0107: Victory Gundam Review Part II

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We finally end the misery by flying through the rest of Mobile Suit Victory Gundam! The second half takes a dip before it tries to soar at the end as Shakti gets passed around like a football to move the plot along, Junko leaves Brian way too early, Uso bites Lupe's boob, Tassilo gets handsy with Fualla's bells, everybody in Zanscare backstabs each other, the good guys solve everything with kamikaze attacks, Katejina kills everyone you love, Cronicle bonks his head, and then everyone dies. The End. Are there any Zanscare fans out there? Do you exist? Hello?

[@gbthngs]

Hey guys, appreciate the replies on Podbean!
As someone who’s read the entirety of the UC100 manga (Crossbone, Ghost, Dust, X-11, etc) the future is pretty bleak in terms of story, nonsense and designs and plot (Zeon returns at one point) that would make Thunderbolt and Skullheart’s ridiculous story blush. The only thing I am really interested in at this point is the period from right after Hathaway up to F91. I’m all in on more 0079 side stories like Requiem for Vengeance.

[@taidan19]

A solid review. I too felt frustrated while watching it. The show is often nonsensical; things just ... happen, and it's not always obvious why, or why it's supposed to be significant.
I also think it's shocking that the show with the largest episode count in Gundam history feels like it never has time for good worldbuilding. I still don't have a good sense of what life is like in the twilight of the Earth Federation. Dareisay it spends _too_ much time with the main cast, at the expense of the rest of the setting?
I have one final thought. You guys talked about how Tomino seemingly tried to sabotage the show during production. I _kind_ of wonder if he was trying to do the same thing by cranking up the Newtypes abilities into comic book superpowers.
I say this because I'm starting to watch Turn A, and have been doing research about that show's production. Apparently by that point in his life, Tomino believed that the whole idea of Newtypes was actually pretty silly, and was doing the franchise more harm than good, which is why he decided not to feature them in Turn A. I wonder if he was already feeling that way during the production of Victory, and thought that cranking the Newtype powers up to 11 would cause people to stop taking it so seriously.
Lastly, I'll say this. I struggle to remember all of the mobile suits in shows like Zeta Gundam, where it seems there's a new prototype in almost every episode. Yet I can still name (and describe) more Zeta MS off the top of my head than I can from Victory. They're just _that_ unmemorable (aside from the two Gundams, both of which are among my favorite).

[@iammeandnotme]

Now I'm no space loving, card carring colonist but, I have to agree with Isaac on this one. Katejina is a woman of action, the worst actions but that's what makes a compelling villain.

[@dopejoel]

Katejina's frenzied gun blast at Uso in the reflective tunnel is what blinded her