Mobile Suit Gundam 00

The Dry Part (but IS interesting IMO) 

Facts about Gundam 00

• The latest (up until 2007-2008) production of the famous Gundam franchise. Premiered in Japan on October 6th, 2007.
• 50 episodes divided into 2 seasons. The first season runs (in Japan) from Oct 6th, 2007 to Mar 29, 2008. The second season is scheduled for October 2008.
• The first Gundam series to be animated in high-definition as well as the first Gundam series to be set in Anno Domini (AD) timeline (for your information, previous Gundam series are in their own universe).
• Director: Seiji Mizushima (the director of Full Metal Alchemist and Shaman King). The special thing about this guy is that different from previous Gundam directors (of course except Tomino, director of the original series), he is NOT a Gundam fan so he has no clue about Gundam conventions and so on.
• Script writer: Yousuke Koruda (he wrote the script for Hellsing OVA, Trigun and s-CRY-ed)
• Original character design: Yun Kouga (I know nothing about her except that she is the author of a quite notorious manga). Animation character design: Michinori Chiba (I know nothing about him either).
• Leading seiyuu: Mamoru Miyano (Kiba in Wolf's Rain and Light Yagami in Death Note. I like this guy's voice), Shinichiro Miki (Takumi Fujiwara in Initial D and Kurz Weber in Full Metal Panic), Hiroyuki Yoshino and Hiroshi Kamiya

"Such are Celestial Being's Gundam Meisters!" 

1. Setsuna F. Seiei. 16 years old and having joined CB for 2 years. Of Kurdish origin and spent his childhood as a child soldier in a religious-territory war. His real name is Soran Ibrahim. A taciturn lone-wolf who rarely displays emotions but definitely a loose cannon as he often unhesitatingly goes wherever his emotions take him. He is different from other protagonists in any Gundam series in that he has a very special view about the Gundam (he is notorious in the fanbase for the quote "I am the Gundam!". What that means is a BIG spoiler!) so being a Gundam Meister is very important to him. He pilots the Gundam GN-001 Exia (or just Exia for short), a mobile suit designed for melee combat. He is voiced by Mamoru Miyano.
2. Lockon Stratos. In episode 9 he reveals that his real name is Neil Dylandy. 24 years old and of Irish origin. A seemingly happy-go-lucky pilot who acts as the team leader because of his age and may be because of the fact that he gets along with any of his not-so-normal teammates. He lost his family in a terrorism attack so he hates terrorists to the core. However, he can be the biggest trap in my opinion because I cannot speculate why he joins CB in the first place (fans say because of his strong hatred for terrorism). He has good skill in sniping and his mobile suit is Gundam GN-002 Dynames which is specialized in long range fire (it can snipe from space when he wants!). The guy is an endless source for fanfics + cracks. I personally know a fan comedic strip dedicated to him. He is the only one who has co-pilot: Haro, a hybrid of a basketball and a computer. This "relationship" is more than often made fun of by fans. He is voiced by Shinichiro Miki.
   (Edit: my prediction about this guy is miles off the mark but I'll keep my former comment for comparison).
3. Allelujah Haptism (a provoking name, I know). 19 years old. Possibly of Russian origin and a failed test subject of the HRL's confidential Super Soldier program. An apparently gentle young man who dislikes killing (but does it anyway in his missions). He seems to like philosophizing about everything and talks to himself a lot (I'm being serious!). He pilots Gundam GN-003 Kyrios which is transformable and specializes in speed. He is voiced by Hiroyuki Yoshino.
4. Tieria Erde. Nothing is known about this man (did I just say "man"?) even his age. Some people (including me) cannot believe that Tieria is a man due to his beautiful appearance (and his PINK cardigan doesn't help clarify the matter). He follows VEDA, a quantum computer of CB which analyses world situations and advises mission plans, to the word and hates any deviation from the recommended plan. He also seems to be the Meister taking the alleged eradicating-all-war goal of CB most seriously. His most famous quote is "You don't deserve to be a Gundam Meister" (and depending on the situation, that is accompanied with "I sentence you to death") which is said to every of his teammates except Lockon. He pilots Gundam GN-005 Virtue, a FAT Gundam which is itself a trap. He is voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya.

Other Pieces in the Puzzle 

• Sumeragi Li Noriega: a strategist working for CB. She receives mission recommendations from the super-computer VEDA and devises detailed battle plans for our four Gundam Meisters. She drinks alcohol all the time but seems never to get drunk. Some refer to her as the walking fanservice because of her fine body and quite revealing clothes. Her careless, almost self-indulgent appearance hides a restless person inside (from the few details that has been revealed so far, she seems to have made some terrible mistakes in the past).
• Graham Aker: 27 years old. The ace of the MSWAD (the Mobile Suit squad of the Union) and the captain of the Union's anti-Gundam squadron OverFlag. One of the witnesses of Gundam Exia's debut intervention together with his friend Billy Katagiri, technical advisor of Union's army. Since then, he has developed an interest near obsession in the Gundams. He is arguably the best mobile suit pilot in the series instead of our protagonists. He is an enthusiastic warrior but never loses his rational side in critical situations, which makes him a competent leader in combat. Fans also like him because of his honorable, knightly conduct in battles as well as to his comrades-in-arms and memorable quotes such as "I want to embrace you, Gundam!" (My personal favourite is "I'll push that reasoning aside with my unreasonableness!").
• Sergei Smirnov: 43 years old. The commander of HRL's anti-Gundam unit Choubu, which is an elite squadron. That alone speaks volumes about Sergei's military abilities. He is quite skilled in combat (ask Setsuna for details) but his real strength lies in his tactical head (Sumeragi knows this best) and his unrivaled charisma to both the higher-ups and his followers. Like Graham, he is well-liked by fans for his sense of honour and the care he shows for his soldiers. He has a strong distaste for the Super Soldier program, sensing its potential evilness.
• Soma Peiris: 18 years old. The first successful "product" of the HRL's Super Soldier program. Her brain and body are modified for better performance and endurance in space. However, those modifications greatly reduce her emotional range and in part her "humanity". Her missions are the meaning of her life so she can be over-enthusiastic in battle, which is checked by her commander Sergei. Her origin forms a special relationship between her and Allelujah.
• Ali Al Sarghes: 35 years old. The leader of the religious war Setsuna participated in and also the person teaching the kid to fight. In short, this person is the one who links Setsuna with his dark past and the relationship between them is not very pleasant. The kid even defies order to have a chance to give his former mentor a shot. Ali is currently a mercenary for a PMC of a country within AEU territory. A competent mobile suit pilot, he is an Ace by his own right. I really, really dislike this guy even though he is one of the most interesting characters.
• Marina Ismail: 24 years old. Princess of Azardistan, the country that destroyed Setsuna's homeland. Though she is the head of the kingdom in theory, she has near zero real power. Despite that, she does her best to aid her war-torn country. She opposes CB's philosophy and actions but is friendly toward Setsuna (The kid, in turn, has special interest in her. To be specific, he visited her to discuss a philosophical question, in a weird manner).
• Alejandro Corner: 34 years old. An UN official and at the same time an affiliate of CB. If that is not enough hint for mystery and conspiracy, he closely observes our protagonists' moves and gives dark comments with evil smirks. He is one candidate for the final boss position but that seems a bit too predictable.
• Ribbonz: age unknown. Apparently Alejandro's butler. His seiyuu is the one who voiced Amuro Ray (the protagonist of the original Mobile Suit Gundam series) so it's quite guaranteed that he is someone special. He also give quite a few comments + smirks behind Alejandro's back so feel free to speculate. Alejandro Corner calls him an "angel" (I feel this quite disturbing) his most notable quote so far to me is "I hate adults" (reminiscent of Judau Ashta from Gundam ZZ though the two guys are worlds apart).
• Haro: Lockon's co-pilot. It controls Dynames when Lockon is in sniping mode. Haro to Lockon is like R2D2 to Luke Skywalker plus the ability to speak (and tease its owner).

Re-introducing the Main Characters 

Time skip is annoying, really!

1. Setsuna F. Seiei Despite whatever shown in episode 25, the midget is alive and kicking. He is apparently more mature in both looks and mind. According to the director, he has become even angrier about the world. That means he is willing to fight more than ever.
   (After the 1st period, his Exia looks cooler in its damaged form. Too bad it got trashed completely after an appearance of few minutes. Setsuna´s behaviours remain as blunt as ever, if not more. At least it seams that he is willing to talk a bit more.)
   Mobile suit: OO Gundam (Double O Gundam). One of the worst name I´ve ever seen
2. Lockon Stratos The man we know has kicked the bucket (the director emphasizes so a number of times) but the codename is reused. This Lockon looks exactly like our dead friend except that both his eyes are fine. Fans speculate that this is our Lockon's twin named Lyle. I sincerely hope that the case of SEED Destiny does not repeat this time.
   Mobile suit: Cherudim Gundam. (Is it from ¨Cherubim¨?)
3. Allelujah Haptism This time he is shown with both eyes signaling a change in personality. The point of focus about this guy is his relationship with HRL's ace Soma Peiris, and possibly her commander Sergei Smirnov.
   (The spoilers and the last minute of ep 1 show him being tied up asylum-style in an Azkaban-like prison. Poor guy!)
   Mobile suit: Arios Gundam.
4. Tieria Erde The pretty boy is to stay with us. He finally parts with his infamous cardigan this time. Why does the fact that he does not age keep being harped on?
   (Like Setsuna, Tieria´s attitudes and behaviours remain the same. He seems to be the commander of CB´s remnants)
   Mobile suit: Seravee Gundam.

New Characters and Characters Gaining in Importance 

For a new game, the pieces also change

• Saji Crossroads: a civilian whose house was next to Setsuna´s hide-out in season 1. The appearance of Celestial Beings turned his life upside down. His sister Kinue was killed during her investigation after Aeolia Schoenberg, CB´s founder. His girlfriend Louise was maimed and all her family were killed in a Gundam Throne attack (our heroes had nothing to do with it). The personal trauma together with his peaceful nature naturally puts him at odds with the Meisters´ ideals. He met Setsuna again right in the episode one of season 1 and stays on Ptolemaios II. Let´s see if our now grown up Setsuna is able to brainwash him.
  One more remark: he got the worst deal in the whole show.
  ED: Looks like Setsuna succeeds. Saji will be the pilot for O-Riser, an assistant unit for the Gundams.
• Louise Harlevy: Saji´s girlfriend. A carefree, normal, somewhat spoiled girl whose life changed forever when a Gundam Throne attacked her cousin´s wedding. All her family were killed and she herself was seriously injured. Vengeance (especially Gundam hunting) apparently was the reason she joined the elite force A-Laws. Considering that her boyfriend Saji is with CB, we can expect a tragic lover-clash (In the recent episodes, they did meet, in the midst of battle no less).
• Shirin Bakhtiar: Marina´s advisor quited her political career and head for a more militaristic one. To be specific, she is one of the leaders of Kataron. A bit cryptic and critical as usual, but her love for her kingdom (Azardistan), which is in even more severe trouble than 4 years ago is irrefutable.
• Andrei Smirnov: Son of Sergei Smirnov and nicknamed Baby Bear by fans. He resented his father because of his mother´s death. A devoted member of A-Laws but has yet to show a strategic mind on par with his father. He shows some interest in Louise Harvey
• Billy Katagiri: Technical advisor to A-Laws and close friend of Graham Aker. He has an unrequited love for Sumeragi Noriega, CB´s strategist (but has no tolerance for CB, because his teacher was killed during one of this group´s interventions). During the four year gap, he apparently took care of her, regardless of her alchoholism. So when it is revealed that she is a member of CB, he was angered enough to join A-Laws, whose leader is his own uncle.

Season 2´s Mechs