[Dr Kain]

Well I just finished watching Destiny and it is without a doubt one of the poorest Gundam series thus far. Now it isn't one of the worst anime series ever made, as it does have a lot of high production values that saves it, especially when it comes to the music (sans that horrid fourth opening song) and animation, but for every one thing this show does well, it does five things wrong. One of its biggest issues is Shin. He is by far the worst character to be found in this thing. He might as well be named Shin Clinton because he is allowed to get away with any and everything he does just because the writers couldn't think of anything else to do with him. He really could have used some Bright Slaps or Wong Style Curb Stomping to get the point across to him. However, he doesn't, so he spends the entire series acting like an self entitled little **** and does not have to be held accountable for his actions one bit. Then we have Rey, who could have been one of the best characters in the show, but they don't bother to do anything with him until the last three episodes of the show. More than half of the series should have been spent on developing him as Rau's clone and what sets him apart. Instead, we are just supposed to believe he suddenly changes in the last 3 minutes of the show.

Oh, and don't get me started on the Zechs rip-off that is Neo Roanoke. WTF? Mu had a huge sacrifice in the original series and then they just pissed all over it here by adding in this predictable plot twist and they couldn't even be bothered to have actually developed Neo. In fact, none of the Alliance guys were developed. Sting just disappears after Auel and Stella are dead, not that it matters since none of them held any significance to the show to begin with.

Then we have Kira and gang, who pretty much stole the last act of the show, but there wasn't anything new about them. Everything they did or believed in was the same stuff we already had in the last series. All this show did was repeat the same message to the point where it felt like it was being drilled into your head with a corkscrew. None of them were in any mortal danger at any time, which also took away from any sort of suspense there could have been.

Lastly, none of the other characters were all that interesting. Durandel was just another villain we have already had from these shows before but done better. Sadly though, he may be the best character in the show, but the last three episodes really ruined him. Gladys was just Ramius 2.0 who then had an out of character moment in the last few minutes of the show, which makes very little sense. In fact, her sudden change is even worse than Rey's. The blue haired guy from Orb was a really terrible character and it was fun to see him get his just desserts after Cagali returns. Speaking of Cagali, if you thought she was bad in Seed, she really cranks up the stupid here. Oh my god she is such a terrible character. Oh yeah, then there are the two Zaft sisters, which were useless. The worst part is how Lunamarie doesn't even seem to care that her sister was thought to be killed by Shin after like the first 30 seconds.

Now the mobile suits, sans the Not-Psycho Gundam and Not-Hyaku Shiki, were kind of cool. I did like the three the Extendeds used even though they never really did anything beyond their premier episode. The Strike Freedom's ability to use Funnels was pretty cool and a lot more interesting than just watching Kira flail lasers around in a circle from his first machine.

Another huge issue with the show is the amount of clip shows and flashbacks. Every episode had what seemed like 2-3 minutes worth of flashbacks. If I got paid every tie they showed the scene where Shin's sister needed a hand, I would be rich. Hell, even a quarter of freaking Final Plus was full of flashbacks and that episode was made because of how lackluster the original finale was. WHAT THE ****?! This show had 4 friggin clip shows in it and that was way too much considering how rushed the last three episodes were. This show is the very definitive of laziness. Sunrise clearly wanted to cash in on Seed's success, but instead of doing something new and unique, they just ripped off Zeta and their own predecessor to bring us one of the most generic, bland, and uninspiring Gundam series ever made. As such, there is no reason to watch this show unless you must watch every Gundam series in existence. If not, skip it and watch Zeta Gundam instead. This show is just over stuffed with characters that do nothing for several episodes and when they die we are supposed to care about them, but we don't because we barely even knew them.

UGH!! Well, I have now completed every Gundam series except for Victory, which I will watch when I get the BDs. YAY!!!!!