|
From the beginning my favorite point about the show was the characters. They're intriguing and as I watched the series I wanted to know more about them. While the four meisters are somewhat stereotypical in their roles (i.e. quiet, taciturn main lead, a older brother type team leader, the nice guy with a dark past, and mysterious bishie) they were not confined by those stereotypes and are unique enough to make me really care about them. Even Setsuna, whom I didn't really care much about, evolved into a character I respect and whom I thought had good development. There are some characters though, that I'm a bit iffy on. I thought the role of the Trinity siblings came and went too quickly. Michael and Johann's death sort of came out of the blues and they got very little development before being killed. I'm still pondering about Nena's role, but I guess we won't know until S2.
I actually won't say anything specific about the plot for now because I have yet to marathon the whole S1 through. Until I do that and get a better sense of the flow throughout the whole season, I'm just gonna say over all it was good and well written but there are a few bones I want to pick with the writer.
For me the animation and design are wonderfully done in this show. The character design was very refreshing after seeing Gundam SEED (no offense to SEED fans, but everyone in that show looked the same if you take off their hair >>;; ). And with a great artist like Yun Kouga doing the character design, I am more than happy with the results. The mech designs are also very impressive. The Union FLAG is the only mobile suit I've seen in a long time that's made me want to go out there and buy a model set. XD It's sleek and in general just very badass looking. I'm rather glad in this case, that Graham decided to keep piloting a FLAG because I really like seeing the suit fight on screen. The Gundams themselves are also well designed. My favorite being Exia, for its speed and maneuverability. That, and some of the awesome sword fight scenes wowed me when I watch them. The animation is pretty consistent, and though I did notice slight dips and changes here and there, most never interfered with my enjoyment of the show.
I'm a bit divided over the music. While I do like some of the songs used the anime (Graham's intro song in episode 25 was stuck in my head for a whole day), when I listen to the OST a lot of the songs didn't stand out to me that much. The opening and the second ending however, had me floored. The second ending especially, was quite powerful and moving. Both opening songs fit the series very well, and I hope the OP for the second season will be just as good as this last season's.
|