Gundam SEED Vol. #04

By Eduardo M. Chavez     August 06, 2005
Release Date: March 15, 2005



Creative Talent
Writer/Artist:Iwase Masatsugu
Translated by:David Ury
Adapted by:

What They Say
Devastated by the cruel realities of war, Flay, Athrun, and Mirialla grieve, believing that Kira and Tolle are dead. Even as they mourn and question themselves, the fighting intensifies. Coordinator leader (and Athurn's father) Patrick Zala gains political control over the Plant, and the battle between Zaft and the Earth Army to a military base. When the crew of the Archangel realize that Earth has used them as bait and betrayed them, they decide to embark on a journey to the neutral state of Aube to start new lives. But on the horizon are new, more powerful mobile suits that may just turn the tide in this war!

The Review
Packaging:
While I applaud Del Rey for using the original cover art for this series the overall presentation is not great. The front cover features two female characters for the first time. Cagalli wearing who knows what and the pink-haired Lacus Klyne are in front of a starry background. Woof! The spine has two half ellipses, each containing the studio name - one in kana, the other containing Del Rey's studio logo. Hideous. If that was not enough, Del Rey had to cross-promote this title with the anime that is currently airing. Therefore, below the logo there is a yellow quarter sized burst with "AS SEEN ON TV!" covering Cagalli's crotch. The opposite cover continues to use the black arch around the character art, an image of the Gundam Freedom and the long volume description.

Logo Check!! (2003 Megs)... the logo has the same feel as the original. The only thing that was changed was the translation of "Mobile Suit Gundam". They could have easily used the original as it had ruby text in English on it, but there really isn't anything wrong with the translated title.

Inside the printing looks a little off. I the tone looks okay but for some reason lines look a little fuzzy. I was disappointed to not see color pages in this volume (especially after hearing that other Del Rey titles had these). This volume has a few good extras. There are some mech design pages covering the new Gundams. There is also a continuation of Mark Simmons' "A Brief History of Gundam." With this chapter, Simmons discussed the origins of the names used in this series. This volume also includes translation notes and creator info. No ads.

Artwork:
Iwase's art does not impress me at all. Actually, I find it boring and inconsistent. While his character designs are okay (Kira Yamato looks a lot like Sohma Yuki from Fruits Basket), Iwase's characters tend to only look nice in certain angles, as jaw-lines and eye positioning can often look a little off. Costume designs, like many other Gundam titles, are a mix of old and new. Unfortunately, the new costumes are pretty stereotypical sci-fi - tacky patterns and possibly difficult to get in and out of (buckles, belts and straps). Making matters worse is the lack of depth from Iwase, so everything appears flat without much sense of three dimensions. That last point really hit me hard when I found out one of the supporting cast was not male! This character, Badgiruel is her name, was finally not in an extreme close up and I noticed her bosoms. Argh! The characters all look the same. Male female it makes no diff! He only knows how to draw three basic faces - yelling, stressed and balling. Good gosh is this pathetic.

The layout is pretty good. It's much better in dramatic scenes than in action, for at least the close-ups are bearable then; instead of in the middle of a fire fight. But there still is good variation in regards to panel placement and perspective techniques. The backgrounds are stale but are functional, so they tend to often work well with the layout.

Mechanical designs are a mixed bag. I like the looks of the Mobile Suits. While these tend to be a little more bulky than in past Gundam series, but tend to have some of the traditional designs that have been a Gundam trademark for more than 20 years now. The new Gundams tend to be designed strictly for firepower and not tactical ability. On the other hand, the Archangel does not appear to be very functional and is pretty ugly. The as there is a more organic feel with curves and rounded corners, but when looked at closely it appears to have been over-done. There are too many layers on top of each other - wings, engines, cannons, and bridge - making accessibility between the layers inconvenient and giving the ship a look of instability. I know this will sound funny, but it reminds me of a roasted turkey on a set of jet wings (potentially tasty but not what I want to see in a space battleship).

SFX/Text:
As is Del Rey's policy, SFX are subbed. Their subs tend to be of a small font usually placed below the original SFX. Because of the font size art is not compromised, but with the lack of SFX in this series (kind of weird for an action title) one might not notice them at times. Still, I appreciate the effort and the more I see this done the more I find myself liking it (font size and placement can make a big difference).

Contents: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
All the war and all the senseless killing is beginning to wear on the people who are out there fighting the battles. They cannot accept that what they are doing is right. They understand that murder is not the correct answer. They have seen the destruction and realized that all they have done was create a greater rift between the military and social movements. There are feelings that humans are killing each other - brother against brother. This war, which was to be a war fought in space, has moved to Earth. Now on Earth, the stakes are higher and the casualties seem to be more important, emotions run hot and very few want to see the war continue to escalate. Moreover, as their comrades start to fall in greater numbers the will of those involved is slowly breaking, causing them to turn against each other in fits of rage.

That is only one side of this war. The other side, the silent but powerful minority, does not get to experience the tragedies on the battlefield. Their only perspective is one of victors and losers. They believe that the means behind their ideas can all be justified if the ends bring them the results they want - good or bad. They are selfish. They send people to battle for their personal gain - revenge, power and greed. They are arrogant. They start wars without considering the consequences. They sacrifice resources and lives on whims following their ideals and nothing else. They basically want this war to continue no matter what the cost until the last man is left standing. Then there are those who feel they will gain fame, gain favor and respect by supporting murder. These people cannot think for themselves. They can feel but deciding is beyond their power and these people will more often than not die without honor. It is the same on both sides. Whatever and whoever they can use is expendable, as long as they and their families are safe.

Ultimately, everyone is being used. This war is not about the Zaft and the Earth Alliance, it is solely the plot of a man fueled by hate, who wishes to see humanity end and envisions the start of new era for coordinators. However, the will of those who need an end for this war and all war will soon overcome this and bring freedom from war and justice to those who were used.

Comments
Ahhh, how derivative? How frustrating? How much better than the previous three volumes. The parallels with previous Gundam stories are clear. None of this is original. It has been done repeatedly. Ideologues are pulling the strings of war safe from harms way; sacrificing everything when they have not experienced the death and chaos. A war changed by the acceptance of a strong woman. A single warrior taking to the battlefield alone determined to end the war. The concepts of racism and evolution are back again. Its been done and most importantly it has been done without the plot holes that SEED has. The holes are gaping and significantly bring down what was an improved title to something difficult to understand.

See, this title finally picked up the good parts of existing series and began to weave something that could be entertaining and relevant. The power of individuals is evident. The ability of the will of the people to change their future is a powerful message. The way people can be corrupted by absolute power has been chronicled in media throughout history. Courage, bravery and honor are all great virtues all present here; all easy to understand, easy to follow and be encouraged by. But the writing is so poor all of that work is pointless. If what you read does not logically make sense then none of it works. The ideas are lost and the message is difficult to comprehend. I really want to like this series. I can tell it is corny fun, but I feel pages are drawn and no one is editing this for continuity. I honestly feel this had to be cranked out for marketing purposes cause nothing should read this poorly (or look this empty and cheap either).