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Mobile Suit Gundam Seed review by Rebel
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Gundam Seed is a very long series, especially in terms of the length of most recent animes, which have stuck between 13 and 26 episodes, making Gundam Seed nearly twice as long, but not twice as boring. The plot in Gundam Seed is essentially the plot from Mobile Suit Gundam, with more Gundam Wing-ish mobile suits and more modern animation. This is both good and bad, since Mobile Suit Gundam was well known for its excellent plot, but failed in its debut in the US due to its 1970s animation. So for those of you who enjoyed the original Gundam show, you're likely to enjoy this as well, since it's extremely similar. On the downside, if you didn't like the original Gundam's plot, it's unlikely you're going to enjoy Gundam Seed. There is plenty of kick-ass giant robot action throughout Gundam Seed, but that's not the focus, and that's not really the reason you should be watching it.
Since I did like the original Gundam's plot, I liked this one as well. Unlike many other Gundam series unrelated to the original show, Gundam Seed is able to maintain a good and coherent plot and even add a few twists you never expected, without resorting to inane and repetitive Gundam battles. Gundam Seed, like the original Gundam, is about war, death, and suffering. It is about zealotry and the genocide that accompanies it. Gundam Seed, as told by the producers, is based off the ideological conflicts between the fundamental groups of the Middle East and the West. From the Earth Alliance Federation's nuclear attacks to the Plant's Gamma-Ray laser Genesis, Gundam Seed shows how the only thing that is ever accomplished in war is death.
Most of the plot however is handed to you through questions and in chunks at various points in the show. You can go 15 episodes without a good deal of plot, and then suddenly have everything be brought together and the plot reveled to you in one 24 minute segment. Most of the plot is actually delivered to you by characters with minor roles, or by Rau Le Creuset, the Char counterpart of Gundam Seed. There are three or four review episodes, in which the animation and the events are reviewed, while Rau or another person narrates, handing you plot information and often even more questions. Unlike original Gundam, we never do get to see Rau Le Creuset's face like we see Char's. He is the embodiment of a faceless enemy.
Now, aside from all that, I love the Gundam Seed music. It is very fitting and Toshihiko Sahashi
does a wonderful job of making grand orchestral music, varying from fun, to dark, to fast and action packed. It's music I'd get on CD, given the chance. It is also kept quiet enough while people are talking so you can hear what they say, and of course, it is blended with voices you're not supposed to hear at times so that you cannot hear them.
The animation, of course, is top notch; however, the CG leaves something to be desired. It is good when the light is hard and the shadows are strong, but when they mix the CG and the animated backgrounds, it only looks awkward. An upside to the animation is that although they use recycled scenes, they overlay them with different backgrounds and different foregrounds; on occasion this gives some strange depth perceptions, but those are few, and improve as the show goes on. This is also nice because it allowed them to recycle scenes without those ugly and flashy backgrounds common in older Gundam series, so they could use the same scene multiple times in multiple places.
Gundam Seed's characters are probably its only failing point. There is change in the characters, but the cast is so big, often including more than 12 focus characters, that Gundam Seed is a lot like Lord of the Rings. There is focus on the war as a whole, and not so much on the individual players. Character development suffers because of this. Granted, some of the main characters switch sides, or learn to love, but in the scheme of a 50 episode series, that's relatively little. The main guy is able to keep his naiveté to the bitter end, and love is used and abused, yet nobody learns. I found this to be disappointing, but since the focus of the show was not on how so-and-so changed over 30+ episodes, I also found it acceptable. I really enjoyed the dubbing of Gundam Seed. This is definitely not your Akira dub, it is very well done and the voices suit the character and the character's mannerisims. I haven't watched it subbed yet, mostly because Gundam Seed is REALLY long. But I found, with very few exceptions, the dub to be pretty darn good. Yes, the dubs are "real english" while the subs are a direct translation of the Japanese audio; I did check a few episodes.
Overall, Gundam Seed is not a show you want to watch if you don't like death, destruction, war or violence. On the other hand, you should not be watching Gundam Seed just for the violence and war, you'll totally miss the point then. Gundam Seed should be watched as though it could really happen, or be happening, because, as the producers said, it's only a bit of a sci-fi exaggeration of what IS happening. Gundam Seed is a great series and a good remake of the original Gundam.
~ Rebel
