Mobile Suit Gundam: ZZ Review

Synopsis:

In this direct sequel to Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, a crew of ragtag misfits led by Judau Ashta joins the Anti Earth Union Group (AEUG) battleship Argama under the command of Captain Bright Noa, becoming its newest mobile suit soldiers in the ongoing war against Axis, the Neo Zeon uprising led by regent Haman Karn. 

Release Date:

1986-1987

Episodes:

47

Timeline:

UC 0088

My Grade:

C

The third Gundam series set in the Universal Century (UC) timeline, Mobile Suit Gundam: ZZ (spoken "double zeta") is positioned as a direct sequel to its predecessor, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. In fact, it began airing just one month after Zeta completed its 50-episode run, serving as a virtually uninterrupted continuation of that story, albeit with a cast of (mostly) new characters. 

As many other reviewers have stated over the years, Mobile Suit Gundam: ZZ is a tale of two series - one very lighthearted and comical, and another more serious and mature. The story begins with the former, when the Argama, fresh off the climactic final battle of the Gryps Conflict which marked the end of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, stops to resupply at a space colony called Shangri-La. There, they encounter a group of teenage junk dealers led by the brash Judau Ashta, who immediately set about trying to steal the Argama's mobile suits so they can make a fortune selling them for parts. Through a series of prolonged, silly events, Judau and co. eventually come to join the crew of the Argama, becoming its newest crop of mobile suit pilots. 

If this sounds familiar, it's because it is - both the original Mobile Suit Gundam series and Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam featured crews of teenagers who join a military vessel through unlikely means, ultimately becoming war heroes in the process. Child soldiers, whether presented comically or darkly, is one of the recurring themes of the Gundam franchise, after all. 

Let me be honest - a lot of the early series was, for my wife and I, brutal to watch. It's full of dumb gags that occasionally go into full-on slapstick territory. Stoic, serious characters like Bright Noa (or the heroic gundams themselves) are made to appear as fools. Even the music and sound effects are wacky, with cartoonish bonks and slide whistles. Had we not read in advance that the tone eventually changes and the series gets better later on (more on that below), we would have turned it off after a couple episodes. 

The noble Gundam Mk. II

I couldn't review ZZ without featuring the infamous "chicken on Bright Noa's head" screenshot

Many of the new characters, especially the early villains, are unbearably dumb. Mashymre Cello is the first such contender. Obsessed over Haman Karn (leader of the Neo Zeon movement), he constantly spouts terrible poetry and dotes over a rose that Haman gave him. He feels completely out of place in a Gundam series, and more like he would be at home as a Sailor Moon villain. 

Next up is Chara Soon, theoretically modeled after Cyndi Lauper from her album She's So Unusual, though in practice she looks like a reject from Jem and the Holograms' Misfits. Chara is truly bizarre - an unstable personality who often loses control (and apparently becomes sexually aroused) while piloting her mobile suit. She constantly rubs up against many of the male cast members, leading Elle, one of the young pilots in Judau's group, to (un)affectionately nickname her "Boobzilla". Despite her over-the-top characterization, I couldn't help but be entertained by Chara's antics, and both she and Mashymre return later on in more serious roles. 

What about the main character? Despite Judau's initial portrayal as a money-hungry space junker (literally - he licks his lips at the thought of stealing and selling the Argama's mobile suits), I'd argue he's actually the most likeable Gundam protagonist thus far. Unlike both Amuro and Kamille, who almost perpetually wear a big chip on their shoulder, Judau is much more down-to-earth and laid back, though he can be very serious and passionate when the situation calls for it. He, and to a large extent all his friends from Shangri-La, really grow over the course of the series. Though the goofy hijinks that define the first third of the story can be a slog to get through, they do inform Judau and his friends' transformation into a heroic and elite fighting force, all anchored by Judau's heart of gold. 

ZZ starts picking up after about a dozen or so episodes and then becomes genuinely compelling in the final third. By this point, the kid's stuff is completely out of the way and the real plot and threat have been established. Haman Karn (and her subordinate Glemy Toto, another silly character who eventually becomes quite serious) are developed into interesting and dangerous villains. Some of the best action and moments in the entire first three Gundam series occur here. Having already seen Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn (and understood very little of its backstory out of context), I was pleasantly surprised to discover that many of its big reveals were actually call-backs to ZZ. 

Another high point of ZZ is its great collection of mobile suit designs. Gone are the hit-or-miss concepts from Zeta, and in their place are a variety of consistently cool mecha. The Bawoo, Qubeley variants, Zaku III, and Queen Mansa were all standouts, to name a few. The titular ZZ Gundam itself was also a welcome return to form, exhibiting a heavier frame and more "gundam-like" appearance than its predecessor, the Zeta Gundam. 

AMZ-107 Bawoo

AMX-004-2 Elpeo Ple's Qubeley

AMX-011 Zaku III

NZ-000 Queen Mansa
The predecessor to my favorite mobile suit of all time, the NZ-666 Kshatriya!

MSZ-010 ZZ Gundam

It's hard to rate a series that starts off with such a bizarrely campy tone but then gets much better by the end. The good parts of Mobile Suit Gundam: ZZ are some of the best in the UC timeline, but the bad parts (beware the Moon Moon episodes) are really painful. I gave it a C as an average between these two polarizing aspects. Ultimately, I'm glad to have watched ZZ and would recommend that viewers commit to getting over the initial hurdles, as the final result is a highly rewarding and entertaining anime experience.