Three Destinies Will Form History: Gundam Age Blu-ray Series Review
I don’t do much in the way of reviews outside the occasional shout at how much I like something on Twitter. Somehow, the fine people over at RightStuf heard my rambling and were kind enough to send over 2011’s Gundam Age for review.
Gundam Age is the multi-generational story of the Asuno Family, the titular Gundam, and the century long war they live through. Basically, what if you took the UC trilogy and crammed it into one show.
Gundam Age stood out to me as it is an entry that I rarely hear a peep about. My good friend and certified Gundam Head, Dylan, was unfamiliar with it and any other word of mouth seems to be on the negative side. Age is one of Gundam’s most ambitious entries due to its generational format, starting with Flit Asuno, followed by his son, Asemu, and finally his son, Kio. Age was originally planned to go for a year and a half, but for some reason it ended up getting cut down to 49 episodes. The show serves as a collaboration between Sunrise and Level 5, the game studio behind Dark Cloud, Rogue Galaxy, and Yokai Watch. The collaboration aimed to produce a Gundam show aimed towards children with a Kamen Rider play pattern. That play pattern involving multiple Mobiles Suits with multiple forms that Bandai could make multiple kits out of.
I like Gundam Age a good bit. It has some of the best parts of Gundam sprinkled throughout, with a surprising helping of Macross in there for good measure. However, you can tell that the show is constantly trying to make up for lost time. The pacing rarely allows for moments to breath. Those moments are good, but they don’t have enough time to sit with the audience. For instance, you have a great mentor character like Woolf Enneacle who is the Roy Focker (a mentor himself) to Asemu’s Hikaru Ichijo (mentee) only be served up a plate of Pineapple Salad a bit too soon. This is a common problem throughout the show, with more characters than just Woolf.
If they did have a year and a half’s worth of episodes, they would have had more time to flesh out the characters and again, let those big moments breath. Though for what we do get, the characters are fun and impactful even if most the supporting cast is on the one note side. The villains tend to undercut themselves, as more often than not, they come off as cartoonishly evil. Some key moments could have been moved around to better help the overall narrative. For example, a trip to Mars made in the last arc, may have been better placed somewhere in the middle. Maybe with a character like our Char Clone, Zeheart Gallete, giving us an earlier opportunity to see what the supposed bad guys are really all about.
At its heart, Gundam Age is a show about how prejudice can ooze and fester throughout generations, but also how we can fight to break the cycle with understanding and empathy. Challenging those around us, even family, to learn and grow past their prejudice. The show may be a bit heavy handed in this, but that’s the core of what I got out of it.
Right Stuf has done a fantastic job with this release. I own quite a few of their releases already so I can vouch for that. I do have to point out one glaring issue though: The Dub. Now, I’m not one to be picky with sub vs dub or insult creators (because art is hard), but this is frankly one of the worst dubs I have ever heard. It’s filled with what sounds like straight translations of the dialogue, terrible ADR timing, and poor performances. From what I know, this was a dub produced for broadcast in Hong Kong during a time in which Gundam was kind of dormant in the west. The dub could be a fun “drink and watch” with friends, but personally, I would be more interested in Age receiving a new dub a la Gundam Seed. A dub with considerably more thought and care put into it.
While we’re in the Audio Corner, the music in this show is great. The opening and ending themes are bangers that get you hyped up for the episode you’re about to watch. Kei Yoshikawa’s OST is amazing at getting you into the moment, especially the track “Beyond the Fate” from Asemu’s Arc. Lastly, the show looks great, no surprise there given Sunrise’s pedigree.
Despite its flaws, I enjoyed Gundam Age. It tries a lot and while it may twist its ankles a few times throughout its run, it does what any great Gundam show does for me: It makes me think. What it does well, what it struggles with, and most importantly, its message of empathy.
Thanks again to Right Stuf for providing Gundam Age on Blu-ray for review. You can find both parts for sale in the links below.
