March 15, 2006

Just Call Me "Sucker"

More inside the entry...

I thought I wouldn't buy it, but in the end, I did. As to the why, I'm not really sure. It's obvious from my reviews that I didn't think that SEED Destiny was a bad series, it just wasn't quite SEED. The art was more polished than SEED, but there were so many inconsistencies.

I watched a tiny bit because I was curious about the dubbing. I've been forcing friends to watch Gundam SEED from the beginning, and it has been a necessity to watch the dub for them because we're often playing a game at the same time or eating dinner or something along those lines. Most of the dub voices in SEED aren't bad - they just get emotional inflections wrong.

The exceptions:
1) Lacus Clyne - the English acting voice makes me want to rip my ears off to avoid hearing any more. It might not be so bad if they hadn't redubbed her singing as well - completely changing the words of her songs to make them sugar pop. Luckily, for the rest of the songs (so far) they didn't redub those, so I'm hoping I can survive to finish the dvds with my friends. It just... pains me.
2) Natarle's "Fire!" with a Texan accent... yeah.... something not right about that.
3) The narrator's horrible enthusiasm at the end of each episode - "Fly through the hoops of fire, GUNDAM!" It didn't sound as lame in Japanese to me, but I might have missed out on the Japanese inflection to imply lameness.

Most of the characters in the Destiny dub seem okay, with the exception of the guy driving the jeep with Lunamaria in episode 1 - I don't know what they were smoking, but he sounds like he's 7 years old and it just doesn't match. Arthur with a British accent oddly works. Shinn and Lunamaria sound okay - I'll have to hear more speaking by them to make a proper analysis of them.

I guess in the end I'm a sucker for all things SEED - hey, I did buy Never Ending Tomorrow! But we'll see if I finish buying Destiny.

(If you were a betting man, you should bet on "yes" for me being a sucker and buying those dvds)

Posted by Drylnn at 04:19 AM | Comments (0)

October 04, 2005

Gundam Seed Destiny episode 49/50 (review) - "Rey"/"Final Strength"

Since my normal image supplier couldn't get episode 49 pictures posted fast enough, I decided to combine the last two episodes into one big ending review. As a result, the images are all from Episode 50 (Final Phase), but rest assured, I did watch both episodes. SPOILERS AHOY!

Summaries:
49 - Preintro, the respective fleets move into position for the final battle. If the Archangel, Eternal and the fleet fail to take down Requiem, Dullindal's Destiny Plan will likely come to fruition. Each group sends out its mobile suits (minus Destiny and Legend). Kira and Athrun take off, attach to METEOR units and head towards the ZAFT fleet. Lacus throws the ZAFT fleet into confusion, until an officer takes charge, calling the enemy fleet "The last bits of LOGOS's followers." After the standard opening, Kira and Athrun tear into the ZAFT fleet around the first deflector. The Orb/Mixed Fleet engages the ZAFT defense forces. Minerva, ordered to a defense position, moves to engage Archangel, while Yzak and Dearka, in command of a ZAFT ship, move to join up with Archangel. Dullindal has a little talk with Shinn and Rey on board Messiah, talking about how the war has come to this. Shinn seems confused by all that is going on, but Rey's admission that he is a clone and that Dullindal will depend on Shinn to help protect his new world under the Destiny Plan seems to convince Shinn to support the Chairman. Meanwhile, as the battle continues, Neo launches with the LF Trio to fight. Lunamaria launches in Impulse from Minerva and moves to engage the Eternal. As she closes in, with doubts in her mind, Meyrin contacts her via radio and asks why she is attacking. While Luna is paused, confused, she is attacked by the Lacus Faction Trio. Minerva fires on Archangel with its Tannhauser, but Neo intercepts (just like Mwu did in SEED) and suddenly, he remembers his past. Meanwhile, with the help of Dearka and Yzak, Kira and Athrun destroy the deflector. Of course, all seems to be in vain, as Messiah reveals a Neo-Genesis cannon (like Genesis from SEED) that fires on the fleet. At the same time, Destiny and Legend launch while Neo-Genesis and Requiem continue to recharge. With two weapons to stop, Kira and Athrun move to engage Rey and Shinn, and the final battle begins.

50 - At the beginning, Rey and Kira face off while Shinn and Athrun continue their previous battle. Minerva continues to follow Archangel as the Orb fleet moves towards Requiem and Messiah. From that point, there are numerous battles, including Mwu engaging the ZAFT defenders, Archangel vs. Minerva, Lunamaria vs. the Orb grunts. Athrun in Justice encounters Luna in Impulse. Angry over Athrun involving Meyrin, Luna attacks Athrun, but Impulse is no match for the veteran pilot. Athrun is trying not to do too much damage to Impulse, but Destiny comes flying in to protect Luna, with Shinn going SEED to engage Athrun. Kira continues to fight Rey, who reveals he is the clone of Rau Le Creuset, the pilot who fought Kira at the end of SEED. Athrun engages Shinn, but when Athrun asks Shinn if he wants to see the world destroyed, Luna realizes that they shouldn't be fighting, and moves to block Destiny from reaching Justice. Shinn is confused with visions of his dead sister and Stellar, and seems about to destroy Impulse, when Athrun goes SEED, blocks Shinn's attack, and heavily damages Destiny, which crashes on the moon. Luna takes Impulse down to take care of Shinn. Archangel and Minerva heavily damage each other before Archangel and Justice take out Minerva's engines, causing it to crash. Kira tells Rey that he doesn't just have to be a clone - his life is his own to live, and while Rey processes that information, Kira heavily damages Legend. Neo-genesis fires on the fleets, destroying several Orb and ZAFT ships (which were too close together to get away). Athrun and Mwu work together to take out Requiem before it can fire, while Kira links Strike Freedom with the METEOR and goes to take out Messiah and Neo-Genesis. The Orb fleet fires on Messiah, and Kira heads inside to confront Dullindal, followed by Rey. Inside, Kira and the Chairman debate points of view at gunpoint, with Kira emphasizing he's willing to take risk on future conflict for people to have a future. Hearing this, Rey also pulls a gun. Talia also arrives at Messiah during this time. In a flurry of events, a gunshot fires - Rey has fired on the Chairman, shooting him in the chest. Talia rushes to Dullindal while Rey breaks down saying "I didn't want to, but he wanted us to have a future, and he's right..." Talia orders Kira off the station by waving her gun, telling him to tell Murrue that she has a son she wants Murrue to meet someday. As Kira escapes, we have a bizarre image of a broken family: Dullindal, Talia, and Rey, with Rey crying on Talia's shoulder saying "Mother..." As Messiah crashes into the moon, Luna and Shinn watch in horror while the Orb fleet watches the destruction in silence.

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I don't know where quite to begin. When I first started watching Destiny, I had such high hopes for the series. As I sit today, I can say I found the ending disappointing, but it wasn't because the series was horrible, but because of lost potential, and more to the point, it felt rushed.

Other people have debated the focus of characters, and to some degree, I'll rehash some of those same points. I think Destiny suffered from a number of flaws. First, it really did have too many characters. I'll openly admit, I was a big fan of the SEED crew and wanted to see them back, but there were too many of them to focus on AND have another crew to develop. I found the idea of Athrun as a mentor figure to Shinn to be intriguing. I'll openly admit, at times Kira didn't seem to have much direction - he seemed to be thrown in as a bone to the fans, but here I disagree with many Gundam fans who say he should not have been included. It's too much to expect that a war only a few years later would not draw in the people from the first series. In that respect, Kira was needed, and it would have been hard to believe that he or Lacus would just vanish and not participate. From that perspective, had I done the series, I would have alternated back and forth between the two crews each episode (Archangel and Minerva) showing how each of them think and what they believe.

The second flaw, and I think the biggest, is that a story should either change the characters involved, or show why they didn't change as a sort of tragic flaw. In the end of GSD, what characters have really changed?

Athrun - He hasn't really changed from the end of SEED. It would have been more fitting for him to have confronted the Chairman on board Requiem, as he had known him far longer and had such internal conflict with what the Chairman thought. Athrun might be slightly older and wiser, but he didn't have to change a lot to make it through the series, he just repeated his thought process in SEED.

Shinn - He's still angry, and still has no answers. In the end, his world was still taken away from him. Were that the direction I think they intended for the character, I would have been fine with that. Remember, I said that a character didn't have to change because he was tragically flawed. Shinn is a flawed character in that he can't get past his anger, despite what people have done for him. Because of that, he should have died at the end of the series, because all he has now is Luna's love (and I can't even really be sure of that). e didn't avenge his family or learn to accept their death, he didn't change the world for the better (in his mind) and so many have died that he'll likely endlessly blame himself.

Kira and Lacus - While one might argue that they now accept that they cannot just slip back into the shadows and ignore the problems of the world, I don't see this as a major change.

There were some characters who did change - although most of them were ancillary

Mwu - being alive is a BIG change

Murrue - having Mwu alive is a BIG change

Cagalli - has accepted her role as leader of ORB

Meyrin - Arguably one of the most developed characters

Too many main characters didn't change enough.

The third and final flaw I'll pick out is that we didn't get a greater moral struggle. I think the Chairman, while wrong, offered many interesting points, and early on in GSD, it was fun to try and come up with counter-arguments for the things he wanted. However, towards the end, his use of WMDs to impose his will sort of rendered his philosophical argument moot. How much more effective for the plot would it have been if he had tried to convince Lacus and Kira that he was working for a better world and peace. Think of how conflicted the characters could have been and the potential for inner struggle.

What we got was incomplete: too many plot threads were rushed, forgotten, or dropped. Characters were underused, underexplained, or not developed enough. In the end, what was the purpose of having Mwu be Djibril's lead man? For that matter, what was the point of having poorly trained pilots like Stellar and company? Was Djibril just dancing to Dullindal's marrionette strings? So many questions - so little time.

We do have a 40 min OVA in February. I'm hoping this gives some finality to the CE universe and doesn't lead to a third series. There was so much potential for GSD, and while I don't think the series was a waste of my time, it could have been so much more.

Posted by Drylnn at 03:36 AM | Comments (0)

September 18, 2005

Gundam Seed Destiny episode 48 (review) - "To a New World"

It's time to find out more about the Destiny Plan, and why its so bad for mankind!

Summary:
Prior to the introduction, we get a recap of the series in a nutshell, illustrating all the nutcases that have existed in Destiny and who has oppossed each set. The Chairman uses these as illustrations that mankind cannot get over repeated war. In addition, the Destiny Plan computers power up as the Chairman speaks. Just after the intro, we get a more detailed explanation of the Destiny Plan while others look on in a combination of happiness and anger. The Plan seems to consist of computers determining your genetic strengths and weaknesses and assigning you to the role you should be doing - your job or whatever. In that way, you'll be used most efficiently, you won't be unhappy, and the motivation for war won't exist. The characters discuss, the ZAFT people are confused, Rey reveals that he doesn't have long to defend the Plan because he's a clone, Orb and Scandanavia reject the Plan, the EA launches an attack. Of course, having taken Requiem, the Chairman fires on and destroys the EA forces. Dullindal orders Shinn and Rey to come to Messiah with their Gundams, while Orb, the Clyne Faction, and the remaining forces launch to attack Requiem and put a stop to its destruction.

At last, we've received an explanation of the Destiny Plan. I'm not really sure what was to discover at Mendel Labs in an earlier episode. The Chairman's plan on the surface, appears quite reasonable: put you for what you're best suited for. The problem, IMO, and in the opinion of the characters, is that by doing so, you eliminate the motivation to do better, the dreams of people to get to something better. While there is no war, there is no human spirit for those that the Plan and the Chairman have dictated will have a lower role.

The philosophical debate on that would be enormous, if it were presented in a sane way. However, the fact that the Chairman presents it by using a giant megadeath cannon to make his will known doesn't allow for much analysis and debate by his opposition. It's either take out Requiem, or let the Chairman have his way.

Shinn alternates between confused and understanding, but I think he's closest to accepting what the Chairman says. Luna tries to see him to convince him that something is wrong, but Rey doesn't allow that by telling Luna to essentially "Buzz off, we're busy."

It was really sad to see the EA reduced to almost a comic role. They really have been abused for almost the whole series. They weren't even a truly great power in this ep, because they were always beaten so easy compared to SEED.

It's good to see Talia continuing to doubt the Chairman, although she hasn't reached the stage of rebellion yet. As the Minerva learns of Requiem's firing and the mixed fleet coming to stop the Chairman, they are ordered to get ready for battle, as Rey says "They're coming... Archangel."

I'm also not sure how ZAFT missed all these cruisers and heavy warships being manufactured, but I'll overlook it. A lot of them seemed like brand new warships rather than stolen ZAFT ships.

The final battle begins in a week. Will Shinn turn? Will Requiem be stopped? Doesn't this seem like a repeat of the battle against Genesis in SEED, with Dullindal being a more reasonable Patrick Zala, Rey playing the role of Rau, and Shinn... well, there's no direct comparison for Shinn. Still guessing Rey will kill Luna and that might turn Shinn... but they might stick with the Anakin thing for Shinn.

It's been a long journey, but we're nearly home. Then I wonder what I'll do with the space on my webpages for reviews!

Posted by Drylnn at 01:21 AM | Comments (0)

September 11, 2005

Gundam Seed Destiny episode 47 (review) - "Meer"

No tropical storm for me, and a new episode of Destiny to review! Saturdays can be great days sometimes.

Summary:
We enter with Meer's death, having sacrificed her life to protect Lacus Clyne. Arriving at Archangel, Athrun carries her lifeless body to lay to rest while the crew thinks about what she has done for Lacus. Meanwhile, Lacus digs through Meer's purse and finds Meer's digital diary, entitled "Progress Report". In it, Meer gives the story of her conversion and making into a copy of the pop idol Lacus. Meer has many difficulties to overcome, since Lacus never really sang in public on the television, and she also has some thoughts on Athrun Zala. Around this point, Athrun walks off, and Kira follows, while Lacus and Meyrin continue to read the diary. Having gained new understanding into Meer the person, the crew of the Archangel lays her to rest. Just then, Chairman Dullindal begins a public address, announcing that the solution to the world's constant march to war is the mysterios Destiny Plan, which involves genetics and a hierarchy of ability and best-fit-skills.

It seems very odd to take a step back, and as I have said before, I'm not against the exploration of the life of Meer, as her tortured existence at the end was interesting enough to merit a look. My problem is pacing: if they were going to have this episode, the Meer part should have replaced one of the recap-clipshow episodes, rather than being 4 episodes from the end of the series. Come to think of it, we could have had an interesting episode entitled "Origins and Beginnings", where we would have examined the origin of Meer and Rey, while also covering how Mwu survived to become Neo. That would have helped us out a great deal, and I wouldn't feel so cheated of necessary background development.

Most of the revelations about Meer aren't as much surprising as just sad. She's literally a barbie doll for the Chairman to use as his political pawn. Dress her up, have her sing, speak a few words. The problem with his plan: Meer is a living, thinking person. It's just fortunate for him that she didn't wise up to him earlier.

Other than the background, it seems the point of this episode is to give Lacus one more personal motivation to dislike Dullindal and his methods.... but then, she doesn't really need one as the Chairman begins to unveil the Destiny Plan. Although I expect more details next week, it seems (as suspected) that the Destiny Plan includes the determination of your genetic makeup and using that to determine your lot in life. So, this series is combining Gattaca with Revenge of the Sith and Top Gun - I jest, but only slightly.

As is typical for most of SEED and SEED Destiny's plans, the details are a bit nebulous, but I guess next week is suppossed to finish up the description. Until then, I join Kira, Lacus and the AA crew in looking angry.... very angry...

Posted by Drylnn at 01:05 AM | Comments (0)

September 07, 2005

Gundam Seed Destiny episode 46 (review) - "Song of Truth"

Well, the battle with the EA is essentially over. What will the Destiny plan end up being in reality? Will Shinn ever resolve his conflicting issues? Can Athrun and Kira stop the Chairman's evermoving plot? Perhaps these questions should have answers, but for today, we get an episode dealing with Meer and Lacus.

This is not to say that this is entirely a bad thing. It just seems odd to be dedicating an episode to Meer's captivity at this point. This is a plot thread that could have been handled much earlier.

Prior to the introduction, we get an update on the status of the EA and ZAFT. Shinn and Rey are shooting at targets in practice when Luna arrives. In contrast to last episode, she seems notably perturbed about the gun practice. I can't say for sure, but she seems to be trying not to talk in front of Rey. I still forsee that being a problem for her which might lead to her death by Rey's hands. Luna talks about Meyrin and Athrun being alive, but seems unwilling to discuss it further with Shinn. As they say, the "honeymoon" might be over. Cue up the intro music!

After the intro, Archangel arrives at Copernicus. It seems that during the flight, Athrun and Kira have been discussing Shinn. Kira explains how he lost to Impulse before. Athrun also offers what I think to be the most important comment on Shinn with reference to the Chairman and Rey: "In all likelihood, Shinn can't escape from there either... he also has a dream and he's the type that puts everything into it." I think this nails Shinn exactly: he's like Meer in many ways, the only difference being that he's still useful to them. But the Chairman and Rey will never let him leave, and will do everything to keep him under wraps. This does not bode well for Shinn, and Kira seems to realize this with a sad expression.

We join Meer in hiding somewhere near Copernicus. Her bodyguard tells her that Archangel has arrived at Copernicus and sort of plants the idea that although Lacus might be with Archangel, she considers Meer to be the "real" Lacus because she stayed with the Chairman and helped with the war. However, Meer seems to understand there's a problem with this...

Lacus, Kira, Meyrin, and Athrun go on a fluff trip to the shopping centers in Copernicus colony. This was a largely amusing set of scenes, as Athrun is dedicated to the idea of being a bodyguard and emphasizing that Lacus being in public is dangerous. Kira counters that they're prepared as much as they can be for what might happen. Meanwhile, we also get several amusing scenes with Lacus trying on outfits and Kira giving the same comment to each... Lacus gets mad at this and Kira apologizes. It's little moments like this that show how much the Lacus-Kira relationship has developed. They don't need to overtly show their love... it shows through character banter. Meer's little Haro arrives to give Lacus a note "Help! I'm going to be killed! Meer." Athrun wants to go meet her alone, but Lacus insists on going as well. Athrun appeals to Kira, but Kira decides it is for the best. I feel for Athrun... it's hard to protect someone who does crazy things, regardless of the emotion involved. Then again, Kira and Athrun are able bodyguards and Meyrin is apparently not a creampuff either.

Arriving at the ruins, Athrun talks to Meer as Lacus and the rest come up.... assassins lurk in the shadows, trying to aim for Lacus. There is somewhat of a contentious scene, as Meer insists she is the real Lacus... however, she reconsiders her statement as Lacus insists (paraphrased) "I'll give you my name and fame, but you are you and you can only be you." The assassins ready themselves, but Torii provides a warning, and the crew take cover. Lacus moves to Meer and tells her that things will be alright. Meer has made her decision, and she wants to live.

Mass gunplay ensues, with Athrun taking out most of the attackers. Mwu/Neo also arrives in Akatsuki. As he gets ready to take Lacus and Meer to safety, Sarah (the bodyguard turned assassin) takes aim at Lacus. Meer sees this... and moves to stop it if she can.

What follows is a sad scene that ends the episode. Meer gives Lacus and company a picture of her as she looked before being altered to look like Lacus. We end on a sad note.

This episode did add a lot of fill-in (the discussion of Shinn, the resolution with Meer), but it seems some of it could have been handled earlier in the series. From the preview, next week seems to be an episode on Meer's background, and I'll admit it: I do question the need for it at this point, although I suppose its possible it will give us insight into the Destiny plan and Lacus. We've got 4 episodes and a LOT of ground to cover, especially with a bunch being given to Meer next episode. I still hear rumors that there might be a third SEED series that would pick up after this one... maybe they're setting it up. I think Shinn is doomed because he is a pawn in the end, but we will see. I can easily see Rey killing Luna for some reason, then Angry Shinn (TM) lashing out at all before him. The episode provided much needed fill-in of characters telling other characters what is going on, and it also gave us some fluff moments that were worthwhile.

I haven't really gained any insight into Meyrin's role other than to deter her sister in the end battles. If the writers intend for her to forge some sort of relationship with Athrun, they're not showing it. If the writers do not intend a relationship, then why do they keep pairing her with Athrun in episodes like this? I still think they're leaning towards the "Athrun reunites with Cagalli at the end of the war, with both having learned a lot about themselves in the war", but its difficult to say. Of course, this also supposes that Athrun survives to the end...

The Mwu/Neo and Murrue relationship showed a little bit of development as well, but it was hardly worth mentioning. They still haven't fully revealed how Mwu survived and I don't know if he has come to grips with it. When Kira says to Mwu in Akatsuki "You're late, Mwu-san", Mwu/Neo seems disgruntled for some reason. I'm not sure if it was because Kira called him Mwu or because he was late. My Japanese isn't good enough to avoid using the fansub as a crutch.

Oh well, on to next week, "Meer"... if Ophelia (the tropical storm) doesn't knock out my power. The episode tagline leads me to believe we'll learn more about the Destiny plan as well....

Posted by Drylnn at 01:16 AM | Comments (0)

September 01, 2005

Gundam Seed Destiny episode 45 (review) - "Prelude to Change"

I've decided to change up formats, based on some recommendations and some thoughts I've had. I'm not comfortable telling everything that happens in an episode, but I realize some people are reading because they cannot see the episodes. So I'll try not to give away too many plot surprises in the future while keeping a comprehensive review. Thanks to all of you who shared your thoughts.

Summary for this week:

We open the episode with ZAFT forces moving into position for an assault on Requiem's reflectors, while PLANT's damaged stations are being evacuated (You know, I have to ask... they show all those cars driving like its an evacuation... but... it's a space station. Where are they evacuating to in their cars??). We get a small bit of lecturing from the Chairman on how they can't negotiate with terrorists while the EA fleet moves to defend Requiem's critical first deflector. Cue the opening credits.

After the opening, we get some discussion by Athrun and Kira (with Meyrin looking on) about the state of affairs. It seems like the writers are trying to fill in for the problems last week in Archangel ignoring the Requiem by stating (as I suspected) that they knew ZAFT would handle it. Still seems a bit odd, but I'm willing to overlook it. The Minerva trio gets ready with a secret plan to engage Requiem while the ZAFT main fleet engages the EA fleet at the deflector (although if I were the EA, and certainly, if I were Djibril, and I didn't see the Minerva at the battle at the deflector, I would definitely wonder where they were). Requiem gets ready to fire as it recharges. Meanwhile, ZAFT and the EA go at it, full tilt. We get our obligatory Dearka and Yzak scenes (how the mighty have fallen).

The Minerva trio has a discussion on Djibril and Requiem and discuss their plan. Luna blames herself for Djibril's escape, Rey encourages them to look forward to this battle. From here, we intermix more battle, more recharge discussion, and more Shinn-Luna heartfelt discussion and hugging. Once again, Shinn promises to protect Luna and the ship no matter what - looks they're still setting that up as his Achilles heel. Impulse launches to engage as the EA detects Minerva near the Requiem. It was good to see that the EA actually has shield ships to guard the gun, but I was disturbed to see how ineffective they were when Destiny and Legend launch to distract the forces there. The EA launches some more Destroys, which last the obligatory 30 seconds before they're annihilated. I continue to wonder why the EA bothers with them. They probably spend millions to billions of dollars on each Destroy, and they're taken down faster than I can blink.

Meanwhile, the Emperor... I mean the Chairman sits in his Palpatine like seat aboard the Death Star... I mean Messiah... listening on.

I don't want to ruin for you the "plan" for the battle and who wins, but suffice it to say that if you think the main characters will go down 5 episodes before the end, then you're smoking some good crack. I will say this though... Sayonara Djibril!

Up to the end of the episode, we get more much needed speech between Kira and Athrun about the state of affairs, and Archangel prepares to launch. Cagalli lends Akatsuki to Mwu/Neo to use in space. As the rumors were swirling about what would happen between Athrun and Cagalli, I found it to be unsatisfying. I realize that they seem to be hinting at a "If you love someone, you have to let them go, and if they come back, it was meant to be", but I feel sorry for the character of Meyrin, who seems to slide back and forth between "friend" and "something more" to Athrun. I'm glad to see they didn't make Cagalli toss aside her duties to go with AA into space, and they have an interesting Cagalli-Meyrin discussion. The character development is excellent at times: Cagalli, Athrun, and Meyrin have become more than they were at the start of the series and that is a good thing.

Archangel launches to head to Copernicus Station on the Moon, and the episode ends. From the preview, it seems we'll get to resolve some of the issues with Meer next week. I can't wait.

Posted by Drylnn at 12:56 AM | Comments (0)

August 20, 2005

Gundam Seed Destiny episode 43 (review) - "The Counterattacking Voice"

Athrun launches to save the day!

It would have been difficult to only pick six images worthy of mention from this episode, so I expanded to eight this time. This was an EXCELLENT episode that has been building for a while.

Prior to the intro, we get our traditional bit of overlap with the previous episode to explain what is going on in the intervening time period. Athrun is still badly injured, but knows he is needed, and launches in Infinite Justice.

After the introduction, we find the Orb forces searching for Djibril. Meanwhile, Minerva and Archangel continue their battle, while Neo-Mwu fiercely attacks before he is hit by Minerva's guns. When he tries to land on Archangel, he has a flashback to doing a similar thing (as Mwu) in SEED. They keep not explaining that angle.

Kira keeps up the battle with Shinn and Rey. He is holding his own fairly well (he would have gotten the best of Shinn had not Rey been there this time). When Rey fires, Kira is in trouble... but as with last episode, a plot device intervention saves the day. Athrun comes in on Justice, and Shinn gets to have his second heart attack for the day. I'm not complaining, but that kid needs to do a lot of Gundam Target Practice to make sure he can actually DESTROY his targets and kill their pilots.

Anyways, Athrun tries to convince Shinn that he should not be attacking Orb. Of course, Rey agrees with Athrun, and everyone goes home happy. No... not quite. As you can guess, Shinn's conflict in his heart turns back to memories of death, and he attacks. Rey fights Kira, while Athrun tries to stop Shinn.

Alas poor Jona, we knew him not so well at all.

Destiny and Justice go at it, and Shinn goes seed to stop Athrun. Since Athrun hadn't gone seed for this whole series, I figured he'd be in trouble, but surprise surprise, Athrun goes seed and hands (no pun intended) Destiny a sting it won't forget soon. Archangel gets the best of Minerva and the ZAFT fleet, while Djibril heads for space. Neither Orb nor Lunamaria in Impulse can stop him. On that note, I'd like to wonder why the writers even bothered to use Lunamaria to miss so badly. They could have just had grunts take potshots and miss.

With Djibril gone, Captain Talia figures there is no reason to continue battling ORB, and orders a withdrawal. Athrun succumbs to his wounds and falls unconscious, leaving Justice to be caught by Freedom in another laws-of-physics defying move. In the aftermath of the battle, ORB begins cleanup and Athrun is unconscious... with Meyrin at his side. I wonder how they'll resolve this little love triangle thing.

After a little touching scene with Murrue and Neo, Athrun awakens. Kira, Lacus, Meyrin, and Athrun begin to watch a worldwide broadcast by Cagalli, who is attempting to explain what has gone on at Orb. However, it seems the Chairman has his own ideas and orders his faux Lacus (Meer) to give her own counter-broadcast (with jamming). Lacus has the final laugh though, as she goes to Orb to join Cagalli's broadcast. The episode ends with Lacus about to begin her speech to the world - "I am Lacus Clyne", and everyone watching with surprise on their faces.

Incidently, the jamming scenes are very amusing. If only it were that easy. I'm amused by the image in my mind of ZAFT and ORB technicians, each trying to outdo each other.

I'm still confused about the Chairman's plan. They don't have a lot of time to wrap this whole thing up.

Posted by Drylnn at 04:25 AM | Comments (0)

August 18, 2005

Gundam Seed Destiny episode 42 (review) - "With Freedom and Justice"

The Battle of Orb continues...

This episode had a lot of nice character development from the crew of Archangel, and some interesting developments with Meyrin and Athrun, Murrue and Mwu.

At the beginning of the episode, we get some catchup that is occuring during the events of last episode. Neo-Mwu is given a Sky Grasper by a tearful Murrue. Athrun tries to tell Meyrin to stay at a safe location, but her tears and plea not to leave her behind changes his mind. Archangel launches at the same time as Cagalli in Atkatsuki goes to engage Shinn in Destiny. And that's JUST before the intro...

The Cagalli-Shinn battle goes about as expected. Naturals just can't keep up longterm with Coordinators in Gundam battles. As that battle goes on, Archangel arrives at the battlefield and Minerva moves to engage them. I wonder why ZAFT bothers to build non-Minerva class ships, since it seems the only effective ship IS the Minerva and the others exist only to be sliced and diced.

Anyways, Cagalli is about to eat it against Destiny when the plot device arrives --- down comes Strike Freedom and Kira, towing Lacus in Infinite Justice. The odd part is that it takes Kira about 30 seconds to get there... I'm guessing there's some sort of time overlap with previous scenes.

Shinn of course is none too pleased to see a resurgent Freedom, and the *real* battle begins. Shinn is starting to lose his touch. First, he fails to kill both Kira and Athrun in Gundam battles, and he doesn't fare too well in this battle. He doesn't lose, but he does manage to get disarmed of his weapon. Archangel and Minerva engage, to no real result.

The battle between Destiny and Freedom ends in a stalemate as Destiny is running low on power and is forced to retreat. Again, why does ZAFT bother with non-nuclear reactors on their signature Gundams. They don't seem to mind breaking the nuke stalemate when it suits them.

The rest of the episode somewhat follows some of the patterns from SEED:

Lacus and Athrun (with Meyrin watching) have a philosophical discussion on motivation.

Mwu (Neo) saves Archangel (he continues to have a lot of memories of Archangel... I wonder if they'll ever explain that, or just gloss over it)

Kira is in a fierce battle (in this case, with a recharged Destiny and Legend).

Athrun launches in Justice to help Kira in the battle for Orb.

In any case, this is an excellent episode, and we have some more interesting continuation to follow in the next episode.

Posted by Drylnn at 04:10 AM | Comments (0)

August 05, 2005

Gundam Seed Destiny episode 41 (review) - "Refrain"

I HATE CLIP RECAP EPISODES WITH NO PURPOSE.

This late in the show, it seems pointless to have clip episodes to explain the "plot" up to this point. On top of that, they had coloring contest results for the end credits.

I refuse to dignify this episode with pictures. At least I was out of town and wasn't waiting on this episode to come on.

Next week - the return of Kira, and the rematch between him and Shinn. I can't wait.

Posted by Drylnn at 04:34 PM | Comments (0)

Gundam Seed Destiny episode 40 (review) - "The Golden Will"

OMG! Cagalli does something besides cry!

I'm sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. It was just hard to get over the shock. Although, to be fair, she does cry in this episode too.

One of the most abused characters in GSD has been Cagalli. She morphed from the tough, tomboyish figure in SEED into a character who cries at the drop of a hat in GSD. I guess some people really do hit puberty late.

In any case, as expected, ZAFT moves towards Orb in order to ostensibly capture Djibril. Yuna (God, how I hate that character) announces that in spite of the photos that ZAFT has, Djibril is not in Orb. The Chairman rejects this, and we have the next major conflict for GSD. At least Orb has always put up a better fight than the EA, so I expect their forces should be well prepared. Shinn, Rey, and Luna receive awards for valor in the battle of Heaven's Base, and Shinn and Rey are promoted to FAITH. Captain Talia seems uneasy about this and about other events... it seems that she and the Chairman have some disagreements to work out. The Chairman announces that Orb must be crushed, because it has the ability to reach space, and they cannot allow Djibril to link up with the EA in space at Moon Base. I'm still not sure why the EA, or at least parts of it, are working with LOGOS still. That would seem to be a beacon to ZAFT to attack, and the EA doesn't do well in those events.

On board Archangel, the ship is still completing repairs. Athrun is trying to get up to help out, but he's still too injured. Meyrin is also up and walking.

Cagalli hears Orb's announcement and is filled with rage. You'd think Orb would learn that Djibril really isn't much of a military tactician so far.... he's lost every major encounter with ZAFT. Orb makes one foolish move, refusing to evacuate its citizens to shelters...

ZAFT launches its attack on Orb, and the Orb Defense Force fights back under Yuna's command. Cagalli is about to launch in a Murasame with the forces on board AA when she is informed by Kisaka and Erica that Cagalli's father (the former leader of Orb) left a "will" (why they didn't mention this earlier, when the ship and people were in trouble, I'll never know).

Anyways, the "will" seems to be a golden Gundam, called Akatsuki. I have to wonder how well a 3 year old (approx.) Gundam will hold up against the newest ZAFT can offer, especially with a Natural like Cagalli at the controls, but after a tearful voice message by Cagalli's father, she takes off. I don't understand why its golden... I guess it must have something to do with the reflective technology it uses.

Orb is in danger of falling when the forces from the Archangel arrive. Cagalli quickly communicates with Yuna at Defense Headquarters, and after several amusing scenes (Yuna is always good for a laugh), Cagalli is in command and is fully in battle. She even gets her own special song for this section.

Of course, ZAFT has an ace in the hole (or three), but Shinn decides to launch on his own (Why? They never thought about not needing to launch all the Gundams before!) Cagalli is warned about Destiny's arrival on the battlefield. She remembers that suit taking down the Destroys, but she decides that regardless of that, she is going to take on Destiny. The end of the episode comes with Akatsuki engaging Destiny.... who will emerge the victor?

Next week looks like a recap clip episode. I really hate those.

Posted by Drylnn at 04:14 PM | Comments (0)

Gundam Seed Destiny episode 39 (review) - "Kira of the Heavens"

I've seen the title translated as "Kira of the Heavens" and "Kira of the Skies". I think that "Heavens" is the closer translation, but I'm not entirely certain.

Lacus and the Eternal are still hanging around in orbit, and now we find out a bit about what they've been trying to find out. It seems they've been doing research into the Mendel Genetics Lab (where Kira was born) and trying to find out what Chairman Dullindal is up to. This uncovers some references to the "Destiny Plan", which isn't described in any detail. As of yet, I'm not sure what the Chairman is doing wrong. Lacus indicates that Dullindal will attack Orb regardless of what goes on, but we'll never actually know if that's true since Djibril goes to Orb, giving Dullindal a perfect excuse to attack.

Meanwhile, Cagalli and Athrun have a bit of a heart-to-heart chat, playing the "No, *I* was more wrong" game. I'm not sure how Meyrin fits into this, as Athrun and Cagalli seem to have forgiven each other for their actions and harsh words. They both seem to realize that they wanted to keep the peace, but had they worked together, perhaps they could have done a better job than working seperately towards that goal. It's not clear, but I think that Athrun believes that Shinn might be a key to the "solution".

Unfortunately for our heroes, the Eternal is discovered by ZAFT while they discuss the "Destiny Plan". Eternal launches to protect the Gundam factory, and Andy launches in his new Gundam, Gaia. It seems the plan is to get as near to Earth as possible and launch the "2 new units and information" towards Archangel. However, on Earth, Athrun calls the bridge (via Neo, who it seems somehow knows how to use the controls to contact the bridge... is there anyone out there who doubts that he really is Mwu?) and informs Kira that Lacus is key to stopping Dullindal. This forces Kira to launch in Strike Rouge (based off of his original Strike unit) on a booster to get into orbit.

In space, Andy is holding his own, but then things start to not go so well. But Kira arrives on the scene and quickly uses Strike Rogue, repainted in original Strike colors - guess Kira can't fight in a pink Gundam. At this point, I was wondering how well an old Gundam could really hold up against more modern suits... luckily, the show answered that pretty quickly. Kira proceeds to Eternal to get his new unit.

Meeting up with Lacus in a tearful/joyous reunion, Kira is taken to Eternal's launch bay to receive his new unit. Along with the angellic chorus music, it was good to hear "Kira Yamato.... Freedom.... launching!" again. Needless to say, I'll let you guess who wins between a sparkling new Strike Freedom with its own special theme song and a wave of ZAFT grunts in generic suits. The grunts, right?

Anyways, Eternal and Strike Freedom are off towards Earth.... I wonder if they'll make it in time to save Orb? (this is Gundam, if they didn't make it, I'd probably have a heart attack) Still no real information on what the Destiny Plan is, but I'll guess we'll find out all too soon.

Posted by Drylnn at 03:35 PM | Comments (0)

Gundam Seed Destiny episode 38 (review) - "A New Flag"

The Battle of Heaven's Base begins in this episode of GSD, but its not the most shocking development of this episode.

We begin the episode with a new introduction and song by Chemistry. I have nothing against Chemistry as a group, but this song really didn't synch up well with the series. At the time of writing this, I've listened to it a few times and I've gotten used to it, but it was really jarring the first few times.

Once into the episode, we see the preparations of the Earth Alliance as their base gets ready for an attack by ZAFT. There were two problems: #1, they really don't explain very well why one of the main Alliance bases would house Djibril and his ilk. The Alliance doesn't seem to have much in common with LOGOS. #2, I really wonder what good it does for the Alliance to prepare. Although they're suppossed to be a powerful force oppossing ZAFT, since about midway through SEED, they've always gotten thoroughly thrashed.

Luna and Shinn continue to discuss the events of the previous episode as Luna tries to rationalize why her sister and Athrun would "betray" ZAFT (from her perspective). This part of the episode makes a lot of sense, although the later portion with Luna and Shinn does not. Luna seems awfully willing to forget that it was Shinn that took down her sister and Athrun, although perhaps she just easily accepts that they were indeed traitors. The whole scene has sort of a Fllayish quality to it, even with twisted music in the background (by Fllayish, I mean "not real love", not that Luna is like Fllay). As the scene ends, Shinn promises to protect Luna, no matter what. That worked out REALLY well for Stellar the last time...

Shockingly, the EA shows it has a backbone, and some actual effective weapons! Not only do they unleash new technology on the battlefield, they also offer up a patrol of Destroys! Unfortunately for the EA, Shinn and company have their own super-Gundams (Legend and Destiny), as well as a newly repaired Impulse piloted by Luna. The Destroys devastate a large portion of the ZAFT fleet, and the new Gundams launch to meet them. I note that Destiny still has that evil, Imperial march-ish/Sepheroth-ish theme. I still wonder whether Shinn is pulling an Anakin or not. They seem to be setting him up for tragic death after a noble sacrifice.

Meanwhile, Athrun awakens to Kira's voice. You can pretty much figure out what kind of reunion they'll have. Cagalli shows up later to cry, and it was good (IMO) to see some forgiveness there. It's hard to tell sometimes which way GSD will drag some characters in terms of relationships.

Shinn does end up protecting Luna in battle, which I guess indicates who that will go. I wonder what Luna will think when she find out her sister and Athrun are still alive and with the Archangel. It's kind of depressing how easily the new Gundams take down all those Destroys... like I said, I wonder why the Alliance bothers sometimes. They'd probably be better off to mass produce as many normal units as they can and just mad rush ZAFT forces rather than jump up the tech tree.

It was amusing to see Djibril slip out to his shuttle during the battle once he realized it was a lost cause. I guess he's on to Orb, where the series should become VERY interesting. The battle for Heaven's Base is over, the battle for Orb will begin soon. Kind of funny how these things have come full circle...

Posted by Drylnn at 03:05 PM | Comments (2)

July 07, 2005

Gundam Seed Destiny episode 37 (review)

Well, I had hoped that Athrun would continue his resurgance to the character he should be in GSD. I hoped his seed mode would return to life in the battle against Rey and Shinn, and although he would lose in his inferior mobile suit, it would affect Shinn's attitude towards the Chairman.

For the first part of the episode, it looked like it might happen. We continue with Meyrin and Athrun in the Gouf Ignited, fleeing ZAFT to look for the Archangel. Very quickly, Shinn and Rey are ordered to pursue them in Destiny and Legend. However, although Athrun did try to convince Shinn that the Chairman was up to no good, he didn't really offer any specifics. This seems to be some bad plot writing in order to maintain some secret until the big revelation in coming episodes. In any case, it didn't make much sense that Athrun didn't try to talk to Shinn more and really state what Dullindal's plan is. He had plenty of time, even with Rey attacking.

Athrun also didn't hit seed mode, which was something of a disappointment. If this week's actions didn't reawaken him, what will?

In any case, Shinn and Destiny showed themselves to be a formidable weapon, and we're left to guess at the fate of Athrun (like he isn't going to live) and Meyrin (it was uncertain whether she would live long.... secondary characters in Seed didn't have guarrenteed lifespans). Although it looks like both live, we'll have to learn more in future episodes.

Meanwhile, Dullidal moves ZAFT towards Heaven's Base, the main EA base where LOGOS is hiding out. I'm not clear on the exact situation here: it appears from the ultimatum sent to Heaven's Base that the EA and ZAFT are working together against LOGOS, but if that is the case, then who is guarding LOGOS? They seemed to be more of a leadership caste than an army.

Also, what's up with Luna's reaction with Shinn? I realize she's upset about her sister "dying" and that Shinn is a comrade and fellow soldier, but they've never really shown her to be close to Shinn, and even more importantly, she's CRYING ON THE SHOULDER OF THE PERSON WHO MAY HAVE KILLED HER SISTER?!?!?!? That seemed a bit odd to me. I hope the writers don't try to force some sort of Shinn-Luna thing on us just because they feel like all the main characters need some sort of relationship. Shinn's tie to Stellar's death really gave him a motivation I could sympathize with, even if I'm not a big fan of him as a character.

I'm wondering how long it will take to reveal what is going on with ZAFT. They really need to clarify the sides soon or at least offer us reasoning for what is going on. While I have some idea of what is going on, most of the things that characters like Kira or Lacus or Athrun seem to "realize" aren't as obvious to me: they could simply be odd coincidences or misunderstandings. It's obvious to me that the Chairman really isn't as good as he'd like us to believe, it's not as though he's been overly evil. Yet, without us fully knowing what he's done, Athrun flees ZAFT, and Lacus and Kira are quick to distrust him. It would serve us viewers right if we found out the Chairman isn't evil, but its not going to happen. If Rey isn't the reincarnation of Rau (Raww) from Seed, I'd be shocked.

At least I now feel that Shinn is truly a powerful force for good or evil, no matter which way he goes. He truly had an evil look on his face as he took control of Destiny (no pun intended) and moved to stop Athrun. Still, Athrun's flight brings us ever closer to the return with a resurgent Kira and Athrun in Strike-Freedom and Infinite Justice, like a pair of avenging knights (yes, I love hyperbole). I guess this week though will be ZAFT's moment to shine.... although we don't know what LOGOS has up its sleeve.

Good episode, and it should get more interesting soon: Heaven's Base to be attacked next week.... looks like Orb is soon to follow....

Posted by Drylnn at 02:57 AM | Comments (0)

June 29, 2005

Gundam Seed Destiny episode 36 (review)

I apologize for not having my usual slate of images. The page I normally pull from is running behind in terms of episodes.

This episode was ***FINALLY*** a moving point for Athrun. As a Kira fan, I've been generally happy with his development and Shinn's development, but Athrun has been kind of up and down. As one of the main characters from Seed, I expected his role to be pivotal from episode 1. And to some degree, he has been a pivotal character... with his piloting of the Gouf near the beginning to the arrival as a member of Faith. Originally, Athrun was the veteran figure with questions of his own that I expected.

Yet, his piloting skills have generally consisted of flying around yelling "Kira!" in battles and having hard times with bit pilots. His logic has been inconsistant in his internal conflicts with the way the war has been going: as a person who participated in the events of Jachin Due, he has been in a key position to see how the events of this time are so similar and different and to realize who is fighting for what. He has generally shown little sign of the skills that made him an ace in the previous war, and he has not used the influence he had with the other pilots and personnel to any great effect.

For that reason it was good to see Athrun grown a spine and ask questions of the chairman. It was clear to see from the beginning that Athrun was beginning to realize that the Chairman was not being completely honest and that Kira and the AA group might have good reasons for distrusting him.

It's also good to see that the Chairman realizes this and goes to work ensuring that Athrun is kept under wraps. Athrun is no dummy though, and he starts to attempt his escape. The discussion with Meer where Athrun tries to convince her that she will eventually be discarded/killed and she refuses to go was a sad one, one that I think will lead to tragedy for the faux Lacus.

The bit with Meyrin came out of nowhere. I realize that they had a few moments with her, but nothing that would make me think she would essentially turn on ZAFT. It will be interesting to see if she turns out to be a romantic interest, a good friend, or the next victim of a beam attack on the GOUF that Athrun is piloting.

The wording with Rey talking about Kira being alive was sort of nebulous. Because my Japanese skills are not up to snuff, I couldn't tell if he literally meant that he knew Kira was alive or rather that he was alive in Athrun's mind and heart and thus would never be expunged. If it is the former, this has interesting implications for the Newtype-Kira theory.

I guess the question will remain into next episode: will Shinn become a full pawn/pull an Anakin and fall under the Chairman's "spell" or will be be the good person he is capable of being. I'm leaning towards the latter, but I can see the former. This is what makes Destiny so interesting: we don't know what the Chairman is up to or even if he is "evil" per se, nor do we know who will turn out to be "bad" in the end. The Chairman can explain much of his actions reasonably, yet there is always a sort of bad taste-undercurrent to his actions.

Will Shinn/Rey shoot down Athrun? Will Athrun make it to Orb/Archangel? Will Meyrin survive through the next episode? I guess we'll have to see in episode 37.

Posted by Drylnn at 12:03 AM | Comments (0)

June 20, 2005

Gundam Seed Destiny episode 35 (review)

With about fifteen episodes to go, Destiny needs to start resolving who the final "enemy" will be. With the revelation of the identities of LOGOS, and the rise of ZAFT, it seems that the war is moving towards moving Chairman Dullindal's into the light. What is his true goal in this war? Does Blue Cosmos/LOGOS have more tricks up its sleeve?

The beginning of this episode resolved some of how Kira and the Archangel survived. I realize it's partially a plot device to destroy Freedom to move Kira towards Strike Freedom, but I appreciated small efforts like showing his hand on the shutoff for Freedom's nuclear reactor. We all knew Kira would survive, but it was also good to see some explanation on his survival and how they attempted to fool ZAFT into thinking they were destroyed. Of course, it's also good to see that Dullindal isn't an idiotic enemy who assumes that they are dead.

I can't say I really like Shinn still, and I'm really wondering if he's going to be some sort of Anakin Skywalker, with the potential for great good or evil. That's really the big question of Destiny: will he be an ally or enemy in the end?

Athrun's reaction to the apparent loss of Freedom and Archangel seemed fairly realistic, and his discussion with Shinn raised good points. Sometimes I feel like Athrun lies back too much when he should speak up for himself. This is one of the heroes of Jachin Due, and he sits back and takes it all. I'm hoping in the upcoming "Escape" episode, he lets his seed loose and puts up a good fight.

I also fid it amusing that Legend's callnumber is "666"... nothing like a hint of evil there for whoever ultimately ends up piloting it.

Seems there is also a plot in the air to get Lacus. I'd say chances of that look about nil again, seeing as how she's one of the most popular anime characters at present.

Overall, this was a catchup and reaction episode, not a lot of explanation. Looks like we'll get to find out what makes Athrun escape next week.

Posted by Drylnn at 12:34 AM | Comments (0)

June 15, 2005

Gundam Seed Destiny (Overview)

It would be difficult to explain Gundam Seed Destiny without backtracking to explain Gundam Seed. As it's been too long to review each episode of Seed, this will be rough.

Gundam Seed is the first Gundam series that I've actually liked. Most of the popular ones, like Gundam Wing or others were less about the people and more about the mecha. There are exceptions to this "rule", but in general, the idea was to appeal more to fanboys with their love of robot-based anime.

I expected more of the same from Seed, but I was wrong. Sure, mecha play a critical role, but this series had far more character development than I expected.

In Seed (which occurs in a not too distant future), Earth is confronted with a problem we can relate to: genetic alteration. What began as the attempt to eliminate disease in children through genetics continued to changing traits (like hair color, gender) and then continued to other areas (intelligence, strength, speed). Two categories of people exist: Coordinators (the genetically altered) and Naturals (those who are not altered). Coordinators do things better than a Natural: they learn faster, can move faster, are physically superior. The first Coordinators were not raised openly, but their existance was later revealed. When revealed, the Earth nations reacted as you might expect: some countries were more tolerant, others outright banned the Coordinators and exiled them. A group similar to the Klu Klux Klan arose known as Blue Cosmos, which was dedicated to the idea of a "pure" humanity. Violence broke out in some areas, with hospitals that raised Coordinators being burned to the ground in some cases. For a while, Earth had these two groups in nervous harmony, however, as with any differences, distrust and misunderstanding led to hazings, discrimination, and eventually conflict.

The Coordinators moved into space onto a space station to avoid the conflict on the planet. This space station was known as PLANT. Both sides however were unable to let things lie as they were, and war quickly broke out. The nations on Earth launched a nuclear strike against Junius 7 (a coordinator colony). This incident would be known as the Bloody Valentine Tragedy. In response, ZAFT (the new Coordinator government) scattered N-jammer decices across the Earth's surface. These devices prevented nuclear devices from working, taking away the Naturals' most destructive weapons, and inadvertantly wreaking havoc on the economies and food supplies on Earth (side effect).

When Seed opens, we find our protagonist, Kira Yamato, on board a neutral space station. Kira is a young student (approx. 16-17 by my guess) who is unaware that he is also a Coordinator, having been raised among Naturals. By chance, when he was a boy, he met Athrun Zala, a young Coordinator who was on the same station as Kira for a time... they became best friends, but Athrun returned to PLANT with his father (who was the chairman of ZAFT's council at the time). On the day we join, it is discovered by ZAFT that this "neutral" colony is helping to create experimental war machines for the Earth Alliance. These machines, known as Mobile Suits (Gundams) could change the face of war for the Alliance, which has been steadily losing. ZAFT launches an attack to take the suits. Kira accidently ends up involved, as he is near one of the mobile suits. A woman pulls him towards one of the suits to save him when they are confronted by one of the attacking enemies. Kira realizes that this soldier is his old friend, Athrun Zala. To save the woman, Kira takes one of the mobile suits while the ZAFT agents (incl. Athrun) take the other 4, thus setting the stage for the conflict.

The series was an interesting look at a war where no one is overly wrong. We had to see a friend fighting his best friend and both sides trying to understand what is going on. Along the way, we introduce a huge amount of interesting characters, including Lacus Clyne, the daughter of the former ZAFT chairman and sort of a pop singer in ZAFT that is very popular) and Cagalli (daughter of the ruler of Orb, and by coincidence, Kira's twin sister). In the end, the war is ended at Jachin Due, and an uneasy peace is forged.

Gundam Seed Destiny continues two years later with the story of Shinn Asuka. Shinn's parents were killed in the first series in a battle at Orb (a neutral, technologically strong nation that was attacked by ZAFT late in the series). As a result, Shinn is very bitter towards war and the stuggle going on. A new Chairman has arisen at ZAFT, and he is building new mobile suits to prepare in case of any future conflict. As it turns out, Athrun Zala and Cagalli are visiting the ZAFT site on this day, when thieves steal the 3 newest mobile suits. Soon thereafter, Coordinator fundamentalists try to move an asteroid to collide with the Earth and wipe out all natural life in the name of Coordinators. As a result, the war between the EA and ZAFT begins again, and the characters from SEED begin to look for answers. We are also introduced to a number of new characters around Shinn: whereas SEED gave us an EA-Orb centered perspective on the war, Destiny focusses on the view of the second conflict from a ZAFT perspective.

Thus far, it's hard to say who the protagonist is. The show originally seemed to have a Shinn-centered plot movement, however, as the episodes have gone on, Kira seems to have more of a prominent role. I would have to say at this point (episode 34), there are really three protagonists: Shinn, Kira, and Athrun, with other characters playing important roles. The key thing is that there is once again no side that is fully right in this war, and the mecha really play a secondary role to character development. Who will be the "bad guy" in the end? Is there more genetic manipulation going on, this time by the Earth Alliance? What are the secrets of the Chairman of ZAFT? These are the sorts of questions that Destiny looks to answer.

You can't go wrong with this series, although you should probably watch SEED before you begin with this, or you'll be VERY confused.

Posted by Drylnn at 03:55 AM | Comments (0)