Gundam 00 - Season Two

GUNDAM 00 - SEASON TWO

The second season of the acclaimed anime Gundam 00, which resolves a lot of the storylines from the first season.

OVERVIEW - Set 4 years after the climactic battle at the end of season one, the actions of the Gundam's and Celestial being have sparked a great change in the world, with the three main power blocks coming together to form the first unified world government, The Earth Federation. However, things are not as rosy as they first appear.

REVIEW - With the rise of the unified government came an autonomous "peace-keeping" force, one that employs brutallity, intimidation and slaughter to enforce the rule of the Federation. The series starts with the arrest of Saji Crossroads, simply because he was on a work detail with a suspected member of an anti-government faction. 

In short order, across the first three episodes, We're shown the current fates of all the principle characters of the first season, Setsuna is re-united with Celestial Being, bringing the rescued Saji along with him, Louise is shown to be a Member of the "A-Laws", the brutal so-called peace keeping force, Allelujah is rescued along with Marina from prison and the younger, almost identical looking brother of Lockon is recruited, bringing with him a covert connection to the most organised anti-government faction, Kataron. 

New Gundam Mecha's are also introduced, each one being an evolution of the ones from the first series, and we're also introduced to the mecha the series is named for, the 00 Gundam, making use of an experimental "twin drive" system, meant to massively increase the units performance. (two drives in syncronous use is meant to square the performance, not just double it). 

Facing them are the Innovators, a "new race" of humans, all connected to each other and the quantum computer "Veda" via a phenomenom refered to as "Quantum brainwaves", touched briefly on in the first series between the two "supersoldiers", Soma Pieres and Allelujah/Hallelujah. Leading the Innovators, and the Federation and A-Laws from the shadows is Ribbons Almark, seen in the first series as the "assistant" of the main protagonist. Refering to themselves as a superior race, designed as part of "The Plan" to lead humanity to peace and the stars, Ribbons has taken it upon himself to essentially become God to all humanity. 

Celestial Being's re-appearance is used by the A-Laws to strengthen their grip on the world, commiting attrocity after attrocity in the name of "protecting peace" and much of the physical conflict as well as the personal, emotional conflict of the characters comes from the question of what is the right path to peace?. 

This is where the story becomes transcendant, as Setsuna's interaction with the twin drive system and his yearning to end war begin to make changes in both his philosphy and his body, a change noted by all close to him. Towards the end of the season the true plan is revealed, along with the truth behind the Gundam's power sources, the twin drive system and the mysterious GN particles produced by them. 

Production wise, the excellence of the first season is kept, even surpassed, by the second. The combat scenes are more intense, yet highly detailed. The animation making full use of its CG by encorporating depth-of-field and focus effects, "shaky" camera work (but not over-doing that like a certain director is famous for... *coughJJAbramscough*..) and cinematic zooms normally only seen in high-end film productions. The story is much more personal this season, with the drive of Celestial Being becoming more about putting right the mistakes of their pasts, both personally and the fact that their actions helped create the world that allowed the A-Laws to come into being. There is a great deal of loss, with almost every character put at risk of death and no-one being safe. The tale between Saji and Louise, a simple "everyman" point of view in the first season evolves into a personification of the struggle between the two sides. Much is made of where humankind needs to grow to in order to really "grow up" as a species, with Ribbons and the Innovators taking the stance that humanity should be kept in a cage, with the innovators controlling them. 

Its that point that for me helps make the series so relevant and gripping, as the world we live in now faces the same issues. How much freedom are we willing to give up for the sake of "a quiet life"? is a life controlled by the desires of others really free? Its that kind of concept that permeates the second season, gives motive for the actions of all sides, each one fighting for a future free of conflict yet divided by the means of achieving that result. While the series can be enjoyed for its impressive action scenes, complex relationships between the principal cast and amazing production, for me the real magic of the series is here, using a fictional setting to question real life situations, allowing people to think and maybe even question the world they live in every day. It was this sort of writing that helped launch the original series of Star Trek to its iconic status and every time I see it in another series I enjoy it immensely. 

The series ends with Humanity freed from the control of Ribbons, revealed to be an artifical innvator, something termed as an "Innovade", created by Veda to act as terminals for it, and to help the emergance of the "True Innovators", Human beings who via interaction with true GN particles develop the traits. Each of the main cast are given a sending-off, and the world is shown to be changing and moving in a more caring, understanding direction. As part of this, Louise asks of Saji "what if we make a mistake?", Saji's reply is that there will always be Celestial Being there, to correct it and guide humanity back to the peaceful path forward.

While resolved, the story is left open enough for more to be added on, which comes in the form of a theatrical Film, Released in 2010. The second season, while resolving the story of the first season, can stand alone as a series once the "catch up" of the first few episodes is complete, in much the same way that SEED Destiny did. Much deeper than the first season in its philosophy, its this season that really makes Gundam 00 really stand head and shoulders above its franchise counterparts, and most other anime in my opinion.

SUMMARY -

Story -  Simply excellent. Mixing the larger overal story into the personal tales of the pain, growth and resolution of the cast, it questions morals, the justification of murder "in the line of duty", the path of humanity and the reasons for war in a way that no other Gundam series ever has, dispite them all having the same theme running through them. Well written, emotive and crushingly painful moments appear constantly, always driving the story onwards, creating motivation while adding to flow and direction in a highly organic manner. 10/10

Production -   Sets a new standard for an anime series, rivalling contemporary movie releases. The voice cast once again shine, with emotion flowing from every line, especially evident in the tricky aspect of Ribbons arrogant contempt for humanity. The CG is of such high quality its actually impossible to tell where its been used at most points. No real re-use of animation sequences outside of recaps, the battle scenes are among the most epic and jawdropping in scale out there. 10/10

Music - Again another amazing piece of score-work, re-using some of the pieces from the first series which helps with a feeling of continuity, it also makes use of new pieces to great effect. Taking "Marina's song" as a theme for many parts but altering its feel and style to suit the on-screen action also creates a sense of unity across scenes. Its only let down are the opening/ending themes, which are not as strongly suited for the feel of the series as the ones used in season one. the first opening "Hakanaku mo Towa no Kanashi" (A Love Fleeting Yet Everlasting) feels like a Japanese attempt at softer version of the "Nu metal" style, while the first ending theme "Prototype" is a melancholic orchestral/soft rock piece. The second opener "Namida no Mukou" (Across the Tears) is possibly the most out-of-place, having an upbeat, J-pop feel to it, very contrary to the dark, painful feel of most of the series. The final ending theme, "Trust you" is oddly apt in its feeling, Taking the feel of a gentle "modern American R&B" ballad in its style, the highly emotive performance and powerful lyrical content sits almost perfectly with the personal pain experienced by many of the characters during the course of the second half the of the second season. Its also used in part as an insert song at various places, most notably during the final moments between Lyle and Anew. This song has also become on of the more popular "AMV" songs, with Youtube having several dozen "relationship" based AMV's for various games and anime's with this song used (almost all have had the soundtrack removed for copyright breach, making it almost impossible to hear this song in full online) Its score is affected only for the obviously record-company-influnced opening/ending themes 8/10

Accessability - Skipping Japanese scenes this series, taking place mostly in space and in a world of the future and in conflict, there is very little about this show that is "specifically japanese" this season. I dont see why anyone would have any trouble understanding any cultural aspect of it. 10/10

Overall Impression - The second season of Gundam 00 is a masterpiece, building on the excellent foundation of the first season, making full use of the obviously increased budget to fully flesh out its production to an unprecedented level, it brings its story right up as well, really showing how the larger world shapes and is shaped by the struggles of the individuals that live in it, as well as so many moral points its almost impossible to list them. Its characters are so very real, even dispite the circumstances they find themselves in, showing human weakness, fears and pain as well as any human actor ever could (and better than most Japanese actors normally do too). Its a must-see in my book and i suggest EVERYONE does so.. 10/10

 

Final Score - 48/50