I am going to try and cover all bases... its a daunting task, but I will do my best.
I didn't watch Gundam Age by waiting for it on a weekly basis. I started watching when I had a collection of some 43 episodes before embarking on my journey
into the unknown.
My initial impression was pretty pleasant. Although I must say, the character designs are way out of sync with the plot. If this had been a show aimed at a younger audience, then it failed miserably. If not, then I guess I have no choice but to live with the designs while experiencing a serious story, which I managed. Then again, if I can endure G Gundam, I can endure this!
I know off the bat this wouldn't involve aliens. Despite the Vegan MS bearing striking similarities to the Vajra from Macross Frontier (complete with tail guns), I knew introducing aliens is not a territory to be tread by this Gundam Franchise. 00 is probably the furthest a Gundam series will ever go with that subject.
AGE took a lot of inspirations from SEED/Destiny and UC. The first gen mobile suit had strike packages delivered from the Diva, which was also referred to as the
Trojan horse. I prepared for the worst when the Diva underwent
transformation, and actually expected it to transform into a gigantic robot vis-a-vis Macross.
And look, a little Sayla Mass!
The second generation was the birth of AGE-Char, complete with three times the power, three times the speed, three times the endurance and certainly
THREE TIMES BETTER THAN YOU! My jaws dropped. It was quite hilarious. Zeheart and Asemu obviously mirror the relationship between Amuro and Char as they remained frenemies for their entire lives.
The third generation had a pretty funny opening. Mecha Godzilla stomping the city!? Just what we need!
So I've got a number of complaints. First, the female characters. It would appear, any female character with a potentially interesting backstory were handed a deathflag. At the end, the hero always ended up pairing with a Mary Sue sweetheart. Not that I have a problem with that, but once the same procedure is repeated over and over again, it gets really really tiresome. This shows a lack of courage on part of the scriptwriters.
Lord Ezelcant, isn't he the most god-awful looking Gundam villain, ever? Whats with the nose, man!
I suppose I have lots to say, but I know I will need to do a better job organizing my criticisms. Nonetheless, this is a pretty enjoyable show. Its not original, and the scripwriters don't have the courage to be. I think they are being too careful of their own good. Its a good thing though, that this show still manages to be quite solid on its own right.