I watched a lot of Gundam SEED Destiny over the past weekend and I was greatly impressed by the direction the show took over the course of the 48 episodes I have seen. Originally mirroring the original SEED with the covert team sent to steal new prototype Gundams, this time from ZAFT, and the slight change being true soldiers instead of civilians thrust into war.

Shinn Asuka is the main character, a coordinator who lost his family during the Earth Alliance attack on Orb. This fuels his hatred of Orb and his desire to fight. Additionally we have lots of Athrun and Kira and political intrigue.

After an attack by terrorist the Earth Alliance launches a war against PLANT and its own Earthnoids who refuse to join in. The Chairman of PLANT, who preaches peace throughout the series and a minimal use of force, offers aide to the people of Earth suffering under Earth Alliance rule. The interesting turn the show takes, while not shocking, is a welcome from pure bad guys of most shows.

Another interesting facet of the show is its use of “ghosts” of the past. Several characters from SEED return to play in the Destiny universe.

The fun but tiring aspect was the usage of Original Gundam mobile suits for the design of new suits in the SEED universe. From the ZAKUs and GOUFs of Zaft, the core fighter based Impulse Gundam and Dom-like suits of Lacus Clyne followers. Sullying the likes of those suits in a lesser Gundam series seems wrong. My other big dislike is footage recycling. There's only so many times I can see the same footage of Murasames or Astrays or Windams being blown up before I stop watching the battles.

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