Mobile Suit Gundam AGE - Episode 01 Discussion

[brightman]

Originally Posted by ScR3WiEuS

Oh, but I insist. You just described the entire first ep in those few lines.
You're the one seeming to miss the point. And this is not meant as a flame or provocation; this is basic gundam knowledge, guys. I'm not even a hardcore fanboy, just a moderate but disappointed fan.
1. No wars? No conflicts? Ever? Or ongoing? Not even on Earth? You really don't know.

Why should you. It's not mentioned because it doesn't need to be. People haven't fought for a hundred years, they aren't going to bring that up

2. Only one colony is introduced really (2 if you count the one that got destroyed).

And that's all that's needed. That's basically what every other Gundam introduces in the first ep.

3. First ep introduces the UE? Yes, they say no one knows who they are, and that they have tough mobile suits. That's all.

They also attack in a fashion that can be predicted, could be aliens but probably not, kill their own just to keep their secrets, etc. Wait, were you even watching the show?

Here's where you are missing the point. The UE is supposed to be a mysterious enemy, and we're going to see more and more about them as the show progresses. That means that they ARE supposed to be mysterious right now compared with other enemy fractions in Gundam. And hence why there really is not much to introduce in the first ep.

4. The first ep introduces the (first) main character? Well, that's a plus I guess.

Correction, it goes into the main character's motivations far more than your ypical Gndam 1st episodes. As the concept of the series revolves around characters aging I think that's the right approach

5. I'm trying too hard to fit this show under a typical Gundam show palette? Uhm... Have you ever watched the original Gundam? Or Gundam SEED? Or Gundam SEED Destiny? Unicorn? Even Zeta in a way. I'm not trying, this IS the outline of the most typical Gundam first ep (or at least the most known or memorable). I mean, at least watch the first ep of the original series and SEED, it's almost a carbon copy of those, just done a lot worse.

Again you keep assuming this is the same old Gundam. It's not, and that's why you can't just compare this show to the others. And again, yes it follows the format of the other shows so far, but the devils in the details.

6. I guess the only really original part about this show is the time jumps, though I personally don't like that, THAT is a matter of taste.

That and the UE. As for not liking timejumps, you're welcome to not like it, however I don't see how that has to do with "taste"

7. First you say I'm trying too hard to fit it under a typical Gundam show palette, then you say it's a typical first Gundam ep... Though I disagree on the style, only on the outlines.

Yes, the outline is the same. The substance is not

ust rewatch the first episode, these are the main things you learn:
- Dude's mother died in an UE attack and left him the key to a Gundam. (Gundams run in the family or something.)
- Dude is living on other colony, is a genius, and is working on Gundam project.
- No one knows what the UE are or what they want. (Though Dude's found a pattern)
- UE attacks his colony.
Not a lot, right?

It's not alot when you don't pay attention to details, that I agree with. But that's true for every show in existence

My dear friend, the overall Gundam theme is war and how some people (the main character usually) get caught up in it against their will. It is not a matter of blood and guts. This show will be about a 100 year war, so you better harden yourself.

War is a theme of Gundam, but each series has a different way of presenting it. It can be tragic, but it can also be romantic and heroic. To assume that war must be presented a certain way is frankly wrong

I'm not trying to ruin people's fun or provoke, really. I just think people should at least be more honest to themselves and others about why they're watching a show. I watch really bad movies and shows all the time, but at least I don't go around telling people that those movies/shows are actually good and there's nothing wrong with them.
Instead, people are actually trying to convince me that there's nothing wrong with AGE and it's just like any other Gundam show (though 2 lines later they say it's completely different) and actually pretty good. I wouldn't have bothered answering to replies like, "whatever it is, i still enjoyed it".

Besides, the main reason I'm even posting is that the whole Yes-men culture irritates me. This is a discussion topic for everyone, as long as it stays on topic, not just for the people who liked it. In fact, I don't think there's any rule that states that the ep discussion threads can't be solely about how an episode sucks (Supposedly only if you argument it well, though such a rule is not necessary for people who wanna say they loved something... That's a bit strange.) I haven't been on asuki for a few years, put I've been on and off since 2003 or so, and the people seem to be getting more and more touchy about what is said. If you wanna harp on about how a show is the shits, just create a thread for it? Then you can fill it with yes-men who love everything and live in rainbowland, eating sunshine and sugar drops for lunch, and bye bye debate and balanced discussions.

[Duo Maxwell]

Originally Posted by Dark Wing

This has been done in with more then one gundam series you know...

What I meant is he only mentioned stuff that he called "outline" of Gundam, and conveniently ignored other thing, and I could also do the same with Gundam Seed.

[ScR3WiEuS]

Originally Posted by Duo Maxwell

What I meant is he only mentioned stuff that he called "outline" of Gundam, and conveniently ignored other thing, and I could also do the same with Gundam Seed.

Naw, I didn't mention everything, just the main elements. Sure, I didn't mention everything that was done and said in that ep, only the things that matter.
With Gundam SEED it would be along the lines of:
- Earth nuked a PLANT colony
- Earth and PLANT have been at war for 11 months
- Earth has a larger army but no mobile suits at all
- Kira works at a research facility
- Kira's Colony, Heliopolis, is neutral (part of Orb)
- there are 5 gundams, 4 of which are stolen
- Kira had a childhood friend that is part of the attack team
- the colony, despite being neutral is helping the Earth forces develop mobile suits
- Kagari somehow feels like her father has betrayed her/them because of this
- Kira has a crush on Fllay, but Ssigh got to her first and sent her some kind of love letter.
- Heliopolis is under attack by a strike force of a few space vessels
- the PLANT strike force, and PLANT is seemingly aware of the neutral colony's secret gundam project
- Earth forces are naturals and PLANT forces are coordinators
- The inhabitants of Heliopolis are being evacuated into shelters.

This is of course not all, there's small stuff like Kira's robot bird, etc. But these are the main lines.
It's just so much more intricate and organic than AGE.

[Arabesque]

I thought the one thing that jumped to me was how mellow the mood in this episode was, compared to many other Gundam series, where it normally tension would be the most prominent vibe that the premier episode gives off. Not to say that there wasn't a bit of a serious nature to the battle here (as we see with Flit at the end and his realization about what true battle is like) but comparatively, this was a more relaxing episode than typical Gundam fare, even by the end with the UE unit defeat, there was more of a sense of actual, optimistic victory rather than the more bitter sort I came to expect from the franchise. I'm not sure if it's the more family friendly atmosphere, the boyish charm that the episode gave off that I heard about elsewhere, or the soothing opening theme (which I think might be among my more favorite openings in the current season). In any case, I liked it.

Anyway, reading through the thread, I guess I should clarify that my issue hadn't been with the designs of the characters as much as it had been with Level 5 taking charge of the story. I made my feelings clear on the matter several times already, how I considered them fantastic game makers but piss poor story tellers, hence why I was apprehensive to their involvement here. But after following the pre-airing news for a while, I decided to set aside my bias for the show, since it looks like they are really aiming to put in more effort into making sure this comes out at least being good. And now that I have seen the episode, I think I can say that they made a solid first effort here.

It certainly wasn't anything new. This is the same true-and-tried formula of how the enemy suits sneak into a peaceful space colony and then the Gundam shows up and (seemingly) turns things around by the end. There were obviously some differences, such as Flit starting out among the more likable Gundam protagonists, at least in my eyes, him actually having built the Gundam meaning there is a better reason for why he's the main pilot (and even before that, he was going to let someone more experienced pilot it, which was one thing I liked about how and why he got into the Gundam. He didn't get into it by mistake and just started winging it from there (though he sort of did a bit) but rather he decided that the only way to stop the UE's from doing any more damage was by using the Gundam, and if no one is going to do it, it fell to him to take the initiative). Emily came off as being Fraw Bow's spiritual successor at first, but by the end I thought that she showed a more good natured personality as opposed to Fraw's initial appearance.

I wonder what was the purpose of showing the UE's unabashedly attacking the civilian areas in the colony as opposed to the military bases, since that implies that they are a group of evil bastards who will kill anyone for no reason other than for the sake of causing more damage. Hopefully that isn't the case and there's a better reason for attacking the colony.

But anyway, while I wasn't exactly wowed by the story, it was a solid start to the show. I suppose the best way to start a show that's meant to be following a radically different route than standard Gundam fare is with a more traditional beginning. It's nothing that I can call remarkable or exceptional at the moment on any aspect (the music was good, and the animation and production values were high as expected, but they honestly pale in comparison to a lot of other first episode offerings this year IMO) and there were moments where I thought a screen might pop up telling me to control the mobile suit using the diagonal sticks but this was what I call very good start.

8/10

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by Duo Maxwell

Replace AGE with SEED, and everything is making sense.

Not to mention it's the first episode. I'll say this, if Akihiro Hino could cram an entire 50 episode Gundam series into a 24 minute episode and make it would he'd be some sort of directorial/creator god, but alas such a thing isn't possible in only 1 episode out of what will probably be 50.

Originally Posted by ScR3WiEuS

Naw, I didn't mention everything, just the main elements. Sure, I didn't mention everything that was done and said in that ep, only the things that matter.
With Gundam SEED it would be along the lines of:
- Earth nuked a PLANT colony
- Earth and PLANT have been at war for 11 months
- Earth has a larger army but no mobile suits at all
- Kira works at a research facility
- Kira's Colony, Heliopolis, is neutral (part of Orb)
- there are 5 gundams, 4 of which are stolen
- Kira had a childhood friend that is part of the attack team
- the colony, despite being neutral is helping the Earth forces develop mobile suits
- Kagari somehow feels like her father has betrayed her/them because of this
- Kira has a crush on Fllay, but Ssigh got to her first and sent her some kind of love letter.
- Heliopolis is under attack by a strike force of a few space vessels
- the PLANT strike force, and PLANT is seemingly aware of the neutral colony's secret gundam project
- Earth forces are naturals and PLANT forces are coordinators
- The inhabitants of Heliopolis are being evacuated into shelters.

This is of course not all, there's small stuff like Kira's robot bird, etc. But these are the main lines.
It's just so much more intricate and organic than AGE.

You're absolutely convinced you can objectively prove this show is bad just by constantly comparing it too and bringing up other aspects from another Gundam show aren't you? If nothing else your tenacity is of the caliber I've come to expect from people looking to hate on Gundam in these forums (if at a far lower post count than some of the legends), but you've frankly yet to prove a single thing to anyone here as a result. This almost certainly comes down to a matter of approach and the aggressiveness you bring with it and frankly lack of cohesion and sense of what you ought to bring to it. This is what more than a few people are trying to point out to you as to why you're not contributing much in the way of productiveness to the thread. It's also dangerously approaching off-topic and cyclical discussion yet again. My last and only recommendation would be to rethink your approach if you want to make any headway in these forums and convince anybody of anything.

Also it's possible some people just really don't care about the things you bring up and the manner in which you bring them up. Maybe that's something to consider since not everybody has the same tastes or idea of what makes Gundam Gundam. Maybe try again next week and be a little less aggressive, insulting, one-note, and provocative with your comments and I can almost assure you that people won't be getting all that defensive and might actually engage with and agree with you on some things.

[zeth006]

What codec pack and video players are you guys using? I'm noticing some pixels showing up here and there in this anime and others like Fate/Zero

[SoldierOfDarkness]

Originally Posted by ScR3WiEuS

Naw, I didn't mention everything, just the main elements. Sure, I didn't mention everything that was done and said in that ep, only the things that matter.
With Gundam SEED it would be along the lines of:
- Earth nuked a PLANT colony
- Earth and PLANT have been at war for 11 months
- Earth has a larger army but no mobile suits at all
- Kira works at a research facility
- Kira's Colony, Heliopolis, is neutral (part of Orb)
- there are 5 gundams, 4 of which are stolen
- Kira had a childhood friend that is part of the attack team
- the colony, despite being neutral is helping the Earth forces develop mobile suits
- Kagari somehow feels like her father has betrayed her/them because of this
- Kira has a crush on Fllay, but Ssigh got to her first and sent her some kind of love letter.
- Heliopolis is under attack by a strike force of a few space vessels
- the PLANT strike force, and PLANT is seemingly aware of the neutral colony's secret gundam project
- Earth forces are naturals and PLANT forces are coordinators
- The inhabitants of Heliopolis are being evacuated into shelters.

This is of course not all, there's small stuff like Kira's robot bird, etc. But these are the main lines.
It's just so much more intricate and organic than AGE.

Look I know that some people adored Gundam SEED but that's in the past and we're dealing with AGE here.

Can we not bring SEED into this and get back on actual topic?

[SonicSP]

Originally Posted by zeth006

What codec pack and video players are you guys using? I'm noticing some pixels showing up here and there in this anime and others like Fate/Zero

I had the same problem the first time I watched AGE episode 1. So what I did was uninstalled my current CCCP codec pack and then downloaded the latest CCCP pack that was updated a few months ago. I think AGE is running more smoothly since then. I had the same problem with Fate Zero with the old pack but have not tested the new pack yet with it.

[Kuroi Hadou]

Originally Posted by zeth006

What codec pack and video players are you guys using? I'm noticing some pixels showing up here and there in this anime and others like Fate/Zero

It depends on if you're streaming it from an official site (like I am), and how much traffic the player has at the time. If you're downloading it, see Sonic's post.

[brightman]

Originally Posted by SonicSP

I had the same problem the first time I watched AGE episode 1. So what I did was uninstalled my current CCCP codec pack and then downloaded the latest CCCP pack that was updated a few months ago. I think AGE is running more smoothly since then. I had the same problem with Fate Zero with the old pack but have not tested the new pack yet with it.

Yup, I think its the 10-bit codec they are using, which should work with the latest CCCP.

[Rising Dragon]

I can confirm that the latest CCCP does.

[james0246]

Please cease and desist with this needlessly cyclical discussion that has little bearing on the actual series this thread is dedicated to (go to PM if you wish, but leave it out of this thread). Consider this an official warning. Future posts dealing with "how-to" debate topics or pointless comparisons will be deleted and potential infractions will be given out.

[Duo Maxwell]

Originally Posted by ScR3WiEuS

Naw, I didn't mention everything, just the main elements. Sure, I didn't mention everything that was done and said in that ep, only the things that matter.
With Gundam SEED it would be along the lines of:
- Earth nuked a PLANT colony
- Earth and PLANT have been at war for 11 months
- Earth has a larger army but no mobile suits at all
- Kira works at a research facility
- Kira's Colony, Heliopolis, is neutral (part of Orb)
- there are 5 gundams, 4 of which are stolen
- Kira had a childhood friend that is part of the attack team
- the colony, despite being neutral is helping the Earth forces develop mobile suits
- Kagari somehow feels like her father has betrayed her/them because of this
- Kira has a crush on Fllay, but Ssigh got to her first and sent her some kind of love letter.
- Heliopolis is under attack by a strike force of a few space vessels
- the PLANT strike force, and PLANT is seemingly aware of the neutral colony's secret gundam project
- Earth forces are naturals and PLANT forces are coordinators
- The inhabitants of Heliopolis are being evacuated into shelters.

This is of course not all, there's small stuff like Kira's robot bird, etc. But these are the main lines.
It's just so much more intricate and organic than AGE.

I can do that to:

- Human has been attacked by UE 14 years ago.
- The UE didn't go all out as a war, but instead acting as terrorist with their small and occasionally assault.
- People are reported missing from the assaults instead of being killed.
- Hundred years ago, there was a war, and the savior is Gundam.
- Asuno family has always been in mobile suit production industry since then.
- Human's currently military force is of no use against the UE.
- Ovan, a colony where Gundam is developed, is considered the safe place from the UE because supposedly, they don't attack the place with lot of people.
- The UE apparently is commencing attack with a pattern.
- They are intelligent being, base on how they waited for the Genoace outside of hangar, destroy the fallen comrade, and decide to retreat when one of them get defeated by Gundam, just to call in more reinforcement right after that.
- The hint of UE is not alien, which their technology is staying the same for 14 years old, and still undefeated prior to the meeting with Gundam.
- Flit's determination, so as Emily for trusting and supporting him. At least currently there is no love triangle bullshit.

I ignored all those trivial stuff like how people are so relaxing because there haven't been war for a long time, or the Haro isn't just a mascot machine, or how much faith people put on Flit.

Seriously, this ep is focusing more about the Gundam and the UE. I'm sure I can pull out much more thing if I watched all 50 eps and going back rewatching 1st ep of this show, like what you are doing.
Here is my friendly advice: please watch Gundam AGE with at least one of your eye opened, you can see much more thing than closing both eyes and your ears. It really helps. All you are doing is trying to hate Gundam AGE as far as I see.

[Westlo]

Originally Posted by LoweGear

If you only look at the ratings between Gundams, then yes AGE is pretty low. But then if you look at the average and first episode ratings for that timeslot instead of between Gundams:

Gundam AGE has the same first episode rating as Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, and has even higher first episode ratings than the (then) much-anticipated Code Geass R2.

Funny what a little perspective does. Though I don't trust ratings much anyway, as they have no bearing on the quality of the show itself whatsoever. Ratings simply tell you how many people watched the show (if the count is even accurate), not if the show itself was any good. People forget that First Gundam was considered a ratings failure when it first aired, and yet we still have Gundam 30+ years on.

1. First Gundam was a ratings failure when it first aired.... the reason it gets compared to Star Trek a lot by western fans is that they both became massively more popular after they aired and when shown by reruns and than got sequels.

2. Gundam AGE did not get a 3.8% rating, 3.8% is the highest rating it can get since the 10th rated program is Beezlebub with 3.9%. More ratings for Oct 3-9th came out and Gundam AGE wasn't listed at all, Hunter X Hunter was @ 3.8% and a lot of other shows were listed.

3. Ratings matter, see Gundam X for a Gundam example and see Ayakashi Ayashi for an example of this timeslot (when it used to be on Saturdays). Went from being a yearly show to being canceled after 2 cours and replaced with Terra E. A good thing since Terra E was a vastly better show and one of the most underrated of 2007, wasn't a good show for the timeslot though....

I remember back in the day a lot of people were saying Sunrise/Bandai weren't happy with the ratings and toy sales SEED had and it only got a sequel due to the fantastic DVD sales...

4. Comparing the premieres of AGE to Code Geass R2 is a bit misleading, while Geass was otaku centric Gundam AGE is certainly not. Also the only show AGE has definitely beat in rankings for first episodes in this time slot is Star Driver's 1.2... and that was low due to some golfing sensation on another channel at the time... Gundam is meant to be different, as you can see by how 00 did... atm AGE has the second or third worst rating episode out of the seven shows from that slot. Early days (and I stress this) yet but maybe it would've been better to put AGE in a morning slot considering its target audience...

It's only the first episode, no need to panic or start a defense up about it. If this trend continued than there's reason to be worried.

[justinstrife]

I gave the first episode a 6. I really never cared for these middle schoolers being the saviors of the world/colony/story. Didn't like it in Victory Gundam, and I'm not caring for it here. I'll stick it through, as it is a Gundam show, but my expectations are going to be a bit low.

[zeth006]

Originally Posted by SonicSP

I had the same problem the first time I watched AGE episode 1. So what I did was uninstalled my current CCCP codec pack and then downloaded the latest CCCP pack that was updated a few months ago. I think AGE is running more smoothly since then. I had the same problem with Fate Zero with the old pack but have not tested the new pack yet with it.

Thanks. Will take a look at that later.


EDIT: Problem solved. Weird part is this has only been happening recently. Dunno if it's just me, but it seems to me the recent vids aren't really that high quality at all!

[Triple_R]

I hadn't intended to watch this, simply since the art style really isn't for me, and it made me suspect something that I'll get to later.

However, based on discussions with Reckoner and Archon_Wing, I decided to check this out.

Let me make a comment here that I think points to an essential truth about Gundam Age: My 12 year old self would have absolutely loved this first episode.

Now, even as an adult, I can see the charms and strengths of this show. But I would maintain that not only are they the charms and strengths that appeal mostly to kids, but also that Sunrise is fully aware of this and are understandably playing "the long game" here.


Sunrise is a powerhouse animation studio, with a long and storied history. A great deal of their strength is due to an almost timeless franchise, Mobile Suit Gundam.

Mobile Suit Gundam, along with shows like Macross and various super robot shows, elevated mecha to the pinnacle of the anime world. Even the wildly successful Neon Genesis Evangelion arose, in large part, due to the mecha context set by Sunrise and its Gundam franchise.

However... mecha anime, while still a factor in the anime world, has been in decline for awhile now. It has unquestionably been eclipsed by moe.

Mecha anime still has its old fans, who first became fans in the 80s and 90s, but there is reason to wonder if it's managing to make enough new fans to ensure that the future of mecha anime reflects the strength of its past.


And so we have Gundam Age, a show that tries to recapture the spirit of the original Amuro Ray Gundam of decades ago, but cast it in bright colors and simple artwork that will naturally appeal to young kids who like shows like Pokemon.

There's nothing wrong with this. It's perfectly legitimate, and a strong case can be made that Sunrise is right to be doing this.

So in Gundam Age Episode 1 we have a straightforward narrative unconcerned with being cliche, for "cliche" is a meaningless word to most kids, as almost everything is new to them given how young they are and how relatively little media they have absorbed. Every Gundam show is somebody's first, don't forget.

Also, kids like straightforward narratives. Kids tend to not like lengthy exposition, or dialogue that's not directly related to what's going to be happening right away, and right now.

So Gundam Age is fast, furious, forthright. Straight to the point, nothing superfluous, nothing that a 10 year old boy couldn't grasp.

Kids, I would argue, also like shows that are upbeat, inspirational, and in which child characters are the stars of the show (as kids rely on directly relating to the main protagonist more than adults do, I think).

So will this be as dark as most Gundam shows? No, but nor should it be, if the goal is to bring in a new generation of Gundam fans.


I've not going to rate this episode, as a 30 year old Canadian is about as far away from this show's target demographic as you can possibly get.

But I will say that for a show aimed at kids, it's excellent.

Now, does that mean that adults can't enjoy it? Of course not. I myself can appreciate a straightforward narrative from time-to-time, and one man's cliche is often another man's nostalgia. All of the protagonists seem likable enough, and Flit has real character and admirable spine. Viewers of any age can conceivably appreciate that.

But measuring this against your Gundam Seeds and your Gundam Wings and your Gundam 00s kind of misses the point of Gundam Age, imo.

It's not meant to win over mecha fans in their 20s, 30s, 40s, etc... It's meant to secure Sunrise, the studio most associated with mecha anime, a future as bright as its past.

Gundam Age is a strong and credible attempt at achieving that, but only time will tell if it succeeds.

[wingdarkness]

Finally saw the first episode and wasn't extremely impressed...The feel of the show is just so devoid of grit it just softens you're palate entirely too much IMO...Again, being someone who loves Turn A Gundam I'll be the first one to defend the character design choices in that show as they played well with the overall gritty disposition of that animated world...In Gundam AGE's case this world is so reminiscent of the smooth, digitally-pleasing shonen "game" programs that when it does ratch it up you can't help but be distracted by some of this...

The Genoace battle was a perfect example of this as the dire intensity of the moment was loss to me because of the goofyness of the characters...The redhead pilot in particular...Additionally I think the thing I'm gonna struggle with most is the cockpit shots...I can't take Flit in his cockpit outfit seriously...It looks so cartooney, but I'm gonna try to accept it...

Overall I did enjoy the setting and make-up of the world...It's always nice to see those authentic singular spinning colonies...Those weird alen-shadowcat suits also had a very cool effect where the emit a glossy purple glow on thrust movements...I recall commenting a few times on how cool that looked...

The plot, while Gundam enuff (kid hops in a Gundam and start kicking a$$), I find Setsuna vs. Sgt Pedo Bear, Kira vs. Miguel, and The druggy Gundamjack of GSD all much more memorable "intro-legendary-Gundam" scenes...

So I'm gonna stick with it obviously because Bandai has a way of making you watch their shows^^...And I do see some potential in the area of pure combat (I think we might witness a supreme downgrade in spam, which is great)...But based on this first episode my initial fears haven't been calmed much...

One thing confused me though: The Gundam was named Gundam because the old portrait had a Gundam in it?

[Rising Dragon]

Basically, the Gundam AGE-1 was not the first machine known as the Gundam in this 'verse.

[wingdarkness]

^I hope we do get an explanation on that...It troubled me that Gundam OO ignored this...Weird though...In a world that doesn't seem to pushing a theme of "Lost technology", that a Gundam would be so much more advanced...That's atleast intriguing...