[JP/US] Gundam Unicorn [EngDub][EngSub]

[Roland]

That's why I hate big franchises... They always get so tangled... So, as someone who has a passing interest in the UC universe, but really can't dedicate the time to watch 50 episodes of Classic Giant Robots, what should I do? Watch the movies and maybe selected episodes of the original show? If so, which episodes?

[Fencedude]

Originally Posted by Roland

That's why I hate big franchises... They always get so tangled... So, as someone who has a passing interest in the UC universe, but really can't dedicate the time to watch 50 episodes of Classic Giant Robots, what should I do? Watch the movies and maybe selected episodes of the original show? If so, which episodes?

Watch the MSG movies, ignore Zeta for now, watch CCA.

There's a lot of extraneous bullshit in the UC timeline.

[Hayate Kurogane]

Originally Posted by Roland

That's why I hate big franchises... They always get so tangled... So, as someone who has a passing interest in the UC universe, but really can't dedicate the time to watch 50 episodes of Classic Giant Robots, what should I do? Watch the movies and maybe selected episodes of the original show? If so, which episodes?

Even some detractors of compilation movies, as well as some fans of the original TV series, feel that the original movie trilogy is a far superior method of experiencing the events of that original TV series. Watch those, and be at ease.

The Zeta Gundam movies are a bit harder to recommend, but are by definition the option to go with for someone who doesn't have the time or interest to deal with 50 episodes of a TV series. For better or worse.

Then I would recommend the Char's Counterattack movie. Granted, if you watch the Zeta movies, you'll find some contradictions, but Char's Counterattack exists somewhat in a vacuum anyway, for various reasons, and even fans watching everything in order run into a bit of a bump due to its separation. It's also a trainwreck of bad pacing, absurd events, idiotic people doing idiotic things, and includes the most obnoxious character to exist in any Gundam anime to date.

Technically, at that point, you've chronologically arrived at Unicorn, which takes place (mainly) three years after Char's Counterattack.

Far more recommended are some of the sidestories, which take place around the original series/movies and Zeta Gundam, and are of generally higher quality in every respect than the proper UC timeline full series: 08th MS Team, 0080: War in the Pocket, 0083: Stardust Memory.

[Fencedude]

Oh! I just remembered something about Unicorn and its relation to previous events.

Spoilers for ZZ and Unicorn: One of the characters in Unicorn is one of the multitude of Puru clones, so, by extension, ZZ has to have occured more or less as depicted

[distantmantra]

Originally Posted by Fencedude

Oh! I just remembered something about Unicorn and its relation to previous events.

Spoilers for ZZ and Unicorn: One of the characters in Unicorn is one of the multitude of Puru clones, so, by extension, ZZ has to have occured more or less as depicted

So Unicorn acknowledges the Zeta TV series and not the movie trilogy, right?

[Fencedude]

Originally Posted by distantmantra

So Unicorn acknowledges the Zeta TV series and not the movie trilogy, right?

Implicitly, at least.

[Hayate Kurogane]

Originally Posted by Fencedude

Oh! I just remembered something about Unicorn and its relation to previous events.

Spoilers for ZZ and Unicorn: One of the characters in Unicorn is one of the multitude of Puru clones, so, by extension, ZZ has to have occured more or less as depicted

Wellll...not even that, necessarily, since the Flanagan Institute would've still existed, as would subsequent artificial Newtype projects such as the Federation's research that produced Four and Rosamia, as well as Glemy Toto's work, all of which would've existed prior to and up to ZZ regardless of which Zeta incarnation occurred. Arguably, the lack of ZZ, and events in it such as the Neo-Zeon war, the Battle of Axis, and Glemy's death might have allowed for further development of the Puru clones due to a lack of adverse, disruptive circumstances.

[Betenoire]

Originally Posted by Hayate Kurogane

The 21st century arrives, and Tomino, in a fit of brilliance/insanity/boredom, decides that maybe his then-almost-20-years-old Zeta Gundam TV series should become movies, just like he did back then with his original TV series. The movies feature changed events, updated animation, reworked audio, the whole shebang. These movies present fans with a new, more complicated quandary: unlike 20 years ago, the story of Zeta Gundam already has sequels! Sequels which rely heavily on certain events in Zeta Gundam! Events that now no longer exist, or have been changed so as to make events in the sequels extremely unlikely to occur as depicted! What to do now?

No one knows.

Shortly after this he then turned around and decried fans using to much energy on video games and destroying the planet.

...even the Gundam games? And then there are all those toys and models...

[Fencedude]

Originally Posted by Hayate Kurogane

Arguably, the lack of ZZ, and events in it such as the Neo-Zeon war, the Battle of Axis, and Glemy's death might have allowed for further development of the Puru clones due to a lack of adverse, disruptive circumstances.

Granted, I'm working off of second hand info from back well before the anime was ever announced, but this Puru most definitely had "adverse, disruptive circumstances" due to barely surviving the war and then...uhh...having a series of highly shitty things happen to her

[Hayate Kurogane]

Originally Posted by Fencedude

Granted, I'm working off of second hand info from back well before the anime was ever announced, but this Puru most definitely had "adverse, disruptive circumstances" due to barely surviving the war and then...uhh...having a series of highly shitty things happen to her

Oh, I wouldn't doubt that. I was speaking in more general terms, in that Glemy and the Purus wouldn't have had the distractions of war acting counterproductively upon them. Though it's probably more helpful in terms of development if one has conflict situations into which they can force any artificial Newtypes they're experimenting with; despite Char's mantra, I can't see that just being in space, period, gets you anything besides interesting zero-G sex and debilitating bone density loss.

Though, with that being posited, given that Glemy was even able to accomplish what he did, imagine what the Neo Zeon civil war occurring outside the Earth Sphere would be like, since it's likely that the same internal strife would result in much the same infighting. It would still be highly unpleasant for all involved, perhaps even moreso since it would be factions of a single group, in a small area, fighting for resources, rather than the broader conflict as depicted in ZZ. To say nothing of how bad the situation on Earth would likely become; it'd be just like the aftermath of Operation Stardust all over again, with the Federation tightening its grip on the citzenry via military oppression while claiming to be protecting the Earth from Zeon remnants.

In many ways, the whole first Neo Zeon movement and Neo Zeon civil war likely resulted in a much better outcome for both Zeon and the Federation.