Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime General Discussion Thread

[Duo Maxwell]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

For me who has seen many Super-Robot series featuring mechanical animals (Gaiking, Gao Gai Gar, Grendizer, etc), those traits would’ve lost in a sea of animechs . Especially at the time when the G Gundam aired as we have yet to be spoiled with outright weird Gundam designs like Turn-A, Thrones, Arche, G-Lucifer, etc. Mammoth Gundam is an extreme-stretch of the Gundam concept for its time.

I would say Unicorn in its normal mode look less like a Gundam than the Mammoth Gundam. Following with the Turn A.

[SonicSP]

Originally Posted by Duo Maxwell

I would say Unicorn in its normal mode look less like a Gundam than the Mammoth Gundam. Following with the Turn A.

I think the Unicorn Gundam [Unicorn Mode] gets a pass because it transforms into a mode that very much looks like a pure Gundam with no requirements of additional parts. Kinda like how most transformable Gundams only need one Gundam-looking form. Reborns Gundam fall under a similar category as it has two humanoid forms, with only one of them looking like a Gundam-Type.

While the Turn A is very much a weird design because of the location of some of the pieces, it does checks a lot of boxes of the Gundam trademarks as well like the V-Fin, the red chin thing and the eye design. The tri-color helps too even if it isn't really a majority Gundam trait anymore.

Originally Posted by Skye629

There's a third category: People who think they are Gundams

Setsuna's just like Gusion. It claims to be a Gundam but it doesn't look like one.

[Patriot's Blade]

i hope they make a plush toy for the Gusion, i want to pair it with that Acguy plush for extra adorableness

also waiting for someone do a Baymax custom mod for the Gusion kit.

[LoweGear]

Originally Posted by Skye629

There's a third category: People who think they are Gundams

Guilty as charged.

[Ryuuoh DeltaPlus]

People seem to be forgetting that the mobile armor GP03 Denrobium is ALSO an gundam.


Seriously, it's because of the "gundam" stereotype (simply put, just look at the RX-78 and describe it, that's a gundam) that we have unconsciously accepted that makes people hesitant to accept radically different designs as Gundams too.

[monster]

Originally Posted by Ryuuoh DeltaPlus

People seem to be forgetting that the mobile armor GP03 Denrobium is ALSO an gundam.

Dendrobium is the mobile suit Stamen combined with the support unit Orchis. At the very least, the Stamen unit looks like the average Gundam.

[Duo Maxwell]

Originally Posted by Ryuuoh DeltaPlus

People seem to be forgetting that the mobile armor GP03 Denrobium is ALSO an gundam.


Seriously, it's because of the "gundam" stereotype (simply put, just look at the RX-78 and describe it, that's a gundam) that we have unconsciously accepted that makes people hesitant to accept radically different designs as Gundams too.

The inside is a complete Gundam.

As many have said, there are characteristics of a Gundam, and the GP03 has many of them. Obviously it's not a requirement but it helps people to recognize a Gundam. There is a reason many people mistook a Huckebein for a Gundam, you know.

[SonicSP]

Just echoing the other two posts here. But yeah it has a visible Gundam head and and an obvious V-Fin. And the lone support unit by itself doesn't have a Gundam name or title I believe, only when it's combined with the Gundam.

And personally I don't think a Gundam-named mobile armor combination is really controversial if it has characteristics to identify it as a Gundam-Type. Not Gusion or that thing from G-Reco level controversial anyways. Even then I don't think those two designs are debated on their official Gundam status which are usually clear cut, only that they have a very non-traditional design that are rarely used for official Gundams and still remain rare.

The things needed to qualify as a Gundam-Type isn't even that much these days. Sometimes even a simple V-Fin is more than enough to pass. Its still a pretty broad category in general because designs used in Gundam have evolved a lot over the years while just keeping a few simple but very symbolic traits intact.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by SonicSP

Back to the Gusion, it's a Gundam simply because it's contractors and Bandai says it is. But it isn't a Gundam-Type because it doesn't possess the trademark symbolism trait that most Gundams created (including the weird examples Obelisk posted) had adopted.

Mind you that my examples also include G-Lucifer and Abulhool/F. Those two have no recognizable Gundam features (and they have rather strange bodies to boot). Just saying.

[SonicSP]

Okay I think G-Lucifer counts since that was the the weird one from G-Reco. Sorry I've forgotten that it was there within the mix. I think it along with Gusion are the two that I've seen so far that passes the no Gundam-Type test but are official Gundams.

Abulhool F has second head that has some Gundam traits including the the red chin. It's main head also has the "red forehead jewel" that some Gundams like 00 Gundam, RX-78, Zeta, Kimaris and a some others use:

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/...20110211020722

http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/...20110211020849

Technically the single yellow clavical antenna is a Gundam symbol within 00's world, so important that some enemy engineers in the show of purposely hide it from plain sight to shield their copied mobile suits from negative public perception since the Gundams are hated. But yeah a single yellow antenna one isn't a universal Gundam symbol of the meta franchise, which is what we are counting here so not counting that one in the assessment.

---

On that note, the spherical chest is also another Gundam symbol (as mentioned in the HG Ahead manual) that only applies within 00's world. As in its a very important visual symbolism that plays a role in the mecha background lore of that specific world in a similar manner that we are discussion here.

Strangely enough, it's not that different from what we're doing right now in this discussion. We see a few specific symbols on a few Gundams from the entire franchise and we think of those symbolism to be "Gundam-like". The public and engineers in Gundam 00 apparently does the same thing in that world too. Hell Ian built 0 Gundam's head design into Seraphim's chest on purpose (mentioned in its 1/100 manual) probabaly as Gundam fanservice for Celestial Being and any enemies they encounter to see the awesomeness pure Gundam that is Not-RX-78.

The difference is that they take the similar symbols from only the Gundams they see, whereas we draw them from like many many different timelines of Gundams. They take specific similar symbols of the Gundams and have a positive or negative reaction towards it. Anything that is perceived to have them would be associated with said Gundams in a way, even if those things are not officially labeled as Gundams by their makers.

Using an example from UC of Gundam recognition, Minerva on Unicorn Episode 1 was also able to correctly assert that the Unicorn was a Gundam the moment she saw it transformed into Destroy Mode. This is despite the fact that (I think) she has not seen it before that and it's because she recognizes the traits on Unicorn's head.

In a sense, I really love what Sunrise has done with Gundam symbolism over the years. It's evolved certainly but in many ways some minor but very powerful symbols have stayed on for more than 35 years. This wouldn't have happened if they were not consistent as our drawing of the "Gundam-Type" relies on so many Gundams made over so many real world years. You know you've made when you made an mammoth or elephant as a Gundam and you can match specific traits that are consistent with the huge majority of other Gundam designs.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by SonicSP

Okay I think G-Lucifer counts since that was the the weird one from G-Reco. Sorry I've forgotten that it was there within the mix. I think it along with Gusion are the two that I've seen so far that passes the no Gundam-Type test but are official Gundams.

*snip*

The point of my first post regarding these strange Gundams is: People shouldn't be surprised with these "Non-Gundam Gundams" coz Sunrise/Bandai already treated us to so many weird designs of the Gundams in the past. Especially after we got G-Lucifer in mainstream series just recently. That's all I wanted to say.

[Rising Dragon]

The G-Lucifer though is the first one that's completely unrecognizable as a Gundam, though. Even the Abulhool had at least a couple of the Gundam traits. Say what you will about the bizarre G-Gundam designs, but you can still tell right away they're Gundams. G-Lucifer and Gusion? Not so much. That's where the surprise is coming from.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Rising Dragon

The G-Lucifer though is the first one that's completely unrecognizable as a Gundam, though. Even the Abulhool had at least a couple of the Gundam traits. Say what you will about the bizarre G-Gundam designs, but you can still tell right away they're Gundams. G-Lucifer and Gusion? Not so much. That's where the surprise is coming from.

G-Lucifer is like the culmination of strange-Gundam designs that has been built in the past and kinda desensitized me for any other strange designs that follows (though not as crazy departure as Mammoth Gundam if I were to watch it as it aired at that point in time). Gusion at least has Gundam inner-frame in-universe while G-Lucifer has none except for the G-name (and built by the same company? Not sure). If you still remember my first reaction to Gusion reveal some pages ago, I was surprised for a second then I remembered all the weird Gundam designs before it and thought “Oh, Ok. So we got a frog-Gundam this time. That’s fun” while the G-Lucifer reveal left me shaking my head.

[Frontier]

Here's a PV for Iron-Blooded Orphans featuring previous footage but with the full opening "Raise Your Flag" by MAN WITH A MISSION:

[Galaxian]

So far, everything about this series had seen gloomy and gritty to me, but the opening is surprisingly energetic.

[Frontier]

Agreed. It's definitely the type of opening that can get you pumped up and excited for something .

Can't wait to hear it with animation .

[SonicSP]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

G-Lucifer is like the culmination of strange-Gundam designs that has been built in the past and kinda desensitized me for any other strange designs that follows (though not as crazy departure as Mammoth Gundam if I were to watch it as it aired at that point in time). Gusion at least has Gundam inner-frame in-universe while G-Lucifer has none except for the G-name (and built by the same company? Not sure). If you still remember my first reaction to Gusion reveal some pages ago, I was surprised for a second then I remembered all the weird Gundam designs before it and thought “Oh, Ok. So we got a frog-Gundam this time. That’s fun” while the G-Lucifer reveal left me shaking my head.

I think the jury's still out on the Gusion's Gundam frame as far it pertains to the Gundam meta series symbols go. We still don't know how it looks like and if Nosferatu's analysis of the Gusion model kits earlier is really accurate to its size in-universe, each frame may be radically different. The only thing we know for sure about the Gundam frames is that they all have "2 Ahab Reactors to reach a high output and that keeping them in parallel is difficult and is the reason why not much of them are made".

But the timing on what Bandai's been doing with the G-Lucifer and possibly the Gusion (because it may still have Gundam symbols in alternate forms) is interesting though considering they broke decades of tradition twice in the space of a year. Could be experimenting with a new pattern here, likely seeing how well the designs are received and all that.

[Wandering Soul]

Originally Posted by Galaxian

So far, everything about this series had seen gloomy and gritty to me, but the opening is surprisingly energetic.

Yeah, I was expecting a darker ending.

[SonicSP]

You know, I wonder why they took Barbatos' original designation and gave it to the Kimaris instead. That doesn't happen very often pre-series.

[LightningZERO]

Originally Posted by SonicSP

You know, I wonder why they took Barbatos' original designation and gave it to the Kimaris instead. That doesn't happen very often pre-series.

They got the demon numbering in The Lesser Key of Solomon mixed up. Barbatos is supposed to be 8th and Kimaris 66th

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesser_Key_of_Solomon