Anime review: MS Igloo 2: The Gravity of the Battlefront

Intended to be a follow-up to the original MS Igloo stories, MS Igloo 2: The Gravity of the Battlefront (or the more simply stated, The Gravity Front, depending on your interpretation) opts to focus on the everyman within the Federation soldiers on Earth. This leads to a distinctly different storytelling method than the original MS Igloo’s focus on experimental technologies that the Zeon forces dabbled in over the course of the One Year War. In fact, MS Igloo 2 seems to teeter back and forth between weaving a tale of individuals wrapped up in ragtag units ala 08th Ms Team and adopting a sort of military journal format.

Each episode focuses on a different protagonist, but the routine is the same – there is always a character who has some bad reputation for carrying death in their wake, and by the end of each episode, there will be plenty of death and destruction. The problem with this approach is that by the end of the first episode, you already know how the other two will play out. The beginning, middle, and end of these stories are practically identical, despite the fact that they zoom in on pilots of different Federation vehicles.

The greatest offense MS Igloo 2 commits, however, is that it incorporates a literal ghost, a female phantom who is the physical manifestation and/or cause of all these characters’ bad luck. In the end, you more or less come to forget about what battles the characters were involved in because the heavy reliance on this hokey horror element is so out-of-place within the Gundam franchise. Sure, Sanders was rumored to be cursed in episodes of 08th MS Team, but that resulted in a presentation that was purely his own stress and self-doubt. There was never a spook following him around, and that is because spirits and specters don’t work well at all within the mecha genre, let alone one with such longstanding traditions as Gundam.

If there is one Gundam series that feels the result of a blatantly half-assed effort, it is MS Igloo 2. There is barely any reason to care about the characters or story, and the ‘creative elements' are just plain stupid. The quality of the CGI may be notably higher than the previous entries in the MS Igloo OVA series, and the motions of both humans and mobile suits are more fluid and lifelike. You can polish a turd all you want, but it doesn’t make it any less of a turd.

My rating: 4.75 (out of 10)

Anime review: Mobile Suit Gundam F91

Taking place thirty years after the conclusion of Char's Counterattack, Mobile Suit Gundam F91 centers around Seabook Arno and Cecily Fairchild, two friends living aboard the space colony Frontier IV, as they are caught up in the conflict between the EFSF and the Crossbone Vanguard. Early on in the film, viewers are shown that the two share romantic interests in each other, but it is implied that currently they are just friends. A short while after the Crossbone Vanguard attacks Frontier IV, Seabook and Cecily become seperated, and it becomes clear that Cecily is not entirely certain of who she is, as members of the Crossbone Vanguard claim she is an heir to the Ronah family, the most prominent figures in the Crossbone Vanguard. Escaping the colony with a group of his friends, Seabook eventually takes refuge aboard the Federation ship Space Ark, and discovers that his mother had been devloping the newest Gundam, the F91. Determined to rescue Cecily, Seabook agrees to aid the Federation and takes up the responsibility of being the F91's pilot.

There is a lot crammed into the two-hour film, a result of the plan to originally release F91 as a series. Things do seem to fly by at a bit of a fast pace, but it isn't to the point where the characters and events are simply glossed over. The film's events flow in sequence quite smoothly and refrain from being particularly choppy in a sort of cut-and-paste manner (which easily could have been the case, considering the project's history). The story's conclusion surprised me a bit, as I thought things might simply end in the fashion of Gundam SEED, but instead it is paced out just enough to provide a fitting wrap-up without overstaying its welcome.

Though there are relatively few major characters that the story of F91 is centered around, this works to the film's advantage as viewers are able to connect with them more so than if Bandai and Sunrise had chosen to spend an equal amount of time developing every character in F91. While viewers aren't given as much time to familiarize themselves with the likes of Zabine and Iron Mask, they still come across as rather well-rounded, even if they don't match the level of infamy of other Gundam villians (or anti-heroes in the case of Zabine) such as Char Aznable or Paptimus Scirocco . The secondary characters are developed well enough to come across as believable, though they certainly won't stand out as the greatest supporting cast in the entire Gundam metaseries. The strongest of these are Seabook's sister Reese and mother Monica, the latter of whom doesn't actually appear until rather late in the film, and the two play important roles in influencing Seabook's actions. Seabook's friends from Frontier IV, however, are left largely underdeveloped. A few of them do aid indirectly in the fight against the Crossbone Vanguard, and if nothing else, they provide a glimpse into the effect the conflict has on civilians.

While I would accuse few Gundam series/films of having a poor dub, Gundam F91's really stands out for how well the English voice actors portray their characters. Their emotions come across as genuine, whether in the heat of battle or fearful of loss. There really are not any significant improvements over the quality of the animation in Char's Counterattack, but F91 still looks well done for a 1991 release. The soundtrack is classic UC Gundam, and - in a similar fashion to Char's Counterattack - balances tense battle themes with light flowing pieces.

When it all boils down to it though, Mobile Suit Gundam F91 is classic Gundam. It doesn't try and throw in too much flash and flair like some of the Alternate Universe series, and it manages to balance the political aspects and character development in a near-perfect manner. The film's pacing is a bit fast and perhaps Bandai and Sunrise could have improved certain portions of the story had they allotted more time to F91, but if you are a fan of Gundam's Universal Century storylines, this is a film worth checking out.

My rating: 8.25 (out of 10)

Anime review: MS Igloo: Apocalypse 0079

Apocalypse 0079 picks up shortly after the conclusion of MS Igloo’s first chapter, The Hidden One Year War. The three episodes in this second half of the digitally animated OVA follow the crew of the Zeon ship Jotunheim as their experiments gradually move towards space and the battles that loom ahead as the One Year War draws towards its final days. While The Hidden One Year War focused largely on engineer Oliver May and recounted the various experiments from his personal point of view, Apocalypse 0079 balances the narrative more, giving Oliver, Lieutenant Commander Monique Cadillac, and Captain Martin Prochnow a major role. Other crew members aboard the Jotunheim who received little focus last time around are still given relatively minor roles, but are slightly more important in the grand scheme of the story.

Apocalypse 0079 ties in more directly with the events of the One Year War than The Hidden One Year War. From a high-velocity and heavily-equipped Z’Gok dropping from space in order to destroy Salamis and Magellan-class ships from leaving the EFSF in Jaburo, to the Jotunheim providing assistance at the battle of A Baoa Qu, things feel tightly meshed together. A few guest appearances along the way act as icing on the cake.

With The Hidden One Year War, the animation suffered marginally during the first two episodes. This time around a great attention to detail is taken into account and the animation remains consistent throughout. While there were a few cheesy moments thrown into The Hidden One Year War with deliberate comedic intent, these are almost completely removed from Apocalypse 0079 (with a few minor exceptions). Some may find this a bit upsetting, but it allows the story to stay more serious and focused. The soundtrack – which was almost nonexistent last time around – is sweeping and epic. Many of the pieces pay homage to the soundtrack of the original Mobile Suit Gundam with their overall sound, but at the same time the soundtrack stands out as a unique accompaniment to the OVA.

While the first episode of Apocalypse 0079 deals with an experiment isolated from those of the second and third episodes, it doesn’t feel too far removed and flows nicely with the overarching story. Viewers will feel a much greater connection with May and Cadillac than in the previous chapter of MS Igloo, and overall Apocalypse 0079 has a much more emotionally gripping story that is just as character-driven as that of The Hidden One Year War. With there being a mere three episodes, Bandai and Sunrise have packed as much material as possible into each and the end result is one of the best short OVAs - not just in the Gundam franchise, but of any anime ever made.

My rating: 9.75 (out of 10)

Xbox 360 review: Dynasty Warriors Gundam

Unlike many of the Gundam titles released for the previous generation of consoles, Dynasty Warriors Gundam is not a third-person shooter, but rather a free-roam hack-and-slash title based of the Dynasty Warriors franchise. Though still aimed largely at die-hard Gundam fans, this title may succeed in drawing some gamers unfamiliar with Gundam due to its accessibility and replay value.

Players can choose to play two major modes in Dynasty Warriors Gundam. The first is more objective-based and requires players to play out major battles from the main Universal Century Gundam series, including Mobile Suit Gundam, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, and Mobile Suit ZZ Gundam. There are only so many missions to each of the main protagonists of each series, but these missions are fairly lengthy and feel rather involved and true to the respective shows as all the characters involved in said conflicts enter the fray.


The second major mode of gameplay involves an original story surrounding a mysterious planet on collision course with Earth, as well as constant appearances by the Shin-Musha Gundam. This mode involves major characters from both the Universal Century and Alternate Universes, such as Amuro Ray, Kamille Bidan, Heero Yuy, and Loran Cehack. Each character plays a different role in this overarching original story, and players will have to complete all of these individual story modes to complete the entire Shin-Musha Gundam storyline. Each major character is granted a squad of support units, usually secondary characters from various Gundam series (i.e. Master Asia, Roberto, Scirocco, etc.). Each mission will then pit the player and his/her squad against that of a CPU squad. So if, say, you were to play as Amuro (assisted by Char, Apolly, and Roberto) you would face off against Loran’s squad, then Domon’s squad, then Judau’s squad, and so on as each mission was completed.

A multiplayer split-screen mode is also included, which allows players to play cooperatively in the missions included in the official series. This inclusion wasn’t exactly necessary and probably would have been more effective for online play, but is still a nice addition to the game.

The sheer number of mobile suits and characters that collide from the various Gundam universes will make any hardcore Gundam fan feel like a kid in a candy store. Any characters from Gundam series that received English dubs over the years are voiced well-enough, even if the voices aren’t all provided by the anime voice actors. Characters from ZZ and Turn A Gundam, however, are voiced by actors who deliver emotionless lines one after another. Granted, they are likely unfamiliar with the series, but faking emotion would have been better than not delivering any at all. The game does provide the option of turning on the Japanese voice actors if players find the English voices annoying.

As players enter each new area of the battlefield, they are alerted to their current position at the top of the screen and can then determine via the field’s meter how many enemies need to be defeated before the field’s defenses fall. As nice as this is, most players will probably rely more heavily on the smaller radar screen in the corner of the screen in order to navigate the battlefield. As for controls, moving about a level is as simple as pressing forward on the left joystick, and steering with the right. The rifle attacks, beam sword/melee attacks, and boost ability can all be used by the pressing of a single button each and the basic attacks quickly build up a character’s meter to unleash their more powerful attacks. As players progress through the game and level up the characters and mobile suits, new and more powerful attacks are learned.


The game’s graphic aren’t going to win the developers any awards, but they are far from terrible. There is plenty of detail put into each player-controlled mobile suit, and the laser shots and beam saber slashes react just fine with the game’s frame rate. The enemy mobile suits, which usually attack in massive hordes, are lacking a bit in detail, though this may have been intentional to prevent players from losing sight of their Gundam in the sea of enemies. There are significantly more detailed models of every mobile suit encountered in the game accessible for viewing in the gallery. As for the characters, there are no computer-generated models, rather the game just uses their original anime drawn likenesses during mission briefings or for mid-battle transmissions.

While it may not be the greatest hack-and-slash action game this generation, Dynasty Warriors Gundam deserves some credit as being one of the best Gundam titles released to date. It’s obvious that plenty of time was spent in making each unit unique and the two story modes cohesive. The combat itself would have greatly benefitted from some variation in attacks and more mobility for players, but the fact that there is a level-up system as well as some minor customization included makes up for some of this. All in all, this game is still going to be more for hardcore Gundam fans, but might find a decent number of fans outside of the Gundam fanbase.

My rating: 7.25 (out of 10)

Anime review: MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War

MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War shows various events during the One Year War from the perspective of Oliver May, a Zeon engineer. As a non-combatant from the side that would eventually lose the war, May presents a most unusual yet intriguing perspective. He is stationed aboard the Jotunheim and tasked with overseeing tests on various weapons for Zeon. As the OVA is only three episodes in length, The Hidden One Year War focuses on specific characters for each episode, with only a few – including May, Lieutenant Commander Monique Cadillac, and Captain Martin Prochnow - becoming major recurring characters.

Each episode focuses on a separate experimental project for the Zeons, and while the series does flow together as one overarching story quite seamlessly, each story is focused enough to solidify itself as a standalone story. This works to both the series’ benefit and disadvantage, as each episode sees fitting conclusion, but the dynamics of the characters aren’t very solidified for viewers until late in the show.

The series pays some tribute to the original Mobile Suit Gundam, with May being witness to the start of Operation British and even briefly encountering Char Anzable in the midst of a major battle. The RX-79 makes a brief cameo via recorded footage from the battlefront. Little things such as these, as well as the inclusion of Zeon propaganda commercials, engages viewers greatly in the story and closely ties it to the original Mobile Suit Gundam.

The computer animation works well for the most part. The characters’ body motions and facial expressions show off an extra level of effort in creating a more realistic look for the series. The ships and mobile suits are well-detailed, though their motions and reactions can be clunky and ragdoll-like at times. Most of the animation issues are corrected after the first episode and things flow smoothly afterwards. Each episode receives a noticeable increase in detail in regards to both the character and mobile suit models. The action sequences are some of the best in any Gundam series, combining realistic tactics with flashy and stylish maneuvering.

Though the OVA is rather short, the almost complete absence of an original score is surprising. There are portions of The Hidden One Year War, such as the Hildolfr’s fight against EFSF-commandeered Zaku IIs, that are tense and uncertain for the characters and silence seems appropriate. When the soundtrack does accompany a scene, it is fairly quiet and low-key.

MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War provides a distinctly different take on events familiar to Gundam fans. It is an impressive OVA for how few episodes there are, and I can’t say I’m surprised that the creators went ahead and continued the story with Apocalypse 0079. Oliver May is one of the few major Zeon characters to set himself apart from the typical grunt pilot, let alone survive long enough to develop and seem human when compared to major players on the side of the EFSF. The Hidden One Year War will certainly make much more sense for hardcore fans of the Universal Century series, but is nonetheless a great addition to the Gundam saga.

My rating: 8.75 (out of 10)

Anime review: Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team

Like many Americans, my first introduction to Gundam came in the early 2000s via Cartoon Network’s Toonami block. When a friend of mine first told me about Gundam Wing, it was late in the series. With the plot being difficult for me to follow at the point and my general dislike of the style of Gundam Wing, I ignored it (though nowadays I’ve warmed up to the series more). When Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team aired, however, I started from episode one and was almost immediately hooked. The battles were gritty and intense and I felt as if there was something about this series that made it special, that broke it away from the rest of Toonami’s shows. Perhaps it was due to the fact that 08th MS Team was one of the edgier shows that ran in Toonami’s heyday (re-watching the series in unedited format proved to me that it wasn’t exactly intended for the preteen audience). One thing is for certain – 08th MS Team is the single Gundam series that got me hooked on the franchise and is still one of my favorite anime series today.

Earth Federation pilot Shiro Amada has been assigned to lead the 08th Mobile Suit Team, which is comprised of misfits who aren’t exactly keen on one another from the start. Karen is the toughest of the bunch and often critiques her squad-mates. Sanders is paranoid that he carries a curse which will bring about the death of the rest of the squad, but tries to remain as focused as he can when on the battlefield. Eledore and Michel provide support from the Hovertruck. Eledore is a dreamer who wants to be a songwriter after the war ends, while Michel is a hopeless romantic constantly writing love letters to his girlfriend who still lives aboard one of the space colonies.


As their tour of duty carries on, the team encounters many friends and foes. Kiki and the guerillas in a nearby village support the Federation in driving the Zeon patrols away from their home. Shiro personally develops a relationship with Aina Sahalin the test pilot for the Apsalus and a daughter of Zeon nobility, as the two continuously encounter each other over the course of the series. As the two become lovers from opposite sides of the war, this aspect of the series draws a great deal of inspiration from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. During the final battle of the series, Shiro finds himself facing Norris Packard, a veteran Zeon pilot whose mobile suit of choice is a customized Gouf. While the fight sequences throughout 08th MS Team are executed beautifully, this particular fight is the cream of the crop, combining carefully laid out tactics with a plethora of questions looming in Shiro’s mind about the war and the future.

08th MS Team separates itself from most other Universal Century series through its depiction of the One Year War. As the series starts late in the war, things are becoming more and more desperate for the Zeonic forces. The pressure of constructing the Apsalus gnaws at Ginias Sahalin, Aina’s elder brother, and he slowly loses his grip on sanity. While Shiro questions the causes and outcomes of the war, the Earth Federation chain of command becomes increasingly suspicious of him and presumes him to be a spy, asking his squad members to take drastic action should he disobey their orders in any way. While Karen and Sanders don’t want to ignore orders from their superior officers, they trust Shiro a great deal and this makes for a tense atmosphere during the latter portion of the series.

Unlike the original Mobile Suit Gundam, 08th MS Team focuses almost exclusively on ground combat. The 08th MS Team is granted use of the RX-79 Gundam, mass-produced after the schematics of Amuro Ray’s RX-78. The RX-79 is a much stronger mobile suit than the typical grunt GM, but is not invincible, as evidenced when the team encounters Zeon forces in battle. The series’ combat sequences are tense but carefully planned out. Shiro calculates the possible outcomes before beginning a mission, as he greatly values the lives of his pilots.


While the most intense and entertaining episodes are saved for the second portion of the series, 08th MS Team does a great job with its pacing. There is a practically perfect balance in action and plot development throughout and some minor story climaxes spike before the the two-part finale of "The Shuddering Mountain". The final episode of the OVA (which was never aired in the US on Cartoon Network) feels a little disjointed at first. It isn't exactly the resolution most viewers will be expecting, but it is very much appropriate given the context of the series. Even if viewers aren't overly thrilled by episode twelve, it is seperate enough from the main story that it won't ruin 08th MS Team for them.

Though it was an early dub, the English voice actors do a great job of portraying their characters to a point where it becomes almost interchangeable with their Japanese counterparts. The soundtrack is much more fitting and inspired than most Gundam soundtracks, but it still isn’t quite at the level of superb. The art style utilizes a more realistic look, with greens and browns for the backdrops of the jungle and desert environments. The mobile suits are incredibly detailed down to the tiniest inner mechanics. Everything is given a weathered look, emphasizing the impact of the One Year War and the pilots' time spent on the frontlines. Thankfully there is no filler content, and while the pacing of the episodes may make them feel longer than they actually are at times, this is a good thing as it allows all the events to settle in and make an impact on viewers.


Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team is certainly one of the more adult Gundam series to date, and this could be a make-or-break aspect for viewers. The impact of the One Year War is ever-present over the course of the series and the logic posed by the characters much deeper and more meaningful than in many other Gundam series. The characters are very believable and while some viewers might not enjoy each diverse personality equally, it is those differences that allow the characters to play off one another so fluidly.

My rating: 9.75 (out of 10)

Anime review: Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack

In bringing the Char Aznable/Amuro Ray story to a close, Tomino and his team decided to go ahead with a full-length theatrical finale. The film was called Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack, and took place six years after the conclusion of Zeta Gundam and fourteen years after the original Mobile Suit Gundam. Unlike Zeta Gundam – wherein Amuro and Char fought side-by-side for the AEUG – Char’s Counterattack pitted the two against each other, much like their relationship during the One Year War. While this was completely new material, the film was – to an extent – a tribute to the fans as well.

The film opens up with a rather quick description of what has been occurring in recent days, as Char has ushered a Neo Zeon movement in hopes of opening the eyes of those humans living on Earth to the way they are living day to day. Much of Char’s time spent onscreen during the first half of the film, showing how he has changed and delving into his personal life. Amuro, however, is spending a lot of time trying to figure out what Char is trying to prove by dropping so many colonies/asteroids onto Earth. As he fights through various squadrons of Neo Zeon forces, it becomes very clear to viewers that Amuro has matured a great deal since his days as pilot of the RX-78 Gundam.

Plenty of other characters make returns as well, from Bright Noa (former commander of the White Base) to Astonaige Medoz (mechanic onboard the Argama and collaborator on the Zeta Gundam). While some of these characters are more prominent than others, it certainly brings a feel of nostalgia about the film.


The newcomers, however, are a mixed bag. Hathaway Noa and Quess Paraya act out the stereotypical troublesome children in the series, with Quess inevitably defecting to Char’s cause and Hathaway believing he is truly in love with Quess, going so far as to hijack a Londo Bell mobile suit in order to win her heart. Gyunei Guss serves as Neo Zeon’s ace pilot and brings back the debate between Newtypes and average humans as a cyber-Newtype. Rezin Schnyder is the head of Neo Zeon’s Geara Doga squadrons, and a hot-headed pilot with plenty to prove to Char. Chan Agi serves as Amuro’s love interest during the film, and though she did not appear in any Gundam series prior to Char’s Counterattack, her involvement is not as distracting as I thought it might be. Rather, her realtionship with Amuro keeps the story flowing right along as she too engages in combat on the side of Londo Bell.

The mobile suit designs are sleek and flashy but still practical, echoing their predecessors from days long-gone. Of significant prominence in the film are the psycommu systems incorporated into many mobile suits, as well as the experimental psycho-frame, which comes into major play late in the film. The cockpits now provide a complete 360-degree view of the space surrounding the mobile suits, and as such this adds a whole new level of depth to the fight sequences, particularly those between Amuro and Char. A few inclusions, such as the inflatable ‘dummy ships’ are a tad silly and haven’t aged as well as most of the other tech included in the film.


For the time of its release, the animation in Char's Counterattack still looks quite good, even by today's standards. The soundtrack is one of the more impressive Gundam scores, with its emphasis on brass and string instruments echoing the sounds of Star Wars. The Japanese voice actors are obviously the first to perform their respective roles, and will be the only voices fitting of their characters in the eyes of some viewers. I, however, feel that the English voice actors did a fantastic job with Char's Counterattack, with a few minor exceptions including Quess and Hathaway.

The film clocks in at just over two hours in length, and while this is far more fitting than many anime films which average an hour and a half long, it still feels rushed. The biggest issue with the timing lies in the middle of the film, as Londo Bell and Neo Zeon fight back and forth and the characters deal with their various stances on the conflict. These events fall one after another and it’s difficult as a viewer to gauge their exact time frame. As a whole, the film does a good job of explaining the story of Char’s Counterattack in detail, with plenty of characters to fuel the conflict. But with so much going on during the second half of the film, it almost would have made more sense for Tomino to expand the project from a standalone film to a short OVA series. Despite its shortcomings, the film accomplishes what it set out to do – provide a fitting end to an age-old rivalry.

My rating: 8 (out of 10)

Anime review: Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket

As the One Year War draws to a close, the Zeonic forces are trying every card they’ve still got up their sleeve to hit the Earth Federation hard. One strike group plans to destroy the prototype RX-78 NT-1 Gundam, nicknamed the “Alex”, before it can leave Earth. However, the Zeon team’s assault fails and the Gundam escapes. Having lost one man, they are given a last-minute transfer named Burnie Wiseman to aid in their attempt to destroy the Gundam from within the neutral colony Side Six. Once onboard the colony, the Zeon team begins construction of the Kampfer mobile suit in order to destroy the Gundam, should an attempt to capture it fail.

A young boy named Alfred Izuruha is fascinated with the mobile suits and the One Year War, and finds himself constantly daydreaming at school. He becomes caught up in the affairs of the Zeons, and acts as a spy for them. Alfred is also neighbor to Chris MacKenzie, the test pilot of the NT-1 “Alex” Gundam. A happy-go-lucky kid who is eager to prove just how tough he is to everyone else, Alfred learns firsthand what the war can ultimately bring.

Though he doesn’t really fit in with the rest of his squad, Burnie gets along well with Alfred, and the two form a sort of younger and older brother dynamic. Ironically enough, Burnie also forms a fairly strong and positive relationship with Chris. It is not until late in the series that Alfred realizes the danger that Chris and Burnie are both put in by standing on opposite sides of the conflict and their direct interactions with each other.


As for the remaining characters, they are rather boring. The other Zeon squad members aren’t very diverse, and all fit the role of cocky soldiers picking on the newest member, Bernie. Alfred feels pressure from his classmates to prove just how ‘tough’ he is, though this is really nothing more than any typical schoolchild would experience. Alfred’s family is explored very briefly, and we learn that his parents’ relationship is not the strongest. This side story is resolved in the end, but doesn’t add a whole lot to the series, as Alfred is more focused on his mission with the Zeons.

The first three episodes are largely centered around the characters. While this does allow for more spectacular action sequences in the second half of the OVA, it also makes the story a bit slow-going. The fight sequences between the mobile suits are pretty cool, especially when the Kampfer and the Alex face off, and these take up a lot of the time of the last three episodes. There is a plot twist late in the series that changes the status of the Zeons’ mission, and the way in which it plays out makes for a tense atmosphere.


The animation is quite good, though the most impressive visuals are saved for the combat sequences. Overall, it looks cleaner than Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, which is only to be expected, as War in the Pocket was released four years after Zeta Gundam. The backgrounds are very detailed and this works to the shows’ benefit, especially during sequences that involve little or no combat. The mobile suit designs are mostly variants from the original Mobile Suit Gundam, though the Kampfer and Hygogg show off some of the advancements made over the course of the One Year War. The soundtrack is pretty average – it isn’t bad in any way, but there aren’t any songs that particularly stand out as being overly complex in orchestration or more fitting to the series than another.

Gundam 0080 is one of a few Gundam series that ends on a sad note. Burnie’s story focuses on being accepted and proving himself as a soldier, while Alfred’s is mostly focused on the theme of growing up and the inevitable hardships along the way. While Gundam 0080 does deliver a solid story, the pacing is a little awkward and the characters vary from deep and interesting to underdeveloped and uninteresting. For a six-episode OVA, Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket gives an interesting change in perspective, but doesn’t really push the envelope in any way.

My rating: 7 (out of 10)

Anime review: Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory

In 1991, artist Shoji Kawamori, best known for his mecha designs in Robotech: The Macross Saga, joined directors Mitsuko Kase and Takashi Imanishi to create a new chapter in the Mobile Suit Gundam saga, bridging the gap between the original Mobile Suit Gundam and Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. The result was one of the most tense and realistic Gundam series ever released.

Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory is built out of a similar formula to that of Mobile Suit Gundam: 08th MS Team. It consists of thirteen episodes, and begins with a flashback to the battle of A Baoa Qu during the One Year War. Anavel Gato, ace pilot of the Zeon forces is planning to go back out into battle when he is halted by his superior, Augille Delaz, who promises that they will have their revenge someday. The story then jumps ahead three years to an Earth Federation base in what is left of Australia. Kou Uraki and Chuck Keith, two rookie pilots are running training exercises when one of the Federation’s newest ships – the Albion – arrives to deliver two new prototype Gundams, one of which is equipped with a nuclear launcher. That night, Gato and a strike team infiltrate the base and manage to steal the nuclear-equipped Gundam GP-02. Without much thought, Kou tails them in the Gundam GP-01, but the Zeons manage to escape after a brief skirmish.


The Albion gives chase across Africa for a while, until the Zeon forces manage to escape into space. Fearing the worst possible outcome now that the Zeon forces have control of a nuclear-equipped Gundam, the Albion launches in space, with Kou, Chuck, their superior officer Lieutenant Burning, and designer of the prototype Gundams Nina Purpleton onboard with Commander Synapse and his crew.

While all of this is going on, Delaz and Gato are becoming increasingly suspicious of Cima Garahau, another Zeon commander who seems to be hiding information from them. Nonetheless, Delaz and Gato continue forth with Operation: Stardust and gather as many Zeon remnants as possible before attacking the Federation forces at Solomon and carrying out their plans. The series deals with a large amount of deception on both sides of the conflict. The constant mystery that envelops the true nature of Operation: Stardust puts a tense air about the whole series.

Kou Uraki plays a role similar to Amuro Ray, though he is arguably more mature and quick to action. This is a good thing, as the series is only thirteen episodes in total and too much hesitation would likely result in boredom for viewers. That said, some viewers may find Kou and Nina’s relationship to take too much focus, and perhaps thrown in just to create another underlying conflict in the series, albeit a minor one. Still, Nina and Kou’s relationship inevitably comes to a head in an intriguing plot twist in the final episode.

Anavel Gato plays opposite Kou as a sort of Char counterpart who is more concerned with the rebirth of Zeon than his own personal revenge against the Earth Federation. Gato believes his cause to be noble and necessary to the advancement of mankind, refusing to let himself lose sight of his ultimate goal amidst threats from the Earth Federation and his suspicion of Cima.


The series hits a brick wall, so to speak, about ¾ of the way through, just as the space battles become really heated and exciting. The Albion is forced to resupply on the Moon, and Kou spends most of this time exploring until he encounters a former Zeon pilot who wants to rebuild a mobile armor. Oddly enough, Kou decides to go along without much hesitation, as if he’s known the guy for years - a major break from his character’s attitude throughout the rest of the series. Granted, the ship is low on fuel and supplies, but they seem to take as long as possible to get back to the action. That, combined with the fact that Cima is there as well, scheming behind the scenes, makes this portion of the show by far the slowest, weakest and rather corny.

When the action is heated, however, Stardust Memory delivers some of the most brilliantly orchestrated fight sequences in any Gundam series. The fact that nearly two thirds of the series takes place in outer space gave the animators a lot more freedom with this aspect, and they utilized it to the fullest. The battles do not feel repetitive, however. The total body count at the end of the series is massive, which largely fuels the push for the creation of the Titans forces in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam.


As with most Gundam series, the Japanese and English voice acting are both superb. The soundtrack is decent enough and fits each sequence, but there are only a few songs that stand out as being more memorable than others. The animation is nearly flawless, rivaling the quality of some of the more recent Gundam series.

Even with its shortcomings, Stardust Memory is one series that every Gundam fan should give a try. It’s a very tense and serious take on the Gundam universe, but delivers some impressive storytelling and beautiful animated sequences. The characters may not be every viewer’s cup of tea and the mobile suit designs are largely rehashes of those from previous series. But aside from one major hitch, the action builds until an absolutely spectacular finale.

My Rating: 8 (out of 10)