Pages

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

The End of Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn

**Spoilers Ahead**

I finally got around to concluding the Unicorn OVA with a viewing of Vol. 7 - "Over the Rainbow". It was almost surreal to me that the years went by so fast, considering how long we had to wait between 7 different episodes. The final episode wasn't exactly how I pictured it, but I believe it was a fitting end to one of the best animated Gundam productions ever.

I was getting intense flashes of nostalgia throughout the episode because of its numerous references to the history of UC Gundam. The most notable moment, in particular, was the appearance of Lala and Char (and Amuro as well?). It was honestly gut-wrenching, seeing the heroes of decades past in spirit form. It was like seeing old friends again, but it came with a touch of sadness since it confirmed to me that Amuro and Char had indeed passed on to another existence.

Long time, no see

The entire episode felt like a wrapping up of the decades worth of Universal Century lore. It had the look of an anniversary or a celebration, with the franchise culminating in one of the most impressive and well-produced animations in recent memory. Seriously, those flashbacks of Chars Counterattack and the One Year War? And Banagher's epic conclusion with Full Frontal's Zeong-esque mobile weapon? Gundam gold, my friends.

I don't know what the general fan consensus is, but I sincerely do not care. I had a blast watching this OVA, and I think it will go down as one of the best in the series. Now, if we could just get a full length series like it...

6 comments:

  1. kinda sad they didn't show the scenes where banagher saw the future of UC. That includes f91, crossbone and even correct century's turn A.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I found the whole laplace's box deal kind of silly to be honest, mostly because of how poorly it was explained in the show. It's hard to believe nobody would have records of an official government document or that the federation would willingly pay some random terrorist for decades to keep his mouth shut instead of assassinating him and discrediting everything he says.

    The animation and homages were very well done I admit but the story and characters have some fundamental flaws that simply can't be ignored. Sorry to say but I feel Fukui doesn't understand UC the way Tomino does.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was also a bit iffy about of the Laplace box situation. When I said that the episode wasn't exactly how I pictured it, I honestly meant that I was a bit disappointed by how they concluded it with this confusing and slightly unconvincing plot piece. In the end, it was mostly enamored by how they presented it, not the subject matter itself.

      Delete
    2. Say C.Jin, what did you think of the english dub?

      Delete
    3. It was alright. Pretty standard anime dub, to be honest.

      Delete
  3. Haven't seen this anime episodes but I see this in some anime sites.

    ReplyDelete