I'm sure Bandai has killed the YouTube version by now...
While episode 1 was indeed largely a "show off the new Gundams" episode, we also got a teeny, tiny bit of background. Apparently even in the 25th century (is it just me, or has non-war related technology seemingly not advanced very far?) killing people in the Middle East because they don't believe what you do still hasn't gone out of fashion. The mobile suit being shown off at the demonstration violated some sort of agreement apparently by being more powerful than was allowed. While it's true that there are two Gundams that are largely gun platforms, it appears that one of them is more of a sniper suit, while the other is a heavy assault mobile suit that can take down heavily armored targets. The power plants in the torsos of the Gundams are apparently as much of a mystery to the world at large as they are to us.
Episode 2 starts out with a little more background. Three major powers - Union in the Western Hemisphere; HRA in East Asia (including Russia); AEU in Europe. Japan is a "Special Economic Zone" in the Union, whatever that means. Ten years ago, the three powers apparently each finished work on an orbital elevator (one in each nation) that connects to a ring that goes around the world and provides solar power. The president of the Union mentions at one point that it's taken ten years to get things stablized, suggesting some sort of mass world-wide economic problems. The blond pilot who watched the Exia trash the mobile suit in the first episode turns out to be a Union ace (which I thought a bit odd, since he looked more like a European to me), and given his sudden obsession with Exia is probably either as evil as they come (which we'll learn eventually), or someone who will become a hero mid-series.
Speaking of Exia, its pilot appears to be the new Heero, with all the emotional depth of Wing's famous character. I'm just waiting for him to threaten to kill some hapless female civilian who accidentally sees him wandering around... The intro shows him with a female (I don't recognize her, but what I watched didn't have good quality there) who I'm guessing will be the one who breaks him out of his emotional shell.
From what's been said, it looks as if Celestial Being's goal is to get everyone so angry at CB that they quit fighting with each other in order to ally against CB. I'm sure an alternate goal that has a slightly better odds of protagonist survival will turn up mid-way through the series...
Also... Tamilese and Sinhalese have been fighting over Sri Lanka using only mobile suits? They don't use infantry anymore? Despite the apparent absurdity of that theory, that must be the case since the Gundams stopped all of the day's fighting by blowing up all of the mobile suits (along with a base belonging to the HRA unit that wasn't really helping to stop the fighting as the HRA claimed it was)!
/rolleyes
I have to admit that I am curious as to how a guy from 200 years earlier is leading CB... Either he was put on ice, cloned, or they've decided to use a dead guy as their "spokesman".
Will it get good?
Dunno.
But I'll stick around for a while.
junior
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- *More Spoilers* Episodes 1 and 2 was Re: [gundam] *SPOILER... Joseph Riggs
