The Official Gundam Reconguista Anime Thread Mk III

[gunform1010]

Holy crap

Spoiler

was that Jaburo?!

*sigh*

I understand the point of G-Reco now. In the end, I think Tomino's saying that humanity will never grow up. We will always have both the dangers and delights of children.

That's the feeling I got after watching the epilogue, though there's definitely some other stuff that Geoxile mentioned as well.

The only real issue I still feel is that this ending came 13 episodes too soon. 39-ish episodes would have hit the sweet spot for Reconguista and fleshed out its politics better.

It's funny, but Steer's English just got less on my nerves as time went on until I actually started looking forward to her moments of shouting out those two word sentences. I wonder if Tomino was using her to mock the fad of shouting out poorly pronounced/researched/practiced English in anime.

Maybe, maybe not. All I know is that I was dying hearing her English when I normally hate this kind of stuff.

[latenlazy]

That's the feeling I got after watching the epilogue, though there's definitely some other stuff that Geoxile mentioned as well.

Yeah, there's A LOT to unpack in G-Reco. It really takes the cake in terms of efficiently packing in executing its ideas. However, if we had to identify a central theme, I think that might be it.

The only real issue I still feel is that this ending came 13 episodes too soon. 39-ish episodes would have hit the sweet spot for Reconguista and fleshed out its politics better.

We definitely needed 13 more episodes. One of G-Reco's flaws is how compressed the development is towards the end. The show didn't let its most interesting material breath, unfortunately. I loved what was happening but didn't have time to relish any of it, especially at Venus Globe, and then the return back to the Earth Sphere. In a way those last few episodes played more like a movie than a series.

It's funny, but Steer's English just got less on my nerves as time went on until I actually started looking forward to her moments of shouting out those two word sentences. I wonder if Tomino was using her to mock the fad of shouting out poorly pronounced/researched/practiced English in anime.

I actually thought Steer's English was one of the better cases of Anime English. They didn't try to draw attention and focus to her english. It was just in the background, and they kept what actual English she spoke to a minimal so it wasn't getting in the way of dialogue.If it's a critique (and I think you're onto something), it's a good one.

[Soma Taozi]

Goodbye G-Reco! You were needlessly complicated at times but you had a lot of fun moments. On that note, I would like to say that when I say G-Reco is complicated, that does not mean I did not understand it. I did. It just felt like Tomino made the series needlessly difficult to try to lose as many people as possible in order to reaffirm his opinion of the average anime fan. And it worked, look how little this show was on people's radar!

Which I why I can never enjoy Reco as much as I WISH I did...I just could see exactly what Tomino was doing and I found it far from positive. It felt like he is just a grumpy old man (which might be true...idk). Which is a shame, I really hoped this would be as good as Turn A!

Or maybe the convoluted nature of Reco was due to the 26 episodes and the show not given enough time to breath popularly. Overall...this show was fine. Not my favorite, but not my least favorite...and it did try NEW THINGS! Which, I hope, more Gundam series do. Just a lot of questions after the finale....because, it didn't really feel like a conclusion. Just has Bell going, "Me going to explore world...in order to see if it is really NOT SQUARE like me sister told me in episode 1..." Or was that Manny? Ugh...I don't care anymore.

But Steer's final, shouting english line is the funniest thing I have ever heard...The delivery went FULL anime, it was what lines beyond the threshold! It has joined with the likes of the G-Gundam ending. Which is why it is now my signature.

[latenlazy]

Goodbye G-Reco! You were needlessly complicated at times but you had a lot of fun moments. On that note, I would like to say that when I say G-Reco is complicated, that does not mean I did not understand it. I did. It just felt like Tomino made the series needlessly difficult to try to lose as many people as possible in order to reaffirm his opinion of the average anime fan. And it worked, look how little this show was on people's radar!

Which I why I can never enjoy Reco as much as I WISH I did...I just could see exactly what Tomino was doing and I found it far from positive. It felt like he is just a grumpy old man (which might be true...idk). Which is a shame, I really hoped this would be as good as Turn A!

Hehe, like I said in the Try thread, there's a certain degree of magnificent snobbery in how Tomino approached G-Reco. I think, one way or another, that made the show special (not necessarily in a good way, nor a bad one). Those of us who understood AND liked the show have kinda singled ourselves out into somewhat of an exclusive club, where we're finding out maybe just how alone we really are . It's one of those moments where you realize someone's critique about everyone else is right, but so what? They're the majority! *sigh*

[teslashark]

It still sucks to be Luin/Mask, even after the war.

[latenlazy]

It still sucks to be Luin/Mask, even after the war.

I think he'll get over it. He'll probably cool off a bit ideologically once his raging teen hormones subside a bit .

One of the nice things about that ending for Luin was that it showed the compartmentalization of a person's political personalities and their personality in normal life. There's commentary in G-Reco through various characters about how we approach our politics and how infusing our deliberate political purposes and goals with with suppressed passion can create extremes I think.

[Raikoh]

Luin got together with Manny, so there's that. He also scores points for having a sweet mask and that glorious ham.

Speaking of, I remember someone comparing Luin best to the one-off Simpsons character Frank Grimes and making a very good point about it. He is definitely in the wrong, hating Bellri for no real reason (especially when Bell was nothing but nice to him), but it's justified. He worked his ass off, against all odds and prejudice against Kuntala, to get where he was whereas Bellri grew up in a very powerful political family (he even nicknamed him "Grade Skipper" because of it). He's so overwhelmed by his Kuntala heritage that he can't see Bellri as anything more than a snobby elite who is likely to cause more suffering of minorities if he's given power.

There's more to it, though, since we've seen that Luin has had some issues in the past. In his more comedic moments, he has a tendency to not pay attention to his surroundings or to overreact to small things. That likely played a role in his relationship with Bellri later on.

Something else I'd notice is how more often than not, anime (or media in general) has taken the side of the minority on these issues. It makes sense why that's the thing, since often the message has to do with "racism is badong." Tomino went a different direction, tying in with a lot of Reconguista's overarching themes. He showed the flipside, how Luin's extremism really bit him in the ass over the course of the plot, and nearly cost him Manny, his life, or both. The real irony is that he ends up being prejudiced of Bellri for his heritage, causing him to be no better off than the people who were constantly reminding him of being a Kuntala.

It's one of those lingering questions, like the fate of Sir Guin in Turn A. Will Luin realize his folly? Will he have a reconciliation with Bellri at some point? Actually, did Bellri ever notice that Luin is Mask?

[latenlazy]

The real irony is that he ends up being prejudiced of Bellri for his heritage, causing him to be no better off than the people who were constantly reminding him of being a Kuntala.

It's one of those lingering questions, like the fate of Sir Guin in Turn A. Will Luin realize his folly? Will he have a reconciliation with Bellri at some point? Actually, did Bellri ever notice that Luin is Mask?

There was a lot of complaining about prejudice while being prejudiced themselves on display in G-Reco. Wonder if Tomino was making a point

[anonena]

http://i.imgur.com/KazkuXr.jpg

[Geoxile]

http://i.imgur.com/KazkuXr.jpg

That's not really an apt comparison. Homer did nothing wrong. Bellri on the other hand... Well, he kinda joined sides with pirates affiliated with Ameria, who attacked the Tower. Even if it was under orders by Colonel Cumpa, Mask had no way of knowing that. All he knew was that Bellri was piloting the G-Self, which Mask was ordered to capture, and downing Capital Army MS. People call Mask incredibly petty, but I can only imagine what he must have felt when he found out it was Bellri. Mask spent his days as a cadet looking out for Bellri, being servile, expecting to be at least considered a friend, and suddenly he's piloting the G-Self for the enemy and putting Mask and his Kuntala squad to shame? It's probably made worse by the fact that Bellri hardly acknowledges Mask as a skilled enemy, while Mask considers Bellri his personal nemesis.

In the scheme of things, I'd be hard pressed to say Bellri was on the wrong side of history, but for Luin Lee, I'd be pretty angry. Honestly, the Kuntala vs. Bellri's status thing seems like an excuse to stay mad at Bellri.


Edit: I just noticed, the Rattle Python wasn't destroyed?
http://s22.postimg.org/5nm0fp569/26_Ris ... 6_2015.jpg
But its front bow, which blew up earlier, magically recovered. But it's still sinking though.

[HalfDemonInuyasha]

Definitely feel it could've covered more with 39+ episodes given the transition from the end of the battle to the aftermath feels a bit abrupt. I also got the feeling that that cavern area are what little remains of Jaburo (though I don't recall Z'Goks being used in the attack, maybe leftovers used for minor duties after the One Year War, similar to how they used a bunch of old MS for its defense in Zeta Gundam before nuking it). Of course, we also can't forget other easter egg homages to older Gundam series', like how Towasangan MS bore a resemblance to the MS of the Zanscare Empire, some MS had thrusters that looked similar to X-thrusters used on the Crossbone Gundams/Flints, and so on. Even the G-Rach gave me the impression of the MAN-05 Gromlin with all its firepower and single leg and such.

I'm also glad that they didn't start pulling a bunch of Newtype hijinks. There was some very minor odes to Newtypes, but they never became any sort of important issue. That, coupled with those in space actually wanting to return to Earth really puts a big final nail in Zeon's ideal of all of humanity abandoning Earth and evolving into Newtypes. One of my favorite moments is still that one time utterance of "Gundam". Even 1000 years after whenever the Universal Century ended, "Gundam" still lives on.

All in all, I still enjoyed it and am glad to have gotten to go back to those older times (along with The Origin I) that takes a good look at the people and the world around them and not just the MS battles.

[BrentD15]

I honestly don't think it needs 13+ more episodes.
Maybe just 4-6.

EDIT: You know what? Maybe you people should try paying attention to the show. Perhaps when you finally get to marathon it, you'll understand it better.

[Geoxile]

Someone on /m/ pointed this out:

http://s7.postimg.org/5jwvzyjzd/1427553538221.png
Mask could've shot the G-Self's cockpit and killed Bellri, but he aims at the head instead. This is when Bellri pushes the Kabakali's rifle to the side.

http://s7.postimg.org/swuxih02z/1427554092597.jpg
He hesitated here for a solid two seconds. This is right before the bird hits the Kabakali, he has the G-Self in a vulnerable position and doesn't shoot until the bird hits the Kabakali.

Maybe Luin got cold feet at the thought of actually killing Bellri. He isn't really the type to hesitate.

[latenlazy]

I honestly don't think it needs 13+ more episodes.
Maybe just 4-6.

EDIT: You know what? Maybe you people should try paying attention to the show. Perhaps when you finally get to marathon it, you'll understand it better.

Hey I understood it perfectly fine, but it's so rich you that you can afford to develop it into something deeper (and more comprehensive).

[Destiny_Gundam]

Well, that was a thing that happened. What did happen anyways? In the long run, I mean. Nothing really was accomplished. Sure, some bad people got killed but the world situation didn't change any, at least not what we're told. Captial Tower assumedly still has the monopoly on Photon Battery distribution but perhaps the Cresent Ship will deliver them straight to Earth rather than go through Towasanga. Aida and the pirates can't seem to decide if they're still a part of Ameria anymore and they kill the president for the lulz.

There's actually a lot of actions without consequence like that. People do some bad stuff but no one around seems to care. Manny runs off with a giant mobile armor but no one seems to notice. That blonde chick that sold them out to the G-IT corps hangs out with everyone in the end like it didn't happen... And she has the body of a child now. The hell? Bellri and co dock their ship at Towasanga and hook up with some rebels but the government does nothing about them. The Ameria and Capital armies are constantly fighting but Towasanga doesn't just boot them out. The Megafauna just lands on the Cresent Ship but no one on the Cresent Ship goes "Hey! Bugger off! We ain't a taxi service!" Raraiya kills a ship load of Amerias but Aida doesn't give a damn.

There's a long list of things I could go on about, but in general it was a mess. Conversations jumped from one topic to another with no transitions or sense of flow. Characters seem to change their opinion back and forth mid conversation, almost as if Tomino never specified who was supposed to be talking in the script and the staff just assigned characters to lines. It's like everyone has ADHD. Previously unestablished character traits pop out of nowhere with no build up, for example Raraiya's sudden stereotypical hate on for adults this episode.

I didn't feel very strongly towards any of these characters, though I did feel a bit sad when Gushion died and I was happy Willmit didn't join the ranks of dead Gundam parents.

There were some interesting ideas here, but they were so buried under random silliness and convoluted dialogue they're hard to notice. The show simply failed to make me want to put the extra effort in to dig them up. Not that any of them really get fleshed out very much. The trip to Venus in particular felt especially pointless and could have been cut entirely. We learn the president is over 200 years old and that the Venus Globe was built to move the Earth to another solar system but they're just toss away mentions that added nothing.

A lot of these issues are pretty typical with Tomino, but the compressed length really kicks it into Trans-Am. I still think F91 is pretty good so I know Tomino is able to compress many episodes worth of ideas into a shorter time, but with G-Reco is feels like he refused to cut out anything. As a writer I know it sucks to have to remove ideas you want to explore, but sometimes you have to so it doesn't drag down the quality of the product.

I don't say this lightly, but I can assert with complete conviction that I think this is the worst installment of the franchise. This is mostly related to construction rather than content, though. I don't have much of a problem with what was presented, but how it was presented.

I know I'm being hard on it, but did I hate it? No, I didn't. It didn't make me angry, instead it's blunders made me laugh. I did have to turn off my brain while watching, though, otherwise I'd constantly be asking "Why?"

There were lots of pretty lights and I do appreciate the overall colourful atmosphere. I did think a lot of the mech designs were cool and I like watching them fight, althought this series definitely tops SEED in the "suits introduced only to push toys" department. New suits constantly come out of nowhere and are often swiftly replaced.

To end things on a positive note, I think I still like it more than Zeta Gundam

[latenlazy]

Well, that was a thing that happened. What did happen anyways? In the long run, I mean. Nothing really was accomplished. Sure, some bad people got killed but the world situation didn't change any, at least not what we're told. Captial Tower assumedly still has the monopoly on Photon Battery distribution but perhaps the Cresent Ship will deliver them straight to Earth rather than go through Towasanga. Aida and the pirates can't seem to decide if they're still a part of Ameria anymore and they kill the president for the lulz.

There's actually a lot of actions without consequence like that. People do some bad stuff but no one around seems to care. Manny runs off with a giant mobile armor but no one seems to notice. That blonde chick that sold them out to the G-IT corps hangs out with everyone in the end like it didn't happen... And she has the body of a child now. The hell? Bellri and co dock their ship at Towasanga and hook up with some rebels but the government does nothing about them. The Ameria and Capital armies are constantly fighting but Towasanga doesn't just boot them out. The Megafauna just lands on the Cresent Ship but no one on the Cresent Ship goes "Hey! Bugger off! We ain't a taxi service!" Raraiya kills a ship load of Amerias but Aida doesn't give a damn.

There's a long list of things I could go on about, but in general it was a mess. Conversations jumped from one topic to another with no transitions or sense of flow. Characters seem to change their opinion back and forth mid conversation, almost as if Tomino never specified who was supposed to be talking in the script and the staff just assigned characters to lines. It's like everyone has ADHD. Previously unestablished character traits pop out of nowhere with no build up, for example Raraiya's sudden stereotypical hate on for adults this episode.

I didn't feel very strongly towards any of these characters, though I did feel a bit sad when Gushion died and I was happy Willmit didn't join the ranks of dead Gundam parents.

There were some interesting ideas here, but they were so buried under random silliness and convoluted dialogue they're hard to notice. The show simply failed to make me want to put the extra effort in to dig them up. Not that any of them really get fleshed out very much. The trip to Venus in particular felt especially pointless and could have been cut entirely. We learn the president is over 200 years old and that the Venus Globe was built to move the Earth to another solar system but they're just toss away mentions that added nothing.

A lot of these issues are pretty typical with Tomino, but the compressed length really kicks it into Trans-Am. I still think F91 is pretty good so I know Tomino is able to compress many episodes worth of ideas into a shorter time, but with G-Reco is feels like he refused to cut out anything. As a writer I know it sucks to have to remove ideas you want to explore, but sometimes you have to so it doesn't drag down the quality of the product.

I don't say this lightly, but I can assert with complete conviction that I think this is the worst installment of the franchise. This is mostly related to construction rather than content, though. I don't have much of a problem with what was presented, but how it was presented.

I know I'm being hard on it, but did I hate it? No, I didn't. It didn't make me angry, instead it's blunders made me laugh. I did have to turn off my brain while watching, though, otherwise I'd constantly be asking "Why?"

There were lots of pretty lights and I do appreciate the overall colourful atmosphere. I did think a lot of the mech designs were cool and I like watching them fight, althought this series definitely tops SEED in the "suits introduced only to push toys" department. New suits constantly come out of nowhere and are often swiftly replaced.

To end things on a positive note, I think I still like it more than Zeta Gundam

Actually...a lot happened. Primarily, Reconguista happened. That's what that ending was about. The G-IT group realized Bellri wasn't trying to kill them when he tried to immobilize them instead of shoot them down and accepted that maybe Earthnoids weren't so violent and that they could resettle in peace.

The Venus Globe visit was crucial for understanding the motivations of G-IT and why Reconguista was so important. It turns out humanity cannot survive as they physically are in space, and would have to change as a species in ways many may find unacceptable.

Flamina has the body of a child because she was secretly wearing a body suit, (like Lagu). In fact, it's heavily implied that everyone from Venus Globe is wearing a body suit. One of the ironies of how the people of Venus Globe are portrayed is that when we first see them they all seem to have idealized "perfect" imposing body types, they seem to live very long, and have incredibly advanced technology. We then find out that that's all a technological glamour to hide the fact that they're dwarves evolving away from humanity.

I could go at lengths point by point, but I don't feel like that's a good use of your or my time

No offence Destiny_Gundam, but I feel like you've actually missed a lot of content and explanation that's actually in the show. The explanations are all there. They're just not accessible, but I suppose that's the point.

[Destiny_Gundam]

Actually...a lot happened. Primarily, Reconguista happened. That's what that ending was about. The G-IT group realized Bellri wasn't trying to kill them when he tried to immobilize them instead of shoot them down and accepted that maybe Earthnoids weren't so violent and that they could resettle in peace.

And by G-IT group you mean that one girl who was the sole survivor, right? She knows it on a personal level but there's nothing to indicate that any sort of immigration plan is in the works. They were much more preoccupied with using the Cresent Ship to take a world tour and smush presidents. You know, important stuff.

The Venus Globe visit was crucial for understanding the motivations of G-IT and why Reconguista was so important. It turns out humanity cannot survive as they physically are in space, and would have to change as a species in ways many may find unacceptable.

Was it really? It just boiled down to "Earthlings are barbarians who don't deserve the Earth" which is exactly the same motivation Dorette and Cumpa had. The G-IT group could have easily been part of Towasanga and little would have changed.

Wait, come to think of it the G-IT group hated Earthlings yet when they got to Earth they allied with Earthlings instead of their fellow spacenoids...

Anyways, the idea of the extremes people resort to to adapt to space is something worth exploring (see Gargantia) but G-Reco barely does anything with it.

Flamina has the body of a child because she was secretly wearing a body suit, (like Lagu). In fact, it's heavily implied that everyone from Venus Globe is wearing a body suit.

I had considered that, but again nothing in her pervious appearences alludes to that fact. There isn't even a simple "hey, are you okay without your body suit?" line. But the bigger issue is still the fact no one goes "Remember that time you betrayed us?"

No offence Destiny_Gundam, but I feel like you've actually missed a lot of content and explanation that's actually in the show. The explanations are all there. They're just not accessible, but I suppose that's the point.

If the point really was to bog everything down with nonsense so that only the 'elites' can appreciate it... Tomino is a pretentious dick

[BrentD15]

Someone on /m/ pointed this out:

http://s7.postimg.org/5jwvzyjzd/1427553538221.png
Mask could've shot the G-Self's cockpit and killed Bellri, but he aims at the head instead. This is when Bellri pushes the Kabakali's rifle to the side.

http://s7.postimg.org/swuxih02z/1427554092597.jpg
He hesitated here for a solid two seconds. This is right before the bird hits the Kabakali, he has the G-Self in a vulnerable position and doesn't shoot until the bird hits the Kabakali.

Maybe Luin got cold feet at the thought of actually killing Bellri. He isn't really the type to hesitate.

You mean like how other protag rivals had the chance to just shoot their opponent, but didn't? Nothing odd when it comes to Gundam.

Let's see that scene in motion.

No offence Destiny_Gundam, but I feel like you've actually missed a lot of content and explanation that's actually in the show. The explanations are all there. They're just not accessible, but I suppose that's the point.

If the point really was to bog everything down with nonsense so that only the 'elites' can appreciate it... Tomino is a pretentious dick

Whatever you think, DG.

[latenlazy]

And by G-IT group you mean that one girl who was the sole survivor, right? She knows it on a personal level but there's nothing to indicate that any sort of immigration plan is in the works. They were much more preoccupied with using the Cresent Ship to take a world tour and smush presidents. You know, important stuff.

Everyone on the Full Moon was part of the G-IT group, not just the pilots. (Flamina amongst a lot of other people).

Was it really? It just boiled down to "Earthlings are barbarians who don't deserve the Earth" which is exactly the same motivation Dorette and Cumpa had. The G-IT group could have easily been part of Towasanga and little would have changed.

It was. That conversation with Lagu wasn't just for show.

Wait, come to think of it the G-IT group hated Earthlings yet when they got to Earth they allied with Earthlings instead of their fellow spacenoids...

They allied specifically with Luin and the Kuntala, who they relate to. Also, they were using each other, and G-IT was using powerful mobile suits as leverage to find an Earthnoid ally to help with resettlement. That whole race to the Full Moon was about which group getting to strike that deal first. Luin was just their most ideal candidate.

Anyways, the idea of the extremes people resort to to adapt to space is something worth exploring (see Gargantia) but G-Reco barely does anything with it.

This wasn't the show to do that, unfortunately. That wasn't the themes Tomino was interested in.

I had considered that, but again nothing in her pervious appearences alludes to that fact. There isn't even a simple "hey, are you okay without your body suit?" line. But the bigger issue is still the fact no one goes "Remember that time you betrayed us?"

The point of the body suit is that it's imperceptible. With regards to going from body suit to no body suit, given the pace of the series and how they skip events to tie scenes together, you have to assume a lot of things happen off screen. It's really about assessing what's plausible and possible. It's a form of bad/lazy writing, either encouraged by condensed time, bad planning, etc. Like I said, G-Reco is not without its flaws.

Wrt how easily people seem to resolve their differences, in addition to the skipped scenes I imagine that the horrors of humanity nearly going extinct has built some measure of forgiveness and moderation into general human norms. You see this with how Cumpa and Bellri's mother cooperate but are clearly on opposing sides, and how Lagu talks about and treats the G-IT group. Speaking of which, the people in Venus Globe, even the bellicose ambitious ones, seem to have a different approach to conflict norms. At the end when you see Kia's gf pregnant you get a sense that part of that aggression and bellicosity was motivated by fear and desperation. I at least got the sense that the G-IT group refused to be reduced to space dwarf versions of the human race for any more generations, but were heavily worried about the second hand news of wars around the Earth Sphere, which they formed prejudices around. The moment they found that they could achieve the dream of settling peacefully that probably overrode any bitterness they might've had with the casualties or fight. Their goal wasn't to bring war but to secure a future for their group.

As for forgiving Flamina, she didn't kill anyone, and I suspect Bellri's group very quickly came to appreciate why G-IT pursued their actions when Lagu's message was communicated to them.

If the point really was to bog everything down with nonsense so that only the 'elites' can appreciate it... Tomino is a pretentious dick

He is! That's the point! But I enjoyed it.

[Calubin_175]

Compared to previous Gundam protagonists, Belliri did not have any close friend or ally getting killed to cause angst and vengeance, except for the Venus Globe grunt which caused him to slaughter Rockpie. But then he is hopeful and not angst unlike Kamille and etc.

Kun Soon was expected to live anyway as she was the representative leader of GIT Corp and would be involved in the resolution.

I think in the end much like how Ameria was initially being scared of Towasanga etc, everyone were just afraid of each other and saw the other side as evil without giving them a chance to show kindness. Kun Soon just fought on the assumption that all earthlings are evil but Belliri showed otherwise. In a way Belliri is a bit like a Christ figure without the suffering while having gone through personal struggles throughout the story.

Sadly, the Dorette Fleet cast got no development and Mashner just became a typical crazy irrational Tomino woman who longed for shota.

Most of the bad adults got killed including Jugan and Cumpa, and since all sides were exhausted, there was nothing left to do but to help each other out. So maybe war just filters out the bad people and then the good people will be left tp rebuild society.