Year in Review - 2025

 Once again we are on the cusp of a new year and its time to reflect on the world of anime and manga in 2025!!  Top of the pile is an alphabetical synopsis of the ones I watched with the ones I thought were the best held to the end in their order of greatness in my mind. 

    100 Girlfriends season 2

    Season 2 went off the rails in it's insanity and I think it lost me near the end...not sure if I will watch season 3.

    Aharen-san season 2

    Everyone always hates that romances end when the relationship starts.  A full season of this fun couple dating was well loved.

    Anyway I'm Falling in Love With You 

    The only thing interesting about this reverse harem is vague references to the Covid 19 pandemic...otherwise it was terrible with a subplot that could have been cool if explored better.

    The Apothecary Diaries season 2

    This season saw the revelation of a significant plot thats been in place from the start and paid off incredibly well.  Such an amazing story!!

    April Showers Bring May Flowers 

    While not the worst, ugly duckling romances are still painful to watch.  I still need to finish this though but its better than Honey Lemon Soda by a long shot.

    Bad Girl 

     An off kilter comedy that also acts as a yuri with a lot of weirdness.  Funny but not memorable.

    Blue Box

    The second part of the first season didn't make it any more enjoyable...its really been a let down and an unneeded waste of time. 

    Can a Boy-Girl Relationship Survive

     An atypical high school romance that is as good as it is bad and ends in a rather unsatisfying manner.

    Chitose is in the Ramune Bottle

    A weird romance slash self help tutorial that feels more like a spite move against popular kids by the original author.  Kinda hated it. 

    Detectives These Days are Crazy

    A crazed gag comedy adaption that did a pretty solid job of expressing compartmentalized insanity into a long form episode.  Not for everyone but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

    Every Day Host 

    A short form gag comedy about a bunch of weirdo's in a host club.  No How I Attended an All Guy's Mixer but it was cute. 

    Flower and Asura

    This slice of life drama didn't tell the most engaging story and the last arc got a bit weird and over dramatic, but it was a refreshingly unique story premise among the repetitive season fare. 

    The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity 

    Sadly I only watched a few episodes but this may be one of the most satisfying romances of the year?  Great characters, interesting interactions and great artwork. 

    Gintama: Mr. Ginpatchi's Zany Class

    Sadly the return of Gintama as his high school teacher alter ego struggles to remain consistently funny or relevant. 

     Gyagu Manga Biyori Go    

    I actually forgot about the return of the king of gag comedy, it happened so fast.  But it was a welcomed return. 

    Honey Lemon Soda

    A lot of hype was put into this one and I hated almost everything about it...including the obsession with urine colored things.

    I Got Married to the Girl I Hate the Most in Class

    An initially stupid catalyst for the story that turned out to be fun based purely on the two main characters personalities and interactions.  Everything else around them was terrible. 

    I Have a Crush at Work

    There is always room for adult romances and this mildly spicy work place romance didn't  cause any issues.  It isn't amazing but its good.

    I Saved Myself with a Potion 

    I don't do isekai.  Its limited animation.  The protagonist exists in a bubble of naivety that goes unpunished.  But it was really cute and fun regardless! 

    Kowloon Generic Romance

    A spicy sci-fi mystery romance that feathers some incredibly beautiful, if unnaturally drawn characters. 

    Lazarus

    The lauded return of Watanabe Shinichiro (Cowboy Bebop).  The series was repetitive and hollow.  I hated it. 

    Lets Play 

    An anime based on an  American made webtoon about an awkward girl trying to find joy in her past time while navigating awkward romance and pressures.  I didn't hate it but I didn't like many aspects of it.

    A Mangaka's Weirdly Wonderful Workplace

    An all female cast set in an industry setting that actually isn't about them being moe.  I only got half way so far but apparently it gets a bit yuri eventually.  Wasn't bad at all. 

    Medaka Kuroiwa s Impervious to my Charms

    Ecchi for the sake of ecchi done right.  This series was dumb and humorous and outrageous.  It did the assignment quite well.

    Mobile Suit Gundam: GQuuuuX 

    A short series telling a what if style story with the original series that triggered me to watch a lot of Gundam in the second half of the year.

    My Awkward Senpai 

    An OK workplace comedy/romance that feels like a follow up to Toradora is Yuji and Taiga didn't hook up at the end. 

    My Happy Marriage season 2

    While it was lacking in the first season, some of the background machinations came into play in this one making for a more cohesive narrative.  I still dislike the heavy supernatural combat leanings. 

    My Hero Academia Vigilantes

    I will never watch My Hero Academia...but Vigilantes was incredibly fun and reminded me of mid 90's comic books. 

    Okitsura: Fell in Love with an Okinawan Girl, but I Just Wish I Knew What She's Saying

    A fun romantic comedy that works really hard to showcase Okinawan culture.  And doesn't do too bad at either aspect.

    Orb on the Movements of the Earth season 2

    Orb could be considered a modern classic for the ages in line with the respect that Monster and Legend of the Galactic Heroes garners.

    Ranma 1/2 season 2 

    The second season ramped up the awesome in this well needed remake.

    Rent a Girlfriend season 4 

    It was a severe struggle to get through this terrible and pointless section of the story, especially after the strong ending of season 3...terrible.

    Sakamoto Days season 2

    At first it made up for season 1 but kicking up the pace and being interesting and then it shit the bed with an exam arc.

     Shoshimin season 2

     The first season was a bit of a struggle in getting the audience to care but this season took all of the painstaking groundwork and delivered with high quality sleuthing.

    Solo Camping for Two 

    Part iyashikei, part tutorial, part romance?  Strange bed fellows indeed.  Bro...you were in high school when she was born too!!!

    Spy Family season 3 

    More shenanigans and fun until we get a really well executed look at the past that shaped Twilight/Loid Forger.  This would have worked as a hard drama as well, but we love the light hearted comedy book ended by merciless blood letting. 

    A Star Brighter then the Sun 

    A fun shojo romance where the main character isn't a petite flower. The characters lean more into the realistic side than not. 

    Sword of the Demon Hunter 

    A super natural historical action story that tells an interesting tale of cursed hatred and regret.  Kinda lacks a lot of the garbage trappings found in shonen titles. 

    The Summer Hikaru Died 

    An interesting mystery around whispered secrets of semi-rural Japan and the price friends pay for those old rituals. 

    Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School

    A really fun comedy that reposition yokai into stupidity...but then it gets slightly resist in one episode. 

    To Be Hero X 

    A Chinese Japanese joint that tries to reposition super heroes into a darker grittier aspect...but we already have The Boys and  The Watchmen and Rising Stars...to name a few.  It suffered from a lot of things and wasn't very enjoyable for me.

    To Your Eternity season 3 

    The modern arc of the long sprawling fantasy epic about discovering the meaning of existence and consciousness.

    Touring After the Apocalypse

    A fun sci-fi action vehicle disguised as an iyashikei.

    Ubel Blatt 

    A terrible adaptation of a pointlessly visceral fantasy series that tried to Berzerk but failed to be cohesive or interesting enough.

    Watari-kuns **** is About to Collapse

    I still don't understand what point this series was trying to make.  It was bad and suffered from an identity crisis.

     Welcome to Japan Ms Elf

    A reverse isekai that was sweet and loving even though it had the ability to become perverted and exploitative at so many points.

    Witch Watch 

    A goofy super natural comedy that seemed like it should have ended sooner but kept delivering and being amusing.

    Yano-kuns Ordinary Days 

    A reverse ugly duckling romance where a normal girl falls for the awkward guy largely based on her motherly instincts.  No where near as awesome as Shikimori Isn't Just a Cutie but good enough to pass the time. 

     Zatsu Tabi

    A less effective cute girls going on tips iyashikei.  It largely fell flat when compared to the amazing mono...see below. 

 

Without further ado, my top 10 favorite anime from 2025!!

 

    Honorable Mention: Gnosia 

    Based on the social deduction game of the same name, this is essentially Among Us the anime, with a realistically repetitive episode structure.  What makes it so interesting is the amazing character design and the creative world building.  Highly recommend just for the spectacle of it.

    #10 With You and the Rain 

    I will admit it was carried by the amazing voice work of  Hayami Saori but this was a very relaxing and lovable slice of life series about companionship and loneliness.

    #9 mono

    Set in the same universe as Laid Back Camp this takes the same concept of cute girls camping and exploring and injects a lot of zany comedy and personality.  I loved this...maybe more than Laid Back Camp?

    #8 A Ninja and an Assassin

    An all female cast with a lot of yuri action and turns left and right...black humor done well with a lot of ridiculous dialog tossed in for safe measure. 

    #7 Zenshu 

    An absolutely gorgeous love letter to anime as a medium.   This original creation heavily emphasis the importance for companies to allow space for them to exist.

    #6 See You at the Food-court 

    An unexpectedly loved story about two teenagers being teenagers in their own company.  Sadly it was only 6 episodes long.  I could have gone on watching them be themselves so much longer. 

    #5 Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus 

    The second TV series for this amazing light novel series...taking us into the final arc with a pending final movie.  One of the greatest of all time in my mind. 

    #4 My Dress Up Darling season 2 

    Season one was amazing, if uncomfortable at points.  This season got rid of all that and jacked up the love and tenderness.  I can't wait for season 3!!

    #3 Apocalypse Hotel

     Who could have expected so much love would go into a tale of abandoned robots endlessly maintaining an empty luxury hotel?  Heavy on the comedy, laced with fun sci-fi aspects, this was a very fun journey that got a little emotional at the end.

    #2 Dan Da Dan season 2 

    Season 1 exceeded all of my expectations.  Season 2 knocked them out of the park with a keen eye towards timing and presentation.  Even the final frame of the final episode made me more hyped for the next season than any preview can right now.  I WANT MORE!!!  But in the fantastic vision brought to use by Science Saru.

    #1 City the Animation 

    The spiritual successor to one of the greatest anime of all time, Nichijou, by the same author and same anime production company.  Every second and millimeter of this adaption is nothing but love for their process and the manga.   The manga is fun but the animation and direction elevates it to something rarely seen in the industry.  This is a benchmark anime that will not see the level of praise it rightfully deserves.

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn

 Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn (機動戦士ガンダムUC) is a 7 episode direct to video adaptation of the novel series of the same name by Fukui Harutoshi.  The OAV's were released between 2010 and 2014.

    Banagher Links learns his absent father is a member of one of humanities most powerful families at the moment of his fathers death.  His father,  Cardeas Vist, is part of the fourth generation of the Vist Foundation, a secretive group that has attained vast wealth and power due to controlling an item called Laplaces Box.  What the box is, is unknown outside of Vist but the Earth Federation understands that if its secrets were revealed it could spell the end of their control of the Earth sphere.  Banagher became involved in a rapidly moving conspiracy to unseal the Box the moment he saved a girl from certain death in the colony he attended school.  The girl, going by the name Aubry Burne, asks him to take her to the Vist Foundation.  In reality she is the final member of the Zabi familly, Mineva, who has secretly come to the Industrial 7 colony in order to prevent another war from breaking out between Earth and Spacenoids.  A group of Neo Zeon known as the Sleeves have come to the colony to attain the Box from Cardeas.  Minevah fears this will lead to another conflict instead of ensuring her peoples true sovereignty.

    As the Sleeves representatives meet with Cardeas, Earth Federations Zeon remnant hunting military faction, Lando Bell, attempts to intercept them before the Box can be given to them.  The intervention leads to battle breaking out inside the colony.  The attack leads to Cardeas being grievously wounded with Banagher arriving to save Minevah/Aubry only for Cardeas to reveal that he is his father as he assigns the foundations secretive new Gundam to his son.  He tells him that the Gundam Unicorn is the key to understanding Laplaces Box and unlocking its secret.  Consumed by rage, fear and grief, Banagher pilots the Gundam, lead by instinct and a growing latent power of a Newtype.  He fends off the Sleeves units only to be overcome by the strain of combat, passing out in the cockpit, with Londo Bell securing the suit, concerned over the appearance of a new Gundam unit.

     Under the control of Londo Bell, Banagher is urged to follow the clues linked to the Box with the Unicorn Gundam.  The Sleeves are in hot pursuit, lead by the mysterious replacement of Char Aznable, Full Frontal.  As Banagher unlocks the first secret in the ruins of the Laplace Colony, the site of a terrorist attack at the dawn of the Universal Century, both sides end up being pulled into Earths gravity well in the fight.  Banagher and his Gundam end up being stranded with one of the Sleeves ships, the Garancieres and made more a compatriot than a prisoner as they struggle to get back into space.  Neo Zeon reaches out to its disparate forces who have been stranded on Earth since the One Year War to run distraction for the downed ship.  These remnant forces mobilize and begin to attack a major Federation city, trying to draw all to attention tot them.  Fearing the consequences of the Box falling into Neo Zeon's hands, Banaghers aunt, Martha, begins to use her families leverage to force the Earth Federation into drastic action.  Instead of fleeing from the war zone, Banagher and the crew of the Garancieres find themselves in the middle of the conflict.  He is confronted by a clone of the cyber-newtype Elpeo Ple named Marida Cruz.  She was captured from the Sleeves and reprogrammed to be subservient to the Vist family.

    Being defeated by Marida, Banagher is once again in the custody of Londo Bell as they head to the final clue for Laplaces Box.   Still the head of the faction, Bright Noa realizes that command, being manipulated by Vist, doesn't exactly have the best interests in mind.  Through a background channel he ends up coordinating a temporary partnership between Londo Bell and the Sleeves, leading to both parties occupying the same ship for the journey back to the beginning, at Industrial 7.  Tensions flare and the Sleeves are forcibly removed from the ship as the chase begins to capture the Box.  Minevah and Banagher find themselves int he company of his great grandfather who unveils the fiercely guarded secret, one his aunt is willing to destroy the entire colony to protect.  Will the truth, revealed to humanity, truly bring down the Federation or will it only stir more continued stagnation and conflict?

 

    This story started out strong, if a few of the details seemed odd...like the existence of a powerful ans secretive world power that holds the fate of everything in their hands...and we never heard anything about them in the 20+ years following the One Year War.  It was great to see the continuation of both Minevah and Brights role within the Universal Century.  But it fell very short of delivering anything meaningful with the inclusion of Full Frontal.  He served very little purpose to the actual plot or tension of the story.  His final appearance was a waste of time with Banaghers real foe being his family and the heir an Earth political family, Riddhe.  AS with every damn Gundam, a broken love triangle appears between Minevah, Banagher and Riddhe, that drives Riddhe to insanity and rashness.  He's the final boss that Banagher has to over come before he can claim victory.

 

    By this point I have watched a lot of Gundam and have been getting tired of a lot of the repetitive themes in the franchise, Unicorn is not immune to any of these complaints.  The back end of it leans hard into the typical Newtype woo-woo garbage that's become a driving force of the narrative of every story.  Building off of the Newtype woo-woo ending of Char's Counterattack, where Amuro and Char turn into energy goo, Unicorn pushes that further in which Banagher almost becomes what is termed a perfect Newtype...merging with the Gundam.  Instead we leaves that concept in place to realize in the follow up, Gundam Narrative.  For all the things I hated in the way it concluded, I still enjoyed this story.  It had many likable characters and fantastic animation.  It leaned too much into posing the mobile suits for my taste, but I understand the real point now is to sell the model kits. 

The series is available in both sub and dub on Hulu.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack

 Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack (機動戦士ガンダム 逆襲のシャア) is a theatrical movie set in the main story line of the Gundam franchise.  Directed by series creator Tomino Yoshiyuki, the movie was originally released in 1988.

    In the year 0093,  the Neo Zeon forces have rallied around Char Asnable following the death of Haman Kahn during the events of Double Zeta.  The Earth Federation has created a special Zeon hunting division called Londo Bell, which includes the expertise of both Amuro Ray and Bright Noa.  After they fail to stop Char's plan to drop an asteroid on Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, the Federation sets up a secret meeting with officials from Neo Zeon to forge a peace treaty.  Federation Vice Minister Adenauer Paraya ends up being transported to the meeting on Londo Bell's flag ship, the Ra Cailum.  By pure chance Brights son, Hathaway ended up on their shuttle flight and follows them onto the Londo Bell ship.  On the ship Amuro is preparing a brand new mobile suit, the Nu Gundam, developed using psychoframe technology.

    At the secret meeting, Neo Zeon pledges to relinquish their weaponry in exchange for the ability to purchase the derelict remains of the Axis asteroid.  Their true intent is to fake the disarmamement and use the Federations forces distraction as a way to drop Axis onto Earth, triggering explosions for hidden nuclear warheads, hoping to make the planet uninhabitable for humans.  Quess, in a spat of rebeliousnes, runs away and willingly joing Neo Zeon, under the watch of Char.  He senses in her a strong Newtype potential, perhaps rivaling Lalah Sune's abilities.  As the final conflict begins, with the betrayal at the disarmament, Bright and the forces of Longo Bell jump into action.  What starts as an attempt to secure victory for Zeon and spacenoids turns into a continuation of the deeply personal conflict between Char and Amuro.  Amuro, representing benevolence, shows great empathy for those around him, wishing to protect them.  Char on the other hand, representing malevolence, uses those around him as tools, with little regard for their safety and continued existence.  How much of an impact will their final battle have on the future of humanity on Earth and in space?

    The first original theatrical release for the franchise as it approached its 10 year anniversary pulls out all of the stops to cap off the core story as it looks to move into the future of the Universal Century.   The story doesn't waste any time in its just shy of two hour run time getting to the meat of the story.  Unfortunately it does a really bad job of filling in the gaps of what happened in the five year gap following the conclusion of Double Zeta.  How did Char go from the benevolent hero of AUEG to taking on the leadership role of Neo Zeon and shift from being tolerant of Amuro to plotting the extinction of humanity on Earth for revenge on him killing Lallah?  They barely explain the formation and purpose of Londo Bell...like barely.  It would take a few years and the release of Stardust Memories to explain the gap in time between OG and Zeta and also fill in a few bits of information needed in Chars Counterattack.  As we approach the 30 year mark since this movie first came out it feels like we will never get the same story spun up to fill in the gap between this and Double Zeta.  There was a novel written by Tomino called Beltorchika's Children that apparently fills in some of those gaps...but we need an anime project!!

    This is pure gas, sprinkling in barely enough context in-between and during the combat to make it make sense.  Its pace is frantic and sometimes confusing.  Some of the characters decisions conflict with the way they acted earlier...and some of the characters are questionable in general.  Quess is incredibly easy to hate and her ridiculously juvenile decisions are almost laughable.  Whats even more perplexing is how all the adults around her, on the Zeon side, are like...lets go!!!!!!  Someone really should have contacted child protection services.  Hathaway was more reasonable as a young teenager but Quess....terrible, just terrible and unbelievable.  To this pint still, the only reasonable and likeable character really is Bright.  Amuro is too deep into his hatred of Char and its confounding how all the women throw themselves at him consistently.  Char's Counterattack greatly fails the Bechdel test.  But it does a good job of closing this chapter of the Universal Century even if it once again leans heavily into the mystical aspects of being a newtype.  Gundam really needs to shrug off the space wizard crap.

Char's Counterattack is currently available on Crunchyroll. 

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.

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam

 Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (機動戦士Ζガンダム) is a 50 episode continuation of the original Mobile Suit Gundam series.  It originally aired on TV in 1985 and 1986.

     Set in UC 0087, after the events of Operation Stardust, the Earth Federation has become a bit more authoritarian in it's governance.  Zeon is but a distant memory of the scattered veterans of the One Year War but a new threat arises from. the ashes.  A group called AEUG has been stirring trouble across the colonies, inviting acts of terrorism against the Federation.  A new paramilitary arm of the Federation known as the Titans is aimed at crushing the terrorist anywhere they can.  When AEUG attacks a Titan stronghold to capture their new Gundam units a rebellious teenage boy named Kamille becomes enmeshed in their plans.  A ploy designed to trick the boy and AEUG into returning the stolen Gundams while wiping them out at the same time fails as their treachery unravels and Kamilles parents die as a result.  Finding himself an orphan with a burning vendetta against the Titans he chooses to remain with the terrorists as they enact their next plan back on Earth.

    A strange set of circumstances brings some of the members of the legendary White Base to work hand in hand with their greatest rival during the One Year War.  Char Aznabel fled into the depths of space after his defeat, along with the remnants of the Zeon army.   With all of the Zavi adults dead, the last hope of their lineage rule is thrust upon the infant Mineva.  Loyalists to the Zavi family and the ideology of Zeon bide their time in the shadows.  For unknown reasons Char has assumed an alias and has been working as a member of AEUG, intent on righting the wrongs of the tyrannical Titans and carve out a place of people who live in space to have their freedoms.  The Titan's seize overwhelming power in the Federation an begina brutal campaign of repression, all while trying to destroy AEUG, with Kamille and his unnatural piloting skills a main target.  He, Char and the rest of the crew aboard the Argama find themselves at the center of the conflict and shifting alliances.  When things seem to be going there way the remnants of Zeon make their presence known and through the chaotic battlefront into a dangerous direction.

      The direct sequel to the original Mobile Sit Gundam, Zeta Gundam is a drastically better product in every way.  Sure it has 6 years of financing and residuals to lean into from the original and its theatrical remakes and the growing Gunpla market.  But its also devoid of a lot of the meddling of the originals toy sponsor Clover...which went out of business in 1983.  Unfortunately Zeta, like so many Gundam stories are trapped in regurgitating the outline of the original series.  Kamille is a wholly unlikable protagonist.  Though he does mature over the course of his struggle and is a more rational Newtype than Amuro was.  The story over all is much darker than the original, or even many other later Gundams.  This is a story aimed at the massive adult/teenage fan base that sprung up around the originals repeats and movies.  Zeta is bleak at almost every turn.  Almost all of the characters are deeply broken individuals who grimly go along with the business of murder for ideals.

    Its taken me 30+ years of anime fandom to really crack into the original Gundam story and for a while now my favorite Gundam has been Thunderbolt, but Zeta really made an impression on me.  I will get back to finishing/re-watching Thunderbolt as I make my way through the timeline.  I have focused on the main story lines for the most part and while swing back to the side stories once I watch Hathaway.  But Zeta really struck a chord with me, especially the back half of the story.  Bright Noah may be anime's most patient character...  I write this as I crack into Gundam ZZ...and boy howdy, Bright is a saint.  After this bonanza of Gundam consumption I will have to put together an over all through and tier list of the shows.  But something tells me Zeta is going to be high on the list.  If thats the case, the franchise might have blown most of its load with this story early on.  The plot is dense and intense and just keeps going, I got annoyed with how long it was, but I can't think of a way to shorten the story up and be as impactful.,  At some point I'll have to watch the 3 compilation movies to see if they did it justice.

The series is currently available on Crunchyroll.