Kidô senshi Gundam Seed

Gundam SEED is the latest series in the long-living Gundam franchise, directed by long-time Sunrise staff member Mitsuo Fukuda. While many tout it the be either the best ever, or the worst ever, I would have to say it falls squarely in the realm of mediocrity with Gundam ZZ. While the second half of the series is rather good, the first half is more or less a rehash of the early portion of its predecessor, Mobile Suit Gundam. While most sequels and spinoffs have used the original series as a building point, SEED tells one of the most blatant copies of the plot of "First Gundam" in Alternate Universe proper. While it is understandable to a degree-- SEED is aimed at those who have not watched anything from the Universal Century-- it is bound to anger the core fanbase that Bandai and Sunrise have pleased for 20 years...

Which is the main problem with the show: In its attempt to garner a new generation of fans, it alienates the older generation's tastes with a rather generic plot and character designs. Even after the second half, when the writers move Gundam SEED into a completely different direction, the damage has been done in the eyes of the adults who watched Gundam as a child.

The saving graces of Gundam SEED are the interesting fight scenes-- there is even a Mobile Suit which resembles another popular mecha franchise in the U.S., "Zoids"-- and the catchy Japanese pop openings and endings. Even the improved writing seems to be pointless for the story in the long run, as 21+ episodes of absolutely high-quality story are ruined by probably one of the worst cop-out endings I've seen, a total rush job that answers none of the questions people wanted to know. And, judging by the fact that Bandai seems to have scrapped any plans for a SEED sequel next year, the continuation people longed for may never come....

Overall: A run-of-the-mill mecha anime with the Gundam title slapped on it, great fighting scenes and music, a mediocre plot, and atrocious character designs: 6/10.

well personally i believe Gundam Seed as well as Seed Destiny to be 2 of the greatest anime Gundam or non, of all time however for someone to go as far as to say that Seed is superior to Wing is taking it a little far and saying that its more realistic and best drawn...ultimately i'd have to say that after watching all the other Gundam shows i'd say this one was the one (seed) is extremely well drawn however this depends on how old you are...Gundam Fans tend to be a bit older but the first thing i noticed about this particular one is that it was drawn FOR KIDS...to fit a younger audience although the characters are well thought out ultimately this show can't be superior to Wing due to the fact that unlike Wing it comes down to the machines over the pilots...this is easy to see considering that they keep getting upgrades...as for comparing the drawing styles well to be honest i'd have to say i'd be prone to believe the way the Gundams as well as mobile suits were drawn in Wing more realistic than in Seed, Seed is way too super futuristic, you can barely see the wires in the suits when they get cut, half the time they just explode....also its confusing because some...or most of the characters in Seed are made out so mature but yet look and give off the feel of so cartoon-like its hard to explain really unless you've seen the show...will there ever be a scene like the one in episode 10 of Gundam wing when Hero comes out of his Gundam "mssion accepted" and self destructs without a second thought... The point i'm trying to make is not one sided because i somehow enjoy Gundam seed just as much as Gundam Wing...but i'm sick and tired of people comparing those two shows...it seems pretty obvious to me that everyone should be able to see that Gundam Wing was clearly aimed at an older audience while Gundam Seed was made in traditional Gundam complexity but drawn out and for a younger crowd...same with the character development(not too young) the fact of the matter is that Gundam Wing and Gundam Seed...they represent 2 different generations which shouldn't be compared so readily. nonetheless i love Gundam Seed

When I first heard about a new Gundam series coming from Japan to the United States in April 2003, I didn't know what to expect. But, what I got didn't reach my expectations, Gundam SEED SURPASSED my expectations. My favorite character by far is Kira Yamato. When I first saw his "SEED mode", I thought that one day, that could become reality. My favorite mobile suit by far, is the soon to be introduced ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam, Kira's new suit, built by ZAFT, and equipped with a N-Jammer Canceler, allowing it to use nuclear energy. Kira steals it quite soon, and uses it not to kill anymore. It has all these CIWS guns, railguns, plasma beam cannons, beam rifle, beam sabers, and a mobile armor weapons system that is remenisent to RX-78GP03 Gundam "Dendrobium" from that has-been Gundam 0083. So, it's the best Gundam show I have ever seen out of three(1. Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, 2. Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, 3. Mobile Suit Gundam Wing) Gundam series that I love. I give it a 10 out of 10 on my scale. GO GUNDAM SEED!!!!!

Gundam SEED isn't terrible. It's actually quite good and I do recommend people to watch it. Like any show, there are a couple of flaws and annoying things about it, but I'd rather not pick at them.

I do agree with some of the complaints that the battles drag out for too long. But hey, they have 50 episodes to fill. So it's a bit of a downfall if you're not into the whole Gundam fighting scenes. The thing that I enjoy most about this show is the characters and plot. The ending is phenomenal. The series is packed with twists and turns. Character development doesn't just focus on the few main characters, but also the supporting characters as well. The music is also an A+. And I'm not just talking about the catchy J-Pop openings and endings, but the score itself is so well done.

Kira Yamato is your stereotypical, invincible television hero. That's to be expected, isn't it? He's very kind and likable. I'm really REALLY glad he's not one of those angry, violent characters who spends half the show swearing and being moody for no apparent reason. Le Creuset, the antagonist, is rather one-dimensional. His whole history and motives are crammed into one episode near the end, and you're like, "OHH now I get it... too bad the series is going to end soon."

(And props to the team for perfecting Flay as "the character everyone hates".)

The English dub is very well done. There are a few awkward dubbing moments, but it's better than a lot of other anime. If you don't want to read subtitles, watch the dub. You're not going to miss a lot.

In a few final words, Gundam SEED is not flawless, nor the "best Gundam show ever", but it is definitely watchable and enjoyable.

Well first of all many people said that some of the episodes were dragging on. To clarify this,this series contains all emotion including Drama. So some of the episodes were made exactly for those who enjoy Drama. Anyway almost of the series was sad , however , it was gripping too! I must say 40% was Drama and the rest 60% was Action/Adventure/Thriller/Sci-Fi. The story was very excellent. (More reasonable than GundamW--and based on the truth that could possibly happen). The musics are very well-composed. The drawing was the greatest from all Gundam series. You'll get full enjoyment if you watch this one in Japanese,cuz Im not sure about the English Dub. Oh yeah,and the characters are interesting and attractive too. Finally,hope you guys enjoy watching this BEST GUNDAM EVER!!