Char-clone #50: A Gundam thread

[Kirin]

The specifics vary by series but usually Char and other ace pilot suits are "tuned up" to performance that lesser pilots wouldn't be able to handle properly. So, kind of both.

(Though, it's also a running gag in the fandom that just painting suits red makes them go three times faster at this point.)


Edit: Not sure if I should bring up the other factor affecting some pilots, as it might be a bit of a spoiler at this point in the first series? I forget exactly when it starts being discussed in-universe.

 

[Felicia]

(Though, it's also a running gag in the fandom that just painting suits red makes them go three times faster at this point.)

Char is secretly an Ork.

 

[FelixSH]

I was curious, if Chars Counterattack was on Youtube, and found instead this here (I have other sources, was just curious). Considering I haven't watched that movie yet, I can't say what it does exactly, but it's a 1:30 minutes video, with the Tim Tayler from Home Improvement as Char and Al Borland from the same show as Amuro.

I guess there are people who are fans of Home Improvement and Gundam. No idea if this works, I found the ten seconds I watched hilarious. Watch at your own peril.

 

[FelixSH]

Didn't expect this show to make me teary-eyed, but Ruys death, and the mourning afterwards hit really hard.

This is a good show. And apparently the follow-up is one of the best Gundam shows? Looking forward to more.

 

[FelixSH]

A red Mobile Suit appears. Amuro immediately thinks "Is this Char?", despite the Mobile Suit looking completely different. I like that Amuro himself already knows, that only Char is allowed to have one in his favourite color.

The Gundam still is clearly the coolest, but the show starts putting out new models with increased frequency. Nice.

Also, as per the rules of shows like this, Suits that start out as major threats, become cannon fodder, as time goes on. The blue ones now go down in one shot.

I thought Zeon was so dangerous, because they had Mobile Suits, but now I see how they can go down in a single shot? It's fine, I guess shows like this always have something of this sort happening.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

I thought Zeon was so dangerous, because they had Mobile Suits, but now I see how they can go down in a single shot? It's fine, I guess shows like this always have something of this sort happening.

Tech upgrades make a difference, but Gundam is the kind of franchise that points out (ad nauseum) that tools are only as good as the people who use them. The Goufs were terrifying when Amuro first faced them, because they were being piloted by cracked ace pilots. When you'll see them later, they're being piloted by faceless grunts who increasingly have little-to-no battle experience since all the vets end up dead sooner or later.

I was curious, if Chars Counterattack was on Youtube, and found instead this here (I have other sources, was just curious). Considering I haven't watched that movie yet, I can't say what it does exactly, but it's a 1:30 minutes video, with the Tim Tayler from Home Improvement as Char and Al Borland from the same show as Amuro.

I guess there are people who are fans of Home Improvement and Gundam. No idea if this works, I found the ten seconds I watched hilarious. Watch at your own peril.

I meant to reply to this earlier, but this video has been my favorite video on the internet for the last few years. It's even better when you've seen CCA and understand the plot/references.

 

[FelixSH]

Tech upgrades make a difference, but Gundam is the kind of franchise that points out (ad nauseum) that tools are only as good as the people who use them. The Goufs were terrifying when Amuro first faced them, because they were being piloted by cracked ace pilots. When you'll see them later, they're being piloted by faceless grunts who increasingly have little-to-no battle experience since all the vets end up dead sooner or later.

So the Federation was just incompetent and/or surprised? I mean, makes sense. I still know next to nothing about what came before the series started (but I understand there are shows and/or movies that go more into details about how everything came to become the way it did, I'll look into that later).

Also, I guess it's just intended, to show how good Amuro, and basically everyone, has become, since the start of the show. Amuro actually seems terrifying. There is this scene, where he slices open an enemy ship, and the people in there are simply dragged out into space, implied that they will die (horribly, I guess, can't imagine that to be a non-torturous death). I think I read somewhere, that he later gets a nickname by Zeon, that indicates how scared they are of him, or something?

Also, I got to the episode where he meets his father. Who isn't Gendo Ikari level awful (but that is a really, really high bar), but god, is this guy a bad father. "Hey son I haven't seen in forever, and who has faced death probably a million times (don't tell me, I don't care), here is an upgrade for your gundam. No go back and fight. Nope, I don't care how you or your mother are. I gave you an upgrade for the toy I made for you, what else could you want?" I get that Amuro is important to him in some way (I remember him having a photo of him on his desk, in the first episode), but he seems to have, like, zero emotions that would be useful for interacting with people, at least on a personal level.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

Also, I guess it's just intended, to show how good Amuro, and basically everyone, has become, since the start of the show. Amuro actually seems terrifying.

There's a point later in the show where Amuro's reaction times become so fast (on account of his newtype magic, but also just his increasingly honed skills) that the Gundam can't keep up with how fast he is trying to react to things and there's a notable amount of input lag that begins to both frustrate Amuro, and put him into danger. Originally, this plot point was introduced to provide an excuse for the Gundam to get a replacement upgrade, but then the show got cancelled early, so they glossed over it by applying special coating to Gundam's joints or some nonsense.

I think I read somewhere, that he later gets a nickname by Zeon, that indicates how scared they are of him, or something?

Not necessarily Amuro himself, because Zeon troops don't know who tf Amuro even is, but the Gundam gets called the "White Devil" in terrified whispers among Zeon troops.

Also, I got to the episode where he meets his father. Who isn't Gendo Ikari level awful (but that is a really, really high bar), but god, is this guy a bad father. "Hey son I haven't seen in forever, and who has faced death probably a million times (don't tell me, I don't care), here is an upgrade for your gundam. No go back and fight. Nope, I don't care how you or your mother are. I gave you an upgrade for the toy I made for you, what else could you want?" I get that Amuro is important to him in some way (I remember him having a photo of him on his desk, in the first episode), but he seems to have, like, zero emotions that would be useful for interacting with people, at least on a personal level.

Amuro's father is definitely a not great dad who neglected his son. But not to a spectacular level like with say, the protagonist of Zeta Gundam's father, or the aforementioned Gendo. But something you're not fully taking into account here is that his father was blown out into space and suffocated out there before getting rescued. Him having built useless junk and being fairly unresponsive is indicative of the fact that he has brain damage now.

 

[Egarwaen]

Also, I got to the episode where he meets his father. Who isn't Gendo Ikari level awful (but that is a really, really high bar), but god, is this guy a bad father. "Hey son I haven't seen in forever, and who has faced death probably a million times (don't tell me, I don't care), here is an upgrade for your gundam. No go back and fight. Nope, I don't care how you or your mother are. I gave you an upgrade for the toy I made for you, what else could you want?" I get that Amuro is important to him in some way (I remember him having a photo of him on his desk, in the first episode), but he seems to have, like, zero emotions that would be useful for interacting with people, at least on a personal level.

In the films, at least, Amuro concludes that his dad's got brain damage from oxygen deprivation from being adrift in space. While Tomino loves characters who are unreliable narrators of their own experiences, there's little reason to doubt Amuro's assessment here. Amuro clearly shows up expecting his dad to be an asshole, but still some kind of authority figure he can place his trust in. Instead he gets a total fool.

 

[FelixSH]

Amuro's father is definitely a not great dad who neglected his son. But not to a spectacular level like with say, the protagonist of Zeta Gundam's father, or the aforementioned Gendo. But something you're not fully taking into account here is that his father was blown out into space and suffocated out there before getting rescued. Him having built useless junk and being fairly unresponsive is indicative of the fact that he has brain damage now.

Yeah, I completely missed that. I just assumed, for whatever reason, that his father had just gotten away from the colony, and they would meet up later. It's just something I assumed from the moment they meet, and his father has to deal with other stuff. And, uh, I thought the piece of crap he gave Amuro was actually a real power-up thingy, because this is still a sci-fi anime with tech I might not recognise. I thought Amuro threw it on the ground, because he was so frustrated by his father being completely uninterested in him.

Thanks to both of you for clearing that up, it makes the whole thing way more interesting. It's pretty brutal, how Amuro just got thrown into the whole situation of piloting the Gundam, which then kinda cost him the relationship to both of his parents.

BTW, I'm done. This was a good, classic anime, and I'm glad I gave it a watch. It did amuse me, that the show itself basically says "You are kinda like Hitler", to one of the Zabis, and I like how his sister was the person to stop him, for being completely off the rails.

Char was a very interesting villain, I enjoyed him very much. Considering there is more to come, I'll write more about him later. Enjoyed his relationship with Sayla - actually, she was a pretty cool character of her own.

This show is an inspiration for Legend of the Galactic Heroes, isn't it? Dunno, I had to think of it again and again. Maybe it's just that it's a sci-fi show, that also has a narrator. I feel like I should rewatch that one, in any case, it was excellent.

Not sure how much I really like the newtypes. I understand that it is a part of the show from the get-go (or at least assume, that it was part of Amuro from the start), but I felt like it was a bit too out there for the show. Which, up to that point, was grounded in a sort of reality. Dunno, it's not a big deal.

Looking forward to Zeta now.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

Not sure how much I really like the newtypes. I understand that it is a part of the show from the get-go (or at least assume, that it was part of Amuro from the start), but I felt like it was a bit too out there for the show. Which, up to that point, was grounded in a sort of reality. Dunno, it's not a big deal.

Looking forward to Zeta now.

I don't know much about the production process of the original Gundam, but I kinda doubt Newtypes were an idea that was there in the beginning. It definitely feels to me like it was something that got injected into the plot later as the show was in the middle of development. It's a weird idea that doesn't feel like it fits the setting, but it fits thematically what Tomino is trying to say about the nature of conflict and to the audience of his show. The idea that conflict arises from not just a lack of empathy/ability for people to truly understand one another, but through circumstances individuals have no control over. Amuro vibes really hard with Lalah, but that doesn't stop him from having to fight her. And Amuro does vibe with Char as well to a lesser extent, but they're so heated and driven that if anything it makes them hate each other even more. The whole thing about Newtypes is that they stand in juxtoposition to "Oldtypes" which is basically a way of framing generational conflict - where the old people in society are close minded, stuck in their ways, completely devoid of the ability to empathize with others, and are happy to exploit and grind up the next generation for their own selfish goals. Newtypes are supposed to be kind of symbolic of the infinite potential of young people, and they could lead humanity into a better world/era, but first they'll need to step up to the plate, work together, and break the cycles of violence from Oldtypes. Newtypes aren't that interesting in the first show, and it's also not very interesting when it gets used as an easy solution for problems. But the idea gets explored a bit more later in the series, and becomes really interesting - to me at least - the further down the UC timeline you go, hitting a crescendo with Char's Counterattack. Without spoiling anything, that movie is kind of a meta commentary on the franchise itself, and its audience, now that the characters and the original's show's audience has grown up and are now in positions to actually affect change. Do they live up to their potential? Or will they continue to perpetuate the same cycles of hate and violence?

Zeta is a wild ride. It gets held up by old fans as his holy grail of the franchise, but mostly because back in the 80s and 90s, there was no real good way for people to even watch it. So you only ever heard by word of mouth from that guy who knows because they spent the summer in Japan how great the show was. Whether or not it lives up to those expectations is very YMMV. In some ways it's a very interesting progression from the original show. In other ways, it doesn't quite meet the same standards of excellence regarding character work or plot pacing of the original. You can poll TT and probably get different answers from everyone. I'm excited to hear what you end up thinking about it! If you thought the tone/atmosphere of 0079 was oppressive though, steel yourself for Zeta lol.

 

[estragon]

I'm not sure if LotGH was direclty influenced by Gundam and I'd be hesitant to make that claim without more direct confirmation (especially with how much LotGH seems to primarily be inspired by actual history), but at the very least going forward there's mutual influence in both directions from Tomino and Tanaka. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find much detailed information due to link rot so I'm not even sure where it was originally published to track it down (I guess some serious library database searching could bring it up but I haven't done that yet), but on Japanese social media you can see fragments of discussions about a conversation between the two where Tomino mentions being inspired by LotGH for Char's Counterattack.

The term "newtype" comes up late, but the idea is introduced very early on in the show, definitely in one of the very first interactions with Matilda where she mentions that Amuro could be an ESPer and arguably in an accumulation of other offhanded observations about Amuro and elements of his portrayal throughout the show.

I think Zeta's reputation was bolstered by the previously dominant in English speaking fan circles notion that you should watch the compilation movies instead of the actual first Gundam show. I followed this advice initially, and as a result Zeta came off looking a lot better in that comparison, because it was a competently produced TV show instead of two awkward movie length clip shows and one pretty good clip show with suddenly good animation. I do like Zeta, but after going back to watch the original first Gundam, I think there's honestly a good argument that the original show is one of if not the best of all the Gundam shows. (The competition: Fan favorite Turn A and some might argue ZZ.) It's wild to me that a decade or so ago it was so common to see the first Gundam treated as a kind of "eat your vegetables, watch the first Gundam so you can get to Zeta" sort of thing.

 

[estragon]

oh also here's a funny little music edit of char and kycilia's encounter at the end of the series

Spoiler: do do doot do do dooooooo, do do doot do do doooooo

https://twitter.com/x/status/1183378234731307013

maybe the song is too american TV specific of a cultural reference, but the juxtaposition was very funny to me, at least


also that account is from a good gundam watch podcast (broadcast order). episodes for the first gundam show are free if you want to try it, and the patreon is just $1/month. they're up to the early 2000s, so essentially you could sub one month for $1 USD and download episodes covering two decades of gundam shows. if you listen to any video gaming podcasts and are familiar with austin walker, he guests for the entire seasons of Turn A, Gundam Wing, and Gundam X.

 

[FelixSH]

Thanks for the context and comments. After the first show, I'm feeling driven to that universe (or maybe even franchise), and that added info is delicious.

It's wild to me that a decade or so ago it was so common to see the first Gundam treated as a kind of "eat your vegetables, watch the first Gundam so you can get to Zeta" sort of thing.

This sounds kinda insane to me. I guess I really do need to watch the movies too (as I understand it, at least the end is somewhat different from the show, and newtypes are mentioned earlier, or something?), I just want to see the differences. But that the show has been viewed as something that you won't enjoy weirds me out. While I would have prefered more quite moments (I still think that one of the best scenes is the one, where that woman comes back to Earth, only to realize that the crater she found herself in was once her hometown, and were we see Zion soldiers act very humane), I found the character work really enjoyable, especially Amuro and Char, of course (but I also really enjoyed it, whenever Seyra showed up to do, well, anything). It's good stuff.

But I'm also someone who really dislikes it, when people say something like this about Babylon 5. No idea if you guys have seen that (quite excellent) show, but the thought of ignoring season 1, or that it is bad, boggles my mind. So that might be me, at least to a degree.

I don't know much about the production process of the original Gundam, but I kinda doubt Newtypes were an idea that was there in the beginning. It definitely feels to me like it was something that got injected into the plot later as the show was in the middle of development. It's a weird idea that doesn't feel like it fits the setting, but it fits thematically what Tomino is trying to say about the nature of conflict and to the audience of his show. The idea that conflict arises from not just a lack of empathy/ability for people to truly understand one another, but through circumstances individuals have no control over. Amuro vibes really hard with Lalah, but that doesn't stop him from having to fight her. And Amuro does vibe with Char as well to a lesser extent, but they're so heated and driven that if anything it makes them hate each other even more. The whole thing about Newtypes is that they stand in juxtoposition to "Oldtypes" which is basically a way of framing generational conflict - where the old people in society are close minded, stuck in their ways, completely devoid of the ability to empathize with others, and are happy to exploit and grind up the next generation for their own selfish goals. Newtypes are supposed to be kind of symbolic of the infinite potential of young people, and they could lead humanity into a better world/era, but first they'll need to step up to the plate, work together, and break the cycles of violence from Oldtypes. Newtypes aren't that interesting in the first show, and it's also not very interesting when it gets used as an easy solution for problems. But the idea gets explored a bit more later in the series, and becomes really interesting - to me at least - the further down the UC timeline you go, hitting a crescendo with Char's Counterattack. Without spoiling anything, that movie is kind of a meta commentary on the franchise itself, and its audience, now that the characters and the original's show's audience has grown up and are now in positions to actually affect change. Do they live up to their potential? Or will they continue to perpetuate the same cycles of hate and violence?

I can totally see the newtypes being explored in very interesting way (thinking immediately back to Babylon 5, again). Looking forward to what the franchise has to offer about them. The trippy dream-like sequences were such a fascinating contrast to the rest of this show, that is so focused on war, and trying to simply not lose everything.

Thinking about how people might have gotten the very wrong message from Gundam (focusing only on the cool robot fights, wanting more an nothing else, completely missing the point - this is just an assumption, but I can't imagine that there were not a lot of these kids) immediately makes me go to Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Zeta is a wild ride. It gets held up by old fans as his holy grail of the franchise, but mostly because back in the 80s and 90s, there was no real good way for people to even watch it. So you only ever heard by word of mouth from that guy who knows because they spent the summer in Japan how great the show was. Whether or not it lives up to those expectations is very YMMV. In some ways it's a very interesting progression from the original show. In other ways, it doesn't quite meet the same standards of excellence regarding character work or plot pacing of the original. You can poll TT and probably get different answers from everyone. I'm excited to hear what you end up thinking about it! If you thought the tone/atmosphere of 0079 was oppressive though, steel yourself for Zeta lol.

Lol, indeed. I watched the first three episodes, and damn, this show feels edgy. Camille is kind-of a jerk, but then we get introduced to captain jerkface, whose clowns brutalize Bright, a scene that I really didn't like. Even less did I like the follow-up, where he is mobbed in lower ways (and still by physically hurting him). Makes me sad, I hoped Bright would be in a stronger position, but I guess the Federation just created a real dangerous thing with the Titans. God, they are disgusting. And Lady Titan (Emma, I think), doesn't seem particularly clever. I can't imagine that this is the first time, where captain jerkface behaved in such attrocious ways. God, I hate bullies, and seeing it done to a character I like is actually really hard to watch. Well played, show, even if it wasn't that hard to do so.

Plus a small dose of Camilles garbage father, who is the worst. Also a lot of hitting people in the face. I would wonder, if the people who made Gundam simply liked the scene where Bright hits Amuro way too much. But then, I don't think they get it as wrong, as memers seem to do. I get it, in Zeta, these hits are simply made to show how disgusting these people who do so are.

And then we get Char (oh, excuse me, I mean Quattro, of course), who is an actually nice person (well, aside from doing what he is doing here, which already led to way to much destruction, but simply speaking from the person-to-person interaction of his team with each other, and with Camille). Is it supposed to be a surprise, that this is Char? I mean, I think five people already asked something like "Is the the RED COMET? Oh dear, that can't be!!!", when he already mentione Amuro and Lalah, looks like Char without his uniform, and likes the color red quite a lot. And is, once again, faster than anyone else.


Should I spoiler this stuff? I assumed the original might be well-known enough (and old enough) that it doesn't matter, and that, maybe, the sequel isn't as well known? Or can I spoil stuff from old Gundam shows here, generally speaking?

 

[estragon]

Personally I wouldn't worry too much about spoiler marking in a long text posts. I only spoiler-popped that video video because it's such a huge moment and anyone would see it just scrolling through.

I honestly think probably only the 3rd compilation movie is a strong recommend for reasons other than completionism to someone who's seen the original show, because that's the one with the most new animation and the one that feels the most like a movie. The other two are a bit more like clip shows, with even fewer quiet moments. The first is the most like a clip show with the least new content, but it covers most of the same ground in the show and makes sense as a narrative. It's the closest any of these are to being interchangeable with the episodes, in a good and a bad sense. The second has some new animation, but it has to cover the middle 20 episodes in one movie, so it's also the most rushed and disjointed in its need to compress or eliminate a bunch of arcs.

I also love Babylon 5 and agree about the first season, by the way. I'm actually rewatching the first Gundam now partially inspired by your watch, and I'm finding this is even more true than I remembered for this show. I absorbed through osmosis the idea that the first Gundam show has a lot of filler, but coming back to it, I really don't think so, with the obvious exception that there's a lot of re-used animations. When they put a lot of effort into an action sequence, you're probably going to see that exact same thing happen again, with the most comical example being like 5 episodes in a row that start with the same Ryu/Amuro docking sequence. But, setting that aside, every episode (through 25 at least) is paced very quickly and always moving something forward in terms of plot or characterization.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

Lol, indeed. I watched the first three episodes, and damn, this show feels edgy. Camille is kind-of a jerk

Kamille is an interesting character. He is, in a lot of ways, a very different character from Amuro, but they still have a lot in common. Amuro does not enjoy fighting and only fights for survival. He's a pacifist by nature who finds the resolve to fight in order to protect what is dear to him. Kamille on the other hand is an ideologue, and he chomps at the bit to righteously fight back against the fascist assholes who are oppressing spacenoids like him. At least at first. He also is apparently autistic - something I originally thought was just meme-y fansubs from when I originally watched the show decades ago, (you know how old fansubs go) but is actually just part of his character, and goes a ways to explaining a great many things about him. Watching Kamille grow and unravel through the course of the show is wild stuff. The entire dramatic climax of Zeta, I can only imagine would have been life altering for a kid growing up in the 80s.

 

[Egarwaen]

I absorbed through osmosis the idea that the first Gundam show has a lot of filler, but coming back to it, I really don't think so, with the obvious exception that there's a lot of re-used animations. When they put a lot of effort into an action sequence, you're probably going to see that exact same thing happen again, with the most comical example being like 5 episodes in a row that start with the same Ryu/Amuro docking sequence. But, setting that aside, every episode (through 25 at least) is paced very quickly and always moving something forward in terms of plot or characterization.

My partner and I watched our way through most of Tomino's 80s output (exception: Ideon) and I think this is an apt summary of all of it. The first 25 or 30 episodes or so are very cleverly paced, maintaining momentum and developing characters or storylines. The back half of the series then goes completely to pieces, with repetitive episodes, and story and character arcs kinda idling. Then the conclusion is inevitably a total nail-biter.

I think the "filler" reputation comes from Tomino being very clever about using repeated motifs and stock plots to streamline production. There's a good half-dozen episodes in the first half of Dunbine that can be summarized as "Princess Luft runs away because she's in love with Niel, and her father's forces recapture her" but every one either develops Niel's understanding of the magnitude of the threat or fleshes out the intrigues within Drake's faction. Once the action moves to Earth, that changes and we start just getting stock plots that don't advance anything.

 

[Egarwaen]

Though I have remembered the main reason to watch the third compilation movie: the Core Booster is an incredible design

 

[FelixSH]

Just made it through episode 13. For reference, Amuro and Fraw met up for the first time, in the series, and some people, including Camille, now pretty much know that Quattro is Char. Oh, and two atomic bombs went off.

I do enjoy this show, and I find it to look pretty great (I enjoy the older style of the first Gundam show, but I love the style of the late 80s/early 90s) - something about the way they sometimes take up part of the screen to show someone talking intensely feels exciting here. And I think the quality of the stream is simply better this time.

That said, some of what I enjoy is how edgy this show feels. With the original show, there was a real weight to everything, a strong emotional core, and even with many people dying, it still felt like every death was important and sad. Emotionality was very strong in that show, especially in the first half or so, when the White Base always just barely got away.

Here, I feel nearly nothing of that. Maybe it's the voice acting (I watched the original subbed, but now have a dubbed version of Zeta, which certainly has interesting voice acting), but part of it is just that so many people die all the time. So many random mooks, and it feels way less weighty than in the first show. Just like it thinks the more suits we blow up and the more people die, the heavier it hits, when it's kinda the opposite. I just expect there to be a bunch of dead people each episode now, many of whom never said a word (which also felt different in the original - there, I feel like even the antagonists got a bit of screentime and humanisation, before being thrown into the war grinder).

In general, Zeta feels like it has sequel syndrom - bigger, edgier, more, more, more - leaving out the emotional core, to a degree, or at least making it more intense. Part of it is probably that, while the first show had these goals that where then a lot of episodes away, things move way faster here. I have a bit of trouble keeping some of the characters straight in my head.

Happy to see the characters from the first show again, though. I missed Amuro, and I'm sad he is stuck in this golden cage. I guess that will not stick. Kinda feels, like the made Fraw into Pregnant Woman, though.

I was surprised to see Camilles parents die so soon. That said, his father was kinda hilariously stupid (or did I misread something there?). Like, I get that you hate your wife, or something, but the Titans still sacrificed her. And they took you hostage too. Why in gods name would you want to go back to these assholes? I actually expected there to be some longer arc, with him undermining Camille under the AEUG, or something. As a bit of contrast maybe, to how little we saw of Amuro and his father, and showing that his father, while there, is The Worst. It does parallel Amuro, who also, kinda, lost both of his parents to war (even if they were still alive, but it completely destroyed the relationship he had with them). I do feel for Camille, having not only lost his parents, basically seeing the die in front of his eyes, but also having to feel so responsible for it. And while he is a jerk (I don't really get why he got so angry at Char that he had to punch him, but ok), I get it, he has seen really bad things, and has been treated like garbage by the Titans for all of his life, I assume.

Well, I'll stop here. My thoughts are kinda all over the place, which does speak for the show. While I, at least at the moment, think that the original was better, this one is very interesting to me, too. Especially as a follow-up, and bit of a contrasting piece, to the first one.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

Re: emotionality - you're still early in the show. There is a whole lot of death, but it's all going to largely be people who deserve it, or nameless victims. When Zeta Gundam starts offing people with whom the audience knows more about and has sympathies with, you'll know it happens because it dwells on those moments a lot more and they're more impactful (if you care about those characters that is). In general though, I feel like - and maybe I'm reading the wrong things into it - but this is a symptom of how Zeta chooses to portray The Horrors of War versus the original. The original very much had an ongoing theme of "War is self-defeating and pointless because most people are good and don't want a part of it, yet are ground up by the machines of war regardless." But I think Tomino made a bunch of fascists a little too likable/relateable, so this show takes a little different tact by making sure you know that the fascists are actually terrible people and we shouldn't feel bad about fighting them.

Re: keeping track of everyone - Yeah, that's kind of a staple of Tomino's writing I feel like. And maybe this is me giving him too much credit again, but I feel like the guy really likes to shape stories that reflect the complexities of reality. There's tons of characters, all with their own unique motivations, and all having complicated relationships with each other and swearing fealty to a dozen different purposes/organizations because that's what reality looks like. People sometimes talk borderline jibberish with each other people tons of people IRL are fucking awful at communicating and conveying their thoughts to one another. Tons of characters actively lie or hide the truth in their dialog and can't be taken at face value because they have agendas or motives that would lead them to mislead others, or even themselves. And increasingly as his shows go on, he slowly removes narrators, inner-dialogs, and flashbacks from shows because that's not how reality operates as well. Many people chalk that up to hack-writing, but I don't think so. At the most it's self-indulgent. And at the least it's having too much respect for the intelligence of his audience. But I think that considering his persistent narrative themes around mutual understanding, overcoming communication barriers, and exercising real empathy to bridge gaps between people/sides, that it's an intentional act. You have to be a very engaged viewer to follow along and constantly consider things like what are their motives, what are their values, do they have a reason to tell a lie right here, what kind of emotions would I be feeling right now if that had just happened to me, etc, etc -- in order to really understand what is going on in any given scene/the story in general. That proposition is understandably not for everyone and can be a little exhausting to have to exercise empathy for so often in such a sustained manner, but I find it very engaging/fascinating.

 

[FelixSH]

I planned to write more as I kept watching, which I then didn't - hence me not answering to your interesting post. Thanks, I always enjoy your thoughts on media.

I'm done now with Zeta, and I simply didn't have to much to write about it. Part of that is me not taking the need to be observant serious enough. I often did stuff on the side, which made me miss out on nouances, and made it even harder to keep characters straight, which now makes me feel a bit silly - I guess I need to rewatch it at some point. I did like what I saw, and if I had been younger, I would have likely eaten that show up. But now, my main takeaway is a sort of misserable-ness.

I already watched the first episode of ZZ, and damn, what a change in mood and feeling. This show actually seems like it is enjoying itself, with characters who grimace and are just drawn to look happier. Even Bright made a face at least once in the first proper episode. I enjoyed this already a lot, and I didn't even realize that I missed this sense of joy from Zeta. I vaguely remember reading that it gets darker, but I'll keep that coming when it comes. For now, I'm looking forward to the way lighter tone.

There is a lot, that I did enjoy about Zeta. It was fun having Char around, and while the insane amount of characters was too much for me, I do appreciate it, and liked spending time with an always changing cast. I'm wondering how well it works as a standalone work. At least the part where Amuro is around a lot feels like it is necessary to have watched the OG show. But that is only a part, so maybe it doesn't really matter that much.

I do realize, that there is way more to the characters than I understand now, due to not paying close enough attention, which is a shame. ZZ, in that weird first episode, that mainly summarized the events up to now, made explicite how the tragic death of a loved person (a woman, of course) driving a wedge between two people had repeated itself - again with people who are Newtypes. I did find it interesting, that Zeta already had lost a lot of the optimism that OG had, with regards to these Newtypes. Back then, the show imagined that, if they could just escape the grips of a society of Oldtypes, people who were unable to truly connect, they could reform and save mankind. Zeta makes a clear statement at the end - Newtypes are just there to kill. Because the shitty society the Oldtypes created, of building up barriers, was too strong.

It's rather cruel. Amuro was essential to save the Federation, and is then made into a prisoner in a golden cage (to finally get out of, but what it says about society still stands). Char tries to be on the side of good here, but never really steps up to the challenge, mainly hiding behind Quattro. Other Newtypes exist, but are only there as weapons, not allowed to have their own agenda in live. There seems to be some grim inevitality at play, with the Titans, a group that is as awful as Zeon has been, coming to power. And even Zeon is still alive and kicking, with one of the Zabis having survived. Yet another thing that Char couldn't accomplish. Funnily enough, he seems to have only been able to kill the two Zabis who were the least dangerous. The first guy, if I remember correctly, didn't even want to fight, and considered Char a friend. And the sister with the mask got killed at a time where it seemed completely pointless. It feels grim, how Char didn't seem to have achieved much of anything, and how all his talent didn't amount to much.

With Camille seemingly broken, in the beginning of ZZ, it seems like yet another iteration of the heroes of the former war not being able to enjoy their victory.

Except Bright. It's nice that he is still in a good position. Really surprised how much that guy grew on me.

I think that's enough stream of consciousness. I do prefer MSG to Zeta, maybe because it is just a more straight-forward, simpler show. The complexity of Zeta felt like it weighed it down more than I would have liked, and it was just too grim. Funny, how the situation in MSG was always so dire, and still, it felt like there was maybe not more levity, but less of an ever-present feeling of direness, like in Zeta. ZZ started strong, I'm looking forward to more from it.

 

[estragon]

I also rewatched Zeta and also enjoyed it, but not as much as the original show. This is definitely a show that makes a lot more sense on a rewatch though, given how much is implied rather than directly stated.

It's rather cruel. Amuro was essential to save the Federation, and is then made into a prisoner in a golden cage (to finally get out of, but what it says about society still stands).

Something interesting about this is that it's essentially an extension of the status quo in the first show. Most of the core cast on the White Base were prisoners of the authoritarian Earth Federation, which threatens them with execution and is explicitly using them as human guinea pigs and/or decoys. They also grow to truly believe in the cause of defeating Zeon over the course of the show, but they're nonetheless still prisoners with no choice in the matter. Other characters get to live normal lives, but Amuro's escape in Zeta is arguably the first time since the first few minutes of Gundam 0079 that he finally stops being a prisoner.

Char tries to be on the side of good here, but never really steps up to the challenge, mainly hiding behind Quattro.

Some characters in the show say this early on, but I don't think it reflects the progression of his arc over the course of the show. He is a right hand man of the founder of AEUG (ancillary materials list him as a co-founder, but re-watching this it apparently never made it into the show, so sticking to the text of the show he's just vaguely central for unstated reasons), he's involved in all high level strategic discussions from the start of the show even when laying low about his identity, and he eventually does become its leader and reveal his identity. He gives the pivotal speech under his real name that is the turning point in the war politically and is maybe the closest thing to a coherent ideology presented in Gundam so far, and he's one of their best pilots. Both on and off the battle field, Char is central to the success of good guys in Zeta.

And even Zeon is still alive and kicking, with one of the Zabis having survived. Yet another thing that Char couldn't accomplish. Funnily enough, he seems to have only been able to kill the two Zabis who were the least dangerous. The first guy, if I remember correctly, didn't even want to fight, and considered Char a friend. And the sister with the mask got killed at a time where it seemed completely pointless.

I think there's some tension that can't be resolved between the idea that killing Garma and Kycilla was pointless or unecessary, but that leaving Mineva alive is a mistake.

To take out a monarchy, you basically have to at least get rid of all the adult heirs, which definitely includes Garma and Kycilia. There's a big gap between (1) Garma being dumb enough to befriend someone using him as a stepping stone to kill him and his family and (2) Garma renouncing the Zabi monarchy and his position in it. Garma was friendly with Char when he thought Char was on his side, but in the end he was leading (at least in name, he didn't seem very competent) the Zeon invasion of earth. Kycilia was also a true believer who would have led the Zabis if not taken out, and she would have done it more competently than Garma, Dozzle, or Gihren. Maybe she's be slightly less evil than Gihren, but that's a matter of degree. Both were important to take out, and I don't think there are really ethical issues in doing so, especially in the context of a war in which they were serving as leaders. Killing Garma and Kycilia seems fairly straightforwardly the correct thing to do and also necessary.

In contrast to this, what to do with the children of a monarchy you're trying to depose is where things get ethically complicated. If you leave even one alive, there's always the possibility that someone will prop them up as the rightful ruler, as does happen with Mineva. But then you run into the issue of making children pay for their parents' sins. It's further complicated in Char's case by Char also being a former scion-in-exile, even if not the literal heir to a monarchy like Mineva. For both the basic reason of the ethical complexity of "should you kill a child for their parents' sins?" and also personal empathy with her situation, Char doesn't want to kill Mineva and is disgusted by how Haman has indoctrinated Mineva into playing the part of a Zabi heir. He (arguably naively) wants her to live free of the baggage of her lineage.

Agree with it or not, I think it makes sense to say that Char should have killed Garma, Kycilia, and Mineva. But I don't think there's a workable path where it makes sense to leave the adult heirs alive, as long as you kill the little girl.

I think the show does portray Char as having made a mistake by letting Haman and Axis fester after he broke away from Haman to fight the Earth Federation's authoritarianism on his own terms with AEUG. In terms of dealing with Zeon remnants, the most correct decision might have been to take control of Axis himself first, instead of breaking from it join AEUG and not noticing Axis had become a threat with Haman propping up Mineva until it was too late. But, on the other hand, in that hypothetical, without Char it's entirely possible AEUG fails and you're just in a different bad situation. I think it presents Char during Zeta as being in a position with no good options.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

Interesting thoughts Felix! Glad to see you enjoyed Zeta on some level, even if it was less engaging to you.

And even Zeon is still alive and kicking, with one of the Zabis having survived. Yet another thing that Char couldn't accomplish.

It's important to note that the surviving Zabi was an infant during the One Year War, and is only still a small child in Zeta. Char is a bastard, but he has enough humanity in him to not want to murder an innocent child, who is simply being used as a puppet/figurehead for the remnants of Zeon. You might have missed it, but Zeta outlines that Char actually spent a decent chunk of time between MGS and Zeta hanging out in Neo Zeon, helping Haman run things and helping to raise Mineva Zabi. But he ran away from that entire situation for reasons he keeps mostly to himself. It's implied he didn't approve of Mineva being used as a political tool, but reading between the lines it also feels like he ran away from a position of leadership and responsibility because that's not what he was interested in doing either. Haman implores him to come back to her side and help her rule Zeon, and he's just like nah.

Meanwhile, if you do the math, Haman Karn was like 14 or so at the end of the One Year War and when she was thrust in a leadership position for Neo Zeon. And it's strongly implied that Char had a romantic relationship with her when she was an underaged teenager which is a big bundle of yikes. Even if it wasn't, he was still in a position to help guide her towards not being a dictatorial despot and instead left her to fend for herselves in a ravenous wolves' den.

I do prefer MSG to Zeta, maybe because it is just a more straight-forward, simpler show. The complexity of Zeta felt like it weighed it down more than I would have liked, and it was just too grim.

This is an understandable perspective, and it's something that you might end up feeling again repeatedly in future Tomino shows. But the thing about these shows is that IMO they are not nearly as complicated as they seem, and are designed for multiple levels of engagement. Gundam after all, is a show with a kids target audience. Little kids are supposed to watch these shows after school and be like cool robot and buy toys. The tone of the first episode of ZZ should tell you as much. If you're aware of all the complexities of the plot, it's easy to feel overwhelmed if you aren't perfectly following along or understanding all of the subtext being thrown at the viewer. But little kids were meant to watch the show and on a very basic level, things are fairly simple and straightforward enough for them to get the most important parts of the story through.

So while there are a ton of different characters, all doing their own things with their own personal motivations, and multiple sides jockeying for power. The basic story of Zeta Gundam (and a lot of Tomino's more "complicated" shows) are still - at their core - very simple stories. They are the story of a protagonist, and their friends, fighting a messy and miserable war out of necessity. You might not remember who Yazan Gable is, but you can tell pretty easily they're a bad person who needs to be defeated. The inner-life of Recooa Londe might be confusing and her motivations opaque, but the fact that she was once a trusted friend, and became a foe is both confusing and heart wrenching for the audience as it is for Kamille. Paptimus Scirocco's rise to power is a veritable Rube Goldberg Machine of plot contrivances, but he's the big bad guy left standing at the end, in the big scary machine, who says and does bad things, and whom the main character audibly identifies as someone who needs righteous murdering and will risk his life in order to do so.

So yeah. I really find Tomino's oeuvre pretty engaging to watch because there's multiple levels you can dig into if you want. But they're also at the most basic level, still pretty simple stories that when you boil them down to their basics, have fairly simple and easy to digest themes/plots.

He is right hand man of the founder of AEU, he's involved in all high level strategic discussions from the start of the show even when laying low about his identity, and he eventually does become its leader. He gives the pivotal speech under his real name that is the turning point in the war politically and is maybe the closest thing to a coherent ideology presented in Gundam so far

I think we've chatted about this before, and how you're reading subtext I missed, or are informed by the novelizations. But I think the difference comes down to tone and how Char/Quattro acts in all of these scenarios. He's involved in high level strategic discussions as a body in the room, but IIRC he's a more passive entity in those, not really giving strategies beyond the pov of what a grunt would be expected to do in them, e.g. looking at how to solve an immediate problem versus taking a look at the larger political picture. He becomes a front-facing leader due to being implored by his peers and higher ups, but they very much explain it in political ways like how he's more of a figurehead that the populous can rally behind but isn't actually calling any shots or participating in any battles himself. His speech in Dakar is a big political event in the series/franchise lore, but in our pov watching the war unfold on the ground-level, it doesn't really amount to much. And when he is in this new "leadership" role, he's still passively taking orders from Henken or Bright while on their ships about sortieing in battle or not. When a person in real command, would just assert their authority and do what they wanted. Meanwhile, his true desire is to go out and fight, but he can't actually be a leader like that while in a mobile suit, when Minovsky Particles means he can't actually communicate with everyone across an entire battlefield.

 

[estragon]

I watched the show with the goal of separating out what's on screen just in the show versus what came in contemporaneous or later ancillary materials, especially with regard to Char. Having recently watched it with the goal of figuring out Char based on what's on screen, I don't think that is an accurate description of Char's leadership role (he's negotiating the larger strategic direction of AEUG even before Blex dies in a way that Bright/Henken never do—they're the ones focused on small scale battles who aren't involved in the big picture), or the impact of his speech at Dakar (which is directly responsible for taking control of the Earth Federation back from fascists). I don't think this is really an issue of subtext, but it is a lot easier to catch on a rewatch when you understand the significance of for example just Char being the one sent to talk with Wong Lee about larger strategy.

A few characters who are suspicious of Char for understandable reasons do make the argument that he's not living up to his potential early on in the show (most prominently Kai), and to some extent it's maybe true before Blex is assassinated. Char would prefer to work in the shadows. But during Zeta at least Char eventually rises to the moment and alters the course of history for the better. I'm curious to get to CCA with this in mind and see how to square his arc in Zeta with what happens there, but it will be a while because I'm watching ZZ again first.

 

[FelixSH]

Agree with it or not, I think it makes sense to say that Char should have killed Garma, Kycilia, and Mineva. But I don't think there's a workable path where it makes sense to leave the adult heirs alive, as long as you kill the little girl.

I was mainly arguing from the idea that Char is, when first introduced, as this force, this elite fighter of the enemy. Who, in the end, simply doesn't achieve much of anything, at least in the first show. He is never able to stop the White Base and Amuro, and he isn't able to get rid of the Zabi family, while also doing horrible things in their name (for a goal that he doesn't reach).

I totally agree, that, if his goal is to get rid of the Zabis, he has to kill all of them. Including someone who is still a kid. Which is horribly unfair against Mineva, but there is a reason why, throughout our History, this very thing happens again and again. IF this is his goal. What he did was essentially half-heartedly, not being able to finish his job. Which is fair, characters are flawed, and destroying airships and mobile suits is a different thing from killing a person you see in front of you. Especially if said person is a small child. I'm not judging Char here, just found it interesting how his achievements aren't reflective of his introduction.

Meanwhile, if you do the math, Haman Karn was like 14 or so at the end of the One Year War and when she was thrust in a leadership position for Neo Zeon. And it's strongly implied that Char had a romantic relationship with her when she was an underaged teenager which is a big bundle of yikes. Even if it wasn't, he was still in a position to help guide her towards not being a dictatorial despot and instead left her to fend for herselves in a ravenous wolves' den.

This here is way more of a problem. It just feels like he ran away from the responsibility that he, fair or not, was his.

I want to say more here, but my thoughts are still a mess.

So yeah. I really find Tomino's oeuvre pretty engaging to watch because there's multiple levels you can dig into if you want. But they're also at the most basic level, still pretty simple stories that when you boil them down to their basics, have fairly simple and easy to digest themes/plots.

Sure, that's why I would have loved to have watched the show as a teenager. I wouldn't have cared about all the details I'm missing. Now, I just tend to go way too deep into things, hoping not to miss anything. So shows like Gundam ones, which offer so, so many details, are always feeling like I miss out on things that would be interesing for me.

In light of how Amuro steps out of the prison that is his past, I assume it's fair to say that Char does the same. There is clearly a connection between the two, still, with both being scared in different ways from the war. Dunno, I like that reading, I'll just stick with that for now.

BTW, the show seems to still have problems not making the evil characters look also kinda cool. It might be because I didn't pay enough attention, but Haman, while obviously a horrible person, also always seemed pretty cool. It just felt like she was in control, in a way neither the Titans nor AEUG were during most of the show.

On the other side of villains, we have Jerid, who feels like a lame version of Char, always assuming a rival role with Camille, who doesn't care much for him, at all. Jerid always felt like a nuissance, nothing more. It just felt so pathetic, having this burning hatred of Camille, just because he was punched by him at the start of the show. And then beaten again and again, but it never made him look any less pathetic to me. I feel like there is some interesting contrast, between the relationship of Amuro and Char in the original series, and Camille and Jerid here, more than I can see here.

Also, I felt like the Gundams themselves were depicted even stronger as just weapons of mass destruction than in the original show. Back then, they were also shown that way, but you had again and again new models with new, cool weapons or abilities, which made it harder to look at them just as these awful things that are, essentially, just killing people.

But we get a lot of different models in Zeta too, so maybe that's just me.

Also, pretty great intros, I thought.

 

[estragon]

I definitely agree that Char is portrayed as a flawed character. In 0079 he spends the whole series adrift and driven by personal vendettas, and he's still trying to figure out his place in the world at the start of Zeta. I just think that he's pretty satisfied and rightfully so with the outcome of all the Zabis but baby Mineva being dead (and that it was meaningful to kill Garma and especially Kycilia), and I think he has a strong arc of rising to the moment in Zeta. Kai's criticisms of Char describe where he starts, but not where he ends.

 

[Fyonn]

So I have a ZZ Gundam shelf that features The Gundam Team posed together, complete with a ZZ with modified leg armor so it can actually, like, move. ZZ Gundam is the king of completely non-functional mechanical design. Immobile skirt Grandpa would be proud. I had to paint a Hyaku Shiki for that, and that's how you can tell I cared.

Zeta is unfortunately a critical part of why ZZ kicks ass, so you do have to watch it despite it being miserable show where all the women die to give Kamille enough Super Meter to use his finishing move. Fuckin' "I hate it when girls die"-ass show. Zeta is the story of how Amuro and Quattro demonstrate, at length, why they cannot save humanity. Amuro leverages being the Gundam pilot into being sad about living on a personal golf course of an estate. He can't resist his imprisonment because he is well on his way to becoming The Ultimate Cop, pilot of the Re-GZ, the mobile suit that's like Zeta Gundam but much worse (literally and metaphorically). Quattro refuses to take any responsibility for the world he built, hiding behind his sunglasses and repeatedly failing to be a steward for Kamille because he only understands people as guns. It is my opinion that Quattro continues this trend through CCA - giving Nu Gundam the Psycoframe is him continuing to refuse to take responsibility for his actions, trying to leave the outcome of dropping Axis up to someone else's ability rather than his own.

I watched Zeta along with The Great Gundam Project, so I'm extremely a Jerid fan. He's fundamentally pathetic and the cosmos dunks on him repeatedly and I love it. He is the ultimate embodiment of a mediocre white man failing upward. He's the reason that the trains stop running under fascism. He's the perfect Titans poster boy and it doesn't mean shit.

ZZ has its own major issue (the show being gross about Ple) that, between it and Zeta's handling of its female cast, left me conflicted about being a Gundam fan at all for a couple years. Though the Problem with ZZ is easy to compartmentalize and even not catch if you don't know the person responsible for it also made the equally gross Char's Deleted Affair.

Luckily Victory Gundam and After War Gundam X restored my ability to go "no, actually, I do like Gundam." (That's not to say either is flawless by any means). After War Gundam X gets a free pass though because it gave the world (me and like the ten other people who have seen it) Toniya Malme x Ennil El. God, just thinking about Garrod trying to fire the Satellite Cannon a second time without even hesitating... What a good fucking show.

EDIT: Actually, let this be my contribution to this thread: if you finish the Charmuro arc of Gundam 0079-CCA, you must watch Gundam X. They made it just for you.

 

[estragon]

man, i love the cast of zz, and honestly i think the opening episodes that are so divisive even among fans of the show are great and even better on a rewatch

you have to accept that it's operating in a comedy mode, but, if you can just do that, you get some of the more interesting ground level depictions of colony life in the series so far in a way that expands on the themes of the show (mashymere is rarely a threat but is a fun parody of "we will be greeted as liberators" paternalism, judau and the junkyard gang don't really care about earth one way or the other and are mostly enticed by the prospect of more regular meals, setting them up to give voice to absent perspectives that no one else really did before)

 

[Fyonn]

The context of the early episodes is really critical to understanding Judau and company after they leave Shangri-la, as well. Some people say to skip those episodes but you super should not.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

I'm curious to get to CCA with this in mind and see how to square his arc in Zeta with what happens there, but it will be a while because I'm watching ZZ again first.

I'm open to the idea that I'm remembering things wrong vis-a-vis Char's position in the AEUG, because it has been a long time since I watched Zeta. But one thing that makes me still question that he had a real leadership position and wasn't just a figurehead, was because if that was the case - why would he abandon the winning side of the Gryps Conflict/Neo Zeon, and go join the losing side of ZZ in order to affect change? And the answer would have to be because he was just a figurehead and not really in charge of anything. We see in ZZ that the AEUG is corrupt and is actually controlled by their corporate sponsors and don't really care about peace or spacenoids.

BTW, the show seems to still have problems not making the evil characters look also kinda cool. It might be because I didn't pay enough attention, but Haman, while obviously a horrible person, also always seemed pretty cool. It just felt like she was in control, in a way neither the Titans nor AEUG were during most of the show.

Char Aznable is the breakout character for the franchise, and is often regarded as the best villain in the franchise and an iconic one in pop culture in general. But Haman Karn to me is the GOAT. And yeah, it's most certainly a bit problematic to glorify such a bad person. But I'm willing to give her a little bit more leway than Char. For starters, she has convictions and ideals and purpose beyond just revenge and trying to fill the empty void inside. And She was raised in a snake den, and kind of had no choice but to be the leader of a mob of psychotic, genocidal, fascists. She knows her side is bad. She knows any way things go, she'll probably die. And she's going to see them destroyed from the inside with her own hands. But if she's going to take them out, then she might as well also take out the assholes who corrupt and destroy Earth in the process. She's a much more sympathetic villain, kind of like Big Boss, or Solidus Snake. And she's actually cool. Just super fuckin' bad ass. Where as, Char at heart is basically Jerid who is very not cool.

Luckily Victory Gundam and After War Gundam X restored my ability to go "no, actually, I do like Gundam."

I've seen Gundam X! It's super friggin' good. It's a surprise to me how much it's overlooked, and how it's been the only cancelled Gundam show in the franchise behind the original when it's probably a top 3 post-Tomino Gundam show.

Random aside, P-Bandai is putting out a new High Grade Gundam Rose. This is very exciting for those of us addicted to plastic-crack. I put my preorder in right here:

HG 1/144 GUNDAM ROSE | GUNDAM | BANDAI Official Online Store in America | Make-to-order Action figures, Gunpla, and Toys.

HG 1/144 GUNDAM ROSE | GUNDAM | BANDAI Official Online Store in America | Make-to-order Action figures, Gunpla, and Toys.

p-bandai.com

This is a video review of the kit:

This is seriously incredible news.