Mobile Suit Gundam Seed: Vol-1- Grim Reality (2004)
Animation Production: Sunrise
Released by: Bandai Entertainment
Official Website: Mobile Suit Gundam Seed
Episodes: 1-5
By Jeffrey Couto

Introduction

I like the Gundam series albeit it never really caught my attention the way other mecha shows did aside from a couple of entries such as Gundam F-91 and G-Gundam. That’s why when Gundam Seed was first announced I wasn’t exactly filled with excitement; I just thought it would be more of the same. Then fans started talking about the show, about how good it was, the artwork; my curiosity was stirred.

Now, after not too long a wait the official US DVD release of Gundam Seed is upon us and my patience has paid off. It’s time to see what the kids were talking about and whether they were right on the money or not.

Story

"Cosmic Era 71. A war is under way between genetically enhanced Coordinators and unmodified Naturals. The Natural-dominated Earth Alliance, struggling to catch up with the Coordinators' superior technology, has secretly developed its own Gundam mobile suits at a neutral space colony. Through a twist of fate, a young Coordinator named Kira Yamato becomes the pilot of the Alliance's prototype Strike Gundam, and finds himself forced to fight his own people in order to protect his friends. ."-- Official Gundam Seed page

Review

As the story of Gundam Seed begins we are thrown into the innards of a giant space colony. Inside we see the people who have chosen to make their lives in this neutral nation, their communities, and way of life. Among these people is a young man, Kira Yamato, who along with his friends is on his way to a lab facility to assist with some research being undertaken there.

As our group of friends makes their way to the lab we see that a military operation is underway just outside the colony. These are soldiers of ZAFT, a militia group formed by genetically enhanced “Coordinators”, who are at war with the Earth Alliance, which is made up of “Naturals”, people who are not artificially enhanced.

This particular military operation is being carried out to capture the Earth Alliance's newest Mobile Suit weapons, Gundams. These are technologically advanced weapons that could turn the tie of the war so ZAFT wants to capture them before the Alliance can put them to use.

As they successfully carry out their surprise attack the space colony falls into chaos, its security forces immobilized by the well coordinated strike. Zaft’s soldiers are quick to move into position and begin stealing the 5 experimental Mobile Suits, however they fail to secure one of them as our young hero Kira, alongside one of the Earth force members, manages to protect the Strike Gundam from being stolen. Now it’s up to Kira and his superior skills and abilities to protect the mobile suit, his friends, and the space colony in which they have made their lives.

After watching these first 5 episodes of Gundam I have to say that I am completely sold into the series, despite the story and character development still being in their infancy. From the first episode I was hooked, there was just something very compelling about the way the show’s feel, characters, and story have been crafted to work together. This is very much still a Gundam show and most of the elements that have been the hallmark of this long-running series are still here, however they are done in such a way as to give everything a fresh feel.

As has been the case with many of the more recent Gundam shows such as Wing, G-Gundam, and Gundam X, this series takes place in its own continuity (Cosmic Era, year 71), which I think is the best route to take as it frees the writers from having to work within the framework and conventions of established storylines. This is not to say that we don’t see some parallels to past shows as in fact there are a lot of elements taken from previous entries in the series, particularly the original Mobile Suit Gundam TV show.

This being the first five episodes of the show it goes without saying that they are mostly used to establish certain elements of the story and begin the process of introducing us to the rather large-sized cast of Gundam Seed. The overall pacing for this stage of the story is surprisingly good as each episode manages to present to us a compelling story that flows perfectly into the next one, forming a very solid narrative thread throughout.

The production values, to say the least, blew me away! I’m really glad I waited to see this on DVD! The drawings are beautifully realized and flow from one frame to the next seamlessly, it really is amazing to see it in motion. The color palette as with many more recent programs relies on muted colors that give everything a very soft look that in itself gives this Gundam a rather unique visual presence from its predecessors.

Alongside the great visuals is one of the better anime soundtracks I’ve heard in a while too! From the opening theme, “Invoke”, by T.M. Revolution to the atmospheric BGM everything comes together with the visuals to create a show that is alive and makes its presence known. I should also note that for those of you who buy the box set you will get a very nice song compilation on CD (I’m listening to track 8 as I type this), which Bandai wisely chose to include as part of the package. For me it’s what made me go for the boxed set as opposed to just the single DVD.

The DVD itself comes with the first 5 episodes of this TV series which include:

Episode 1 - "False Pease"
Episode 2 - "Its Name is Gundam"
Episode 3 - "Collapsing Land"
Episode 4 - "Silent Run"
Episode 5- "Phase Shift"

The overall DVD package is great as well, with the DVD box and DVD cover featuring some great artwork. Extras within the DVD included Mechanical data sheets, a clean version of the opening, and previews for other Bandai releases. The CD that came with the box includes 12 songs from the show.

Final Thoughts

What? You’re still sitting here reading this? It goes without saying that we very highly recommend Gundam Seed Vol-1! This is a great series for all anime fans, especially those who enjoy a good sci-fi show with great mechanical designs! I really am looking forward to seeing the rest of the show and how the story unfolds.

Jeffrey Couto