In the past few weeks, I rewatched Gundam SEED via the recently-released BluRays with the new English dub (which is far superior to the shitty Ocean dub).
Hmmm. Never really think of anime much. I've thought about trying another Gundam series but have never put serious effort into doing so. Are you familiar with Gundam Wing? If so, how would you say Seed compares to Wing?
Yes, I'm familiar with Wing. I haven't watched it in decades, but I've always had a lot of issues with it (namely that the 5 core Gundams are so insanely overpowered that the show lacks any stakes for most of its run). Still, the characters are likeable enough (especially Duo) and the music is top notch, It's popular for a reason.
Gundam SEED was Bandai's attempt to remake the original 1970s Mobile Suit Gundam with modern sensibilities, bringing in elements like cloning and genetic engineering that were hot button issues at the time. SEED has its issues (Kira's plot armor is somewhat legendary), but if you like Wing I highly recommend the new "HD version" of SEED that's been partially reanimated for widescreen and completely re-dubbed. It's my favorite Gundam TV Series.
If you're in the mood for something shorter, though, I highly recommend MS Gundam: The 8th MS Team, my favorite Gundam OVA series (and one that often ran alongside Wing back in the day).
Incidentally, after the success of SEED, Bandai did attempt to remake Gundam Wing in a similar vein in their 1st HD Gundam series: Gundam 00. Now, I haven't finished 00 (and Ocean's English dub is not very good), but it's not a great show. If you want another show like Wing, though, that's your show.
That reminds me. I've seen Robotech and Neon Genesis Evangelion on streaming services and I've always heard of those as major (or classic) anime series. Maybe I should try giving those a spin.
Ah memories...if there's one regret I have from my podcasting days, it's that I never took the chance to talk about Robotech. It's a show that got me through a lot of dark times in my life.
Robotech is more than a little dated (not to mention deservedly controversial), but it's also one of my all-time favorite anime series, if not my absolute favorite. It's hard to explain why without going into a extremely lengthy post, but suffice it to say that I really love the "generational" aspect to the show that's unique to Robotech compared to the 3 series that were edited to create it. It's a pity that Shadow Chronicles looks to be as far as that continuity will ever go. A true sequel's been stuck in development hell for decades now.
As for Evangelion, it's a worthwhile series but I don't recommend watching the version of it that's available on streaming services, as that uses a terrible new English dub that was pretty much made by the new Japanese rights holders. The old ADV dub had its issues, but the new dub is so stiff and literal. I'd recommend the recent "Rebuild" movies, but the 3rd one is rather infamously terrible and the 4th one has been in development hell for years.