Just me, or does Gundam 00 still feel the most modern?

[LightningCount]

I have to blink when I see that Gundam 00 was all the way back in 2007. Regardless of the Season 1 and Season 2 divide, and whether or not parts of it could have been handled better, it strikes me that no Gundam series since has felt as modern as Gundam 00, either in aesthetic or concept. Gundam IBO was unique...but felt somehow a step backward from 00 still (less developed and more old-fashioned). And while Unicorn and NT and Thunderbolt all have modern production values, they still feel like they're from an older era (probably due to the baked-in UC timeline). It's hard to truly define, but does anyone else feel this way? That, ultimately, 00 is the most modern-feeling Gundam to date? I mean, it's crazy, because I know there have been other UC and AU series since 00, but when my mind thinks of the "newest" Gundam...it wants to say Gundam 00. It's especially funny since 00 is an A.D. series--our timeline, rather than a far-off scifi timeline. I'd be interested to hear some thoughts on if I'm alone on this impression.

[MythSearcher]

I have to blink when I see that Gundam 00 was all the way back in 2007. Regardless of the Season 1 and Season 2 divide, and whether or not parts of it could have been handled better, it strikes me that no Gundam series since has felt as modern as Gundam 00, either in aesthetic or concept. Gundam IBO was unique...but felt somehow a step backward from 00 still (less developed and more old-fashioned). And while Unicorn and NT and Thunderbolt all have modern production values, they still feel like they're from an older era (probably due to the baked-in UC timeline). It's hard to truly define, but does anyone else feel this way? That, ultimately, 00 is the most modern-feeling Gundam to date? I mean, it's crazy, because I know there have been other UC and AU series since 00, but when my mind thinks of the "newest" Gundam...it wants to say Gundam 00. :lol: It's especially funny since 00 is an A.D. series--our timeline, rather than a far-off scifi timeline. I'd be interested to hear some thoughts on if I'm alone on this impression.

Because we are now living in the post-modern era so modern is old.

Jokes aside, this is likely because of what the series is set to bring you the feeling of the world.
IBO is more of the rusted future older SF stories are telling, so you get that kind of older, retro feeling.
UC timeline itself has to adhere to a world set up mostly during the 80s to 90s. Unicorn and NT is written to reinforce that style.
00, on the other hand, is designed to be solving problems more like our current world, in which specifically gives you conflicts that are similar to our world, by which most of it isn't solved in the past 20 years and only got worse, which is what 00 showed us to be.
If you watch the even older show, Full Metal Panic, you can see that with shows showing more nowadays problems, like terrorism and specific location conflicts and power games of larger countries, it doesn't get old as fast.

[LightningCount]

Because we are now living in the post-modern era so modern is old.

Jokes aside, this is likely because of what the series is set to bring you the feeling of the world.
IBO is more of the rusted future older SF stories are telling, so you get that kind of older, retro feeling.
UC timeline itself has to adhere to a world set up mostly during the 80s to 90s. Unicorn and NT is written to reinforce that style.
00, on the other hand, is designed to be solving problems more like our current world, in which specifically gives you conflicts that are similar to our world, by which most of it isn't solved in the past 20 years and only got worse, which is what 00 showed us to be.
If you watch the even older show, Full Metal Panic, you can see that with shows showing more nowadays problems, like terrorism and specific location conflicts and power games of larger countries, it doesn't get old as fast.

I think that's a very astute analysis. Makes a lot of sense. I think that's probably very much the case on the macro level.

Something else that strikes me is that the 00 Season 1 Gundam designs and grunt MS designs had a very sleek, angular, industrial look to them. They felt like a big departure from the C.E. designs that preceded them, which were kind of the culmination of decades of Gundam/MS design work. (The way the V-fin was molded into Exia's head felt like a bold design choice that evolved the classic "look" of a Gundam without going as far as Turn-A did.) It felt like 00 was setting a new standard in its first season, and that impression stuck with me, even as the Season 2 designs were more "safe/traditional" in my opinion. Also, just the way that each Elevator Bloc had its own MS designs and pilot suits and uniforms compared to just a Federation/Zeon-type dynamic felt like it was pushing that modern flavor, too.

[Shinigam_Newtype]

I 1000% agree with you.
I just started rewatching 00 on Blu Ray and had the exact same thought.
It's hard to decribe exactly but 00 is a lot more aesthetically pleasing to watch than the more recent shows. For example, the fight choreography is some of the best I have ever seen in a Gundam show. One example that pops into mind is the first fight between Ali and Setsuna. The swift movements of the mobile suits and the way the camera can barely keep up with the action really gives the audience a sense of the speed and power of the mobile suits. The more recent shows tend to have very stiff/static/boring fight scenes with very little imagination put into the choreography, in my opinion.

As for the story, I quite enjoyed seasons 1 and 2. I can agree that season 2 lost some of the charm season 1 had, but I think its far more interesting to watch a show that tries to intellectually stimulate you with its themes of politics and the war economy than a show that plays it extremely safe and takes no chances like Build Fighters or AGE

[Mafty]

I think it could be because we see more of the non military world in this series than in most other series. there are character's (ie, Saiji and Louise) whose entire arc is set in the civilian world(at least at first). In most(but not all) other stories the character is thrust in to the military/war world. as a result we can see what life is like in other parts of the setting.

Another factor is the amount of factions in this work, which suits the political angel as said above. As Lightning Count said everybody has their own weapons and uniforms, which at the outset makes it easier to tell the numerous factions apart visually. I love Gundam Seed but the four different groups within the EA where kinda hard to tell apart.

[Areku]

I think a lot of it comes down to the nature of the depicted conflict.

Many other shows are either diametrical struggles with a third faction maybe popping up later (and these usually loosely follow WWII models) or are more complex but also a lot more fanciful. I suppose Wing doesn't quite fall into those molds, but its clunky depiction of computers and conspicuous absence of modern internet and all the dressings of vintage aristocracies keep it from feeling all that modern. 00 is more firmly rooted in new-century issues and aesthetics and doesn't start off with simple diametrics.