Mobile Suit Gundam 00: 15 years later
The Gundam franchise is one of the most successful franchises with over 50+ shows and series to date. The franchise’s theme revolves around misunderstandings, conflicting ideologies, and wars. Also, every Gundam universe has its own timeline or era, except for Mobile Suit Gundam 00.
The show was first announced on June 2007 and its first season aired starting from October 5, 2007, to March 29, 2008. While the second season aired on October 5, 2008, and concluded on March 29, 2009.
As an anime series from the late 2000s, how is Mobile Suit Gundam 00 and its plot holding up 15 years later?
Gundams set in our future
Mobile Suit Gundam 00 revolves around the story of how humanity has exhausted its supply of fossil fuel and turned to solar power for energy. Then, to harness this inexhaustible supply, nations around the world gathered to become blocs that will build three delicate towers reaching space. However, unity and understanding are hard things to grasp.
The three superpowers, the Union (comprised of the United States and its allies), the Human Reform League (HRL) (comprised of India, China, and Russia at its center), and the Advanced European Union (AEU) play their zero-sum game for prestige, power, and defense of the solar towers.
In lieu of this, the paramilitary organization, Celestial Being, with its powerful arsenal called Gundams, aims to eradicate war by waging war against the world’s superpowers/nation blocs. After determining countries, organizations, corporations, and other causes of war. They will send their four pilots and the Gundams and destroy them by determining the means necessary.
Suits to the real world
Mobile Suit Gundam 00 is not as impactful as other anime shows during the late 2000s, but it certainly made points and discussions that we can relate to the current state of the world by now such as the horrors of war, energy crisis, and mismanagement of governments.
As energy is becoming a concern, especially in the Philippines where we experience rotational brownouts during the scorching hot summer season, it is important that we address climate change and at the same time, make renewable energy accessible and within reach. Also, governments should be responsible and more proactive in providing social services than infrastructure that cannot be used if people are sick and their basic needs are not met.
More importantly, to prevent wars, individuals and governments should resolve matters in a peaceful way. Opening the table for discussion while fostering mutual understanding with a strong resolve to fix the problems that we are currently experiencing.
Despite the age, the eleventh installment of the Gundam franchise has solid roots and will continue to become relevant with its backstory. Will there be Gundams in the future though?
James Escalante dreams of becoming a broadcast journalist with profound interest in science & technology, history, health, and current events. He will invite you for an Ice Cream while online gaming in a heartbeat. He believes that knowledge, wisdom, and practice should always go hand in hand.