[4Tran]

Originally Posted by Rawinder

Wow, I feel exactly the opposite. I don't think the plot is all that great (kind of hard to criticize, though, since the show was the first of its kind)

That would sort of depend on what you mean by plot, and what you think makes for a good one . In general, I'd define plot as the overarching tapestry that the show is hung on, and it's these broad strokes which hang together pretty well. So it'd be the big set-piece events as opposed to individual episodes. Since the events are iconic enough to be remember in great detail many years after the initial airing, it's obvious that they have a fairly strong hold.

Originally Posted by Rawinder

but the show still has one of the best--if not the best--cast of characters of any Gundam anime. Just the way the characters interact with one another feels very real. Zeta on the other hand, while still a great show, I always thought felt kind of forced in its character relationships.

I'd agree that Zeta's character relationships are a bit forced, but that has little to do with how interesting the characters themselves are. The Mobile Suit Gundam characters tend to be fairly one-note or they are unlikable jerks like Amuro. The main exception to this is Kai as he seems much more like a person than the rest of the lot.

I do admit that I've only watched the English-dub (and I never watch dubs as a rule), so I may be missing some characterization there.

Originally Posted by Obi-Wan

Well, as per the norm with Tomino, most supporting characters tend to be killed off just as you're starting to like them. But I do agree that there is a lot to like or find interesting about Kai. I especially like how he goes from pretty much a real-life troll on the White Base to an all-business soldier after he loses Miharu on their way out of Belfast. And it's not like he sells out to the military or anything, he's still himself, but accepts his fate as a pilot.

Precisely - that's what makes Kai an authentic-feeling character.

Originally Posted by Obi-Wan

I can see going with the film version of MSG from a corner-cutting standpoint, but I truly prefer the series. The editing in the second movie is downright awful at times and I don't like the reordering of events, or the fact that M'quve is essentially given a get out of jail free card at the end of the third movie.

Ah. I haven't gotten that far yet, but that was what I was afraid of. One of the things that I did like about the TV series is that it doesn't seem to suffer from the Tominoism that plagues his later shows. However, it's the kind of direction that's more likely to pop up in the movie adaptation. I'd imagine that the distillation of the English dub of the TV version might have something to do with that as well.

Originally Posted by Obi-Wan

They're fine to get the story in and don't suffer from content loss the way every other compilation film set do (save maybe the Destiny one). In the TV version, you get to see a little more of the relationship between Amuro and Sayla, Mirai is a little more fleshed out (I believe the part about Bright getting sick and her having to take over is omitted from the movies, but I could be wrong)

I'm not sure that any of this would be all that great a loss as neither Sayla nor Mirai are particularly interesting characters, nor is the interaction among the crew all that great. And in losing these elements to get rid of all that G-Armor stuff, I'd have to say the trade-off is well worth it.

Originally Posted by Obi-Wan

Overall they're both fine, but the TV series is more of a nostalgia factor for me and that's why I prefer it.

I only watched the Mobile Suit Gundam TV version about four years ago, so there's no nostalgia factor at play. Still, I thought that it was pretty decent - the only mar on the whole thing was that ending (let's have a sword-fight for no reason). Overall, it was definitely one of the better Gundam shows.