Angst? What Angst?: Takuya recovers really quickly after he, Micott, and Banagher see the entire rest of their class wiped out of existence by a stray shot from a mobile suit battle.
The fight between Banagher and Loni, and the fight between Unicorn and Banshee against Neo Zeong were somewhat underwhelming for some fans.
Those expecting a glorious final battle between the Nahel Argama and Rewloola probably didn't expect the latter being blown up by the Colony Laser for simply being in the way.
Awesome Art: The OVA uses a combination of hand-drawn and CG animation to give us one of, if not the most visually stunning works in the Gundam franchise.
Everything surrounding the contents of Laplace's Box: The original Federation charter that granted more rights to spacenoids as well as confirming the idea of newtypes. However it was stopped by a terrorist attack instigated by more extreme Federation elements who re-wrote the charter to give the Federation more control over the colonies. Some people see this as adding even more to the general Gray-and-Gray Morality of the Universal Century while others see it as a case of trying to canonize the general Zeon Is Right mentality thereby dismissing it (and the series in general) as "fanwank". However, the series tries to elaborate on this more by saying that the charter was made completely independent of Zeon's motives, since it was drafted decades before the rise of the movement. Also, Zeon's rise actually made the situation worse, since what started out a simple coverup turned into something that could potentially legitimize Zeon, causing the Federation to clamp down even harder on the Box. Also, when Mineva reveals the original charter to the world, she specifically says she is not seeking to legitimize Zeon's ideals.
Captain Obvious Reveal: From the moment the first details about the novel came out, people already knew that Audrey was a teenaged Mineva Zabi, thanks to factors like her appearance, her age matching up with Mineva's, the latter's mysterious disappearance at the end of Zeta Gundam, and the obviousalias.
Another contributing factor is that the score playing when Audrey escapes the Sleeves ship in the first episode is titled "Mineva".
Catharsis Factor: After seeing Martha Vist Carbine use her influence to boss around Federation military and official for most of the series, it is highly satisfying when Bright Noa tells her she has no say anymore and arrests her in Episode 7.
The unnamed Stark Jegan pilot who fights the Kshatriya in the first 6 minutes of the first episode. Not only that, but the Stark Jegan's HGUC manual implies that he was one of the guys that attempted to help Amuro push back Axis three years prior. The guy was a true hero.
The unnamed Byarlant Custom (Robin Diez) pilot in Episode 4. The Byarlant Custom is actually a tactically inferior suit, with only two guns (which double as beam sabers) and its claws. Its sheer speed and maneuverability make it one of the best combatants in the anime.
The nameless female aide in Cheyenne seen in Episode 7, who seems to convey everything without ever doing anything. So much that fans have dubbed her as Unicorn's equivalent to Kergerenko.
"Purustitute" for Marida, although this nickname is not without reason. To elaborate, Marida was a child solder during the First Neo-Zeon war as one of the Ple clones. During Glemmy Toto's uprising she was Ple Twelve. Between then and the events of Unicorn (UC 0096), she survived by living as a prostitute until she was approached by the Sleeves, specifically Zinnerman who adopted her and gave her the name Marida Cruz.
Some have called the Kshatriya "Palm Tree" due to the shape of its binders, it's color, and the fact that its a lot easier to pronounce then its actual name.
"Spiegel Cosplay" for the Geara Zulu due to its head looking similar to the Gundam Spiegel (ignoring the fact that both are based on WWII German soldier helmets...)
"Geara Leo" for the Geara Zulu that blew up when a shot from the Unicorn's beam magnum passed near it, a reference to how the Leos in Gundam Wing would explode by the dozen when a Gundam so much as appeared on the screen.
"Godspeed" for the nameless Stark Jegan pilot from the first Kshatriya fight.
Full Frontal is sometimes called "Mullet Char" because of his huge hair by Neo Lorrnoke of The ''Gundamn!'' podcast of MAHQ.
"Kobe Byarlant" - The Byarlant Custom in OVA 4, after it managed to beat down several Neo Zeon suits single-handedly, despite being essentially a Titans design.
"Banana" for Banagher due to the varying pronunciations of his name.
In Episode 7, Bright and Chairman Marcenas find common ground as fathers, and how they shouldn't act in a way that would make their children ashamed of them. This is especially tragic in light of Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash.
If you've seen Mobile Suit Gundam F91 or Mobile Suit Victory Gundam, both of which take place decades after the events of Unicorn, you'll know that the opening of Laplace's Box will ultimately be in vain. But at least there's consolation in that there's possibility again.
This is further compounded considering the situation in Gundam: Reconguista in G pretty much suggests Earth and Space goes the way Full Frontal would have wanted: the latter more self-sustaining than Earth ever was.
Even Harsher since...∀ Gundam is the ultimate end result of Universal Century.
"Full Frontal" might seem odd as the name of a general, but if you've ever seen The Book of Mormon, it's nothing compared to General Butt Fucking Naked. (He, in turn, is based on a very real and very vicious African general, Butt Naked, but that's a little less Hilarious and more Harsh.)
The uncannyresemblance that Zinnerman has to Captain from Giant Gorg didn't go unnoticed by the fans of that series. Then, both of their respective series were confirmed to appear in Super Robot Wars BX.
Riddhe's attitude towards Banagher throughout the series. Reaches a zenith in Episode 7, especially where his desperation when Banagher is trapped in a Newtype coma verges on I Want My Beloved to Be Happy.
It has to be pointed out that the seventh episode of an OVA called Gundam Unicorn is titled "Over the Rainbow." The only way they could fit more LGBT symbols into an episode is if the final superweapon was a rainbow-colored pyramid.
On the Gunpla side: A small number of foreign builders are tired of Bandai continuously milking the HGUC/MG Unicorn Gundam molds.
Ever since the release of the OVA series, and continuing on for a decade past that, Unicorn saw a heavy marketing push rivaling that of both Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, leading to the construction of a life-size Unicorn Gundam statue in Japan and its characters and mech designs being featured heavily in spinoffs such as the SD Gundam sub-franchise and various Gundam video games to a point that many fans feel has reached the point of overexposure.
It's the Same, Now It Sucks!: Some fans who were expecting for the RE:0096 TV version to expand on the OVA to include extra scenes from the novels and extra segments to the fight scenes expressed disappointment that it is more or less a direct recut without much new or changed.
Jerkass Woobie: Angelo Sauper is a very unpleasant person, but considering that he witnessed his father being killed and his mother raped by Federation soldiers when he was very young, was sexually abused by his stepfather, and turned to prostitution to survive after his mother's suicide, it's hard not to feel at least a little sorry for him.
What may be a record, an image from the fourth episode's trailer shows Bright stroking his chin, which is ripe Imagine Spot fodder.
The Kobe Byarlant.
Angelo gracefully bowing out of the battle at the end of episode 5 is quickly becoming a meme.
The Neo Zeong has been mocked a little for it's thruster "legs", such as replacing them with soda cans or just generally being confused how the hell it's model is going to keep balanced.
Banagher channels Nanto Suichoken against Full Frontal in the last episode.
NT-R System explanation Several fans replaced the name of the New-Type Destroyer's "D" into "R" to represent Netorare moments in the Gundam franchise, notably to Riddhe's failed relationship with Audrey (or even 0083 Stardust Memory's Kou losing Nina to Gato). The full name is sometimes read as "NeTo-Rare System".
"UNICORN" started playing in my headexplanation After Episode 1 aired, the BGM track "UNICORN" quickly became the song to use for epic moments and popped up in a ton of video edits, much like Guile's theme. In a related form, Japanese fans have been known to say things like "The Unicorn song started playing in my head" when they describe something incredible that they did or had happen to them.
Okay... seriously, Full Frontal? While the symbolism for the name is obvious, that doesn't make it any less ridiculous and difficult to take seriously.
Full Frontal is the second coming of Char. We get it. The more it gets repeated, and the more it gets just hammered into the skulls of viewers, the less it becomes ominous and more it becomes hilarious. The sheer extent that he goes to play this up leads to many unintentionally hilarious exchanges (with his referring to the Nahel Argama as the "Mock Trojan Horse" probably being the apex of his groan-worthy dialogue).
A rare few moments in the surprisingly competent English dub sounded somewhat phoned in.
Marida Cruz's VA's reading of the line "So heavy" in the first episode was utterly narm-tastic. (Although that might have to do with the line being an awkward one in-and-of itself, being a direct translation of the Japanese audio.)
Episode two looks to continue this tradition further. "That's the See-non-jew."
The novel gets flak for relying on Gratuitous Rapeas Backstory to the point of ridiculousness. It's a part of Marida and Angelo's backstories (the "Purustitute" meme originating as a mockery of perceived edginess) and indirectly Zimmerman and Loni's, with "Federation soldiers raping Zeon women and children" popping up with enough frequency that readers see it as a lazy ploy to make Zeon seem more sympathetic. Notably, nearly all of this was cut from the OVA.
Narm Charm: Banagher's rather cringe-worthy reaction to Marida's death by point-blank beam shot may seem over-the-top, but really serves to highlight just how powerful a Newtype he is, not to mention how heavy her death weighs on him.
Marida being haunted by a faceless version of herself as Ple Twelve.
Marida Cruz became terrifying after being reconditioned by the Vist Foundation. Unlike her when she was "Ple Twelve", who still has her own mind even after being programmed to destroy Gundams, Marida after being reconditioned became more robotic and only obeys Alberto Vist's orders and acknowledges him as her master.
Older Than They Think: One might suggest that Unicorn's verdict on the existence of Newtypes (i.e. they don't exist, or at least are still too human to be considered a new species entirely, in contrast to long-standing Zeonic ideology and Federation paranoia) was pretty much the point made in the climax of After War Gundam X.
The Stark Jegan from the first episode gets less than 5 minutes of screentime and exists to be destroyed by the Kshatriya, but its pilot puts up such a good fight that many fans have praised him as one of the best grunts in the franchise. The Byarlant Custom follows suit.
The spirits of Amuro, Char, and Lalah appear in the final episode and with them bring forth the tears of many fans.
The fact that they hired an avowed Japanese Imperialist author like Fukui to write a novel series for Gundam is rather odd, especially considering the blatant anti-war & anti-Axis themes of previous UC series. For perspective, it's a bit like having a sequel to Maus written by the guy who did The Turner Diaries.
Fans were rather confused when it was discovered that Chieko Honda would not be voicing Marida Cruz, despite the fact that 1) she played both Ples in Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, and 2) she was still doing voice acting (Even older women for Gundam) when they started production of the OVA. note Honda sadly ended up passing away in 2013, about a year prior to the OVA coming to a conclusion with episode 7, so most fans now agree it's for the better that she didn't end up voicing Marida - it's possible the role would have been recast.
The same thing happened for Mineva/Audrey's VA in Zeta Gundam (Miki Itō), though this was because of scheduling conflicts. Still, many fans preferred Ito to play Audrey.
For all the Canon Immigrant mobile suit cameos in the OVA, many of them don't actually get to do much aside from be on the receiving end of a Curb-Stomp Battle after several seconds of screentime. Examples include the GM II Semi-Striker, Zeta Plus, and Gustav Karl.
The Stark Jegan pilot puts up a surprisingly good fight with Marida Cruz's Kshatriya and is apparently a veteran of the Second Neo Zeon War, but he dies in the aforementioned fight with no flashbacks or posthumous mentions for us to learn anything about him, even his name. Some think that it would have been interesting for him to have survived the battle and live on to become a mentor for Banagher and fight alongside him.
On that note, the return of the Nahel Argama would have been the perfect opportunity to catch up with what the gang from ZZ have been up to in the intervening years, but they all go completely unmentioned. Even Beecha Oleg, who finished that series as the Nahel Argama's captain, is nowhere to be seen.
The novel's portrayal of Zeon and the Federation have been construed as metaphors for Imperial Japan and the Allied Forces, respectively. A more justified instance, considering the author's outspoken right wing views.
Laplace's Box and the UC Charter can be read as analogies for Article 9 of the 1947 Constitution of Japan, and the latter's outlawing of war and militarism, positing it as something that limits Japan on the world stage the same way the removal of the article in the UC Charter limits newtypes.
Played differently in the more left-leaning anime and manga continuity, which still contains many parallels between Side 3 and Japan, but portrays Zeon as, at best, an ideology that's outlived its time. Though many Zeon characters and their motivations are treated sympathetically, the destruction caused by Zeon in the One Year War and subsequent Neo-Zeon conflicts still looms large over the story. Their own princess is disillusioned with what they've become and the only people who really, truly want to see Zeon revived are either motivated by the desire for revenge against the Federation or cold-hearted ideologues with no care for the human cost of the conflict they're perpetuating. It's interesting to note that the Side 3 of the UC 0100s depicted in Mobile Suit Crossbone Gundam Ghost, where most people have forgotten the name "Zeon", is not only heavily based on modern Japan, but (in contrast to the political violence-ridden mess depicted in Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin's flashback arc or the fascist police state of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Plot to Assassinate Gihren) is depicted as a place people might actually want to live in.
of MAHQ.