MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM 00

Season 1:
Great introduction into Gundam 00.
Fantastic animation from this series: clear animations, vibrant color schemes, great use of anime and CGI.
Awesome antagonists in this season.
Great ending to the first season!

Season 2:
Great as always! Had some doubts through the first couple of episodes
Antagonists are good with a hint ( I mean a small hint) of disappointment.
Fantastic animations, dialogue, and plot twists.
Nice ending to the season and series, some factors that i wish didnt happen to the Meisters (people that watched the series know)

Overall: There's action, sabotage, revenge, twists, and a hint of romance... all needed for a great anime, and Gundam 00 touched on each category.

It's been years since I've last watched a Gundam series, Gundam SEED Destiny being the most recent. Destiny unfortunately left a bad taste in my mouth, so despite all the hype I had heard about Gundam 00, I was cautiously optimistic going in.

By reading the plot synopsis on the main page, you'll get the general idea of what's going on in the world of Gundam 00, but as the story moves along, there's so much more to it than that. The story takes place hundreds of years in the future with flying robots, laser beams and SPAAACE, but the issues it draws upon can be seen in our time, simply by turning on the news. Religion and politics. Two things that if implemented poorly can ruin a series. But in the case of Gundam 00 it was executed superbly. There's also a bit of romance floating around, not nearly as much as SEED or Destiny, but enough to satisfy the hopeless romantic in ya. (well sorta... Setsuna x Feldt!!!)

What seems to be the standard in every Gundam series that I've watched (The 08th MS Team, Wing, SEED, and SEED Destiny) is that the animation is top notch. Gundam 00 meets and exceeds that standard. Most of the characters were drawn beautifully and the animation flowed in such a way that felt very real to me. I was also impressed with how well the CGI was used. I normally find that the use of CGI animation in an anime is forced, like whatever objects that are being shown, don't belong. Gundam 00 does an amazing job of making it look natural.

Concerning the characters, I honestly wasn't too impressed with the main cast, specifically the Gundam pilots. At least for the first half of season 1. I just couldn't connect with them. That of course changes as the series goes on with... wait for it... Character development! Great character development at that! Something that I find rare nowadays. Towards the end of season 1 through season 2 I found myself truly caring for the cast, minor cast members included.

Finally, what's a good Gundam series without some kick ass openings??? The animation and music selection for the 4 different openings that I would be treated to were simply amazing! And for the most part, while not the best that I've heard in anime, let alone a Gundam series, the musical scores did a decent job of assisting the scenes that they were accompanied with.

Overall, Gundam 00 is a wonderful series that I recommend not only to fans of mecha, but anime and a must see for fans of the Gundam franchise!

This story is filled with emotional explosion. The characters are very likeable and human. This is definitely a great show. The story is about a group of people called Celestial Being, a militant group with powerful giant mobile suits called GUNDAM that have a power source called the GN Drive, that rivals anything that the forces throughout planet earth. Their mission is simple, the eradication of war through armed intervention.... I know isn't that an oxymoron? Well don't let that fool you. The story is far from simple and there is a twist and turn with every episode.

Overall, this anime was... alright.

I base my opinion on all of the other shows that have come before it.

The story in S1 is interesting at first, as we see a fragile peace start to crack and fall apart. But there's a limit to how much plot-devicing a person can take. No main character is even slightly endangered until near the end of the series, because their machines are vastly superior in every single way. It's as if a completely asymmetrical war was being fought. The story in S2 can be described with two words:
"Redundant" and "Predictable".

Music is music; anyone can use the work of others for themselves. The openings and endings all tied in well to what they were going for with the story. But the in-plot orchestrations are generally subpar and only memorable because of overuse.

The characters. Where to begin? Here we can observe Gundam Wing's influence on this anime; a group of males with invincible machines slaughter every enemy of every army in sight. The main character, who one would assume is to be sympathized with, is impossible to understand or care for. Why? Because he never speaks. Ever. The only remotely human character seemed to be Lockon, who really was a breath of fresh air in this insipid swamp of a cast.

Hands down, the best part of this show was the animation. Where everything else faltered, this aspect succeeded. You can tell how much money was poured into making this look as good as humanly possible.
HOWEVER...
Not much can be said for the complexity of the battles. For some reason, the group relies on a "tactical forecaster" whose main role is to come up with a plan of attack, which is generally "go attack". At the core of every battle is a lightshow, and while they are pretty lightshows, they leave much to be desired; especially if certain previously released shows were watched prior to this one. Lens flare and shaky cameras do not a battle make.

At the beginning of the series its easy to confuse with Wing. The biggest difference i that 00 seems to take place in our own timeline, a few hundred years in future. The storyline is very political but has modern "post 9/11 feel". It also avoids slow episodes that were in Wing and has good balance between characters and mecha fights.
The opening and ending music is amazing. I actually bought one of the songs. I don't want to spoil anything but there is only one annoying song and its in the second season (well, it sounds nice in the original japanese)
I love the characters. Even the more pacifist characters that seem to get hated in most gundam series are okay. Their reasoning actually makes sense. I also love that all the main characters aren't white or japanese! Setsuna is from the middle east. Hes basically an upgraded version of Heero with more development. All the gundam pilots have decent back stories without getting ridiculous angst plus most of them aren't teenagers. Even minor characters are pretty cool.
Overall a favorite of mine that is worth watching whether u like gundam or not. ( i actaully watched this before wing)