Gundam ZZ takes place right where Zeta left off, after the battle for the Grypps colony laser. The Ahgama docks at the colony of Shangrila, in order to repair their heavily damaged ship and what few mobile suits they have left, as well as get one of their beloved crew members to a hospital to treat his mental condition. Meanwhile, a junkyard punk named Judau Ashta finds an escape pod in space and decides to haul it in and sell it for some quick cash. However, when he and his junkyard pals open the pod, there is a man inside. The pilot inside is none other than Yazan Gable, the man responsible for the deaths of many of the Ahgama and Radish crew members. Yazan talks to the kids and finds out that the Ahgama is in port. Yazan tells the kids that if they help him get to the Ahgama, they can steal the Zeta Gundam and sell it. Judau follows Yazan and his friends, in hopes of capturing and selling the Zeta Gundam, and using the funds to send his sister to a good school. Thus begins the adventure in Gundam ZZ.
Gundam ZZ was controversial over in Japan, due to it's comical tone after the dark and gritty Zeta Gundam. Many fans found it saddening to see Zeta's cast taken over by some loud mouthed teenagers, but I don't find any problem with that, in fact, ZZ's lighthearted tone is more than welcome after being so sad after watching Zeta. The creator, Yoshiyuki Tomino said that since fans were so depressed by Zeta, he decided to take a comic approach to ZZ. However some fans thought ZZ defiled Zeta's greatness(I disagree) but it was still a popular series, and was a big success in Japan. But still, the lightheartedness of the series may not appeal to hardcore angsty Zeta fans.
The animation is several steps ahead of it's big brother, being much more colorful and clear. The character designs are nice and I especially like Judeau and his junkyard buddies, along with a goofy hopeless romantic villan named Mashimyr(who is reminicent of an incompetent Griffeth, a character from Beserk). Character designer Hiroyuki Kitazume gave the new characters a more traditional anime look, while retaining the more realistic feel in the characters' appearance, making it's look appeal to a wider audience. Mecha designs were handled by Makoto Kobayashi, Yutaka Izubuchi, and Mika Akitaka, and the new mechs(Especially the Double Zeta) look fantastic.
This really is a funny series, but it isn't all comedy, it has serious and dramatic moments, just like every other Gundam series. I found it much easier to watch than most of the other Gundam shows seeing as how it is so heavy on the comic relief, and less heavy on the intense drama and depressing moments(it has a few of those though, but some is always good). Judging by itīs comically light tone, Gundam ZZ will either be your favorite series in the Gundam saga, or the one that will give you indigestion.