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The anime TV series aired on Japanese TV from 1986–1987, was the third Gundam series, and a direct followup to Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. Director Yoshiyuki Tomino returned to lead the series, and he assembled a new team consisting of character designer Hiroyuki Kitazume, who had been one of Zeta Gundam's animation directors, and mechanical designers Makoto Kobayashi, Yutaka Izubuchi and Mika Akitaka. The series was later aired by the anime satellite television network, Animax, across Japan and later its respective networks worldwide, including Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, South Asia, Latin America and other regions.
Overview Gundam ZZ was originally conceived of as a second season of Zeta Gundam, but it was ultimately decided that the show should feature an all-new cast. Nevertheless, its broadcast immediately followed that of Zeta Gundam and manages to tie up a major plotline from Zeta that was left unfinished. As part of Tomino's tendencies to follow up a tragedy with a comedy, this nominal sequel to Zeta Gundam struck a much lighter, often comical, tone, in contrast to its predecessor's brooding melodrama. For example, in the first episode, Captain Bright is reduced to defending the Argama from thrown oranges. The whimsical opening theme song Anime Ja Nai (It's Not Anime) reflected the campiness of the first half of the series. The second half of the series does return to a more serious tone while sporting a more somber opening theme song. It suffers a poor reputation among the serious-minded ranks of Gundam fandom, some even accuse Tomino of deliberately trying to sabotage the Gundam franchise. Also, main hero Judau Ashta is sometimes mentioned as one of the unpopular Gundam heroes. Despite this, it scored high ratings with the younger, more casual audiences. Story As the continuation of Zeta Gundam, this series once again follows the story of the Anti Earth Union Group (AEUG) battleship Argama after Zeta Out of the major Zeta Gundam characters, only recurring captain Bright Noa and Axis leader Haman Karn make more than cameo appearances in ZZ; Char Aznable's planned appearance was canceled when Tomino was given the go-ahead to do the movie. Yoshiyuki Tomino's original plan for the show which involved Char's return was neither revealed, nor does Tomino himself remember it. Openings and Endings Openings: Seiyu (Voice Actors) See also Preceded by (in timeline): Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam Followed by (in timeline): Variation models: Gundam ZZ Mobile Suit Variations (ZZ-MSV) | ||||||||
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