Gundam Unicorn: Episode 1

So I didn't bother writing about the impending release of the Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn OVA, but the first episode has recently come out and I got my hands on it. I'm not sure how many episodes there are going to be, but the first episode was nearly a full hour. It's really good to see Gundam going back to the UC era.

For the first few minutes of the episode, I was just in awe of it. The animation is top-notch, more fluid and more heavily detailed than Gundam 00. I guess you have to expect that sort of quality from an OVA. I'm also particularly fond of the music, it really added to the epic action. More impressive than anything else, though, was the action scenes. Most of the action featured an enemy mobile suit, called the Kshatriya, which is a massive newtype mobile suit that uses fin funnels. The parts featuring the Kshatriya were definitely the highlight of this episode.

The plot is very confusing at the moment, with the word Laplace being thrown around and mentions of a man called Full Frontal, who is referred to as the reincarnation of Char Aznable. The main character is very typical of UC protagonists, meaning he is a young boy trying to figure himself out and ends up being thrown into the conflict. There was nothing too surprising about the way he ends up piloting the Gundam Unicorn, but its unique in its own way and acceptable.

We only see the Unicorn at the end of the episode, but at least we see its destroy mode transformation, which is actually in 3D. Quite impressive really. Overall, it was plenty good and well worth taking a look at if you feel that hunger for Gundam after the end of Gundam 00.