Customer Reviews

Mobile Suit Gundam - The Movie Trilogy [VHS]

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had to review when I saw that this has gotten some negative reviews. For shame, people, for shame.

Anyway, this is the original Mobile Suit Gundam; well, condensed into a 7 hour movie trilogy anyway. I'm going to be honest and say that sitting down and watching this for 7 hours does get pretty long, even for a diehard Gundam fan like myself. However, the animation is crisp and the voice actors are the original Japanese, as opposed to the cheap TV series and its even cheaper dub. So, whenever I want to watch MSG, not just a specific episode or moment from it, I choose the movies over the TV series.

Anyway, this anime has it all: war, politics, battles, romance, drama, even comedy. I am a teenage girl who by all rights should love Wing, but instead loves MSG. The characters are incredible; well-developed and totally realistic. And may I say that MSG's romances tend to be subtle, but they are simply awesome.

This was my first taste of the original Gundam, and after watching it I could not understand why people would say that it's good, but only a small taste of it. And after watching the TV series, I realized how right they were. Honestly, I enjoyed the TV series so much, and it covers a lot more than the movie does. So, if you want to be "hardcore" UC Gundam, I recommend watching the TV series. Try and stomach the dub.

But if you just want a nice amount of background information or even just a glimpse of what UC Gundam has to offer, this is an excellent source to tap. The animation may be from the 70's, but the story is a masterpiece.

A New Mobile Suit

When Cartoon Network announced that they would be airing the original Mobile Suit Gundam TV series, I was excited. The show that started it all, the great giant robot epic, the STAR WARS OF JAPAN. And then I watched it. I couldn't believe it. I was actually BORED. The animation was mediocre, the plot, slow, the characters, largely annoying. And don't get me started on the English voice-acting.

So you can imagine with what reluctance I purchased the Gundam Movie Trilogy on DVD. And what a surprise it was. Pretty much every complaint I had with the TV show was completely obliterated. The animation, even in the first Gundam movie, looked MUCH nicer. Maybe it was the DVD format, maybe the picture was cleaned up and restored...I don't know. All I know is, the animation looked WAY better. And remember all those redundant scenes (like the Gundam parts switching in mid-air) that were beginning to drive you mad? Gone. Remember those spread-out action scenes that happened just barely often enough to keep you watching? Now they're all part of the same battle, the action escalating and escalating until you're practically hyperventilating. And glory be, the characters seem more fully fleshed out too. And the plot improvements? A bit like replacing "What are midichloreans?" (hope I spelled that right) with "The force is what gives a Jedi his power." The sound effects, speech, and music were redone for the dvds as well. No words can describe the difference. What was cheesy or fake now sounds awesome. I kid you not.

Zeon Strikes Back

These DVDs do have one or two downsides. First, they're not exactly cheap. Secondly, there's almost no extras at all. No trailers, no making of documentary, no commentary. Nothing. And third, there's no English version of the speech. Now I can deal with that, but I really wish they had gone through the trouble to record a good English version of these movies. It really would have been the icing on the cake.

Then of course there is a bit of a boring lag in between the first and third Gundam movies. I know, I know, we get more insight into the characters and their motivations in the second movie. But compared to the gripping drama of the first and third movies (not to mention the awesome rivalry between Char and Amuro) the second movie is a bit slow-moving. For the movie with Char and Amuro on the cover, you'd think there would be more of the cool Amuro vs. Char action. Oh, well.

Return of the Newtype

Let's face it, great animation doesn't hurt. Great music and sound effects enhance everything. Good voice-acting helps a lot too. But what really makes for an engaging Mecha Saga is plot, action, and characterization. It's awful hard to get hooked when you don't care about the characters, the plot is boring and the action is comatose. Foretunately, the third Gundam movie delivers in these all-important ways, and features the best animation of the three movies as well.

In the third Gundam movie, everything comes to a head. Sayla confronts Char. Char and Amuro have a showdown. Mirai tries to decide who she loves. Complications of war and emotional turmoil tears at everyone. And every time you think the last battle is over, the action gets even more intense. It quite literally blew me away. In short, the Gundam movies succeed in every way.

If you loved the show, buy the movies. If you hated the show, buy the movies. If you love anything Gundam, buy the movies. These movies have a priviledged place on my shelf, ahead of Gundam Wing, Martian Successor Nadesico, and even the awesome Macross Saga. I can give no higher recommendation.

Okay I've tried to write this review before but the computer goofed up... So here goes.

First off This is the best Gundam out there, do your self a favor and give yourself time to get past the dated animatio, because once things get going believe me you'll think it's the way things are susposed to look. These movies cover most of the events of the series with some new footage in the second and third movies. Oh and they're long, but that's a good thing. Her's a brief summary of the events in the movies.

The first movie is a litttle slow as it's all about setting things up, but don't worry there's still plenty of fighting. The year is uc 0079. Side threee the duchy of Zeon is at a stalemate in a six month war with the EArth federation, despite it's Zaku II mobile suits. Side 7 is host to the federations Mobile Suit devlopment project. During a Zeon surviellance mission gone bad side 7 is attacked. The gundam engineers and pilots are lost and Amuro Ray finds himself the fateful pilot of the mobile suit GUndam. Despite his inexperienc the Zeon Zaku's pose him little trouble and are easily dispatched. The first mobile suit verses mobile suit battle goes well for the federation. With Amuro piloting the gundam and civilians in charge of white base the fed mecha carrier. Cha aznable Zeon ace pilot forces them down into Zeon controlled territory.
This movie focuses on the hopless situation of white base as they fight for thier lives on the way to Jaburo the fedration H.Q in south America. It also focuses on the growing rivalry between char and amuro, Amuro's interest in Lt. Matilda ( who at times seems to be the only one in the federation who cares about white base.) As for action let's say by the end of the movie White base has a bounty on it , and the legendary Zeon Commando ramba ral on thier tails. Oh and th federation isn't the only one with new mobile suits. 4 stars

The second movie is the sad one as several beloved main characters friend and foe bite the dust. Despite being pursued by a Zeon Combat unit headed by Ramba Ral, White base is commanded to participate in operation Odessa, since the federation suspects them of being new types(Super soldiers with advanced powers of perception.) Seyla tries to find out if Char is her brother commandeers the gundam onmly to nearly get herself killed and tossed in the brig. Amuro deserts with the gundam , some of his fits are painful to watch, but his brig time and encounter with Ramba RAl finally force him to grow up.
In addition to great story telling this movie has several memorable battles. Ramba Rals hand to hand combat invasion of white base, the confrontation with the Black Tri-Stars, and the Zeon invasion of Jaburo. The latter of which has the best combat musical scor in the series. 4 stars.

The third movie is all about resloution the fall of zeon and all the butt kickin on the way. It's starts with white base being pursued by Char aznable pursuing white base and Gundam dispatching his advanced fleet. Afer a shor stop by side 6 where the new type girl lala is introduced it's on to the Zeon base of solomon and a major decisive battle, ending with the awesome firing of the solar ray, the most enrgy efficient weapon of mass distruction ever. The big Zam is... well you'll just have to see it. this movie wraps up the loose ends and the war and to be honest too much happens to reveiw it alll in the space provided, but you won't be disapointed. 5 stars.

If you can't afford the 60+ episode series the movies are the best way to go, I have no info on the DVD extras but past gundam dvd's have excelled in this area. 3 3 hour movies 54.99 can't argue. See you after the show.

I really recommend for any one who loves Japanese animes to watch this trilogy before getting into other Gundam series. It all has started with this. Yes, it is not as good as the individual episodes though. It covers the basics. The graphics/art work was done by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, one of the greatest animators in Japan. It seems that this series is the only one you can enjoy his great work. (There are Gundam Z, Gundam ZZ series artwork by him to follow in Japan. Unfortunatelly they are not available in USA yet.) I hope you enjoy this trilogy.

Gundam Wing Fan's Reason to buy: If you've seen Gundam Wing, you probably are bored with it by now and want to expand to other series'. To start this trail, I would highly recomend this set. Once you've seen it you can watch Gundam 0080, 0083, and any other Gundam Series that takes place in the UC Timeline.

Non-Gundam Fan (but soon to be)'s reason to buy: Ok, get passed the animation that isn't as good as those "disney movies" and you'll love this classic piece of work. It's a truelly believeable war between the colonies in space and the Federation of Earth. I don't want to spoil anything, but I'll tell you that Gundam takes many ideas from different Sci-Fi things and turns it into a classic piece of Animation. The first movie will introduce you, the second movie will make you feel like you know the characters, and the third movie takes everything and creates a masterpiece, chresihed for generations. After you buy this, buy the Gundam 0080 & 0083 Box Set if you feel you want to stick with Gundam.

Gundam, the original animation series ran more than 20 years ago in Japan. It was one of the pivotal works which pushed anime into a serious category in Japan. I am really surprised that it was never released in the US until now. Although the movie set is a condensed version of the 43 episode TV series, it still recaptures the story well. Although the animation itself may look somewhat dated to the modern viewer, the storyline and character development is superb. It is fairly serious science fiction and may not appeal to very young viewers. However, I thoroughly enjoyed being able to watch this movie again and so did my 12 year old son. I think this series is a must for any serious anime fans.

M.S. Gundam is awesome! Heres the lowdown: Mankind has traveled to space and set up space colonies surrounding Earth. One set of colonies, Side 3, declare themselves the principality of Zeon and war on the Earth Federation Forces. The Zeon build Mobile Suits to gain an advantage. After a long stalemate, the Federation begins Operation V, its own M.S. developement program, the strongest being the prototype Gundam RX-78. While being transported at Side 7, the Zeon attack, and a civilian named Amuro Rey saves Side 7 w/ the Gundam.
These 3 movies basically follow from here, going throughout the One Year War. These movies are great. A lot of the scenes have been reanimated just for the movies, and the sound is very good. Among other things, this is the embodiment of the beginning of Gundam: the focus on Newtypes in place of the battles of the series. If you can't afford the series, this is a great substitute. It leaves out many things, like the G-Armor ship and Gundam Hammer, but weaves the original story together. Great movies, if you don't mind Japanese only audio w/ subtitles. Great for any fan of the Gundam Universe! ^_^

I can't say enough about these tapes. Originally produced and aired in Japan in 1979, the series Mobile Suit Gundam, was a flop. However, the television series was recut into three theatrical movies. These made Gundam a hit and renewed interest in the series. Ever since, Gundam has ruled Japanese animation as king. It is as popular or more popular in Japan as Star Wars is in the US. The series was produced by Nippon Sunrise, comprised of disgruntled animators from the Toho studios. They broke the barriers of the stereotypical Super hero Robot cartoons of the early seventies.

With Gundam, they took the concept of the invincible Super Robot and converted it into a realistic depiction of future war, portraying the robot (mobile suit) as a grimy machine of war. The series revolves around and develops the characters within the conflict. Good and Evil are not so cut and dry. The characters and conflict are very believeable. The animation was revolutionary for it's time, using detailed animations of the gundam and zaku mobile suits in action. It is still interesting today, even in the face of new titles like Evangelion.

This series set the standard for the next two decades of Japanese animation. The story is gripping and believeable, detailing the futuristic conflict between earth and her rebel colonies. If you've ever read the book Starship Troopers enjoyed it, you will like the Gundam movies. Don't use the movie Starship Troopers as a reference, it has little in common with the book.

I personally loved the three movies, but I am biased. I waited over 15 years to finally see these. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Gundam is sometimes described as "Japan's Answer to Star Trek," and in a way it is. When the first series, Mobile Suit Gundam, was broadcast back in 1979, it was cut short (originally 52 episodes, it was trimmed down to 43) due to low ratings. It went into syndication, where it rapidly gained a following. So much so that it spawned movies, television series, direct-to-video series, spinoffs, etc. ad infinitum. And it continues on, just like one particular American series has.

This box set contains the three Mobile Suit Gundam films, compiled from the first 43-episode series for theatrical release in Japan, back in the early 80's. Obviously material was cut in the compiling process, but new (for then) animation was added for the theatrical release. The result is well over seven hours of animation, about the final months of the One-Year War between the Earth Federation and the Duchy of Zeon.

An earlier customer review did mention that, compared to today's standards, the animation looks dated (twenty years after all), but the story and drama is STILL as good today as it was back when. If you ever get a chance, Grab this, it's a keeper!

I've been waiting for this to get a domestic US release ever since I first heard about the Japanese re-issues almost 2 years ago. It's been worth the wait.

I've seen these movies multiple times in mutliple formats over the years (I first saw these in 1985, dubbed on video, with no subtitles ^o^)...I have never seen them look this good. The picture is sharp, the color is rich and there isn't a hint of artifacting/glitching present.

The audio has been completely remastered and re-recorded! The weapons, explosions and effects are completely redone for this version and it sounds fantastic. There are both a Dolby 5.1 and Stereo audio tracks (both in Japanese, there is no English dub present) accompanied by well done and detailed subtitling...nothing is omitted...(even bkg speaking is included!)

The story is quintessential space opera. A war rages between the people of Earth and their colonies...but it's not a clear case of good guys and bad guys. Everything is not what it seems, intrigue and betrayal colors every event and the human drama serves as a vehicle for some amazing robot battles (rather than toy sales as is more common today).

I cannot endorse a classic piece of animation released in the US more strongly. Bandai has done a fanstastic job bringing these movies to the US and if you've only seen the new Gundamn material...watch this and see where it all began. Among the top 5 anime ever produced....