By Team GG Falldog
With Gundam AGE wrapping up in the next six weeks or so and the mysterious Gundam: The Origin just off the horizon (I'm not sure Bandai has revealed how they're going to do the adaption yet) I thought it would be a good time to sit down and discuss just what we want from one of our favorite franchises.
Below are some of my personal ramblings about what the series has been lacking as of late along with what it needs moving forward.
Make the story the most important aspect
Every series strives for something, whether it be to tell a story, comment on society, showcase animation, etc. Typically the shows which stick with us though the years focused on the story, the characters, and did so in a quality way (e.g. Cowboy Bebop, Planetes). Over the years Gundam as a franchise has shifted more from that dynamic to a vehicle to drive product sales. It's a case most evident by how Bandai treated Gundam AGE. Products accompanying the series were announced early and many of the new designs to show up in the series were revealed on screen, but as merchandise. Save for a huge twist at the end many will likely remember the series as having a strong premise, some good designs, but a below average with every other facet.If Bandai wants to recapture their core audience they need to focus on crafting a story that keeps people hungering for more. Currently airing along with AGE is a sequel to the much loved Eureka Seven, Eureka Seven: AO. Now AO is not a perfect series, like any show it has its critics. Yet each week it draws in egar viewers. I don't know the numbers enough to say whether it's more or less than AGE but the viewers a lot more enthusiastic about the program. It's easy to complain about AO's somewhat confusing and non-straightforward plot but that is what keeps people coming back. Throw in some good animation along with characters whom have various and sometimes complex motives and you got yourself a hit.
Gundam likes to fall back on its core concepts, mainly people from space v. people from Earth. At this point it seems tired, rundown, generic. Gundam 00 tried to bring some new concepts to town and, for the most part, they worked. Unfortunately during the second season things fell apart. And that's not including the introduction of aliens in Trailblazer.
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