What do you want to see in the next Gundam series?

[Mu La Flaga]

Personally a note for a Gundam mecha, I don't want to see something more powerful then the Turn A.
I would like to see something with packs and all again mixed with modular extra parts.
Eg take off a limb replace it with other ones for mission roles, different types of armor, built in arnaments ect.

[Koshernova]

I was very pleased with the main ideas of 00. I wasn't too bothered with the fact that S1 was a buildup for a more 'traditional' show as seen in S2. I think, in fact, that is what makes 00 unique: it shows us the early days of space colonisation, and how they relate to our present-day political status.

I saw 00 as a big reaction against SEED/SEED DESTINY. On the one hand, the show contained tried-and-true commercial hooks: trendy bands doing the OP/EDs, colourful team of powerful Gundams, cute girls and cute boys. But there was a lot of catering for the old-school: strong hard-scifi aspects (like Orbital Elevators and the early days of colonisation), lots and lots of politics, realistic grunts (in S1), and a group of Gundam Pilots who, while angsty, were very different in their storylines and personalities. This, coupled with attractive, shoujo-style character designs that were much more defined and differentiated than the cookie-cutter ones of the SEEDverse.

I would hope for a new Gundam show to follow 00's footsteps: bring in a new creative team, use the inevitable commercial hooks, and then try to create an interesting storyline within those limitations. After Gundamania fizzled out in the 1990s and then got revived in the 2000s with SEED, Bandai/Sunrise has a firm grasp on what makes a succesful Gundam show. This does not mean they'll make a story of decent quality, or an original one. That is a secondary consideration to making a show that is attractive to otaku, sponsors, and occasionally to the Gundam hardcore.

I don't think we can hope for hard-sci-fi, realistic MS action a la 08th MS Team, to be honest, unless we're talking of (yet another!) One Year War side stories. And we certainly won't get someone older than adolescence. Remember, even an anime like Legend of the Galactic Heroes, well-known for avoiding anime cliches, has an implausibly young protagonist due to the target audience. I'm sorry to say but, I don't expect an adult to be a protagonist for the foreseeable future.

As for women, well, I'll just point in the direction of the current ep of Gundamn (ep 62), where the hosts of the show answer my question about female protagonists in Gundam.

[iKhaotic]

completely agree with the lead character's age thing. any lead character over the age of 21 wouldn't work as a selling point. if there's one thing Japanese and core American viewers have in common, it's that the vast majority of them like the teen hero. it works in pretty much every JRPG, so it would work likewise in anime. it's because they can somewhat relate i suppose, to the characters because of the age similarities? that or the viewers' hormones just act up and they enjoy looking at good looking teen anime guys/girls lolol

[Saikuba]

There's a lot of things that I want, which I think are somewhat common around here and also extremely unlikely to occur (i.e. adult protagonist, less moe, a realistic military organization, low number of Gundams and other super units.)

Right now, I'll settle for some more O'Neill Island 3 colonies. I love those things.

And maybe we could go to Mars or Venus while we're at it.

[Izayuukan]

Right now, I'll settle for some more O'Neill Island 3 colonies. I love those things.

You mean, half of an Island Three. I've always wondered why Gundam thought to include Island Three colonies but then chop them in half.

Hey, I know. For the next Gundam show, I'd like them to include Island Three colonies with BOTH cylinders. Of course, they'd probably have them spinning the same way, but baby steps first.

[Saikuba]

You mean, half of an Island Three. I've always wondered why Gundam thought to include Island Three colonies but then chop them in half.

Hey, I know. For the next Gundam show, I'd like them to include Island Three colonies with BOTH cylinders. Of course, they'd probably have them spinning the same way, but baby steps first.

To be fair, that's a pretty common mistake. And I think the notion of a "bunch" was originally supposed to capture this idea (referring to two colonies.) But yeah, Gundam has botched that detail and I wouldn't mind seeing it fixed.

[Mu La Flaga]

So did anyone find any of my ideas interesting or were they a little cliche?

Also if do Warp travel in a Gundam series, make it limited, like say millitary bases or you need your ship to be launched via a warp catapault to head to your destination.


Also for a Gundam pilot, one that isn't perfect or a little shady, would be kind of nice.
Garrod was that a little bit being in to selling MSes and Gundams and all.

[Nowhere Man]

What I want: stop with the black-and-white morality crap. I want my protagonists fighting for flawed governments, getting orders that they don't really like and having to deal with them, and killing others so they won't get killed themselves. And I want it to stay that way; no starting out that way, and then giving our hero an excuse never to have to kill again. Because... y'know... that's war. Or at least a semblance thereof.

I can't tell you how tired I am of watching our "heroes" grouped into a tiny third party that takes on two equally evil superpowers, winning only because their equipment is badass.

And have the characters mature into adults rather than becoming even more naive and idealistic. I'm not watching Peter Pan. I want to see my protagonists grow up.

[J-Lead]

Actually, you know what I want to see? A Gundam Wing remake, only the Gundam pilots are replaced by members of the Harlem Globetrotters. Go ahead, imagine it...

I'd settle for an actual Gundam Wing remake featuring Katoki's designs, however. I've gotten back into Wing recently, and in my eyes, it was a series with an EXCELLENT setting, plot and cast of characters, but an impossibly awful execution, and you know what they say; better to remake a bad movie rather than a good one...

That, and I say this because I really, REALLY don't want to see another AU for at least a half a decade We've got enough of those for the time being, and taking into account Sunrise's recent track record with more recent 50 episode shows, I'm not so sure I'd want to see one set in UC till they can prove to me that they can go the full monty and not cock it up halfway through...

I dunno, the idea of Wing getting a remake is really appealing to me right now for some reason...

[zerogradius]

I'd really love to see a fifty episode series on Amuro Ray's exploits during the first Neo Zeon war. It would be a ratings bonanza, guaranteed, if handled correctly.

[Deacon Blues]

I wish we'd have a 6 episode OVA dedicated to the political aspect of Gundam. Seriously... I'd love to see some nitty gritty stuff worked in somewhere. Some "pre-OYW" stuff. That, or Advance of Zeta would work well animated given the legal/battle tradeoffs. Then again, something refreshing like Ecole du Ciel animated would be quite nice...

[reeoyuy]

I'd really love to see a fifty episode series on Amuro Ray's exploits during the first Neo Zeon war. It would be a ratings bonanza, guaranteed, if handled correctly.

Hell yeah, white Zeta! Bandai will have excuse to release a variant based on MG Zeta 2.0 kit. And then slightly different color kits of already existed one such as Bawoo or Zaku III. It's profitable. But then, they really need to handle it properly or it will result in a mess. And high possibility of retcons that conflict with ZZ and Sentinel.

If they made a new AU however, I want the one that has the same vibe as Gundam X. Not necessarily a remake, just initial premise or overall aura. Just like how many people find similarities of OO and Wing in "Gundams against the whole world" theme. A ruined world, lawless lands, a competition to survive, mysterious relics from the past...You won't run out of ideas.

Still, I don't mind if they ever remake GX someday.

[Chris]

I'd really love to see a fifty episode series on Amuro Ray's exploits during the first Neo Zeon war. It would be a ratings bonanza, guaranteed, if handled correctly.

I don't see how any of that could work, unless you went and re-did all of ZZ. Amuro didn't do anything that significantly affected the war, and I wouldn't be interested in seeing 50 episodes of Amuro fighting Neo Zeon losers in all the backwater places that Judau wasn't at.

[Kurotetsu]

I want an overarching theme that is NOT "War is Bad".

Listen, Sunrise, we get the point already. War/Fighting is an awful thing. We should avoid it at all costs. You can stop beating us over the head with it now. We've been hearing the same message since 1979 with few exceptions (Gundam X, G Gundam and maybe Turn A). Even freaking Tomino is getting sick of it.

Beyond that (and really, just doing that should create a significantly unique Gundam series), get rid of the "Next Stage of Human Evolution!" concept, at least for 1 series. Give me another Kou Uraki who is AWESOME just because of talent, guts, and because he'll die if he doesn't man up and pilot like an ace, not because he's a Newtype/SEED/Innovator/Zero System User/<insert_random_superpower_here>. Again, Gundam X, G Gundam and Turn A are only series that jump to mind that didn't use this.

I'd really like see a Gundam that is closer to Full Metal Panic (which seemed to at least partially inspire Gundam 00).

[J-Lead]

I'd really love to see a fifty episode series on Amuro Ray's exploits during the first Neo Zeon war. It would be a ratings bonanza, guaranteed, if handled correctly.

This might be more suited to a 3-6 episode OVA, or actually, a manga would be more suited for this (mangas tell smaller stories much more effectively, since they are much cheaper to produce and don't have as many constraints.) There was no indication that Amuro did anything notable during the First Neo Zeon war other than "he fought in space," which could mean he foiled a dastardly plot to destroy the moon or something, or could have taken on a Dressien or two in the middle of nobody-gives-a-crap-where-in-space-this-is.

[Murra]

I'd really love to see a fifty episode series on Amuro Ray's exploits during the first Neo Zeon war. It would be a ratings bonanza, guaranteed, if handled correctly.

Perhaps in bizarro world, indeed.

However in the real world they're going to create a new Gundam that appeals to the current generation, bringing in a whole new audience, none of whom will have the slightest idea who Amuro is or even what the hell's a Zaku. Like it or not, these are the times and it is a business.

That's not to say the thought wouldn't ever be appeased in an OVA but they're not gonna waste a perfectly good TV run on it.

[blind_dead_mcjones]

i just thought of one more thing i'd like to see, but probably won't happen

have the big final battle royal happen on the ground, i'm sick of them happening in space (i know of only two instances of this occuring, 08th ms team, and endless waltz, if there are more please tell)

[Mu La Flaga]

Ah heck I will throw it in here.
It would be nice if they do a Gundam SEED Astray series adaptation they make the plotlines run a litlte better as a series, since some of them finished in novels as Chris noted in his review of the Gundam SEED Astray mangas on the podcast.

[Chris]

i just thought of one more thing i'd like to see, but probably won't happen

have the big final battle royal happen on the ground, i'm sick of them happening in space (i know of only two instances of this occuring, 08th ms team, and endless waltz, if there are more please tell)

The final battles of both Victory and Turn A were on Earth.

[Murra]

0080's final battle was on the ground too, though not on Earth.