Anime Legends; The reduced price naming which Bandai gives to their older anime series in order to repackage and appeal to more anime buyers. Gundam Seed Destiny falls into this category with two very nicely priced collections taking up the space of 1 regular DVD case each. Six disc in each set, 26 and 24 episodes respectively in each set. This is a lot of anime in a space saving setup at a great price, but why am I talking about it now years after it finished? Simple put the follow-up to Gundam Seed maintains a style, storytelling and mix of action and great voice acting that even the most recent, cutting edge anime are rare to match. Let’s take a look at how well GDS holds up …
Animation & Design – Character and mecha design is beautiful. These are the best looking Gundam fans will find this side of the other pond. The character design will seem familiar to fans of Fafner or the more recent Linebarrels. The characters are a mix of Gundam’s past by pulling in the teen idol looks of Gundam Wing but mixing in the heritage and seriousness of Stardust Memory and the original Gundam. It is Gundam Wing meets Gundam with character designs both familiar and new. Destiny is actually the second 50+ episodes in the Gundam Seed universe so many of the characters are already established. As for the various Gundam’s they look fantastic with nods to the past.
The animation is still perfect. For a longer running series to have the quality of all 100+ Gundam Seed episodes is rare. There is usually a drop-off but not in the case of Bandai’s best series (yup, I said it). All the launch and combine sequences are canned animation but this does not detract from the solid action. The animation flows, characters look great and the entire package will leave you wanting more even after 50 episodes.
Action & Storytelling – The second story arc, one that sees the Earth Alliance and Orb back at it again shows that, even with the original conflict ended, there will always be those who want to bring war. Before hitting on that more let me just say the action is awesome. The battles are epic, span more than just the core characters and speaks to a grander epic in much the manner the original Gundam did. No matter how powerful or how much Kira wants to end the fight he is only one man. The story has many predictable plot points, reunions, conflicts but it’s the new kid, Shin Asuka, who’s the real wild card. He is not as engaging as Kira or Athrun but since those two are still present Shin is allowed to blend in an do his thing. That’s the interesting point, what is his thing? He has the power of Kira, at times, but a hate and rage not seen since Kira and Athrun thought they killed each other.
Killing each other, emotions, this is another part of the story worth mentioning. Yes it’s anime, yes it’s fictional but damn if the viewer won’t come to care what happens to these characters and feel a true sense of sadness when someone you’ve come to root for dies. There are also cheering moments of joy, one that gives me shivers as I think about it but I’m not here to spoil the story just tell how well it picks up where Seed left off and continues to shine.
Voice acting & Music – The intro and ending music is out on CD and a must for anime music fans, J-Pop fans and really anyone looking for some good, catchy music. The music, the background music also, helps tie the fans emotions to the series and will get you jazzed for the action to come. The voice acting is excellent and all original cast return from Gundam Seed so it’s a rare treat to have so much talent. The sounds bring the whole package together.
Overall, Gundam Seed Destiny is best enjoyed having watched the original Gundam Seed but that’s not the point. Great movies, great stories transcend time and while the original Gundam’s story does just this it’s animation does not. Gundam Seed Destiny holds up and surpasses much of the animation seen today, it’s just plain solid and so well done. The universe, characters, Gundam designs all should be savored by fans looking for something new that is not necessarily new. Gundam Seed Destiny was a great purchase when it first hit a few years back but now with it’s reduced priced collection there is zero, ZERO reason to pass. Older anime rocks, just do some homework before purchase as dollars are tight today.
Hard to find; yes and no. Since there are still plenty of the original, individual DVD’s floating around don’t get tricked into buying only 4 episodes. The collection is the way to go and Amazon and Right Stuff will hook you up if your local DVD shot won’t.
