>>>>>>>>> Could UC Gundam be extended any further? I have thoughts on how it could, but I gotta think on 'em before posting my thoughts. >>>>>>>>>
A lot of that comes down to what you label as UC. I think that there are two phases of UC. There is the "OYW-Crew" era series that either have characters from the original series in them, or take place in a timeframe that these characters would still be living in: First Gundam, 0080, 08th MS Team, 0083, Zeta, Double Zeta, and Char's Counterattack. Then there are the "Post-OYW-crew" era series that take place in the same historical timeline but have all new characters: F91, Victory, and Turn A. While these are fairly popular, they haven't seemed to inspire the same level of loyalty as the earlier era. One important thing to note is that the UC has always been Tomino's playground. While there have been UC OVAs created by other directors, they are all playing in a timeline that Tomino already developed. They are like the Star Wars/Star Trek Prequels in that nothing that takes place in them can have any major effect on the established timeline. All attempts at creating a timeline out of previously established boundaries have either been made by Tomino (F91, Victory, Crossbone, Turn A, etc) or have been lumped under the AU banner. Based off of that paradigm, I don't think they are likely to explore future "UC" timelines without Tomino's involvement. They could forge ahead in the UC timeline without Tomino, but at that point it would be just as easy to consider it an AU series. It is also important to consider what more can they can in the paradigm established by Tomino. Tomino has already repackaged his original story themes from first Gundam a couple of times. When outsiders attempt to do it we get Seed. The only truly original non-Tomino Gundam series is G Gundam. I don't think any the non-Tomino Gundam shows have been as popular. On a different note... I wonder how much of the current Gunpla industry is fueled by nostalgia for the old series and how much is just general interest in the concept of Gunpla as a whole? Would Gunpla sales continue at their current levels if they completely dropped all Tomino era designs from the forecast? -------------------------------------------------- The Gundam Mailing List MK-II [email protected] Archives: http://www.gundam.com/gml Help: Email [EMAIL PROTECTED] with this in the BODY: help list
