Gundam 00 is one of the better things to come out of the Gundam franchise in the last decade. It has an interesting plot (at least in the 1st season), beautifully choreographed action sequences and a highly attractive visual style that remains a personal favorite of mine. However, its weak points are not subtle at all, as I will now illustrate.
The point where 00 fails the most is in the character department. 00 has archetypes, not characters. This works when said archetypes are likable in and of themselves (Lockon, Tieria), but dramatically falls flat when they aren't (breaking news, Marina; you're a massive twat!). The archetypes in 00 barely evolve at all, they merely play out their established roles in the genre with barely a missed beat. Setsuna is a prominent example; he is written so flat that the flashbacks of him murdering his own parents extracted only a bored sigh. At the end of the show I didn't get the impression that any of the Gundam Meisters had really evolved or changed due to their experiences at all; they had merely fulfilled the objective they had possessed right from the beginning of the series.
Another serious issue with 00 is season 2. Unlike many, I don't think the change in style was illogical within the context of the setting, but I agree that it failed to capitalize on the potential of the series from a broader perspective. Season 1 features complex political intrigue that keeps you guessing, and plays the traditional Grey & Grey Morality tropes present in Gundam to the hilt; I cheered when the GN-X's appeared and had their first victory, despite knowing what their presence heralded for Celestial Being as an organisation. Season 2 drops any such pretensions and becomes about as generic a 'good versus evil' plot line as one could possibly expect. It's like as if Game of Thrones was suddenly retooled to more closely resemble the morality axis present in Star Wars.
All this said, 00 is still a great show. It looks gorgeous, with superb combat and a truly epic soundtrack. The good character archetypes are very good, and the bad ones can be mostly ignored (except Marina. Fuck Marina). If you can ignore the gibbering fanboys who insist 'this isn't Gundam because GN particles nnnnnn!!!', then 00 is a worthy successor to the shows that came before it.
Circumstantially Exemplary
Gundam 00 is one of the better things to come out of the Gundam franchise in the last decade. It has an interesting plot (at least in the 1st season), beautifully choreographed action sequences and a highly attractive visual style that remains a personal favorite of mine. However, its weak points are not subtle at all, as I will now illustrate.
The point where 00 fails the most is in the character department. 00 has archetypes, not characters. This works when said archetypes are likable in and of themselves (Lockon, Tieria), but dramatically falls flat when they aren't (breaking news, Marina; you're a massive twat!). The archetypes in 00 barely evolve at all, they merely play out their established roles in the genre with barely a missed beat. Setsuna is a prominent example; he is written so flat that the flashbacks of him murdering his own parents extracted only a bored sigh. At the end of the show I didn't get the impression that any of the Gundam Meisters had really evolved or changed due to their experiences at all; they had merely fulfilled the objective they had possessed right from the beginning of the series.
Another serious issue with 00 is season 2. Unlike many, I don't think the change in style was illogical within the context of the setting, but I agree that it failed to capitalize on the potential of the series from a broader perspective. Season 1 features complex political intrigue that keeps you guessing, and plays the traditional Grey & Grey Morality tropes present in Gundam to the hilt; I cheered when the GN-X's appeared and had their first victory, despite knowing what their presence heralded for Celestial Being as an organisation. Season 2 drops any such pretensions and becomes about as generic a 'good versus evil' plot line as one could possibly expect. It's like as if Game of Thrones was suddenly retooled to more closely resemble the morality axis present in Star Wars.
All this said, 00 is still a great show. It looks gorgeous, with superb combat and a truly epic soundtrack. The good character archetypes are very good, and the bad ones can be mostly ignored (except Marina. Fuck Marina). If you can ignore the gibbering fanboys who insist 'this isn't Gundam because GN particles nnnnnn!!!', then 00 is a worthy successor to the shows that came before it.