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ANIME REVIEW: Gundam Unicorn Finale – Closes The Universal Century Saga Beautifully

 
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You’re reading it right: The main saga of the Universal Century Gundam continuity ended not with Victory Gundam, Gaia Gear, nor with that crappy Canadian flick G-Saviour(Heck, that movie’s atrocious!). See, I always believed that the core conflict of the UC line revolved at the complicated war between Zeon forces and the Earth Federation, or […]

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Posted September 26, 2014 by

 
FULL REVIEW
 
 

You’re reading it right: The main saga of the Universal Century Gundam continuity ended not with Victory Gundam, Gaia Gear, nor with that crappy Canadian flick G-Saviour(Heck, that movie’s atrocious!). See, I always believed that the core conflict of the UC line revolved at the complicated war between Zeon forces and the Earth Federation, or to put it aptly, between two people who primarily represented the ideals of each faction: The charismatic and philosophical Char Aznable, and the naive but strong-willed Amuro Ray. It was always about them, their morals, and the people trapped between their crosshairs.

All of the threads from the said timeline’s expanse all converged into one, tightly knit product – one that I thoroughly followed for four years. Gundam Unicorn decisively sealed off the seemingly endless plot that started with the first Mobile Suit Gundam show, and I should say, it was beautifully satisfying. Who would’ve thought that a young kid’s coming of age journey will turn into something else? Its transition from a generic Gundam story to a penultimate McGuffin is very well written, and we were all caught off guard.

“In the future, should the emergence of a new space-adapted human race be confirmed, the Earth Federation shall give priority to involving them in the administration of the government.”

Gundam Unicorn encompassed all the elements of the previous UC shows/stories(excluding Gundam Victory) and made it bigger by giving it an organic story about humanity’s advancement to space – which brings us to the very secret of the Laplace Box: The original Universal Century charter, which holds an additional mandate that gives Newtypes the power to govern over the entire humanity. It would simply take away whatever power the Federation has, and will provide the oppressed Spacenoids the means to revolt. It’s an extremely well thought element that carries more weight the more you think about it. It seems irrelevant at first, but the more you analyze it, the more you realize what ramifications it has in store for everyone, making us wary of the real power it possess.

And the more thought you place on it, the greater the chances of you knowing how it all ties up, giving you a new perspective with the original Gundam timeline. Well played, Sunrise.

The finale also gave us a thorough glimpse of evolved physics and their place in our world, as emphasized by the final battle between Full Frontal(Yes, that’s what Char’s clone is called. Stop laughing, please.) and Banagher Links. It was amusing to see how their pseudo-intellectual debate ended up in a timetrip across all the important moments of the Universal Century, traversing from Gundam, Zeta, ZZ, Char’s Counterattack, and to the universe’s death itself. It was symbolic, in a manner that it questions whether the things they’re fighting for hold any real purpose.

Most of the character developments have also blossomed fully in this episode. The relationship between Zinnerman and Marida Cruz is always an interesting thread to watch, and seeing how it emotionally ended tore my heart out. Riddhe’s descent from a man scorned of love will make you pity the guy even more. Full Frontal’s own evolution from Char’s persona to his own is also a brilliant point. And Banagher and Audrey’s personalities have greatly changed as well, giving all the holes a satisfying closure.

This episode also had its moments: It was nice to see some old UC characters cameo on-screen, and that timetrip sure made me giddy a bit. The appearance of the trio of Char, Lalah Sune, and Amuro heightened the retro buzz to fever pitch, further implying that Unicorn really is the key that closes off this seemingly endless saga.

In conclusion, Gundam Unicorn’s final chapter surely brings the catharsis that is the conclusion of the Universal Century’s entirety, connecting all the threads that started 35 years ago, and weaving it into a truly satisfying story.


Tony Tuason

 
Tony is just your average guy who loves comics, toys, games, movies, and all those geek goodness.


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