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One word. Pacing. It felt exactly as one would fear: like a bunch of disjointed anime episodes stitched together nonsensically in a way that ruined the pacing. Like to compared to Mugen Train which had a complete arc and felt like a complete movie, this not only felt like a Part 1 in the worst way, it felt like episode 1, episode 5-7 and episode 13-16 of a 24-cour stitched together. There were 3 main arc/plot threads in this film and one of them (Kanao/Shinobu) couldve been removed entirely and placed in the 2nd movie, it isn't resolved here, doesnt connect to any of ... the other arcs and was basically filler here. And then there's the ACTUAL filler (ie 10+ min of people aimlessly wandering). Of the two remaining arc standout imo was the Zenitsu arc which while standard, was executed very well. Yes the Senior was a bit comically evulz, but his and Zenitsu's relationship and clashing inferiorities was handled pretty well. Top arc WOULD'VE gone to the Akaza fight... if they didn't Jebait us 3 times and then insert a 40minute flashback arc that was super by the books, predictable and tropey. And the worst part? Everything about that fight up until the flashback was SO GOOD. The battle, the animations, the lessons learned and battle thoughts. The backstory that was SO TASTEFULLY HINTED AT UNTIL THAT POINT. Like Koyuki and Keizo appearing to hold him back for a few frames was so well done and SHOWED SO MUCH in such little time. And then they just HAD to TELL US all of it again over 40 minutes after the fight was already over. And it didn't tell us anything new. Everything we saw in those 40 minutes was predictable by anyone who's ever seen any movie or anime before. and none of it topped those subtle character flashes up until then. SHOW, DON'T TELL. Whatever, rant over. Would've been better as another season of the anime.

Disappointing. To preface with a little history: Tsuyokute no New Saga was one of the earlier pioneers of the regression genre, before it caught on in the mainstream. At the time, it stood out for being a tad more grounded than most, focusing on the consequence of Kyle's actions both in the past present. Yes the slapstick was still there but it was balanced just like the character designs which were more history appropriate. Now,, years later the anime comes out and it's not only late to the party, the designs and directing has made it painfully generics. Full of multicolor anime hair, cutesier aesthetics, ... a pg-13 feel and the same bland design principles as every other isekai-adjacent product of the past decade. And don't even get me started on the downright wacky ridiculous soundtrack that plays at every moment even serious ones. Like who plays excited wacky party-jazz when reliving the trauma of your friends dying in the past and finally reuniting with one who can believe you? And then there's the 2FPS fight scenes. Unless you REALLY need voice acting I'd recommend just reading the manga. Its the best of the 3 imo, the LN's a bit more complete but meanders here and there and doesnt have the visuals of the manga.

Man this one's a toughie to review. To start, it's tropey, stereotypical, predictable and kinda cringey. But MAN if that isn't true to source. The movie opens with an interview that admits they've promised it for a while, and complaint, every eye-roll is true to for for Gundam Seed: 200s anime tropey soap opera romance? Check. Telekinetic mind powers and kidnapping the main love interest? Check. Main character moping about it for an extended period of time until his bestie literally punches it out of him? Double check. New characters who are obviously destined to be turncoats or main villains, set in some new nation ... that TOTALLY isn't plotting to restart war? CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK. But that's just it; only the last point is new to the Gundam Seed franchise, so it's kinda nostalgic just how dated these steretypes are.

Which is entirely swept away once act 3 begins, cause it's kinda great. With great moments both character wise and action-wise. I even forgot about the CG MECHs for a second. Was some of it completely nonsensical (cough Stella cough)? Yeah. Was the main villains plan just "Hey, we like Durandal, let's just do that again with less subtlety/buildup and slightly more r*pey"? YEAH. BUT DAMN if it didn't have some great moments. Finally seeing an extended ship vs ship fight in space? With all the mechanics and nuances? Yup. Finally having enough non-named ships for the not-Archangel (because it went down... AGAIN) to destroy and actually show off Murrue's prowess? Ayup. Lunamaria actually being pretty dope as a pilot? yupyup. Shinn actually have some great character growth and some of the best moments in the fight? Hell yeah. And then angel winged Freedom Lacus-beaming an entire battlefield's worth of missiles and then cutting a base in half while Kira does his hand to hand shit? FUCK YES. And that's not even spoiling Mu or Athrun's moments. GOD WHY COULDNT THIS MOVIE HAVE JUST BEEN THE SECOND HALF ONWARDS?!?!? But yeah, it wouldn't have been a Gundam Seed product without all the moping and angst I suppose. Wanted to give this a 7, just for the 3rd act, I didnt like it as much as say Lelouch of the Ressurection (which is abs not perfect lol) but I found the ending kinda weak, weaker than the ending of Destiny.

For all it's faults, Destiny's ending, with Shinn meeting Kira again, coming to terms with everything and working together was pretty sweet. And then the after-ending (OVA bits?) of Kira joining Zaft to work with Lacus showed progression and a hint of the future. The SPOILER ending here, as cute as seeing Kria and Lacus post-coitus on a beach is, doesn't really feel final and certainly doesnt resolve the central conflict of the film; that Kira's exhausted by the endless nature of conflict and Lacus is powerless to actually enforce peace so they can retire together. Yeah I get it, he can face anything with her by his side, and he doesnt have to worry about his purpose as a warrior when she's with him, but it doesnt really feel final y'know, that shit's not even new. Maybe if they OVA/Blu-ray edit it to have an edited ending (FOR THE THIRD TIME) I 'd come back and make it a 7+ but as it is, it's a cute but mopey nostalgia trip with a badass third act that never really rose above it's roots. Just kinda more of the same, but with a weaker villain that's just less charismatic Durandal.

Air Gear was a manga that derailed when it stopped emphasizing the main story and character, and started dealing with back stories, and characters arcs left and right. Back when we focused on Ikki, we had funny hijinks, badass ideas, and just general awesomeness. Now we have unimpactful-world views, friendship is magic, and a million subplots. The ending, I feel solved many plot hole for the (now-central) side characters (I mean, how else was I going to find out that Onigiri is now married to Sarome, who is somehow not dead form having her neck twisted 180 degrees, and Kazu finally goes out with Emily) ... but it really lacks what we were looking for, like Ikki getting to ride with Simca, or where everyone goes from there, or even WHERE DID IKKI COME FROM. They never really cover the plot holes with his natural talent (jumping off Tokyo Tower), his relation to Dr. Minami, or why he needed to be adopted in the first place. If it wasn't for the newfound conspiracy theory about how mangakas are ending their mangas to send a message to the greedy publishers, I would say that Oh!Great could have done a lot better. Considering his time span though... well, at least it wasn't Negima's ending :)