Greatest Gundam of All Time
That would be an interesting little debate - what is the single greatest Gundam of all time. However, the poll I'm referencing here is specifically about what the best Gundam anime of all time. I'll tell you why almost no one will agree with this ranking.
The reason is really simple; people don't like other people's opinions that much. That reality increases incredibly high once you get into rankings of very, very popular characters or series, or series within series.
For example, just try ranking the big three series from a few years ago; Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece (not I simply placed them in alphabetical order). You open up that simple three position ranking to the public and you'll have more than a few tirades from various fans about whey their favorite is at the top, or why some other show is so bad it shouldn't even be on the list... that is all but inevitable.
So, no ranking will ever satisfy everyone. But I think we all expect that much. With a long running series like Gundam, listing the best of the franchise is particularly difficult. The reason here is much different from something like the modern big 3 of anime. The first Gundam anime is decades old. It is seriously so old at this point that it's getting close to the point that anyone born when the first anime was shown on screens could be dead of natural causes. They could serious be in an old-folks home right now simply as the series has aged so much. Which is a macabre way to look at it, I know, but is an amazing testament to the series that it could endure that long. There are dozens of TV series, movies, and OVAs to its legacy, and that all creates a lengthy history.
That history is precisely what makes such questions as "the greatest" potent; few series of any sort have survived long enough for such a question to matter as anything more than a passing fancy or something someone asks when trying to start a fight. It also makes it mostly useless. Most of those who participate in this poll are going to be in three categories - the younger generation that has only seen the last few series, the die-hard fans who regardless of age consume all things Gundam, or the hipsters who regardless of their affection or lack-there-of will render an opinion because it helps their perceived credentials or credibility.
There are other factors too, such as one's generation. If the original Gundam series was new when you first saw it, it'll likely hold a much more previous spot than anything that comes along later. That means that those later series will have to work that much harder to prove themselves. There are also the matters of world events/social atmosphere, in which case the general quality of a given production can be overshadowed to some degree.
So, here is my view. First off I will tell you that I am ill-suited to take this poll. The first Gundam series I saw was a brief couple episodes of the first Gundam series, not the first two episodes. The next series I watched was Wing. Then I saw the Endless Waltz movie. Then G Gundam, then Mobile Suit Gundam, Char's Counterattack, Turn A, Seed, Seed Destiny, F91, 00, 00 Season 2, Stardust Memories, Gundam X, 08th MS Team, Unicorn episodes 1 and 2, a couple episodes of Zeta, Build Fighters. Save Wing, G, Destiny, 00, the movies, and Build Fighters, each of the rest of the series were seen in somewhat piecemeal fashion, thereby, I believe, affecting the viewing experience.
On top of that, I generally have a had time assigning stratified rankings. I can generally group shows or movies as either being good, really good, bad, really bad, or average, but asking me to absolutely pin a top to bottom list is difficult.
That all being said, I likely would place Seed near the top, if not at the very top, and Seed Destiny pretty low. Wing would also be close to the top, as would Char's Counterattack. 00 would probably be at the edge of that tier alongside 00 second season, and the 00 movie somewhere in the next lower tier, not at the bottom with Destiny. Stardust Memories and Turn A occupy the tier below Seed, perhaps maybe Build Fighters and probably the original Mobile Suit Gundam and G Gundam. Everything else is back there somewhere on a lower tier. If I had to pick a series as the worst it would likely have to be Zeta right now simply because of all the series in the franchise that I've seen any bit of, it is the one I have had the least will to finish watching (hence only seeing a couple episodes), which is worst than a series I haven't even watched at all. There was an SD Gundam series that showed in the states on Toonami at one point. That would also probably occupy the bottom wrung of the ladder.
I'll only say a little more on the subject, and that is to say that I know there are a lot of non-Japanese Gundam fans that would rage at my picking Seed as anywhere near the top of the list, let alone ahead of the inaugural sagas such as the original Gundam. I could spend days defending my choice and it likely would make little difference. So all I will say is that it speaks to a story-telling schematic, a setting of characters, and a fidelity of story, that is not often seen or executed as well as was done in that series. Furthermore, as the story that brought me into Gundam, Wing is an easy top pick, because if not for it I would not have engaged the series at all. There is little that any other series does on a technical level, in my view, that outpaces or outshines Wing to give me cause to drop it from the level of one of the best series.
So, that's my take. Feel free to disagree, since I know you will.
The reason is really simple; people don't like other people's opinions that much. That reality increases incredibly high once you get into rankings of very, very popular characters or series, or series within series.
For example, just try ranking the big three series from a few years ago; Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece (not I simply placed them in alphabetical order). You open up that simple three position ranking to the public and you'll have more than a few tirades from various fans about whey their favorite is at the top, or why some other show is so bad it shouldn't even be on the list... that is all but inevitable.
So, no ranking will ever satisfy everyone. But I think we all expect that much. With a long running series like Gundam, listing the best of the franchise is particularly difficult. The reason here is much different from something like the modern big 3 of anime. The first Gundam anime is decades old. It is seriously so old at this point that it's getting close to the point that anyone born when the first anime was shown on screens could be dead of natural causes. They could serious be in an old-folks home right now simply as the series has aged so much. Which is a macabre way to look at it, I know, but is an amazing testament to the series that it could endure that long. There are dozens of TV series, movies, and OVAs to its legacy, and that all creates a lengthy history.
That history is precisely what makes such questions as "the greatest" potent; few series of any sort have survived long enough for such a question to matter as anything more than a passing fancy or something someone asks when trying to start a fight. It also makes it mostly useless. Most of those who participate in this poll are going to be in three categories - the younger generation that has only seen the last few series, the die-hard fans who regardless of age consume all things Gundam, or the hipsters who regardless of their affection or lack-there-of will render an opinion because it helps their perceived credentials or credibility.
There are other factors too, such as one's generation. If the original Gundam series was new when you first saw it, it'll likely hold a much more previous spot than anything that comes along later. That means that those later series will have to work that much harder to prove themselves. There are also the matters of world events/social atmosphere, in which case the general quality of a given production can be overshadowed to some degree.
So, here is my view. First off I will tell you that I am ill-suited to take this poll. The first Gundam series I saw was a brief couple episodes of the first Gundam series, not the first two episodes. The next series I watched was Wing. Then I saw the Endless Waltz movie. Then G Gundam, then Mobile Suit Gundam, Char's Counterattack, Turn A, Seed, Seed Destiny, F91, 00, 00 Season 2, Stardust Memories, Gundam X, 08th MS Team, Unicorn episodes 1 and 2, a couple episodes of Zeta, Build Fighters. Save Wing, G, Destiny, 00, the movies, and Build Fighters, each of the rest of the series were seen in somewhat piecemeal fashion, thereby, I believe, affecting the viewing experience.
On top of that, I generally have a had time assigning stratified rankings. I can generally group shows or movies as either being good, really good, bad, really bad, or average, but asking me to absolutely pin a top to bottom list is difficult.
That all being said, I likely would place Seed near the top, if not at the very top, and Seed Destiny pretty low. Wing would also be close to the top, as would Char's Counterattack. 00 would probably be at the edge of that tier alongside 00 second season, and the 00 movie somewhere in the next lower tier, not at the bottom with Destiny. Stardust Memories and Turn A occupy the tier below Seed, perhaps maybe Build Fighters and probably the original Mobile Suit Gundam and G Gundam. Everything else is back there somewhere on a lower tier. If I had to pick a series as the worst it would likely have to be Zeta right now simply because of all the series in the franchise that I've seen any bit of, it is the one I have had the least will to finish watching (hence only seeing a couple episodes), which is worst than a series I haven't even watched at all. There was an SD Gundam series that showed in the states on Toonami at one point. That would also probably occupy the bottom wrung of the ladder.
I'll only say a little more on the subject, and that is to say that I know there are a lot of non-Japanese Gundam fans that would rage at my picking Seed as anywhere near the top of the list, let alone ahead of the inaugural sagas such as the original Gundam. I could spend days defending my choice and it likely would make little difference. So all I will say is that it speaks to a story-telling schematic, a setting of characters, and a fidelity of story, that is not often seen or executed as well as was done in that series. Furthermore, as the story that brought me into Gundam, Wing is an easy top pick, because if not for it I would not have engaged the series at all. There is little that any other series does on a technical level, in my view, that outpaces or outshines Wing to give me cause to drop it from the level of one of the best series.
So, that's my take. Feel free to disagree, since I know you will.
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