Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ anime info and recommendations. It is Universal Century 0088. Haman Khan has claim.

1. Puru Gundam Zz

Synopsis In Universal Century 0088, the Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG) has emerged victorious in its war with the Earth Federation's Titans at the cost of devastating losses. Neo-Zeon, the third faction in the war formerly known as Axis Zeon, remains as powerful as ever. Led by Newtype Haman Karn, Neo-Zeon has been implementing plans to take over both Earth and the space colonies. The AEUG flagship Argama heads to the Side 1 colony Shangri-La for repairs.

Living in the colony is Judau Ashta, a 14-year-old junk dealer who is struggling to make enough money to put his younger sister through school. Upon the discovery of an escape pod containing a former Titans pilot, Judau and his friends are quickly led to the Argama in hopes of stealing a mobile suit which they can sell for a fortune. However, with the arrival of a Neo-Zeon ship seeking to defeat the Argama, Judau and his friends are dragged into to a conflict that will bring them across space and Earth.

Written by MAL Rewrite. Overall 8 Story 8 Animation 8 Sound 9 Character 8 Enjoyment 8 This is a direct sequel to Zeta, but not only as that, I think of them as one big series itself despite the opposite nature of the first half ZZ that no reviewer should over look when reviewing this anime. Apparently some of the audience, executives of Sunrise and Bandai, and Tomino’s wife thought that Zeta was way too dark and gritty which is something many fans thought was what made that series distinguishing. Plus Tomino even felt bad about the nature of Zeta and thinks anime should make people happy. Then again, he was going through a depression. While with the first half of Double Zeta, he makes it very campy and childish. It’s pretty bad to the point where it has driven fans away from the show.

Granted it is annoying, sorry to bring this as a spoiler, but it eventually goes back to the dark and gritty nature of Zeta, which I thought was enough to redeem itself. Thankfully this transition gives opportunities where the characters will develop and they become likeable. But I think you should understand Tomino’s mentality and approach to things to truly appreciate the story and characters. The contrast of this anime is a little brighter and the designs are more neon in a very 1980s manner.

Especially the hair styles and costume designs. It’s just more childish to truly make it more cartoony in comparison to Zeta and thus being more kid friendly. And of course some of the battles in the beginning are more comedic and ridiculous and untradtitional of what you can say is Gundam, though not as cheesy or over the top as G Gundam of course. But it’s nice to see that the Zeta Gundam, and other suits from Zeta are still in use and present, but they don’t have the same charisma which is a bizarre way to describe it as they did in the first season. But I do think the Double Zeta is pretty nifty and it’s bulkiness and style brings another kind of likeable distinction mostly because it’s different. But the battles eventually go back to the quality it had in Zeta and what most hardcore Gundam fans would like. Some of the music is also of course more campy and childish though it still retains some of the background music from Zeta Gundam.

The first opening theme, Anime Janai is very ookie and geeky, but despite that, I naturally have to agree that it did compliment the nature of the series at that time, but still went well with the presented imagery. But the 2nd opening theme, Silent Voice where the series gets better is more traditionally of something you’d rather hear in anime. It’s very high spirited and intense and energetic. The seiyuu cast is still top notch.

Yao Kazuki, the voice of Jedau sounded a little old for a 14 year old and the childish nature of his character. He was also the voice of Iketani of Initial D, Takeda from History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi, and Fei Long in Street Fighter II V. It’s hard to take him seriously in a more comedic role and as an early teenager. And I enjoyed the voice of Sakakibara Yoshiko as Harman.

She had a passion and charisma to her character as well as this intimidation to her voice. So I got nothing much to complain in the voice acting department. Just like One Piece, this series takes a while to get into and get into a certain pace to truly appreciate it.

I don’t think the initial episodes despite how insulting it was after going through Zeta should not refrain you from watching the whole series since it does redeem itself. I was only able to survive and enjoy the series because I gave it that chance. Afterall, this isn’t Gundam SEED Destiny, which is what I personally found as the worst Gundam series of all time and got progressively worse. Anyway, I say this is something more for the likes of dedicated Gundam fans, and not necessarily for casual anime fans.

Just give this series a chance. Overall 8 Story 7 Animation 7 Sound 8 Character 9 Enjoyment 9 Mobile Suit Gundam Double Zeta.

It gets a lot of bad press. 'Worst Gundam Ever' is a common phrase when ZZ comes up in conversation. I'm going to go and stand out on a lonely, creaking limb and say I liked it. Say I liked it better than Zeta.

Now let me tell you why. The Characters: The main difference between Zeta and ZZ is that a majority of the main characters are teenagers. Judau Ashta - the protaganist and pilot of Gundam Double Zeta - isn't interested in piloting or fighting at all in the beginning.

When the badly damaged Argama lands at their colony, he and his friends are simply interested in the Gundam for its scrap value, as they have been left to fend for themselves while their parents have presumably gone off to (or died in) the war. His younger sister Leina worries about him sacrificing his education to earn money and doesn't like him hanging around with the somewhat inscrupulous Beecha and Mondo. Along with feisty girl Elle and unassuming Ino, Judau and his friends get caught up in the activities of the Argama during their attempts to rob it, and form the core of the series from beginning to end. While it's hard to warm to them all at first, you can't help but feel happy for Beecha as after doubts about the war and attempted defection, he finds his calling as a Captain rather than a Mobile Suit pilot, or get caught up in their personal battles when grief causes Mondo to have no thoughts except revenge.

The idea of the Cyber-Newtype is carried on from Zeta in the guise of Elpeo Puru. A young girl similar to Four Murasume and Rosamia Badam, Puru can go from child-like over dependance on Judau to ace pilot bent on destroying him.

My main problem with the cyber-newtypes in Zeta was that firstly I felt that having Four, Rosamia and Sarah was overkill, and that they could have been combined into one memorable character. Secondly I never really felt very much for them (which also made it hard to empathise with why Kamille did) as they never got much screen time.

Puru however spends a lot of time with the main characters during the middle of the series which gives her character a chance to develop much more than Four or Rosamia did. Haman Karn is back again as the main antagonist of the series, along with the new characters Glemy Toto, Mashymyre Cello and Chara Soon.

Mashymyre is the first foe Judau and friends face - initially almost a comic relief character, a chivalrous villain who refuses to play by anything other than the rules for the sake of his hopeless infatuation with Haman. Indeed, this is really the only thing which saves the untrained (and inept) Judau from death in the early episodes. Later we see a different side to Mashymyre when he is the architect of a colony drop on Dublin. Chara follows a similar (but more sympathetic) path - possesed of particularly overt sexuality she is always a source of humour, but there is also the feeling that something is not quite right in her mind - a personality split which makes it equally likely she will behave in a fun-loving or cruel manner.

Glemy Toto, Judau's main nemesis, we see first as he too naively enters his first Mobile Suit battle, and watch as power gradually comes to corrupt him utterly. Sadly he never gets the kind of character development or sympathetic scenes that Jerrod Mesa got in Zeta, which makes him a weaker character as we never really learn what (if anything) drives him to make the decisions he does. The Story: I enjoyed Zeta Gundam, but I often found myself picking holes. The most pervasive problem I had was the short lived and duplicated storylines. For example; Someone develops feelings for an enemy.

Someone is kidnapped. One episode later they escape.

Wait, they've been captured again. Kamille meets Four. Here she is again. With ZZ some of the same ideas are there, but they are slowed down to a speed which actually allows for some character development. Leina is kidnapped by Glemy and is gone for 10-15 episodes, and Puru joins the Argama and stays for a good 20.

Chara and Mashymyre dissappear completly to be returned towards the end only when they are relevant, they aren't kept around needlessly or killed off and replaced with yet another generic villain. As with all Gundam series, ZZ has it's tragic moments.

Puru Gundam Zz

But it picks them carefully and neither milks them for pathos nor glosses over the characters' emotions making them seem cold. People suffer, some moreso than others and some cope with loss better than others. The::slap:: 'get over it, this is war!' Attitude to emotion seems to have gone - indeed Captain Bright even says at one point, when berated for the fact that the main characters still behave like kids; 'I gave up trying to make them anything else.'

Which seems to be as much a lesson that the writers of ZZ have learned as he has. I can understand why people react badly to ZZ at first. The first few episodes on the Shangri-La colony have a lot of humour in them - they don't take themselves seriously and even gently parody ideas from previous Gundam series. Quite a contrast to the dark final episodes of Zeta, but Tomino has said that it was his intention to cheer the audience up, as he felt that more of the same would depress them. And that's perhaps it, the fact that Double Zeta feels more hopeful than it's predecessor, not afraid to have a little fun along with the war and the tragedy, has endeared it to me.

Overall 7 Story 7 Animation 7 Sound 8 Character 8 Enjoyment 7 A controversial one. The black sheep of Gundams UC timeline starts off horrible with its comedic approach, but almost reaches Zetas quality of dramatic storytelling in its last third. Especially the second half makes it a must watch for any Gundam Fan, as important political UC relevant events take place. If you want to have a complete understanding of the UC timeline ZZ is quite important to watch (Haman Karn is one of the most intimidating villains in the franchise). The cast of likable characters makes it also very enjoyable.

Story 7/10 Characters 8/10 Art Animation 7/10 Music 7.9/10 Final Verdict 7.5/10. Overall 2 Story 1 Animation 7 Sound 3 Character 1 Enjoyment 2.spoilers for both Zeta Gundam and especially ZZ. Prologue When people think of the phrase “worst Gundam anime”, there are usually a few choices that tend to stick out in fans’ minds, including the likes of Gundam SEED Destiny and as of now, Twilight Axis. Among such lists, you might sometimes see Gundam ZZ being thrown around, and it’s very understandable as to both why one would give it such a label and as to why one would defend it as something that becomes good over time. Regardless, most fans who see it tend to agree that the first 20 or so episodes of ZZ are terrible, hindering what they consider to be an otherwise fine enough installment. Gundam ZZ is a case of “too little too late”. While the latter half on its own is a decently serviceable installment in terms of quality, with a few surprisingly good moments, the former half is probably the worst I’ve seen of the franchise to date.

It is genuinely terrible, insufferable even. It would take a lot for me to find the series remotely tolerable after 22 episodes of intense suffering on my end thanks to absolutely abysmal characterization, franchise betrayals, and many more grievances that utterly destroy this first half, and while the second half is fine enough, “fine enough” doesn’t cut it when trying to salvage an otherwise 1/10 series, especially when after episode 36, the second half stops being “fine enough” and goes back to being horrible, as if turning over a new leaf was a ruse. This is Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, the black sheep of Early Universal Century and the bastard successor to Zeta Gundam. Let’s dive in, shall we? Part 1: Brutal downgrades of old characters and what ZZ does to Zeta It's easy for some to look at the show and say “the second half makes the show decent though the first half is bad”, and that only really works if the first half isn't insanely horrific and if the second half is really, really good. Neither are the case, and the first half of this show is either a doubt the absolute worst this franchise has to offer, even now when comparing it to Twilight Axis and SEED Destiny.

The thing is, at least those don't go out of their way to piss all over their predecessors. Say what you will about Zeta Gundam, you cannot deny the growth some of the characters had over time. That makes it all the more infuriating when important characters such as Fa Yuiry and Yazan Gable get nerfed ridiculously, losing to and all around being completely outclassed complete newbies like Judau Ashta early into the show. Fa became a competent pilot at the end of Zeta Gundam and Yazan was one of the scariest, more formidable forces of that show too. To see them become bad pilots is aggravating and beyond nonsensical. Hell, the very second episode starts off with a middle finger as well. Note that I said second episode since episode one is a weird recap of 0079 and Zeta with Char Aznable doing some Mobile Suit quiz for some reason.

It has apparently been two weeks since the end of Zeta and the beginning of ZZ if what I was told was correct. Knowing that: how is Yazan still alive? To be honest, they didn't exactly make fanfare of his supposed death in Zeta but there was no way he could've survived the attack he was faced with that destroyed his Hambrabi. Here he is, passed out in his escape pod, seemingly not having eaten any food or drank any water, which is impossible for a human to survive.

Also, within this time, the Argama seriously couldn't find a single hospital or colony at all for Kamille to rest in? Oh, and instead of being reduced to a childlike state without memories of the series like at the finale of Zeta, he now can't talk and is barely even conscious enough to transfer his newtype powers to Judau. Way to be inconsistent right out the bat! Haman Karn was the most charismatic, commanding, intriguing, and intimidating character introduced in Zeta Gundam towards the later part of its run. She was as evil as she was cool and sexy. Here she does retain a lot of that, but she is far more vulnerable, particularly around Judau. Episode 27 in particular made it much harder to take the character seriously as a badass threat.

They do try again towards the final 7 episodes, and it does work, but even still, she won’t be as much of a powerhouse on screen after episode 27. She doesn't have it the worst in terms of downgrades however, and we already discussed Fa. The only major character left to discuss in terms of that is Captain Bright, but I'll save him for when I discuss the new characters, especially since the one responsive the on responsible for his downgrade is only notable for that. The downgrades aren't just in terms of the returning characters either: the visuals animation and especially the music took a hit as well. ZZ has far less of the impeccable shading often present in Zeta Gundam, though for a long (for the time) anime beginning weeks after another long one by the same studio, it still holds up well minus a few egregious errors like one particular clip with the Hyaku Shiki in episode 23. There is unfortunately some more reused footage than Zeta, which has very little, but most of it is for the transformation of the ZZ and whenever a Qubeley (or anything directly part of the Qubeley line) launches its funnels. The character designs are also slightly inferior, especially thanks to a certain character I’ll cover.

Even still, it's clear that the production values here are a bit lower than previously, as understandable as it is, especially when the new mobile suits introduced on the whole still look very good, especially the one introduced in episode 37. The music however cannot be forgiven. In terms of the old tracks, they are rarely used effectively since 80% of the time, they do not remotely fit the scenes in ZZ, unlike in Zeta where they complimented nearly every action scene. The new OST is pretty mediocre on its own with fewer scenarios that could hope to compliment them in this show.

Even worse is later down the line when those new tracks stop fitting most of the scenes present in the show altogether whereas some of the worked constantly in the first half of the show, as bad and repetitive as those tracks are. The OST is just as repetitive as before but now nothing works so it just becomes much harder to tolerate the repetition. If there is one improvement however, it would be the OPs (“Anime Ja Nai: Yume wo Wasureta Furui Chikyuujin yo (アニメじゃない-夢を忘れた古い地球人よ-)' by Masato Arai” and #2: 'Silent Voice (サイレント・ヴォイス)' by Jun Hiroe) and EDs ('Jidai ga Naiteiru (時代が泣いている)' by Masato Arai and 'Issenmannen Ginga (一千万年銀河)' by Jun Hiroe) with the OPs being decent if going on for too many episodes, and the EDs being just meh. That isn't remotely enough to make up for the brutally lackluster, ill-fitting, and repetitive OST however. Part 2: Irritability of the humor, stupidity, and cast of the first 24 episodes Excluding the admittedly odd recap first episode, the series starts off.not half bad, actually. Episode 2 is a decent enough episode minus the bullshit I mentioned earlier. The humor that would characterize the rest of this anime was controlled and not horribly in our face just yet, especially when there was major consequence involved.

Killing off even one of the minor Zeta characters (Saegusa) so early was risky though. We meet the new guys, and there is one hilarious reaction joke regarding Captain Bright connecting the dots about Judau. Episode 3 doesn’t start off half bad either, especially since the humor was still pretty funny. Then, something happened. Mashymre appeared. Then we get the bad attempts of humor that dwarf the series, repetitive as hell humor on top for that, and the fact that it becomes basically a saturday morning cartoon. This is Universal Century Gundam.

I get that Tomino wanted to make sure this installment at least started lighter than the constantly heavy and unhappy Zeta, but its like they went to the other extreme. It’s mainly due to the horrible new cast, which I’ll get to. The sappy drama that occurs occasionally regarding Fa, or the MoonMoon people is just pathetic as well. To be fair, episodes 18 and 19, where Ple (or Puru) is introduced, are decent episodes with better action and less stupidity but episodes 20-22 ruined that.