Gundam 00--Holy crap!

Okay.  As a general rule, I don't worry too much about spoilers.  So I don't go out of my way to avoid reviews and synopsis that give away a lot.  I don't care if I know what happens.  It's the execution that interests me.  In grad school, my thesis concerned the development of legends in related but different societies--like the differences and similarities in Arthurian legend in Welsh, English, and French medieval sources.  So, after reading a hundred different versions of the same story, I don't worry too much when I know broad plot details.

So I can't say I avoided reading too much about Gundam 00.  I know the basic outline.  Fuel crisis.  Celestial Being.  "It's a GUNDAM!!!!"-y goodness.

I was saying just a couple of days ago that I may have looked at Gundam Wing a little differently had I initially seen in Post 9/11.

None of my pre-watching dabbling had prepared me for the pre-credit opening of the first episode.  "THIS IS A HOLY WAR."

Wow.

Gundam Wing's potential commentary on the nature of "freedom fighter" vs. "terrorist" was subtle, and drew from and alluded to many, many different real world examples.  Gundam 00?  It seems pretty obviously allegorical--oil crisis, war on terror.  That caught me by surprise--not the subject matter, but the unabashed overtness of it.  HERE.  IS.  OUR.  MAIN.  IDEA. 

This being anime in general, and Gundam in particular, I'll be surprised if things remain this clear-cut.  Wheels within wheels.

I've only watched the first episode, so I'll be sure to continue commenting.

I will say, though, modern allegory aside, they've got the "bad-ass Gundam intro" down solid.  It's interesting that the original mobile suit gundam was "Real Robot" rather than "Super Robot," and many of the sequel/spin-off/meta-series combine the two genres.