Official Gundam Seed Destiny Thread

[Anubis]

    New SEED Destiny MS & info UPDATED

More info spilling out as reported from the ongoing Seed Netabare threads.

Characters

Sting Oakley - The pilot of the Chaos Gundam. A special forces member of the Earth Alliance, he sneaks in the night previous to the launching ceremony of the Minerva at Armory One.

Stella Loussier (could also be interpreted as "Roueche") - The pilot of the Gaia Gundam. Also a special forces member of the Earth Alliance. Behaves like an ordinary girl, but shows abnormal strength during combat. For some reason, she wears a ZAFT uniform belt.

Owl Nida - The pilot of the Abyss Gundam. Another special forces member of the Earth Alliance who sneaks into Armory One.

Lunamaria Hawk - Coordinator and crew member of ZAFT's latest ship Minerva. Wears the red elite uniform like Shin Asuka. She is also a MS pilot and uses ZAFT's latest MS, the Zaku Warrior.

While the pilot of the Saviour Gundam isn't mentioned officially, it's rumored that it'll be Athrun Zala. A pic of the cast members introduced up 'til now, including the three new pilots.

Finally, pics of all the MS:

All the new Gundams are ZAFT-made and developed as "second stage" MS.

The Impulse's corefighter uses a similar system as the Crossbone Gundam's. With the Force Silhouette, the cockpit is attached to the Silhouette itself.

ZGMF-X56S/α Force Impulse Gundam - The high mobility mode when Impulse Gundam is equipped with the Force Silhouette. Main weapons are beam saber and beam rifle.

ZGMF-X56S/β Sword Impulse Gundam - Impulse Gundam in its close-combat mode, "Sword Silhouette". Equipped with beam boomerang and anti-ship swords.

ZGMF-X56S/γ Blast Impulse Gundam - Impulse Gundam in its mid-range combat mode, "Blast Silhouette". Equipped with long range beam cannons and rail guns.

ZGMF-X23S Saviour Gundam - ZAFT's latest MS equipped with the "Deuterion Beam Energy Supply System". In MA mode, it specializes in high mobility combat. It was developed later than the other 4 Gundam. The "2" in X23 means aviation-related while "3" refers to the research number.

ZGMF-X24S Chaos Gundam - ZAFT's latest MS equipped with "Deuterion Beam Energy Supply System". Equipped with giant claws on both legs and large firearms. Specializes in assault combat.

ZGMF-X31S Abyss Gundam - ZAFT's latest MS equipped with "Deuterion Beam Energy Supply System". It can transform into MA mode for marine use. Equipped with beam weapons and lance, enabling it to deal with various situations. The "3" in X31 means marine-related

ZGMF-X88S Gaia Gundam - ZAFT's latest MS equipped with "Deuterion Beam Energy Supply System". It can transform into a 4-legged MA. Specializes in land combat. The "8" in X88 means 4-legged MS/MA.

These two were rumored more than once on boards but not mentioned on Gunota because I thought the names were too silly to be true but they've turned out to be real:

ZGMF-1000 Zaku Warrior - A new generation ZAFT MS developed after the armistice, the first-stage model of the "New Millennium series". It's possible to exchange equipment and armament in a variety of battle conditions. The ZAFT force's next main MS.

ZGMF-1001 Zaku Phantom - A high-end version of the Zaku Warrior and primarily a commander class MS. The same equipment and armament can be interchanged between it and the Zaku Warrior. Many personal color versions of it exist.  ¶ 1:08 AM

[Anubis]

Characters

[Anubis]

And finally the Mecha. Not too bad at all actually on this first impresion. You can see where they took elements on last show's suits and ran with them further.

Interesting to note is the Impulse changes it's phase shift color depending on the pack used. Also, the Aile pack is built into a core fighter it looks like,

Also: new Zakus ?!?

Look at the mecha list and then find the corresponding pic.

Gaia's not too bad after so far. I was right it seems, look at it's back. Looks like a giant BuCue ugrade. You can see the head on the back.

The Abyss is an Amphibious suit.

Next we need to see the various transformed modes.

Edited July 22, 2004 by Anubis

[wolfx]

Noooo!!! Where for art thou, Katoki??? Those suits are horrendous, IMHO.

Oh...and now the impulse gundam's phase shift armour changes color with each pack eh?

Edited July 22, 2004 by wolfx

[Anubis]

The abyss I'm not real enamored with, but the other 4 I can deal with, especially when they're rendered in the show's actual artwork. Disigns always look better like that than with this basic lineart.

The Energy Supply system sounds a lot like X's sattellite power transfer, so let's see how that turns out. Has potential. I didn't want to see the suits run out of power again though anyway. And N-jammer cancellers in mass production are impractical because the n-jammers are all that keeps the colonies safe from nuclear attack. That would definately be a no-no after the armistise to have suits running around with those. Though it's an easy bet there will be bad guy suits that will have them.

[Anubis]

Now, there's 3 earth pilots that sneak into this armory 1. Does this mean that earth will steal 3 of zaft's suits this time?

This seems interesting as well:

Stella Loussier (could also be interpreted as "Roueche") - The pilot of the Gaia Gundam. Also a special forces member of the Earth Alliance. Behaves like an ordinary girl, but shows abnormal strength during combat. For some reason, she wears a ZAFT uniform belt.

Is she a newtype-ish character like Mwu then?

They better have a suit with funnels again as well. Providence was executed wonderfully, thing had a total of 43 beam gun nozzles. I hope they use a similar concept again in a new suit. Can't go wrong with funnels (or a DRAGOON (Disconnected Rapid Armament Group Overlook Operation Network) system as they called it in Seed.

Edited July 22, 2004 by Anubis

[zeo-mare]

well as a huge gundam fan i can say that i am not happy with these designs, new new strike style gundam disapoints me the most it seems like they just said make him two times as powerful as the first Strike and the artist just added 2 of everything two swords , two launchers, most of the enemy desgins are not to nice looking either i do not like the blue one i believe thatis the underwater one? the blitz upgrade looks decent and i like the new ginn's (zakus) but that is about it. i know this is a continuation of the seed series but i wish they could have done something alittle different and better with these, i am sorry they seem like left over rehash

[Stamen0083]

...the Zaku Warrior.

Say what? The what Warrior?

...especially when they're rendered in the show's actual artwork. Disigns always look better like that than with this basic lineart.

Obviously, you've never seen a Katoki design.

Edited July 22, 2004 by Stamen0083

[Anubis]

...the Zaku Warrior.

Say what? The what Warrior?

...especially when they're rendered in the show's actual artwork. Disigns always look better like that than with this basic lineart.

Obviously, you've never seen a Katoki design.

OK, sometimes look better. We all acknowlege that Katoki is the Shiznit. They're doing ok with who they have at least. Could be far worse.

And yes, new takes on the Zaku.

Edited July 22, 2004 by Anubis

[Magnus]

As a die-hard fan, my first impressions on the Gundams:

Meh

I don't HATE them, but i'm not really enthused about them. They're re-hashes of re-hashes.

I dunno, they just seem really uninspired and, quite frankly, BORING.

Impulse Gundam - how is this guy any different than Strike? It just has more and bigger weapons. The Sword-type reminds me a lot of Rising Gundam.

Saviour Gundam - Aegis again. Great. Two guesses who's gonna be piloting this one.

Chaos Gundam - has Aegis's feet, although those rounded engines on the back seem cool - kind of an A-10 tank-killer thing going on. Most unique one of them all I think.

Abyss Gundam - a cross between Forbidden and Mermaid gundam, right down to the legs....which isn't a good thing. It looks like a little egg.

Gaia Gundam - Its Raven gundam that transforms into a dog instead of a bird.

Argh, where's Katoki when you need him??? Go AWAY Kunio! You're done!

I'm sure the suits will grow on me, but first impression is pretty bleh. And toywise, these are gonna be pretty top-heavy.

[motley]

meh, katoki's work is over-rated. that said, these new designs do blow. guess they were just blowing smoke up our asses when they said they'd do something to appease the UC fans. unless that's what this CG crap MS IGLOO is supposed to be.

sucks to be a gundam fan these days. at least they're still putting out a few decent toys and models.

[Terpfen]

meh, katoki's work is over-rated.

Could you explain how? It seems to me that Katoki does extremely high-quality work, but Okawara's crap gets all the top billing anyway.

[motley]

i'm just not a big fan of katoki's original designs. i do like most of his "official" redesigns for the HGUC line, but most of his original stuff seems too over the top, too much hanging crap on a too skinny frame. his obsession with BFGs also really gets to me, it smacks of overcompensation.

not that okawara's designs have ever been any better, they worked for MSG, but for all the other shows he did with designs i've liked, he was just one of several mecha designers, he works better with others. part of his problem is his static pose line art style, there's just something about the way he does it that makes them look fat and crappy. they animate better, but it still ruins even otherwise good designs.

Izabuchi (0080 and CCA) is my personal favorite MS designer, but he hasn't done anything recently. Fujita does good work as well.

and back on the subject of SEED, i did like some of Akutsu's work (the first five gundams in SEED), though Okawara worked them over a bit too much.

[Bob_Coffee]

Is it me or does that core fighter thingy's cockpit area reak of Yukikaze? otherwise the designs look meh to me.

[Stamen0083]

i'm just not a big fan of katoki's original designs.

So your not liking someone's work makes his work overrated? How does that work, especially when someone else still gets the main mecha designer job, even though it's general concensus that the crap he puts out is, well, crap?

i do like most of his "official" redesigns for the HGUC line, but most of his original stuff seems too over the top, too much hanging crap on a too skinny frame.  his obsession with BFGs also really gets to me, it smacks of overcompensation.

I assume that you're talking out of your ass. No offense. Okawara has ALWAYS been about hanging too much crap on too skinny a frame. Katoki's equipment actually makes sense. Okawara's the one over compensating.

they animate better, but it still ruins even otherwise good designs.

They animate better because they are moving so quickly that our eyes cannot make out the crappy design elements he loaded on there. Pause the animation to see if it actually is any better.

Izabuchi (0080 and CCA) is my personal favorite MS designer, but he hasn't done anything recently.

Izubuchi. He has an eye for realistic designs. I do admire him. Katoki himself is an Izubuchi fan. But Katoki he ain't.

Fujita does good work as well.

Please. That Hyper Zeta Gundam is the ugliest piece of poo I've ever seen. Until SEED stuff comes along, of course.

and back on the subject of SEED, i did like some of Akutsu's work (the first five gundams in SEED), though Okawara worked them over a bit too much.

I'm more pissed off about Okawara's dumbing the Astray down into the M1.

Edited July 22, 2004 by Stamen0083

[motley]

you know what, i'm not going to get into a fight over this, its not worth it. those where my PERSONAL opinions, you are under no obligation to agree with me.

but yes, because i'm not a fan of katoki's work, and so many other people like yourself seem to worship at his feet, I think he's overrated. but remember, as this is my opinion, and clearly not yours, you're under no obligation to agree with me.

edit- font tags

Edited July 22, 2004 by motley

[That NOS Guy]

Dammit, I have a job interview in an hour now I have a sour taste in my mouth.

[Sarensaas]

[

Fujita does good work as well.

Please. That Hyper Zeta Gundam is the ugliest piece of poo I've ever seen. Until SEED stuff comes along, of course.

Fujita does incredible stuff. Check this out:

Felon Assault mecha designed by Fujita

GX Assault mecha by Fujita...MOMMY!

If Seed mecha looked like this I would be rejoicing in the streets. Gundam needs Fujita's designs again BAD.

And Katoki's too...I think they are saving him for an upcoming return to the UC though...and I ain't talking about MS Igloo

[Angel's Fury]

....Chaos Gundam - has Aegis's feet, although those rounded engines on the back seem cool - kind of an A-10 tank-killer thing going on. Most unique one of them all I think.

Same here. Out of all the mech designs, this one is okay.

[Stamen0083]

Fujita does incredible stuff. Check this out:

Felon Assault mecha designed by Fujita

GX Assault mecha by Fujita...MOMMY!

I still can't not hate Fujita's works.

Gundam needs Fujita's designs again BAD.

I've always hated Zeta mech designs, and a number of those designs can be traced to Fujita. Having him design Gundam mechs is the LAST thing I want. Hell, I prefer Okawara's SEED I mechs over Fujita's Hyper Zeta anyday.

And Katoki's too...I think they are saving him for an upcoming return to the UC though...and I ain't talking about MS Igloo

We can only hope ;-)

[Hikuro]

To me it just seems like a revamp of Zeta Gundam in some twisted sense of life. To many of these "young kids bumping into the Gundam" or, "Capturing of a top secret mobile suit" story lines....personally I found Gundam X to have something a bit different with a "What if" story and than work it's way into a revamp lol.

The MS's yeah, they look like crap I'll agree. But while the mecha designs and character designs may be rehashed and boring, hopefully the storyline will keep on it's toes and deliever something possibly shocking to us in the long run. I didn't expect SEED to end the way that it did and after people bitched that it was just a remake of 0079 THAN somewhere down the line it takes a different course sheding away from 0079 like story.

But I do think maybe, just maybe we need to either hire some new designers, or we send big complaints on how they need to make changes. I mean there's not much you can really do with a machine like Gundam...it's got to many legendary markings.

I mean if you guys wanna see a pretty unique looking Gundam, someone gimme a PM and I'll show you some things I've got cooking up.

[azrael]

Atleast they brought back the core fighter.....I kinda miss that thing....

edit:

Now that I have a chance to look at 'em...let's see:

Impulse Gundam (Force, Sword and Blast included): So Okawara....you took Freedom and made it into Strike.....great......can't you think of any other protagonist mech to recycle....At least you made Launcher...I mean Blast look slightly different. As for Sword....You had to borrow Sword Calamity didn't you...

Saviour Gundam: Aegis + Airmaster...

Chaos Gundam: Aegis' legs + Freedom's hips + Gunbarrel Dagger + Forbidden. Those round boosters/engine blooks don't exactly go to well with the straight lines of the mech....especially when their mounted like that.

Abyss Gundam: Those 2 dividing sections(which probably form the nose in MA mode) remind me of Forbidden Blue. This one actually looks decent. Only because we haven't had any marine-type Gundams.

Gaia Gundam: You took Blitz and straightened out the curves. Oh well.

Edited July 23, 2004 by azrael

[Druna Skass]

Where's my KFC spork, I need to go gouge my eyes out now...

These suits look like Gundam X rejects. Does Okawara just not try anymore or is Sunrise keeping him from doing some crazy stuff?

And from what I've seen of the cast members, I miss Mwu La Fllaga already.

When do we get to see some GAT-X suits, the Alliance can't just be sitting there.

[Jolly Rogers]

* Having flashback to when the Seed mechs were first revealed *

* Looks around at how people are buying all the toys and kits of Seed mech *

Quit bitchin', stop buying if they are so fugly.... vote with your dollars, not your keyboard, if you wanna see some real changes. The only reason we're seeing all these recycled crap is because they sell, and that's the only language Bandai understands. Don't blame Okawara for the market/Sunrise/Bandai tying his hands, they tried to bring something different to the mix with Syd Mead's Turn-A and the stuff didn't sell, so they went back to the tried-and-true with a vengeance. Since it sold well, it only encourages them to do the same things over and over.

Stop buying anything from Seed if you hate it and Okawara so much. Simple as that. No one is putting a gun to your head forcing you to buy or watch anything.

Edited July 23, 2004 by Jolly Rogers

[Stamen0083]

* Having flashback to when the Seed mechs were first revealed *

* Looks around at how people are buying all the toys and kits of Seed mech *

The only SEED thing I've bought are the 1/144 Astray Red Frames, because I like them. I've excercised my vote.

I think the people who complain about these designs don't actually buy them. I sure as hell didn't.

It's the ones who don't complain that are telling Bandai to make more of these dreadful things.

[Terpfen]

What Stamen said. I don't buy anything that comes from the hand of Okawara, yet somehow he dominates the model lines anyway.

And don't tell me I can get Katoki's work by purchasing any random HGUC or MG. Those are not Katoki redesigns, they are Bandai-dictated "easy to manufacture" refines, and Katoki is merely the warm body who draws the art.

[ogami]

I wonder how long can Bandai continue to pushing out junk like SEED...

After watching SEED, I said to myself, I will not buy any SEED product. (except Astray, Astray is decent stuff.)

[Druna Skass]

Only SEED suits I have are the Strike, Aegis, and Astrey. I've used my money to tell Bandai what I like...

[Graham]

Somebody must be buying the SEED models and toys, as Bandai sure is pumping them out like crazy with no end in sight. But I can say for sure that it's not me that's buying them

The SEED anime, mecha, characters, models and toys do nothing for me.

Although like many people here, I do like the Astray design, although only the bare-bones plain Astray appeals to me, not all these wacky variations that have been appearing recently.

I don't plan to buy any products from SEED or SEED Destiny. The last Bandai product I bought was the Z-Plus GFF. The next may be the GFF F90, I haven't decided yet, depends what accessories it comes with. Bandai would get much more of my money if they made some Macross Zero toys or Macross MG or PG models

Graham

[Dat Pinche Haro!]

i guess bandai sees all these garage companies making macross kits and say "well, i guess they could just buy those...not like we're gonna make anymore macross stuff...power rangers and gundam are our cash cows anyways!"

i would love to see macross kits with at least HGUC quality being put into them...i mean they did make some master grade kits in the past that WEREN'T gundam related...like the dunbin kit, manzinger z (spelling?) kit and patlabor kits...i thing bandai should've tried to cash in on the macross craze by releasing some totally retooled kits....model kits are actually pretty fun to put together

gundam is only popular because bandai keeps pumping money into it....and i could see that the suits are simplified to be more appealing to youngsters who just don't know any better....bandai's wallets are the only things really talking....if they had to, they'll put a sign on a pile of cow crap and call it a new MS and there's the dumb kids who don't know any better and jut buy the toys and models up like if they were the only type of stuff to prove you enjoy the show...

okay i'm gonna really go to bed now...me sleepy

[Graham]

To many of these "young kids bumping into the Gundam" or, "Capturing of a top secret mobile suit" story lines.

Yep, I agree. Ya know once, heck even twice I can accept, but when the same thing happens in so many Gundam animes, it just stretches creadibilty to breaking point and causes me to lose all interest in Gundam. Somebody needs to hit Tomino on the head with a big hammer and tell him to have an original idea more than once a decade.

Let's see how many Gundam animes have there been where a young untrained kid bumps into the Gundam and becomes the pilot: MSG, Z, ZZ, F91, V & SEED. 6 series!!! Ok, F91 was a movie not a series (although a series was planned), but they same damn thing still happens.

Graham

[Impreszive]

Okay. I liked Seed, but seriously folks, WTF! I am reminded of every other alternate storyline with the 80 hojillion different Gundam types. Christ!

[Impreszive]

"Let's see how many Gundam animes have there been where a young untrained kid bumps into the Gundam and becomes the pilot: MSG, Z, ZZ, F91, V & SEED. 6 series!!! Ok, F91 was a movie not a series (although a series was planned), but they same damn thing still happens."

Graham,

You forgot the big kill off of characters in the last 2 episodes. Also, the plotline reveals that both sides are wrong and the children were the correct side of righteousness. Lets not mention unresolved endings for character development.

Geez, I am beinging to think I don't like Gundam anymore. Oh wait. I Do hate the alternate stories (save Seed for some strange reason).

[Hikuro]

Don't forget Graham, Gundam X was very much the same. Though Garoad was guided by Tifa to the GX, he still bumped into it.

Turn A Gundam was very similar, the kid just happened to be in the right place at the right time....

Even 0083, Uraki just climbs into the Gundam and off he goes, though he was already a MS pilot, he "Bumped" into it.

8th MS Team is the only one I can think of where there was no bumping into or capturing. They were all assigned to a low cost version of the Gundam for ground unit support.......the end.

[Anubis]

Hopefully Seed Destiny brings some of those hanging plot threads to light and resolves a lot of them. It was petty obvious they left a few things unresolved to come back to later in a new show.

Like I said before I really enjoyed Seed. I hated the Justice, and also the Mobius mass models, but found the other mobile suits workable. The show just hooked me good though for some reason.

All I bought from Seed are the Metal Material Aile Strike and an HG 1/144 Providence so far (though I may upgrade to 1/100 eventually), and I'm going to get a regular Red Astray (not sure which scale yet) and MG Freedom. That's it.

The Abyss I don't really like (though outside of the Z'Gok I haven't liked any amphibiuous suits so far), but the other designs I can deal with.

What irked me before about the Strike was how Bandai Marketed the kits. You coudn't just buy the damn striker packs alone. Not with the Impulse, there's no way to even have the 3 come together like they did on the 1/60 Strike. Different phase shift color for each pack. Nothing like double dipping.

For some reason I kind of think Freedom may show up again, though I could easily be wrong. Have Kira show up to help at some point. His gf is Lacus Clyne after all, so odds are some suit is in storage for Kira to hop in if need be.

Again, all the info so far covers pretty much the first episode, just like when Seed's announcements came. There's a lot they can do with this show, so I am looking forward to it, even if a couple designs are so-so. So far the Impule is ok (I expect we'll see more variants than just the 3 modes so far, like an IWSP or something), and the Gaia and Chaos seem interesting so far. The savior is so-so, seems an Aegis/Airmaster mix to me as well (didn't like the Aegis that much either). I think it's a safe bet the Strike Rouge will come out again as well later. Only a couple of years after Seed means all the surviving/repairable suits from Seed are still viable.

So far I remain optimistic.