Mobile Suit Gundam Seed

The Phantom Zone Anime Review Site.

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed

Distributor: Bandai
Original Story: Hajime Yatate, Yoshiyuki Tomino
Volumes: 10
Rating: 13+ (it's still Gundam)
Anime Code: A

It is the year 70 of the Cosmic Era (CE). And of course, war has broken out. This time, it's between the natural Earth Forces and the genetically-enhanced ZAFT organization. In the middle of all this is young Kira Yamato, a coordinator whose neutral colony of Heeliopolis was wiped out by ZAFT commandos because the Earth Forces were creating new prototype G-weapons. Of course, Kira is forced into one of these prototypes. And he's forced to fight his best friend Athrun Zala. Throw in a coordinator-hating manipulating brat (only G-rated term I could come up with), a vengence-set soldier, a musical star, and of course, the odd-ball crew of a powerful EF vessel and you've got another Gundam series.

Review: Yes, I know, this sounds like most of the other Gundam series out there. However, this one takes place in an entirely different continuity than the others. Still, Tomino has once again worked his magic bringing to life a futuristic war where the weapons of combat aren't just tanks or planes, but giant humanoid robots. The animation is very detailed with showing everything on view screens and every button pressing. The mix of traditional Japanese animation and CG animation is blended well. Things can get a little too abnormal at the time, but if you've seen the other Gundam series, you might know what to expect.

Action Level: 4/5
It's mostly Mobile Suit fights between Gundams. There's a little hand-to-hand combat in there as well.

Romance Level: 4/5
Kira has a coordinator-hating brat, a rebel soldier (different one from the one I mentioned earlier) and a music icon all fawning over him. Gee, maybe I should get my genes enhanced. : / Nah. Oh yeah, and the later two are also fawning over Athrun. Sounds like a soap opera, huh?

Comedy Level: 2/5
Most of the comedy comes from the non-human characters, such as Kira's pet mechanical bird and all those Haros (yes, there are Haros in it, more than one actually and they're more annoying than the one in MSG).

Adult Level: 2/5
Implied underage intercourse, but it's never seen, at least not in the TV version.

Drama Level: 3/5
I think they could've made Kira's torn between his natural friends and his fellow Coordinators a little deeper. I for one would be going out of my mind if I had to choose but then again, I didn't have my genes spliced. Flay's hostility seemed ridiculous, almost comical.

Overall Level: 4/5
Since this is Tomino's work, we can expect a very bloody end. But still, it's definitely worth buying. I recommend buying the box set which comes with a Gundam Seed soundtrack CD (very sweet).