Spoiler Preface!!!
This post contains extreme spoilers. You have been warned
I’m doing my recap of all the Gundam movies I watched on Youtube in order, which means we have to start with Part 1 of Gundam Thunderbolt
Gundam Narrative (or NT for short) was widely panned by fans when it came out, but over time I’ve seen more than a few defenders. In fact, the kinds of people defending it tended to espouse other opinions about Gundam that line up closely with my own. I try not to go into films with any preconceived notion about whether or not I’m going to like them, but I had a good feeling going into this one.
Thankfully, this time my gut was correct. I don’t think NT is perfect, but I do think it manages to accomplish its main goal in a satisfying manner.
That goal (at least in my interpretation) was to hit the brakes on the proliferation of crazy, Psychoframe-based technology in the Universal Century. I was led to believe that NT closes the book and otherwise writes out the time traveling, fleet destroying, super laser blocking beasts that are the Unicorn Gundams and the Neo Zeongs. That’s not quite true - at least a few of these units are technically still around by the end of the film (albeit hidden and out of use). But most of them are indeed gone, and the ending makes it clear that the rest are going to be memory hole’d in due time.
The real world explanation for why the film does this is simple - these crazy Newtype-based weapons are absent from stories such as F91 and Victory which take place farther along in the UC timeline. Narrative, then, is a feature length retcon that attempts to explain why this is the case.
Meanwhile, the in-universe explanation is (essentially) that a whole lot of people - including some very powerful individuals - come to the conclusion that Psychoframe tech is too dangerous. If it were to proliferate, it would either cause a human-wide existential crisis, or we’d end up using it to wipe ourselves out.
I found this sentiment similar to Amuro’s words at the end of Char’s Counterattack. Amuro believes that humans have the potential to one day change into something greater, but it’s going to happen slowly, and it can’t be forced. Similarly, the cast of NT believes that one day humanity may evolve enough to truly embrace and make use of Psychoframe tech, but now is not that time - and any further attempts to mess with it will lead to madness.
The film injects a much needed shot of humility into the body of the Universal Century. One of my gripes with Gundam Unicorn is that it failed to really portray its characters as believably flawed. Characters failed, and they made mistakes, but it often felt like it was driven by whatever the plot needed at that moment. In Narrative, many of the characters feel like they are the natural product of decades worth of trauma. They don’t always do or say the right thing, but I understood their behaviors.
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Speaking of trauma, Narrative makes excellent use of callbacks and references to past Gundam stories to specifically drive home the devastation and horror wrought by Newtype weaponry. I was particularly struck by just how good a job it does at portraying the Psycho Gundam as having been an absolute terror to the people of New Hong Kong, in a way that Zeta Gundam itself never managed. Simply put, it gives us the point of view of people who were there, but who weren’t in the cockpit of a mobile suit. It’s such a simple thing, but these are important perspectives that the Gundam franchise sadly often neglects.
The film also has lots of new footage that shows us the inside of the old Cyber Newtype labs, particularly the ones run by the Titans. I don’t think any fan out there was under the impression that Cyber Newtypes had it good, but Narrative shows just enough of the experience to make it abundantly clear that they were essentially torturing and experimenting on children. It is brutal to watch, especially for any parents out there.
If there are flaws to be found in Narrative, they largely have to do with pacing. The film has a habit of showing the same flashback scenes again and again, while other parts of the film feel pressed for time. I think it would have been better off axing some of the flashbacks and using the time gained to flesh everything else out.
But even that wasn’t enough to hamper my enjoyment of this film. After being let down by both Unicorn and the first Hathaway film, it’s nice to finally enjoy a late-UC story.
Random Thoughts
- I like that, for once, this film features Federation forces that aren’t entirely incompetent.
- On a similar note, I like that the main Gundam is basically an old prototype that they’re using not by choice, but because there’s nothing else around with enough Psychoframe.
- I actually like the trio of main characters in this film. Their hangups and flaws make a whole lot of sense when you realize what they’ve been through.
- I’m as frustrated as anyone over just how many model kits Bandai was able to squeeze out of the Phenex, but I enjoyed watching it in the film. It moves and behaves in ways very unlike any other mobile suit (for reasons I won’t spoil).
- I like the very brief appearances by some of the cast of Unicorn. It makes sense that they’d be at least somewhat involved in the events of Narrative, but it is also clear that this is not their story.
- Somehow they managed to sneak in an appearance by the Dijeh of all things. I suppose it was so top of the line in UC 0087 that’s it’s still decent a decade later.
