HouseTV: Giant Robot Advisory

I am a lover of many things. I love comics. I love TV in general, and specifically I love quirky shows and sci-fi. It should come as no surprise, then, that I am a fan of many an anime series. yes, that's "Japanese toons" for those who don't know or who don't want to be snooty about it.

Needless to say, I am more than thrilled anytime a new anime series not only appears but when said series comes stateside complete with english dubbing. I don't mind a well subbed series, but there is still something to a show you can watch without the burden of reading the dialogue. Not to mention since I don't actually speak Japanese, it's interesting to see what nuances an English script will bring to the table (for better or worse).

Which brings me to my current series du jour, a little ditty known as Mobile Suit Gundam: 00 (that's "double oh", just like the start of the James Bond numbering). The astute among you will note that the series is a Gundam series, but fear not. While it features the titular giant robot suits known as Gundam, it is not connected to the main series' continuity. Hence, any of you nervous about not being able to follow the series should rest easy.

That doesn't mean, however, that there isn't a lot going on. Truthfully, you almost need a scorecard to keep up with some of the lesser characters, especially when they pop in and out at will and may take several episodes off before appearing again. But that, to a certain degree, is part of the joy of the series. I've already seen all of season one myself, and what I can say about it is that for all of the many different secondary characters running around, not a single one is a waste of time. Whether you want to believe it or not, they are all connected or will eventually be connected in ways that you cannot possibly imagine. And Lockon Stratos will own your soul.

So if you happen to have the TV time free this Monday night, go ahead and check out Gundam 00. It begins airing as part of Sci-Fi Channel's Ani-Monday block (which has actually had its moments the past few months) at 11PM. I'll warn you that the series starts a bit slow, and there is a lot to keep up with. But since they're showing two episodes a week, that should help offset the learning curve. At the very least check out the intro, and God help them if they did something to the intro! It's one of the cooler themes I've seen in the past few years.