This review contains spoilers for Gundam SEED Destiny

Disclaimer: I watched the original, SD edition of Gundam SEED Destiny as opposed to the updated HD remaster. There are significant differences between, but Anilist generally doesn't have separate pages for re-releases, so I must indicate the version here.

Today, I’m reviewing one of the western Gundam fandom's most reviled shows! No pressure, right?

I already gave my spiel on the nigh lack of consensus in the Gundam fandom. For context, click on that back button or click here. That said, I made a bit of a mistake. I claimed that unlike Gundam Wing, in the western sphere, Gundam SEED has hardly any defenders. After I finished SEED, I looked more closely into its reception and realized that this wasn’t true. While many do think SEED’s an awful show, it has a healthy number of fans, including yours truly. In fact, I've encountered more SEED fans than Wing fans. I'm a bit embarrassed at my mistake. That said, there's a bit of truth to my perception of its reception. I also said that there’s a clear consensus that the Gundam SEED is the worst Gundam series.

This is undeniably true. While I was mistaken in thinking Gundam SEED was almost unanimously hated, I was on the money in thinking that its series was the most hated. That hatred is due to its second entry and the show I'll be reviewing today: Gundam SEED Destiny. The Destiny hate is unquestionable and both those who love and loathe the original SEED seem to be in agreement that Destiny is the lesser of the two. It has been described as a 'trainwreck.' Many claim that Destiny makes its predecessor worse simply by association.

Given that I enjoyed SEED so much, I wasn't enthused about watching its heavily-criticized sequel. But I remained optimistic. I'd keep an open mind, hoping that, much like SEED, the hate towards Destiny would be largely unfounded.

Fifty episodes later, I'm here to report that the hate is largely founded.

It's not great. Like, at all.'

Don't get me wrong, though, Destiny certainly has its highpoints, and I don't just mean technical, "throw-the-show-a-bone" concessions like "well I suppose the OST wasn't terrible." For a while, I thought the show might actually be good, not great, but good nonetheless. I worried that I'd either have to put on performative ambivalence or accept the fact that I practically like everything. Unfortunately, however, the show begins to unravel come the second-half and never really becomes as good as its predecessor. It's certainly not what Zeta was to the original Mobile Suit Gundam. That said, it didn't really infuriate me the way ZZ did, either. The show leaves me feeling disappointed, more than anything. I'm wary of calling it a trainwreck, and not just because I feel that word is over- and misused. It just...isn't terrible? It's not good, it very well might be bad, but I still think it's relatively watchable. Destiny has many, many cracks, but for all its faults, it never quite falls apart.

Gundam SEED Destiny picks up two years where Gundam SEED left off. During the climactic second battle of Jachin Due, the Three Ships Alliance manages to defeat both Earth Alliance and ZAFT forces, preventing them from carrying out their genocidal machinations. Despite this victory, tensions have remained high between Coordinators and Naturals. Athrun, under the pseudonym Alex Dino, has worked diligently with Cagalli, now named Chief Representative of Orb, to foster peace between nations. Cagalli and Athrun find themselves visiting the PLANTs to meet with ZAFT's new leader, Chairman Durandal. However, before they can meet, the new Gundams developed by ZAFT, the Chaos, the Abyss, and the Gaia, are stolen by Earth Alliance pilots. Athrun finds himself re-entangled with ZAFT as he becomes acquainted with a new ace pilot, Shinn Asuka, pilot of the Impulse Gundam, who has a bone to pick with Orb. Shinn and Athrun soon find themselves embroiled in a conflict that very well might spell the next war...

As I'll describe soon, Destiny has a lot of problems. So much so, that, by the end, it's easy to forget that the show has things going for it.

As a technical, "throw-the-show-a-bone" concession, I'll say that I suppose the OST wasn't terrible.

I kid, I kid. While none of Destiny's OPs or EDs are as good as its predecessor’s (with OP 4 being downright laughably bad (sorry, positive, positive)), I'm happy to say that the rest of the OST is great. Songs like Shuumatsu-no Anji, Sakebi to Gekitetsu, Kantai Kousen, and Yuki no Kakku are just a few of the amazing tracks of Destiny. The OST isn't afraid to pull from various sources, mixing boisterous horns fitting of an adventurous war story with electronic sounds that characterize this as science-fiction. The soundtrack is one of the few great aspects of this show, thanks to the work of returning composer Toshihiko Sahashi.

I commend the showrunners for attempting to have multiple protagonists with their own POVs. They ultimately don't handle this well, but if done correctly, it could have been great. The showrunners very well could have just gone the easy route. It would have been simple enough to continue with the characters we're used to or go the opposite route and throw a completely new cast into the mix with the original cast only making cameos. The simple solution was there, but they didn't take it. Instead, the show tried to show us different perspectives on the conflict, showcasing how a difference in maturity and outlook can color an event. Ill-fated or not, I'll at least praise them for taking a risk. We don't fault ambition, here.

My favorite aspect of Gundam SEED Destiny is the mecha element, both in terms of design and combat. It took what SEED did (which already left me gushing, mind you) and ramped it up to eleven. Much like its predecessor, Destiny seems to take the design philosophy of "more"when it comes to Gundam and Gundam-like suits, allowing for some more unique designs. This is probably exemplified by the main trio of antagonist mobile suits, the Chaos, the Abyss, and the Gaia. As an aside, can I just say how much I love the names? In fact, I love the Cosmic Era Gundam names in general. Sure, you could say they're often edgy/overwrought, but I just think they're extremely cool and I love the fact that they make plain that a Gundam, more than anything, is a symbol. A mobile suit being a “Gundam” or not is ultimately arbitrary - mobile suits are given the designation of “Gundam”to inspire hope and invoke fear. In short, yes, they're cheesy, but I love them for it. In terms of their actual design and function, Chaos, Abyss, and Gaia are extremely striking. As they're among the first mobile suits we see, they perfectly set the stage for the mech design in general. The Abyss is a rare, aquatic Gundam, the Chaos is absolutely armed to the teeth, and the Gaia is a transformable suit that can change into a doggy! Even something as basic as their color schemes excite me: instead of the standard spar-spangled Gundam color scheme the Abyss is navy blue, the Chaos is navy, and the Gaia is friggin black! In the same episode, we're introduced to ZAFT's new grunt suits, the Zaku Warriors. "Zaku? As in the Zaku from the UC," you ask? "The very same," I answer. Some may say it's lazy (especially as CE already has the Zaku-inspired GINN), but, again, my main defense is that I think it's cool. I was also absolutely giddy that we get Gundam-esque grunt suits via the Windam; to my knowledge, the only other show that has proper Gundam grunt suits is Victory Gundam with its Gunblaster and Gun-EZ. Of course, Athrun's suits are rad and Shinn's Impulse has a neat gimmick. The Akatsuki and Destroy Gundam are pretty blatant expies of Zeta's Hyaku Shiki and Psycho Gundam, respectively, but what can I say, the originals are cool and these ones are cool, too. Basically, what I'm saying is that I can go on about the Destiny suits all day and I cannot be trusted to not buy gunpla of all of them if they're available.

Even animation of the SD edition of Destiny is a marked improvement over the SEED. Perhaps it's not quite stellar, but I never quite remember it dipping into downright awful territory. The fights were choreographed well and I was always engaged with the battles.

And the series has some amazing moments and setpieces. Destiny's re-entry might just be the best in the franchise, with more stakes and a visually stunning aftermath. Kira rescuing Cagalli from her wedding with Yuna is silly and certainly has its problems, but it's a fun scene at the end of the day that sticks in my mind. Shinn laying waste to an Earth alliance battalion as he awakens his SEED factor for the first time is another very well-done scene. Like the mech design, I can go on and on.

There are good things to be found in Gundam SEED Destiny and they're not very hidden. In fact, for a decent portion of the run, I didn't think that Gundam SEED Destiny was worth anything getting angry over. Sure, it might not have been as good as its predecessor, but it was fine, at worse. I can't understand Destiny being called a trainwreck — if you were in a trainwreck, you'd feel it. With Destiny if you close your eyes and turn your brain off, it's the type of show that can easily just flow past you. For most of its run, the show's issues aren't glaring and it does enough good to temper the bad.

Then the ending happens and you slowly begin to realize that, perhaps, the ride wasn't as smooth as you thought. It wasn't a trainwreck, never a trainwreck, but you start noticing that something’s wrong. The bumper might be gone, the headlights and taillights broken, the power steering shot, the trunk and hood popped open, hell maybe you're somehow missing a wheel.

Point being that, even if it's easy enough to get through, Destiny is a show that cracks the moment you start thinking about it. And after that first negative thought, there's no stopping the snowball of criticism that follows.

Again, full-disclosure that I'm watching the SD version of Destiny. I've been told the HD version improves the ending somewhat, but I find it hard to imagine that the change is that meaningful, even if it's radical; curing the symptom vs. the ailment and whatnot.

With that out the way, the ending is terrible. It's perhaps the worst ending of a Gundam show that I've ever seen. I dislike ZZ and Gundam Build Divers a great deal more, but I have to acknowledge that they at least stuck the landing even if their flights were largely unimpressive.

The first problem is that the ending is extremely abrupt, even by Gundam standards. We can't all have Iron-Blooded Orphans or Turn A-esque epilogues, but the final act's curtains draw to a close as suddenly as they open and I have nary a sense of what it means for the characters. SEED also has a pretty quick conclusion, but it feels there was a great deal of buildup to that one and it was a good wrap-up for the characters. Here, things happen so quickly that we don't really get to admire them, the final battle is lackluster, and the characters that play a part aren't compelling. Adding insult to injury, the ending borrows a lot from SEED's, both in content (the Three Ship Alliance storming the enemy base and stopping a superweapon) and style (namely how abrupt it is) that it feels like it lacks an identity of its own.

How did we get here?

For one, Destiny's ending highlights one of its biggest flaws: its characters. During the ending, we see the conclusion of main character Shinn Asuka's character "arc." I use scare quotes because I feel like there's not much of an arc to be seen.

One of the ending's worse sins is its handling of its supposed main character, Shinn.

Believe it or not, during the final episode, Shinn largely takes a backseat in favor of series veterans Athrun and Kira. They're ultimately the ones that put an end to antagonist Chairman Durandal's machinations. This is because Shinn ends up being something of a villain protagonist, essentially becoming one of his right-hand men and opposing Athrun and Kira who aim to stop him. This would be interesting, if it was handled well. Shinn is dispatched pretty damn easily to make way for Athrun and especially Kira to get the spotlight. He shows up again towards the end of the episode, sobbing due to the death and destruction around him. In fact, one of the final shots of the show is of him and Lunamaria looking at the exploding wreckage of Durandal's base. This was an absolutely terrible decision. While the showrunners probably wanted to convey the toll the war had taken on Shinn, it just reminds me how flat of a character he turned out to be.

At the end of the day, Shinn doesn't feel like a very realized character. He largely feels like the same person he does at the beginning of the story that he does at the end — like any Gundam protagonist, he witnesses bad things, but he doesn't really seem to change from it. Sure, he cries at the end, and he might have felt conflicted before, but that ultimately doesn't do much for the character when it doesn't affect his actions. No matter what happens, Durandal and Rey will play him like a fiddle. Like, I said, it's a show that I found fine to watch, but upon seeing the conclusion of Shinn's character, I thought, "that was it?"

I'm fine with the Shinn being intended to be a dark foil the heroes, but that doesn't feel quite right, either. They don't feel like they're on the same playing field because he's not playing with a full deck — he's being manipulated by Durandal. I suppose that largely could be the point and Shinn shows a path Athrun could have fallen down if he didn't stop drinking the ZAFT Kool-Aid. This still doesn't feel quite right because even if he's not meant to have much agency, he could at least have a character arc realizing he doesn't have said agency, or willingly deciding to give up agency because it's easier that way.

A lot of this could have been alleviated if Destiny actually committed to having Shinn as a main character.

One of my praises is also my biggest critique of the show: the fact that multiple characters share the spotlight main characters. In concept, this is a great idea. Hell, even in execution, Shinn and Athrun being main characters was largely fine, but it all goes to shit when they toss Kira into the mix. At the end of the day, with Shinn, Athrun, and Kira all desperately fighting for the spotlight, none of them end up shining.

I've already talked about Shinn, who's probably gotten the shortest end of the stick here. He never really gets a chance to be much more than "whiny, arrogant pilot." Shinn's treatment feels particularly bad because he was edged out of his own damn show Even if Kira isn't great in Destiny, he's at least has SEED. Shinn doesn't get that luxury. And I know there's a good story to be had with Shinn because Shinn's seiyuu has gone on record to say that his portrayal in Super Robot Wars Z is what he signed on to Destiny thinking he'd get to do. Ouch.

In Destiny, Kira's probably the worst handled of the main characters by a wide margin. If the show decides to focus on Kira to the detriment of Shinn, then you'd expect him to have his beliefs challenged. You'd expect him to do something, anything to earn his place in the show. But no, we pretty much just get Kira as he appears at the end of SEED and it's boring, given the possibilities for something else. The Three Ships alliance feels earned in SEED, but here, the Archangel seems to be always right because the show says so, always standing in the way of a battle even if there's a clear aggressor. Sure, it's consistent but… it’s boring. There's a lot of wasted potential. The Archangel seems really, really dumb if you're the one fighting it, such as from Shinn's perspective. The show could have really tapped into this; we'd just see the Archangel apparently getting in the way of a battle. Since we'd just have Shinn's perspective, the Arcangel would be cast in a more ambiguous light. This extends to the ending, too. It would be very unique and striking to just have a villainous perspective of an ill-fated battle. That would have been interesting. But no. “We can't have that! Kira Yamato can't be put in a bad light for a moment," the showrunners exclaim. "Let's just toss his perspective in here to set the record straight." It just feels like Destiny doesn't trust Shinn enough to be a main character.

Finally, there's Athrun who's the best of the three. He was one of my favorite characters in SEED and he definitely is my favorite, now. It helps that he actually has an arc, meets roadblocks and has his beliefs questioned. The problem, however, is that this dynamism is largely achieved through reverting Athrun back to where he was at the start of SEED. It's a bit of an exaggeration; circumstances have changed, but his arc in Destiny mirrors his arc in SEED to a ridiculous degree. Many have gone as far as to say he's been subject to "character assasination." I'm not sure I'd go that far, but it's still disappointing to see him hold the idiot ball and decide to put faith in Durandal despite his shady practices. Maybe I'm a bit more lenient because I can think of a way to spin Athrun largely falling in line with Durandal that makes sense for his character. Or maybe I'm just lenient because if I had to go through three static main characters, I'd lose my mind.

The cast as a whole isn't really compelling — one of Lunamaria's only defining traits is being a clingy jealous girl, Rey's entire character is being Durandal's taciturn yes-man, Meer could be interesting but is underused and her more interesting aspects are distilled into a single episode after she dies, and Captain Talia Gladys ends up being a boring mix of the contradictory elements of Murrue and Lt. ~~Badgirl~~ Badgiruel — disagreeing with some of the military's orders but ultimately doing little to resist.

Stella and Shinn end up being a poor man's Kamille and Four with somehow less interaction. I still kind of liked it but it was definitely shallow. Speaking of which, his relationship with Lunamaria comes out of nowhere. You can make a pretty big inference that she's essentially a replacement goldfish for Shinn, but naturally, the show doesn't really explore this.

Gee, it sure sounds like these new characters really suffer from not having enough time to develop, huh?

The villains are even more cartoonishly evil than last time — Djibril is a cackling, cat-petting madman while Yuna is an absolute coward and sycophant. I really don't care about them or their conflict as it just feels so unengaging due to how black-and-white it is. It's a problem some had with SEED but cranked up to eleven. And I get it; the only way that Durandal can be so unquestionably accepted by the populace is by making the other villains completely bonkers. That said, it might have worked too well, because I'm not entirely sure what's wrong with Durandal's plan besides his aggressive methods. Though that's possibly because, like other things, it's not that well-defined in show. For crying out loud, it's been two shows and I can't exactly tell you what the SEED Factor is besides CE's equivalent to Newtypes. Much like Rau before, there's more to characters such as Durandal, Talia, and Rey, but they're not explored sufficiently in the show itself.

A major sticking point for fans is Mu's return after being very obviously killed in the SD version of SEED. ~~His survival was simple, however. He was attacked with Anti-Fortress weaponry and he's not a fortress.~~ Honestly, my reaction isn't as visceral as other fans, as I was more worried that Flay would come back. My initial reaction to the reveal was relief at Flay's death sticking. While I'm not angry at Mu's return, I am annoyed, as it further trivializes death and sacrifice, confirming many (frankly unfounded, if you ask me) criticisms of the original show. I guess we get an unique Char clone, I guess,

It's a more minor point but the "drama" that many hated in SEED is toned down here, which is weird because you'd think Shinn would be a treasure trove of drama. While some might welcome this change, it ends up making the cast feel more stilted, less organic than that of SEED's.

Destiny ultimately takes a lot from SEED. Sometimes it's things that worked before but not so much here because they feel rehashed. Other times, it's things that didn't work the first time that work even less here. To wit: the character designs were never stellar but Hisashi Hirai really stretches himself thin with a whole new cast of characters — Lunamaria and her sister Meyrin look very similar to fellow redhead, Flay. I really shouldn't be having trouble telling Athrun and Shinn apart, but I do, at times. Destiny, like its predecessor contains a bit too many recaps. This is time that could be better spent actually exploring those characters I talked about. There are more death fakeouts from Kira and Athrun, which become less and less effective and more and more annoying as time goes on because you've long since realized they can never die. I can't even go with the "it's important development for other characters" justification because we've been here before. Destiny also can't let go of Rau, who ends up being Rey? I guess? Somehow? It's dumb.

As I said before, I wouldn't call this show a "trainwreck." There's not really a "crash," there's not really a wreckage. Still, there's something to be said about the fact that I wrote over 4,000 words on this show. It's a show that's deceptively easy to get through, but when you do, you'll have a million questions, trying to piece exactly what went wrong. I honestly don't think I can recommend this show. As I said before, there are some great aspects to Destiny but nothing that can justify the rest of the show. Even if it might seem fine while you're watching it, the ending makes you realize just how much the show botched its execution. That said, I still maintain that SEED is a great Gundam show. I don't think a sequel can tarnish an original and Destiny hasn't proved me wrong. SEED is a surprisingly good Gundam show...that just so happens to have a sequel that's one of the most mediocre Gundam shows.

5.6/10
D+