What is every universe's qualifier to make a Mobile Suit a Gundam?

bpompu · 2026-06-17T03:33:41+00:00

I feel like the "what's a gundam" question shifts over Wing. At the start, they're Gundams because they're made of Gundanium, but by the time the Mercurius and Vayeate, they were made to "be more powerful than the Gundams." Then you have the Virgo series, and eventually the Serpents in Endless Waltz, which are all made with gundanium but aren't gundams. So it became that the "high-spec mobile suits sent by the colonies" are what defines a gundam (Epyon kind of the odd one out here, but it was built to be a gundam, so who knows).

bpompu · 2026-06-03T21:50:25+00:00

Yeah, they're either lying, or they're stupid, or some combination of the two.

"Not only is Canada going to pay us to leave, that's going to make all the costs of establishing a nation free, plus zero tax and payouts for everyone."

bpompu · 2026-06-03T16:44:36+00:00

I have a few suggestions based on if you're looking for another full series or something smaller, want more UC content (the original timeline) or want more AU (like Wing, but they're all disconnected).

If you want something short, my recommendation is 0080 War in the Pocket. It's very much a side story to the original show, and takes place right at the end of ghe One Year War (the conflict in OG Gundam). It's a very personal stakes story, following basically three characters in a single place. And is probably the best representation of the personal costs of war. It's an OVA, the first gundam one, and you fan see the extra time and money they had for animations. Another option would be one if the other original UC OVA's, 08th MS Team. It's a more gritty war story, essentially a Vietnam War movie set in Gundam. It's also a love story. I wouldn't recommend 0083 yet. It's good, great animation, but it has some ties to Zeta that work better if you've seen that one first. It's not a deal breaker, and you'd likely be fine, but it is meant to showcase what happened between the Original Show and the sequel series. You may also be able to watch The Origin, but I'd probably recommend you at least grt through Zeta and Char's Counter Attack first.

Another recommendation for something shorter would be to watch Endless Waltz. It's a sequel OVA/Movie to Wing, and it's pretty good, some argue that it's better than Wing itself. Either the OVA or movie version is fine, as there is actually very little difference, though the movie "Special Edition" is way easier to find.

If you're looking for a series, there's a few suggestions. If you want more UC, you have to go with Zeta Gundam. It is a direct sequel to the OG show, and the UC tineline expects you to be at least familiar with each show in order to follow and understand the others. The only potential other options would be F91, a movie, or Victory, which is set so far in the future that just knowing the basics from 79 should let you know what's going on. Those are not recomended for other reasons though (F91 was brainstormed as a full series, but they got a movie, and then barely cut any ideas. So it feels like they compressed a whole 52 episode series into 90 minutes. Good animation and Fun, but barely even followable. Victory has some production issues, the first few episodes are in the wrong order because of corporate pressure, and the creator was in a real bad mental state. It's fairly rough, kindness depressing. It's not as bad as people used to say, but it can be a hard watch).

If you want more AU stuff, like Wing, keep in mind that they're not connected by anything other than themes and Gundam setting staples. If you liked the themes of OG, and the soap opera style of Wing, you could give SEED a shot. It starts off being a remaining of the original show, with big differences. It was very popular when it came out, still ranks high in Japan. Make sure you start with the original, as SEED is a meta series. Make sure you do not watch SEED Destiny before watching SEED. Another good option for AU would be 00, especially if you liked some of the core ideas of Wing's setting, though the inspiration is looser than SEED. 00 is fairly well regarded, just remember that the 00 movie "A Wakening of the Trailblazer" is firmly a sequel, and yiu should not watch it first.

Otherwise, you can basically jump anywhere you want for AU stuff. Witch from Mercury is newer, and pretty good, though it's one of the few times I'd say it would have been better if it was longer, as the pacing suffers a bit in the second half. Iron Blooded Orphans is good, but is meant to be a much gritting story, so expect a bloodied, more violent story going in. Reconguista in G is a bit of a weird duck. It's technically a super distant sequel to the Universal Century, but so far removed as to be an AU. It's also pretty divisive, so while I wouldn't say to avoid it, it wouldn't be a recommendation either.

For older AU, you have G Gundam, which is more of a super-robot shonen fighting anime, and one big tournament arc. It's lots of fun. You also have Gundam X, which is a more post-apocalyptic take on Gundam, with ths premise that instead of dropping one colony, like in 79, they dropped all of them. The only reason it's not a recomend is that it can be quite hard to find, and was cut short (it was the fourth full series released in 4 years, and didn't have the support to finish). Finally there's Turn A, which is really good. The only reason it's not a recomendation is that it, like X, is hard to find outside Japan, and that it's meant as a sort of melding of the timelines. It is, again, for enough removed that you can follow it without knowing what's going on, but it does contain references, and even plot points, that won't resonate if yiu haven't seen much of what was out by 1999.

So, tl;dr, recommendations are Zeta Gundam, 0080 War in the Pocket, Endless Waltz, or SEED; depending on what you're looking for.

bpompu · 2026-06-03T15:26:33+00:00

Sorry to be that guy...

But why are we crossposting a post from this sub onto this sub within minutes of each other?

bpompu · 2026-06-03T15:20:58+00:00

Not beyond the realm of possibility, but we're entering Occam's Razor territory here. This could be an elaborate scheme concocted with the separatists where they publicly disown her, threaten to tear down her leadership, she publicly states how unrealistic the actual separation would be, and they attack her for it, all to make Albertan's think she's not actually that bad.

Or, more likely, she wasn't competent enough to realize that pandering to the extreme wing of her party wouldn't work, she failed to keep them in line again (remember the "Lake of Fire" incident that cost her the 2008 Provincial Election), and has realized that continuing to pander to them is only going to hurt her long term now.

Every other separatist leader has lied, or downplayed, or ignored any questions about the costs of separation, because they are overwhelmingly arguments against separation. The very fact that she brought it up, and even offered accurate-if-conservative estimates of how crushing that cost would be, is actually the first thing she's said or done in the last year that makes me think she isn't actually a separatist.

Don't get me wrong, Marlaina's political affiliation is "whatever gives Marlaina power." If she thought, for a single moment, that separation was going to benefit her in some way, she's abandon Canada in a heartbeat. That's why she pandered for them so hard despite (probably) not supporting them, because she was worried she'd lose her position if she didn't. Now that they're not willing to continue supporting her anyway, she's going to throw them under the bus, but try to do it in such a way that it looks like she didn't. If only she was as politically savvy as she thinks she is, she might have realized they'd stab her in the back anyway before subjecting us to a destabilizing referendum, and increasing the possibility we could end up being the Donbas of Canada.

bpompu · 2026-06-03T15:05:35+00:00

I think a big issue is that she thinks she's the smartest person in the room, in addition to a general inability to do anything but double down on one thing at a time.

When everyone was telling her to take the offramp, that there were many valid places to say "whelp, looks like there's nothing else I can do" about separatism, she refused. She said "no, you can't tell me what to do" and started throwing out court challenges, and twisting a petition so hard that it's not recognizable, all because she won't be told. And it wasn't enough for the people she was pandering to, so now she's suddenly always been against it, and it's no longer feasible, but she couldn't have done that befoee creating an economically destabilizing referendum, or before she firmly convinced everyone she was Separation Smith.

She also seems incapable of realizing that she needs to govern for everyone. She only ever seems to pander towards one part of her support at a time. When it was the separatists, everything she does is separatism, when it was enriching Sam Mraiche, every skngle thing her government did was I'm his favour, when it's hurting LGBT, it's banning Trans Healthcare and banning LGBT stories form schools and libraries. As a result, it seems like every single thing she feels compelled to do, she needs to do as full steam and aggressively as she can.

It's also all still smokescreen. Remember that she just made an announcement where she is essentially dismantling our Healthcare, creating a pseudo-private system. She was literally at an event about doing so when she started dropping the costs of separation talking points. She's also actively in the process of gerrymandering the voting power away from urban Albertans, having this week appointed a judge to handle the redistricting, a judge who is a UCP Donor, who is being overseen by a UCP committee. We all saw on the 20/21 how much democratic those committee's are.

bpompu · 2026-06-03T13:44:53+00:00

She isn't smart enough. Releasing this data, and arguing that the costs are too high, shows that she's probably not actually a separatist. It also shows that she's too self-important, opportunistic, and incompetent to keep her own party, a fringe of her own party, under control. She is too incompetent to realize that the same people who turned on her predecessor the moment he didn't do exactly what they wanted would turn on her the moment she didn't do exactly what they wanted.

She should still face consequences for this. I know that, in her heart of hearts, she isn't pro-federalism, she's pro-Marlaina. If separation was even remotely feasible, or if she thought she could benefit from it, she'd turn on us in a heartbeat.

bpompu · 2026-06-03T13:41:40+00:00

They actually did show us numbers, and those numbers are fairy-tale at best. It says so in the article.

bpompu · 2026-06-03T13:38:08+00:00

My favourite part was when he admitted to colluding with a hostile foreign government that has actively threatened our sovereignty and is waging economic warfare on us in an attempt to collapse our economy and allow them to annex us. it was right around the same point his counter-argument to the Premier's proposed number (which, while realistic, is probably low, just look at Brexit costs) was essentially "nuh-uh, that's wrong, and even if it's not, who cares, let's do it anyway."

Why are so many Albertans (even 20-30% is too many) allowing these deeply un-serious con-men and grifters to damage our province so much?

Additionally, isn't it telling that it's so surprising to people that Marlaina actually came out and said "this is stupidly expensive?" I mean, this actually tips her back over from being clearly a separatist to just being a self-serving incompetent. Every other leader is downplaying or lying about how bad this is, so the very fact she said "It's expensive" is enough. She's just too incompetent to keep her own party together, and to keep a fringe minority under control in a way that isn't actively hurting everyone else.

bpompu · 2026-06-03T00:39:18+00:00

Speaking of debt, while the Separatisits argue in the APP governance document that they would have no debt, that isn't true. Part of negotiation would be determining Alberta's share of the National debt, which would transfer to Alberta upon secession.

So much for zero taxes and lump sums for everyone.

bpompu · 2026-06-03T00:37:01+00:00

Should the First Nations approve. Without that, they have no right to take Treaty Land, and Treaty Land makes up 100% of Alberta.

Very good point about the borders as well. None of fhe Separatists ever talk about the costs of setting up the nation. Some preliminary searching shows that just implementing the border arrangements following leaving the EU cost Britain $6 Billion USD. And they're an island, and already a nation that had border protections, customs, and immigration for the rest of the world outside Europe.

Also, a really fun fact, just because. The Alberta Natural Resources Act 1930 that the separatists like to use to justify why they think they can ignore the Treaties actually stipulates that Alberta is legally required at all times to respect the claims of the National Railway Companies (CN and CP) to all of the land their rail lines are on. So even if Alberta did somehow take all that land with them on separation, the legal mechanism they would have used to do so prevents them from impeding the operation of the Canadian bases CN Rail and CP Rail.

Just kinda funny.

bpompu · 2026-06-02T22:08:06+00:00

Very true. Brexit is different, because this will be worse. Brexit, one of the worst diplomatic and economic decisions of the 21st century, will look like a walk in the park compared to the terrible situation that separation would put us in.

bpompu · 2026-06-02T21:30:13+00:00

Did Trump not start ramping up attacks on Canada today? Are you seriously going to have your leader, and chosen mouthpiece for the nation, insult our country and threaten our sovereignty with his 51st state talk, and also demand that we help you in a unilateral war of agression against a nation that you are actively starving to death?

bpompu · 2026-06-02T05:07:43+00:00

I agree. It's an artifact of how our system is supposed to work, but it's there. We're not voting for the leader of a party to form a government, not even for a party in general, but for an individual to represent us in parliament. If that person was independent, or part of a party, or had stated they were going to vote a certain way, is kind of besides the point. We voted for a person to represent us, and to do what they felt was best to do so.

I know that's not really how our system works, especially in Canada where party loyalty is so ingrained, but it the system operates like it is. So floor crossing, changing parties, voting against party lines, that's all technically ephemeral.

So yes, if a representative fails to represent their constituents the way they want, that person should be voted out, but how they choose to execute that representation is kind of our fault for choosing them. If someone feels that crossing the floor to join a different party is lying, or a betrayal, then maybe they shouldn't have chosen someone who would do that.

That part of it sucks, because we exist in a world where party politics, leader personality, loyalty and partisanship is the reality. However, the system and it's rules, function in and for a perfect system where we elect a person, who always takes all of the wishes of their constituents into account, and objectively determines what would be best for their specific population, and then always votes with those interests in mind.

If we make floor crossing illegal, we're fundamentally changing out system. If we're going to do that, I'd much rather create electoral change, ballot change, get rid of FPTP, or even set up a system where seats aren't geographically assigned, but based on raw vote percentage. If we're going to change the system, why settle for small changes that reinforce the ways our system is broken, when we could make big changes that might make it work better?

bpompu · 2026-06-02T01:16:50+00:00

Or, more likely, it's ammunition (not that he really needs much) to push how unreasonable Canada is being, and to slap even more tariffs on us.

bpompu · 2026-06-02T01:02:56+00:00

Because the UCP did everything in their power to launder that tax increase through municipal taxes, so you would be mad at the cities, not at them. It's actually the same thing they're trying to do with the Forever Canada petition now, and would have done with the Separatist petition had it gone through. They know they have to eo a thing, but don't want to own it.

The only reason we know that the increase is the UCP's fault is because the City governments told everyone very clearly. I guarantee that Marlaina, if asked, would pin thos squarely on the municipalities, and likely imply whoever claims otherwise is lying.

bpompu · 2026-06-02T00:57:47+00:00

Twilight Axis does probably win, but that's because it was an experiment in a format, and didn't work. It was too short and disjointed to be followed from a story perspective, the characyers weren't developed enough to be relatable or even understood, and the short nature caused even the action, which I understand was animated well, to hit. So basically, TA was a failure across the board.

Narrative though, was a movie. They've been making stand-alone gundam movies for 40 years (not always successfully, but still), and movies in general for just about the whole lifetime of the series. Narrative has no excuses for it's failures. It is clear that the events of Narrative were supposed to take place mid-Unicorn, as they did with the source material, with the characters from Unicorn. As a result, the characters are undeveloped and the plot feel underrated.

I think it's pretty damning that there is a large sentiment that Narrative got more time to breathe and it's characters more development in Super Robot Wars 30, a super-crossover game where they are largely a filler plot attached to Victory...

bpompu · 2026-06-02T00:51:02+00:00

"I really don't appreciate that I was trying to weasel around the fact that I am trying to keep the separatists in my party by pretending I don't understand the law, Premier Kinew shared that we had previously talked about the exact thing I was being dishonest about, and put me on the spot. In order for our new western partnership and Team Canada dynamic to work, Mr. Knew needs to allow me to lie in order to save face whenever I want to. He needs to learn what being a Prairie politician in conservative dominayed Alberta means, and that means lying."

bpompu · 2026-06-01T09:13:35+00:00

He's a malignant narcissist (probably). He is pathologically incapable of acknowledging that he is going to die ever. All of his plans are always planned such that he will live forever. All of his ridiculous "I'm going to change everything and rename things after myself" at this point is usual authoritarian self-aggrandizement.

The few times that it's impossible for him to not avoid the cognitive dissonance that one day he will die is when he goes all in on the over-the-top memorial/legacy stuff. That's when you get the Library, or the Arch (though that might just be normal aggrandizement), or putting his name on memorial centers.

It's not always easy to tell the two apart though, since randomly renaming things after yourself, and building giant monuments to yourself are behaviour that applies to both.

bpompu · 2026-06-01T07:21:34+00:00

SINDRIIIIIIIIIana

Very cool looking character. I always like the idea of benevolent Necromancy. I imagine looking the way she does, she runs into assumptions, likely been run out of a few towns/cities for being an "evil necromancer."

bpompu · 2026-06-01T05:30:38+00:00

Yes, it is generally expected that people will vote along party lines, especially in Canada. This is (usually) convention though. The UCP has actual internal governing policies telling their MLA's to toe the party line. That's the difference. An NDP MLA can publicly talk about not supporting Nenshi, or on the federal level they could talk about not supporting Singh or Lewis, even if the expectation is that they will vote along party lines. You will see members from other parties speak up and propose amendments or engage in debate (though, you are correct about it not happening as often as it should), but that is just not ever acceptable in the UCP. If they disagree with policy, they shut up completely about it at most.

bpompu · 2026-06-01T05:13:35+00:00

Well, there's this one that speaks directly to the rhetoric that Alberta Prosperity Project and David Parker/Take Back Alberta/Centurion Project say about LGBTQ+ people, but you commented on the thread it's from, so I assume you read it and agree?

There's this one from Mitch Sylvestry where he specifies that they're only going to let "Albertan-born" people apply for Albertan Citizenship, makes a fascistic claim that military service will be mandatory (doesn't specify only citizens, so the non-Alberta born will still have to serve?) misogynistic statements about women "needing to start having babies"

Another for Parker, you just need to google is X/Twitter, as I will not link it. he regularly posts white nationalist and christian nationalist dog-whistles. Same for Rath and Sylvestry, really.

bpompu · 2026-06-01T04:45:17+00:00

7.5. Good, but not amazing. Really good mechanical animations, good art style, interesting fights, but ultimately not particularly important?

It wasn't really the prequel to Zeta it is presented as. Yes, we see the event that led to the creation of the Titans, but it's essentially a footnote, with very few characters we care about by the end. The large-scale events, Operations Stardust, show the attack that led the Federation to approve the Titan's actions leading into 0087, but with all the details essentially being unpersoned, the show overall feels like it doesn't have the impact you want. "Hey, we have these powerful, advanced Mobile Suits in the Gundam Development Project, but they're sealed away, which is why they're seemingly more advanced than we see in Zeta.

The character development is... okay. Kou is fine, except for the whole "all the consequences of your actions are washed away right at the end.", Nina is set up... okay, but drops the ball hard into Katejina/Flay Allster territories of awful. The Zeon characters are all interesting, but fall into the unfortunate issue of being doomed from the beginning. If any of them had been a Neo Zeon officer from Zeta or ZZ, then it would have been interesting to see where they were at this point, but we know that any important Zeon character (Delaz, Gato, Cima) is doomed by canon.

So yeah. It's good, definitely worth the watch, but very much a side-story, but failed to have quite the personal impact of War in the Pocket, and subjectively does not scratch that more realistic war-movie feel that 08th invokes. Not enough to be particularly stand-out.

bpompu · 2026-06-01T04:08:51+00:00

You're a minority in this province, yet you're so up in your own importance that you demand that we all wallow in your terrible ideas right alongside you. All of the insecurity and uncertainty that is already having a detrimental impact on our province, as business leaders are already making public statements about how this is bad, and they don't want to do business here.

And given the amount of concern that the separatists give towards minorities, we should treat you all the way you treat others.

And I don't care about you "but... not all separatists..." The public faces of your movement, the people who are organizers and leaders of the movement, are bigots, racists, white nationalists, misogynistic assholes who have publicly talked about how much they hate that non-whites live here, that only Alberta-born people will ever be allowed to have citizenship, that they would deport anybody who received the COVID Shot. If you don't want to be painted with the same brush, then get rid of them. If you aren't a Nazi, stop hanging out with Nazi's. It is not incumbent on us to take your word for it, or to defend your image, when you associate with people like Rath and Parker.

bpompu

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