Yabari, classics are made classics for a reason.

Even though the plot doesn't hold up very much now, even though a lot of the scenes still look outdated, even though the design are clearly from that time, even though I've watched it many times and know what's going to happen next, even though...

But Star Wars Trilogy live up its name after all those years. 1977. I wasn't even born then.

Granted, I'm not very much a Star Wars fan. The three movies and one novel are all I have under my belt. For some unexplainable reason, I didn't feel like watching Episode I at all. (Was there an Episode II as well?) Somewhere deep down, I felt that the new movie wouldn't do the original justice. It'd just be another Sci-fi movie with lots of great effects that carries the name. I'm quite the conservative, as you can see.

My thought turned to Gundam. I've been hearing the name for ages, but I never got the chance to see it or the many flavours of it. SD Gundam models and manga were all that I knew.

Came 2000, Gundam Wing entered my life. I was so thrilled to finally be able to get a glimpse of this great franchise that I immediately became a fan. Of course, as I slowly got more familiar with anime, I realised that Wing is AU and is nothing like the original or the other ones. To me, Wing didn't deliver enough of its promises. Nonetheless, I was happy to have watched it.

Then Gundam SEED entered the picture. It's said to be 'the First Gundam of the 21st century', and I fell for it instantly. The plot, the characters, the relationship between people, the interactions, the emotions, the... (and the cast, which is one of the best around)! Everything draws me in more, and I started posting on Gundam.com and discussing SEED with other people. I was sad to find out that most old timers see SEED as a rip-off and kiddy version of the original Gundam, and that most of them don't like SEED at all.

Strange, isn't it? There seems to be an odd relationship between the classics and their offspring, at least from my POV. Fans of the classics love and worship it, and the new ones are deemed inferior than the original. Fans of the new ones see the original as outdated and, in many cases, boring.

It could be a change of target audience, as the new series are typically created to recruit new blood to the aging fan base. It could just be the way our memory serves us, making what we held dear even more special. It could be.....

Whatever the reason, one thing is for sure, though. Classics or not, effects or not, bishounen or not, as long as the plot and the characters can move me, I'll be a fan. It was like this with Wing, it is like this with SEED, it is like this with many other great series, and it shall always be like this.

Heh, this has somehow become yet another disorganised post, hasn't it? *shrug* All I wanted to say is that I respect the classics and do find some of them to be great (Saint Seiya comes to mind), and enjoy the new ones for their fresh ideas and ways of execution. (I'm not even making sense to myself now. -__-)

Oh, and I still intend to watch the original Gundam and all the other Gundam series, UC and AU. I don't care if some people say they're ugly. Bad art isn't enough to deter me. XP