Gundam Favorites

Alright, I'm suprised no one has posted this yet, but I think it's time for us to see each other's Gundam preferences. I think judging by what suit we chose to play this game with we kind of get an idea, but barely. So what are your:

Top 3 Gundam Series/OVA/Films

Top 3 Gundam characters

and

Top 3 Mobile suits/Mobile Armors

Here are mine

Series:
1. Gundam Seed
2. Gundam Wing
3. Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory

Characters:
1. Milliardo Peacecraft
2. Mu La Flaga
3. Treize Krushrenada

Mobile Suits/Mobile Armors
1. Neue Ziel
2. Rafflesia
3. Tallgeese III

Really the only reason Stardust Memory reached my top 3 is because of the story and Neue Ziel. I could not stand Kou at all and thought he was one of the worst protagonist created with the most annoying English dubbed voice.

Here are mine

Series:
1. Gundam 00
2. Gundam SEED Destiny
3. Gundam Unicorn

Characters:
1. Rau Le Crueset
2. Char Aznable
3. Elpeo Puru or Ple

Mobile Suits/Mobile Armors
1. Stark Jegan
2. Quin-Mantha
3. Nu Gundam

Drace-Neue Ziel wrote:I could not stand Kou at all and thought he was one of the worst protagonist created with the most annoying English dubbed voice.

Gotta completely agree with you there Leo. Kou made it so hard for me to finish Stardust Memory.

Series:
1. Zeta Gundam
2. Victory Gundam
3. Gundam 00

Characters:
1. Char Aznable
2. Graham Aker
3. Chronicle Asher

Mobile Suits:
1. Sazabi
2. Nu Gundam
3. Zeta Gundam

I'm curious to read on your thoughts of Elpeo Puru, Walter. I like to view different insights of various characters in the Gundam universe.

Oh, I loved that little ball of sunshine, I was really sad when she died. She was just so lovable and the rivalry for Judau's attention was hilarious.

Series:

1. 8th MS Team
2. 00
3. Seed Stargazer

Mobile Suits:

1. Astray Blue Frame 2nd
2. Blue Destiny Unit 3
3. Gundam Astraea

Characters:

1. Lt. Raynor (Rise from the Ashes)
2. Graham Acre
3. Lowe Guele

Right now I'm still kind of in the process of watching Gundam series, so this is going to be possibly incomplete/changeable in the future. I'm mainly a UC guy, so the only AU series that I've really seen is 00, and only the first season. (And Wing, but that was so long ago)

So far I've seen the "main" UC series. (Everything that's not ZZ that's not late UC) And right now I've started watching ZZ and Turn-A, and trying to figure out which one of those I want to devote more effort to watching. It will probably end up being Turn-A since what I've seen so far rules.

Also, in my list you might notice a bit of a trend

Series:

1. Gundam 0080: War In The Pocket - It tells a nice story, and also manages to avoid most Gundam cliches which makes this quite unique. While the action scenes don't make up much of this, the ones that are there are pretty great, and the mobile suit designs are some of my favorites.

2. Mobile Suit Gundam (TV) - I prefer the TV series over the Movie Trilogy because it feels so much more like a 70's super robot show. It's kind of refreshing to see the cheap, goofy animation, the sometimes odd designs, and such. The original series makes a nice contrast to the tone and style of all other Gundam works that take place in the same era.

3. Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (First Season) - Of the rest of the Gundam series I've seen, this one is the most memorable for me. I like the mech designs, the contrast between the super robot-esque Gundam Meisters vs. the earth alliance groups, and most of the non-Celestial Being characters. It's a shame that they changed most of the things I liked for the second season.

Honorable mentions: 0083: Stardust Memory (See below), Turn-A Gundam (Haven't seen enough of it to rank it)

Drace-Neue Ziel wrote:Really the only reason Stardust Memory reached my top 3 is because of the story and Neue Ziel. I could not stand Kou at all and thought he was one of the worst protagonist created with the most annoying English dubbed voice.

I enjoyed 0083, but yeah the main romantic leads were dumber than bricks. At first I thought Kou was alright, but as his character developed he just got worse and worse. But, I think that many of the supporting characters (Monsha, Lt. Burning, etc.) make up for that. Plus, I think that a lot of the mech designs and fight scenes were really neat, but then that is negated by how weird and kind of dumb the plot is when you think about it in the end.

Characters:

1. Ramba Ral - Old, professional soldier, more skilled than the main character, and when things don't go his way he doesn't complain at all. He just deals with it, and finds some kind of solution. And of course he distinctly doesn't get the newest, fanciest suit so he just assaults the White Base with infantry and machineguns. That's badass.

(It also helps that in the grand strategy game about the One Year War, if he does get those Doms he was promised, he wins against Amuro)

2. Dozle Zabi - Another old, veteran soldier. He also has two of the best mech designs. (The Big Zam and his custom Zaku which has a ridiculously-sized axe). But not only that, he's also a guy who goes down fighting to defend his fleeing wife and infant daughter. And on top of that once his Mobile Armor goes down, he just gets out and fires an assault rifle at the Gundam out of pure rage. That's badass.

3. Bernie Wiseman - He's stupid, immature, and not a great pilot. But with the characterization of 0080, he's still someone worth caring about. He's surrounded by either more talented, veteran soldiers, more advanced prototype mobile suits, and a hell of a lot of bad luck. But in the end he still tries his best.

Honorable Mentions: Captain Bright, Kai Shiden, Monsha and the other Feddie "Aces" from 0083, Jerid Messa

Mobile Suits/Armors

1. Big Zam - "Once the Big Zam is mass produced..." This MA is a great 'boss' enemy, and the best Zeon monster-of-the-week Mobile Armor. It's big, it's powerful, and has a 'perfect' defense system; it is the kind of thing which seems ultra-powerful but in the end isn't overpowered because of plot magic or anything.

2. Zaku (And most variants) - A classic.

3. Kampfer - Great Zeon-style design, and it had a great fight scene. Plus, it was also another thing that was powerful without feeling too powerful.

Honorable Mention: Agguguy (The worst, silliest Mobile Suit design I have seen. And yet it is pretty loveable), Ball Gundam

Series
1. Crossbone
2. Stargazer
3. ZZ

Characters
1. Tobia Arronax
2. Patrick Colasour
3. Leina Ashta

Units

1. Stargazer Gundam
2. CAPTAIN ZAKU
3. Crossbone X-3; I have yet to read Steel Seven/Skull Heart, but the X-1 Kai Kai seems cool as well.

-8th MS
-Wing
-Endless Waltz

-Epyon
-Shenlong
-Gouf

-Treize
-Char
-Edit: Norris

Norris Packard and he was a beast...

I've always admired 8th MS Team for it being one of the most realistic installment. I felt like I was watching an actual team in some military trying to survive through combat in a jungle. it was real hard to choose between 00 and 8th ms for my 3rd place.

the three Igloo OVAs do a pretty good job of depicting the life of real soldiers with some pretty nasty ending for them.

08th MS Team had a really nice style, but it also had what I felt was one of the most forced and out-of-place romances and "The enemy is just like us!" themes. While the machines were down to earth, the personalities of some of the main characters (Shiro, Aina, Ginias) didn't really match that.

IGLOO had some pretty neat things, but the CG animation really gave it an uncanny valley effect and I found it hard to watch.

But this is just how I felt when I watched these series.

Yeah, IGLOO's animation was a bit much, but it gave great images of the Salamis and the Musai as well as some of the mobile suits. I only watched it to see those ships and suits in action.

After watching 08th MS Team, I have changed my favorites.

Favorite Series:

Instead of Unicorn being my third its 08th.

Favorite Characters:

Instead of Char its Shiro Amada(sp?)

Favorite Mobile suits:

Instead of Nu its Ez8 Gundam. That suit rocked.

Norris Packard's Custom Gouf was a sight to see as well so I give it honorary mention.

Top Three Series/OVAs

1) After War Gundam X - Some people dismiss it as being bland or uninteresting; I say whatever. That's their opinion. I like the series for what it is; An interesting "What-if" scenario concerning the ramifications of a mass colony drop and the results of such actions, what it's like to live in such a world, and the kind of people that lived in it. It was also interesting to see this series' take on Newtypes, it wasn't something that was really touched upon even in the main series. While the Gundam designs come off as half-assed or uninteresting, especially since this was released so shortly after Endless Waltz, I quite liked the monoeyed MS designs, such as the Bertigo, Septem, and the like.

2) Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket - What can I say about this that hasn't already been said? I love this OVA series, plain and simple. The characters were likeable, (with the exception of Al, but most "kid" characters tend to come off as annoying, so it's par for the course here.) the MS designs were gorgeous, with special mention going to the Kampfer and the Zaku II Kai.

3) Mobile Fighter G Gundam - Now, this might be an odd choice, considering what I've listed here so far already, but hear me out. I love Gundam, really I do. I also love Super Robots, so seeing a Super Robot Gundam series intrigued me. Now, by no means necessary is this supposed to be a "serious" show, given it's Super Robot roots. It takes the cheesiness of the genre, and runs with it. I loved the wide variety of Gundam designs, as stereotypic and goofy they may be. I mean, how CAN you take a windmill-themed Gundam seriously? How CAN you? The Devil/Dark Gundam plotline was the dash of seriousness that every Gundam show needs, and by the gods, when it came to the Devil Gundam, it could get DARK. Those DG Cells are the stuff of nightmares, I tell you what.

Top Three Characters

1) Tobia Arronax - This kid... My GOD, this kid... He's smart, resourceful, and one HELL of a determinator. He initially comes off as annoying, comedic even. I actually forgot at one point he was the protagonist, what with Kincado/Seabook taking up the spotlight. But he's incredibly good with machines, is Batman-levels of crazy-prepared, and can really think on his feet. One good example of this is how he managed to single-handedly steal the Crossbone Gundam X2 armed with only a rifle and his wits. I love how he manged to really grow as a character, and it's that growth that really cemented my appreciation for the character.

2) Garrod Ran - In contrast to Tobia, you KNOW he's the protagonist. If I could give a short, but accurate description of Garrod, I'd say he's "An Oldtype cross between Tobia Arronax and Judau Ashta". His devotion to Tiffa is surprisingly endearing, and can really be cute. I mean, the guy manages to SNEAK OUT of the the cell he's being held in, and what does he do? He goes and picks some flowers for his comatose girlfriend, brings them to her room, and goes right back in his cell like it was nothing. It's their sweet and innocent relationship that tends to really bring out the best in both of them, and serves to bring each other out of their respective shells.

3) Amuro Ray - Now Amuro... This man has had a surprising amount of growth over the course of time. He starts off as a nervous wreck of a teenager with issues out the wazoo, but one Brightslap later, he manages to man up, and really grow, not just as a character, but as a soldier. He does what needs to be done, and fights to protect everyone dear to him. In Zeta Gundam, he's effectively under house arrest, and is constantly under watch, only serving to fuel his paranoia. He's developed a fear of going out into space, and who can blame him? he nearly lost his life at the time. Eventually, he grows a pair, and while he doesn't go back out into space, he still decides to take the fight to the Titans on Earth, working with Karaba. By CCA, he's grown into a highly competent soldier, and one of the most powerful Newtypes of his generation. In the end, he's finally able to overcome his issues regarding Lalah Sune and move on, something that his rival, Char Aznable, could not do. He ends up sacrificing his life to save the Earth from a nuclear winter, managing to force back the massive asteroid, Axis. Even late into the Universal Century, when one thinks of a Newtype, usually, one of the first people to come to mind is Amuro Ray. He is THE definitive Newtype.

Top Three Mobile Suits/Armors

1) Gundam X Divider
2) Kampfer
3) Strike Gundam IWSP

I'm just finishing up watching all of G Gundam again (on episode 40). It can be pretty entertaining at times haha.

Here are mine

1. Gundam 00
2. 8th MS Team
3. Mobile Suit Gundam

1. Ali Al Sachez
2. Shiro Amada
3. Bright Noa

1. Arche Gundam
2. Dynamis Gundam
3. Gouf Custom

I agree with everyone on 8th MS Team. It's a really good OVA and I can seriously watch it over and over again, because of it not being that long.

I actually like the Movie F91...and I think it could have been an amazing series. Too bad it didn't happen.