Does this even count as anime

EmmyMoomin said:
Side note: I think this looks absolutely horrendous and is nothing like how Gundam should be.

Infamous_Empire said:
The production company behind it and animation studio making it are Japanese, and given how Netflix releases things it'll most likely have a Japanese language dub simultaneous to the English one. Also, with that taken into consideration and the fact that the show's director is actually German, it's somewhat disingenuous to say the show is made "by Americans"



Gonna have to take a second to disagree on both counts. Visually speaking, it looks like a video game cutscene/cinematic, but, like, cutscenes and cinematics on this level tend to look pretty good and this is honestly no exception. There haven't been many shows animated like that before, but I honestly think it'd be unfair to dismiss it purely on that basis.

In regards to being nothing like "how Gundam should be", that's frankly just nonsensical. It's a war story set in the UC, caked in the gritty, boots-on-the-ground feel typical of OYW side stories like 08th MS Team or Thunderbolt, and even the fact that it's seemingly focused on Zeon's side isn't that new or inherently different from what's been tried before when The Origin OVAs or, to a lesser extent, the aforementioned Thunderbolt exist. There's been far, far more bizarre and non-"Gundam-like" premises that have still been able to deliver on the themes which make Gundam what it is (see also: Mobile Fighter G Gundam), so I honestly don't see what makes this so different

EmmyMoomin said:
The thing is, I’m pretty big on UC gundam. In fact, my only non-UC Gundam series has been g-witch.

EmmyMoomin said:
This just looks completely soulless. Americans just don’t get Gundam at all. This is like a Gundam series for people who’ve only heard about Gundam but haven’t watched it. And from people who have watched all of the 1 year war stuff, they tell me it’s super unoriginal.

Infamous_Empire said:


And even within that range of knowledge, the types of themes and stories told varies wildly. The grand worldwide epics of Zeta and ZZ, the small scale intimacy of War in the Pocket, the grizzled and grounded Vietnam-esque conflict of 08th MS Team, the energetic madness of Thunderbolt, the list goes on just in the UC alone. And G-Witch is massively different from established stuff given its school setting, emphasis on corporate warfare, and different approach to Transnumanist themes. Fundamentally, there’s no one right way to do Gundam and no Gundam installment is inherently less valid for having a different approach to the franchise’s existing ideas.



Firstly, you’re just straight up contradicting yourself here, claiming the series is unlike how Gundam should be while also saying it isn’t unique compared to other One Year War stuff.

Secondly, you’re not really saying anything substantial here. What about it makes it soulless? What about it seems like it doesn’t get Gundam? How can you even tell that from a few trailers which reveal almost nothing about the show’s plot or themes? You’re saying nothing but vague platitudes without actually explaining or backing up any of your assertions.

Also gonna side eye you for the “Americans don’t get Gundam” remark, textbook elitist behavior

EmmyMoomin said:
American colourless grit is the last thing any gundam series should have.

Infamous_Empire said:


"American colorless grit", my dude, that's just another variety of Military Fiction aesthetics, just one which isn't as present in mainstream anime. Note that I didn't say it isn't present at all, since there's quite a few other anime out there which play to a similar theme, see also Armored Trooper VOTOMS or The Sky Crawlers (AKA one of the greatest anime films ever made). Hell, again, Gundam Thunderbolt is a show which plays to a similar aesthetic, just with more jazzy musical madness. Move outside the realm of anime specifically and there's even more major pieces of Japanese pop culture which play to the aesthetic like Armored Core.

Additionally, trying to judge a work's substance based on its aesthetic is, again, fundamentally just shallow. Military Sci-Fi on both sides of the Pacific with this aesthetic have been telling stories with the same themes as Gundam for ages, so what makes this so fundamentally unconscionable for inclusion in Gundam's pantheon? And again, works with aesthetics and themes far more removed from the basics of Gundam than this have still managed to fit into Gundam, I hate to beat a dead horse, but GO WATCH G GUNDAM!

EmmyMoomin said:
It seems to me that you don’t actually care about good gundam content

Old_School_Akira said:
Gundam is no longer a "anime"?