Mobile Suit Gundam has been around for 30 years and still it’s a household name in Japan. What started out as an Anime has become one of Japan’s best selling franchises when it comes to action figures and model kits. Last March, its latest series called “Gundam 00″ ended and it ended very well compared to most Animes and even other Gundam series.

Unlike most Gundam series that take place in Universal Century (or U.C. as most Gundam fans call it), 00 takes place in a different era or universe called Anno Domini. In other words, this is the closest universe that Gundam has ever been to our own reality. In fact, a lot of conflicts that are discussed in the series are in some way relatable to ours. War, Middle Eastern Conflicts, and genetic manipulations are just a few of those issues that can be seen in this series.

All Gundam series have Gundam Pilots. In 00, they are called “Gundam Meisters”. Chosen by a computer called Veda which was created by the founder of Celestial Being, Aeolia Schernberg, these four pilots aim to eradicate war on earth using their “Gundams”. Gundams are huge robots that can be piloted from a cockpit using “GN Particles” as their source of power. They can move with extreme agility and even move faster than a speeding laser beam.

The main character or what most call the “Hero Pilot” is Setsuna F. Seiei. A victim of being used as a tool for a terrorist organization in the past, Setsuna aims to look for the center of all conflicts.

Anyway, Gundam 00′s first season was a conspiracy driven storyline that involved a lot of betrayal and abandonment. People betray each other here and there and some enemies join forces to defeat a common cause. There were a lot of great dialogues and lines from the first season that truly reflect the minds of what the youth might be thinking of even in our own world right now. The animation and art was mostly okay for the first season yet, my initial complaint could be the simplistic designs of the Gundams. Also, most of the characters can be confusing of what gender they really are but I guess most Animes do that anyway.

What got me interested in the series were all the hidden mysteries and the political conspiracies. Gundam 00 is like a Tom Clancy movie with large robot humanoids battling it out on earth.  Scientific theories, explanations behind the conflicts and the whole existence of the intervention of Celestial Being are what makes this series a great watch. The second season though took a different route but it still retained all those emotional conflicts that were left hanging in season one.

Season two features most of the same character except they’ve been modified to look more skilled or older. A few new characters were introduced which kind of makes it confusing for those who seemed to have forgotten what happened in most of Season one’s events. The reason is because these new characters were never even hinted to exist in the first season, most specifically the “Innovators” who seemed to all look alike in some way.

Season two focuses on finding out why there is still conflict in the world even if it seems everyone on earth is at peace. A new organization called “A-Laws” leads over the world but yet to some, the A-laws are the true terrorists of the earth. So, in comes Celestial being again but with a new goal in mind. Instead of intervening in war conflicts on earth, they aim to destroy whatever creates these conflicts.

A whole lot of twists and turns and a male pilot dressing up as a really pretty girl happens and an epic space battle happens between all the factions on the earth. The story ends with satisfaction although somewhat disappointing since a lot of issues weren’t really resolved.

Gundam 00 started really well with season 1. Season 2 on the other hand relied on shock value that seems to do its due. All in all though, the series is a good watch and I’d recommend it to any mecha fan or Gundam fan in particular. Anime fans who are into romantic stories or martial arts magic may look elsewhere though. Gundam 00 is worth of being called a “Space Opera”.

[rating:4]

Gundam 00 gets 4 out 5 stars

The project was initially planned to be a Gundam 00 parody but I slowly veered it away from becoming one. I already thought of a different story so, I guess it’s going to be less of that “Setsuna prelude” that was  originally planned.  The title of this short project is based on the name of the Mecha’s name, AS001-HOPE.

What inspired me to do this project is of course my overwatching of Gundam series from Universal Century to the Anno Domini Era. But aside from that, I have been feeling this aura of hopelessness from people around me and a short film about a young man losing and finding hope is the best story I could come up with.

The project will be a integration of both CGI and Live Action footage. Anyway, here’s the trailer below

For a higher resolution for the project click here . Make sure to watch it in high quality for better viewing.

I don’t usually do Mecha (or robots for those who prefer old school geek terms) contrary to what most people believe. Countdown to War was based on the RF Online Game so those weren’t my designs. This one below however is all mine.

Initially, I sketched a design for this mecha but the sketch disappeared out of nowhere so, I decided to model on the fly. So, I took out my model kits (Yes, I collect Mecha Model Kits) and used them as inspiration for this Mecha robot. If you’re asking what it’s for, it’s for a short film. Supposedly, it was for a Gundam 00 Parody but I decided to make my own story.  I made a wallpaper for you guys so feel free to download. The standard size of the image is 1440X900 so it’s best for Widescreen monitors. Other sizes are also available so, just scroll down below and enjoy.

Instructions:

1. Click the thumbnail

2. Right Click on image

3. Select “Set  as Desktop Background”

Mecha Wallpaper 1024 X 758

Mecha Wallpaper 1440 x 900

Mecha Wallpaper 1600 X 1200