Your thoughts on the Gundam series

[Ford Prefect]

This morning as I was tooping off to university, I started thinking about Gundam. I recently completed Gundam 00 (Jesus that was one hell of a third of a season at the end there), so it's been on my mind. I asked myself 'what would I do if I was in charge of a new Gundam series?' and after concluding that I'd lame it up, I wondered what other people might do.

So, imagine that Tomino has passedo n to you his awesome sunglasses and asked you to take Gundam into the new millenium - what would you do? Strictly speaking, it just has to be recognisably a Gundam series: ie. it has to have Mobile Suits, which themselves should be more or less 'real robots' and it ideally should feature some sort of actual factual Gundam unit.

[legio mortis]

I would keep it within the UC universe. I'd want to show something that I don't think any Gundam series has really done. A Gundam series revolving around a squadron of Zeon pilots, preferably Zaku grunts. I'd start it off at the beginning of the whole One-Year War. The people of Side 3 are rallied in a great patriotic fervor to secede from the Earth Federation. The main character should be swept up in this, all the while getting a nice feed of Zeonic propaganda. He/She would join up, but not be entered into active service until at least a couple weeks after the war started. We don't want these characters getting nuked off the bat! The character could have a sibling or something that was in the first battles of the war that ended up on the wrong side of a Federation nuclear missile or something during The Battle of Loum. After that, the character and their squadron-mates would participate in the invasion of Earth, complete with the unveiling of the Mobile Suits. We could then follow the character around as they fight around the globe. The character could participate in the conquering of Odessa, and eventually it's recapture by the Federation forces. The character could get captured or die, whatever would work the best.

I want to keep this as realistic as possible, like 08th MS Team and Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket. Keeping it short would be very beneficial as well. Eight to ten episodes sounds good. Keeping the series without any sort of crossed allegiance love interest should be of priority. Keep it dark.

[DrStrangelove]

I would keep it within the UC universe. I'd want to show something that I don't think any Gundam series has really done. A Gundam series revolving around a squadron of Zeon pilots, preferably Zaku grunts. I'd start it off at the beginning of the whole One-Year War. The people of Side 3 are rallied in a great patriotic fervor to secede from the Earth Federation. The main character should be swept up in this, all the while getting a nice feed of Zeonic propaganda. He/She would join up, but not be entered into active service until at least a couple weeks after the war started. We don't want these characters getting nuked off the bat! The character could have a sibling or something that was in the first battles of the war that ended up on the wrong side of a Federation nuclear missile or something during The Battle of Loum. After that, the character and their squadron-mates would participate in the invasion of Earth, complete with the unveiling of the Mobile Suits. We could then follow the character around as they fight around the globe. The character could participate in the conquering of Odessa, and eventually it's recapture by the Federation forces. The character could get captured or die, whatever would work the best.

I want to keep this as realistic as possible, like 08th MS Team and Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket. Keeping it short would be very beneficial as well. Eight to ten episodes sounds good. Keeping the series without any sort of crossed allegiance love interest should be of priority. Keep it dark.

it has been done. gundam MS igloo is almost exactly what you propose. i myself favor the same idea. i think the UC setting is the best one in the gundam franchise

[legio mortis]

it has been done. gundam MS igloo is almost exactly what you propose. i myself favor the same idea. i think the UC setting is the best one in the gundam franchise

I've not seen it, but from what I gather, it's about a researcher and much of the action takes place in the beginning of the war. It seems pretty cool, but it's not really what I had in mind. I want the boots on the ground that stay until the war is almost over..

[VF5SS]

Too bad MS Igloo is fucking terrible. It was directed by the same guy who did 0083 so you know it's a real stinker. If someone really wanted to continue Gundam as is, one could just animated Gundam Sentinel. That's pretty Gundam-tastic in terms of the MS.

[Commander 598]

The important parts of IGLOO were perfectly fine, the important parts being things exploding.

I've not seen it, but from what I gather, it's about a researcher and much of the action takes place in the beginning of the war. It seems pretty cool, but it's not really what I had in mind. I want the boots on the ground that stay until the war is almost over..

It sorta takes place all over the OYW, the first episode of The Hidden One Year War was covered the very early days including Loum and the last couple of episodes covered the big finale at A Bao a Qu (Or however you spell it) including the Maharu Laser.

Personally, OYW/MSG retcon I guess. The Magella has got to go...among other things.

[Manus Celer Dei]

Too bad MS Igloo is fucking terrible. It was directed by the same guy who did 0083 so you know it's a real stinker. If someone really wanted to continue Gundam as is, one could just animated Gundam Sentinel. That's pretty Gundam-tastic in terms of the MS.

Honestly, the only problems I found with MS Igloo were how awful the animation of the people were and the fact that even more superweapons were kicking around during the OYW that were never seen again (Somewhat like 0083 in that respect.)

There's another MS Igloo starting soon, by the way. Set during the OYW again, only this time from the Federation's view.

And if any non-show Gundam series should be animated, it's Crossbone

[Spanky The Dolphin]

It'd be awesome to have something like Sentinel or Crossbone adapted to animation, although I think the time to do it might have passed.

I'd like to see something set at or around UC 0100--maybe its centerpiece being the centennial anniversary of permanent space colonization--and be either a long (six-episode) OVA or a short (13-episode) TV series that's more of a character-driven piece. Not that mobile suits and such would be excluded, but it'd be interesting to have a Gundam story that didn't focus on a war.

Specifically, I always wanted to know what happened to Mineva Lao Zabi (Dozle's daughter) after her disappearance in Gundam ZZ. It'd be interesting to see her as an adult dealing with her cursed family legacy as the only remaining true heir of the Principality.

At the least, it would have been better than those hundred episodes of that SEED crap.

[SAMAS]

Move the action beyond the Solar System.

Seriously, we need more multi-planetary Mecha anime.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

Move the action beyond the Solar System.

Seriously, we need more multi-planetary Mecha anime.

We already have an interstellar Gundam: it's called Macross.

I don't like the idea of Gundam venturing out to other star systems, but it would be interesting to see maybe an AU where they spread out beyond the Earth Sphere.

A UC project that focused on the Jupiter Energy Fleet could be neat, too.

[VF5SS]

Spanky, aren't you just describing the premise to Gundam Unicorn? That even has Minerva all grown up.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

I suppose I would be had I actually heard of "Gundam Unicorn" before this moment.

[VF5SS]

Damn son, where've you been? Bandai has already taken your needs into consideration and will fill the niche in Gundam that has been void for all these years. It even has a transforming Hyaku Shiki.

[Manus Celer Dei]

Have any of the Gundam Unicorn novels been translated yet, though?

[Ford Prefect]

It'd be awesome to have something like Sentinel or Crossbone adapted to animation, although I think the time to do it might have passed.

I wouldn't mind seeing F91 done as a full series as Tomino intended. That said, I'd be all over a Crossbone adaption.

I don't like the idea of Gundam venturing out to other star systems, but it would be interesting to see maybe an AU where they spread out beyond the Earth Sphere.

As I was thinking about it, I found that I didn't really like the idea of a Gundam series with faster than light travel, or one that relied upon external forces like aliens to provide conflict (to be honest, my favourite type of conflict is character conflict anyway, which is why Ali al Sarshes was awesome). That said, it probably couldn't hurt to do something really new. The problem is just that it really would feel like Macross; just add a love triangle and we're screwed.

However, I would love to see a Gundam series that had, say, a thousand years or so to start milling about the entire star system. The grander scale of the Sol system would be a great backdrop, though I could do without another war centered plot. Ywah, I know that'd weird for Gundam, but hey.

[Saxtonite]

He/She would join up, but not be entered into active service until at least a couple weeks after the war started. We don't want these characters getting nuked off the bat!

IIRC, not all Zeon forces who participated in the One Week War were annihilated; wasn't Char Aznable involved in that as well? (not sure, don't remember Mobile Suit Gundam heavily and never saw it completely through)

[Shadowtraveler]

Maybe you can have a Gundam series with the two sides being Earth and Mars?

[Saxtonite]

I also forgot; basically do some more Cosmic Era shows/stories like Stargazer. Gundam Seed and Seed Destiny really connected to me, so emotional....yes I know GSD has a lot of flaws but I still liked it. I can place the current world and possibly explain how they got many of their ideas in GS and GSD.

Some episodes focusing on the beginning of the War, the actual Battle of Junius Seven and the Bloody Valentine, some of the politics involved with the soon-to-be Earth Alliance member states (IIRC they were part of UN before the Alaska Declaration forming the Earth Alliance; as the UN leaders were killed in the Copernicus Incident), disposition of forces, the Blue Cosmos info, more focus on the Republic of East Asia and its' government, same for the Eurasian Federation and how the battle of JOSH-A affected it, the Atlantic Federation's annexation of the United States of South America and more info on that, popular opinion in the EA about the war and how unified they were, some scenes as to what happened to the cities in what now is the US (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Toronto, Mexico City, etc.) and how they changed. Some scenes of the Eurasian Federation cities, with some focus on Southwest Asia and what happened there with cities and the like. Popular opinion of the Earth's people in starting the first war. Popular opinion on the annexation of Orb (from the Atlantic Federation), and the AF said the Orb were indirectly/partially responsible for JOSH-A, explain how they came to that conclusion (other than that Orb has been trading with PLANT significantly IIRC). Details on the losses suffered in the Second Battle of Jachin Due.

during the Second Bloody Valentine War, more focus on the suffering of the people of Earth, popular opinion towards a second war from Earth and its' parts, try to reconcile that with some parts of why some of Eurasia seceded and more details on the Eurasian Federation's power politics and the like, more details on the strife in Eurasia, what happened to the UK, explain how much of the EA fleet was destroyed when Arzachel was blown up by Requiem, and some more focus on the EA siding with Terminal and Orb to fight ZAFT and the Destiny Plan and the EA fighting ZAFT then. Some more details on the border skirmishes, show the EA try to aggressively push back towards PLANT, status on Earth Mass Drivers and how hard/easy it was to rebuild and how the base was resupplied, details on how the Earth Alliance collapsed (when Durandal revealed LOGOS and said to destroy them, didn't the EA collapse from the Eurasian Federation collapsing?) and how the Space Fleet was unaffected Info on if there was any re-integration, whether the Atlantic Federation or Eurasian Federation used the Destroy on Eurasia, how the Earth Alliance could crack down so badly on dissent in Eurasian and why.

[Loner]

I would like to see an AU series that focused on a civil war of sorts between the colonies themselves and Earth as a neutral third party, which both sides trade and try and court for their own ends.

[legio mortis]

IIRC, not all Zeon forces who participated in the One Week War were annihilated; wasn't Char Aznable involved in that as well? (not sure, don't remember Mobile Suit Gundam heavily and never saw it completely through)

That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking specifically about the Battle of Loum, where both rival fleets pretty much annihilated each other with nuclear weapons.

[Commander 598]

It'd be awesome to have something like Sentinel or Crossbone adapted to animation, although I think the time to do it might have passed.

I wouldn't mind seeing F91 done as a full series as Tomino intended. That said, I'd be all over a Crossbone adaption.

I don't know if I trust Sunrise to not screw it up with annoying and illogical poses out of SEED and stock footage as well as completely ignoring how it actually worked back when F91 came out. But wait, this is "us" in charge, right?

There's another MS Igloo starting soon, by the way. Set during the OYW again, only this time from the Federation's view.

Featuring the ~130mm Anti-MS rocket launcher:

[Saxtonite]

That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking specifically about the Battle of Loum, where both rival fleets pretty much annihilated each other with nuclear weapons.

didn't the Earth Federation lose 80% of its fleet? That's where Char got his reputation, in that battle. He survived. But point taken, low chance for survival....IIRC the Side that they fought over was annihilated except the Texas colony. Im not sure about the Mobile Suit Gundam so..

I would like to see an AU series that focused on a civil war of sorts between the colonies themselves and Earth as a neutral third party, which both sides trade and try and court for their own ends.

wasn't that the point of G Gundam, a "controlled war" every certain amount of time (the duels?) Or did I watch that wrong?

[Seggybop]

This morning as I was tooping off to university, I started thinking about Gundam. I recently completed Gundam 00 (Jesus that was one hell of a third of a season at the end there),

What? Gundam 00 is only half over.

[legio mortis]

If I had to though, I'd probably want to do something set before UC 0079, so it wouldn't actually have mobile suits and certainly no gundams. Show the paradise that is Side 3 and the brilliant idealists who are its people and compare/contrast it to the lameness that is Earth and the short sighted, slow-witted fools who are its people.

Hail Zeon!

...and Casval too.

I think that idea could actually be a really cool premise for a story. Maybe it could follow along young Char/Casval.

[VF5SS]

The Zaku I was in use as early as UC 0075 so you could do something about that. You know, sorta like Igloo but with less stupidity.