Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ

 Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (機動戦士ガンダムΖΖ) Is a 47 episode continuation of the Universal Century timeline of the franchise and a direct sequel to Zeta Gundam.  The series originally aired In the Spring of 1986 and the Winter of 1987.

    Directly following the events of Zeta Gundam, Bright and the crew of the Argama head to Side One to try and get Kamille medical attention due to his mental breakdown.  The ship is also in desperate need of repairs as well following the final conflict with the Titans and Axis Zeon.  Axis, rebranding its self as Neo Zeon, sends agents to the colony to attack them and in a moment of desperation Noah enlists a scrappy group of kids who initially tried to steal the Zeta Gundam to sell for parts.  Instead one member of the group, Judau, shows strong newtype potential and begins to pilot the the Gundam, helping them escape.  After establishing contact with the La Vie en Rose, they receive upgrades that allow them to modify the Zeta into the ZZ Gundam, including multiple core fighters docking together.  The Argama is directed to attack Axis with a new prototype ship cannon which devastates the base.  In the confrontation Judau encounters a strange girl named Ple who appears to be another subject of Murasume labs artificial newtype project.

    Unknown to the crew of the Argama, Neo Zeon is plotting a take over of the Federation through coercion and false cooperation.  This is being done under the guise of the last surviving Zavi, Minevah, through her regent Haman Kahn.  The crew of the Argama foils her plans and Haman retaliates by dropping a colony on Dublin.  To end it once and for all AUEG heads back into space, planning to take down Neo Zeon from inside their stronghold.  Dissatisfaction with its subjects comes to a boil and in the chaos the final show down commences with personal grievances clouding everyone's judgment.  If Haman is killed will that really put an end to the ambitions of those trying to revive the shadow of the Zabi?

    This series was a stark contrast, in the beginning to the darkness of Zeta.  It took on a very cartoonish tone that appeared to revert back to a childish target audience of the first series.  At the half way point some brutality and intense mental anguish begins to seep in but too many of the story threads and characters were terribly designed.  Up to this point Gundam as a whole has had a problem with regurgitating plot lines.  Double Zeta does what it name suggests doubles up on repeating many of the plot based character interactions we saw in Zeta...which its self had a hard time not copying aspects of the original Gundam.

    I really disliked this series and felt it was a huge waste of my time.  Many of the characterizations treated the viewer as an idiot.  Chara Soon in particular destroys a lot of Gundam's efforts to not tie its self to current times by taking on a completely 80's sense of fashion.  She also has the most boggling personality traits...  Then the introduction of Ple...which feels like little more than an attempt to explore Four Murasume in greater depth, but only becomes a weird parasite attaching its self to Judau.  Then they do it again with a clone...and then theres some concept that Ple is also responsible for Chara's change in personality at the end of the series?  I was a huge mess and did a disservice to the franchise that had shifted into an interesting angle with the previous series.  I really hated this story and its characters... 

Gundam ZZ is available currently on Crunchyroll.