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Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (1985) gets increasingly complicated, as Amuro Ray and Char Azanable from the first Gundam series appear. The confrontation between the rebel forces of the A.E.U.G. (Anti-Earth Union Group) and the power-hungry paramilitary Titans becomes a triangle of competing powers when a relict Zeon force arrives on the scene, led by Haman Karn, who is determined to restore the Zabi family to power. The storyline gets even more tangled as Kamille Bidan uses his Newtype powers to establish psychic bonds not only with his girlfriend Fa Yuiry, but with Sarah, Four, Reccoa, Emma, and Rosammy. These links feel repetitious, as do the metal-hand-to-metal-hand duels between Kamille’s Zeta Gundam and the enemy Mobile Suits that occur in every episode. There’s little sense of a broad story arc, and at this early phase of anime, the filmmakers were still learning how to write credible female characters. Fa comes across as a twit along the lines of Minmei in Robotech, and she’s saddled with two thoroughly obnoxious orphans. Zeta Gundam lacks the depth of characterization that made 08 MS Team memorable and the CG-assisted space battles in Gundam Seed and other recent installments. But for viewers interested in following the development of the popular and long-running Gundam franchise, it’s must viewing. (Rated 13 and older: violence, violence against women, nudity, alcohol use) –Charles Solomon

Product Description

In Zeta Gundam, the sequel to the original Mobile Suit Gundam series, the Universal Century world is locked into an escalating conflict. While the AEUG resistance group strives to convince the world of the justice of its cause, the brutal Titans continue to suppress dissent through violence and fear. Now the struggle enters a new phase as a powerful third force enters the battlefield, and the AEUG and Titans race to enlist the support of the mysterious Axis renegades. Confronted with his past, Char Aznable at last decides to embrace his role as leader of the AEUG. But his choice may have come too late, for the Titans have completed their most terrible and devastating weapon.