What do people like about Turn A Gundam?

[elindir]

Originally Posted by Dorfl

Their actions are provoked by ideals and emotion rather than sound logic and rational thought. It's very painful to watch.

You can say this about any other Gundam show.

[fukarming]

Originally Posted by elindir

You can say this about any other Gundam show.

I would say Turn A is the show that the character are the most logical compare to the rest of the gundam show.

[JMvS]

Originally Posted by fukarming

I would say Turn A is the show that the character are the most logical compare to the rest of the gundam show.

I agree, it's the only one were most people aren't driven by an ideology or revenge, but simply by their desire to live peacefully.

[C.A.]

By character and motivation, Loran was the best main character in all Gundams.

He wasn't some super soldier and genius pilot. He didn't read minds and sensed the suffering of the world. He didn't go to war so he can end all wars and cure suffering. He didn't had a complex goal and dream or had a change in his ideology halfway through the story.

He had a solid and down-to-earth intention of helping Queen Diana make peace with the people on Earth. He then fought with the single intention of bring peace with what he can do. He never had a whiny moment, never faltered in his determination and always sought out the best solutions for the problems he's facing.

The only 2 miraculous things that happened to him was that he chanced upon White Doll and that he unlocked Moonlight Butterfly, which are scenarios that can be found in all other Gundams.

Peace is brought in the end not by some psychic power or magic pixie dust, or massive beam spam. It is brought by the combined efforts of each and every character. Everyone did what they can, even making bread and feeding the population if that's what they can. The baker didn't hop into some MS left unattended and go on a suicide mission.

I don't know, there was never a single Gundam that was logical. Even the other more logical ones had kids piloting Gundams and such.

[fukarming]

The "problem" (if you hate Turn A) of Turn A is that it didn't look like a gundam series. Turn A lack the fancy fighting (beam spasm/ sword crossing) with characters shouting out ideology all the time. Since fancy fighting is a major part of the gundam franchise, taking it out alienate some of the audience.

Turn A's focus is on Dianna/ Kiel's (and other characters) growth in character. And their growth are obvious, but very subtle. This is also very un-gundam as most gundam franchise is about a brat learn to accept war in a dramatic version. Dianna/ Kiel's are neither brat nor their change are dramatic. This makes people think it is "boring"

The key point is, Turn A did not meet the expectation of some of the viewers. Think of it this way: You are invited to a chinese restaurant. You are expecting fried rice and lemon chicken. You end up in a real chinese restaurant with bone-in steam fish and just-cooked steam chicken. While they are superior to fried rice and lemon chicken, you might not like it simply because that is not what you expect.

[Shiroth]

Sure i get the point you're trying to make, though att the end of the day, i don't see why Turn A had to look like a traditional Gundam series.

[Akuma_Blade]

Mecha designs very ugly, concept design rotten*, side character designs tragicomical grade weak, memorable heroes and charicmatic anti heroes not appeared in this series (judged by my vision) If you'll can't want time loss, not watch or begin aftermost watch Turn A Gundam (Similarly, with G Gundam) in all Gundam metaseries. **

*I'm very big fan of Syd Mead's works, but Turn A Gundam fail for me.

**If I was be a Ghibli fan, maybe I like Turn A Gundam. But unfortunately, I not.

[C.A.]

Originally Posted by Akuma_Blade

Mecha designs very ugly, concept design rotten*, side character designs tragicomical grade weak, memorable heroes and charicmatic anti heroes not appeared in this series (judged by my vision) If you'll can't want time loss, not watch or begin aftermost watch Turn A Gundam (Similarly, with G Gundam) in all Gundam metaseries

*I'm very big fan of Syd Mead's works, but Turn A Gundam fail for me.

I really wouldn't call myself a real robot fanboy if I were you.

You seem to completely miss the context of Turn A Gundam. I don't know why you're looking for charismatic anti heroes, such characters are rare in real robots in the first place.

Judging by the severity of the words you use to describe the designs, you must have a very narrow tolerance for aesthetics. The problem lies with you more than the anime itself.

Your points of argument are very subjective and shallow. It doesn't make up enough to explain why it is a 'time loss'. There are alot of people who find that they're actually glad to have continued watching the show till the end despite not liking the designs much. I'm sure they found the time well spent.

[Akuma_Blade]

http://static4.animepaper.net/upload...ES__154576.jpg

Can you count "memorable" characters here? Well, how much? If we watch animes for 1-2 persons (or "1-2 character's development"), what I say about old Gundam series for memorable characters / epic anti heroes?

We're love Gundam 00 and Unicorn, because it's was combine UC series epic athmosphere and new gen's dynamic stories. And also, UC and AD suits have limits. But I can't say it about Turn A Gundam: Problem on there, not on me.

Many oldschool real robot series (Votoms, Patlabor, old Gundams, etc) have much more memorable designs and characters than Turn A Gundam for me. I say again: If I was be a Ghibli fan, maybe I was like Turn A Gundam. But unfortunately, I not.

[C.A.]

Like I said, your argument is extremely subjective, being memorable or not is not a point strong enough to support your claim that this show is a 'time loss'.

It seems like in your opinion, 'epic anti heroes' are memorable. I don't know, it seems to me that being an anti hero has nothing to do with being epic or memorable.

There are tons of memorable characters in Turn A. Loran is famous for being a lovable trap and wonderful character. Diana and Kihel were considered by many as two of the best female characters in Gundam. Harry Ord if anything has always been associated with 'epic' and 'UUUUNIIIVERRRSSSSEEEE'. Guin, the man who has the deepest love in the entire Gundam franchise towards another man. Gym Gingham made his Turn X one of the most loved final boss suits.

I feel sorry for you to not remember the wonderful cast of Turn A Gundam, which is exactly what this series is reputed for. It has the best character driven story in all of Gundam, with wonderful character development for the entire cast and not just one or two characters.

Memorable characters/ epic anti heroes, what you're implying here is that a memorable character to you must be an 'epic anti hero'. Obviously the problem here is with you, who only seems to like a very specific type of character. In Turn A, where it doesn't have such a character, it doesn't fall into your narrow spectrum of taste.

You're saying 'we' love Gundam 00 and Unicorn and grouping yourself with 'us', I don't know about 'epic atmosphere' and 'dynamic stories'. But 'we', over at this thread are mainly people who loved Turn A and probably liked 00 and Unicorn. This means that you are the odd one out who didn't like Turn A here. Which may mean that the problem is most likely on you, not the show, because 'we' liked Turn A and you didn't. Turn A has an epic atmosphere and dynamic story for some as well, again subjective.

Turn A had the most unique designs in Gundam and this itself already made it memorable, even for people who didn't like most of it. Harry Ord and his Sumo, Gym and Turn X are already two pairs of characters and MSes that left a great impression on people.

You know, this argument is pointless if there's no objective discussion. You can continue hating Turn A Gundam, while we can continue to love it.

[elindir]

Originally Posted by Akuma_Blade

http://static4.animepaper.net/upload...ES__154576.jpg

Can you count "memorable" characters here? Well, how much? If we watch animes for 1-2 persons (or "1-2 character's development"), what I say about old Gundam series for memorable characters / epic anti heroes?

We're love Gundam 00 and Unicorn, because it's was combine UC series epic athmosphere and new gen's dynamic stories. And also, UC and AD suits have limits. But I can't say it about Turn A Gundam: Problem on there, not on me.

Many oldschool real robot series (Votoms, Patlabor, old Gundams, etc) have much more memorable designs and characters than Turn A Gundam for me. I say again: If I was be a Ghibli fan, maybe I was like Turn A Gundam. But unfortunately, I not.

If you don't like the designs, it is not necessarily the designers' fault, but yours, as C.A. has pointed out eariler.

The topic of memorable characters is the same, really. There are some memorable characters for me, but there are none for you. Is it the show's fault? I think not. If you want to blame Turn A Gundam (and you obviously want to), the only thing you can say about it is that it is a show which doesn't appeal to all Gundam fans. In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with this, I'm glad that Tomino and the other creators wanted to do something different at last.

[Sir Dearka]

I have to admit that I am a movie maniac, but as subjective as my approach is, I am also aware of the fact that others may like a film for a whole different reason I do. Same case about Gundam Turn A precisely. One just have to see the titles that made me get into the whole franchise... For me, it all started with Wing and SEED - two series that had this "cool factor" that drove in masses of kids rooting for climactic battles and so-called 'charismatic (anti)heroes'. And that's why I am still a person that finds such traits as cool "samurai" mecha designs, beam-spamming action and brats "shouting ideologies at each other" to be often crucial parts of every Gundam title. It's true that my love for Gundam evolved and expanded to all the possible titles, but I have to admit that my biases and preferences concerning the Gundamverse are still there... Turn A, despite its great music, fantastically detailed world and interesting, different approach, just did not appeal to me because of several facts... I never looked for the series with those traits which made TA so brilliant in others' eyes, nor I found it interesting enough after watching a couple of first episodes to delve deeper into the story. And the mecha design was more than horrible to me. Nothing to show even to my non-Gundam fan friends, really...

[janipani]

I just completed watching Turn A, and I really liked it. This was my second attempt. I tried it earlier, but it was difficult to get on, because it is so different and perhaps I failed last time for a reason that I had just watched GS and GSD.

As I said, I really liked Turn A. Battles weren't that good, but settings were really beautiful. And if you think about it, it's quite understandable that battles were clumsy since either of the sides were not used to fight and there was no superior race.

Before I had seen any Gundam series, I also thought Gundam was just to sell toys. And because I don't like such things it took a while before I gave Gundam a chance. For me Gundam is good, because it has plots and twists.

Gundam is about war, yes, but it is also about chivalry, strong ladies, strong leaders and ideologies. Gundam is always concentrating on lives behind the scenes of war.

Turn A has everything that Gundam needs to have, but slow start makes Turn A, a turn off for many.

What I don't like in Turn A. At first it is very difficult to imagine the incidence to be global scale. Why there wasn't enough room for Moonrace on earth when it really seemed like there was only one city in whole world. The scale of things were badly described, perhaps this was made in favor of mystery.

Some of the twist and ending was a bit lame. And the last line Loran made to make us realize who he was with, was totally not need. Of course we knew he was with his beloved Dianna-sama and Kihel was the one who went on the Moon.

Some actions of Dianna where really reckless, and I hate the scenes where Dianna was traveling on Whitedoll's hand even it was clearly very dangerous and there was enough room for two inside the cockpit and when it became more dangerous Loran's decision was to let her down and make her wait for him. That's crazy. If I had woman whom I liked like an idiot, I wouldn't carry her on robot hand and dumb her some place dangerous.. even if it wasn't dangerous it would be much nicer together inside. XD Well I understand that it was on purpose to make us viewers to go near nervous breakdown even it wasn't logical.

This show was really cruel for little Sochie. She lost her father, lost her fiancee and her biggest love went with the princess.


I think Turn A is better than 00 and Wing. I don't like 00 too much.

[roriconfan]

Reviews speak louder that comments, lol. This is mine.

Spoiler for an old review of mine:

VALUE & ENJOYMENT SECTIONS: 9 (although much less, if you are not a seasoned Gundam fan)

This is another alternative timeline of the Gundam series. But it can easily “fit in” the normal one, as it occurs 2.000 years in the future, and any deviations from its normal narrative form are easily justified (the world changed a lot).

I must warn you NOT to watch this series if you are not a seasoned Gundam fan. It is very different from the more famous Gundam titles (the original, Wing, Seed) and may feel alienated if you expect to see something similar to the aforementioned ones. I, myself, gave up pretty soon on it, the first time I tried to watch it years ago. But after watching several other Gundam spin-offs and mecha-related series since then, I can say with certainty that Turn-A is the best non-canon Gundam title in terms of atmosphere. It lacks the perplexity, seriousness and epic warfare of the original Gundam but makes up for most of the damage with a lot more character-focused story and several dramatic/comical scenes.

The series is mostly drama and comedy, rather sci-fi and action. It can easily disappoint those of you who care a lot about graphics and epic space battles, as there are only skirmishes with mostly low-teck mecha in it. But for those who care about emotional characters and an easy-going plot, it will not disappoint them.

Plus, there are several Easter Eggs that only those who have seen all previous series (like me) will recognize. The series is brimming with references to previous Gundam titles, even those of different alternative timelines (without story continuity). Some I still remember are:
-The cannon the Moon-race possesses is the same as the one in Gundam Victory.
-The Turn-X mecha uses several Gundam G special attacks.
-Records left from the Dark History show footage of the colony dropping from the beginning of the original Gundam, Gundam X unfolding its wings and the 5 mecha of Gundam Wing fighting.
All these are just Tributes (no impact in the story) but increase the interest for all those who recognize them by waiting for the next reference to pop-up at anytime.



ANIMATION SECTION: 7

At first, the graphics may seem crude. The character figures are simplistic and with wide outlines. The explosions are very fake most of the time. The mecha designs are bulky and don’t do much. The motion fluidity suffers realism. There is even plenty of stale imaging in the background. BUT!…

If you carefully watch WHAT the characters and the mecha do, and not HOW WELL THE THING THEY ARE DOING IS DEPICTED, you will be amazed at the variety, originality and smartness of their actions. From the way they stroke their hair, to the way they look around, move around, express emotions, plan their next move, it is amongst the most realistic I have ever seen.

The mecha designs may look stupid at first but in fact are very well thought of. They clearly represent the technological level of the civilization that made them (the world is like in the beginning of the 20th century) and are filled with gadgets, pipes, and other extras, that are clearly there for a reason (part of how they operate, fight, move, etc.).

The world in the series is also well depicted. Everything has a retro feeling of the Renaissance and the Steam Age. Several depictions of really old versions of today’s everyday appliances give a big boost in realism and atmosphere. And all countries have altered names of today’s countries (Ameria instead of America, Inglesia instead of England, Kabaria instead of Caribbean) so you can easily compare them with the normal ones.

Also, you will notice that there is a lot of nude in the series, something that all Gundam series generally avoid. Most episodes feature a pretty lady undressing or the camera zooming in her juicy parts. These scenes are not sleazy enough to turn the series into “ecchi” but sure keep your eyes open through the slow-pace story.



SOUND SECTION: 7

Voice acting and sound effects were ok, but they could sure do a better job. Most characters’ voices don’t have a variety in speech volume (they talk in the same way, no matter the situation) and the music themes were repeating too often.

But the music themes themselves… wow! At first they sounded like a bunch of pop nonsense (catchy phrases are LALALU, NANANA, MILLENNIUM COLOR) but they slowly become very likable. They are a weird mix of Indian, African, Midi, Opera and who knows what else. So strange words and so deep meanings, easily gave a magical/elegiac atmosphere to the series. You feel really nostalgic when hearing them.



STORY SECTION: 8

The extremely high-teck Universal Century Era ended with a great war that wiped out all technology and civilizations. Humanity on Earth reverted back to the Stone Age. The colonies around the Earth were all destroyed but the people on the moon retained some technology.

2.000 years pass and the events before the war were forgotten and are now referred only as Dark History. Mankind on Earth (referred to as Earth race) reached an early 20th century technological level, while mankind on the moon (referred to as Moon-race) was several centuries more advanced. Once again, overpopulation on the moon leads to immediate migration to Earth. The Earth-race sees that as invasion and refuses to accept them. Skirmishes break up, with the Moon-race seemingly winning, thanks to their use of mecha.

The protagonist is Loran, a young Moon-race member who was secretly sent with others as pioneers and spies on Earth. During a skirmish, he (as it always happens in Gundam!) accidentally finds a Gundam unit inside a stone statue and fights his own people in order to protect the defenseless Earth citizens he became friends with. The story is mainly about learning to fight better and helping in the negotiations for peace.

The story is very slow-paced but it has no fillers and every episode has at least one worthy scene. Just as in all Gundam series, we have all the main story elements present:

-Unlike having a typical “Aliens/monsters vs Humans” story, Gundam has a “Humans vs Humans” story. So, we feel sad even when the bad guys lose, because they are not heartless/bizarre aliens/monsters, bound to destroy Earth. They are mistreated people with feelings and hopes for the future, like the good guys.

-There are essentially no good guys and bad guys. The apparent good Earth-race of the planet’s surface is a bunch of ignorant stuck-ups and xenophobes. The apparent evil Moon-race of the moon cause mass destruction and murder because the Earth-race didn’t allow their vital migration through peaceful means.

-Many events are reminiscent of real-life historical events (same as those in my Kidou Senshi Gundam review).

-Other issues of great importance are also discussed in the series (same as those in my Kidou Senshi Gundam review).

-Gundam is also a sci-fi war drama. There is angst before the tragedy of war and sorrow for the dead in the battles. No one is treated just as a faceless drone.

So, the story is great but because it tends to move very slow (50 episodes) and without much action (only skirmishes), it loses two points.

WARNING! The final episode has a frenzied pace. Too many things happen in only 20 minutes. Plus, it is VERY SAD. Almost Saikano sad! Be emotionally prepared for not another “and lived happily ever after” ending (which is a good thing, for this kind of story).



CHARACTER SECTION: 8

At first, the characters seem like wimps. They mostly act childishly and superficially. But this is done intentionally as all their silliness leads to realistic reactions, such as misunderstandment, conflict and mistrust. This is the driving force that moves the story forward or causes funny and tragic events to occur. By being problematic as characters, the story becomes more perplex and unexpected and themselves more “real”, since all normal people have their share of flaws.

So, Loran is a spineless dork when it comes to women, his main female friend attacks and hits without thinking, the rival woman officer wants to kill him by disobeying orders, the Earth representative is willing to betray his country in order to become great, the enemy leader wants to destroy the Earth just to give humanity history through wars and so on, and so on. Their un-colored voices and rather weak presence damage their appeal but they are otherwise GREAT!

And with such a sad ending, you actually get to like them even more for their tragic conclusion. So, enjoy! A lot!



VERDICT
The accused is found … NOT GUILTY! … He doesn’t dress in a trendy way, but he thinks a lot more mature than most.

SUGGESTION LIST
Legend of the Galactic Heroes. (Excellent!) Also a war drama. No mecka but story and characters put Gundam to shame.

Overall, I give it 8/10. Way too high for my standards.

[A l l e l u j a h]

At first, Turn A Gundam was in my "don't watch" list mainly because of the Gundam design, I mean come on a Gundam with a Mustache. Anyway, upon playing Super Robot Wars Alpha Gaiden, the combining story line of Turn A Gundam and Gundam X was so epic. As a result,I tried watching Turn A Gundam and to my surprise, despite the nasty mustache and gay-ish pixie dusts, Turn A Gundam's story was pretty awesome.

[DC23]

Unlike most of you here I find the Turn A Gundam design refreshing...I do understand the mustache being ugly and all...but I love the leg and torso design, very unique I must say. Plus this is my fav Gundam kit that i have today.

The story is a drag at first but eventually builds up to be entertaining. pretty solid stuff.

[A l l e l u j a h]

^
well I was kinda used to gundams having a V sign on their forehead so.. yeah Turn A's design was a bit of an eyesore for me.

[roriconfan]

^ And I was used to have a war drama of sorts in my Gundam series. Yet that didn't prevent a great deal of people to like G Gundam. I found it ridiculous (WINDMILL GUNDAM???) but they found it refreshing... BS, it wasn't fresh, it reverted to the retarded power rangers formula it tried to crawl away from in the beginning (0079). But hey, some liked the mustache, some liked the gundam rangers...
Shining middle finger from me to that series but lots of people liked it.

[DC23]

The Turn A model kit pretty much made me watch this series actually...plus the model kit is really well done, makes you appreciate the design a little more. The problem is...would you buy the kit in the first place. hehehe

[C.A.]

Originally Posted by roriconfan

^ And I was used to have a war drama of sorts in my Gundam series. Yet that didn't prevent a great deal of people to like G Gundam. I found it ridiculous (WINDMILL GUNDAM???) but they found it refreshing... BS, it wasn't fresh, it reverted to the retarded power rangers formula it tried to crawl away from in the beginning (0079). But hey, some liked the mustache, some liked the gundam rangers...
Shining middle finger from me to that series but lots of people liked it.

When someone brings up 'Power Rangers', it immediately points out that they don't understand the entire deal between Super Sentai, Super Robots and Hotbloodedness. It failed to you because you don't understand the context at all. Giving a middle finger to other peoples' opinions doesn't prove anything except your own vulgarity.

Its really sad that people turn away from the show because of a mustache.

People are such hypocrites when they claim that the most important thing to a story is the plot, yet they couldn't get past aesthetics. And like we've mentioned many times in this thread itself, there are many, including myself who loved Turn A's design.

Mustache = fail? No, there was never such a thing.