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Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama
I'm more just trying to figure out what specifically people find so overwhelmingly more "hax" and "unrealistic" compared to the first season and why this is even problematic to begin with.
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I think people say the First Season was more realistic for a variety of reasons, though I suspect the main reason is because of the whole "00-Raiser spreads its GN Particles in massive amounts to allow people to understand each other somehow." Even though the series properly explained the whole thing, most people view it as a magical solution to the problem humanity faces. In other words, a majority see it as a cop out after painting what seems like a realistic view of the world. Probably people were expecting a more down to earth type of solution rather than the science fiction approach that was taken. It's funny when you think about it because Gundam is supposed to be a science fiction type of series, yet it's the science fiction that people hate the most about Gundam 00.
A second reason that people probably don't like the Second Season as much as the First Season is because Gundam fans view Gundam as a war type series. They believe it's more realistic if there's more death since war obviously will result in many deaths. If I had to guess, that's probably one of the reasons people like the UC Series, especially Zeta and Victory Gundam (I can't say for certain, but I'm willing to bet that that's one of the aspects people like about those two series). I'm guessing a majority were expecting a bloodbath (myself included) since it was the finale, but it didn't happen, so they're disappointed.
As for me, what I didn't like about Gundam 00 was how certain parts of the story were told and how there were quite a few inconsistencies in the plot. One of my biggest gripes is with Tieria. How is it that Tieria doesn't know about the Innovators and is shocked to hear about them from Regene, yet he somehow knows and tells Ribbons that they are not Innovators but Innovades? That's a rather big plot hole right there. I also don't understand how Hallelujah can just show up in Episode 25 of Season 2 and take on Hilling Care when the GN Particles from Trans Am Burst Mode are supposedly gone by that time of the battle. And like others pointed out, why didn't Ribbons use his clone army in the beginning of the series? And why use them as suicide missiles when he could've easily used them for the sake of overwhelming CB with numbers? It's these sort of things that go unexplained or are only hinted at in the show that I get annoyed about, and it makes Gundam 00 not live up to the potential it could've reached. Perhaps the staff intended the show to be the type where they would just show and not tell and allow the viewers to interpret everything, but I felt that Gundam 00 did this way too much. As a result, things like the clone army feel like they were pulled out of thin air and put in for the convenience of the writers.
I'm guessing some of this may have been explained in one of the many mangas for Gundam 00, or in an anime magazine in Japan, but that's another thing I got irritated with this show. I know why Sunrise and the companies involved in creating Gundam 00 do this (to make more money), but it's irritating that you can't enjoy the show to its fullest just by watching the show itself. This is the main reason why I was disappointed with the ending to the Second Season: it's rather inconclusive. The only way to find out its true ending is to watch the Movie when it comes out. Personally, I feel that a proper ending should've been made for the Second Season, and the movie be something extra that you don't have to watch to see the story's end.
Now, after that long rant of mine, I will admit that I did enjoy Gundam 00 in general. After all, how could I watch all 50 episodes if I didn't like some parts of it? I did like the whole concept; an organization using force to eradicate war? That's something I haven't seen before, and I liked how it was all part of a grander scheme of things. The characters were interesting, and seeing characters change (especially Tieria) was really nice to see. The First Season, admittedly, was boring at first because of the whole intervention-of-the-week type episodes. To be honest, I don't think I started really getting hooked until the Trinitys were introduced. However, after that, I couldn't wait until the next episode of Gundam 00 came out. Unfortunately, the main reason I couldn't wait was for the hope of more revelations and story, and that didn't happen. Needless to say, this left me disappointed with the way the Second Season turned out. We did find out about the Innovators and Aeolia's true plan, but it just feels like there should've been more revealed.
Another positive was the animation. I think there's no doubt in saying that Gundam 00 is one of the best animated TV Anime Series at the moment. Everything was sharp and beautiful, and the openings and endings in particular were eyecandy. The music also contained some really nice tracks, like "Strike" and "Decisive Battle." Personally, I don't think it's the best soundtrack I've heard (Toshihiko Sahashi's Soundtrack for Gundam SEED still ranks higher for me personally), but Kenji Kawai certainly did an impressive job with his work for Gundam 00.
Overall, I'd say the series was strong in almost every area but the storytelling. The story contained some plot holes and certain aspects of the show weren't really revealed or explained all that well. Normally, I'd give a show like this a 6 or 7 out of 10 since I consider plot to be the most important part, but since the music, animation, characters, and fights were so good, I'll give this an 8. Not too bad, especially considering how SEED Destiny turned out.
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