Zeta Gundam Volume 10

Here we are.  The final five episodes of Zeta.  To answer my question from last time, I think this volume makes up for some of the damage caused by the last batch of episodes, but it can't fully erase their stink. 

Here's the long and the short of it - each faction in the war hatches some sort of plan to turn the tide in their favor.  Scirocco tries to take out the Titans' leadership, Axis Zeon tries to play everyone against each other, and the AEUG take control of the giant colony laser (without much thought as to any hypocrisy this might entail).  Each side succeeds in their plan, but that doesn't mean everyone's a winner.  The Titans are wiped out, the AEUG win the battle, and Zeon sets itself up to dominate the rest of the war.  Yes, the good guys don't really win at the end of Zeta Gundam.  The best you can say is that they eliminate the "Gryps" part of the "Gryps conflict" by eliminating the Titans, but in relation to the war at large, Zeta's ending is merely a turning point that sets the stage for its successor ZZ Gundam.  On its own merits, I don't think this is a disappointing way to end the show, but I do feel disappointed, knowing that ZZ will never see the light of day in the U.S.  I won't hold that against Zeta, but damn Bandai, why did you have to leave us hanging like that?

I'd be remiss if I failed to mention that Volume 10 kills off a significant number of cast members in astonishingly little time.  Considering that this is a Tomino show, I wasn't shocked at the fact of these deaths.  What bothered me is that they have very little weight behind them.  Because the second half of the show wasted so much time, none of the pilot rivalries are given any time to grow, meaning none of the showdowns within these episodes carry any sort of weight.  Furthermore, the uneven pacing of the plot meant that characters would often vanish for several episodes at a time, only to return out of the blue, as if the writers felt like they quite literally had to cram in an appearance to justify their existence.  It leads to a lot of wasted potential to say the least.  The best example of this is Yazan, who manages to kill more main AEUG pilots than anyone, despite not being an newtype.  The idea of this normal pilot winning through sheer skill is intriguing, but he shows up in this volume after a long period of absence, for no other reason other than to have one very successful sortie.  Yazan got some solid character development earlier in the show, but the way in which he returns to cut a path through the AEUG makes his success (and the deaths of his targets) feel cheap.

Ultimately, Zeta Gundam's biggest problem is that it was never meant to wrap up the story it began.  Emotionally and narratively, it doesn't wrap up cleanly because it really can't.  That being said, there was a way to say farewell to most of its cast with a little more respect, and it'd have been nice if the final battle between Kamille and Scirocco actually meant something.  I understand the idea of a sci-fi show that treats death and destruction realistically, but to be honest, Gundam isn't that show.  Main characters are spared in grim situations, and ace pilots are usually given all the time they need for their rivalry to simmer.  Zeta switches up the rules in an unexpected and inconsistent manner. The result is a show that lacks any of the punch it should have, which makes it all the more frustrating when it chooses to waste more and more time with inconsequential topics.

Zeta Gundam is a stunningly well animated show, and it does much to expand the world of the Universal Century in ways which its predecessor never could.  I understand how it became so influential, but for anyone simply looking for good storytelling (with giant robots), I don't think I can recommend it as essential viewing.  And that's a damn shame in my eyes.