Mobile Suit ZZ Gundam follows a group of misfits on a junkyard colony called Shangri-la. The Argama, the battleship which housed Kamille Bidan and Bright Noa from Zeta Gundam, dock the ship there to get repairs. However, they brought remnants of the war onto this colony and it disrupts the lives of our protagonists. And there is the ever looming threat of Neo-Zeon led by Haman Karn and her plans to conquest the galaxy.
The first you immediately notice is the glaring change in tone from Zeta Gundam. While Zeta Gundam had a very dense and dark tone, especially toward the end of the show, ZZ Gundam is much more light-hearted than its predecessor. This is much to the detriment of the show. The change of tone, in the beginning, is refreshing but its novelty quickly wears thin as the show progresses. You expect things to become more serious as we learn about the major threat that Haman poses to the galaxy but that tonal shift never truly comes. There are moments where the show becomes serious but quickly returns to that light-hearted tone.
Another thing you may notice is the focus on comedy. Tomino decided he wanted to be a comedian and dedicated every 5 minutes to some slapstick humor. This ends up in a lot of hit or miss jokes, and the jokes mostly miss. The problem with the humor in this show is it is largely the same jokes being repeated without different execution. And the humor revolves around its characters and their personality flaws but if you do not like the characters, which I didn’t, the jokes become very grating as time goes on.
Since this is a show directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, you can expect some character deaths. But the death scenes in the show were so poorly done as well as the scenes leading up to the deaths themselves, you will think ‘what the hell was he thinking?’ There is no emotional buildup to the deaths which makes the scenes themselves lack any impact. And spoilers, the characters you want to die end up living for the whole show. This left a very bad taste in my mouth as Tomino usually knows who to kill off in his anime.
The art for this show remains high quality and very consistent. There are few moments where the animation falters and designs lack detail but those moments are few and between. There are also a lot of reused scenes but they are mostly the transformation scenes with the occasional scene from the Zeta Gundam opening being reused.
Now let us talk characters. Tomino is known for making its cast relatively unlikable to the average viewer. They come off as reckless, hostile and sometimes idiotic. But these traits fall in line with their prior characterization and make a larger point about how immaturity has no place in actual combat. Also, their actions also came with consequences which add a layer of believability to the world and weight to their decisions. Forget about all of that in Double Zeta Gundam. The characters in this show are extremely unlikable, but they are written in such a way that we are supposed to like them. The show focuses on their comical hijinks more often than not and the humor is largely centered on their character. But these characters are so unlikable it becomes infuriating to watch them. And worst of all, with all their selfish decisions, almost everything goes their way. They never have to suffer for their selfish deeds and are often rewarded for it. This throws out everything that made Zeta Gundam so successful. This is especially true of Mondo and Beecha, my two most hated characters in the Gundam series thus far. These characters are spoiled and they never learn anything meaningful throughout the show. The gravity of their circumstances never causes them to have a major realization of life or themselves or their sense of duty. The majority of the cast treats everything so flippantly that you will undoubtedly be angered by almost everything they do.
Another issue is the villains do not seem like believable threats for the most part. For the majority of the show, the villains come off as comical almost like Scooby Doo villains. You can practically hear them saying, “And I would’ve gotten away with it too if it weren’t for those darn kids!” every time their plans are foiled. But what the show does to Haman Karn is very upsetting. She still maintains the elegance, beauty, and intelligence that she had in Zeta Gundam. But the show makes it seem like surrounds herself with idiots on purpose which contradicts her planning nature. But still, she remains the best character in this show.
Next is Judau Ashta, the pilot of the Double Zeta Gundam and the character that is most focused on in the show. All of those traits present in most of the main cast are present in him but to a lesser degree to where he becomes tolerable. One of the major issues I had was the bastardization of Bright Noa. What was a once a proud and valiant leader during the pivotal battles of the Gundam franchise, was now an impotent babysitter. The kids that he has to take care of are constantly ignoring him and humiliating him to a point where it becomes sad to watch.
Is Mobile Suit Double Zeta Gundam Worth a watch? I would say no. It does not add anything substantial to the lore of the universe nor does it have any interesting characters. Watching 47 episodes becomes a test of one’s patience. The best thing for you to do if you are that interested is to read the plot summary on Wikipedia so you know what happens. Tomino, you done messed up now.
