Gundam Seed (Kidou Senshi Gundam SEED)
Seeds of war

// Synopsis: In an attempt to maintain the status quo during military hostilities, the space dwelling forces of ZAFT steal 4 experimental mechs from the Earth Alliance on a neutral space colony. But during the raid, the colony is destroyed. Two childhood friends suddenly find themselves on the opposite sides of an escalating war.

// Review: When you hear giant robots you think Gundam, much the way when you hear comb over you think The Donald. Gundam is the most prolific and marketed anime franchise with Gundam Seed being its most recent crown jewel.

/ The Coordinators are genetically altered humans that live in space and are superior to normal humans in every way. The Earth dwelling Naturals are intensely jealous and hate them and years of ever increasing hostility comes to a head after the Bloody Valentine event. During the heist of the prototype Gundams, a student named Kira is caught up in the violence. When he attempts to save an Earth Alliance officer he comes face to face with his closest friend who is part of the raiders. By circumstance, Kira joins the crew of the battleship Archangel which is being ruthlessly hunted down by ZAFT.

/ A little too much teen angst and drama, a little too much suspension of belief, WAAY too much crying by Kira (more tears than a girl on her wedding night), is helped by lots and lots of mech on mech action. What this series does a great job at is showing that in war, the people that really suffer are civilians and the dutiful soldiers sacrificing their lives for corrupt politicians.

/ Some of the characters' back stories were a little convoluted and I needed some help from Wikipedia to sort it all out, but for the most part it was an engaging story. I liked how the characters evolved but it was a little frustrating how a few people who ambivalently murdered civilians earlier, sort of become good guys at the end. To me there isn't any redemption for that.

// Wrap up: I loved the action and how the good and evil line in war is blurred. But I loathed how the main character cried every other episode. You're tortured, we get it. Can't you just get on Live Journal and listen to Dashboard Confessionals like everyone else?

Entertainment rating: 4