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Originally released as two sets of 4 episodes viewable only by internet Pay Per View, these were later compiled into two movies: December Sky and Bandit Flower. Since I was using digital backups, the folder sorted them into alphabetical order and thus we watched them the wrong way around. I actually think that improved the experience for reasons I'll get into later.
"So the unique aspect to this world is there's... gnomes?" - Hayley on Dique Gunhale
"That's clearly more of a size queen." - Hayley on the Diva
"How did they make a half naked otter in a hammock so unsexy?" - Hayley on Lt. Woolf
"So they're saying the Diva was really a drag queen. Yes I know this one's cheap heat but the show doesn't deserve better." - Hayley on transforming a battleship exactly once.
"They really gave the Diva to a Captain Anus huh." - Hayley saying what's on all our minds.
"I miss Graham Aker." - Hayley on people shrugging off extreme acceleration.
The year is 2011. Gundam 00 as a creative project has completely wrapped up. Making a sequel to Awakening of the Trailblazer would either undermine everything it said or be a psychedelic space opera in the vein of Iain M. Banks' Culture novels, making it a dead end for selling plastic model kits of cool robots. The Universal Century is currently milking dead-eyed nostalgia with Gundam Unicorn's individual direct to video episode releases. Stumped for ideas on how to keep the plastic factories churning, Bandai Namco turn to their new best friends at Level 5 to make the next inevitable Gundam reboot. After all they've churned out family friendly hits non-stop from Inazuma 11 to Professor Layton and most recently started gunning for Nintendo's money with Yo-Kai Watch. This is as safe a bet as you can make!
The pitch is strong too. Let's build a story so grand it spans multiple generations. Kids can grow along with the characters and talk about the more mature themes with their parents who are watching too! We'll draw parallels to the earliest Gundam entries in order to sell kits both old and new and bring Gundam back to a household name! It's the exact sort of concept that makes guys in suits who only understand finance and not the economics, logistics and reasons to fund Art in the first place.
See, we already have a model for multi-generational storytelling: you plan your damn sequel(s) in advance. Gundam AGE did not.
