History YMMV / MobileSuitGundamSeed

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Lord Uzumi's involvement with the G-Weapon Project. While Rondo Mina Sahaku initiated Morgenroete's involvement with the G-Weapon Project as established in Astray, how much Lord Uzumi knew about it remains in question. Kisaka certainly claimed that Lord Uzumi was uninvolved but notably Uzumi himself never makes a definitive statement in private. He publicly claimed responsibility and stepped down as Orb's Chief Representative in any case. So whether he viewed the project as a necessary evil to maintain Orb's neutrality in the face of ZAFT and the EA's technological advancement is left to the viewer. It's possible that he trusted Admiral Halberton enough to let the project go forward.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Lord Uzumi's involvement with the G-Weapon Project. While Rondo Mina Sahaku initiated Morgenroete's involvement with the G-Weapon Project as established in Astray, how much Lord Uzumi knew about it remains in question. Kisaka certainly claimed that Lord Uzumi was uninvolved but notably Uzumi himself never makes a definitive statement in private. He publicly claimed responsibility and stepped down as Orb's Chief Representative in any case. So whether he viewed the project as a NecessaryEvil to maintain Orb's neutrality in the face of ZAFT and the EA's technological advancement is left to the viewer. It's possible that he trusted Admiral Halberton enough to let the project go forward.

* SpecialEffectsFailure: While the Remaster is generally successful when converting the series into HD, there are some instances in which eagle-eyed viewers will be able to notice a slight blur in the lines. In a bit more of a less subtle example, there will be times where the outlines for the cel-shaded [[TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects CGI]] doesn't react to the filter at all and you can see every pixel that makes them up.

* SlowpacedBeginning: The series is rather slow-paced for the first 30 or so episodes (basically, every episode generally follows the ZAFT-attacks-Kira-saves-the-day routine; that these episodes are more or less a [[{{TheRemake}} remake]] of the [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam original Gundam series]] doesn't exactly help), but after a few {{Wham Episode}}s ''SEED'' finally escapes this routine and sets off on a path to its own original, epic GrandFinale. To its defense, the first episodes do a good job of familiarizing and endearing the characters to the audience.

** When the HD Remaster was released on Blu-ray in North America, many fans were left dissatisfied with the dialogue, delivery and production of NYAV Post's dub, as opposed to the original Japanese or Ocean performances. An example is Kevin T. Collins' performance as Rau. While considered good, was not considered as good as Creator/MarkOliver's.

** Muruta Azrael. Some fans either downplay or handwave his atrocities in the show because he's so pretty and hot. Also note that his FreudianExcuse is supposed to make him come off as ''more'' [[EvilIsPetty monstrous]] rather than less.

** Do we even need to bring up Rau Le Creuset and the leather pants fans give him? [[spoiler:Some people actually view his being an OmnicidalManiac as a ''positive'', on the logic that the show is filled with horrible people and humanity ''deserves'' to be wiped out in the Cosmic Era timeline... which ignores his own efforts in feeding and escalating the conflict in the first place.]]

** As the show's resident CharClone and MalevolentMaskedMan, everyone knew Le Creuset was going to be cool. Then the reveal comes in, and he turns out to be not only an AcePilot and a total badass, but an impossible combination of Char, [[Franchise/StarWars Emperor Palpatine]] and [[Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal Lecter]].
** Muruta Azrael gets this treatment, both from fans who [[DracoInLeatherPants give him leather pants]], and others who find that his enthusiasm, [[LaughablyEvil dark sense of humour]], and status as a CompleteMonster with {{A|ttentionDeficitOohShiny}}DHD make him a lot of fun to watch. [[HateSink That's uh... not really what they were going for...]]

* MagnificentBastard: [[AcePilot Commander Rau Le Creuset]] is a [[Characters/MobileSuitGundamSEEDZAFT ZAFT]] officer plagued by abuses endured from his "father" from whom he was cloned. Believing all of humanity is suffering just as much as he is, Le Creuset sets out to kill everyone along with himself to end the agony. Playing the role of right hand to ZAFT's Chairman Patrick Zala, Le Creuset also sells secrets to the bigoted Muruta Azrael of the [[Characters/MobileSuitGundamSEEDEarthAllianceOMNIEnforcer Earth Alliance]]'s Blue Cosmos anti-Coordinator group, leading to the latter launching a genocidal attack and beginning a massive war. A [[TheStrategist brilliant tactician]], Le Creuset leads his team of talented Mobile Suit pilots after the heroes, pursuing them at every turn and keeping the bloody conflict going even with their attempts to reveal the truth to the world. In the final battle, Le Cruset [[LetsYouAndHimFight sets up Zala and Azrael to kill each other]], leading to the deaths of both military leaders and nearly ushering in the end of all mankind. Even when beaten in battle by hero Kira Yamato, Le Creuset dies smiling, believing his plans have come to fruition and the rest of humanity will join him soon to be free from the pain of a life with conflict and suffering.

** Azrael is written as a HateSink who exists to make the other major villains in the show seem sympathetic in comparison, but considering [[EvilIsCool some of]] the [[EvilIsSexy tropes we]] have him under here, that didn't quite work. His successor, [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny Lord Djibril]], seems to have been written with this in mind by having him lack Azrael's competency and charisma while retaining all of his worst traits.
** As far as some fans are concerned, [[spoiler:Rau Le Creuset is [[HumansAreBastards right about humanity]] in the Cosmic Era and him wiping out everyone is a good thing. Ignoring how we are shown that many of the soldiers on both sides are sympathetic and just happen to be working for madmen, Rau's intervention is what escalated the war to near-extinction levels of destruction.]]

** And then there's Patrick Zala [[spoiler: shooting Athrun, his own son]].
** Azrael crossed it long before we even met him by arranging for the attack that caused the Bloody Valentine Incident, killing 243,721 civilians.
** Captain Sutherland and the Earth Forces as a whole crossed it after the incident at JOSH-A with the Cyclops system.

** The original Ocean dub features a polished voice cast for its time, as well as managing to largely be a faithful dub despite a few missteps in translation as well as odd sound mixing for certain scenes[[note]]Kira and Flay’s fight in particular suffers this problem, as the moment Flay interrupts Kira is instead replaced with a protracted pause that’s out of place, as well as her breakdown being far more subdued in comparison[[/note]]. Despite these flaws, performances are overall good, with Creator/SamuelVincent and Creator/MarkOliver in particular considered to be stand outs as Athrun and Rau. It is hampered a little by its age, though not quite to the same extent as other early to mid-2000’s anime tend to be.

* TaintedByThePreview: When it was announced that the HD Remaster was gonna have a brand new dub, fans were furious as the Ocean dub was considered a beloved classic, even by those who disliked ''SEED''. Indeed, when clips came out, fans were quick to criticize the dub, as numerous performances and the script were considered inferior to Ocean’s.

** Fans were quick to criticize Cagalli and especially Clotho’s lines in the HD Remaster. The former swears a lot more, making her seem a lot less like the NiceGirl she is while the latter uses a lot of video game slang, which is considered extremely dated.

* AcceptableTargets: Misogynistic and racist Muruta Azrael is the show's only HateSink and runs a discrimination-based terrorist organization.

** [[TheHero Kira Yamato]] is one of the single-most popular Gundam characters of all time in Japan, ranking high on popularity polls even more than 20 years on. The western fandom on the other hand, thinks he's uninteresting at best, and utterly despises him at worst. This is arguably the single-biggest point of contention between the Japanese and English-speaking Gundam fandoms, leading to both sides wondering how the other can view Kira in such a way.

* AmericansHateTingle: Flay is a BaseBreakingCharacter in the west. Not so much in Japan, where she's generally well-liked. Which is ironic since the director had actually thought she'd be the type of character to appeal to Western audiences, but things ended up reversed.

** Lacus, given her status as an idol singer, which some fans feel doesn't fit really well with the series' tone (this having long been a staple of the rival ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' franchise). Her turning out to have a large amount of political clout while being a ''teenage'' idol singer also pushes SuspensionOfDisbelief a little thin. Her worst critics argue that she comes off as a hopelessly naive person who lucks her way into victory and power. However, there are plenty of people who feel that her portrayal as a Relena Peacecraft-esque alternative political figure who is actually [[GuileHero far sharper and less naive than she appears]] works fine, and even some who don't mind the IdolSinger angle given that the ''Gundam'' franchise is all Sci-Fi HumonguousMecha anime, making it all beyond the SuspensionOfDisbelief to start with.

** Lacus, given her status as an idol singer, which some fans feel doesn't fit really well with the series' tone (this having long been a staple of the rival ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' franchise). Her turning out to have a large amount of political clout while being a ''teenage'' idol singer also pushes SuspensionOfDisbelief a little thin. Her worst critics argue that she comes off as a hopelessly naive person who lucks her way into victory and power. However, there are plenty of people who feel that her portrayal as a Relena Peacecraft-esque alternative political figure works fine, and even some who don't mind the IdolSinger angle.

* TaintedByThePreview: When it was announced that the HD Remaster was gonna have a brand new dub, fans were furious as the Ocean dub was considered a beloved classic, even by those who disliked ''SEED''.

* TaintedByThePreview: When it was announced that the HD Remaster was gonna have a brand new dub not provided by Ocean, fans were furious as it was considered a beloved classic, even by those who disliked ''SEED''.

* MagnificentBastard: [[AcePilot Commander Rau Le Creuset]] is a [[Characters/MobileSuitGundamSEEDZAFT ZAFT]] officer and Coordinator plagued by abuses endured from his "father" from whom he was cloned. Believing all of humanity is suffering just as much as he is, Le Creuset sets out to kill everyone along with himself to end the agony. Playing the role of right hand to ZAFT's Chairman Patrick Zala, Le Creuset also sells secrets to the bigoted Muruta Azrael of the [[Characters/MobileSuitGundamSEEDEarthAllianceOMNIEnforcer Earth Alliance]]'s Blue Cosmos anti-Coordinator group, leading to the latter launching a genocidal attack and beginning a massive war. A [[TheStrategist brilliant tactician]], Le Creuset leads his team of talented Mobile Suit pilots after the heroes, pursuing them at every turn and keeping the bloody conflict going even with their attempts to reveal the truth to the world. In the final battle, Le Cruset [[LetsYouAndHimFight sets up Zala and Azrael to kill each other]], leading to the deaths of both military leaders and nearly ushering in the end of all mankind. Even when beaten in battle by hero Kira Yamato, Le Creuset dies smiling, believing his plans have come to fruition and the rest of humanity will join him soon to be free from the pain of a life with conflict and suffering.

* TaintedByThePreview: When it was announced that the HD Remaster was gonna have a brand new dub not provided by Ocean, fans were furious as it was a beloved classic, even by those who disliked ''SEED''.

** When the HD Remaster was released on Blu-ray in North America, many fans were left dissatisfied with the dialogue, delivery and production of NYAV Post's dub, as opposed to the original Japanese or Ocean performances. An example is Kevin T. Collins' performance as Rau. While considered good, was not as good as Creator/MarkOliver's.

** ''Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: [[Series/UltramanTriggerNewGenerationTiga New Generation U.C.]]''

* TaintedByThePreview: When it was announced that the HD Remaster was gonna have a brand new dub not provided by Ocean, fans were furious as it was a beloved classic, even by those who disliked Seed.

** When the HD Remaster was released on Blu-ray in North America, many fans were left dissatisfied with the dialogue, delivery and production of NYAV Post's dub, as opposed to the original Japanese or Ocean performances. An example is Kevin T. Collins’ performance as Rau. While considered good, was not as good as Creator/MarkOliver’s.

** When the HD Remaster was released on Blu-ray in North America, many fans were left dissatisfied with the dialogue, delivery and production of NYAV Post's dub, as opposed to the original Japanese or Ocean performances.
** Noticeably, Kevin T. Collins’ performance as Rau was not as praised as Creator/MarkOliver’s.

* TaintedByThePreview: When it was announced that the HD Remaster was not gonna be done by Ocean, fans were furious as it was a beloved classic, even by those who disliked Seed and that Ocean itself was rarely used for dubbing anymore.

* TaintedByThePreview: When it was announced that the HD Remaster was not gonna be done by Ocean, fans were furious as it was beloved and considered a classic, even by those who disliked it.

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: Between Flay's manipulation of Kira into fighting to the death, sympathetic characters dying left and right, and both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance becoming more genocidal (even GLEEFULLY so) as the show goes on, it can be really hard for some fans to care about what happens. [[spoiler: Even when the good guys from all sides join forces against the [[BigBads Big Bads]], especially [[OmnicidalManiac Rau]], you may find yourself wondering why they even bother as even when the war has clearly gotten out of hand, [[GuiltFreeExterminationWar soldiers from both ZAFT and the EA are still dead set in wiping each other out]].]].

** Gundam SNEED (formerly Gundam CHUCK's) [[labelnote:Explanation]] An offshoot of [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Sneedposting]] that took off on /m/ sometime in late 2019. Usually used to sardonically bring down the occasional "SEED is the best" posters. [[/labelnote]]

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: Between Flay's manipulation of Kira into fighting to the death, sympathetic characters dying left and right, and both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance becoming more genocidal (even GLEEFULLY so) as the show goes on, it can be really hard for some fans to care about what happens. [[spoiler: Even when the good guys from every side join forces against the [[BigBads Big Bads]], especially [[OmnicidalManiac Rau]], you may find yourself wondering why they even bother as even when the war has clearly gotten out of hand, [[GuiltFreeExterminationWar soldiers from both ZAFT and the EA are still dead set in wiping each other out]].]].

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: Between Flay's manipulation of Kira into fighting to the death, sympathetic characters dying left and right, and both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance becoming more genocidal (even GLEEFULLY so) as the show goes on, it can be really hard for some fans to care about what happens. [[spoiler: Even when the good guys from every side join forces against the [[BigBads Big Bads]], especially [[OmnicidalManiac Rau]], you may find yourself wondering why they even bother as even the civilians from both ZAFT and the EA are still more than willing to see the other side wiped out]].

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: Between Flay's manipulation of Kira into fighting to the death, sympathetic characters dying left and right, and both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance becoming more genocidal (even GLEEFULLY so) as the show goes on, it can be really hard for some fans to care about what happens. [[spoiler: Even when the good guys from every side join forces against the [[BigBads Big Bads]], especially [[OmnicidalManiac Rau]], you may find yourself why they even bother as even the civilians from both ZAFT and the EA are still more than willing to see the other side wiped out]].