There is no doubt that this last stretch has been an incredible run. While there is going to be great debate on how well this series finished I can still be happy about watching. The final battle to stop Ribbons and the Innovators was pretty intense. There was just so much going on and you really have to step back and reflect on what happened.

Impressions:

Is interesting to see how the pairings turned out since I made that last post. Clearly Lyle and Anew ended with the girls death. But he still cares about her and will live on until the time he can meet her again. So in a sense that pairing was a success, but it’s just too bad she didn’t survive. Think her death helped to shape Lyle’s actions and even Setsuna’s. Anew dying forced Setsuna to not let the same thing happen to Louise.

In the end Setsuna really just sticks with CB and leaves the pairing stuff to the side. The best chance right now is the late appearance of Feldt’s feelings, but for now he’s more focused on helping the world in his own way. While they had Marina sitting around near the battlefield she really wasn’t important. In the end I think her character was a waste of airtime that could have been given to others. As a true Innovator Setsuna has his own path to follow that doesn’t seem related to Marina. As a person who can’t even hold a gun Marina seems too disconnected from Setsuna. Maybe the joking pairing of SetsunaxGundam is the real winner.

Allelujah and Marie got a nice conclusion. Soma managed to deal with Andrei and put her hatred aside. There was a close call with Marie getting hit with those Gaga units, but she managed to hang in there. Kind of nice seeing them backpacking and living in peace. Might have seen them with CB, but think the two of them deserve a chance to live. Two people who might have thought that fighting was all they could do. Instead they will live peacefully and find the meaning in their lives. Of course Hallelujah being back and Soma probably beneath the surface adds a strange angle to that relationship.

I was worried about Saji and Louise before this last stretch. But they managed to break the cycle of someone getting revenge and then getting killed. Saji was even able to pull the trigger and fire some missiles in order to protect Louise from those Gaga units. It was a close one but they finally got back together. Thankfully the damage done to her body is disappearing. Maybe they’ll be able to let her regenerate her hand now that its been taken care of. I’m sure she’d like to wear the ring Saji got for her on a real finger. Makes sense for the two of them to live peacefully and yet aware of the world. They’ve been too entrenched in the fighting to live unaware. Long as Louise hasn’t blown all her families funds she can help people instead of putting money into weapons development. Happy for these two since it’s a fitting end for them.

Anyways the fights for the final battles were great. Hallelujah/Allelujah vs. Hilling was just a beautiful one-sided match. The guy is dangerous, but you can’t help getting caught up in the insanity of Hallelujah. He just fights brutally and doesn’t hold back no matter who his opponent is. Makes sense that he didn’t get much time in the second season. He would have drawn all the attention away from Setsuna and the key issues. I liked Setsuna going against Ribbons for most of the fight. The 0 Gundam and Exia match seemed a little unnecessary despite it being nice to see Exia one more time. It would have been a greater fight if Marina didn’t kill the mood with her background monologue and the children singing. Seriously if they didn’t sound so bad I might not have minded it.

Kind of feel for Tieria in all of this. I was hoping he would decide to get another body and leave Veda to live more like a human. Instead he’s taking the sacrificing route in order to better protect everyone. Of course considering how important Veda is it probably was a good choice. Once they repair the ship ‘Celestial Being’ then it will be tough for anyone to get close to Veda again. Feel sorry for Mileina since I think she did like Tieria. It’s not like he’s dead, but at the same time he isn’t there physically. Always the potential for him to get out if he ever wants to though.

The epilogue was really nice and they tried to focus on many characters before it was over. The world is changing and Celestial Being will be there to watch them. Not that surprised by Patrick being alive, but hard to expect they’d show it at his wedding to Kati! I guess this proves that persistence can indeed pay off.

Final Words:

Overall this has been one of my favourite shows this season. If you include the first season we’ve had 50 episodes of great anime. There will be people who disagree about how good the series was and some that may label it a failure. But I think this series managed to accomplish what it set out to do.

The characters were nicely developed though some got more than others. Tieria was without a doubt the best developed character with how he changed from that cold figure at the beginning to one who wanted to look out for all of humanity at the end. Setsuna of course grew, became a leader and an Innovator. He has finally realized what he should be doing and how he can help people.

I can’t complain about the fights since they really had some nice ones. At the start Celestial Being was just too powerful, but soon things started to get complicated. Even with the introduction of Trans-Am and Tau Drives the series managed to keep on going. Also the series managed to send a message about understanding and what is needed for humanity to move forward.

This really has been a nice run. After what happened with Destiny I was wondering where this would go. But they managed to take a nice step forward with Gundam 00 and so I’m confident in the future. Besides it isn’t quite over yet with the movie being announced for 2010. I’m curious what that will be about and who the enemy will end up being. They have played up the talk about future dialogues with aliens so it might go in that direction.

Regardless I’m glad to have watched this series and get to share a few of my thoughts on it.

With a series as well covered as Gundam 00 you can talk about a lot of things. But after seeing episode 18 the one thing that made me think was the status of the pairings. I won’t deny that I get pulled into the pairings in these shows. At this point really wonder just which ones will get a satisfying conclusion and which ones may be more doomed to tragedy. So will give my take on a few of the key pairings and where they may end up. I have no inside information so really is just my speculations at this point. Still worthwhile to look at the current situation and how the characters have gotten to this point.

Allelujah x Marie – You knew when these two got together so early that there would be trouble ahead. It is just not interesting to watch without an additional problem to overcome. That problem turned out to be the death of Sergei. It was a sad event for people who liked his character and much more so for Marie. Which it was the Soma personality that interacted with him you can see how much she cared about him. The other personalities are part of the main personality. After seeing Sergei killed by her own son it seems that Soma has come out to take the lead in getting revenge. Losing her father figure was probably too much for the kind hearted Marie. Like many people somewhere she wanted revenge and Soma came out to achive that. But now it’s made things difficult with Allelujah who doesn’t want her fighting. Made a promise with Sergei to keep her out of fighting and yet now he is helpless to do anything. Lyle may be right in that he has to understand her feelings right now. Right now fighting with her may be all he can do. But also Allelujah has the responsibility to turn her from revenge. Doing this will only turn her into Andrei who killed to avenge his mother. Think this pair has the best chance of making it since they just have to deal with this. At least they are together with this problem rather than apart.

Saji x Louise – Another pairing that is centred on revenge. Louise is in a tougher position having been seeking revenge for years now. Ever since her family was killed by Nena life has not been the same. Think Saji is right in that she channelled her pain into hate and now her life is devoted to destroying Celestial Being. It has been a long road for these two dating back to the first season. Back then just seemed to represent people living in those kinds of times and now have become main characters. An important piece to their future is the growth of Saji. He started the series with his own hate that was somewhat weaker than Louise. The guy was also focused on what he had lost and how he didn’t want to be connected to the situation. Spent so much time being angry and ignoring what was going on that he played a part in the Kataron situation. Only recently has he focused on what he has to do now. Not the kind of person that will go and pull the trigger to kill others. But now he’s focused on what comes next and trying to help Louise. Even through all that’s happened they still have feelings for each other. The real issue is on Louise’s side since she has to deal with Saji being part of Celestial Being. What she hates and the one she loves are now aligned. The example of Andrei who was willing to kill his father for revenge has to be in her mind. Will she turn into Andrei and kill Saji or will she find another way? The next battle won’t solve everything for the two of them. This kind of struggle will go right to the end of the series. At most the next fight will let Saji see what Louise is like right now and maybe let him plant some doubts in Louise’s mind about what she is doing. These two have gone from a close pair to fighting on opposite sides. Think they have the potential to turn out alright since they have been through so much. Be just too sad for things to not work out.

Setsuna x Marina – Another pairing that has some history. Initial encounters early in the first season have slowly built something between these two. While Marina was in danger of being shot at the end of episode 18 I’m not that worried. If she dies it will be in a situation much closer to Setsuna. Since a death like that has a lesser impact if it happens far away. They are two people who want a peaceful world, but have been taking different routes to get there. Marina sings (badly) and Setsuna fights with his Gundam. Perhaps her greatest contribution is showing Setsuna that there is another way to live. Has made Setsuna hesitate on a few occasions, but also shows his difference from Bushido. With that wound contaminated by GN particles and the final battle looming its hard to say how Setsuna will fare. Do think it’s possible that he will retire from the battlefield and end up with Marina in some fashion. Personally not a pairing I’m that involved with. Just don’t like Marina that much for some reason and so don’t have as much to say about them.

Lyle x Anew – This is the most recent pairing to come into play. I didn’t expect Anew to be the love interest for Lyle when she first showed up. But suppose that they had to introduce someone new for that guy. Feldt just wouldn’t work since it was his brother that she cared about. Their relationship has progressed steadily and hit the high point with saying he loved her in front of the bridge crew. Since things are going so well it’s inevitable that something bad will happen. It was clear from her appearance that she is an Innovator. Now that in itself isn’t a bad thing since Tieria is just as much one. But the real issue is that they are using her to track CB and thus taking away any stealth the group had. But there are questions about what will happen when this is made fully public. Does the girl have a more Innovator like personality hidden? Since the show does love their multiple personalities, it is possible. If one came out and took control that would put yet another pair on opposite sides of the battlefield. Just the fact that she is a tracking device could make things tough for them. Hard to believe Lyle doesn’t at least suspect something. With the whole glowing eyes showing that there is something wrong. The future of these two is more uncertain with her being connected to the main enemies. Besides be a surprise if all the pairings ended happily.

At the end of the day there is potential for a positive conclusion and for tragedy. Just a question of how the writers want it all to work out. Personally wouldn’t mind the pairings turn out alright since there are some likable characters involved. Yet last season had some deaths of main characters. We’ve already had some deaths with Sergei getting killed by Andrei. But don’t think that will be the end of it all. So will continue to watch the series with interest and yet being aware of how things could go wrong.

Definitely great to have Gundam back once again. Though could keep distracted with other series for the interim it is a nice thing to see these units in action again. They really got things moving quickly this time with a lot of events happening. Probably one of the most impressive is Exia’s terminator look. It didn’t get to last very long, but definitely made for an exciting episode. Saji and Louise get important roles at the start moving from their bystander positions. Louise having some serious problems has joined the A-LAWS which is almost a secret police kind of entity. Saji on the other hand was found by Setsuna after being falsely accused of being part of an anti-federation group called Kataron. His future is certainly in question, but would appear to be aligned with Celestial Being.

This was definitely an excellent way to start off the season. Getting a ton of action from the start and finding out the situation of the world. If the series can keep this kind of feeling going it will be a good series. Likely in the coming episodes we will start gathering more people to join Celestial Being and find out more about the factions at work in the world. Lockon’s twin for better or worse is being brought into the group to replace his brother. Also have to deal with Allelujah being locked up in some prison.