New Gundam Series!

[Shiro]

Well, I don't know if anyone else here was disappointed with Gundam 00, or even watched it, or even knew it existed.... Well, I didn't like it. But it seems there's something new on the horizon that may just make up for it.

It's called Gundam Unicorn (named after the titular mech). All I can say about that is that the person who thought it up may want to work on their naming conventions. Or maybe unicorns aren't usually considered girly over in Japan. Or maybe I haven't studied unicorn legends in enough depth (like, at all). I dunno.

Anyway, the part I like best about GU is that it takes place back in the good old Universal Century, the timeline in which most of the better Gundam series' occurred. That doesn't automatically ensure a decent production, but I think it means Sunrise will be trying a lot harder than they did with Double 0.

The animation looks great, I think. And you know what's the best part? It's going to be imported the the U.S.. I really hope the English dub is decent.

Here's one of the trailers someone posted on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ad4QAzguVU

Copy the address and paste it to your browser if need be.

Thoughts? Questions? Comments?

[Kyderra]

I'm guessing it is not a reboot of the series
i have never followed the show, mainly because i could not keep up with the story (missing episodes and stuff)

A new story for newcomers like me would be nice, then I will very likely see it.

[Shiro]

Yeah, it's not a reboot. But then again, Gundam isn't just one series. It's one big meta-series (I think that's the right term), containing many separate shows and spanning a bunch of different timelines.

Gundam Unicorn is set near the end of the first--and most developed--timeline (the Universal Century) established in the very first Gundam series (Mobile Suit Gundam). So...it's basically as far from a reboot as you can possibly get. But these Gundam shows tend to give decent recaps during the first episode, and GU is all about finding this so-called true history of the Universal Century. So I imagine all the really important stuff will be thoroughly explained.

But if you really want a reboot to Mobile Suit Gundam, there's something out there called Mobile Suit Gundam Seed. It's essentially the same story with upgraded animation, but its quality is debatable.

[Kyderra]

to the torrent mobile!, tunununununeu

[Liam]

The only Gundam series I watched was Gundam Wing and after a few episodes it became increasingly difficult to follow who worked for whom for what reasons, considering the plethora of characters and factions, and I heard that would be the case for every incarnation. The recapping did not help much.

Since this one is set in the most backstory-laden century it could be hard for non-hardcore fans to immerse themselves into it.

[Shiro]

The only Gundam series I watched was Gundam Wing and after a few episodes it became increasingly difficult to follow who worked for whom for what reasons, considering the plethora of characters and factions, and I heard that would be the case for every incarnation. The recapping did not help much.

Since this one is set in the most backstory-laden century it could be hard for non-hardcore fans to immerse themselves into it.

Yeah, I can see your point about the immersion thing. I've heard that Gundam is hard to get into as a series, and maybe that's the reason. Also, the recaps usually occur at the first episode of each subsequent series. The good news about that is that Gundam Unicorn is going to be only six episodes long, lasting fifty minutes each. At least you won't end up skipping eight episodes before you catch it again. ...Though that might not help that much after all.

And that reminds me. I didn't really say what this series was about, did I? The trailer didn't provide all that much information. The explanation is involved, admittedly, and I'm not too good at trimming down the the bare bones necessities . Bare with me, okay?

Okay, so Gundam Unicorn is based on a series of Japanese light novels written by a guy whose name I can't remember . The year is 0096 of the Universal Century, and the series of conflicts that had been shaking things up for the past two decades has finally subsided. Enter one Brigadier Links, a young boy who sees war as something akin to fiction due to his isolation from said conflicts. That outlook doesn't last long, because he's soon caught up in a plot instigated by a group of very, very dedicated partisan holdouts from the century's bloodiest war. They've been causing problems ever since their inception and their not about to stop now.

This group, Neo Zeon, is led by a charismatic fellow who bears a striking resemblance to Char Aznable, the infamous ace pilot (think the future's Red Baron) turned heroic freedom fighter turned genocidal maniac turned, well, MIA. Whether or not he's the real deal, the man is not to be taken lightly.

Basically, the Neo Zeon are determined to find something called the Laplace Box, which allegedly contains the "true history" of the Universal Century and is somehow connected to a pivotal terrorist bombing that happened way back in U.C. 0001.

The good guys, thankfully, have the Unicorn Gundam, a high performance machine with a very special trick up its sleeve. This particular Gundam has built into its body something called a "psychoframe," a piece of technology which translates a pilot's thoughts directly into physical force, thus giving the pilot total control of the machine which his or her thoughts alone. The upside is that the Gundam is phenomenally maneuverable and powerful, and is even able to take control of enemy weapons that use similar technology. The down side is that only certain people can use it, and this mode can only operate for five minutes due to safety issues .

Along the way are some familiar--and rather important--faces from earlier series'.

So, as the Gundam franchise's oldest question goes, "Who will survive?"