To be honest, the early episodes of 'Gundam SEED' had a slightly slower pace and weren't exactly action-packed.
Much of the time was spent building up characters: the protagonist Kira, his close friend Sai, Sai's fiancée Flay, childhood friend Athrun, and the charismatic antagonist Creuset.
There were a lot of characters, but none of them felt like throwaway side roles. Even those who only appeared for a few minutes left lasting impressions with their lines and actions.
Still, the series wasn't without flaws — most notably, the fact that it originally aired so long ago. Some of the plot twists now felt a bit tropey to modern viewers.
Just like with 'Evangelion', characters like the emotionless Rei Ayanami or the tsundere Asuka Langley were once fresh and captivating. But to later generations, those became just another anime archetype.
That said, the plot of 'Gundam SEED' still felt new enough to viewers in Great Zhou. Many even found it familiar in a good way, like how the protagonist gets thrown into a crisis and ends up piloting a Gundam.
From Jing Yu's perspective, this was no different than Shinji Ikari being forced to pilot the EVA in 'Evangelion', or Eren awakening his Titan powers during a sudden monster attack in 'Attack on Titan', or all the Ultramen awakening in the face of kaiju threats.
Or Lelouch activating his Geass during a moment of crisis, or Ichigo Kurosaki turning into a Soul Reaper, or Ouma Shu triggering his power mid-battle and tearing apart a Mecha with bare hands…
If you've watched enough Japanese anime, you'll realize: no matter the genre, the main character always gets their epic entrance at the peak of danger. It's a formula — and fans know it.
But since Jing Yu's body of work in Great Zhou was diverse and his storytelling wasn't yet perceived as formulaic, this kind of narrative still felt fresh to his fans.
So when Athrun, acting under orders from ZAFT, infiltrated the resource colony to steal the Gundams, only to reunite with his childhood friend Kira, the setup of former friends being forced onto opposing sides still hit home for viewers.
In fact, if we're only talking visuals — anime or manga — 'Attack on Titan' definitely had more impact than 'Gundam SEED'.
But in live-action, the Gundam suits — giant steel monsters — looked way cooler than the grotesque, naked Titans running around in 'Attack on Titan'.
After a brief setup of worldbuilding — Naturals, Coordinators, factional conflicts — the show quickly shifted to explosions and special effects.
And those brainless, flashy battles?
Exactly what most audiences loved.
There was war, bloodshed — but not the grotesque man-eating horror of 'Attack on Titan'. It was thrilling without being disgusting. The experience was totally different.
"Hey, what exactly are 'Coordinators' in the show? Gene-edited humans?"
"Basically, yeah."
"The main character is nuts, though. First time piloting a Gundam, and he reprograms the control systems mid-battle. Even in a drama, that's a bit much, no?"
"That's what the Coordinator setting is for!"
"I don't get half the jargon — zero-point modules, central mode generators, neural link reconstruction, function overrides, trajectory correction... Kira's coding in the middle of a dogfight! It's insane!"
"Exactly — how else would you know he's the main character?"
"It's crazy, but it's also awesome. I want one of those Gundams!"
"Merch is probably launching soon. Just keep checking Bluestar Media's official site."
Kira was nicknamed "Ki-god" by 'Gundam' fans in Jing Yu's past life — and it was no wonder. His abilities seemed downright cheat-level.
But his "cheat" was in Gundam operation, not intelligence. He wasn't single-handedly winning the war — the real war was being fought by soldiers, not just Gundam pilots.
So even though Kira was OP, he didn't feel like an invincible protagonist.
The show wasn't about one guy crushing enemies. It was about factions, power struggles, and character relationships.
Calling it a "galactic epic" might be overkill, but 'Gundam SEED' undeniably had top-tier execution — even for viewers without deep knowledge of sci-fi or military strategy.
From that first fight, where Kira rewrote the operating system mid-battle and took out mass-produced enemy suits using dual knives, fans immediately knew he was a monster.
To compare for gamers: it was like you're playing CSGO, and your enemy is spraying you with an AK-47 from 50 meters. You dodge everything with movement tricks, jump shots, and knife flips, and somehow sneak in for a one-hit knife kill.
"Dude's got an AK and still loses to a knife? Trash!"
But for audiences?
"SO COOL!"
"This is even better than 'Evangelion'!"
"Finally, not another weakling main character! I hated Shinji's cowardice in 'Evangelion', and Eren in 'Attack on Titan' starts with dead-mom trauma. If not for Jing Yu's name on those shows, I would've dropped them in Episode 1."
"It's been ages since he made a show with a strong lead from the start. Last one was probably 'Initial D'."
"Yeah — Kenshin in 'Rurouni Kenshin' started OP. Then, Takumi in 'Initial D'. After that, it's all been loser main characters."
"Now we're finally witnessing the rise of Galactic God Kira."
"I love this type of protagonist. Kira, go destroy their mechs!"
"It's over-the-top, sure. But it's awesome. Who needs logic in a mecha drama?"
Most viewers didn't care for overthinking things.
Sure, they complained for two seconds about the absurdity of Kira's skills — then accepted it completely.
After all, he's the lead — if he's not special, why is he the lead?
The first 10 minutes handled his backstory and the world setup. After that, it was pure warfare. Dozens of characters appeared. So many hidden details. It's the kind of show you can't fully grasp in one watch.
That's why Jing Yu enabled rewatch access on Qingyun Video.
The attack resumed. Creuset, the mysterious masked villain, made his move. And at the climax, the show's most important warship — the Archangel — made its appearance.
Massive, sleek, mechanical — the Archangel broke through enemy lines and emerged on-screen.
Cue ending theme.
Cliffhanger.
"Wait, that's it?!"
"I swear I only watched five minutes!"
"How can it end here?!"
"Damn you, Old Thief!"
"I'm mad, but I love it. Classic Jing Yu — can't go a day without cliffhangers."
"This is a masterpiece! Way better than 'Attack on Titan'."
"I wouldn't go that far. The shock factor in 'Attack on Titan' was stronger — remember the mom scene?"
"But look at the Archangel scene! Those steel behemoths are way cooler than naked muscle freaks."
"You really care whether the Titans are clothed?"
"Kira > Eren. No contest."
"But 'Attack on Titan' is more realistic. Kira's setup feels kinda ridiculous."
"Different styles. I like both. 'Attack on Titan' wins in character depth, but 'Gundam' has more long-term potential."
"Exactly. Even 'Attack on Titan' fans admit it's nasty and brutal. But 'Gundam'? It's badass. Kids can actually watch it and enjoy."
"That's the thing! Gundam suits are cool. The Archangel is cool. Kira is cool. Athrun is cool. Even Creuset is cool. I NEED EPISODE 2."
"I just want merch now. GIVE ME A GUNDAM!"
The first episode of 'Gundam SEED' ended.
Even though expectations were sky-high, the show still delivered unexpected thrills.
Its world was grander than 'Evangelion' or 'Attack on Titan'. No surprise it became a decades-spanning series.
Even in Episode 1, the foreshadowing was deep — and fans were already theorizing like crazy.
Ratings: 13.01%
Not only did it smash through the 10% mark, but it broke 13% on the first episode.
Viewers didn't care about the numbers — they were busy flooding the forums and official site with theories and discussions.
But industry insiders?
"Everyone says Kira is OP, but the real cheat code is Jing Yu."
"'Attack on Titan' was already about to dethrone Xingtong TV's legendary drama 'Great Zhou Court' as the highest-rated show in history… but now I'm thinking 'Gundam SEED' might pull ahead."
"How does he do this every time? Every show breaks 10% like it's easy."
"He has more than 10%+ shows than any of the top three networks combined!"
"Absolute monster."
"There's no word to describe him anymore."
"And the revenue?! You know the top three charge 20–30 million per ad slot? With this kind of viewership, Jing Yu's ad revenue might already cover half his production budget!"
"And to think someone actually said this 400 million yuan show would lose money… I'm dying of laughter. This kind of performance? Break even? I'll do a headstand while washing my hair."
The entire industry lost sleep that night.
One 'Attack on Titan' was already a miracle.
Now there was 'Gundam SEED' too.
Never in Great Zhou TV history had two shows break 10%+ in the same quarter — and both by the same writer.
First, 'Ultraman Tiga' and 'Attack on Titan' ran together and crushed it.
Now 'Attack on Titan' and 'Gundam SEED' were repeating that miracle.
It even caused weird side effects:
Originally, 'Attack on Titan' fans felt their show was unbeatable. But now that 'Gundam SEED' had landed, fandom wars exploded online. Hardcore fans took sides. Casuals just watched both.
Jing Yu monitored the reactions constantly.
By day, he filmed on set. At night, he answered fans on social media.
Over the next few days, he attended live events on Yunteng TV, Qingyun Video, and in the capital, promoting merch for both shows.
And of course, both 'Attack on Titan' and 'Gundam SEED' launched their tie-in games.
Granted, these were fan-service games — short, story-light, made for loyal fans.
The real blockbuster games? They take time — and Jing Yu knew the best return came only after a show had matured.
Even so, hype was sky-high for these early games.
As mid-January rolled in, Jing Yu had entered full workhorse mode: marketing, filming, writing, directing, operations, events — everything.
His team half-joked they needed to clone him to meet demand.
But morale was also soaring — two ongoing shows, both monster hits.
Everyone was counting the days, wondering:
How close are we to topping Great Zhou's all-time TV rankings?
Other projects were almost ignored in the shadow of 'Attack on Titan' and 'Gundam SEED'.
But quietly, behind the scenes…
The game development teams for 'Pokémon', 'Rurouni Kenshin', 'Yu-Gi-Oh!', and others had officially entered production, as confirmed in brief statements on Bluestar Media's official site.