 [Larger view] | Mobile Fighter G Gundam Boxed Set - Rounds 1-3
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 The best alternate universe Gundam | |
| Many, many people will pass up this series beacause of the goofy looking mobile fighters, almost DBZ-type antics, and because of the fact that it's a Super Robot show. Well those people are missing out on yet another great Gundam series. The plot goes way beyond the "Gundam Fight" tournament. And so what if it's a Super Robot show? I like super robots. Like a lot of the more recent, non-Universal Century Gundam shows, the first few episodes of this series are pretty so-so, until you get to the main plot, which centers around Domom Kasshu (the fighter for Neo-Japan and the Shining Gundam's pilot)'s search for his brother, who has stolen the evil Devil (Dark) Gundam. Once the plot picks up, this series can get very, very engrossing. Also, while the initial fights aren't that exiting, the ones later on in the series are VERY exiting. At the very least, it's better than Gundam Wing. (You can say that about every other Gundam series, too, as well as most other anime in general.) | |
| A Must See! | |
| This is a bit unusual to say the least for a gundam series. Very different from the "original gundam series" (Turn A, MS Team) but still very good. So the whole plot of this story revolves around people moving to the colonies and each colony sends a gundam fighter every 4 years to decide the universal leader. Very strange for one of the gundam series, however, each country's fighter has an in-depth personality. Sai Sici, from NeoChina pilot of the Dragon Gundam is a cheerful, HYPER character, helpful, but a bit unfocused. Then, in a fight with Domon, he changes dramatically. I must say that this whole anime is a bit strange, firstly, it starts a bit slowly. Domon wins with Shining Finger. . . There are however very good battle scenes such as Domon verses Sai Sici (Shining vs. Dragon) and later in the finals Domon's NEW gundam God vs. Dragon The drawback about this anime is that it is a bit stereotypical and racist. For example the Gundam Maxter of Neo America, has shoulder pads and a football helmet. It's pilot Chibodee Crocket, is purple-pink haired and has an "American Dream". For Neo China, the Dragon Gundam (the basis for the Altron Custom in Gundam Wing) is a dragon basically, although it's pilot is hyper, not really who'd you'd expect from China. For others, the Rose Gundam from Neo France with it's specialty move, Rose Bits and it's pilot, a Bishounen fighter, "civilized" and a noble. Neo Russia steals technology from other countries, and there is the Tequila Gundam from Neo Mexica (and piloted by some drunk), the Mermaid Gundam from Neo Denmark, and many others. No matter what these drawbacks, this is still a GREAT anime, and is MUCH better than Gundam Wing no matter what people tell you. The animation may be a bit shabby at the beginning but purchase these DVD's and just enjoy! | |
 Ludicrous, but carried off with a certain panache | |
| G Gundam premiered in 1994. It was the first "Gundam" show to abandon the main, serious "Universal Century" (UC) continuity that had linked all previous Gundam series and movies. While UC series like Gundam 0083, Zeta Gundam, and Char's Counterattack all take place in historical relation to one another, with recurring characters and reference to past events, G Gundam, like Gundam Wing after it, is off in its own little universe. G Gundam was also a big fat commercial ploy by Bandai to goose Gundam model kit and paraphernalia sales, which had been slipping since the lukewarm reception of Victory Gundam (1993-94). The result is something like Gundam meets Street Fighter by way of Dragonball Z. Dozens of over-the-top Gundams representing the different space "nations" come together in the Gundam Fight. These "mobile fighters" all have ludicrous traits that represent their nations. E.g., the "Neo-Canada" entrant is called "Grizzly Gundam" (Lumber Gundam in Japan), and is built like a ... well, a lumberjack, with a big old mecha chainsaw on its back. Seriously. If you think that's wild, you need to check out the Mummy Gundam and the Mermaid Gundam, which transforms into a fish. Mermaid is actually an elegant design, in a psychedelic sort of way. Each pilot has a finishing move with his Gundam, and in the best PlayStation style, yells out the move as he does it. "Shining Finger!!" The main characters are a bunch of top Gundam fighters who come together in a playing-card-motif kind of club called (ahem) The Shuffle Alliance. All of this is obviously a long way from the semi-realistic, gritty military drama of the UC Gundam shows. For that reason a lot of older fans despise G Gundam. They figure, with some justice, that it gives potential fans the wrong impression of what the other, more serious Gundam shows are like. (Gundam Wing's popularity with preteens likewise misled lots of people to think Gundam is about pretty-faced misanthropic boys riding invincible uber-Gundams and giving incomprehensible speeches about war and peace. Actually, most of the good UC shows are about military men and women piloting all-too-mortal mobile suits, and they contain some genuinely moving scenes.) Me, I wouldn't buy G Gundam on DVD or go out of my way to watch it, but I gotta admit it played out on TV somewhat better than it sounds. The fight choreography is excellent, if liberally laced with drama/cheese. Several cool technological tricks are unveiled, like the skintight movement-sensitive suits that the pilots wear inside their cockpits to direct the machines. The final God Gundam piloted by hero Domon Kasshu (Burning Gundam in the US) is a gorgeous mecha. Schwarz Bruder's "Neo-German" Gundam Spiegel (Shadow Gundam) is also sweet. The actors manage to invest the campy mecha fights with passion. Rain Mikamura is a babe. In sum, while there are a lot of more nutritious Gundam series out there (Zeta Gundam is FINALLY coming on domestic DVD, in fall 2004!), G Gundam offers decent brain and eye candy for fans. |
