Friday, November 14, 2003
Gundam movies deal...
Just a quick mention that Rightstuf has a nice deal on the box set of the original three Gundam movies. You may know tha Gundam is a big franchise of anime and model kits and you may have seen some of the later incarnations, but have you seen what started it all?
Gundam was originally a TV series that actually wasn't all that popular and ended a bit quicker than first intended. It had a similar phenomenon as Star Trek in that it became immensely popular during reruns. At some point, it was decided to condense the series into three movies, cutting out some of the repetitive filler, re-animating some scenes, and fleshing out the ending. Many people prefer the movies to the individual episodes, and as the episodes are currently only availible dubbed on DVD, while the movies also have the Japanese track, I definitely recommend these.
So, I really enjoyed these movies. They are real classics with characters and situations that have spawned many many copies and variations over time. It set out to take the giant robot concept and make it a more realistic epic war story with a reluctant hero, which was pretty revolutionary at the time. You can see how it influences many series later on including Evangelion. But I recommend these not just because Gundam is a classic, but because of the solid storytelling. If you can get past the somewhat dated animation, there is a lot to like here, IMO.
Also, if you are in more a comics mood, the Gundam the Origin manga also retells this story, by the character designer of the anime. I haven't read it myself yet, but I've heard several people say it is well done, and the artwork looks really nice.
Gundam was originally a TV series that actually wasn't all that popular and ended a bit quicker than first intended. It had a similar phenomenon as Star Trek in that it became immensely popular during reruns. At some point, it was decided to condense the series into three movies, cutting out some of the repetitive filler, re-animating some scenes, and fleshing out the ending. Many people prefer the movies to the individual episodes, and as the episodes are currently only availible dubbed on DVD, while the movies also have the Japanese track, I definitely recommend these.
So, I really enjoyed these movies. They are real classics with characters and situations that have spawned many many copies and variations over time. It set out to take the giant robot concept and make it a more realistic epic war story with a reluctant hero, which was pretty revolutionary at the time. You can see how it influences many series later on including Evangelion. But I recommend these not just because Gundam is a classic, but because of the solid storytelling. If you can get past the somewhat dated animation, there is a lot to like here, IMO.
Also, if you are in more a comics mood, the Gundam the Origin manga also retells this story, by the character designer of the anime. I haven't read it myself yet, but I've heard several people say it is well done, and the artwork looks really nice.
