| It has been quite some time since the Gundam franchise produced a truly solid series. Ever since the transition from universal century (the same universe and timeline in which the characters of Mobile Suit Gundam existed) to alternate-universe Gundam series, viewers have been burdened with mostly less than stellar Gundam programming. Even the best alternate-universe shows have only managed to be as good as some of the worst work of the universal century era. That is, until now. With the arrival of Mobile Suit Gundam Seed fans are, for perhaps the first time, treated to a truly competent entry to the ranks of Gundam’s alternate-universe.
To begin with, the story line of Gundam Seed is quite capable. Gundam Seed borrows a good deal of the first half of its plot from one of the best sources imaginable, the original Mobile Suit Gundam (abbreviated as MSG for the duration of this review). For instance, both series begin with the inadvertent indoctrination of young, inexperienced, and unintended pilots (Amuro Rey for MSG, and Kira Yamato in the case of Seed) to the harsh realties of war when an attack on their respective colonies occur. Amuro and Kira each become adept fighters very quickly due to their inborn abilities and both strive to protect their respective vessels through various missions. And the irony and sadness of conflict always remains central to both tales. In fact, the similarities between MSG and Seed are extensive. But rather than think of Gundam Seed as an imposter to the throne of MSG, I prefer to think of Seed’s early half as incorporating much of what was good about MSG’s story while adding its own unique slant.
However, around the commencement of the latter portion of the series, Seed discovers its own voice. The prominence of borrowed plot elements from MSG begin to fade and more characteristic factors, such as the nature of struggle between best friends Kira and Athrun, take centerstage. It is at this juncture, though, that a minor problem, which I call “Too Coincidental Complex”, rears its disagreeable face. Simply stated, there are too many coincidences to take some fragments of this story very seriously. But luckily most of the strongly coincidental moments are fairly easy to forgive.
In addition, there are more than enough well-designed action sequences throughout the entire series (but especially in the latter half) to appease even the most ardent action buffs out there, though these action scenes always remain secondary to the narrative. The only sour lemon is that the storyline is sometimes plodding, principally during the middle episodes, but better that it be a little plodding than rushed. This concern is mostly insignificant come episode 34 though. Here the story picks up tremendously and continues to ride this momentum until the closing credits of episode 50. |
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