Release: 1985
Director: Yoshiyuki Tomino
Rating: *****
Now we reach the meat of the pie as it
were. After the original Mobile Suit Gundam was cut short, Yoshiyuki
Tomino continued having little luck creating a hit mecha show. Once
Gundam started to obtain followers, and shows like Macross proved
you could stick a high production value on a TV anime and turn a
profit, Tomino was ready to try again. This time he would succeed.
Zeta Gundam is set eight years after
the conflict in UC0079. After Zeon loses the war, the Earth
Federation goes to great lengths to keep the colonies in line. An
elite faction called the Titans was created to impose it's grip on
spacenoids, quelling any call for equal rights. The only opposition
to the Federation's complete domination of space is a rebel group
called the Anti-Earth Union Group, or AEUG. This small faction is
helmed by some of the veterans of the previous war. Gone is Amuro
from the pilot seat this time. In his place is Kamille Bidan, a
young, hot tempered teenager who builds a personal grudge against the
Titans.
Zeta Gundam marks a huge increase in
art and animation quality compared to the original show. While the
original Gundam was a product of the 1970s with it's bright colour
palette, Zeta is a product of the 1980s. Most of the tones are
darker, with less goofy designs by comparison.
While the mecha in the original series
moved like a person in a costume, Zeta feels much more realistic. The
continuity of sound effects are present and they still sound great
today. The music is also some of the best in the whole franchise.
The show is not without some problems
to note. It is a sequel to the original Gundam and as such, it's
really suggested that you see that show first. It's not a requirement
but it really helps flesh out so many of the characters who return
for Zeta. Also, something you will find to be a trend for the Gundam
universe is that it sort of just drops you in the middle of it all.
If you don't go with the flow early on, you'll be asking questions
that the show is not prepared to answer yet.
Some of the series tropes are first
created in Zeta. This is the first Gundam series where the pilot gets
a mech upgrade during the show, something that happens in nigh on
every main Gundam series after this. This also is the first to do a
faction role reversal. While you spend the whole time watching the
original Mobile Suit Gundam on the side of the Earth Federation,
Zeta portrays the second half of the coin. This is also something
that happens reasonably often in Gundam.
Finally, Zeta Gundam grows to be
incredibly dark in tone. I won't spoil the show needless to say, it
was not something that people did when writing a mecha anime at the
time.
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam is the anime
that cements the Gundam franchise into Japanese pop culture. While
there are many great Gundam shows to come, it's difficult to say if
it ever got better than this. Most anime are flawed and I throw this
word around for very few of them but Zeta Gundam is perfect. I would
not change a thing about it.