I had a desire to learn about Gundam's roots, which meant going back to the very first series. The show originally ran in 1979, but a convenient set of compilation movies were released in the early 80s, with some minor changes made to several elements. Since those films were on Netflix, I chose to go that route, rather than sit through all 40+ episodes of the original.
To watch Gundam '79, one does need a tolerance for oldschool anime jank. Which is not to say that it's poorly animated, only that the aesthetics and standards of the time can sometimes look... unfortunate, to the modern eye. The popularity of this original show, as well as the economic boom Japan experienced in the 80s, led to future titles looking very pretty, which makes good ol' '79 quaint by comparison. But there's still plenty of cool visual design here. The Zaku II remains one of the coolest mecha designs ever conceived, and I will hear no slander against it.
The story of the series revolves around the One Year War, a conflict between a newly independent space colony called the Principality of Zeon, and the Earth Federation. The federation had previously held an iron grip on just about all of humanity, but Zeon threatens that control. So the plucky underdogs of this revolutionary state are definitely our protagonists right? Wrong, you buffoon. You absolute nitwit. Zeon is fascist as hell, and Earth Federation... also has problems, but we're not going there yet. Zeon is lead by the rich and powerful Zabi family, who have set themselves up as monarchs. Zeon also invented mobile suits, but that's not really important.
So our hero is one Amuro Ray, a teenage boy who lives in one of the many space colonies, and gets tangled up in the emerging conflict. His father, if I remember right, is the designer of Earth's new Super Special Badass Mobile Suit, called Gundam. Amuro ends up in the pilot seat, because of course he does, and has to quickly learn how to slay bodies with this shiny new death machine. I'm gonna be real with you, Amuro's a fucking idiot. Repeatedly throughout the series, he makes dumb, impulsive decisions that endanger his comrades. He gets away with it because he's the one who's good at piloting the Gundam. He also develops weird, creepy obsessions with every new pretty lady he meets. I hate Amuro Ray. He's cringe. You know who's not cringe though?
Motherfucking Char Aznable.

Char is the Red Baron, he's the enemy ace who everyone respects because he's just too cool. His nom de guerre is "The Red Comet," so named because, like the Baron, his mobile suit is always painted red. But Char is not all he appears. His real name is Casval Deikun, son of a powerful man who was murdered by the Zabi family to complete their takeover of what would soon become Zeon. So Char works for Zeon, but his ulterior motive is to get close to the Zabis and murder them back. Throughout the show, he is consistently the most competent and intelligent actor in the war.
Review Time
So are these movies worth watching? I mean... depends. If you gotta see the origin of one of anime's longest running franchises, the movies are the easiest way to digest it. Do they hold up? Eh. Kind of. I know there's some hardcore gundamites out there that would shank me for even suggesting it, but I'm lukewarm on '79. Amuro is insufferable, and despite being two hours long each, the films feel rushed. That is to say, the pacing is all over the place. Perhaps it was inevitable when trying to render 43 episodes down into six hours, but there are a lot of awkward edits. That said, it has its charms. Every once in a while, it even manages to be cool. Really, any time Char is doing anything.
I don't regret my time watching Mobile Suit Gundam, but I'll probably not do it again. It is the bedrock for everything that came after, and I have a lot of respect for the people who made it. But all that stuff that came after is frequently way more entertaining. It's a solid "OK" out of ten.
That's all for now, I don't know if anyone will ever bother reading this. Just remember that Char did nothing wrong.






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