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Gundam Unicorn now on Netflix (US/UK/CA) - OVA, 7 Episodes
- Thread starter Gundam
- Start date
OP
OP
The Origin manga would be an excellent intro. It coverd the entirety of the original with great art. The stuff they added was adapted to the Origin anime, which is a prequel to the OG series.
Go ahead and jump in. Although there are significant callbacks to other shows in the Gundam UC (Universal Century) universe, I feel the story is standalone. The alternative would be to watch a few of the 0079 movies and Zeta at the least, but that's a significant investment. I'd say watch this, dive into more if you like it, and then come back and watch it to pick up on the (in my opinion, minor) things you missed.
So it's not like Final Fantasy where each game/season is standalone? :r Is there a preferred watch order?
HELL NO.
It's my favorite post-2000 Gundam series, but dear god that would be a mistake. Watch the 0079 movie trilogy & Zeta first (or at the very least some of the older OVA's) if you want to go into Unicorn not completely lost.
The mainline of Gundam series land in the Universal Century Timeline (0079->08th MS Team->0080 War In The Pocket->0083 Stardust Memory->Zeta->ZZ->Char's Counterattack->Unicorn->Victory->F91), but there's a plethora of standalone series that have nothing to do with the UC timeline (Wing, G Gundam, and Turn A being the best imo).
OP
OP
Some are more standalone than others.
A lot of them are one off alternate universe things.
A lot of people watch the Universal Century timeline in production order, some in chronological order.
The watch order that I've gone through twice was something like:
0079 TV/Mobile Suit Gundam - Zeta Gundam - 0083 Stardust Memory - 08th MS Team - 0080 War in The Pocket - ZZ Gundam - Char's Counterattack - The Origin - Unicorn - Thunderbolt
The ones that are continuity heavy are all kind of sequels to specific things. Chronogically, The Origin, Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta Gundam, ZZ Gundam, Chad's Counterattack, and then Gundam Unicorn compromise what I consider to be the "maim story", while everything else is a self contained side story.
Yeah...Unicorn need the knowledge of the original series, Zeta and Char's Counterattack at the very least. Otherwise you'll be lost especially in the 2nd half of Unicorn.
If you want to watch something with its own continuity, go with other series like Seed, 00 or Iron-Blooded Orphans. There are others, but they are mostly terrible or an extremely acquired taste.
Yeah, there are other series where you can jump in without much knowledge of the main UC series (even in UC itself 08th MS team is perfectly watchable as standalone) but Unicorn is absolutely not the place to start.
It leans heavily into the lore so going in without some base knowledge will leave you lost at parts.
Thanks for the responses. Sounds like something to check out a bit further down the line once I'm a bit more familiarized with the Gundam series.
I just watched it, it's there. The thumbnail they have is terrible and should be changed though.
No sadly. Both of these were made after Unicorn finished it's run, and take place in the timeline before even the original gundam anime from the 70's. Unicorn takes place at the end of the main timeline (its considered the most recent incident so to speak)
Origin is prequel to the 1970s gundam and is used to expand the universe before the main franchise. Thunderbolt is a stand alone incident/conflict in a specific place with specific characters. They exist, but are not mentioned or related to what happens in Unicorn.
You can enjoy Unicorn for its great animation and OST but all the things that it relates to and references are Gundam, Zeta Gundam, and like... the last 10 or 15 episodes of ZZ. Some of the references, especially the hardcore ones will go over your head, but I think enough context is given in most scenes to realize whats up throughout.
Some fans swear Unicorn isn't understandable without seeing the others, I'd say its pretty watchable still. Can always wiki stuff if your confused.
Made it to the end of ep 3 and the merry go round drop, realllly not feeling any of the characters or the plot.
Kshatriya will always be one of my faves but I don't think I can keep watching for a suit and a song lol. Does it get better?
Kshatriya will always be one of my faves but I don't think I can keep watching for a suit and a song lol. Does it get better?
If you're not feeling it by that point, then naw.
I wasn't a fan of Unicorn either.
I don't know why I still see folks around the Internet recommend Unicorn for Gundam newcomers but I do know they should all be prosecuted for art crimes.
I don't think the story or the characters are any good at all regardless of how much background knowledge you have, but jesus christ the only way I'd recommend a newcomer dive into this thing is if they are 100% only interested in the mech fights and either zone out in between or outright fast-forward to jump from one fight to the next. This is some really dense shit for a newcomer and I'm sorry but anyone who insists otherwise has entirely lost their perspective on what going into Gundam with no knowledge actually means. It's crazy how much I've seen people recommend this. Do not do it.
I don't think the story or the characters are any good at all regardless of how much background knowledge you have, but jesus christ the only way I'd recommend a newcomer dive into this thing is if they are 100% only interested in the mech fights and either zone out in between or outright fast-forward to jump from one fight to the next. This is some really dense shit for a newcomer and I'm sorry but anyone who insists otherwise has entirely lost their perspective on what going into Gundam with no knowledge actually means. It's crazy how much I've seen people recommend this. Do not do it.
Unicorn blew me away and brought me back to Gundam, so I'm glad it's on netflix, I'll have to rewatch it!
don't bother, it assumes you're very familiar with the history of the main gundam universe and doesn't do a good job of explaining all the factions and what everyone is talking about for new people
I stopped watching it a few episodes in, despite the gorgeous animation, because it was basically like watching really pretty gundam fights between long boring lectures by Charlie Brown's teacher
I just couldn't find a way to care
Nice!
I don't think I'll do a full rewatch as that'd imply I have to sit through Riddhe's bullshit again though.
I do think they'll keep adding more Gundam (and Sunrise stuff in general) though, since at least in LatAm they addedThe Adventures of Spinzaku Code Geass today as well.
I don't think I'll do a full rewatch as that'd imply I have to sit through Riddhe's bullshit again though.
I do think they'll keep adding more Gundam (and Sunrise stuff in general) though, since at least in LatAm they added
Yup, can confirm.
Ban this filth.
Just search by Gundam, it's the only title and I think they have it listed as Gundam UC, not Unicorn.
OP
OP
I'm tellin y'all: start with the 1979 TV show. It even has a good dub. If you can't get into the world with the older animation, watch The Origin to ease you in. It's 6 episodes and the earliest chronological starting point that is very easily watchable on its own.
Unicorn is indeed a strange choice for Netflix. The Origin would have made more sense.
Unicorn is indeed a strange choice for Netflix. The Origin would have made more sense.
Sadly, I think you just watched the peak of Unicorn. The middle feels a little detached, and the ending is the weakest part. If you are looking for more Kshatriya, it might be for the best if you stop here.
OP
OP
Episode 4 has some of the coolest combat in the series, or straight up does depending who you ask (I'd say so) but it does not get anymore clear from here on sadly. Ends on an amazing cliff hanger though.
I'd never recommend Gundam Unicorn for first timers, then again, I don't netflix so not sure if other series are up there. Smaller more self contained series like Thunderbolt, War in the Pocket or 08th MS Team are always my go to hooks.
After all this time, I'd still rank episode 5 as my favorite. Hell, probably my favorite episode of any Gundam series.
Thanks people, I'll let it go then. Did my part though, hopefully there's enough interest to get some of the other series on Netflix.
I remember watching the first episode on YouTube years ago and was pulled straight in. I will gladly watch the whole thing now
A lot probably wouldn't make sense and some of the emotional impact might be missing. You'd be better off watching Char's Counterattack solo than this.
That said, hell yes I'm excited.
i've request bans there too i believe
strike is such an underrated gundam. so simple and clean.
Disagree.
This is very sensible advice for those who might want to watch Unicorn as their first Gundam.
This, on the other hand, is not sensible. Nobody wants such a big commitment to find out if they like Gundam. And this comes from someone who watched it all chronologically. Please, nobody watch the Zeta movies as your first contact with Zeta (I'm aware that the post I quoted recommends the series for Zeta). The original MSG movies are fine, though.
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I've read my fair share of "wrong" opinions on Gundam but this takes the cake. CCA is arguably the worst place ever to start watching Gundam. It's a 2 hour conclusion to a story (read rivalry) spanning 90 (140 depending if you want to count ZZ) anime episodes so it does not have any time to explain anything in detail and it's up to you to fill the gaps. Additionally, starting at a story that is a conclusion will never make sense to me.
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I'm just curious, which part of the tweet do you disagree with?
Haha, indeed. CCA would be a terrible place to start.
Mobile Suit Gundam movie trilogy → MSG Zeta TV series → Read a synopsis of MSG ZZ → Char's Counterattack
That would be the bare minimum I'd recommend before jumping into Unicorn.
And I have to say, Unicorn gets better on each rewatch for me, sooo hooray for the Netflix release. :D
I think most are fine/actually like or love the designs that SEED brought... its the other stuff lol.
The ending is fine. Not spectacular but not bad. It definitely does not collapse on itself. But that's just my opinion.
The Laplace Box being just what it was is perfectly consistent with the general UC narrative. Newtype shenanigans is also a UC staple and stopping a colony laser is not less credible than stopping an asteroid falling into Earth. Maybe people didn't like that "looking into the future" sequence with Full Frontal which I feel is the weakest part of he ending.
ZZ is better than CCA IMO. I think it's a better idea to fast-forward the first 16 episodes of ZZ and watch the rest than to skip it. ZZ is real good after that. I love the Nu gundam and Sazabi but CCA is a mess and not quite a good movie. I can still watch it because I love Gundam but eh.
Banana makes me banana. As such, I prefer Thunderbolt more than Unicorn. Thing is, I have four model kits from Unicorn and exactly zero from Thunderbolt. So, I am banana.
I don't think I have ever seen someone say that the Strike is an underrated gundam
Mashymre Cello and crew made those early episodes totally worth watching for me (except the first which is entirely skippable) and some of them are legit funny. Though I think if someone's attached to the Zeta characters, they'd be probably wiser watching 0080 or something instead of jumping in right after Zeta like I did.
Emma :(
But yeah, the Dublin arc makes watching ZZ at all is worth it for that alone.
Episode 14-15 however...
Yeah, personally I can still appreciate early ZZ even with the goofiness. Moon Moon is the only arc I routinely skip.
Is there any streaming service carrying the '79 show right now? I've been meaning to go through all the Universal Century Gundam content for ages now but I'm loath to shell out $70+ for DVDs.