Space Runaway Ideon

[Strike Mk.II]

Thanks to 'Shinn Getter', Ive been able to get a look at the first ep of Ideon.
I was quite pleased with the pace of the first ep of Ideon, the characters are nicely introduced. You got a science team from earth excavating very large alien 'artifacts', technology from an old civilisation that was on that planet that people from earth have colonised on called Solo, namely 3 large objects that appear to be giant veichles, something which they call Ideon. Then you get the Military, noticing these large objects, halts the science team thinking there building weapons. Pretty much your standard introduction in a sci fi show . We're also introduced to the Buff Clan, an alien race with advanced technology that have been searching many planets for something called "Ide". They just happen to stop by the Planet solo.

Spoiler:

Once the earthlings and the Buff clan meet things heat up pretty fast. The Buff clan seem very cold and didnt have a second thought in wanting to get rid of the aliens (the earthlings) living on the planet in getting whatever they wanted. Didnt even try to ask. The immigrants from earth living on the planet didnt have a clue what hit them. Thats when the body count starts, people getting killed everywhere. Buff clans tech was more advanced than the earthlings and despite giving a good fight there would have been defeated had not the 3 trucks that were excavated had not activated once Cosmos (The Protagonist), one of the technicians of the science and a few other young kids had borded. The 3 "trucks" seem unharmed from anything the buff clan would throw at them, and eventually the 3 "trucks" combine to form the giant mech Idion. As to how the Ideon had automtically activated on its own and combined on its own will hopefully be explaned in later eps.

I gotta say the show is kinda graphic with the deaths. The animation itself looks great for its time IMO. I had no problem with it. After breifly taking a glimpse throuygh ep 2, Ideon itself is huge! Looked much bigger than an Eva. Eva's can grab choppers and throw them around, Ideon cant even grab one, it ends up swatting them. Even though its huge it doesnt seem overpowered yet...

On to the next episodes!!!

[C.A.]

Well, Ideon is 102 metres tall, an EVA is 40 metres tall.

For now, Ideon ranks as the 3rd largest mech in anime history. The Macross class ships aren't counted because they are ships and not exactly mecha.

1st = Gunbuster, 200 metres
2nd = Daitarn 3, 120 metres
3rd = Ideon, 102 metres

But soon, Top Wo Nerae! 2 episode 6 will reveal a mech thats estimated to be anywhere from 4 km to 5000km tall, taking 1st place and removing Ideon from the top 3.

[yamikage]

Originally Posted by Strike Mk.II

Even though its huge it doesnt seem overpowered yet...

I lol'd.

One of these days, I think I'm gonna download this as well. I'ver been raring to watch this since I've heard about the rumors and saw the Ideon in SRW@3.

Oh and BTW if anyone knows, is the TV series' ending the same as in the second movie Be Invoked?

[Strike Mk.II]

I dont think the series was ever finished in the first place. From what I read the series was cancelled after only 39 of its scheduled 43 episodes. Due to demands from the fans they showed what was suppose to be the last 4 episodes in the form of a movie "Be Invoked" which carries on directly after ep 39.

[SlugZilla]

Originally Posted by C.A.

Well, Ideon is 102 metres tall, an EVA is 40 metres tall.

For now, Ideon ranks as the 3rd largest mech in anime history. The Macross class ships aren't counted because they are ships and not exactly mecha.

1st = Gunbuster, 200 metres
2nd = Daitarn 3, 120 metres
3rd = Ideon, 102 metres

You left out these robots:
Getter Emperor - Planet size
Optimus Supreme(Transformer Energon) - With power boost it is planet size, around 90,000km
Vital Guarder(Infinite Ryvius) - 200m
Diapolon - 120m

Ideon is 7th now.

[Strike Mk.II]

Originally Posted by SlugZilla

You left out these robots:
Getter Emperor - Planet size
Optimus Supreme(Transformer Energon) - With power boost it is planet size, around 90,000km
Vital Guarder(Infinite Ryvius) - 200m
Diapolon - 120m

Ideon is 7th now.

I cant say for those on the list as Ive never heard any of those robots, but do Transformers even count? Unicron (Transformers Movie) in planet mode is about the size of jupiter, in Robot Mode it would be bigger than any other Mecha out there that I can think of.

[C.A.]

Originally Posted by SlugZilla

You left out these robots:
Getter Emperor - Planet size
Optimus Supreme(Transformer Energon) - With power boost it is planet size, around 90,000km
Vital Guarder(Infinite Ryvius) - 200m
Diapolon - 120m

Ideon is 7th now.

Hmmm lol I've never heard of these really, I've heard of Shin Dragon (Getter), but now Getter Emperor.

I should also point out that my short top 3 list is the top 3 largest humanoid mecha and is also a very well known list for SRW gamers.

Also, a little spoiler:

Spoiler for Ideon's power:

lol, its the greatest understatement to say Ideon is not overpowered, because its the undisputed most powerful mech ever known in history. There can't be a stronger mech in the future as well

[Strike Mk.II]

Originally Posted by C.A.

Hmmm lol I've never heard of these really, I've heard of Shin Dragon (Getter), but now Getter Emperor.

I should also point out that my short top 3 list is the top 3 largest humanoid mecha and is also a very well known list for SRW gamers.

Also, a little spoiler:

Spoiler for Ideon's power:

lol, its the greatest understatement to say Ideon is not overpowered, because its the undisputed most powerful mech ever known in history. There can't be a stronger mech in the future as well

lol!

Spoiler for What I said before was suppose to be a joke:p :

What I said before was suppose to be a joke about Ideon not being overpowered yet
I've known for awhile now about what Ideon is capable of, that particular spoiler has been thrown around openly in the Gundam Forum along with the what happens at the end of the show. Even though that killed some of the shock factor and excitement I should be getting when watching this show, Its gonna be fun seeing everyone reactions as they realize and try to comprehend what they actually unearthed.

[Quiddity]

Originally Posted by yamikage

Oh and BTW if anyone knows, is the TV series' ending the same as in the second movie Be Invoked?

No, they're different. The show was cancelled at ep 39 with almost no warning; right in the middle of the action they suddenly throw us a very quick ending with no warning whatsoever. Be Invoked redoes ep 39 (with better animation and music), removes the lame original ending, and then goes into the four final episodes that never aired.

[asaqe]

Strike, I am kinda disappointed about not really knowing much about Tomino greatest work in his "Kill'em all" state THey didnt gave him that title for show you know. Nothing can amount to the amount of slaughter without references to Christianity ...

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by C.A.

Hmmm lol I've never heard of these really, I've heard of Shin Dragon (Getter), but now Getter Emperor.

I should also point out that my short top 3 list is the top 3 largest humanoid mecha and is also a very well known list for SRW gamers.

Also, a little spoiler:

Spoiler for Ideon's power:

lol, its the greatest understatement to say Ideon is not overpowered, because its the undisputed most powerful mech ever known in history. There can't be a stronger mech in the future as well

We will see about that when Diebuster episode 6 comes out...

...Nah, Ideon is still stronger. But Buster no 7 is still cooler.

[C.A.]

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

We will see about that when Diebuster episode 6 comes out...

...Nah, Ideon is still stronger. But Buster no 7 is still cooler.

Yea maybe Diebuster has some infinite space/time warping abilities.

Nono is the cutest and coolest mech ever created lol

[asaqe]

Wow, I am amazed no one here regconized this as Tomino greatest work while in his "Kill them all" State. You all do know who Yoshiyuki tomino is do you?

[C.A.]

lol you don't have to post it twice.

Isn't it clear that because we already know that this is Tomino's ultimate kill'em all, we don't need to mention it?

[physics223]

You should see Turn A Gundam for his work in his nonviolent state. It's also much better, IMO than Ideon - not that Ideon's bad at all, it's really good, but Turn A Gundam is just magnificent.

[Terrestrial Dream]

Just finished the seires, and I gotta to say

Spoiler:

The ending was just wtf, that's was it? Because of both blew last chance given by Ide, so then Ideon decides to end everything? That was just weird ending.

Now I am goning to watch the movie, if anyone saw the movie, should just skip the first and watch the second one? Since first one seems to be just retelling while second isn't.

[ujiuji]

Originally Posted by hyperlion

if anyone saw the movie, should just skip the first and watch the second one? Since first one seems to be just retelling while second isn't.

Yes the first is like a long re-cap episode. One or two events are a bit different from what happened in the TV series but there's nothing new you need worry about. I enjoyed it, but it's not essential viewing, unlike the second. Whatever you do don't miss that.

[Malintex_Terek]

Fantastic series, finished it yesterday evening and had nightmares. Probably not nightmares about Ideon but my statistical analysis paperwork that I still have to do, but nightmares none-theless.

[Blaat]

I should not have watched the first movie instead of the 39 episodes (well more like 24 I already saw the first 15 or something) now I really need to check out the show so that I can understand a bit what's going on with the characters.

[roriconfan]

SPACE REVIEW RUNAWAY TIME

NOTICE
This review covers both the series and the movie finale.

ART SECTION: 4/10 [Retro feeling of silliness.]

General Artwork & Backgrounds 2/4: Ahhh, The late 70’s! The decade where disco was beginning to become a trend and mecha were starting not to look like round bulky buckets. This series is a fine example of that time. Everything feels like those plastic toys the older of us were playing with 20 years ago. Long before computer games had 3D objects or even multiple colors, miniature robots, cars and spaceships were the only way to play war with each other without throwing rocks or stabbing others with wooden swords. Yup! The feeling is there in the series. A combining Transformer-like leading mecha, fighting ships that reminded me of a hundred cheesy sci-fi b-movies of the 50’s. I’ll be damned if those aliens ain’t a variation of the Valkans in Star Trek or if the leading mecka ain’t a rip-off of that red Gundam from the original series. It looks completely ridiculous by today’s standards (Ideon is supposed to be of alien origin? Not with those looks!) but it is not awful. It has a childish silliness to it, which was pretty mainstream back then.

Character Figures 1/2: As I said, disco fever is all over the place. Huge afro? Check! Big sideburns? Check! Funky outfits with lifted collars and bell wide trousers? Check! The detail of the character figures is quite low and full of inconsistency errors. The outlines are annoyingly big and the colors bluntly few. Not to mention how stupid everyone’s faces looks. But the facial grimaces are pretty good for their time and the animators made a fine job with what they had. You really do understand how somebody feels by his/her body language. Fear, sadness, happiness, it’s all clear. That’s something quite rare in old series.

Animation & Lightning/ Visual Effects 1/4: Hey, everything is hand-drawn; what do you expect? The motion is terrible and the special effects look stupid. It comes with the territory.

SOUND SECTION: 4/10 [Trying too hard in a too obvious way that makes it sound bad.]
Nothing much to write about. Voice acting was ok in terms of dialogue, although many characters sounded too fake, which seems to be an ever present curse with all Tomino retro works. Music themes were silly bood-boiling attemps to make everything sound serious but without much success.

STORY SECTION: 6/10 [A good idea that failed in presentation.]

General Scenario 2/2: Humans find ruins in a far away planet and are attacked by aliens that consider them invaders and looters of forbidden technology. Some youths find three vehicles that combine into a powerful mecha in the ruins and use it to defend their people. Yes, it starts quite typical and ridiculous but becomes very good soon after. The aliens are not monstrous inhuman freaks, bound on destroying humanity and ruling the galaxy. They are in fact humans themselves that simply evolved on a different planet. And unlike those lame megalomaniac villains of idealistic series, these guys have emotions, ideals and positive traits as well. It is not a series about good humans versus bad aliens; it is more of a civil war amongst people who have different ideals and refuse to collaborate out of sheer egoism. You don’t think “Take that you damn aliens!” The story is essentially a war drama, without clear good guys and bad guys, a lot more mature than most other series of its era. Heck, in fact the only that space/sci-fi dramatic anime of the 70’s I consider equal is only Spaceship Yamato. Still, I felt too much as if the scenario is based on the original Gundam, which is a later Tomino work.

Form of Development/ Pace of Plot 1/2: A major problem with the series is its very slow plot development. Almost 70% of its total duration is essentially dead time and pointless battles and could easily be summed up in 12 episodes. Still, the in-between time is not completely boring; just repetitive and thus prone to skipping.

Side Stories/Extra Spices 1/2: Almost all the characters have a story to tell, including most minor ones. Most of their personal stories are similar but it does colorize the story nicely in those in-between episodes. As I said, they all feel to slow and similar and thus the feeling fades away if a good concept gets dragged for so long.

Believability/Reasoning/Realism 0/2: None by a long shot; everything is done too conveniently. How the hell do a few kids learn to pilot an alien Earth-like robot in a few minutes, during an invasion? How do the robot and the flying base take up human weaponry without any adjustment? How do they refuel and fix damages for years while being chased all the time? And many, many, many more like these questions will cross your mind.

Conclusion 2/2: Instead of an open happy ending, we have a dreadful holocaust! Heck Ideon is probably the first anime to kill practically everyone in the finale. It will feel quite stupid, depressing and miserable if you don’t understand the whole reincarnation fuss Japanese people believe in but it is otherwise implementing a very interesting concept around life and emotions.

CHARACTER SECTION: 6/10 [Clash of the generation gap.]

Presence 1/2: Nah, they look pretty simple and stupid. Ok to look at but nothing great to bother remembering them.

Personality & Backdrop 3/4: Although none has an in-depth personality or a believable backdrop story, none is without one as well. Humans are your average liberal, open-minded Japanese people of post-war Japan. Aliens are the usual stuck with honor and ideals samurai of feudal Japan. In fact, the entire war feels like a clash of the two different lifestyles Japan experianced in a flash; 20th century way of thinking versus 17th century way of thinking. And there aren’t favors for any side, since both concepts have bad apples amongst them. Down to it, it is just people who want to live happy and people who do not want others to interfere with their way of life. There aren’t any imposing megalomaniac idiots who simply want to kill everyone and rule supreme. But there are many who are willing to sacrifice or humiliate others in order to win or take a promotion. Very good as a whole; since most series just seperate the cast into the obviously good guys and the obviously bad guys and makes one-sided assumptions about their ideologies. A huge minus is the plastic way they behave; a trademark of Tomino storytelling. They don’t feel like they have the proper emotions in the proper moments.

Development 1/2: Sure, there is development for most of them. It takes its time but there is some. Romantic relations that transcend species, change of hearts and going crazy over the death of a loved one are included by the dozens. If only they weren’t so far apart…

Catharsis 1/2: Well… Most of them die during the series so it’s hard to see any catharsis in that. As for the rest… After that massacre in the epilogue movie and the cataclysmic event in the conclusion, you feel like the cast was given a second chance; not really a solution for all their worries. So it’s a half-good catharsis.

VALUE & ENJOYMENT SECTION: 3/10 [Taken down by time himself.]
70% of dead time was a toll to my patience. There were some good ideas and concepts in it; but I have seen many similar series that present them in far better ways. And Tomino’s storytelling is just not appealing to me. But I will admit that this series is the archetype used in many later famous anime, which greatly improved its formula.

VERDICT: 4.5 / 10
I regret to inform you that the patient has left us. But worry not, as his ideals keep living inside his descendants.

SUGGESTION LIST
Birth, Windaria, Andromeda Stories and Neon Genesis are dealing with the premise of rebirth through total annihilation.
The original first Gundam and Super Dimensional Fortress Macross are using the same core themes in a better way. series. (good) Same premise, better story.