Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (1986)

Description

U.C. 0088

The year is Universal Century 0088. Directly after the end of the Gryps War, Haman Karn and her army of Zeon remnants on the asteroid Axis begin their quest of reviving the lost empire of the Zabi's, and proclaim themselves as the Neo Zeon. With the Earth Federation as helpless as ever, only the Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG) is able to oppose the plans of Neo Zeon. In need of all the help it can get after being decimated in the previous war and losing many of its key members, the AEUG ship Argama enlists the aid of a young junk collector from the Side 1 colony of Shangri-La named Judau Ashta to pilot its newest mobile suit, the Double Zeta Gundam.

Main Characters

Photo	Name	Description
	Judau Ashta	He is a rather typical of a Gundam protagonist, the beginning of the series shows him growing as a poor junk dealer at the space colony of Shangrila in Side 1. He's rather loudmouthed and straightfoward but has a good heart and displays Newtype abilities. Unlike most Gundam protagonists, he is optimistic and happy-go-lucky, instead of being anti-social or brooding (Amuro Ray and Kamille Bidan being prime examples). Judau is a young teenage boy enthralled with mobile suits and an avid supporter of the AEUG. He also has a younger sister Leina, whom he might catfight repeatedly with, but still cares very deeply for.
	Leina Ashta	Leina Ashta is Judau Ashta's younger sister and servers as the driving force and motivation behind most of his actions throughout the series. She grew up with her older brother in the space colony of Shangri-La. The two lived together and alone for much of the time, their father having departed with an unspecified return date. Leina is an essentially reasonable and responsible individual - the exact opposite of her irresponsible older brother. In some ways she even takes care of her older brother, though he does his share for her as well.
	Elle Vianno	A friend of Judau Ashta from their junk dealer days at the space colony Shangri-La, Elle Vianno becomes the pilot of the Gundam MK.II boarding the Argama. While at first only a novice pilot, her undaunted determination eventually makes her one of the Argama's finest. Although she has no political ideals, her allegiance to her comrades is undying.She is constantly fighting with Roux Louka for Judau Ashta's affections, but is ultimately drawn to Beecha Oleg, and returns his feelings before the final confrontation.
	Beecha Oleg	A citizen of the space colony Shangri-La, Beecha Oleg originally worked alongside Judau Ashta as a junk dealer, but through a series of events becomes a Hyaku Shiki pilot mobile suit pilot for the Argama. Initially his unhappiness with military life and rivalry with Judau cause him to temporarily switch sides with Mondo Agake until the abuse they suffered from Gottn and the other crew members of the Endra made both of them realize they were happier on the Argama. However, as the conflict continues, Beecha grows out of his childish ways. Assuming command of the Argama's successor battleship, the Nahel Argama, he even finds the courage to express his affection for long time love interest Elle Vianno.
	Mondo Agake	Mondo Agake is a citizen of the Shangrila colony one of Judau Ashta's friends as well as Beecha's usual partner in the junking business.
	Roux Louka	An A.E.U.G. recruit serving on the Argama after joining up with on Shangri-La to deliver the Core Fighter, as well as helping Judau's group deal with the junk dealers, Zeon, and Yazan. Roux Louka becomes the pilot of Zeta Gundam when Judau Ashta changes over to the MSZ-010 ΖΖ Gundam A regular soldier and older than Judau and his counterparts, her patronizing attitude towards them initially causes friction, but eventually an unfaltering bond of trust forms between them. However, she still gets into many arguments with fellow pilot Elle Vianno during the course of the series, possibly due to the fact that both women have a romantic interest on Judau. Despite mixed feelings between the enemy pilot Glemy Toto and herself, Roux kills him in their final confrontation by incinerating him with Zeta's beam rifle. After the war, she joins the Jupiter Fleet along with Judau, and seems to begin a relationship with him.
	Iino Abbav	Iino Abbav grew up in the Side 1 colony Shangrila where he became friends with Judau Ashta, Leina Ashta, Elle Vianno, Mondo Agake, and Beecha Oleg. He made a living as a junk collector with Judau Ashta. Among his group of friends Iino is the most soft spoken and least confrontational. However he is loyal to his friends and will disobey any order in order to help them.
	Glemy Toto	Glemy is a young man of average height, with blonde hair, and blue eyes, giving him an appearance similar to Char Aznable. Unlike the other soldiers of Neo Zeon, Glemy is honorable, chivalrous, and overall goofy. He condemns the use of underhanded strategies in battle, such as using hostages, and believes in refined manners, believing both men and women should act and behave in a sophisticated demeanor, while thinking lowly of those who do not. Glemy's good nature also makes him very gullible, shown by him being deceived numerous times by others, on top of that his acts of chivalry more then often make him appear as a fool. Glemy has another side to him though; beneath his good and foolish demeanor he has shown that he can be heartless and manipulative. This was demonstrated by his manipulating of Elpeo Ple's memories to make her a merciless soldier.
	Mashymre Cello	The captain of the Neo Zeon ship "Endra". He is always seen wearing a garnished flower that Haman Khan gave to him, due to his obsession with her. He is first seen as an optimistic young officer and finds himself in a few comical situations among his own crew. However, a series of defeats at the hands of Judau Ashta and the AEUG, control of the Endra is handed over to Chara Soon. At his second appearance he has largely abandoned his pacifistic and idealistic concepts and has adapted a colder, more destitute outlook towards battle.
	Elpeo Ple	Elpeo Ple has an upbeat and energetic character who delights in things that make her feel good, such as ice cream, baths and Judau Ashta. She views the world as her playground to reasonable degree, but can be very serious when she needs to be. She enjoys piloting her Qubeley and wants nothing more than to play with Judau, who she is attracted to by a Newtype connection.
	Ple-Two	Unlike Elpeo Ple, who was kind and very spirited, Ple Two is very aggressive, showing anger and coldness to everyone around her, save for Glemy Toto. But she has shown an ability to care for others, choosing not to kill certain people she had come across. While a seemingly perfect killer and always obeying Glemy's orders without question, she does defect and the pressure she gains when fighting other Newtypes does cause massive amounts of pain to her at times, such as Judau. It is possible she is a bit mentally unstable.

Episode List

"Black Frag"

A short CG movie about glimpses of the daily and not-so-daily life on the battlefield of Universal Century from the first and the second Gundam ZZ Memorial Blu-ray boxes. The ending of the second episode is inspired by the events shown in Gundam Evolve 10th episode.

My Review

Coming from Zeta, i think ZZ just hits right spot afterwards. After 0079 and Z, ZZ is just so much different that you'll forget it's the same universe and i rather found myself thinking about it as a "semi-canon", it's not a bad thing at all, in fact, i think it's really suit (haha get it?) it up
Yes, first half of it is not serious, but it's not a bad thing at all. It's set you up for something that you'll see after it. And may i say, i really enjoyed the beginning, especially after what Zeta made me feel. It's second half is in it true Gundam form: cruel and sad, ZZ takes you up by 5 foot tall ahead and just SMACK!!!!! you up. Characters were adorable and really well written, they can just disappear for some time and i think it's just a good way for them to return at some point, giving your head so much theories to eat.
But at the end of the day.... it's just a watered down Zeta. Even though i enjoyed it, i can't really disagree with everyone saying that it's needed some serious tone from previous entries.
Rating: 9/10