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Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam review by Rebel
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Zeta Gundam is the first and direct sequel to the original Mobile Suit Gundam. Zeta Gundam does in a sequel what many anime sequels do not. It creates an original, yet similar, storyline that involves the main characters from the previous show, without allowing them to overwhelm the new characters. However, like its predecessor, and unlike many AU (Alternate Universe) series like Gundam SEED, Zeta Gundam is a Greek tragedy in anime form.
The plot, both in the beginning and very generally speaking, is the same as its predecessor's. Boy finds Gundam, pilots Gundam, and then battles in big war and discovers new powers and friends. But Zeta Gundam is far from that simple. While much of the background politics are more out in the open for the casual viewer, much of the series depends not on the outcome of the battle or who has the most powerful weapon, but on whose side a certain character happens to be. Zeta Gundam is not a show for people who like flashy mobile suits and fancy one-sided battles. Zeta Gundam will make you think, if only a little, but it's more thinking than a lot of other shows will make you do.
Fortunately Zeta Gundam requires little knowledge of its predecessor. Even though many characters are reintroduced to us again, the information you need to know about them is given to you through other characters, who have either heard about their war-exploits or knew them personally. We don't need to know the little details, and the stuff they don't tell us, which is hinted at, is either left up to the viewer to figure out or to be told to us later on.
Zeta Gundam's animation is not spectacular, not in the crisp, smooth, perfectly shaded way we think about animation now. However, Zeta Gundam's animation is all hand-drawn, and in that it is often amazingly detailed. The animation also noticeably improves from the beginning of the show, where it is closer to MSG's animation, to the ending of the show where there is far less distortion in the movements of the people and mobile suits. If you're looking for something on par with Ghost in the Shell or Gundam SEED, don't look here. But Zeta Gundam included a level of detail even hard to find on newer shows, so if you're willing to overlook some corny animation for a better plot and some amazing detail, Zeta Gundam is your sequel to watch.
The music of Zeta Gundam is not spectacular; while it is largely varied it is very typical small-orchestra 80's music. It fits perfectly into a video game. On the upside, the creators of Zeta Gundam learned one of the greatest lessons of any show or movie: the music should be softer than the speech. While loud and dramatic at times, it is toned down when somebody speaks so that you can clearly hear them. Zeta Gundam was not made for the music, and while it's nice, it's not the reason you're going to be loving this show.
The characters are one of the reasons you'll love this show. Often we have static, unchanging and flat-out boring characters who never learn a lesson, never change and are exactly the same at the end of the battle as they were before the battle. With the exception of a few characters who aren't meant to last more than a few episodes, or ones who play relatively minor roles, all the starring actors change, and change dramatically enough for you to notice it. While it is not always a change for the better, the changes lend an edge to the characters. Anyone can make cardboard cutouts, but Zeta Gundam makes dynamic people.
Finally, Zeta Gundam is not a show for the faint of heart: emotions run strong and people die, people you've come to love, to hate, or just to know, like a Greek tragedy. They die often enough to keep you perpetually anxious over who's going to die next, but they die infrequently enough to allow you to get to know the characters and prevent you becoming desensitized to their deaths. While there are often mobile suits that make only minor appearances yet look really cool, Zeta Gundam is not focused on the MS, but on the personal battles between characters. So it's disappointing that the big kick-ass purple thing just exploded after 5 minutes of mindless combat, but the real issue is how the main character had to deal with the fact that destroying it meant killing a good friend.
All in all, Zeta Gundam is a good series if you're worried that overly crappy animation may turn you off a good show like Mobile Suit Gundam. It contains a good plot, good animation, great characters and some funky MS to boot. If you like Gundam and haven't seen Zeta, then see it now! If you aren't into Gundam but are looking for something that isn't just flashy and for show, then give Zeta Gundam a try. I'm sure you'll be drawn right into it.
~ Rebel
