{"id":831,"date":"2018-12-27T22:00:01","date_gmt":"2018-12-27T13:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/?p=831"},"modified":"2018-12-25T13:02:06","modified_gmt":"2018-12-25T04:02:06","slug":"mobile-suit-gundam-narrative-film-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/2018\/12\/27\/mobile-suit-gundam-narrative-film-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative<\/i> Film Review"},"content":{"rendered":"
Hey everyone. Before we get started, I just wanted to give out a big thanks to Joshua Ott for sponsoring this review with his Patreon<\/a> donation. (At the $60 a month tier, you are allowed to pick one 13ish episode series or film to be reviewed\u2013which is released in addition to the one article a week I normally put out here on BiggestinJapan.com.) This time around he chose the new anime film Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative<\/em>. So let\u2019s get down to the review!<\/blockquote>\nThere have been a lot of Gundam series in the past four decades, but not nearly as many feature films. And while two recent OVA series, Gundam Unicorn<\/em> and Gundam: The Origin <\/em>premiered first in Japanese theaters, there has not been a completely original UC Gundam<\/em> film since Gundam F91<\/em>, 27 years ago. Well, until now that is.\n\nReleased late last month in theaters across Japan, Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative <\/em>is set a year after Gundam Unicorn<\/em>. And since I reviewed Gundam Unicorn<\/em> together with Toshi Nakamura back in the day over at Kotaku<\/em><\/a>, I thought this would be the perfect occasion to get the band back together and take a look at this new film.\n\nToshi: <\/strong>But Richard, do you really think we can destroy more than 103 cop cars?\n\nRichard: <\/strong>We\u2019re on a mission from god, Toshi.\n

\"\"Image source: \u6a5f\u52d5\u6226\u58eb\u30ac\u30f3\u30c0\u30e0\uff2e\uff34<\/a> on Twitter<\/em><\/p>\nToshi:<\/strong> Gundam Unicorn <\/em>did what I thought was impossible: it revisited the UC timeline in a meaningful and organically canon-altering way. It\u2019s also may be the only example I can think of a successfully executed MacGuffin. I was initially skeptical of Unicorn<\/em>, yet it managed to completely change my mind. Now, with this newest addition to the story–i.e., Gundam Narrative<\/em>–I once again went in with my skeptical grumpy pants on.\n\nRichard:<\/strong> I have to say I didn\u2019t share those worries, but I don\u2019t exactly have the attachment to the UC timeline that you do. All I\u2019m looking for is a good, mostly contained Gundam<\/em> story.\n\nToshi: <\/strong>Speaking of which, why don\u2019t we go into what the plot of the new film is?\n\nRichard:<\/strong> Sure. Two years ago, Unicorn Gundam 03 Phenex and it\u2019s pilot Rita Bernal went rogue and disappeared. Now, a year after the events of Gundam Unicorn<\/em>, it has reappeared–and Federation forces are frantic to capture it. To do this, they enlist the aid of Rita\u2019s childhood friends, Jona Basta and Michele Luio. But while Jona wants nothing more than to save Rita from the mess she\u2019s in, Michele is out for something far different: the power of the Unicorn Gundam that defeated an entire fleet in a single instant.\n

\"\"Image source: \u6a5f\u52d5\u6226\u58eb\u30ac\u30f3\u30c0\u30e0\uff2e\uff34<\/a> on Twitter<\/em><\/p>\nToshi:<\/strong> Of course, we can\u2019t add a bunch of new characters to a Gundam story without giving them a bunch of baggage first. As the story shows in its intro, Rita, Jona, and Michele are three \u201cmiracle children\u201d who, when the One Year War initially broke out, saved a town by accurately predicting the fall of a space colony onto Sydney before it happened.\n\nRichard:<\/strong> Ironically though, they\u2018re all orphans by the time the war ends. But while all the above is the plot of the story, that\u2019s not what it\u2019s really about–not on a thematic or emotional level anyway. It\u2019s about three interconnected people and their complicated, tragedy-filled lives.\n\nToshi:<\/strong> And tragic they are.\n\nRichard:<\/strong> Let\u2019s start things off by looking at Rita. I\u2019ve got a question. Now, you\u2019re the UC expert here. Is Rita the most powerful Newtype ever?\n

\"\"Image source: \u6a5f\u52d5\u6226\u58eb\u30ac\u30f3\u30c0\u30e0\uff2e\uff34<\/a> on Twitter<\/em><\/p>\nToshi:<\/strong> That\u2019s a tough one\u2026 Canonically, Judo was always supposed to be the \u201cmost powerful Newtype\u201d even though both Amuro and Camille outperformed him in overall miracles. Even by that standard, however, Rita\u2019s level of precognitive skills are something that has never been seen before.\n\nRichard: <\/strong>Now, the way I\u2019ve always understood it is that Newtypes have two kinds of powers: mind-to-mind psychic powers and precognition. Well, that and visiting other Newtypes after death. I mean, Lalah\u2019s been pulling that trick for almost 30 years in UC time.\n\nToshi: <\/strong>Well, the way I\u2019ve always seen it is that a Newtype\u2019s powers are all extensions of their awareness and empathy–heightened to superhuman levels due to life in space. The precognitive stuff seemed to come from an understanding of how other people think–thus determining how they will act or move. The psychic connection stuff always seemed like an interaction between Newtypes\u2019 empathic abilities: they can understand each other so much they can literally communicate through it. The \u201cconversing with the dead\u201d always seemed to be just an extension of that.\n\nRichard:<\/strong> Makes sense to me. But regardless, she\u2019s definitely an anomaly as far as even Newtypes go–which is the reason for the drama-filled relationship between her and her two childhood friends.\n

\"\"Image source: \u6a5f\u52d5\u6226\u58eb\u30ac\u30f3\u30c0\u30e0\uff2e\uff34<\/a> on Twitter<\/em><\/p>\nToshi: <\/strong>Jona and Michele. Those two each have got a suitcase full of angst apiece–especially Jona, who is very typical as far as Gundam protagonists go.\n\nRichard:<\/strong> Which is to say tortured and brooding?\n\nToshi: <\/strong>Exactly. He feels a great deal of guilt and betrayal over the past events that split the three friends apart–events that are brought to light over the course of the movie.\n\nRichard:<\/strong> Both Jona and Michele are twisted masses of emotion. For Jona, it\u2019s a mixture of guilt, shame, and love when he thinks about Rita. He knows that something bad happened to her after they got separated (thanks to his Newtype flashes). So, he wants to rescue her now like he couldn\u2019t do then.\n\nHis emotions toward Michele are even more confusing–with a healthy serving of a sense of hate and betrayal in there amongst the love for his only remaining friend.\n\nToshi:<\/strong> Michele is even more tortured, which makes her the most interesting character in the story.\n\nRichard:<\/strong> Well, certainly the most complex.\n\nToshi: <\/strong>Right. Michele is the foster daughter of the head of Luio & Co. and at the time of the movie is the acting head–due to her father being a popsicle. Having been adopted in her teenage years, she\u2019s led the company through the post One Year War era, taking part in all the major decisions that have helped it thrive. In the film, she uses her power and influence to muscle in on a top-secret Federation mission to capture the rogue Phenex Gundam.\n\nRichard:<\/strong> But the key thing about Michele is that, even as a child, while she loved Rita, she hated her. She was jealous of Rita. She wanted Jona to look at her like he looked at Rita. She wanted to be a Newtype like Rita. But now, even years after Rita was separated from her and Jona, Rita still has everything that Michele wants. Michele wants Jona\u2019s heart. She wants Rita\u2019s power. She wants the Phenex Gundam.\n\nAnd despite all that envy, she still loves Rita.\n\nToshi: <\/strong>Not to mention the fact that in her want to be Rita, she\u2019s been pretending to be a Newtype, or at least someone with almost precognitive fortune-telling abilities.\n\nRichard:<\/strong> Now while Michele straddles the line between hero and villain in a very believable, human way, there is someone who is very much the stereotypical villain in this film.\n

\"\"Image source: \u6a5f\u52d5\u6226\u58eb\u30ac\u30f3\u30c0\u30e0\uff2e\uff34<\/a> on Twitter<\/em><\/p>\nToshi: <\/strong>Was there? Because the character in question was so stereotypically the quintessential \u201cvillain\u201d villain that once again I\u2019ve completely forgotten his name\u2026\n\nBut, joking aside, Gundam NT<\/em>\u2019s obvious villain, as it were, is Zoltan. He\u2019s a man with mental instabilities and something to prove. It feels like his character was generated via madlib.\n\nRichard: <\/strong>Which is why he is given command of a whole bunch of mobile suits and a superweapon. I mean, the Zeon remnants–well those not following Mineva anyway–are really scraping the bottom of the barrel.\n\nToshi: <\/strong>The merchandising barrel?\n\nRichard:<\/strong> Every barrel.\n\nToshi: <\/strong>In all honesty, Zoltan is pretty much a side note in what is essentially Jona, Rita, and Michele\u2019s story.\n\nRichard:<\/strong> His only meaning at all comes not from what he does in this story but in his relation to the characters of Gundam Unicorn<\/em>.\n

\"\"Image source: \u6a5f\u52d5\u6226\u58eb\u30ac\u30f3\u30c0\u30e0\uff2e\uff34<\/a> on Twitter<\/em><\/p>\nToshi: <\/strong>Which brings me to a point that should have probably been brought up earlier: Gundam Unicorn<\/em> is very much required viewing before going into this movie. I can\u2019t imagine what it\u2019d be like for someone starting off with this movie cold turkey. Gundam NT<\/em> is very much both an epilogue to Gundam Unicorn<\/em> and a bridge to future series. It is not meant to stand alone.\n\nRichard:<\/strong> Exactly. On a grander scope beyond our heroes\u2019 personal story, it\u2019s all about the fallout from Gundam Unicorn<\/em>\u2019s climax–though not the fallout you probably expected. No one cared about Laplace\u2019s Box. It changed nothing. Effected nothing.\n\n…and I find that apathetic attitude horribly realistic.\n\nToshi: <\/strong>It really was. You could really see how something like that would play out in the real world. Only people who think the Federation is garbage would have it confirmed, while others would see it as either just an outlandish conspiracy theory or false propaganda. There\u2019s an almost tangible undertone of heartbreak throughout.\n

\"\"Image source: \u6a5f\u52d5\u6226\u58eb\u30ac\u30f3\u30c0\u30e0\uff2e\uff34<\/a> on Twitter<\/em><\/p>\nRichard:<\/strong> But what did come from it is that it has assured Mineva the role of shadow ruler in the Republic of Zeon. While she is still a figure head, since she–as a princess of Zeon–can never act out in the open, she has tremendous clout amongst both the people and government.\n\nIn fact, her role in the movie is basically that of a power struggle between her and the legitimate Republic of Zeon government. …And let me tell you, she is 100% out of fucks to give when it comes to playing politics.\n\nToshi: <\/strong>On the other hand, what really left its mark, both literally and figuratively, in the UC Gundam timeline is the power of Psychoframe technology–that power to allow brainwaves to physically alter objects outside the laws of physics. Psychoframe technology essentially allows humans to reach beyond space and time. This obviously makes it a double-edged sword that people are both hungry for and terrified of exploiting.\n

\"\"Image source: \u6a5f\u52d5\u6226\u58eb\u30ac\u30f3\u30c0\u30e0\uff2e\uff34<\/a> on Twitter<\/em><\/p>\nRichard:<\/strong> It completely makes sense that the Unicorn and Banshee Gundams would be dismantled–and that the reappearance of Phenex would make everyone lose their collective minds. It\u2019s basically a superweapon that neither side controls–but each desperately wants to.\n\nToshi: <\/strong>It\u2019s capabilities theoretically allow its user to cross the threshold between the world of the living and the realm of the dead. And in this, Gundam NT<\/em> takes an extremely bold step and removes a lot of the ambiguity and figuratism out of the UC Gundam universe. The movie basically says that souls are real. Conversations between the living and the dead that could have been interpreted as symbolic or figurative have all literally happened.\n\nRichard:<\/strong> It\u2019s all spelled out rather clearly. And I\u2019m okay with that. You?\n\nToshi:<\/strong> I\u2019m still not sure how I feel. Personally, I enjoyed the ambiguity of it all. It allowed the viewer to interpret the events in the stories however they wanted. Having that taken away sort of makes some of the magic fade a little for me. That said, Gundam<\/em> has always been a very science-based series, so scientifically concluding that souls exist doesn\u2019t feel all that off-note either.\n\nRichard:<\/strong> Well that leaves one big looming question: what\u2019s next?\n\nToshi: <\/strong>Well, that depends on what direction the creators intend to take all of this. Is it going to find a way to lead directly into F91<\/em> and Victory<\/em>? Or will it go somewhere entirely different?\n

\"\"Image source: \u6a5f\u52d5\u6226\u58eb\u30ac\u30f3\u30c0\u30e0\uff2e\uff34<\/a> on Twitter<\/em><\/p>\nRichard:<\/strong> Well, first up we have Hathaway\u2019s Flash<\/em> which is set around six years after Narrative<\/em> (the film is coming out this time next year). But the thing about it is that it\u2019s based on a series of books from 1989 to 1990–and we\u2019ve had almost 30 years of the UC Gundam<\/em> franchise since then. While it\u2019s been treated a canon by numerous Gundam<\/em> novels and manga as it was written by one of Gundam\u2019s creators, there\u2019s nothing to say that the anime creators have to follow it to the letter. I\u2019m personally hoping it is updated to include Mineva and her struggles to keep the Zeon old guard under control. Cuz it\u2019s very much teased in NT<\/em> that Mineva\u2019s story is far from over.\n\nToshi:<\/strong> Agreed. An updated Gundam<\/em> story for a modern age. Much like how Unicorn<\/em> itself was.\n\nSo, do you think that Narrative<\/em> should have been made?\n\nRichard:<\/strong> Frankly, yeah. I\u2019m surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Despite the weak villain, it has a strong personal core in the relationship between Rita, Jona, and Michele. It also explores the fallout of Gundam Unicorn<\/em> if you care about the grand scheme of things. What are your thoughts?\n\nToshi: <\/strong>Much like with Gundam Unicorn<\/em>, I went into Narrative<\/em> with a chip on my shoulder and a heavy dose of skepticism. Coming out of it, while I did find a lot to like–and appreciated the exploration into the repercussions of the events of Unicorn<\/em>–I couldn\u2019t entirely break free of the underlying feeling that the story was secondary to the purpose of the film. It felt like the movie existed to be a bridge and the story of the three protagonists was just a convenient way to build it. Where other series have felt like they had a story to tell, Narrative<\/em> felt more like it had something to do.\n

\"\"Image source: \u6a5f\u52d5\u6226\u58eb\u30ac\u30f3\u30c0\u30e0\uff2e\uff34<\/a> on Twitter<\/em><\/p>\nRichard:<\/strong> You don\u2019t think that may have something to do with the runtime? I mean, this is the first and only film we\u2019re likely to get with these characters. So, of course, it feels rushed compared to a full series.\n\nToshi: <\/strong>There is that. I would have liked to have seen the individual character stories more fleshed out and a villain that wasn\u2019t so one-note, definitely. However, they took the time to show us where characters like Mineva and Banagher are in the world, and as character arcs go, the protagonists\u2019 story does have a satisfying ending. That said, at the end of the day I\u2019m left asking myself, \u201cwhy did they want to tell this story?\u201d And that\u2019s not a question I have with most of the other Gundam <\/em>series out there.\n\nRichard:<\/strong> Really? I ask myself why G Gundam<\/em> exists all the time.\n\nToshi: <\/strong>To sell toys. But in all seriousness, while I may be coming off as a bit of a sourpuss on Narrative<\/em>, at the end of the day I did enjoy it. It\u2019s not the strongest addition to the UC Gundam <\/em>canon in my opinion, but it\u2019s well worth seeing–if only as an epilogue to Gundam Unicorn<\/em>.\n\nRichard: <\/strong>At the very least it certainly is that. Oh, and the soundtrack is amazing. You should definitely give it a listen. In fact, I\u2019m going to do just that.\n\nToshi: <\/strong>Hiroyuki Sawano does not disappoint.\n\n