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Destroy the Rebirth - "Gundam 00" Season 2 on SyFy's Ani-Monday Talkback

Ok, that got a good a good chuckle from me


Heresy! As with all Flay Clones, she will rise again in the next series!

Destroy the Rebirth - "Gundam 00" Season 2 on SyFy's Ani-Monday Talkback

[spoiler]"A cliffhanger? Curse you, Nena!"[/spoiler]

Destroy the Rebirth - "Gundam 00" Season 2 on SyFy's Ani-Monday Talkback

You know, if Setsuna just did the deed with Nena already, we wouldn't need Saji in Season 2.


Damn it, Setsuna!

Destroy the Rebirth - "Gundam 00" Season 2 on SyFy's Ani-Monday Talkback

I think I prefer Nena dead. She's had her usefulness...

~_~

Destroy the Rebirth - "Gundam 00" Season 2 on SyFy's Ani-Monday Talkback

I know how we can make Gatomon happy.

For the 30th anniversary, Decade Meister Nena.

"Nena, the destroyer of worlRAB. What does she see in other realities?"

Nena visits the Gundam multiverse, blowing things up with Drei.

"Dammit...who are you, witch?!"
"Just a hot Meister passing through. Better remeraber me!"

Decade Meister Nena, starting 10th October 2009 (then ending soon after due to complaints )

Destroy the Rebirth - "Gundam 00" Season 2 on SyFy's Ani-Monday Talkback

I'm mixed. On the one hand, I would have liked to have seen the style of season one kept. When I first saw the S1 epilogue, I was upset because the show suddenly looked like it had a collision head on with Gundam cliches. There is definetly an air in season one that can't be found in season two.

However, this was the point of the story. From the moment Setsuna attacks that Enact, the world is on the road to massive reform. Celestial Being put the rest of humanity in a corner to unite as was their plan which arguably succeeded. The point of season 2 was that a noble goal had been hijacked by Ribbons and so the new world wasn't better at all. Season 1's official tagline was 'Rebirth begins through destruction', whilst season 2's was 'We will destroy the rebirth'. You could take those further, since Ribbons name refers to Rebirth/Reborn. I think it's quite logical that someone would come along and try and hijack the plan. Season 1 showed that if Ribbons hadn't, someone like the Corner family would have. In season 2 the world is basically Ribbons play thing and it's become fairly nightmarish in being subject to his whims. Hence we have things like A-Laws, 'license holders' and formerly honoured soldiers like Sergei are smacked around and betrayed.

Destroy the Rebirth - "Gundam 00" Season 2 on SyFy's Ani-Monday Talkback

I'm not saying that the Final Battle was disappointing. That was rather epic. The problem I had was the final fight between Setsuna and Ribbons.

One other issue I wanted to discuss was wither or not it was a good idea for the show to become more like a Gundam series in season 2. Yes, I know the intent was to do this. However, as I stated eralier, the series seemed to suffer as a result of this shift.

Season 1 was facisinating because it was so different from most Gundam series, creating a new vision that was sorely lacking in Seed Destiny. It was mysterous, with questionable protagonists and even more questionable actions.

Season 2 seemed to fore go all that, and because just a regular Gundam series. Ok, a Gundam series that was well produced and entertaining. But in the end, it felt like show show never reached its fullest potential. It could have been a trail blazer. instead, it felt like it stagnated.

Destroy the Rebirth - "Gundam 00" Season 2 on SyFy's Ani-Monday Talkback

I agree. If you watched 00 just for mecha action then you missed the point. Whilst there were a ton of excellent action scenes, the focus was always on the characters and human progression. It's the reason why the final battle being two outdated MS having a scuffle works so well. The majority of the final battle was to decide humanity's future but that final segment is really much more personally Setsuna vs Ribbons. With a repaired version of his original Gundam, Setsuna destroys the Gundam that inspired him originally. He's gone from being a suffering obsessive to a matured individual.

I love the depth in this series. I'll admit it's not perfect but it is so much better at what it's doing than the CE stuff that took up the rest of the decade ('LOL 666 is in the Gundam's serial nuraber. We r teh subtle!!1'). It did what all great works do- it created a narrative that speaks to the audience of its time and will likely endure after. I know that towarRAB the end we got some more escapist and fantastic elements, but that's Gundam and again the staff even hinted it would happen. All profiles for the 00 Gundam hinted that it's full capabilities were incredible (I belive the exact wording was 'Defy all common sense'). That's the ultimate attitude of the show- the Gundams are supposed to be beyond what we have in reality, but done in a way that is heartwarming and impressive rather than broken like some other entries I could name.

Ultimately, not everyone is going to like 00 and I'm sure they have credible reasons for doing so. But generally, I can't help but feel the current critics have missed the point. I am very hard to impress and early on was ready to call 00 another waste. But it majorly won me over for a variety of reasons and I found in it something that reaffirmed my wider Gundam fandom.

Destroy the Rebirth - "Gundam 00" Season 2 on SyFy's Ani-Monday Talkback

Action and drama are not mutually exclusive, it is possible to walk and chew gum at the same time. Gundam is noted for balancing the two, and 00 is no exception. Not to mention that without the drama, you don't have the reason for Setsuna fighting Ribbons in the first place.

I love the Alvatore fight, but I don't think it tops the last duel. The entire final battle was also far bigger and more exciting than the one in season one, where the battle was between 20 and 30 mobile suits (Gundams included). Season 2's final battle spanned four episodes and the fight that started it all in For the Future is one of my very favorites, where they're forced to fight in that that anti-GN particle cloud. Action got plenty of priority.

Destroy the Rebirth - "Gundam 00" Season 2 on SyFy's Ani-Monday Talkback

Alejandro wasn't as active (if anything, he was less active than Ribbons). At least during the climax, he came out a dragon instead of a fop. Although the threat level wasn't as high, the atmosphere created by the ... Whatever the heck it Corner was piloting was well worth the inclusion into the climax.

Ribbons in my opinion, simply lacked that element. Sure, Ribbons was a serious threat, but it wasn't quite visualized.

As for the allegory, consider this: this is a show with giant robots making cool explosions. If you want the climax to be two Ubermechs blowing each other up, then you should focus on the action or enhancing the drama. The message should be secondary in this case.