Whats What; Otaku Reviews & Stories: Gundam

Gundam:

Now let’s talk more about a show that I had originally mentioned in my last blog.

The shows name is Gundam. Basically the show is based on the idea that one day in the future there will be places called “Space Colony’s,” which will one day be the places where most of humanity will turn to once we’ve run out of areas for people to live on earth. The show also focuses on the idea of machines called “mecha.” Basically mechas are robots that are designed for humans to pilot, and control them to do specific tasks. In today’s society we are actually getting so advanced that we are starting to see mechas show up more often. One of the first mecha ever created was called “Big Muskie.” Big Muskie was created in 1969 and used until 1991. It was used in the state of Ohio to pick up dirt with its huge bucket and move it from one area to the next. The idea behind “Gundam,” was to create mecha for pilots to use for war purposes. This thought has actually influenced many countries of the present day to start researching this idea. The first country to actually design a mecha for war was the United States. Unfortunately, for now; the vehicle is not in mass production. But as of right now, the United States, Russia, and Japan, are all in a race to build the first design of a mecha that is actually influenced by the show “Gundam.” This race did not start until a year ago when Japan built a statue version of the main mecha in “Gundam” and made it so that it could walk on its own. Now, after having success with this, Japan has confirmed that they will build a real prototype that will be used for military purposes, which has brought a lot of stress on world superpowers to build there own versions.

The politics of the show have also been debated for years. The main story is that there are two factions at war. The first faction is the “Earth Federation,” who is shown in most series’ of the show as the good guys. Basically their standpoint on people moving to space is that they should be governed by the same politicians of earth. The other faction, the “Zeon,” is seen as the enemy of the world. Their standpoint is that the space colonies should be governed by their own body of government. What makes them the villain in the show is the fact that they want it ruled like a dictatorship. The space colonies would be ruled by the Zabbi family. They are the new leaders of the army of Zeon. They felt that they were the true heirs to govern the newly established society, and wanted to run it their way. Many people debate who is the true villain in this show, due to the earth federation at times, having corrupt government officials who try to use the space colonies to their financial success, by taxing the civilians of the colonies.

If you ever get a chance to watch at least the first series of this show, take the time and do it. It might seem a little strange at first, but the story develops very quickly into more of a political war show.