Search - Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam Complete Collection I (Anime Legends) on DVD

Great

Chris | seattle | 04/06/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"this series, like most, doesn't engage you immediately. overall i'd give the series a 4.5/5. by the second box set (which isn't out yet) it gets amazing. i saw seed destiny before zeta and it's so clear now how gsd is an adaptation of this. just this is way better than gsd, because first of all, the story is about kamille, not amuro ray. unlike gsd where kira comes back and nobody gives a crap about shinn. kamille is selfish at first, but there's actually good character development with him throughout the story, and his actions make sense. also people aren't god mode throughout this series. it's old, but the animation is still great and the plot is well worth the watch."

Gundam Tests the water, Results are mixed, but mostly succes

L. Tortorelli | Madison, WI | 07/09/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Ahhh, Kidou Senshi Zeta gundam. Direct and very strange sequel to the original mobile suit gundam.

Overall, the series is pretty good. A few 'meh' things are present but overall pretty stable.

The good news is what gundam fans typically want is here, IN SPADES. Lots of new designs for mobile suits, gandams, mobile armors and everything else. It's frankly a huge amount of new stuff for the gundam universe. Solid mech design, check.

The characters are not exactly easy to sympathize with, but that said, they are realistically flawed and interesting to see work, if awkwardly portrayed sometimes. The intercharacter relationships are also, fascinating to see played out but again, a little awkward when put to the motions. ((On side note, just about he whole crew of the white base makes a cameo at some point.))

Even if the series does take itself too seriously sometimes, you, the viewer can just sit back relax and remember 'OMG, did the kid with the girl's name just suckerpunch a dude with and '80's haircut?!'

Oh, a did I mention this was the gundam series that began exploring the human-advanced human relationships that would be the conerstone of Seed and S. Destiny?

The bad: Three words 'nineteen eighties fashion' Sometimes the hair and clothes made me want to slam my head into a computer a laugh, but hey, I probably shouldn't knock the '80s, I didn't have to survive it.

Like I might have mentioned earlier, sometimes it's hard to really get behind the characters motivation, that sometimes drags things down.

The final word: With more plot twists over it's 50 episodes than an M. Night movie, more deep human themes than the original and lots, and I mean lot's more giant fighting robots, Zeta gundam does the good work of any mecha series.

Over all, it feels like a first tentative step after the original gundam into somthing bigger. Something more profound, something... perhaps.... more human than teenagers piloting big metal men.

Regardless of how you slice it, the Zeta complete collection one is the first half a a good, no great, series. And you can tell Shinn Asuka where he got his angsty disposition from.

And, oh yeah, one final note. Those who haven't seen the original gundam should at least take a crash course in the events of the one year war. Zeta is a direct sequel to mobile suit Gundam, so be prepared to hear 'Newtype' and other such terms thrown at you with no explanation.
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