English Dub Review: Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan’s Island
Insight:
Set in the events of the original Mobile Suit Gundam series, Cucuruz Doan Island Strands hailed mobile suit pilot Amuro Ray on a remote island inhabited by a group of orphaned children and a disgraced Zaku fighter who is responsible for displacing them. Amuro tries to make the best of this situation and get back to his team. However, her trust clashes with Cucuruz Doan as these two sides of the same coin argue over what is best for the islanders, but also open their eyes to alternative ways of life.
Our opinion :
At Yoshiyuki Tomino’s Mobile Suit Gundam spanned over 50 years and became the preeminent mecha series that influenced countless other giant robot series. There have been a series of films that have turned to adapting the events of the original Mobile Suit Gundam in cinematic stories, but Cucuruz Doan Island takes a slightly more curious approach. This film is a feature film adaptation of episode 15 of Mobile Suit Gundam, an entry that was never properly released or aired outside of Japan and was skipped at the request of the production team. Now the public can not only experience this small Gundam story for once, but experience it in an expanded state that celebrates the classic Mobile Suit Gundam to his favorite. That’s a lot of context to say that. Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan’s Island delivers plenty of vintage Amuro Ray action as he smashes Zaku and appeases audiences in this iconic universe.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan’s Island is full of humble moments where kids enjoy the food, chores, and ordinary life they’ve found for themselves on this island. They exist in their own bubble that is safe from the political warfare and bloodshed that is only escalating in space between the forces of Zeon and the Earth Federation. At so many times it feels like a Studio Ghibli take Gundam or the “Mrs. Interlude look-alike in Evangelion 3.0+1.0: Three times upon a time. In a film fascinated by humanity and empathy, it’s no coincidence that so many explosions of fiery mobile suits are preceded by moments of quiet reflection where doomed pilots get to brag.
It’s a movie that’s as much about a long sequence about the intricacies of milking a goat as it is about galactic warfare and international treaties. This may frustrate some viewers, but it’s a nice reflection of the nuance of Mobile Suit Gundam. The characters and relationships in this franchise are just as much a testament to its enduring nature and legacy as the mobile suits. In fact, there’s surprisingly powerful symbolism in the recurring image of a broken lighthouse that can’t serve its purpose, much like the identity crisis and unease Doan experiences before Amuro can. help find your rhythm. It’s a powerful extension of that metaphor when it’s Amuro who is able to finally return the light from the lighthouse, even if it’s a little clunky.
Cucuruz Doan Island finds himself in a superficial power struggle and a temporary clash of egos between Amuro and Doan in this new environment. It’s pretty paint-by-numbers anime filler fare, but it still connects here and works as a reasonably satisfying character study on these two alpha individuals (though Doan, inevitably, seems more generic). Although less developed, the friendship that forms between Amuro and Marcos, who are able to put their differences aside for the greater good, is also a satisfying reflection of Amuro’s softer side. It may sound flippant, but Doan’s erratic advice that “Fighting isn’t the only way to be strong” becomes a poignant distillation of the film’s struggles and themes.
There is a substantial part of Gundam fans who come to this franchise to watch giant robots destroy each other in space. It’s not this film’s priority, and it never claims to be, but there are still plenty of explosive action sequences that will satisfy this corner of the fandom. Cucuruz Doan Island features plenty of exciting one-on-one combat as well as aggressive team attacks. The film has its share of suspenseful settings, whether it’s the opening assault, the Battle of Belfast or the final showdown on the eponymous island of Alegranza set against a magnificent sunset. of crimson sun. Nuanced battles unfold on land, in the air, and even at sea as the full range of mobile suit abilities are showcased.
There are certain surprise attacks that turn Amuro’s RX-78-2 Gundam into a slasher boogeyman from a horror movie. There is a painful reluctance to Amuro’s actions in RX-78-2 that is palpable, and yet he understands what needs to be done. At a time, Cucuruz Doan Island also makes sure to show many more humble mobile suit designs from early in the Universal Century timeline. The Guncannon, Guntank, and Zaku all have moments to shine and come across as devastating tools of destruction, despite their somewhat quaint and archaic nature in hindsight. Gundam 50 years of the franchise. In this direction, Cucuruz Doan Island never forget the basics that helped Mobile Suit Gundam reach its current heights. Respectful nostalgia meets striking modern animation in this bizarre love letter to the mecha series’ past.
Cucuruz Doan Island is an all-around delight that doesn’t try to push itself beyond its reach, but the animation is the most exciting thing about this film. The visuals are truly stunning and they are honestly as much a reason to see this movie as it is an opportunity to experience another Universal Century classic. Gundam adventure with Amuro Ray and the rest of the old crew. universal century Gundam never looked better than here and simple actions like slashing beam swords through shield and armor hit with a searing intensity that was never present in the original’s combat Mobile Suit Gundam.
Director Yoshikazu Yasuhiko should definitely consider this movie a hit if it was meant to “redeem” the original’s lost “Cucuruz Doan Island.” Mobile Suit Gundam series. It may stretch the metaphor a bit, but Yasuhiko’s victory is reminiscent of Doan’s own redemption in the film.
The score of Takayuki Hattori’s film is equally thrilling and takes on the challenge of a sound that is both evocative of the 1980s, but also progressive and modern. It elegantly accentuates the film’s action-packed visuals. To finish, Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan’s Island won’t let longtime voice acting fans down, and this movie makes the effort to bring together the original cast like Lucien Dodge as Amuro Ray, Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Sayla Mass, and Christopher Corey Smith as Bright Noa. They all seem to be having a great time returning to these iconic characters, especially Dodge who hasn’t necessarily been able to explore this essential side of Amuro’s character in past dubs.
A question worth asking with Cucuruz Doan Island is whether it amounts to mobile suit baseball or is a newsworthy story accessible to outsiders. The short answer to that question is “Yes,” but those audiences probably won’t get as much out of it. Cucuruz Doan Island works as a standalone story, but anyone interested in an animated movie that touches on those basics would always be better off sticking with a good Studio Ghibli movie. That’s not to say that the demographics of this movie are purely Mobile Suit Gundam fans, but everything in Cucuruz Doan Island hits a little harder for those familiar with Universal Century mayhem. The film exists in a nebulous, filler-like existence that helps it broaden its appeal, but ends up smoothing out its edges in the process.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan’s Island is not the ultimate mobile suit story, but there can be so much unhappiness, sadness and loss in Gundam shows that it is appreciated that this film contains so many moments where the characters humbly enjoy the simple basics of life. Cucuruz Doan Island leaves its audience smiling on what makes life worth living rather than a grim conclusion that emphasizes the never-ending cycle of war (which is still very much present when this film draws to a close ). Amuro’s triumphant act of throwing Doan’s Zaku off a cliff, no matter how upside down, is still one of the most moving conclusions of a Gundam film. It’s a powerful visual metaphor for the end of this warrior’s former life and a self-conscious transition for both individuals. It is not the Mobile Suit Gundam movie that’s bound to turn newcomers into fans, but that’s the kind of Gundam movie that deserves to exist.
Now, let’s just get a spin-off OVA series where Blanca the goat pilots some sort of mobile suit for the Barnyard Federation…
