Somewhere between a normal Gundam show and GaoGaiGar, lies Gundam AGE. This show is a real mixed bag because it combines the incredibly boring story style and kids of GaoGaiGar with some decent combat. But then even GaoGaiGar had some decent combat.
The show starts out with a flashback to when main character’s mother died. He is a kid named Flit who received a special digivice that will allow his Gundam to move. They are on a space station being destroyed by some mobile suits that look like a cross between Gundam and Macross. His mom then dies in a fire, caused by the UE (Unknown Enemy) and he wakes up from his bad dream.
We’re taken to the present where he is pestered by a slew of boring characters. These include Emily who is tsundere for him, an old man who works on the suits and a commander who is the equivalent of Bright so far. Of course everything goes to hell when the UE attack and start wrecking everyone. It’s not terribly surprising that they do, since the good guys have the equivalent of GM suits to defend themselves with.
While most of the designs are quite nice in this show, the enemies aren’t much to look at. They can’t figure out whether they want to look like something from Seed, Zoids or Original Century. Despite that, the actual combat is much better drawn. The short fight scene was very well animated, showing that they do have future potential.
So while the story thus far has been less than compelling, I will probably continue to watch this show. The animators at least seem to have some idea of how to make a decent fight, albeit the first fight is lacking.
But the main reason is that this show doesn’t disrespect previous Gundam shows for the most part. It takes place in their future, and pays homage correctly. You can also check out their official site, which is unfortunately in Japanese.
Status: Not dropped yet.
