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chriszlol's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
flexluthor's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
altruest's review
5.0
I've been making my way through the Gundam series for a while now and as the original 0079 anime (Mobile Suit Gundam) has stuck to the top of my list, I thought it would be really interesting to read the novelization of the original anime, retold by the original creator. This book is FASCINATING, the differences between the anime and the book starkly outline the themes that Tomino wanted to emphasize throughout the property. A couple loose thoughts:
1. There is more backstory on the One Year War in one page of this book than there is in the entire anime series. The anime is focused on Amuro and the White Base crew as people and their relationship to warfare and tragedy in general, because of the format of this book Tomino has much more space to go into the political and military machinations that lead the White Base into the situations that they find themselves in, and it really gives a much more complete and clear framework to understand the world of Gundam as a whole.
2. The way that Tomino talks about Newtypes in this book is really interesting. Caveat: I really like how understated Newtypes are in the anime, their existence is drip-fed to the viewer over the series and it's unclear how much Amuro's piloting ability comes from his Newtype potential, the extent of the rest of the White Base crew's Newtype potential, and although Lalah's interaction with Amuro is given significance there really aren't a lot of Newtype interactions until the sequel series. In the book, Tomino immediately discusses Newtypes thoroughly both through conversations and interactions between the characters and textually as the narrator, and makes it clear what he thinks Newtypes are, what they could be, how they are seen currently in the narrative and the issues that come up as a result of their existence. Coming from the subtlety of the anime, it's like jumping into an oasis from the desert, it's almost overwhelming how much more information you get in this book.
3. Tomino continues to be bad about writing women, this book is no exception, there are some good women characters but the way they are discussed is still not great especially by modern standards. This book is more adult than the Anime especially when it comes to Amuro's relationship to Sayla, it introduces complications to Amuro's characterization but it's hard for me to come down positively or negatively when it's all wrapped up in the weird masculinity that Tomino Gundam shows tend to preach.
This book took me a while to get through but only because I would devour one of the three sections and then have to process all the information I was given. If I had time I would go back and watch 0079, Zeta, and ZZ Gundam with the knowledge that this is what Tomino was really trying to convey in those shows, hamstrung by (I assume) the limitations of the genre and outside pressures to relate to children and sell toys. I really recommend this to anybody who is interested in a deeper read of Gundam and has watched the original series, I really hope the sequel novels get translated some day.
5/5 stars
1. There is more backstory on the One Year War in one page of this book than there is in the entire anime series. The anime is focused on Amuro and the White Base crew as people and their relationship to warfare and tragedy in general, because of the format of this book Tomino has much more space to go into the political and military machinations that lead the White Base into the situations that they find themselves in, and it really gives a much more complete and clear framework to understand the world of Gundam as a whole.
2. The way that Tomino talks about Newtypes in this book is really interesting. Caveat: I really like how understated Newtypes are in the anime, their existence is drip-fed to the viewer over the series and it's unclear how much Amuro's piloting ability comes from his Newtype potential, the extent of the rest of the White Base crew's Newtype potential, and although Lalah's interaction with Amuro is given significance there really aren't a lot of Newtype interactions until the sequel series. In the book, Tomino immediately discusses Newtypes thoroughly both through conversations and interactions between the characters and textually as the narrator, and makes it clear what he thinks Newtypes are, what they could be, how they are seen currently in the narrative and the issues that come up as a result of their existence. Coming from the subtlety of the anime, it's like jumping into an oasis from the desert, it's almost overwhelming how much more information you get in this book.
3. Tomino continues to be bad about writing women, this book is no exception, there are some good women characters but the way they are discussed is still not great especially by modern standards. This book is more adult than the Anime especially when it comes to Amuro's relationship to Sayla, it introduces complications to Amuro's characterization but it's hard for me to come down positively or negatively when it's all wrapped up in the weird masculinity that Tomino Gundam shows tend to preach.
This book took me a while to get through but only because I would devour one of the three sections and then have to process all the information I was given. If I had time I would go back and watch 0079, Zeta, and ZZ Gundam with the knowledge that this is what Tomino was really trying to convey in those shows, hamstrung by (I assume) the limitations of the genre and outside pressures to relate to children and sell toys. I really recommend this to anybody who is interested in a deeper read of Gundam and has watched the original series, I really hope the sequel novels get translated some day.
5/5 stars
lawinbehold's review
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
kenziekuma's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
harry_ord's review
5.0
A wonderful mature take on the oringal series, worth reading if you've seen the show or you're a big science fiction fan.
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