Gundam AGE General Discussion Thread

[ttdestroy]

So I guess this "experiment" is a failure? But, I really don't see them caring about it a whole lot I mean they have "The Origin" coming up to win back fans and then I suppose they'll be trying this again.

There's really no denying that the current Gundam fan is aging fast.

[aeriolewinters]

Originally Posted by ttdestroy

So I guess this "experiment" is a failure? But, I really don't see them caring about it a whole lot I mean they have "The Origin" coming up to win back fans and then I suppose they'll be trying this again.

There's really no denying that the current Gundam fan is aging fast.

No,this will only prove to Sunrise that they need more Gundam like SEED, in order to get more sales.

I think that depending on how the SEED remaster will go down, it will give us hints on how Sunrise responds from the 'financial losses' of AGE. If the Remaster goes well, then there: we'll get more series patterned from SEED, or CE sequels.

About Origin,you ask? I'm thinking that Origin will be a Movie series, much like Break Blade. I don't think that Sunrise would go the path of a remade TV series, the TV series is a vehicle to get more fans, not to stagnate the fanbase, so the setup would still be UC OVA/Movies, CE OVA's and mangas, AU TV series.


Elitists that say that SEED is dead need to look and see the truth, SEED is profitable and in the long term, it's the closest to the UC franchise, I think that if Bandai wants to get more money, they should go deep into CE. Yes, Destiny is a flop, story-wise, but the setting still has potential.

[kaito-kid]

It's too late to go back to CE. They killed the Kira/Athrun/Shinn story at the end of Destiny. there is only room for a movie or a short OVA Like Stargazer, but that's it.

People like me who grew op watching Seed as teenagers are adults now. we don't have the time to watch a weekly cartoon show. If they make a sequel it needs to capture a new fanbase.

Sure, a third Seed will be more popular then Age or 00, even now. But it will be a short term solution and it will still be less than Seed and Destiny and it won't generate the same kind of profit for Bandai that Seed and Destiny did.

Bandai needs to look for a long term solution, like Seed.
So it's better to continue to experiment with new ideas until they hit the jackpot again. I think that the right way. Sure it might take AGEs (pun intended) but it's worth it.

Maybe they should try producing pilot episodes in the form of ONA (Original net animation) Sure it will be bloody expensive. But the risk factor decreases. in the long run it will be more profitable.

In conclusion, the next Gundam show (which I'm sure is in heavy production right now) need to be the next Seed! Or else, a long term hiatus for Gundam might become a possibility.

[justavisitor]

I am a die hard Seed fan, (have dropped Age since episode 5 and now I am enjoying seed hd XD), but I don't think Seed was anything too special...

After all, Seed basically adopted the OYW story line and added some new elements to make it more up-to-date. I have watched pretty much all gundam series (except turn A, victory, and Age), and I got to say, i still like OYW story line the best. I guess it's natural that I like seed because it's a typical EFF vs Space colony, nothing more (No terrorist (W and 00), no special setting (post-Apocalypse in gundam x and gundam fight in g)...not that they are not good, but I am old-fashioned ) . Imo i think OYW story line still suits gundam the most.

The real problem is that you can't have the same story line for very gundam show so they need to try something new. Or at the very least, they need to have some "filters" before going back again to the OYW (like they had to go through g, w, x, turn-a and then seed). Therefore, one can argue that Seed was not the real long term success because it "happened" that Sunrise hit the perfect timing to re-use the most successful story line.

So, even tho I don't like Age, I agree that they should try something different for the sake of improving the quality of the series. P.S don't worry, Age fans, I don't think the frame work of this series will allow sunrise to cancel the show or cut the show short. They may change the content, but I doubt it will suffer the same fate as gundam x

[RES-01 Perses Gundam]

As modern societies age, Gundam also ages. This really reinforces the point about Gundam being a whole big commercial project and the need to advertise the product well so as to attract fans.

You know, I feel Gundam should take a break, for now. Consolidate the fan base, reflect upon the mistakes and the highlights, and start afresh later. It won't do good just to churn out new series just for the sake of it, or for some, hit the jackpot. In my view it may instead hasten the franchise's decline.

[brightman]

Originally Posted by RES-01 Perses Gundam

You know, I feel Gundam should take a break, for now. Consolidate the fan base, reflect upon the mistakes and the highlights, and start afresh later. It won't do good just to churn out new series just for the sake of it, or for some, hit the jackpot. In my view it may instead hasten the franchise's decline.

They need to churn out new shows though... Bandai's bottomline basically relies heavily on new Gunpla lines, and they need those new shows to promote them.

So they aren't going to stop making them.

IMO they will be relying heavily on Origins to get the franchise back on its feet. First Gundam has enough of a reputation in Japan that I think a remake of it can probably be used to appeal to younger audiences if they choose to make it a TV series.

[RES-01 Perses Gundam]

Originally Posted by brightman

They need to churn out new shows though... Bandai's bottomline basically relies heavily on new Gunpla lines, and they need those new shows to promote them.

So they aren't going to stop making them.

IMO they will be relying heavily on Origins to get the franchise back on its feet. First Gundam has enough of a reputation in Japan that I think a remake of it can probably be used to appeal to younger audiences if they choose to make it a TV series.

That's what I'm saying, a radical rethink of Gundam. Plan for the future, meaning they go slower. Though I admit a commercial heavyweight like Bandai wouldn't have the luxury of time to do so.

[brightman]

Originally Posted by RES-01 Perses Gundam

That's what I'm saying, a radical rethink of Gundam. Plan for the future, meaning they go slower. Though I admit a commercial heavyweight like Bandai wouldn't have the luxury of time to do so.

Yeah, Gundam is like 20% of Bandai's revenues or something like that. A slow year for Gundam models means Bandai is going to be explaining things to shareholders. And they wouldn't like to have to do that, so they need to keep pumping them out.

The problem with Gundam is that if they can't really alter the formula that much, as they found out with Gundam 00 and its Internet backlash, not to mention the whole "its not Gundam, its for kids!" preconception of AGE.

Anime in general is slumping in Japan, and demographic shifts are changing unfavorably. Its going to be tough for Bandai to keep the franchise strong.

[bio9205]

Originally Posted by brightman

Yeah, Gundam is like 20% of Bandai's revenues or something like that. A slow year for Gundam models means Bandai is going to be explaining things to shareholders. And they wouldn't like to have to do that, so they need to keep pumping them out.

The problem with Gundam is that if they can't really alter the formula that much, as they found out with Gundam 00 and its Internet backlash, not to mention the whole "its not Gundam, its for kids!" preconception of AGE.

Anime in general is slumping in Japan, and demographic shifts are changing unfavorably. Its going to be tough for Bandai to keep the franchise strong.

Um... What backlash did 00 get? Wasn't really around at that time, heh.

Maybe they should stick to the SEED formula - having "cooler" Gundams per se. AGE's homage to the UC Gundams is a nice touch, but the designs may not appeal much to kids.

[brightman]

Originally Posted by bio9205

Um... What backlash did 00 get? Wasn't really around at that time, heh.

Complaints from 2chers that the first season wasn't "gundam" enough. The director took plenty of heat for it and eventually had to make season 2 a more traditional gundam series.

[SonicSP]

Originally Posted by brightman

Complaints from 2chers that the first season wasn't "gundam" enough. The director took plenty of heat for it and eventually had to make season 2 a more traditional gundam series.

l love season 2 and all but sometimes I wish Sunrise didn't force them to deviate from the original 50 episode original Plan. Maybe thy could have kept more S1 style like that.

What was S2's complaint? Not original enough?

[RES-01 Perses Gundam]

When Japan's population ages, so does the franchise's fortunes (wanes).

[Deacon Blues]

Originally Posted by brightman

Complaints from 2chers that the first season wasn't "gundam" enough. The director took plenty of heat for it and eventually had to make season 2 a more traditional gundam series.

Do we even have a credible source for these bastard claims that people make about every Gundam series that comes out? 2chan means nothing to the execs of Bandai/Sunrise and what not. They're a bunch of whining jackasses, that's all.

[LoweGear]

Originally Posted by SonicSP

l love season 2 and all but sometimes I wish Sunrise didn't force them to deviate from the original 50 episode original Plan.

What 50 episode original plan? Sunrise/Bandai has let us known the fact that 00 was a two-season series long before the first episode of Season 1 came out. And most interviews I remember seem to point that the decision for the split was all on Mizushima and crew, and not executive meddling.

[RES-01 Perses Gundam]

Originally Posted by LoweGear

What 50 episode original plan? Sunrise/Bandai has let us known the fact that 00 was a two-season series long before the first episode of Season 1 came out. And most interviews I remember seem to point that the decision for the split was all on Mizushima and crew, and not executive meddling.

What he meant: the original plot plan for the 50 episodes, I think.

About how some of the main characters were supposed to die at the end and how in order to accommodate the new movie some of the plot details were rushed through, or the pacing somewhat awkward.

Am I wrong?

[Rising Dragon]

Originally Posted by RES-01 Perses Gundam

What he meant: the original plot plan for the 50 episodes, I think.

About how some of the main characters were supposed to die at the end and how in order to accommodate the new movie some of the plot details were rushed through, or the pacing somewhat awkward.

Am I wrong?

Actually, they were going to kill off some characters in the finale if they weren't allowed to make the movie.

[SonicSP]

I recall that interview where they had to split the 50 episode count because Sunrise wanted to make Code Geass R2. It was of course a decision made before S1 started but still In the middle of the development part. I'm not sure how close to S1's release though.

Part of that same interview I recall also mentioned something about Kuroda needing to break the news to Mizushima and how devastated he was when he had to break it.

[brightman]

Originally Posted by Deacon Blues

Do we even have a credible source for these bastard claims that people make about every Gundam series that comes out? 2chan means nothing to the execs of Bandai/Sunrise and what not. They're a bunch of whining jackasses, that's all.

Yes, Mizushima had interview(s) where he talked about how the 2ch criticism was affecting the staff morale. IIRC one of them was on a certain "s******-complex" NSFW blog.

Another interview had him talking about making Season 2 more of a traditional Gundam series due to the criticisms.

Originally Posted by SonicSP

I recall that interview where they had to split the 50 episode count because Sunrise wanted to make Code Geass R2. It was of course a decision made before S1 started but still In the middle of the development part. I'm not sure how close to S1's release though.

Part of that same interview I recall also mentioned something about Kuroda needing to break the news to Mizushima and how devastated he was when he had to break it.

The other way around. Kuroda was devastated because he had to rework his original plan of having the timeskip around ten episodes later. Had to cut out tons of stuff from Season 1 (like romantic developments), and add subplots to Season 2 (LyleXAnew).

[Arabesque]

In other news, The 3rd Opening had been announced. It does seem like Generation 2 is on it's way to conclude fairly soon, and the AGE-2 will apparently be getting one wear after all, if all this inflow of AGE-3 information is anything to go by...

(as a side note, I expect this Opening to be the same as the first 2 i.e. not sound good at first, but eventually after repeated listens become a personal favorite)

[casval cehack]

Originally Posted by Arabesque

In other news, The 3rd Opening had been announced. It does seem like Generation 2 is on it's way to conclude fairly soon, and the AGE-2 will apparently be getting one wear after all, if all this inflow of AGE-3 information is anything to go by...

(as a side note, I expect this Opening to be the same as the first 2 i.e. not sound good at first, but eventually after repeated listens become a personal favorite)

It would be quite vivid and probably set the tone for the 3rd chapter.