy]

Finished. That was both beautiful and disappointing all at once. I'll probably have better thoughts to share once I actually watch the english sub.

[ieh4f]

just watched ep 7, have a couple of questions:
how the rozen zulu get attacked by its own "hook"?
l heard the voice of real char and amuro, does this confirm they are dead after CCA?

1. Unicorn hijacked it, similar to how it took control of the Kshatriya's funnels back in Episode 3.
2. Most likely, unless you believe that they can project themselves as ghosts to mess up with people like wannabes.

and the gundam the bald guy pillot against neo zeong MA, is that silver bullet?

Yes. I was surprised and pleased when it appeared. Makes for a good ad for the model.

but l think the hook thing is wired, unicorn can hijacked something wired like incom?
and why marida just let her blowed away by banshee like that? she didnt evn try to dodge or anything......