Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam

If you are a fan of any facet of the Gundam universe, this series is for you. If you like animation, then this series is for you. If you like good stories, this series is for you. Zeta Gundam is the dark, powerful, emotional, and completely enjoyable follow up to the original 1979 Mobile Suit Gundam TV series. Like it's predecessor, the show orbits around conflict between space colonies and the earth that bore them, the politics of war, and the struggles of a young man growing up in hazardous times. Unlike it's predecessor, it is a much darker, more violent and serious show.

Zeta is not the most innovative shows around, but it is certainly one of the most powerful. Some of the scenes are heartbreaking, others are uplifting, but the 'good guys' certainly have a dark cloud hanging over them the whole time. The animation is very 80s, not a bad thing, but it is pretty dated. Still, for it's time, many of the mobile suit battles come across as exciting and dynamic (more so than most of the new series), and the characters are all distinct, so there's no mixing them up because they all look so similar as in many other animes. The plot is top-notch, and will keep you interested--but not at the edge of your set--through the entire series. The last six episodes are some of the best in Gundam as a whole.

Recommended to pretty much everyone, but especially Gundam fans; Zeta Gundam may be the series finest installment.