Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny HD Remaster – Review

• Title (English): Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny HD Remaster
• Title (Japanese): 機動戦士ガンダムSEED DESTINY HDリマスター (Kidō Senshi Gundam SEED Destiny HD Remaster)
• Year: 2013-2014 (originally 2004-2005)
• Studio: Sunrise
• No. of Episodes: 50
• Streaming: Crunchyroll, Netflix, and YouTube

Gundam‘s Alternate Universe series are typically a one and done deal. They run for one series and the franchise then moves on to the next major installment. Mobile Suit Gundam SEED is the first and currently the only one to break the mold, receiving a direct sequel in the form of the franchise’s tenth mainline installment, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny. The business behind the decision makes perfect sense. SEED was a big hit in Japan. Of course, Sunrise would want to capitalize on its success. It’s the creative side of things that needs more justification as SEED ended very conclusively. While I don’t deny that Destiny has some bright spots, it unfortunately ends up being an unnecessary follow-up and a very dumb show in its own right.

SEED Destiny takes place two years after the original series. Following a supposed terrorist attack on Earth, tensions are renewed between the Earth Alliance, comprised of regular humans called Naturals, and the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty (ZAFT), comprised of genetically enhanced humans known as Coordinators. ZAFT’s new Supreme Chairman, Gilbert Durandal (Shūichi Ikeda), organizes a defensive effort against the Alliance’s aggressive campaign, while also manipulating the public in developing a favorable opinion towards ZAFT. Much of Destiny‘s narrative centers around Shinn Asuka (Kenichi Suzumura), a Mobile Suit pilot assigned to ZAFT’s new flagship, the Minerva. Accompanying him are his two best friends and fellow pilots, Rey Za Burrel (Toshihiko Seki) and Lunamaria “Luna” Hawke (Maaya Sakamoto). The Minerva’s primary opponent is an Alliance unit known as Phantom Pain, led by Neo Roanoke (Takehito Koyasu).

All four of SEED‘s original main characters return in major roles. Cagalli (Naomi Shindō) finds herself struggling to take leadership of her home country, Orb, as corrupt politicians take over and decide to join the Alliance, thereby going against the nation’s long held neutrality. Despite his relationship with Cagalli and ties to Orb, Athrun decides to rejoin ZAFT, aiding the Minerva as an elite agent and serving as a mentor to Shinn. Kira (Sōichirō Hoshi) and Lacus (Rie Tanaka) initially stay out of the war, wanting to live their lives in peace, but they eventually get pulled back in after an assassination attempt is made on Lacus. The couple then gathers their allies to reform the Archangel crew and join the fight as a neutral party.

The cracks in Destiny‘s narrative is made apparent right from the start. A fundamental issue is that the original SEED did not leave much room for a sequel. It ended quite conclusively with Lacus’ alliance defeating both the Alliance and ZAFT, leaving no cliffhanger or loose end to follow. While there possibly is a new direction to take, Destiny ultimately settles on simply having the war start all over again. The show tries to contrast the second war from the fist one in a couple of ways. Rather than have ZAFT fight an Alliance on the defensive again, it’s the other way around in Destiny. Since the Alliance’s corruption was made apparent by the end of SEED, Destiny wastes no time in revealing that they’re just as bad as they always were. Durandal offers fresh angle to the conflict by manipulating the discourse surrounding the war to get people on his side, as opposed to simply ordering soldiers around like previous SEED villains did. That all said, it feels like Destiny is treading water by having the two major factions in the plot killing each other again. And even with all the shake-ups, the show fundamentally follows the same structure as its predecessor, often repeating similar story beats.

Another fundamental issue to the narrative is that the setup is just plain dumb. Despite a lot of people dying in the previous war, both the Alliance and ZAFT are somehow back at full strength in the span of just two years. I can accept that there are still racial tensions between Naturals and Coordinators but then, Destiny proceeds to reveal that the people in charge of the Alliance are also motivated by profit. It’s not unrealistic but it’s cliche and it dumbs down the conflict between the two subspecies. Most baffling of all is Orb choosing to join the Alliance, despite the nation refusing to do so in the original SEED. The change of hands in Orb’s leadership somewhat justifies it but it’s a massive excuse to avoid repeating Orb’s role in the first war and the show fails to do anything interesting with that change. It ultimately shrugs and says the new leaders just want power and money.

Not all is entirely lost with the story, however. Be it the Mobile Suit duels or the grand spaceship battles, the action in Destiny seldom disappoints and it adds some much needed entertainment to the otherwise clumsy scripts. The set pieces alone feel grand and a lot of the Mobile Suits, particularly the ones used by the main cast, are downright cool. There are also a couple of moments that surprisingly managed to get an emotional reaction out of me. In particular, there’s a scene towards the beginning and at the very end that are incredible on paper and made even more evocative by the direction and the use of an insert song titled “Fields of Hope”, which is easily now my favorite insert song across both Cosmic Era series.

Out of Destiny‘s main characters, Shinn is easily worst one in the bunch. When he’s first introduced, it seemed like Shinn would be a great addition to the cast. He’s a boy who hailed from Orb and joined ZAFT after the Alliance attacked his home country and his family got killed in the crossfire. It’s a solid backstory for a character arc to be built upon. It also sets Shinn apart from Kira. Whereas Kira wanted to stay out of the war and had no combat experience when he joins, Shinn already has some training under his belt and he’s more than willing to do his part as a soldier. Shinn can be annoying in the first couple of arcs as he’s very rude and whiny to just about everyone aside from Rey and Luna. That said, the show manages to convey that he still has a good heart and the character does have some valid grievances, particularly when it comes to Orb’s leadership being woefully incompetent and/or evil. I also figured that things would change for Shinn as the series progresses and he eventually learns to control his rage with Athrun’s guidance.

Unfortunately, Destiny fumbles hard with Shinn’s character. For whatever reason, the show gradually shifts him more into the main rival role and hands main protagonist status back to Kira. And to make Shinn the rival, it leans fully into his worst traits. The guy gets increasingly angry and impulsive and every time you think he’s finally getting some sense knocked into him, he continues to make the worst decision. He becomes so antagonistic that it’s almost impossible to root for him. By the time, his redemption arc starts, the show ends. Destiny tries to justify this shift by giving Shinn a tragic romance but that falls flat on its face due to weak chemistry between him and his love interest and the tragic outcome being brought up by Shinn’s own stupidity (which he of course fails to recognize). Shinn becoming the main rival does line up with ZAFT gradually showing its evil side again but it’s nevertheless an infuriating waste of a character.

I’ve seen some Gundam fans called Kira’s role in Destiny boring and I can see why. Kira already had his arc in the original SEED and without any of that baggage, he’s become a lot more static. It also doesn’t help that Kira is overpowered, being able to solo entire platoons before even needing an upgraded Gundam. To be honest however, I don’t really mind Kira’s role in Destiny. With how unlikable Shinn gets and with some of the other characters taking stupid pills, I at least appreciate that Kira is one of the very few characters who actually has their act together throughout the whole show. Even though Kira is hilariously unrivaled for many of the fights he’s in, I have to admit that some of his action scenes are really exciting and I quite like the idea that he’s this freakish middle man that both the Alliance and ZAFT struggle to defeat. So while Destiny has Kira at his least interesting, I still would rather take him as the protagonist over Shinn any day.

The rest of the main cast is hit or miss. Like in the original SEED, Lacus suffers from limited screen time. Oddly enough though, that’s almost a blessing in disguise. Having less screen time at least means that the scripts are less able to mess up Lacus’ character. As a result, it’s still fun figuring out what exactly she is up to. Her relationship with Kira still feels underdeveloped but there are a couple of moments where I finally do buy it. Athrun returning to ZAFT is frankly a massive stretch. Aside from the fact that the show is repeating his arc all over again, it’s ridiculous that he’d choose a faction he previously defected from over his own girlfriend. Surprisingly however, his recycled inner conflict still manages to deliver some of the better written moments in the show. Cagalli is by far the most baffling returnee in the main cast. Destiny keeps her idealistic but it also retains her naivete, leading her to come across as extremely dumb in the sequel series. Throughout the show, she’ll either make tone deaf comments, the stupidest plan imaginable, or no plan at all. I suppose it’s realistic that an 18 year old would struggle to run a country but it also feels like Cagalli barely progressed from the previous series. The resolution to her arc is very satisfying but getting there is a huge test of patience, one the show almost fails to pull to off.

Rey showed some promise at the start of Destiny, as the voice of reason for Shinn. As time goes on, the friendship between him and Rey becomes more ambiguous, which I find to be pretty interesting. But beyond that, there’s sadly not much else to his character and by the time Destiny tries to give him more nuance, the show ends. Luna meanwhile is an unexpected favorite of mine. The plot thread where she flirts with Athrun despite knowing he still loves Cagalli is downright hilarious and it adds an amusing context to some of her actions, such as when she’s tasked with conducting a stakeout on him. Add on a pleasantly down-to-earth personality and a solid performance by Maaya Sakamato and you have one of the more likable characters in Destiny. That said, Luna isn’t completely immune to Destiny‘s stupid ray. The show appears to set her up to defect from ZAFT, only to have that fizzle out for no good reason. It also shifts her as a love interest for Shinn and this fails miserably. It’s underdeveloped, it starts off on an asinine note, and it tries to convince you that Shinn would make a good boyfriend.

Destiny‘s large supporting cast also come with mixed results. Many of the surviving characters from the previous show return such as Captain Murrue Ramius (Kotono Mitsuishi) and Mirialia Haw (Megumi Toyoguchi) and the show does a very good job detailing where they are after the first war and organically bringing them back for the second one. There are some new highlights in the cast. I particularly like Talia Gladys (Mami Koyama), the Minerva’s highly competent captain who serves as a fine rival to Ramius. Another fun addition is Meer Campbell, a doppelganger of Lacus that Durandal uses to improve ZAFT’s image. Meer is a fun facsimile of Lacus, capturing but exaggerating the idol’s stage persona and completely missing what actually made her beloved in the first place. Rie Tanaka also does a great job alternating between the two characters. My only issue is that we never truly get to know Meer beyond the imitation. Conversely, Destiny has a lot of lousy supporting antagonists. Save for Durandal, who at least offers something different to the table, most of them are cartoonishly one dimensional and overstay their welcome. Roanoke is sometimes a fun exception though the mystery of his identity is hilariously conspicuous and the character frankly works more once he’s removed from main antagonist status.

Like with its predecessor, Bandai Namco and Sunrise released an HD Remaster of SEED Destiny which is the version available for streaming and, as you can tell, the one I chose to watch for the review. Obviously, you can still tell that Destiny was made in the early to mid 2000s and some issues with its animation still persists in the remaster such as a lot of repeated clips and recapping of previous scenes. That said, the remaster gives Destiny a a very nice facelift. The aspect ratio is reworked from 4:3 to 16:9 and several shots are touched up without betraying or deviating too much from the original versions. Also, the remaster notably cuts out the 41st episode, which is a recap. The show still retains a 50 episode count by adding in a new episode made out of footage from an extended cut of the series finale. Incorporating the extended cut into the show itself is much appreciated as frankly, the ending can feel a bit weak without all the extras.

If you’re familiar with the Cosmic Era franchise, it should come as no surprise that Destiny includes a lot of fanservice. I would argue that it’s even hornier than the original series as there are a couple of scenes where a female character’s nipples are straight up visible for the viewer to see, bordering the show into ecchi territory. I know that at least in one case, this is a change done for the HD Remaster, and I can’t help but find it hilarious that someone wanted to double down on the fanservice. I mostly didn’t mind the fanservice but just like before, I still find the majority of these scenes out of place and potentially uncomfortable for some viewers.

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny is a messy show and I can only recommend it if you’re that invested in the Cosmic Era side of Gundam. There’s enough ideas, moments, and characters that I enjoy and the action kept me entertained for a good 50 episodes so I can’t bring myself to give it a bad score. But for every bright spot in Destiny, there’s one or two that drives me nuts. It’s a much dumber and more inconsistent experience compared to its predecessor and it somewhat fails in taking the Cosmic Era timeline into a new and meaningful direction.

Score: 5/10

Pros (+): Lots of cool action; some standout characters and moments; Lunamaria; “Fields of Hope”.
Cons (-): Unnecessary and dumb premise; Shinn’s sheer existence; Cagalli’s character assassination; increased horniness might be a turn-off for some.