Unfortunately, the presentation is not really one of GSD's strong points, with some inconsistencies in exposition and scenarios, resulting in what I've cited as a " schizophrenic " feel. Some events felt rushed while others almost took forever to unfold, with Orb's internal political conflict, and Athrun's return to the Archangel being being cases in point, respectively.

Also, some elements such as the balance between conflicting sides, some subplots( most notably Meer and Stellar's respective roles ) and the lack of strategical basis in gaining victory during battles, further aggravated some poorly planned sequences in the series( one sometimes wonders how the Freedom disposed of the Saviour in a span of seconds, or how the Legend was disabled so easily...^^).

Like any anime, Gundam SEED Destiny has its good points and its bad points. The question is which ones prime overall. Let's take a look...

On the good side, the story is nicely developed and is well linked to that in the first series. We finally get to find out what Earth Alliance's 'extended' pilots really are (a side story which spreads some light on the behavior of the first three extended pilots in Gundam SEED - Shani, Orga and Crot). We finally get to see Raw Le Klueze's face for once (I just had to point that out XP). Also, the questions and problems raised by this series are quite deep and sometimes they leave you pondering. And finally, Gundam SEED Destiny contains a few bits of humour, which are pretty enjoyable, even though there's not that many of them.

On the bad side...

This series did a good job presenting itself, though there were some parts that got confusing unless if you seen the first Gundam Seed. Overall it can do a decent job standing on its own without the first Gundam Seed. I was able to enjoy each scene as they went by; the fight scenes, the scenes between Athrun and Kira, the scenes involving Dullindal, etc. They were able to clearly state the moral of this series loud and clear. I was able to get it in the first 10 episodes. Yes that may seem kind of quick but sometimes you can't enjoy a series if you have to keep trying to figure out the moral. Its good to beable to watch a series without having to think so much.