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Save the Loli said:
Nah, I watched the entire franchise through before I watched it, I'd still take it over Wing, SEED/SEED Destiny, AGE, and those shitty Unicorn spinoffs. Even if it went nowhere in the end, I still liked the entire first season and like half the second season and enjoyed the grittier atmosphere even if it felt like some other mecha show.
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There's a reason why I didn't bring up Unicorn, SEED, AGE and to some extent NT in my tophat post. It's also the reason why I'm immediately skeptical of a new Gundam release and why I was pleasantly surprised when both Hathaway's Flash and Re:Rise turned out to actually be pretty good. It's also why I haven't watched G-Reco yet; from everything I've heard so far it's just not a good Gundam.

I feel like the series has always been teetering on a knife edge in terms of what it is and the message it tries to portray and all it takes to throw the baby out with the bathwater is for a handful of the pre-production staff to either not know what they're doing, or have a vested interest in telling a story that simply does not gel with the rest of the franchise.

About the only Gundam-esque aspect of IBO that I can remember is the ongoing conflict between Mars and Earth, sort of reminiscent of the A.O.Z sequel set in the same viscinity, but that gets chucked out of the window long before the start of the second season. I wanted to at least give it a chance and see if it could redeem itself but the longer it went on, the worse it got.

It almost feels like a case of SH4 where the team would have been better just not calling the show a Gundam and letting it stand on its own merits, but because it's a Gundam it has certain things that are expected from it that it continuously fails to live up to.

Coincidentally the second season of 00 has very similar problems, however 00's second season, while being contentious, also has a very strong finale, whereas the finale of IBO is something that doesn't have any real staying power and everyone seems to want to forget. Maybe the IBO novels have better content that explores the universe more, I don't know as I don't think they're being translated by anyone and I don't care enough about the universe to pick up the RAWs.
 
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Str8Bustah said:
I feel like the series has always been teetering on a knife edge in terms of what it is and the message it tries to portray and all it takes to throw the baby out with the bathwater is for a handful of the pre-production staff to either not know what they're doing, or have a vested interest in telling a story that simply does not gel with the rest of the franchise.

About the only Gundam-esque aspect of IBO that I can remember is the ongoing conflict between Mars and Earth, sort of reminiscent of the A.O.Z sequel set in the same viscinity, but that gets chucked out of the window long before the start of the second season. I wanted to at least give it a chance and see if it could redeem itself but the longer it went on, the worse it got.

It almost feels like a case of SH4 where the team would have been better just not calling the show a Gundam and letting it stand on its own merits, but because it's a Gundam it has certain things that are expected from it that it continuously fails to live up to.
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In a lot of ways the setting is very Gundam-esque. Protagonist everyone compared to Setsuna and Heero from day 1 and Gjallarhorn is pretty much the Titans if they'd beaten AEUG and like any Gundam villain faction are full of their own corruption and nuances. The finale of IBO S1 is pretty much a weaker version of the events at Dakar in Zeta. The Char Clone and peace princess archetype pop up here to varying levels.

I think your issue (and mine, I'm not praising it by any means for doing any of this) is that the story presents all of these elements very awkwardly and gives off a really muted, dark, and drab atmosphere that just doesn't match anything else you see in Gundam. The pacing really doesn't help since the show devotes itself to a lot of things that aren't driving the narratives. The Gundam elements portrayed in a very muted and strange manner. It's obvious someone tried to keep it more in line with what you expect from the franchise, but it just comes off as someone writing a clumsy, poorly-paced Gundam knockoff that needs to get back on focus. It's hard to describe, but something feels wrong about the whole thing.

At least that's what I thought when it aired. I kept thinking to myself "if I rewatched this when I could blow through 10 episodes a week, would I like this more?"
Str8Bustah said:
Coincidentally the second season of 00 has very similar problems, however 00's second season, while being contentious, also has a very strong finale, whereas the finale of IBO is something that doesn't have any real staying power and everyone seems to want to forget. Maybe the IBO novels have better content that explores the universe more, I don't know as I don't think they're being translated by anyone and I don't care enough about the universe to pick up the RAWs.
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What? 00 S2 was criticized big time back in the day because they made it TOO MUCH like Gundam to the point of being Zeta Gundam plagiarism while people liked the first season because it did something very different but recognizably Gundam (the Wing vibes, coming off like a better version of whatever SEED Destiny was going for). I can see a lot of the same criticisms, but I felt the show was strong enough, the pacing really good (no just standing around talking and promising an actual fight in 1-2 episodes), and the characters compelling that it stands on its own merits.
 
Anna May Wong
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This woman has some very strong opinions about this thread.
 
I liked the 1st season of 00 largely due to all the various POVs, with every side having their own objective and reason for fighting, no one outside of the Trinity team coming across as evil, and everything feeling like it had a purpose.

Then season 2 basically just combined everything into two sides - evil empire vs resistance good guys, and it felt like they had no idea what to do with half the cast anymore.
 
Str8Bustah said:
It's also why I haven't watched G-Reco yet; from everything I've heard so far it's just not a good Gundam.
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I haven't gotten around to finishing up G-Reco as it's really dense at times, but what I watched was actually pretty interesting. Definitely a more out there Gundam series, but I was really enjoying the world building. If I was to compare it to any other Gundam it'd be to Turn A (what little I watched before I realized I needed to watch more gundam before getting into it).

It's super heavy on the Tomino-style so I remember a lot of people that weren't used to that immediately bouncing of at the weird way characters talked/acted and how somethings were non-verbally explained.
 
Save the Loli said:
What? 00 S2 was criticized big time back in the day because they made it TOO MUCH like Gundam to the point of being Zeta Gundam plagiarism while people liked the first season because it did something very different but recognizably Gundam (the Wing vibes, coming off like a better version of whatever SEED Destiny was going for). I can see a lot of the same criticisms, but I felt the show was strong enough, the pacing really good (no just standing around talking and promising an actual fight in 1-2 episodes), and the characters compelling that it stands on its own merits.
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the 00 S2 comparison is purely my own perspective based on how the series handled the characters compared to S1; they added a bunch of really pointless relationship drama, killed off the sniper only to bring back his twin brother who we've never really seen before (if he was even mentioned at all in S1) thus rendering his death completely pointless in the long run because there's still a pilot for the range specialist MS, it feels exactly like how the cast of IBO was treated from the switch between S1 and S2. the fact that S2 of IBO feels even less like Gundam than the first half is more like an extra twist of the dagger than anything else.
Moguro Fukuzou said:
I haven't gotten around to finishing up G-Reco as it's really dense at times, but what I watched was actually pretty interesting. Definitely a more out there Gundam series, but I was really enjoying the world building. If I was to compare it to any other Gundam it'd be to Turn A (what little I watched before I realized I needed to watch more gundam before getting into it).

It's super heavy on the Tomino-style so I remember a lot of people that weren't used to that immediately bouncing of at the weird way characters talked/acted and how somethings were non-verbally explained.
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Turn A is another one of the UC series I need to watch. It's one of my friends favourites, though he also didn't like G-Reco that much. Personally my favourite UC Gundam is Victory, followed by Zeta, though it's been a while since I've watched either. regardless of what I watch next, though, I'm skipping ZZ on principle.
 
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I've been watching Baki lately. Ludicrous, unapologetically homoerotic and quite grotesque, both in terms of gore and character design.

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All the main characters are hulking steroid monstrosities who pull hideously unsettling facial expressions that would make even Bubba run from the showers with his arse cheeks clenched.
 
Moguro Fukuzou said:
I haven't gotten around to finishing up G-Reco as it's really dense at times, but what I watched was actually pretty interesting. Definitely a more out there Gundam series, but I was really enjoying the world building. If I was to compare it to any other Gundam it'd be to Turn A (what little I watched before I realized I needed to watch more gundam before getting into it).

It's super heavy on the Tomino-style so I remember a lot of people that weren't used to that immediately bouncing of at the weird way characters talked/acted and how somethings were non-verbally explained.
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It felt like Tomino only wanted 25 episodes out of laziness or something (I mean he was like 75 when he directed it) and thought he could tell a 50 episode story. There's just no room for the story to open up which sucks because the concept and world were interesting so it all comes to an incredibly unsatisfying close. I really wanted to enjoy it since it's got a lot in common with Turn A Gundam (my favorite of the franchise) and Overman King Gainer, but I just couldn't.
Str8Bustah said:
the 00 S2 comparison is purely my own perspective based on how the series handled the characters compared to S1; they added a bunch of really pointless relationship drama, killed off the sniper only to bring back his twin brother who we've never really seen before (if he was even mentioned at all in S1) thus rendering his death completely pointless in the long run because there's still a pilot for the range specialist MS, it feels exactly like how the cast of IBO was treated from the switch between S1 and S2. the fact that S2 of IBO feels even less like Gundam than the first half is more like an extra twist of the dagger than anything else.
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Understandable, those were some dumb plot additions too.
Str8Bustah said:
Turn A is another one of the UC series I need to watch. It's one of my friends favourites, though he also didn't like G-Reco that much. Personally my favourite UC Gundam is Victory, followed by Zeta, though it's been a while since I've watched either. regardless of what I watch next, though, I'm skipping ZZ on principle.
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I liked Victory too when I first watched it, but then after watching it again it felt like we never saw enough of Zanscare other than vague allusions to how they're a bunch of militarists using a cult to rule people and just brutal they are. They're very poorly fleshed out compared to other villain factions in the other UC shows (which is too bad if you check the backstory where they're a bunch of space warlords from Jupiter). I love the mecha designs though.

ZZ first half is underrated as hell if you think of it as a parody of the franchise. Second half is kinda disappointing though.
 
God I feel like this thread is gonna be active for better or worse if sunrise remakes 0079 instead of pussyfooting around with the origin ovas and remaking a single episode from the series.
 
Str8Bustah said:
Only if you watch ZZ before Zeta. If you watch Zeta before ZZ the treatment of Kamile is hard to stomach.
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He's barely in the show since he's a vegetable, and he gets a really good scene where he first meets Judau. Unless you're thinking of his girlfriend Fa, I'd agree with you there since she's most an excuse to get Judau piloting the Zeta Gundam and set up some great jokes.
vern said:
God I feel like this thread is gonna be active for better or worse if sunrise remakes 0079 instead of pussyfooting around with the origin ovas and remaking a single episode from the series.
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It'll get its own thread since it would be a fucking huge event and controversial at every angle since they'd replace the VAs.
 
Been watching the first episodes of the new season. What's everyone planning to watch?
Leadale no Daichi Nite: Isekai where a girl gets stuck in a MMO after a power outage at the hospital she's in. She wakes up in-game to find out her character has been dead for 200 years. So there's a mystery of what happened to her IRL, and finding out what happened to all her friends in-game over the last 200 years. Enough of a mystery to keep me interested and it's light-hearted and fun. Haven't watched enough MMO isekai to know if all the tropes being used are tired or not, but I like it. Really like the OP.

Slow Loop: I don't fish but it's pretty informative on fishing and cooking/preparing fish (it actually gives a recipe for zukedon). Now I want to make sashimi though I hate seafood.
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Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi o Suru: Guy knows how to sew but has no friends, girl wants to cosplay but doesn't know how to sew, so he decides to help make her outfits. I love how passionate they are about their hobbies. It's well animated and paced, the episode flew by. Likely going to be my AOTS. Love the ED.
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Kaijin Kaihatsubu no Kuroitsu-san: Comedy Super Sentai show where the villains run a corporation making the MOTW and are set out for world domination. I'm enjoying the dynamic where the villain scientists are more worried about their paycheck and meeting deadlines than anything. Some ecchi. An AOTS contender.
Also I really like the logo.
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Dolls Frontline: Wavy cam is annoying. Maybe worth watching if you're a fan of the game, but having never played the game all the anime did was make me want to play a multiplayer FPS.

Tokyo 24-ku: Super hero show with a psycho pass element where an AI can predict where crime is going to happen. Love the character designs. Strong first episode but I'm hearing about production problems so we'll have to see if quality degrades.

Hakozume – Kouban Joshi no Gyakushuu: Workplace SOL about a cop that's about to quit until a new woman joins her unit and makes the job more bearable. Better than I expected. I like it.
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Sabiiro no Armore - Reimei: 3DCG instant drop
This season is weaker than the last one, but there's a few worth keeping an eye on. There's more coming out in the next couple days so I'll just put those in another spoiler.
 
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There's an anime called Baraou no souretsu that's a loose adaptation of a shakespeare play and I find it funny that apparently in the process of making the premise more palatable for a shoujo audience Richard the third's spinal deformity was changed into him being intersex so he can be a soft emo twink with breasts.
 
Equivocal_Iki said:
Hakozume – Kouban Joshi no Gyakushuu: Workplace SOL about a cop that's about to quit until a new woman joins the force and makes the job more bearable. Better than I expected. I like it.
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Sounds like a more modern, realistic take of "You're Under Arrest".
 
Holy shit Tribe Nine has Masafumi Takada (Killer7, No More Heroes, God Hand, Dangan Ronpa, etc.) doing the music! Him doing the BGM is a recommendation in and of itself. I'd recognize that style anywhere. I didn't think I'd witness this out of the blue.



Character designer is the same as Dangan Ronpa apparently.
 
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