Gundam Seed Recommended

Publisher
BEEZ
Director
Mitsuo Fukuda
Production
Sotsu Agency, Sunrise
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
50 Episodes/25 Minutes Each
Year
2002

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Volume 3

By Joseph (Joe) Wood
13th Aug 05

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED is a new beginning for the Gundam saga. Similar to the original /mobile Suit Gundam in many ways, SEED also offers a number of differences. Rather than having the naturally evolved Newtypes, Co-ordinators are artificially enhanced. Since SEED’s release in Japan and America, it has proved immensely popular, and has already spawned a sequel in the form of Gundam SEED: Destiny. Could it be that the Cosmic Era is the Universal Century for a new generation of fans?

Kira, after handing Lacus over to Athrun, and launching the Strike, must face a disciplinary hearing for putting the Archangel and its crew in serious danger. As the Archangel tries to meet up with the eighth fleet, the ZAFT Gundam pilots quickly make plans to try to stop it beforehand. Flay still distraught at her father’s death begins to slip into despair. Even after the Archangel has joined up with the eighth fleet there is difficulties still, as the civilian crew must decide wither to leave their new home or stay aboard, a decision made all the more difficult when Le Creuset returns to the battle field with Athrun. Can Kira be convinced to stay and fight now that he and his friends are safe, when Flay decides to join the Earth Military and stay on board will Kira’s friends follow suit. Kira sets out in the Strike again, but unable to make it back to the Archangel before it begins it is descent into the Earth’s atmosphere, the Strike also begins to plummet through the atmosphere, is this the end…We also learn more about the first Co-ordinators and the events that lead to the creation of ZAFT.

The third volume is certainly the most impressive so far. All five of our Gundams get a lot of action, in some of the most spectacular scenes seen so far. The space battles are amazing some of the best and with SEED’s high production levels the animation is some of the best out there on the UK market now. The Gundam series has never been one to shy away from showing both sides of the conflict, and SEED is no exception. Yzak one of the pilots of ZAFT has captured Gundams, swears revenge on Kira and the Strike after suffering defeat by Kira. We see how Flay changes due to her feelings about her father and towards Kira and Co-ordinators in general. We also see more of Athrun as he talks to Lacus. The characters are truly believable and as they continue to develop, you also seem to grow more attached to them

The music is amazing, the battle during battles keep the viewer griped to the edge of their seat, and keeps them going through some of the more mundane sections.

Unfortunately, the third volume does feel slightly weaker than the previous two, despite a few things coming to the foreground, mainly characterisation. There’s no change in the fact that the Archangel is simply trying to escape from ZAFT’s forces, fortunately this looks set to change in the next volume as the Archangel lands on Earth, although behind enemy lines. The third volume could have been better but in a ten volume series there’s bound to be one or two weak volumes, and it should still be worth checking out future volumes.

R2 DVD Notes

Features: English/Dutch/French Subtitles, English/Japanese 5.1 Dub, English/Japanese Stero Dub, Beez Trailers, Mechanical/Charcter files, Production Seketches, Clean Opening and Closing Animation.

Release information: Publisher: BEEZ Released: August 15th 2005 Classification: PG Running Time: 144mins

Notes: The extras on this DVD certainly add to the value of it. The Mechanical files and charcter files are fairly intresting as are the production sketches. Also the DVD contains a small pantlet with extra information on terms or minor charcters.

-- Joseph (Joe) Wood 13th Aug 05

Gundam Seed Images