Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny Episodes 1-25: Dewbond Eats Crow (No Not that Crow)

You read that title right.

It has been over 15 years since I last watched this show. 15 years since I decided that this anime was one of the worst I had ever seen. Completely irredeemable except for a handful of moments. I have held that belief for so long, and frankly without anything new on the horizon I had no reason to revisit it. Yet when the impossible finally happened and the film was released, I knew that I wouldn’t be doing it justice if I didn’t refresh myself on what happened.

And what I found completely shocked me.

This is Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny.

Let me cut to the chase right away. The first 25 episodes of Seed Destiny aren’t just good. They are pretty fucking fantastic.

Readers of this blog will know that I hold the original Mobile Suit Gundam Seed near and dear to my heart. It is one of my favorite series, and an entry I honestly think ranks near the top of the Gundam lexicon. While it doesn’t have the historical significance of the Universal Century it chose to mirror, it also isn’t burdened with the loosely defined geopolitics and vague space telepathy that people claim is some commentary on the human condition. I’ll admit that is because I am not of that generation, but I always felt that Seed was unfairly lambasted by old-school Gundam fans for being too ‘newbie’ friendly.

Seed has always focused on characters instead of macro worldbuilding and Destiny has some good work in this first half.

I didn’t have that feeling for Destiny, and it was to my great surprise that after this first half, I wasn’t just interested, but also very engrossed in what it is trying to do, the stories it is trying to tell, and how it actually feels like a well developed sequel. Instead of the macro ‘coordinator vs naturals’ that defined the first series, Destiny is concerned with its large cast of characters, each of them trying to find their own place in a situation that is escalating deeply out of control. All with their own reasons and motives for being there.

Athrun, Cagalli and Kira all find themselves torn between their duty and desires, especially when it comes to whether Durandal is an ally or enemy.

Like with most of the best sequels, Destiny goes deeper and more personal with its storytelling. But it also remembers that it is a sequel and doesn’t drag people down with trying to the viewer caught up to speed. Right from the start we are thrown into the action and I maintain that the first 9 episodes remains some of the best Gundam period. It’s high stakes, high action and feels like a mini-series of its own with a clear beginning, middle and end.

The fall of Junius Seven is a great story arc, top to bottom.

In terms of the characters, I always knew Shinn Asuka, the ‘lead’ (for now) of the series was a man scarred by the loss of his family, but it was only now that I saw him for what he actually is. A young boy dealing with unimaginable trauma and battling between his despair and rage. His attitude and disrespect comes off as more of a boy desperately searching for a purpose and trying to reconcile his black and white view of the world. An arrogant jack-ass to some, but to me I see instead a frightened and wounded little boy.

The same can be said for the Athrun and Kira relationship, now revolved around the truth of the new chairman of ZAFT, Durandal. While Athrun sees the best in the chairman, wanting to believe he is committed to peacefully ending a war he didn’t start, Kira has seen the other side, and doesn’t trust the man who would so easily send people to try and kill Lacus. But did he do that? Is Athrun right? Yet why would Durandal then create a fake Lacus? What is his angle? While I know the answers to these questions, it was great to see the characters themselves debate this, and the motives of Durandal remain something that is handled very well, you don’t know where he stands, but the moment you see him on the screen there is something that tells you that you can’t trust him.

Durandal is a character you don’t know if he’s good or bad, and the series plays that up damn well.

Cagalli too, one of the more maligned characters, is done better in my eyes. While her crying spells and general uselessness are still there, watching it with fresh eyes make things make more sense. This is a young woman thrown into a position she was never meant to have. A warrior who has to play peacemaker and who doesn’t have the experience, charisma, or guidance to do any of it properly. She has to watch as the older men disregard her father’s legacy and she is powerless to stop it. It’s good stuff, even if the crying does get a bit excessive.

Now are there still problems? Oh fuck yeah. Like I’ve always said, the recycled animation sticks out like the sorest of thumbs. The constant use of flashbacks doesn’t allow important moments to sit on their own at best, and reeks of no trust in the audience at worst. Rey Za Burrel, a important character in the back half has barely anything to do so far. A few of the mobile suit designs seem way too ‘busy’ and most importantly, the ‘relationship’ between Stella and Shinn isn’t given any real time in the spotlight. I understand WHAT they are trying to do: two people scarred by trauma seeking comfort, Shinn being given another chance to protect someone. Yet it’s all over so quick and doesn’t have any legs to stand on for it to mean anything. I mean, at least Cagalli and Athrun had multiple conversations and arguments that lead into their romance. This? It reeks of a teenage view of love with a teenager’s skill at writing.

I was shocked to see something so important to Shinn’s character arc being so brushed over like this. I mean, there is really nothing here.

I’ll be straight up. I was completely wrong about the first half of Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny. Instead of the crappy show I had built up in my head, I instead found a well told, well paced and well executed story that builds off what was done in the first series, but also taking it in new directions that have really interested me. It is certainly no masterpiece, and doesn’t hold a candle the original, but this is far beyond what me and many other viewers have been telling themselves for a decade and a half. The jury is still VERY much out on the second half, where tragic real life circumstances forces changes to the script, but I am approaching it with a far more open mind and an honest level of excitement of what is to come. I could very well change my tune once again, but for now I can’t be more pleased to have given this series another show.

Also, they’ve showed the Shinn flashback 13 times. I’ve counted.