Thoughts on Gundam AGE
I just watched episode 7 of Gundam AGE, and to be honest, I'm still not very excited about the series...
I did not know what to expect at all when I first started watching Gundam AGE. After watching the first episode, what immediately struck me was how the enemy was so faceless. They're just labeled as "unknown bad guys hurting humanity".
One aspect I love about Gundam series is that the enemy isn't faceless. In fact, there isn't really an "enemy", rather just sides to a battle. You get to see both sides, and get to know and sympathize with both sides of the war. Yes there are good characters and morally bad characters, but it's not like the superhero shows where one side is deemed "good" and one side is deemed "bad".
Now back to Gundam AGE. With such a faceless enemy that the hero (and his friends) is fighting, I find it harder to get emotionally invested in the characters, probably because I prefer man-vs-man conflicts. Like most alien/monster/zombie/whatever movies, you're supposed to root for the human, and it feels good for the humans to ultimately win, but the story often feels shallow.
But I decided to give Gundam AGE a chance. After all, I didn't really like Gundam 00 until like episode 14. Maybe we'll find out more about the enemy, and they're not just one-dimensional "must kill/destroy humans" aliens or something.
It's been 7 episodes, and the UE is still unknown. But since Grodek said he found out about their nest, maybe we'll get to find out more about them later. There's also foreshadowing of these telepathic kids. (the red haired kid reminds me of an Innovator, haha) So there's plenty to be revealed as the show goes on, and I suppose that keeps me curious enough to keep watching.
Anyway, back to my complaints. Aside from the UE, there are shown to be man-vs-man conflicts in Gundam AGE. There are many hints that all is not well within the Earth Federation, and Grodek seems to know something about their lack or cooperation. Perhaps the Federation is in cahoots with the UE? I dunno. And in the recent episodes, there was the Zalam vs Euba conflict on the colony that the Diva's stopped on.
Zalam and Euba are factions that cannot get along, and they often fight (over territory I think?), without regard to the neutral people in the colony. I think it has potential for good drama and stuff, but something about the delivery feels off. Perhaps it's the fact that Flit just barged in and tried to stop them without understanding anything, or the fact that not much is revealed about why they're fighting (what they're fighting for/over), but right now, it feels a bit boring. I hope that future episodes will reveal more about the conflict, as well as the people involved in it.
The series did go into the civilians who are involved in the conflict, with Iwark (lol the Japanese name for Onix) and his adopted daughter Riria. I think the viewer is supposed to sympathize with them, and realize how pointless the fighting between the two faction are. But I can't help but find Riria to be quite annoying; she runs away to places she's not supposed to be, and causes trouble. Like this recent episode, she stowed away on the truck, and brought her friends along for the protest (which feels silly and unnecessary). And Grodek just decided to take the kids to the Diva because taking them back to the town takes too long. Um, isn't that kidnapping? XD Though I wonder if Riria is like one of those telepathic kids (kids who who too much, I find really creepy), since she purposely gets herself in trouble.
I guess I'm not really feeling attached to any of the characters at the moment. With Emily, I'm not sure if I like her determination, or if I find her constant worrying over Flit to be annoying. Maybe a bit of both. Woolf was a dick at first, but I guess he's alright. I still cannot unsee his cat-ear hair though XD Grodek is a mystery, and probably the character I'm closest to liking, simply because he seems to have more depth than the other characters right now. Flit.. I guess I don't mind him, but I find myself finding him getting on my nerves slightly, as he starts to devolve into a hot-head idealistic kid. I hope that changes in the future.
Another major thing that bothers me is the AGE system itself. I'll suspend my belief and give the benefit of the doubt that such a computer system is plausible with future technology (I mean, Flit built the Gundam, even though he's what, 14?). My problem isn't with how the system works, but more just the concept of it feels like a typical shounen series, minus the endless training part. Why? It feels like this: enemy is strong, AGE system builds something to fight it; enemy gets stronger, old weapons no longer works, AGE system builds new gimmick to fight it, which takes down enemy easily; rinse and repeat.
Okay, it's not like past Gundam series don't have upgrades. Most main characters get at least one upgrade per series. But I really do hope that the AGE system doesn't rinse and repeat this too often, because it will get boring really soon. Not to mention this totally feels like a cash grab, a reason for Bandai to create Gunpla of all the various weapons and upgrades. I'd rather see character development (ie Flit becoming a better pilot, or being creative in how he fights etc) rather than just getting better equipment.
Anyway, that's about all the beef I have with Gundam AGE as of now. It just doesn't seem exciting. The characters feel flat, and the conflict isn't as interesting (it also feels flat and one-sided), and the plot is moving rather slowly. Hopefully it picks up later on in the series (maybe when they raid the UE nest or something). For now, I'll keep watching and give it a chance. But Mawaru Penguindrum has been a much more exciting show.
I'll leave with a screencap from episode 7:
Congratulations, your Gundam AGE evolved into Gundam Maxter (from G Gundam)!!
I did not know what to expect at all when I first started watching Gundam AGE. After watching the first episode, what immediately struck me was how the enemy was so faceless. They're just labeled as "unknown bad guys hurting humanity".
One aspect I love about Gundam series is that the enemy isn't faceless. In fact, there isn't really an "enemy", rather just sides to a battle. You get to see both sides, and get to know and sympathize with both sides of the war. Yes there are good characters and morally bad characters, but it's not like the superhero shows where one side is deemed "good" and one side is deemed "bad".
Now back to Gundam AGE. With such a faceless enemy that the hero (and his friends) is fighting, I find it harder to get emotionally invested in the characters, probably because I prefer man-vs-man conflicts. Like most alien/monster/zombie/whatever movies, you're supposed to root for the human, and it feels good for the humans to ultimately win, but the story often feels shallow.
But I decided to give Gundam AGE a chance. After all, I didn't really like Gundam 00 until like episode 14. Maybe we'll find out more about the enemy, and they're not just one-dimensional "must kill/destroy humans" aliens or something.
It's been 7 episodes, and the UE is still unknown. But since Grodek said he found out about their nest, maybe we'll get to find out more about them later. There's also foreshadowing of these telepathic kids. (the red haired kid reminds me of an Innovator, haha) So there's plenty to be revealed as the show goes on, and I suppose that keeps me curious enough to keep watching.
Anyway, back to my complaints. Aside from the UE, there are shown to be man-vs-man conflicts in Gundam AGE. There are many hints that all is not well within the Earth Federation, and Grodek seems to know something about their lack or cooperation. Perhaps the Federation is in cahoots with the UE? I dunno. And in the recent episodes, there was the Zalam vs Euba conflict on the colony that the Diva's stopped on.
Zalam and Euba are factions that cannot get along, and they often fight (over territory I think?), without regard to the neutral people in the colony. I think it has potential for good drama and stuff, but something about the delivery feels off. Perhaps it's the fact that Flit just barged in and tried to stop them without understanding anything, or the fact that not much is revealed about why they're fighting (what they're fighting for/over), but right now, it feels a bit boring. I hope that future episodes will reveal more about the conflict, as well as the people involved in it.
The series did go into the civilians who are involved in the conflict, with Iwark (lol the Japanese name for Onix) and his adopted daughter Riria. I think the viewer is supposed to sympathize with them, and realize how pointless the fighting between the two faction are. But I can't help but find Riria to be quite annoying; she runs away to places she's not supposed to be, and causes trouble. Like this recent episode, she stowed away on the truck, and brought her friends along for the protest (which feels silly and unnecessary). And Grodek just decided to take the kids to the Diva because taking them back to the town takes too long. Um, isn't that kidnapping? XD Though I wonder if Riria is like one of those telepathic kids (kids who who too much, I find really creepy), since she purposely gets herself in trouble.
I guess I'm not really feeling attached to any of the characters at the moment. With Emily, I'm not sure if I like her determination, or if I find her constant worrying over Flit to be annoying. Maybe a bit of both. Woolf was a dick at first, but I guess he's alright. I still cannot unsee his cat-ear hair though XD Grodek is a mystery, and probably the character I'm closest to liking, simply because he seems to have more depth than the other characters right now. Flit.. I guess I don't mind him, but I find myself finding him getting on my nerves slightly, as he starts to devolve into a hot-head idealistic kid. I hope that changes in the future.
Another major thing that bothers me is the AGE system itself. I'll suspend my belief and give the benefit of the doubt that such a computer system is plausible with future technology (I mean, Flit built the Gundam, even though he's what, 14?). My problem isn't with how the system works, but more just the concept of it feels like a typical shounen series, minus the endless training part. Why? It feels like this: enemy is strong, AGE system builds something to fight it; enemy gets stronger, old weapons no longer works, AGE system builds new gimmick to fight it, which takes down enemy easily; rinse and repeat.
Okay, it's not like past Gundam series don't have upgrades. Most main characters get at least one upgrade per series. But I really do hope that the AGE system doesn't rinse and repeat this too often, because it will get boring really soon. Not to mention this totally feels like a cash grab, a reason for Bandai to create Gunpla of all the various weapons and upgrades. I'd rather see character development (ie Flit becoming a better pilot, or being creative in how he fights etc) rather than just getting better equipment.
Anyway, that's about all the beef I have with Gundam AGE as of now. It just doesn't seem exciting. The characters feel flat, and the conflict isn't as interesting (it also feels flat and one-sided), and the plot is moving rather slowly. Hopefully it picks up later on in the series (maybe when they raid the UE nest or something). For now, I'll keep watching and give it a chance. But Mawaru Penguindrum has been a much more exciting show.
I'll leave with a screencap from episode 7:
Congratulations, your Gundam AGE evolved into Gundam Maxter (from G Gundam)!!