Line #26 YMMV/MobileSuitGundamZZ


1	* AmericansHateTingle: ZZ is infamous as a ContestedSequel in the West to a fandom who experienced older Gundam after-the-fact, but in Japan, in which it began airing immediately after Zeta (emphasizing them as two halves of the same story) and was only the third main/animated Gundam work in history at the time, ZZ is much more fondly regarded and treated by other Gundam creators like a core component of classic Tomino Gundam. This is why it's very common for Gundam spin-off material in the UC to follow up on plot points and characters from ZZ, despite those bits being largely overshadowed in Western fandom.
2	* {{Asspull}}: [[spoiler:Leina is left injured and alone in a cabin that gets destroyed in a mobile suit battle. Although they NeverFoundTheBody, nobody but the protagonists knew she was even there, so her death was actually much more plausible than most cases of that trope, especially in a series where AnyoneCanDie. Eventually, though, it is suggested she was saved by ''Sayla'', a character who hasn't had an active plot role nor any voice lines since the original series, and only had one brief silent appearance in Zeta. No explanation is given as to how Sayla accomplished this or why she was even nearby in the first place.]]
3	* BaseBreakingCharacter:
4	** Beecha and Mondo. Some found their antics amusing, while others were rubbed the wrong way by their ChronicBackstabbingDisorder in the early portion of the series, especially because it was often PlayedForLaughs. This is a side effect of the first half of the show being LighterAndSofter than the predecessors. As explained below, viewers' tolerance for the antics of the duo was really determined by how much they liked the early tone of the series.
5	** Also, Elpeo Ple's been ripping the ''Gundam'' fanbase in half ever since her debut. Because of the nature of much of her plotline and the [[https://gundam.fandom.com/wiki/Elpeo_Ple#Gallery nature of a lot of her promotional art]] and whatnot, not only was she a huge draw for "lolicon" fans right from the off, but she is often suspected of being one of the first characters in ''Gundam'' (and in mainstream Japanese animation as a whole) to be '''''deliberately targeted''''' at such a potential audience. To say she is "divisive" as a result is like saying Judau is only "slightly" skipping school; her place in the show, in the franchise, and in wider culture has been the subject of {{Flame War}}s going all the way back to the [=1980s=]. (For Tomino's part, he instead [[https://gunbusternovels.files.wordpress.com/2024/01/cca-fan-book-tomino-interview-3.pdf describes her as being opposed to lolicon fans]], along with Quess from CCA.)
6	* BizarroEpisode: "Prelude ZZ", the ''very first episode'', has no particular plot and consists of a long stream-of-consciousness recap and foreshadowing mixed in with occasional acid trips and mobile suit quizzes.
7	* CharacterPerceptionEvolution: Protagionist Judau Ashta was initially seen as a step down from Kamille Bidan, the protagionist of ''[[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Zeta Gundam]]''. This is due to the more polarizing reception of Gundam ZZ compared with the more acclaimed Zeta Gundam along with the perception that Judau was excessively overpowered and not as developed of a character as Kamille. However, with the [[VindicatedByHistory positive reevaluation of Gundam ZZ as time passed]], combined with greater exposure of fans to Judau through various spin-off games like the ''[[VideoGame/SuperRobotWars Super Robot Wars]]'' crossover series, ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriorsGundam'', and spin-off manga like the [[Manga/MobileSuitCrossboneGundam Crossbone Gundam]] side stories, the character has been positively reevaluated and is now seen as a worthy protagonist in his own right.
8	* ComedyGhetto: The main reason for why this series is such a ContestedSequel is because some really didn't like the first half's more comedic tone after ''Zeta'' was much darker and had an outright DownerEnding.
9	* CompleteMonster: While LighterAndSofter than earlier works, ''ZZ'' still has this duo:
10	** [[ColonelKilgore Rakan Dahkaran]] is an Axis-Zeon AcePilot with a [[IFightForTheStrongestSide tenuous grasp of personal loyalty]]. Cold-blooded and willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done, Rakan has no qualms about harming civilians. This is best demonstrated in Episode 35, where he impassively guns down hospital ships and evacuation craft fleeing the Dublin ColonyDrop, and destroys roads and bridges in order to make sure that nobody escapes the blast radius. He kills longtime ''Gundam'' veteran Hayato Kobayashi when the latter tries to stop him, and, following his defection from Haman Khan's forces, willingly [[HeroKiller kills many of his old comrades]], including Mashmyre Cello and Royal Guardsman Lance, before being stopped by Judau. Axis's go-to guy for the dirtiest of jobs, Rakan proves that in the end, his only loyalty is to himself.
11	** While the anime version of [[TeensAreMonsters Glemy Toto]] had enough redeeming traits to keep him off this list, the same cannot be said for his manga counterpart, who is bad news from his first appearance to his last. Coldly manipulating Puru, an unstable ChildSoldier, into doing his killing for him, Glemy [[spoiler:keeps a small army of brainwashed clones of her as backup for when she inevitably dies on him]]. He burns down a village to draw out Judau Ashta, has a defecting Puru killed [[spoiler:by her EvilTwin Puru Two]], and eventually [[spoiler:betrays Haman Karn, triggering a devastating EnemyCivilWar in the process, as he aims to make himself the dictatorial ruler of both Earth and the colonies, unleashing his entire clone army in the process]]. Idolising the franchise's original monster, Gihren Zabi, [[spoiler:[[ApocalypseHitler whose DNA may run in his veins]]]], Glemy promises to be every bit as brutal a tyrant as he was, and betrays no concern at all for the dozens of little girls who are dying to make his dream a reality.
12	* ContestedSequel: Zeta was a ToughActToFollow and to this day, ZZ has always been a contested series. The lighter tone put many fans off while others were happy for some levity after the DownerEnding of the previous series. Judau is often seen either as a great protagonist who contrasts well with the previous two (and continues to make appearances late into the UC timeline) while others found him over-powered and unlikable. The shifting of gears around the halfway point is commonly cited as where the series [[GrowingTheBeard grew the beard]] with the plot and characters becoming stronger, the tone evening out, and the antagonists finally showing real direct competence; while detractors felt that the show took too long to come together and even at its best it was still a step down from Zeta. Then there's a number of fans who felt ZZ was strong all the way through and that people come down too hard on the first half, which deliberately contrasts its tone with the end of Zeta to show the vastly different perspective of the new protagonists.
13	* DracoInLeatherPants: Haman's fans are divided between those who LoveToHate her and those who want to turn her into a hero, marry her, or both. She's already a highly sympathetic character, but there are those who take that too far and forget the part where she's a mass-murdering MisanthropeSupreme dictator. With the Gundam video games, this has [[RunningTheAsylum translated]] into cases of AdaptationalHeroism.
14	* EnsembleDarkhorse: Elpeo Ple, a GenkiGirl cyber newtype who becomes one of the central characters as the show progresses [[spoiler:and is part of a series of clones, allowing versions of her to return in future works and FanFic despite Ple's own death]].
15	* FanonDiscontinuity: Fans who were less than happy with ''ZZ'' eagerly latched onto the CompilationMovie version of ''Zeta Gundam'', whose ending was incompatible with ''ZZ'', as proof that it had been kicked out of canon. [[WordOfGod Tomino himself said]] this wasn't the case, and the plot changes were simply meant to make the ''Zeta'' movies feel self-contained. This was supported by ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamUnicorn Gundam Unicorn]]'', which features not only several ''ZZ'' mobile suits, but a character closely tied to that series as well.
16	* FashionVictimVillain: Chara Soon's gaudy outfit when she returns as a Cyber Newtype. A cleavage-bearing single-piece jump suit with massive holes cut along the stomach and legs. Coupled with the cape and her ketchup/mustard hair she looks bizarre even amongst the skimpier Neo Zeon Commander uniforms.
17	* GrowingTheBeard: Most fans tend to say it's when CerebusSyndrome kicked in at around episode 21. The show becomes much more serious and plot orientated as the whole of Axis takes the stage rather than a few scattered agents. The humorous tone is downplayed but not wholly jettisoned which works to combat the excessive darkness that Zeta could fall victim to. The pacing picks up considerably in this time. Alternatively, even earlier as soon as the ship leaves Shangri-La, which brings the characters back into the recognizable Gundam plot format.
18	* HilariousInHindsight: There's an online quiz out there that lets you construct your wolfkin name by matching your first and last name to two wolf-related words. Due to the word Moon appearing in both lists, it's possible to be named ''Moon Moon'', which underwent MemeticMutation.
19	* JerkassWoobie:
20	** Ple. From the very beginning it's established that Ple is dangerous; her mixture of selfishness and instability cause a lot of trouble for the heroes, and even when on their side she does troublingly cruel things. In spite of that, Ple is still a child and one that's been raised in a deeply unhealthy environment that encourages her behavior in order to better mold her into a weapon.
21	** [[spoiler:Ple Two]]. Unlike Ple, she's outright antagonistic and amoral, but the way Glemy treats her is even worse.
22	* MagnificentBitch: [[AntiVillain Haman Karn]], Axis' warlord and the RegentForLife of Neo-Zeon, came closer to conquering the Earth Sphere than any of the despots before or after her. Intervening in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Zeta Gundam]]'''s Gryps Conflict on the side of Paptimus Scirocco's Titans, Haman helped turn the battle between the AEUG and the Titans into a full scale civil war within the Earth Federation, from which she emerged as the one true winner following Scirocco's death and the obliteration of the Titans and most of the AEUG. Invading the Earth before the Federation could recover from the war, Haman occupied huge swathes of the planet, and used the Dublin ColonyDrop to terrorize Federation officials into surrendering to her, all while employing sheer force of personality to mask her myriad personal issues and hold the backstabbing house of cards that was Axis-Zeon together.
23	* {{Moe}}: Ple [[spoiler:and her clones]].
24	* MoralEventHorizon: The Dublin Colony Drop serves as one for most of those involved: Haman Karn (who orders its implementation), Mashymre Cello (who aims it), Rakan Dakharan (who guns down the civilians attempting to flee it), ''and'' the Federation officials (who leave their own citizens behind to die in it.)
25	* NightmareFuel: Ple and Kamille go utterly ''batshit'' when Dublin is destroyed via ColonyDrop. The split-second image of Ple, who was not in the best mental health to begin with, spasming in terror is one of the most unnerving images in the entire franchise. At least for some people.
26	** Also, what happens when [[spoiler: Haman shoots Leina]]. Judau, normally a HotBlooded kid, completely '''snaps''' in the mother of all [[TranquilFury tranquil furies]], with anger and power strong enough to ''cause Haman to FreakOut and literally cry in fear'' and be felt by Newtypes who were ''far'' away from the place. (The visualization was a demonic phantom emerging out of him. [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam The last time this happened]], it was [[AFatherToHisMen Dozle Zabi]] [[YouShallNotPass doing it]].) '''That is how massively pissed off he was''', and it's scary to see. This scene is probably why some consider Judau to be the Newtype with the strongest raw power.
27	* RetroactiveRecognition: ''Gundam'' fans who started with later shows and worked their way backwards might find themselves asking "Why does [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing Dorothy]] have purple hair?"
28	* SlowPacedBeginning: Even those who are fine with the comedic first half tend to admit that the first few episodes don't really have the cast make much progress. It's once the Argama leaves Shangri-La that things start moving, and even moreso once the series reaches the halfway point.
29	* TakeThatScrappy: Judau's first meeting with the much-despised [[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Wong Lee]] ends with the former kneeing the latter in the gut.
30	* VindicatedByHistory:
31	** In the 2010s, ''ZZ'' started to get some love, namely in ''Anime/GundamBuildFightersTry'', [[spoiler:a Ple clone]] in [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamUnicorn Unicorn,]] an entire ''Gundam Evolve'' short about what Judau's up to sometime after ''ZZ'', and Judau shows up as a CoolOldGuy in various spinoff mangas.
32	** 2020, when the show ''finally'' hit streaming and with a particularly heavy ''Gundam'' push getting into swing with things like ''EXVS MBON'', ''Battle Operation 2'' and the like generating more exposure and interest, led to [[https://twitter.com/tireduniboi/status/1323782691897171969?s=20 a lot of Anglophones in particular]] [[https://twitter.com/Legem207/status/1325332845091434501?s=20 re-evaluating the show]] and appreciating it a lot more compared to when the show wasn't as widely available in English. The times likely contributed, as well — while in the 80s, the tone whiplash between ''Zeta'' and ''ZZ'' might've felt more out of place, in the middle of [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic the oppressive COVID epidemic]] a lot of viewers appreciated ''ZZ''[='s=] slapstick and willingness to not take itself so seriously a great deal more.
33	* TheWoobie: Elpeo Ple. Sure, she is a selfish girl, has GreyAndGrayMorality and shows her enviousness toward Leina. However, Ple actually wants a person who truly cares for and loves her as family. Also, she is extremely loving and very protective toward Judau, like her own big brother. All of these are things that she never got in her life, since she only raised to be a cyber-newtype AND SHE'S FREAKING 10 YEARS OLD.

Context YMMV / MobileSuitGundamZZ