Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: Believe in the Sign of Zeta

Synopsis: "The year is Universal Century 0087. Seven years have passed since the end of the One Year War. In its zeal to stamp out any remaining opposition, the Earth Federation has organized the Titans, an elite fighting force. However, the Titans soon get out of hand, committing atrocities on par with the worst the Principality of Zeon had to offer during the war. In response, dissatisified citizens, former Zeon soldiers, and even members of the Earth Federal Forces form a resistance group known as the Anti-Earth Union Group, or AEUG. As the next war is brewing, a small AEUG group arrives at Side 7 to investigate the new Gundam Mk. II..." Source

Within the Gundam fan community, there are those who absolutely cannot stand Gundam SEED. When asked about what Gundam they like they often cite Zeta Gundam. Seeing the show hailed as the best Gundam time and again instead of my personal favorite, SEED, I finally took the time (and money) to sit down and watch it. I don't think Gundam SEED has anything to worry about, although Zeta isn't bad. But it also has some problems, which I'll discuss.

First however, the good things about Zeta. The main character, Kamille, sort of has a reputation for being an antagonizing jerk to those around him. Normally, this would be an annoying problem. While he is certainly like that during the first quarter of the show, by the end he is one of the most steady and level-headed of the show's younger cast members, although he retains his characteristic temper. This is a plus, because we see him develop from a young hothead into a character that we can admire. The show manages this by showing him taken in under various mentors, first Char Aznable, then Amuro Ray, and finally Bright Noa. These three mentors are main characters from the original Mobile Suit Gundam show. This was a great way to let the old cast members get some screen time for their fans, while at the same time not steal the spotlight from Kamille. Compare this to a show like Gundam SEED Destiny where the new cast members have the spotlight stolen from them by SEED's original cast with the new cast effectively functioning as the show's villains.

Another improvement from Gundam SEED and other newer Gundam shows such as Gundam Wing is that the heroes of Zeta never acquire mobile suits so powerful as to guarantee them an easy victory. By the end of Gundam SEED, Kira and Athrun could defeat entire armies by themselves. In Zeta, even after Kamille acquires the titular Zeta Gundam, he seems to just be on par with his enemies at best. He is often required to work with his teammates and to use cover and tactics in order to defeat his enemies rather than simply pushing a button that launches laser beams everywhere guaranteeing an easy win. This keeps the battles exciting throughout the entire 50 episodes of the show.

However, once we start talking about excitement outside of battles, Zeta Gundam begins to falter. Many of the episodes involve the crew of Kamille's ship, the Argama, attempting to get from point A to point B. Inevitably in every episode, Kamille's enemies, the Titans, attack the ship and he is forced to defend it. While a lot of Gundams do this (SEED, SEED Destiny, Gundam 00) it can get annoying as sometimes the destination can be a little vague. I found myself quickly tiring of this formula after about 15 episodes. I wanted more politics, exploring the motivations and policies of both the AEUG, the Titans, and later the Zeon Axis members. Often, the Titans would attack a space colony, and we would never see their leaders discussing exactly why such a decision had been made. Another example would be how the Zeon Axis betrays the Titans, meets the Titans in order to ally with them, betrays them again, then attempts to ally with them once again (of course betraying them once again!). Because we never see the Titans discussing why they keep attempting to ally with the Zeon Axis forces after these betrayals, they come out looking kind of gullible and outright dumb. The show tends to focus purely on action, and I had to fill in a lot of these blanks for myself.

As you can probably gather, Zeta Gundam is best at action. However, even the action misses easy opportunities for drama. Often, the Argama and Kamille will be plagued by the same enemy commander for 3 or 4 episodes. Inevitably, that enemy commander will meet his doom when his time to leave the show comes. However, we never get any exploration of these commanders, never knowing who they are and why they are fighting for the Titans. This ensures that their deaths mean nothing to us no matter how dramatic the music or scene. Surely the show could have spared a few minutes for the enemy to think about his wife and family and what events in his life spurred him to join an oppressive regime bent on bringing the Earth Sphere firmly to heel. Gundam is touted by many fans as a series that always humanizes and characterizes the warriors on all sides of the wars its plots center upon. However, Zeta fails to do this more than any other Gundam show I've seen. The Titans in Zeta all thirst for simple power or glory it seems.

In the end, Zeta is definitely a fun show to watch. There are a few good emotional moments, but action is always its primary focus. Most of the show will keep you interested, except possibly the episodes in the first half that take place on Earth. I found myself kind of bored and annoyed with them. If you are a Gundam fan, Zeta is pretty much required watching. Otherwise, if you don't like mecha anime or Gundam in particular, avoid it, although you'd probably already do that without me telling you. I myself prefer Gundam SEED, the king of drama in the Gundam universe, or if I need a politics fix, Gundam Wing or Gundam 00. If you tire of these kind of shows and just want to see some cool mech fights, you can't really go wrong with Zeta though.