Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (2014)

[Skye629]

Edit: From screenshots on GG it seems in IV we will be getting not just Lalah, but the first battles of the OYW (Loum?) and the colony drop

Hype

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Skye629

Edit: From screenshots on GG it seems in IV we will be getting not just Lalah, but the first battles of the OYW (Loum?) and the colony drop

Hype

Really? Battle of Loum? That should be good. More screentime for Black-Tri Stars in their Zakus and to see how they make General Revil their hostage/prisoner after owning his ship (Ananke) hard. The opening scene in Origin I is just too short.

[KnightShade]

i thought this was going to be boring but boy was i wrong! so glad i'm finally making the plunge into UC gundam.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Origin III really is an excellent episode, especially if you’re already familiar with the UC-verse beforehand. There are so many foundations being laid in this episode with a very good flow of narrative which doesn’t make them feel forced or shoehorn in or slapped on our face. This is one of the finest narrative and pacing I’ve encountered in my long experience watching anime since the 90s. I dare say that Origin (this episode in particular) has surpassed Gundam 0080, 08th MS Team, and Unicorn when it comes to storytelling.

There are many things I wanted to say, so I guess I’ll just put it on a list:

• The relationship depiction of Char and Garma in this episode is just perfection. Watching this part of their lives happening makes the moment when Char betrayed Garma in the original series feels more bittersweet. The “bromance” between the two (if you can call it that as it’s clear that Char just wants to use Garma) is a really pleasant watch. I feel so much sympathy for Garma. He’s quite smart in some departments and lacking in other but he still strives to be better because he carries the Zabi name. Furthermore, that positive depiction of his was also balanced by his negative “spoiled rich boy”-nature where he will have no shame in using his privileges as a Zabi heir to get what he wants. In short, he’s still the Garma that we knew in the original MSG series. But his characters truly shines especially after he defended Char and honestly think of him as his best friend (even though that’s just part of Char’s plotting). If IBO took the “Char-Garma” relationship a bit further with McGillis & Gaelio, in this episode you can see how compelling the actual “Char-Garma” relationship is.
• Lino Fernandez. Now this character is a filler who doesn’t exist in the manga IIRC. But since the one who’s making this OVA series is the author himself, he’s just as canon as everything else in the anime. And he’s a good addition too coz he’s not a purposeless character. Aside from helping fleshing out Char and giving Char his iconic eye-piece, he also represents part of the Zeon people who still believe that Casval Deikun is still out there, ready to bring justice to the Zabis. Unlucky for him, he also used as a plot device that further established Char’s ruthlessness to tie up loose ends .
• We finally able to meet Dr. Minovski who created the (in)famous disrupter particles in person. And his explanation (as well as Gihren’s early dismissal) of how effective MSs equipped with his particle can be in battles should answer the logic questions of why people (Zeon, in this case) use MSs to wage war. The early Zaku test type looks sexy too.
• The little bit about the first meeting of Dozle Zabi & Zenna Mia (aka. Mineva’s parents) is also good. Still, I never knew that Mineva’s mom is a kickass soldier .
• Action are very good even though I feel that it's rather shy of blood and gore. But hey, who needs it if we have well-handled and well-choreographed battles with many beautiful ‘splosions.
• Federation is an ass, Gihren is downright evil and Degwin & Dozle love Garma so much. Those are further established in this episode.
• Highschool MusiChar, I mean Char in the academy as a student is really cool. We get to see Char playing basketball and do some fencing (hey, did Origin just rip off Wing by having the MC doing fencing in a school/academy? )
• Dozle’s reaction when Gihren’s shutting down his MS project is precious.
• Vacuum-cleaner ships in Gundam for debris-cleaning. Now I’ve seen everything . well, not as funky as cockpit-toilet in G-Reco, I guess.

[Faux Mecha]

the irony is that in the manga Dozle didn't even trust the MS project due to technical issues keep plaguing the development of the prototypes that resulted in needed more money to patch it up, to the point he called an MS impractical toy robots.

[Jestersage]

I wish that once Origin is finished, they would continue Char's story by doing OVA with Char's Deleted Affair. He's pretty much Lelouch done right (or properly speaking, Lelouch is Char that was not developed)

[Faux Mecha]

either its just me in several scenes Garma & Char looks like they got too close to each others' faces that they might kiss in the next scene,
maybe the staff was supporting Garma X Char.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

There’s also some strange bits in this episode where Char has the power of STARE that can make dudes so terrified one of them screamed like a little girl. And he also has this strange power that enables him to send a guy flying with a flick of his finger. What’s up with that? I mean, seriously, without the Newtype context, you’d think that he’s the devil incarnate like the one in The Omen movies .

[Infinite Zenith]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

There’s also some strange bits in this episode where Char has the power of STARE that can make dudes so terrified one of them screamed like a little girl. And he also has this strange power that enables him to send a guy flying with a flick of his finger. What’s up with that? I mean, seriously, without the Newtype context, you’d think that he’s the devil incarnate like the one in The Omen movies .

The stare is possible: I know folks that can stop a fight just by looking at someone. The part where he blows the other guy away? Maybe magic, and maybe the guy being so scared he tripped over himself a few times

[Faux Mecha]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

There’s also some strange bits in this episode where Char has the power of STARE that can make dudes so terrified one of them screamed like a little girl. And he also has this strange power that enables him to send a guy flying with a flick of his finger. What’s up with that? I mean, seriously, without the Newtype context, you’d think that he’s the devil incarnate like the one in The Omen movies .

Originally Posted by ForwardUntoDawn

The stare is possible: I know folks that can stop a fight just by looking at someone. The part where he blows the other guy away? Maybe magic, and maybe the guy being so scared he tripped over himself a few times

Char was probably like the natural version of Carozzo Ronah's Newtype 'Force choke' that he manages to kill someone standing next to him by only just using his thoughts, god knows what the Origin version of Char's Counter Attack might have looked with the Sazabi's Psychoframe.

[Haak]

Man, I'm really impressed that this show absolutely spares no punches with Casval's character. I was rooting for him for the first two episodes, but episode 3 really makes it clear that, yes, he is an indisputable villain of the story and whilst his circumstances have been cruel, it is no excuse for how twisted he is. It's always been a pet peeve of mine when stories try to make villains too sympathetic and try to make them out to be decent people despite doing horrible things but here is a writer that does not spare a thought for any of that relativist bullshit. It's difficult for me as viewer to see Casval become such a wretched person but the writer refuses to relent and hammers the point home almost immediately when he smugly sends Char to him doom and once again at the very end when he betrays Char's friend. Amazing stuff.

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

The little bit about the first meeting of Dozle Zabi & Zenna Mia (aka. Mineva’s parents) is also good. Still, I never knew that Mineva’s mom is a kickass soldier .

Hah! I did think Zenna was very "Mineva"-ish but I didn't know that she was her actual mother. Now I know where Mivena gets it. That's a great easter egg.

[Skye629]

Awww yeah

YouTube

https://youtu.be/XVPSq_fpKf4

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

^ Is that a platoon of Guncannons (prototype) vs Zaku Is that I see? Man, it's gonna be glorious.

[Cloudedmind]

I'm looking forward to hopefully getting more info on Lalah. It's been a while since I watched 0079, so I'm probably forgetting some things, but I always felt that her characterization in the show felt a bit lacking.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Cloudedmind

I'm looking forward to hopefully getting more info on Lalah. It's been a while since I watched 0079, so I'm probably forgetting some things, but I always felt that her characterization in the show felt a bit lacking.

Yeah, Lalah was introduced late into the series where it was supposed to have 52 episodes but then cancelled into just 43 episodes. I can only imagine that the episodes which were cut also contained her further characterization. It’s good that Yasuhiko can now have his “revenge” by giving more screentime to the antagonists and supporting characters who deserve it.

EDIT:
Btw, didn't Lalah work in an Indian brothel before Char rescued her? Was she a prostitute or just a helper like Atra from IBO? I hope Origin can elaborate more on that. Also, it's nice to have an Indian girl as a (major?) character. It's a breath of fresh air from the usual Japanese & Caucasian cast.

[Rising Dragon]

Lalah was a prostitute, a theme revisited twice over with different characters in Unicorn.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Rising Dragon

Lalah was a prostitute, a theme revisited twice over with different characters in Unicorn.

You're right. I just remembered a page from Char's Deleted Affair saying something about that IIRC. I like it when a story doesn't pull its punches . I really hope Origin can show some aspect of that before Lalah met Char. Origin being OVA should give Yasuhiko some leeway if he wanted to go there.

[krln99]

Origin has done such a good job providing background to these characters from the OYW. We're pretty much meeting most of them mid way through the war in 0079 and none of the subsequent Gundam series gives us anything else.

[Jestersage]

Originally Posted by Rising Dragon

Lalah was a prostitute, a theme revisited twice over with different characters in Unicorn.

In Origin manga, Lalah is just a street Urchin who use her Newtype ability to help her hustler win in Jaburo's Casino. Char, who happen to be CONSTRUCTING JABURO withat that MW-01, brought her back to Zeon

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

^ Is that a platoon of Guncannons (prototype) vs Zaku Is that I see? Man, it's gonna be glorious.

It is. 12 Guncannon (anti-ship focus) got slaughtered by 4 MS-05 and 1 MS-04 (anti-MS focus). This is when Tem Rey actually shine.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Haak

Hah! I did think Zenna was very "Mineva"-ish but I didn't know that she was her actual mother. Now I know where Mivena gets it. That's a great easter egg.

Oh Haak, I forgot to address this, but Mineva’s strong personality and unwavering attitude is not only genetic from her mom (as this episode revealed) but also heavily influenced by Haman Karn’s no-nonsense, stern and regal personality (and Mineva is one of few people who Haman has showed her gentle side to). After all, Haman is the one who raised and took care of her for some time and Mineva really loved Haman and liked to observe how she does things. Imagine Mineva as a mini-Haman, just a lot less bitter and cruel and a lot kinder and gentler which ironically made Mineva resembles her mother (Zenna) in her younger days. Zenna was such a gentle lady in MSG that I didn't recognize her in Origin . I guess people can/do change after maturing, being married and becoming a parent.