A question regarding Gundam series

[Lingz]

I'm actually a Noob when coming to the gundam series. I've always hated Mecha so I've never given gundam a try. But i've heard that theres a really good story in gundam, and it's very touching so I've always be tempted to give it a try. But I really do hate mecha. The only two mecha's i've enjoyed are FMP and My-Hime, but I skipped the Mecha parts for both of the series. :amuse

It sounds abit stupid watching gundam when I don't like mecha, 'cos the majority of the time is probably robots fighting each other, but I've also heard that the mecha is just to drive the plot and the plot itself is based on a very mature theme.

So my question is, would I hate gundam if I hate mecha?

[Ha-ri]

?!?!?!?! I don't think you can like Gundams without likeing mechs, I mean its about mechs in the first place.

[Freija]

no, me myself is a big mecha hater, and the only mecha i ever liked was GS series and FMP, otherwise i hate them totally, my first impression of GS was "OMFG NOOO NOT ANOThER TRANSFORMER SERIE!" but after like ep 3 when things started to move forward they got out in space etc, i started to like it more and more, and now i love the serie.

[Lingz]

Hmm, not too convincing when one says yes and one says no :blink

[Freija]

well its all up to you, and i think you will enjoy it like i did, first kinda wasn't sure to watch or not, then after 3 eps i <3 it XD

[darksage78]

I'm pretty sure you would. The series isn't just about robots smashing the crap out of each other. There's a strong storyline/plot and pretty well written and developed characters(not in all series). Matters in life like friends, family, ideals, war, etc. It makes it more than just another mecha series. Plus Gundam is the one that kinda started it all. From there, people made mecha series. Gundam is almost in the realm of possibility. Like in Gundam Seed, it had a lot of things that could show up in the future. Example: genetic engineering, cloning, anti-ship sword, mobile suits(a long time from now maybe), different MS operating systems(a long time from now), phase shift armor(a long time from now maybe), etc.

[Cell_Shaded]

I'm pretty sure you would. The series isn't just about robots smashing the crap out of each other. There's a strong storyline/plot and pretty well written and developed characters(not in all series). Matters in life like friends, family, ideals, war, etc. It makes it more than just another mecha series. Plus Gundam is the one that kinda started it all. From there, people made mecha series. Gundam is almost in the realm of possibility. Like in Gundam Seed, it had a lot of things that could show up in the future. Example: genetic engineering, cloning, anti-ship sword, mobile suits(a long time from now maybe), different MS operating systems(a long time from now), phase shift armor(a long time from now maybe), etc.

Well I wouldn't say that stuff would happen in a long time. For all we know they are probably building gundams, somewhere underground Japan. I mean every country has a facility like Area 51, so I can only image what the Japanease military is producing right now.

[Ha-ri]

Well I wouldn't say that stuff would happen in a long time. For all we know they are probably building gundams, somewhere underground Japan. I mean every country has a facility like Area 51, so I can only image what the Japanease military is producing right now.

I know:
http://www.mc.ccnw.ne.jp/aa.initial.g/WING-GUNDAM%20Ver.Ka.jpg

[Cell_Shaded]

HAHA wow you sure do rock at Photoshop. I wish I had some l337 skills like you :p. But don't doubt what could actually be happening, I mean the japanease have already made the invisible cloak, and I'm sure the way they are progressing with their technology, I'm sure they are progressing as fast with their weapons.

[Mindless]

As darksage said, there is alot more to Gundam animes than the Mecha.

There is good depth in characters. Great story. Nice rivals. Nice enemies.

Alot of that stuff. I was very sceptical at first too regarding the whole 'mecha' idea, but having watched Transformers and stuff since I was 6 years old, it has grown on me. :)

Give Gundam SEED a try. It's alot easier to watch than the others I think. At least if you're not a total gundam geek.

[Ha-ri]

HAHA wow you sure do rock at Photoshop. I wish I had some l337 skills like you :p. But don't doubt what could actually be happening, I mean the japanease have already made the invisible cloak, and I'm sure the way they are progressing with their technology, I'm sure they are progressing as fast with their weapons.

oh hell now, I just did a google serch for gundam.

[ssouske]

Personally, i think you need to look beyond the mechs in gundam... its gundam as a franchise has is not entirely focused on mech battles alone... we have an amazing variety of plots, storylines, characters, and themes in all real gundam series/movies/ovas... even if you hate mecha, you might still like gundam for those other elements that i mentioned above... for a start i agree with mindless in starting with GS... for me, GS would be the best starting point for all gundam novices... then you go deeper into gundam with UC starting with MSG, Z, ZZ, and all other series after those...

[Ha-ri]

Sure people watch Gundams for the story, but I personally only watch for the battles/mechs.

[Cell_Shaded]

Yeah one of the main reasons I watch Gundam Seed/Destiny is because of the mech battles, but I soon found out that there is much more depth to it e.g. war, freindship, trust, and a load more political stuff too. I have not come across any other series like this before, which is why I'm so fond of it.

Just give it a go, if you don't like it after the first 5 episodes then chuck it away.

[ssouske]

i watch gundam for the mechs and story... gundam was the very first thing that blended both elements together quite well... GSD kinda messed up the mecha part... both gs and gsd had way too many gundams... when i watched gundam wing and when i started watching seed, i was like: WOW!!! GUNDAMS!!! but then after a few more gundams in GSD, i was like: oh... another gundam... geez... when will they come up with a cool non gundam MS?!? basically that is my only major rant on GSD... way too many gundams... gundams have lost that elite feeling to them since more and more gundams come out left and right in GSD...

[Lingz]

Right, I will give Gundam Seed a go. But where do I start from, Gundam seed? or Destiny?? I'll keep an open mind when watching this, and I think I might do what I did with Full Metal Panic (forward all the mecha parts of it), but I'm scared I will be forwarding 3/4 of episodes and such :blink

[Cell_Shaded]

Start from Gundam Seed, because people tend to like that more better, for some reason. So yeah go for Seed, then if you like it go onto Destiny.

[darksage78]

Start from GS, you'll get to know the characters better cause some of them carry over to GSD. Also the tech starts in GS too, it gradually changes into the stuff you see in GSD and you wouldn't know what happened. Plus GS still has better character development than GSD.

[ssouske]

as they said start with Gundam SEED... and do not, i repeat, do not skip the mecha scenes... well some of them can be skipped but there are some important scenes in GS that happen during mecha battles... for FMP it is ok to skip since not all the mecha action was really important to the story... an example why you would not want to skip mecha scenes in GS? you might not see why heliopolis got thrashed, or how yzak got his scar, or why kira cried why fllay gave him the paper flower, or why did athrun and kira fight and almost killed each other, or how did andy affect kira's way of thinking... and there are some dialogues in the mecha scenes that really carry the story so better watch them all...

[dspr8_rugged]

I guess you don't feel the tingling sensation of seeing two mechas duking it out with the sound of metal clashing and dancing of lights in space...

IMHO, it is quite hard to love a Gundam series if you don't like the mecha genre in the first place, because the stars of any Gundam series are not the characters, but the Gundams themselves.

In any case, a friend of mine recommends you to watch Mobile Suit Gundam: 8th MS Team. I haven't seen it myself, but he said that it's the most "human" of all Gundam series, i.e., more human interaction than mecha battles. Of course, I don't exactly know what the series is all about. Correct me, just in case. :)

[ssouske]

^
i kinda i dissagree with you... gundam's stars are not just the mecha... the pilots also are the stars here... whenever you say Char Aznable, you will think about gundam right? when we mention names like kira yamato, heero yuy, kamille and amuro, you think about gundam immediately right??? so it has the same effect of saying Freedom, or ZGMF-X20A, or ZAKU, or Zeta, or ZZ, or Strike...:amuse and that balanced effect is brought by the balanced focus of gundam in both robots and characters...

[Kereo]

Gundam is indeed far more then just super huge robots duking it out. True, the mech battles take a major part ofcourse, but even during the fights, the story progresses. Its basicly an anime about war, but instead of tanks, they use robots.

[SGLP]

I'm actually a Noob when coming to the gundam series. I've always hated Mecha so I've never given gundam a try. But i've heard that theres a really good story in gundam, and it's very touching so I've always be tempted to give it a try. But I really do hate mecha. The only two mecha's i've enjoyed are FMP and My-Hime, but I skipped the Mecha parts for both of the series. :amuse

It sounds abit stupid watching gundam when I don't like mecha, 'cos the majority of the time is probably robots fighting each other, but I've also heard that the mecha is just to drive the plot and the plot itself is based on a very mature theme.

So my question is, would I hate gundam if I hate mecha?

As much as I love Gundam and would like to see it get more popular, don't bother. Especially don't start with SEED or Destiny. The mecha drives these shows. These days Gundam is about the Mobile Suits first and foremost. All so Bandai can make money. That's not to say everything else is horrible about the shows, but they really take a back seat.

If you really want to try it out I would recommend Turn A Gundam. Even though Turn A is a big part of the plot, there are hardly many battles and they aren't as flashy as those in other series. Pretty much all the current stuff focuses heavily on the mecha (particularly Gundams,) so you may or may not dig it. Also you may find the plots stale after a series or two. The love stories never seem to get old though.

[dspr8_rugged]

^
i kinda i dissagree with you... gundam's stars are not just the mecha... the pilots also are the stars here...
Ah, okay. I just can't use my being so "mecha-centered" as a generalization for considering the "star" of any Gundam series. Apparently, that's how I think. I first consider the mechanics before getting interested with the characters. That's how I admire the Gundam series. But of course, that's just me. :D

In any case, Gundam is mecha anime, so I change my statement, and it's safe to say, that the stars of any Gundam series are the Gundams/mobile suits themselves AND the people who pilot them. :)

[hempboy]

I think gundam is still good without the mecha, of course it will detract from what you can potentially get from watching it. I'd personally recommend against gundam wing and gundam seed destiny due to poor character development and excessive reuse of battle scenes.

Just stick to watching gundam SEED

[Lingz]

Thanks for all those comments guys. I have to say, the comments although are useful, half of them tell me to watch and the other half tell me not, it's pretty hard. I am probably going to give it a try, but from what I have heard, the fights takes most the episodes, so I might just be forwarding most the anime, which is probably not something that will make me enjoy the anime :S Meh, might aswel give it a try anyway

[Yukimura]

I watch it mostly for the characters. I'm not too interested in the fights.

[Glitch1]

the mecha's just provides the story for the plot ,
wich is a pretty good plot I must say
I did watch them backwards though , first I watched destiny
and then I watched seed ,
seed is more about the reasons for war and all that philospers stuff ,
destiny has that 2 but it has more action fights and all that stuff ,
im still looking for destiny with english audio though