Mobile Suit Gundam 00 - Episode 08 Discussion / Poll

[Demongod86]

Originally Posted by edf91

TSeems like it's getting worse and worse (fan service) - I do not have to remind people what happen to our Archangel captain when Archangel get hammered We cannot even get away from fan service even in the OP...

Indeed. All hail the professor and her glowy bouncies.

[dreamless]

Originally Posted by wingdarkness

Well yeah, back in '79 it was a little more taboo then in 2007 when a hundred series with fanservice come out each year...And dude hopefully while reading my gripes you didn't think I hate fanservice...I love fanservice, when it's good...I just get a little distracted by 00's usage and placement of this apparent element...Nevertheless this is getting off-topic and I'm about to ZZzZzZZzzz anyways for work tommorrow....

actually I think currently the Japanese anime industry has far more strict rules against fan-service/nudity than back then. Currently most of the fan-service shows are in mid-night slot targetted at otaku only and actually quite tame in terms of body exposure And when they want to show some more tits, they'll have to get a R-16 sticker slapped on them. Back then we could have Victory Gundam (plenty of nudity) and Brain Powerd (tits everywhere right in the OP) in prime timeslot and targetted at kids.

I think according to kj1980, it has something to do with some Gunslinger Girl fiasco or something?

[Traece]

Hahaaa... Ah... The sci-fi shower scene... Banner of the Stars anyone? Little Ekuryua action with Diaho(cat). If anyone is going to end up with a shower scene my vote is Felt. She's the least likely to be involved in such a scene, which makes her PERFECT. Akari from Night Wizard is a good example of this. They'll toss it in Gundam style. Post-battle, BAM, shower scene. Marina would be perfect for such a thing too. Though Gundam Seed holds the candle for me personally, as I have yet to see another Gundam where they make it obvious that two of the characters got it on. >_>
Back in the day it was more taboo in the entertainment industry pretty much everywhere for there to be nudity. Now and days though they're trying to get rid of the taboo nature of the world. More movies in the day are including nudity, where as before there was far less of this. I think they really only started that last year or the year before too, at least in the U.S. with movies(non-anime). I know they do have at least censored nudity in actual anime though. Of course if you grab the DVDs they'll be uncensored. Please, invite your family to watch it with you!

[dreamless]

well, Gundam SEED although had two character had sex in the show, it never reached the nudity level of Victory

Anyway yeah I'm all for a nude Felt shower scene. the "swimsuit" (or whatever, it looks more like some casual everyday dress) she wears this episode is way too conservative

[4Tran]

Originally Posted by Papaya

No, most of what we've seen supplement the political situation, not the actual story.
Actual character or plot developments have been few and far in-between.

You could cut out the majority of scenes so far and still have a understandable (and probably more fluid) continuation of the story.

When the creators decided to begin Gundam 00 in media res, they had a choice of setting it either from the point where Celestial Being first announced itself to the world, or the point when the actual story begins. They also had the choice of either developing the entire world as the setting from the get-go, or to start with a small part of it and build from there. In both cases, the creators picked the former choice, and as a result, we ended up with the sheer amount of exposition that we've gotten so far. In a way, it's quite unfortunate since this is also easily the most original element of Gundam 00. However, the side effect is that, out of the first eight episodes, there's been only a single event of much importance. Pretty much everything else can be summarized for much the same effect.

Originally Posted by Sinestra

But how? the political development is one of the key points of the story line and is needed for the story to progress. The political aspect is the story in a way what do you think the Gundam meisters are fighting aganist more than anything else? Not mobile suits there isnt one that can touch a Gundam (at the moment) Its the political fallout from their actions and what is standing in their way is politics. Just my opinion but i dont feel anything has been a filler.

Likewise, I think that "filler" is an inadequate descriptor of the first few episodes of Gundam 00. But at the same time, not much of any great import has happened. The storytelling is also greatly hampered by the approach the creators decided to take, and as a result, none of the politics are as well developed as they could be.

Originally Posted by Traece

Gundam 00 leaves a lot for interpretation, from character backgrounds to the entire play out of the anime, while still putting in the minimum amount of information a viewer requires before he/she gets confused and lost.

So far, the amount of information given out in Gundam 00 is rather inadequate for understanding the context of the events. Instead of making things open to interpretation, there isn't much structure for basing ideas on.

Originally Posted by brightman

I meant inconsistent in regards to Kuroda's variation in script quality from anime to anime.

I know... I was just being flippant .

Originally Posted by brightman

Conceptual planning might have been handled by a variety of individual, but Kuroda IS the only one credited for story and script, and Mizushima made it clear that Kuroda "is writing this" and Kuroda "is writing that" in his interviews.

That'd probably because Kuroda is doing all the writing. However, it'd be a bit weird for a writer to make major decisions about the way story progresses without any input from the rest of the creative staff. On a project, like a Gundam show, I'd imagine that it's a highly corroborative effort.

Originally Posted by brightman

Though I guess some of the constraints imposed on him due to the Gundam label might have affected him, just like it did with the Seed writing staff.

Running a Gundam show must be more pressure than working on just about any kind of production. Not only is there the question of merchandising and marketability to take into account, but the creative staff also has to try to appeal to old-time Gundam fans while still producing something with a modicum of originality. It can't be an easy task, especially since it probably doesn't come with rewards commensurate with the difficulties.

[4Tran]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin_Sama

Your basically using a two way street here though. Your assuming Clannad will automatically blossom into a masterpiece of subtle artistry while Gundam 00 cannot and are not allowing Gundam 00 a fair chance.

I'm not sure if Gundam 00 is very well suited to being a subtle show to begin with. From the very start, it's been rather dependent on having characters outright explainining things for the audience. It happens to a degree in just about all shows, but Gundam 00 is rather more unsubtle at this than most.

Originally Posted by Kaioshin_Sama

Though let me tell you one thing I've noticed about 50 episodes series though as compared to 24 (26?) episode ones like Clannad that tends to act as a loose template. In my experience the first quarter tends to be introduction, the second character development, the third one building to the main plotline that will shape the series and the 4th one the climax of all previous elements and arcs. In short we probably have about 3-5 episodes left of what people call the exposition arc. Also I'm 90% sure a bombshell of some sort will drop around episode 12 or 13 given that it's the end of a quarter, or cour or whatever you want to call it.

Even fifty (or more) episode shows don't get a full coul for pure exposition. At the rate you propose, Gundam 00 will far rather short of just about all quality shows out there (or at least of the ones that are interested in bombshells). The main problem remains that the creators tried to develop a great many characters and political entities at the very beginning. In essence, they spread themselves too thin and ended up not developing any of them particularly well. Then again, I expect things to improve once they switch to plot mode.

Originally Posted by dreamless

depends on how many people here still thinking her as a potential Lacus or Relena

Does anybody still think that? While I can see the barest of similarities between Marina and Relena (maybe to the extent that say Dianna is similar to them), I can't see any similarity between her and Lacus at all. Unless of course, if you're referring to Lacus as the "unsuccessful showing off" and Relena as the "successful showing off", or vice versa. In which case, you're delving into territory so convoluted that even I'm not willing to explore.

Originally Posted by dreamless

I'm not sure whether the police has noticed the shooting, maybe they just think this is a kid speeding and pulling some stunt in the middle of the road

The policeman had already drawn his weapon, so I'm sure that it'd gone beyond the point of thinking that Setsuna just needed a stern talking to.

Originally Posted by Kinku

the only thing i think its a waste is Saji Crossroad and Louise Halevy....i mean whats the point of them...they are like just extra with no connection with the story so far... hmm let me guess Louise and saji get caught in a explosion cause by any of the CB battles. Lousie dies and Saji wears a mask to cover his scar and swear... to kill the CB and leads a elite superhuman moblie suit attack squad. But either way i placing money that Lousie dies.... thinking when she goes back to spain.

Saji himself explained exactly what his point was in the story: people often don't care about what happens else where, so his job is to create some sort of connection between these events and the viewer. If the creators keep to his story plan, he sure as heck won't be performing any heroics.

Originally Posted by dreamless

actually I think currently the Japanese anime industry has far more strict rules against fan-service/nudity than back then.

That's very much true. Even shows like Ranma 1/2 used to air in prime time with scenes containing female breasts complete with nipples. Nowadays, a show has to air late at night to pull the same thing off, and even then, it can cause a bit of a stir. Censorship has become so prevalent that shows are going out of their way to turn censor bars into comedic elements. Having said that, there is much more of a sexual tone to nudity now than there used to be - this might have to do with the increasingly polarized demographics of anime viewers.

[dreamless]

Originally Posted by 4Tran

Does anybody still think that? While I can see the barest of similarities between Marina and Relena (maybe to the extent that say Dianna is similar to them), I can't see any similarity between her and Lacus at all.

well, when Lacus first appeared captured on AA with her "you are not ZAFT?", she did make many people think she has no more intelligence and competence than Chii of Chobits

Unless of course, if you're referring to Lacus as the "unsuccessful showing off" and Relena as the "successful showing off", or vice versa. In which case, you're delving into territory so convoluted that even I'm not willing to explore.

well in the end both Lacus and Relena are shown to be (in terms of the in-anime affairs at least) neither incompetent nor naive at all, which Marina seems to be going the opposite path by actually showing fear to an assassin

The policeman had already drawn his weapon, so I'm sure that it'd gone beyond the point of thinking that Setsuna just needed a stern talking to.

you have to keep in mind that this is near the site of a terrorist attack and since the cam monitor has got the terrorist suspect escaping, I guess the police are also hot on the terrorist's tail, and thus Setsuna is a potential terrorist suspect to them.

[tetsuo69]

episode 08 was Good for a change i expect ep9 to be even better.

[Honey_and_Cleaver]

Setsuna turns into a radical extremist in this episode, preemptive strike, good. Mecha fights, not good, wheres Kryios? They ditched Kryios fight.

Script writing, well not so good, the part where Ismail and Setsuna meet up, i dont quite understand that part, Setsuna trying to stop a car by shooting at it, is he stupid or is that shounen mentality. Marina called him Kamal, almost like they knew each other.

Jeesh, why the men are all insentitive, can they talk to the girls a little bit, Allelujah, he actually talks to the girls more, but i hope he talks more or try to make something up. Feels like Heroic Age where everyone is so stiff, and probrably the only thing they can think of is someone goody innocent ignorant blissful boy like Saiji and a cute spoil brat girl like Louise.

Humour, 2/10.

[DrenSPEED]

1. setsuna in a "rent taxi" tron light cycle
2. felt getting sad about haro leaving

[brightman]

Originally Posted by dreamless

actually I think currently the Japanese anime industry has far more strict rules against fan-service/nudity than back then. Currently most of the fan-service shows are in mid-night slot targetted at otaku only and actually quite tame in terms of body exposure And when they want to show some more tits, they'll have to get a R-16 sticker slapped on them. Back then we could have Victory Gundam (plenty of nudity) and Brain Powerd (tits everywhere right in the OP) in prime timeslot and targetted at kids.

I think according to kj1980, it has something to do with some Gunslinger Girl fiasco or something?

Don't know about GSG, but Brain Powerd's nudity had a reason for (it was the first anime made for the satellite station, WOWOW, and the network wanted to stretch the censors--of course, nowadays, even WOWOW has to smack an R-17 for its nipple depictions...)

But anyway, until Gundam 00 has someone like walking fanservice character Chara Soon, theres no point in complaints just yet. (Sumeragi comes close, but the sexual innuendos just aren't there yet)

[SuperKnuckles]

Looks like I was right about:

-Setsuna's very Heero-esque unveiling to the princess.

-Terrorists being VERY organized (hell, in one convenient package no less) and Celestial Being able to track them down easily.

-Tieria is the most exceptional soldier in the 00 universe.

[Marina Ismail]

Spoiler for My fav part of ep 8 was....:

Setsuna x Marina <3. I don't really care about the age difference, this is an anime and to me anime doesn't always reflect on real life. I've read a manga called MeriPuri and the 2 main characters were 14-16 (not sure how old Airi was but she was a high school student) and Aram was 7 years who turned 17 in the dark and back to age 7 when Airi would kiss him.

There is another one called "Dear Mine" where a 15 year old is engaged to a 10 year old and eventually she grows to love him and told him she will wait for him.

So.... Setsuna being 16 and Marina being 24 doesn't bother me at all.

[hamstar]

16 yr old setsuna brings 24 yr old marina down to her knees.

LOL

[qx123]

Originally Posted by SuperKnuckles

Looks like I was right about:

-Setsuna's very Heero-esque unveiling to the princess.

-Terrorists being VERY organized (hell, in one convenient package no less) and Celestial Being able to track them down easily.

-Tieria is the most exceptional soldier in the 00 universe.

Heero wanted to kill relena because relena saw her face while heero was injured. Heero wanted to keep his identity secret.

Setsuna for no good reason reveal identity to Marina.

Even though i am not a fan of Heero, i can see that Heero > Setsuna

[dreamless]

Originally Posted by qx123

Heero wanted to kill relena because relena saw her face while heero was injured. Heero wanted to keep his identity secret.

Setsuna for no good reason reveal identity to Marina.

Even though i am not a fan of Heero, i can see that Heero > Setsuna

any well disciplined soldier >>>>> Setsuna

well, I'm a bit surprised that you only realized it this late, last time Setsuna for no good reason went out of cockpit to make a easy target of himself, I'd say that's much worse than revealing his identity to Marina, since that was actually in a WAR

[SonicX_Zero]

Finally saw the episode and my favorite part would have to be the conversation between Saji and sister sister. I felt Setsuna's conversation with Marina was alright not until he outright revealed an "S-level" secret.... wtf!! All in all a good ep. for me. 7

[qx123]

Originally Posted by dreamless

any well disciplined soldier >>>>> Setsuna

well, I'm a bit surprised that you only realized it this late, last time Setsuna for no good reason went out of cockpit to make a easy target of himself, I'd say that's much worse than revealing his identity to Marina, since that was actually in a WAR

I am quite irritated by him going out of the cockpit actually just that i did not post.

[Matrim]

Horrible episode, absolutely dreadful writing. I have been mocking this series quite a lot but that was largely tongue in cheek as I didn't really believe it could get that bad.

Gundam 00 is getting away with flaws other shows would have been ripped to shreds 10 times over.

Quoted for truth.

Еverything about the terrorists smacks of awful writing. Not even the AEU using Celestial Being to eliminate them makes any sense. A terrorist organization that is located in known bases isn't a threat to anyone, and any competent government (and more than a few incompetent ones) can gain a lot of political capital by pointing to such enemies.

The terrorists themselves make no sense whatsoever. They don't have a motive for what they did, but conveniently enough, they're at least easy to find and eradicate. Even more conveniently, they even have a few mobile suits for our heroes to show off against! The only way for the creators to save this storyline would be to make it all an AEU plot to take out a group that had been bothering them, and if they had nothing to do with the bombings at all.

Exactly. If one of the three strongest military forces on Earth knows where the bases of some terrorists are it, doesn't make any sense for them to bother to use anyone else to wipe those bases off the map. I had high hopes for this "terrorist arc" but it seems it was just a terribly clumsy tool used in order to create an "accidental" meeting between Marina and Setsuna which was so contrived and stupid that it was utterly hilarious. The total lack of any realism whatsoever, combined with cheesy lines filled with pathos usually has that effect on me. I think theirs is a match made in heaven as they are both retarded.

Furthermore, it really gets on my nerves how they feel the need to explain and show clearly everything that unfolds. For instance - Lockon shoots and kills some terrorists and says (to the camera, I presume ) "Today, I am merciless". We can see that very clearly, no need for him to say it, if they want to emphasise that they could make him shout insults at them or laugh as they are dying or something else that makes sense.

[Dean_the_Young]

Originally Posted by Matrim

Exactly. If one of the three strongest military forces on Earth knows where the bases of some terrorists are it, doesn't make any sense for them to bother to use anyone else to wipe those bases off the map.

First off, it wasn't just the AEU that leaked data on suspects to CB, it was all three. Second, CB intervening is advantageous to the three powers; it removes one pest at no cost to themselves, aligns the population against Celestial Being even more, and helps establish a system/precedent for using Celestial Being.

Furthermore, it really gets on my nerves how they feel the need to explain and show clearly everything that unfolds. For instance - Lockon shoots and kills some terrorists and says (to the camera, I presume ) "Today, I am merciless". We can see that very clearly, no need for him to say it, if they want to emphasise that they could make him shout insults at them or laugh as they are dying or something else that makes sense.

Except that if they don't say everything, people miss important parts, like you missing the important key bit where it was indicated that all three intelligence agencies were leaking data to CB. And saying the equivelant of "I'm not going to spare you" when Lockon has been established as a character who will spare retreating enemies is as much a death sentance and makes as much sense as screaming that never-cliche "Die!" And it doesn't go against the way his character is displayed in regards to terrorism; barely controlled anger. Losing control would be un-Lockon.