In year 0079 of the Universal Century, the Earth Federation initiates Operation Odessa—a full-scale assault to retake a major Ukrainian city from the Principality of Zeon. It is a success, and the remaining Zeon forces scatter across the globe. The Earth Federation gains the upper hand in the One Year War and deploys its ground troops around the planet to hunt down the stragglers.
As part of the deployments, Ensign Shiro Amada is transferred to Southeast Asia to take command of the 08th MS Team—a special squadron of RX-79[G] Gundam Ground Type pilots. In their first guerilla operation, Shiro's team is tasked with distracting the Zeon forces while Federation ground troops locate a mysterious new Zeon weapon. Everything goes according to plan until Shiro runs into Aina Sahalin, an ace Zeon pilot he met in an earlier battle, during a skirmish. Their reunion weakens his resolve to continue fighting, and now the young commander Shiro must prove his loyalty to the Federation—or be branded a traitor.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
jmoriarty84
A lot of Gundam fans will probably tell you this is definitely either the best Gundam series, or at least a top 5 one. Hell, maybe even one of the best animes of all time. Allow me to explain why many including myself feel this way which this review is of course for. Despite being a short oav series, it has a descent amount of character on both the Zeon and Federation’s side where they all stand out and get their chance to shine, and develop as a result of it. Every character has their own ambition and dreams out side of the war. Suchas Eladore, the sound specialist wants to be a musician, and Michel, who is timid and cowardly, wants to go back home and be with his girlfriend. And there are some characters who have personal issues such as Terry Sanders who is called the reaper because he’s the only surviving member of his previous units, and Karen just doesn’t think Shiro has what it takes to be a commander. However, Shiro is the all around character who has this mysterious and unorthodox kind of charisma, who is trying to not only develop his own leadership skills, but to find his role in this conflict and to find his way to confess his love to Aina despite being an enemy soldier. Even though he is a rookie, he is still strict and very dedicated to completing his mission and truly values loyalty.
On the Zeon side, we have Aina herself. She is very formal and obedient to her brother, Ginias, who is a straight out psycho-path. And there’s the bad ass Norris, who is their ace pilot , and is a father figure to Aina. So once again, this Gundam series delivers an all around cast with a well paced story that revolves around solving their issues and developing the characters which was how I viewed it. The Romeo and Juliet thing is a bit cliché’, but not really over the top. It’s used effectively and reasonably, and it also helps the development of Shiro and Aina as well. I will further elaborate on what I feel on what I think the themes are.
The art is just fantastic. The character designs are very diverse and distinctive, and the environments are well detailed thanks to the work of Kawamoto Toshihiro, who has also served as a staff member in other duties such as on Votoms, Full Metal Alchemist, Gundam 0083, and Patlabor. I really like the expressions the faces have in the battles as well as the angles and postures. I will elaborate on how I feel about the battles later, so time to talk about the mechanical designs. The mobile suits are of course still in complimentary of the original Gundam designs, except the pack more heavy fire power and have more of a bulky look to it which suits the nature of the battles which I will now talk about. In comparison to your traditional Gundam where it’s all about space battles, we are now reduced to watching guerrilla jungle warfare, so strategy and tactics play a big part into this series like how it did in the final battle of War in the Pocket. So it brings a different sense of intensity, anticipation, and excitement which helps makes this series stand out in comparison to other Gundams because the characters aren’t of course newtypes where they got crazy reflexes. And you have to watch this anime until the end. The 2nd to last battle is most certainly a top 5 in Gundam battles or fights in general of all time. Due to all of these combined great features I can’t say anything bad on.
The voice acting in both English and Japanese are excellent and top quality. Both languages have actors that equally represent their characters. Even though Steve Cannon was very terrible as Ippo in the English version of Hajime no Ippo, he was great as Shiro. He played someone who was new to his role, but really took it seriously. I thought his higher pitched voice was well more suited to the nature of his character, but the Japanese voice actor, Hiyama Nobuyuki brought a different kind of maturity to the character, but wasn’t really as spirited which I felt was part of Shiro’s character. All-round veterans such as Kikuko Inoue plays the role of Aina, who is dead accurate as someone who looks meek, but is very strong willed on the outside. And believe me, I give this anime one of the best performances ever. I say it’s superior to that of Cowboy Bebop’s.
The music is also well suited to the nature of this show. The background music gives a more traditional military style to really represent the way I described the action with its different sense of intensity and excitement as a result of anticipation. And the opening theme Arashi no Naka de Kagayaite is highly energetic, and the ending theme 10 years after really represents a more campy nature that represents the unity of the team.
Well, I’ll conclude this review with two notes. First of all, I feel the only negative this anime has is its ending. Not really saying it’s a bad ending, but it didn’t really live up to what I was expecting and you’re free to disagree with that. But then again, who said endings had to be happy? I felt the Cartoon Network ending leaves things too inconclusive because the true ending they couldn’t show due to the portrayal of kids in war, which I thought, was a totally ludicrous reason. I felt the true ending was too much out of convenience and really felt out of place, and a majority of the cast was really absent. Maybe that’s because the original director died during the releasing of this oav. I don’t know. But my 2nd note is how I love this movie is about loyalty and trust. It’s a consistent theme throughout this show and it portrays it in a sensible way in the scenario presented in this anime. Even though Shiro is the leader and despite his age, I like how he treats everybody equally and he makes sure everybody lives up to his number one rule, that everybody comes back alive.
DarkerThanDante
Where to start. Well, maybe I am crazy, as I am the only negatize reveiw so far, but to be frank this is my least favourite Gundam to date, regardless of the fact it is an OVA. It was not horrible, indeed it was alright, but thats it - alright. Personally I expected more, especially from Gundam. STORY This is one aspect that as stated earlier was mediocre. It had so more potential and I beleive if it had been a series, not an OVA, it could have been developed far better. Without divulging to much, the basic premise is that it is a side storyto the original MSG and takes place near the end of the War between the EF and Zeon. It follows a rag-tag unit, the 08th MS team, and their various encounters while adding a romantic element with the commander of the team and a Zeon pilot. The zeons pilot happens to be sister to the Zeon Commander in the same area as the 08th team. A noraml 'Gundam' thing to do. However where as some Gundams pull it off, this one does not. The overall story is dull, and frankly the ending is unbelivable and bad. Also, and this is where opinions are split, the action is very realistic, or at least as realistic as possible, which I dilike. Some people like this, I personally do not. When I watch Gundam i want to see over the top action and fighting, but in this regard I was let down, which I could have excepted if the story had actuallt been decent. On top of this most Gundams have an overarching political or philosopichal meaning, even if they are obvious, and I like the chance to think about those things, to me the anime gains more meaning that way. The story here is simply a narrative, a story with no meaning, nothing to really pull out of it thematically, so in that regard I feel it fails.
ART
I have nothing bad to say here. The animation was excellent and a large step up from it's contemporary, Wing. It was gritty, and realisitic looking, and all the MS had details glaour. The art was excellent for it's time and a joy to see in motion.
SOUND
The Sound overall was good. The effects were excellent and the voices in Japanese i felt were wonderful, but in English failed as per usual. I did not car for the opening, ending, or sountrack however as it was pretty jazzy, which really isn't my style.
CHARACTER
Oh dear god. This is were my opinion differs the far by most. I could not stand most of the characters is the show, with maybe two exceptions. I did not think they were realistic at all. Their ideal were foolish and childish, and they were often overdramtic. Along with that they were the most rag-tag group of soliders I have ever seen, and would not last very long in an actual Army as they have a lot of trouble following orders.
ENJOYMENT[b/]
So, as you can most likely can tell, I had my problems with this series. It is not bad, but i could have watched far better things even if it is only 12 episodes.
OVERALL
Without a doubt in my mind, it was simply mediocre. It was not Bad, but with such a wide range of other, better Gundams out there to choose form, I would not bother. However, if like myself you wanted to watch it as it takes place between the original and Zeta, adn you wnat to watch them chronologically, then go ahead, just don't expect to be blown out of the water.
jamesx33
This gundam series differed completely from any other gundams I've watched. This is more of a lighthearted soldier's perception on the battlefield rather than the whole political and philosophical thinking that goes on in the other series. It really has a practical and direct style unlike the other gundams and takes a more lighter tone with a commander just trying to accomplish his missions with the help of his squad on an episode to episode basis. And you know what? Thats good. This show pulls it off with the enjoyment level. Shiro and his crew makepeople want to root for them and get into that "feel good" factor when they succeed against adversity.
The more realistic and intricate fight scenes are great which personally I favor more than the huge overexaggerated fight scenes in wing and seed (which I don't actually mind though).
Whatever you do, do NOT be put off by the old animation. If i remember correctly, I watched this right after finishing the 2nd FMP series and I consciencely didn't even notice the old animation style while being swept away by the excitement and pleasure of watching the 8th ms team.
Characters are incredibly likeable and they're all sound of mind (well, they are compared to the characters in other gundams).
But the factor that just blew me away was the enjoyment. Disregarding any of the aesthetic qualities and originality or blah blah blah of the series, I simply enjoyed the series and ended up watching through all 12 episodes straight through. It was just fun to watch. 12 episodes may seem short for a gundam masterpiece, but it turned out way better than my expectations. This is highly recommended for those who love gundam, or hate it. This is a more action/feel good style of gundam that people who may not be into mecha might most likely enjoy. All of my friends, who never were interested in mecha until this one popped up, agree. A fun, short, sweet, and memorable ride following the determined gundam crew and the struggles & adversity they face...
OtakuFreak
Hello!! It's me, Otakufreakmk2, with another Gundam Review!! YAAAYY!!! Knowing not many of you are fans of Gundam, I'm taking the privilage of introducing you to some of the best in Gundam! Okay, when Gundam first came out in the US we were introduced to Gundam Wing and it's pretty boys. Well after that Cartoon Network soon showed the Original Gundam Series, then following up with it's side stories. One of these Side Stories was Mobile Suit Gundam 08th MS Team. Unlike many of the Gundam series, this series showed much praise from it's loyal fans. It's uniqe way at approaching the story line was verygood and the relationship between characters was very good. The designs, as well, were amazing. This was something that I had to see.
The Story involves a less known Earth Federation Soldier Named Shiro Amada. He is sent to Earth on a mission to force the Zeon Forces out of earth, but on the way to Earth a battle begins. He soon helps a soldier in need and ends up becoming stranded in space with a female Zeon pilot named Aina Sahalin. They both fall in love but go their seperate ways. They both arrive on Earth and in the same battle grounds. They must now face each other off in a battle to end all battles on Earth. Shiro and his team of Ground Force Gundams against Aina and her brother's ultimate creation the Apsulas.
The story shows alot about what war does to people, in this case a war between Giant Robots. This is a Gundam series that must be seen. It doesn't really matter if you don't like Gundam, it's just an anime that you have to see. It's been awarded one of the bestAnime Of The Year, so that's proof of it's quality. Take it from me, the Otakufreak.
dinohunterpat
For a superlative series that claims to be the most realistic Gundam entry, it more than lives up to that title. This series delivers as a compelling self-contained story that offers a unique interesting take on the franchise without rehashing past elements. The story for the most part offers an interesting of the conflict. Rather than focus on a single hero and his special superpowered giant robot, the emphasis is on average grunts fighting on front line. This emphasis offers a unique insight on the soldiers that are often overlooked as worthless cannon fodder. Plus, it makes the action scenes more impressive. Rather than rely onspecial powers, these soldiers must rely on their skills and tactics which makes their accomplishments seem all the more significant. The Zeon commander Norris Packard in particular manages to win when outnumbered even if he lacks Char's his fancy custom red mechas and newtype powers.
The characters themselves are also pretty good. Our main hero Shiro is really identifiable since he has likable idealist views and tries to preserve those with harsh reality. It really helps that Steve Staley does a lively job voicing Shiro despite Gundam's history of having occasionally cheesy voice acting. Shiro's girlfriend Aina is a well-developed star-crossed lover who can be a proper lady while also fighting as an elite pilot. Norris Packard is also awesome because he's a badass who fights off elite mobile suits yet can be a loving father to Aina. Plus Norris is named after another awesome fighter: Chuck Norris.
Yet arguably the best thing about this series is its realism. Whereas other Gundam entries show the horror of wars through high body counts (I'm looking at you Zeta and Victory), this entry shows how war sucks because it's realistically exhausting and frustrating. All these giant robots need constant maintenance and have a tendency to fail at the worst times (just like real life robots). Normally this grittiness would feel like a distraction but here it complements the story since it intentionally exhausts the viewer. At the end, we would be sick of the hardships of warfare and want it to end just like Shiro. As a result, 08th MS Team hammers in the hellish aspects of warfare without having to cram in excessively brutal deaths or war crimes.
Overall this is worth a watch. The characters are well-developed. The story is engaging while also being self-contained and accessible. The atmosphere is well-crafted. This really is a worthy installment in the Gundam franchise
UnfortunateEvent
With this being one of the highest-rated Mobile Suit Gundam instalments, I must be missing something. Unfortunately, I strongly dislike this OVA. Watching it lead me to the point of putting on hold all MS Gundam-related anime. Firstly, a bit of background. My Gundam journey started in an unusual way - with Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War In The Pocket. I was absolutely stunned by the skilful storytelling and the full-blooded characters whose naivete made me truly feel how terrible war is. After completing Mobile Suit Gundam 0079, I was absolutely hooked, so I decided to move on by following the recommended watch order, eventually reaching Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08thMS Team.
Once the first episode started, I was surprised at how unpleasant and weak the characters were - a pack of cliches bundled up together. The "lead" Shiro Amada is probably the worst protagonist in similar series. He has a burst of bravery a few minutes in but quickly proves he has no characteristics whatsoever except for his uncanny desire to always be looking for love in a way a 13-year-old would.
The rest reminded me of other MS Gundam characters' pale copies. Example: Aina and Ginias are brother and sister, brought close by family drama and torn apart by their ways of overcoming it - just as Casval and Artesia. The difference is, Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team fails to provide any background and development for the pale doppelgangers, making them underdeveloped and useless alternative versions, screaming statements instead of acting like full-blooded humans.
As a whole, the characters themselves are so weakly introduced that their "emotions", once displayed, seem unreal, forced and theatrical. I will only note the cellar scene between Eledore and Michael in episode 5. I have honestly never seen something so deranged and ridiculous in a non-comedy anime.
You cannot argue with facts and it is no wonder the characters for this OVA are added to so few Favourites. They are underdeveloped, weak, and unmemorable, which is unfortunate for an MS Gundam series.
Story-wise, the centre-stage romance between the protagonist Federation pilot Shiro and the Zeon genius-test-pilot-disgraced-aristocrat Aina seems to come from nowhere and appears very pretentious and forced. If people's upbringing, resolve and motivation were as easily overwritten as they were with these two, there would have been no wars. This is a wonderful but, unfortunately, unfounded and superficial belief. The worst part is, this extreme pacifism is something I came up with to try and make sense of all the corny scenes.
I am surprised how far behind war strategy, and even MS Gundam are in these series, following behind sex drive, romance, friendship, jokes, hobbies, talents etc. The stories are messy and do not really build-up to anything significant. There is also no particular continuation or purpose in any of the occurrences - people randomly grab boobs and blabber about their dreams, there are random enemies and intimate sharing between characters who never before spoke to each other. For the latter, I will mention episode 6 and the conversation between Michael and Kiki.
I will spare any spoilers, but another awkward moment is the extra-dramatic scene between Aina and Norris in episode 10, when we have only seen him acting pretty much as her silent bodyguard.
When battles happen, they are mostly quick and without much display of either the pilot or the craft's skill. Mecha are shown as pretty standard clunky huge robots pushing into each other, smashing in-between mountains or getting shot by a rocket. This is all very impressive unless you have watched some of the other MS Gundam series and gotten to know what these mecha mean and are, what they cost their creators and how many lives they changed.
The last two episodes (11 and 12) were as inexplicable to me as possible. They defined logic, physics and anatomy in a completely bizarre way, expected maybe in an otome game but never in a war drama mecha adventure.
The animation is quite good and the voice actors are doing a great job. Music sometimes gets in the way by being a bit too forceful while playing its part as an atmosphere-builder. Still, I did not mind it too much.
Overall, I am surprised this anime is not tagged as a comedy as well. I am giving it a 5, just because of the animation and how much I love other MS Gundam series. However, if this was the first anime I see, I would have never continued watching.
Huntsman
The best Gundam anime series I've seen. It has many differences with all the other Gundam series out there. First there is the great story that only focuses on two main characters and five or six secondary characters, and the story is far reaching, taking place in one place through out the series. The second thing that separates this series from the rest of the Gundam series are the characters. There are only two main characters in Aina Sahalin and Shiro Amada and about six supporting characters. Other Gundam Series have five or six main characters anda bunch of supporting ones. With so few characters the anime and focus on them and give them life, which creators of the show did. Finally there is the action, which is unlike any other Gundam series you'll see. It's actually believable. No overblown battles, no super Gundams, just gritty down to earth war combat, that gets you excited and drawn into the battles.
So in conclusion if you want to see a Gundam series for the first time or see a different kind of Gundam series this is it. The only other series that compares is the original Mobile Suit Gundam.
SoulReaverDan
This is by far the most realistic of the Gundam series. Well, as realistic as giant robots fighting in outer space can be. Rather than focus on the pilots of intense, immensely powerful gundam units like Wing or Seed, 08th MS Team focuses on the grunts, the guerrilla soldiers, the front line troops fighting in the war. Battles are far more realistic, and while not as flashy as Gundam Wing's, just as intense. Damage is real, and when a Gundam's arm is blown off, it's not repaired the next episode for the point of having it back. People get reallyhurt, people die- and the ending brings tears to my eyes, seeing the two of them walking from the wreck (hope that's vague enough), no spoilers meant.
Watch it if you like sci-fi and war. Hell, even if you just like war stories. This one is more down to earth... very easy to enjoy. Too short, though.
Darkfoxzvz_101
I really love the gundam series so when i saw this show i was hyped. In the end i feel like this show is ok the story was ok the sound was great but the one thing that sucked was the charecters. They were so paper thin the main charecters were so boring they introduced the reaper giving him a scary back story they gave him like 1-2 episodes to explain his back story than they kinda left him in the dust.his whole existence was thrown out the window its like the show completly forgot about him after explaining his charecter and this isn't thefirst time they did this the whole army got the same shit. Eledore got two episodes than boom he's geting too mych spot light time to pulll the plug. Then there was the main charecter jesus christ if you think shonen main characters are bad wait to you see shiro god he literaly thinks like a shonen main charecter except he does most of the killing and then cries like a baby when shit doesn't go his way. The worse part is the romance if i had to run a track couse against usain bolt i would use the romance as my body because it way too fast like literally he saw this girl like two or three times Then boom they fall in love for plot convenience using forced romance to cause tragedy when shit happens to them does not mean people will feel bad it just means it was rushed and lazy.
Final thoughts: this show is really good if not for the horrible characters i think this show would be really good i guess if you can brave the mediocrity then watch this show other wise don't watch this you will really get bored
ktulu007
I've talked about the Gundam franchise a few times. 00, Wing & Iron-Blooded Orphans. This time around we're looking at a shorter Gundam series, the 08th MS Team. This one aired starting in '96 and finished in '99. It went on for so long because the original director, Kanda Takeyuki, was tragically killed in a car accident and it took them a while to find a replacement. Let's take a look at the twelve episode OVA. Story: The narrative takes place after the original Gundam series. The Federation and Zeon forces are battling over Earth. Amada Shiro comes from space to lead the 08th MS Team,after meeting a Zeon woman and having his entire outlook changed.
There are a couple big narrative issues with the series. The first is that the big theme of needing to humanise your enemies and find common ground, while good in concept, isn't very well executed. The romance is utter rubbish with the two leads meeting and being forced to work together out of necessity and then falling for each other because they've known one another for all of an hour. Yeah, that's going to lead to a strong, world changing relationship. The ending is also pretty stupid. It's not well developed or handled.
With all that being said, there are some good ideas behind the series. The more episodic stuff that focuses on this small unit carrying out missions and engaging with the battlefield in their own way is pretty decent too.
Characters:
The characters in this are just generally under-written. They aren't a bad group of characters or super one note but they aren't very interesting or that complex and their interactions are just banal. It doesn't help that their motivations are also pretty weak.
Art:
The series looks pretty good. The backgrounds are nicely filled out. The mecha designs are pretty decent. And the action scenes flow pretty nicely.
Sound:
The actors are completely capable. Hiyama Nobuyuki, Koyama Mami, Yuuki Hiro, Genda Tessyo, Inoue Kikuko and the others are all capable. It's one of those cases where they'd probably be better if the characters were less under-written but they're decent. Tanaka Kouhei's soundtrack is pretty good.
Ho-yay:
There's none to be found.
Areas of Improvement:
1. Develop your romance so that it feels more natural, stronger and has some impact.
2. Have some strong character development. Maybe not for every minor character, but at least have it for your major characters.
3. A better developed ending. Spend more time setting things up, more time actually spent fleshing them out and extrapolating on things.
Final Thoughts:
This isn't the worst Gundam series I've reviewed. That dubious honour still goes to 00. That being said, it's not a good series. The under-written characters and poorly fleshed out narrative don't lead to a strong viewing experience. I'm giving it a 5/10. It's bland.
Emperor_Wolfgang
Recently, I've been getting into Gundam by watching the series in rough release order. The 08th MS Team was one of the series that I was most looking forward to, considering that most of the fandom (as well as non-Gundam fans) seems to hold it in high regard, as well as its reputation for being the "muh realism" Gundam, or "space Vietnam", both of which were enticing concepts to me. Much to my surprise and dismay, as I watched 08th I quickly found my preconceptions about the show to be horribly misleading. Firstly, though, we can talk about the Art and Sound design, which I'll bundletogether here. In this regard, I can say that 08th is exactly what I thought it would be. The scenes are beautifully animated and the mobile suits are certainly the most realistic feeling in the series that I've seen; There's a weight to the suits that often doesn't manifest in the other shows', and each suit is clearly designed to evoke the fact that it is a gigantic mechanical weapon of war. We get to see the inner workings of individual mobile suits several times, and it's clear that they've redesigned classic suits like the Zaku, the Guntank, the GM, etc. so they would be more in line with this realistic vision of the One Year War. Sound design keeps in line with this, with the heavy stomping of mobile suits and the sounds of the guns that they use coming to mind.
Alternatively, I would say that the character design is in contrast to this realism ethos that the studio was going for. The late-nineties anime design that clearly echoes the likes of Gundam Wing or G Gundam certainly doesn't mesh as well as perhaps the style of War in the Pocket or Stardust Memory, but at the same time I wouldn't say that it automatically put me off of the series. Generally the characters look decent and are well-animated, I'm just confused as to this design decision, although it arguably ties into the severe problems that arise in the series.
That is to say, that I think the story and characters of 08th MS team are downright bad. We have several main plotlines that are various shades of poor: Firstly, there's the relatively inoffensive but certainly underwhelming main threat of Zeon developing a dangerous new mobile armor and the 08th's efforts to stop them. Next, we have the "shades of gray" narratives, so to speak, where we get to see that there's decent people in Zeon, bad people in the Federation and civilians that were caught in-between; not a novel plot thread but one with potential. Finally, we have the inter-personal relationships and tribulations of the 08th MS team as well as particular Zeon characters, the most prominent of these being those of the main character Shiro Amada, and the main Zeon perspective, Aina Sahalin.
As mentioned, the plot about the Zeon mobile armor "Apsalus" is inoffensive but doesn't really do much other than act as a threat. For the Feddies it just acts as a Macguffin threat that they need to stop, and on the Zeon side we don't really get much interesting intrigue out of it, just the normal Zeon betrayals. Meanwhile, the "gray" stuff mostly flatlines; nice guy Zeons is par for the course, we've had that since 0079, and bad guy Feddies is also not exactly new territory, both of these are explored in pretty surface-level manners and they've been done significantly better in preceding shows (watch Zeta and WITP). Ditto for the civvies caught in the middle, but luckily we get to see 08th distinguish itself here by making the guerilla fighters pretty irritating. The rebel shenanigans were the first real indication to me that my opinion was rapidly souring. Generally, whenever the main guerilla character "Kiki" showed up, I was already prepared to be annoyed. These characters also elude my understanding by being anti-Zeon freedom fighters that treat the Federation with open hostility for very hand-wavey reasons (soldiers, am I right?).
Which ties into the fact that the characters and their interpersonal problems in 08th suck and ruin the show. Out of the main characters, we have 2 of them that are the most likeable by virtues of not grating, Karen and Sanders. Both of them are generally competent and don't go out of their way to be annoying, so they're the best ones, but they also go through perhaps the least development or exploration despite both of them mentioning clear character motivations and backstories. Michel and Eledore both get pretty exhausting to watch, particularly in the episodes that center around them, and they both lack any meaningful depth; Michel is pining after his girlfriend in space, and Eledore wants to make it big as a musician, and they both don't want to die in this bad bad war, that's basically the run of it. "Ginias" is a pretty generic and lame evil scientist, not really much to say about him, there's no depth.
Shiro and Aina bring about the worst of it. Shiro and Aina both fall in love, somehow, after a fateful meeting in space, spawning by far the shittiest plotline in the OVA. The absolute superficiality of this relationship boggles the mind, after their heavily contrived first encounter and another heavily contrived second encounter, they somehow grow to love each other SO MUCH that they would rather die than live without each other. I can't say that I was very much invested in their relationship.
Needless to say, my enjoyment was essentially nil. Whenever the show was focusing on the military aspect, I perked up for long enough to enjoy the spectacle, with a particular high point in episode 10 that was one of the best fights of the franchise, but I was quickly slapped back down by whatever new annoying character beat or whatever new unimpressive plot point.
From here on I would like to nitpick miscellaneous things that delve into spoilers so keep that in mind if you haven't watched it already and weren't deterred by my incredibly talented polemic wit.
The survival of Aina and Shiro after what is VISIBLY a complete disintegration is worthy of taking off an entire point from the score. The final episode with the cyber newtype children was grating enough that I almost couldn't bring myself to watch it. After their second get-together, Aina finds out that Shiro was noticed and photographed by one of the Zeon rescue squads picking her up; why didn't they capture him? Eledore nearly gets killed after taking over a construction mobile suit and refusing to close the cockpit even in the face of certain danger; it's not explained why, and he gets shipped off with severe injuries that nearly warranted amputation but inexplicably returns later, awesome! Earlier in the same episode, Eledore and Michel start beating the shit out of each other in a really irritating argument while they're imprisoned by Zeon, but it works out that the Zeon guard comes in and then gets knocked out so they can escape; I figured this was gonna be the reveal that they planned it this way, but in fact it was entirely accidental and they were actually just being annoying pricks, and then their escape isn't even shown, you just have to assume they made it out somehow despite the place being swarmed with Zeon soldiers. It's hard to understate how much I hate Kiki, and how much I really don't care that she was in love with Shiro, also I would appreciate if the camera wouldn't shove her crotch in my face. Norris is the best character and he deserved better, his fight is obviously the best and my main complaint is that he honestly should've done even better, I find it hard to believe he couldn't have wiped them all out.
Overall I give this a 5 because it's pretty bad but the animation brings it up a bit, and I can't in good conscience rate it lower than ZZ which is obviously worse.
edarel-triparte
TL;DR: Part of the Trinity of masterpiece pre-2000's Gundam. (Zeta, War In the Pocket, and This. If you were curious.) Watch it. Just that. War In The Pocket used to be my favorite U.C. Gundam show. Now after watching the 08th MS Team I'm not so sure. I love when Gundam goes to a small scale to show us it's stories. The general plot of 08th MS Team is very simple. A group of soldiers has to find and destroy the prototype of a weapon in the middle of the south-east Asia jungle. That's it. No grand plan to throw another colony onto Earth like happens in almostevery Gundam show. (Maybe it's not in every one, but it's definitely common.) This "small" story is great, because it helps us focus on the important part: The characters and their interactions with the world. Our main cast is very likeable and well written, and while I would have loved to get to know them better, I wouldn't say they were underdeveloped at all. They were just so charismatic and interesting that every person would just want more of them.
The general themes about the nature of war and empathy in the battlefield are present and well done, I just personally felt they were more impactful in War In The Pocket, however that's just a personal opinion, things can still get rough and deep here.
The art direction and animation are just gorgeous. Peak of 90's OVA Quality animation right here. I specially liked the art style in episode 9, and the battles in the last episodes are just on another level.
Another quality i'd give to 08th MS Team will be it's binge-watching potential.
Even If I liked them, I've always had trouble watching the prior Gundam shows on a regular schedule. I'd just watch a couple of episodes, but because of some inconsistent pacing, or the lack of a cliffhanger in order to motivate the viewer to keep watching, I'd just go by for several days without the interest in returning to the series, until I did eventually.
That doesn't happen with this OVA. I watched all 12 episodes within 3 days, eager to see what would happen next.
For example: Stardust Memory, show that i've no problem with and I enjoyed took me about a month and a half to finish the 13 episodes.
This review has been long, so I'll just close it saying this:
Watch it if you're a Gundam fan.
Watch it if you're a Mecha fan.
Watch it if you like action anime.
Watch it if you like quality anime.
Cheers, and have fun. :)
wkoppin10
The 08th MS team provides the viewer with a ground view of the One Year War and every moment it spends in the grime with front line troops it excels. From the early skirmishes to the legendary battle with a Gouf, the series supplies almost unmatched, realistic style for the 0079 era of Gundam. Engaging in self-masturbatory or gratifying review of this series wouldn't accomplish much, so suffice to say if you're a fan of the original Gundam series and would like to see what a great animation budget can accomplish read no further and watch. My major gripe with the 08th is the Romeo and Juliet storyIN SPAAAAcE that we get. I understand that nearly every romance in the Gundam timeline is doomed to either fail or be poorly developed/ignored, and that maybe we ought to be thankful that at least one made it through partly unscathed, but what would be the state of any art without constantly seeking to improve and critique the medium?
Aina and Shiro's relationship is the almost perfectly superficial star-crossed lovers bit that develops into a little bit of something by the end at least. In contrast we have Captain Packard acting as a surrogate father to Aina, Kiki's infatuation with Shiro and then subsequent horror at the loss of her father and friends; sure Ginas is an awful stereotypical, mustache-twirling kind of sociopath, but there was potential to knock this out of the park with the two-punch of brutal combat without any newtypes or copious numbers of aces with maybe a tragic story of an earth girl losing everything to a war that almost forgets her, or a goodly woman from Zeon, dealing with a family crumbling apart and only finding a passing comfort before an internal self-destruct.
My biggest gripe with a lot of the Gundam universe has been when it all shines through, it shows you just how versatile animation as a medium can be to show very real emotions and difficulties with situations that a viewer can relate to. But often it falls just short of the mark of excellence, losing some of the spirit of humanity in the technical details or shoehorning in suspension-breaking for the sake of plot convenience or even simplicity.
BlernsballMVP
Up front, I'll say that I'm in no way a Gundam fan. I'm watching the franchise for purely academic reasons-but that doesn't mean I can't give credit where it's due, as with the original 79 Gundam that had a lot of surprises in store for such an old show. 8th MS Team, though? Not much credit is due at all. The art and music is largely pretty good, the vocal perormances are adequate, and when the show tries to take its war stories seriously and in good faith, there's occasionally some good action or interesting ideas regarding how Mobile Suits work. There's a lot more wrong withthe show, though:some things endemic to the franchise as a whole, like the weak romance, the overt Zeon-sympathizing, and annoying comic relief characters, others unique to this entry, like the comicly one-dimensional villain or the protagonist peeping on a underage girl (in what is supposed to be a love story, remember!).
The real fundamental problem, though, is pacing. The first half or so of this 12 episode series is dedicated to character work, only to suddenly shift to all out plot and melodrama mode, concluding everything in the span of 4 or 5 episodes. It means that *nothing* is developed properly and everything is shallow and weird. The main antagonist, in particular, starts acting in ways that seem completely inexplicable.
Overall, 08th Team feels like a cliff notes version of other UC stories, with all the baggage that contains, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who either isn't already a die-hard UC fan or who can't just zone out between the (somewhat sparse) mecha fights.
player_me
I’m not a huge Gundam dan in general. I thought ironblooded orphans was fantastic but some of the older series seem to lose their purpose on me. Despite that I really enjoyed 08th team despite its flaws. Where the anime goes right. I great action packed high quality animated Gundam with plenty of fun action. The fights have a sense of grounding to them which makes them very enjoyable and they are all animated superbly especially for the age of the anime. While the style will show this anime’s age the animation it’s self does not. Following a ragtag squad of pilots going about their missionswhile not necessarily being the linchpin of every major battle really works for me as I feel like I’m really watching what a squad of troops in war would experience.
Where the anime goes wrong. Every episode about the main love interest and pacifism is just boring to me. The love interest doesn’t feel deserved or interesting. It feel increasingly forced. When 08th takes a major turn into being about war being bad and peace is the only way just simply destroys the pacing. I’m here to see giant robots blow each other up not be told how bad war is. I know war is bad that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun to watch.
At the end of the day the good out weights the bad for me and it’s not a series that gets too bogged down in politics and jargon that you have to have watched 3 other series in their entirety to understand. Would recommend if you are looking for a fun action Gundam to watch just be ready for the mood killers.
BlueEmbers
If there's a Gundam series that i think would best characterize the Mech scene as a whole, I think of 08th MS team. The short series best lays out a team of whats basically the infantry of Gundam. Forget the over powered and god-like Gundams with their super human pilots, and think grit and WWII dog fighting. There isn't much to dislike - there isn't good or bad guys at the ground level - just the common man suffering for the ambition of those in charge of them. The leadership of Zeon harks back to the "at-all-costs" mentality of Japanese leaders during WWII. The soundtrack now isfairly dated, as is the artwork, but that's the nature of things twenty years old.
The characters are human with human issues, and think and act like normal humans. Its refreshing against the whining over-academic main characters of many other series.
While its vanilla in most respects, the solid and unique way that the story writers wrote this out is admirable for the sake of not overduing. It's basically the black coffee of anime, and the majority of other Gundam series are sugared frappes. If only there was more like this.
Inter_anime
The show Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team (here after to be referred to as "The 8th MS Team") has received critical and fan praise and is oftentimes referred to as one of the better if not the best of the Gundam series. At the time of writing this series has a average score on MAL of 8.01 and is bested only by Gundam 00 and Iron-Blooded-Orphans among the Gundam series. But does the 8th MS Team deserve such praise? Taking place during the universal century timeline, like most other Gundam shows this deals with the conflict between the Earth Federation and their Mobile Suitsagainst the Principality of Zeon and their mechs. A key difference from most other Gundam series which tend to be space based is that excluding the first episode, this series takes place exclusively on earth, offering a more grounded (pun intended) take on the beloved mecha series. Another factor is that the 8th MS Team places a higher emphasis on romance than most other mecha anime, with a key part of the plot being the relationship between the Gundam pilot Shiro and the Zeon noble Aina.
Starting with the positives, despite the fact that it was released in 1996 the animation and sound of the 8th MS Team has aged fantastically well. The animation, especially the fights between the mecha, is more the most part fluid and well done, especially the latter episodes. Something I enjoyed was the attention to detail, for example all three of the mobile suit mechs in the 8th MS Team have slight differences reflecting the personalities of their pilots. For example in one episode Karen's mobile suit gets damaged, and for the rest of the series her mech has a slightly different head piece than the rest. The music, including the opening and ending songs, was very good, although perhaps a little too upbeat for a series focusing on the sobering effects of war.
The 8th MS Team also boasts a great and endearing caste of characters. On the Feds/Mobile Suit side we have Shiro, the typical idealist protagonist, Michel the naive mechanic, Terry Sanders, a veteran soldier who feels the guilt of seeing too many of his comrades die, Karen the no-nonsense female member of the crew, Kiki, a villager who often helps them out, and Eledore, the soldier who would rather be a singer. The opposing Zeon side also had some good characters, such as Aina the love interest of Shiro who is also a bit of an idealist, Ginas her mad-scientist brother, and Norris their honorable guardian. I liked how even the more badass characters like Shiro, Terry, and Karen still had moments of weakness when they had to be rescued, and other more wimpy characters such as Michel still had their moments of strength. Compared to a lot of other mecha anime this one was much more character based and driven, and no matter what personality you have you're sure to find a character you can relate to.
Now for the negatives, something I feel the 8th MS Team really struggled with was pacing. Despite being only 12 episodes long, relatively short for a Gundam series, many of the episodes felt like filler because they would always end with the same status quo with which they started. It really only felt that towards the latter part of the series that there was any serious development plot wise. Also, Shiro and Aina's romantic relationship does make much sense; they're literally trying to kill each other and then they make eye contact for a couple seconds and Shiro acts nice towards Aina which results in both of them falling madly in love with one another.
Another issue I had with the show was the constant immature humor and fan-service in the show. For a series that tries to portray the brutality of war it really killed the mood when stupid anime trope of a guy innocently walks into a girl bathing and gets called a pervert, as happens in episode when for a good minuet Kiki gets naked to swim in the water fall as an excuse for her to shove her assets all in the viewer's and Shiro's face. That's the worst example, but their plenty of others, such as Eldore grouping Karen's breast or how despite being in the tundra they still managed to fit in a hot spring episode of Aina and Shiro bathing naked together.
Being a tad pedantic now, but I also felt the fights in the 8th MS Team were a bit inconsistent. There are times in the show when their mechs would take multiple shots from point-blank range and the protagonists would only have a few scratches and bruises, while there were other times just one hit would make the mechs blow up. In one particularly notable example two of the main characters fight for what seems like a long time, with both their mobile suits being severely damaged, but soon after another mech just shots a laser beam at a massive ship for a couple seconds and that's all it takes to make said ship completely explode.
Lastly the worst part of this series is the final episode. Episodes 10 & 11 are very much the climax and conclusion of the show, episode 12 begins with a pointless time-skip and introduction to meaningless side characters and consist of Kiki and Michel going around acting like idiots only to discover at the end what had already been established at the end of episode 11. The whole episode is incredibly boring and disposable in an otherwise action-packed show. This episode was one of the main reasons I dropped my rating for the 8th MS Team from what would've been a 9 or 8/10 to a solid 7/10.
In conclusion I think the 8th MS Team is a good show and a worthy addition to the Gundam franchise, but at the same time I feel the praise it gets is a bit overblown. Viewers of the anime will be treated to great animation and good character development, but personally I was bothered by the less stellar parts of the show, and if you are planning on watching this I highly recommend you skip the twelfth episode.
Bloxxie
Here is a quickie review if you want to find out if this is anime is Outstanding or Unwatchable. Here is the one and only great 08th MS Team! This anime is awesome and leaves a satisfying ending! The story is great. It talks about a mobile suit pilot who is a captain of the 08th MS team! He then with his squad continues to jump to missions to fight the Zeon menace. Pretty simple but it has a romance twist with the character liking another character from the opposing side. The sound is very good and no where near rubbish and the characters almost seemsreal with their personalities. It may be a bad condition for how they just suddenly like each other but that's no exception as it isn't too cheesy.
Overall, Great Anime and a great classic to watch. War in the Pocket is another classic. But that's ampther stpry!
Evillordexdeath
This review contains quite a substantial amount of spoilers. How come nobody told me Gundam is this great? I feel like I've gone through my childhood with redheaded half-cousins only to find I have an older brother who can play an electric guitar in each hand and always buys me ice cream. I remember seeing Iron Blooded Orphans back in 2015 and thinking I'd probably like to watch more Gundam, and after watching The 08th MS Team I just wish I'd done so sooner. I came to this series in a slightly unusual way: I saw the seventh episode first. That made a positive first impression, becausethe seventh episode contains some strong individual moments like the protagonist nearly freezing to death, a memorable nightmare sequence that uses the image of bloodstains trailing from a dying man's fingers onto an astronaut's visor, and the honorable antagonist receiving word that his side has lost a strategic fortification, which implied the kind of complex morality I love to see in stories.
Most significantly, it's the episode where Shiro (the hero) and his lover Aina reunite. They fight on opposite sides in the war and go from trying to kill each other to working together to survive in the cold to bathing together in a temporary hot-spring for my favorite scene of the episode. Shiro enters first and covers his eyes as Aina gets in the water, and when she tells him he can look we see him slowly peek through his fingers and then relax and say how fast his heart is beating. It's very cute, and displays some well-done animation: there are quite a few frames for Shiro uncovering his eyes.
I think that gave me a positive opinion of the protagonists, the romance, and the series as a whole, when I went back to watch it in full. It still qualifies as the show impressing me with its own content, and there were a lot of even stronger episodes to come.
The romantic aspect of it made enough of an impression that I went to MAL's forums to see what other people had to say on it. What I found was almost unmitigated negativity, including oddly frequent unfavorable comparisons between Aina and Shiro's relationship and the one between Sword Art Online's Asuna and Kirito, to whom Shiro was directly compared. That was a bit jarring, but then my mother did always tell me I was a different sort of child.
Whatever we may say about the fast pacing of this romance, it's hard to deny its effective structure. Shiro and Aina meet as enemies in the first episode and cripple one another to the point where they have to co-operate to survive the hostile environment of outer space. They then separate to opposite sides of the war, unsure that they will ever meet again, before Shiro can even return the watch Aina lends to him. Later, they meet as enemies a second time, against all odds, and decide to make good on their relationship - sacrificing a great deal to do it.
All of these things are deeply romantic, particularly the progression from enemies to partners. I find it easy to believe that experiences like these would inspire passionate feelings in a pair of lovers - and they give the proper emotional resonance to the love scenes. The apparent fast pacing is partially an effect of the series' efficient writing - it never dedicates screentime to the separated Shiro and Aina pining for one another. Instead, it communicates that through small details, the clearest being that Shiro always wears Aina's watch on a chain around his neck, so that it touches his chest.
Keep in mind how their relationship serves the story's progression and themes. It informs both characters' arcs, shattering their already-lacking enthusiasm for the war, and reinforces the later theme of difficult reconciliation between two sides. Both characters deal with intense suspicion from their own nations as a result of it. The romance is additionally well-handled because it depicts the two working together to solve problems, from their first meeting to the end of the show, and because both characters maintain their own independent character arcs, which are similar in ways that help demonstrate why they're compatible.
I'd like to indulge this comparison between Shiro and Kirito for a moment, because Kirito is a good standard example of overdone heroic characterization that weakens the associated story, while I would contend that Shiro is an example of heroic characterization done properly.
In episode 1 of Sword Art Online, Kirito sits in his bedroom listening to a podcast, morosely looks out the window, and then plugs in his headset, giving a self-confident little grin. Most people's introduction to Shiro has him looking out a spaceship window smiling, and then excitedly speaking to everyone else when he catches his first glimpse of the Earth. Shiro comes out better here because he shows a greater degree of spontaneity and emotion, which help him work as the perspective character we're supposed to root for.
Moments later, Klein picks Kirito out of a crowd and asks him to instruct him, it being obvious from Kirito's confident stride alone that he knows what he's doing and can give good advice. Contrast this against Michel ignoring Shiro to write to his girlfriend, and then reacting with annoyance when Shiro speaks to him. People tend to trust Kirito immediately or else very quickly, after some quick demonstration of his competence. When Shiro arrives at his new post as the 08th MS team's leader, people take bets on how long he'll last. The respect of his own subordinates is exceptionally hard-earned for him. They see him as an unproven rookie even to the point of disobeying direct orders early on. What's even more impressive is that each of them comes to respect Shiro at a different pace. The stalwart Sanders owes Shiro his life and remains fiercely loyal from the start, but Michel consistently doubts or opposes him for a long time and the curmudgeonly veteran Karen Joshua looks on most of his choices with tired disapproval, all the way to the end.
While Kirito mows down enemies with an effortless swing of his sword, Shiro struggles for minutes on end to take down single unnamed soldiers. In his second episode, he pursues an enemy in an attempt to show off, gets separated from his team for nearly a full day, and is written off as dead by most of the base. Another useful parallel occurs in these episodes: in episode 2 of Gundam, Shiro falls into leech-filled water and gets his clothes covered in mud. Meanwhile, in SAO's episode 2, Kirito gracefully takes down a boss monster and earns himself a cool new coat.
When Shiro meets the girls that eventually fall for him, they both introduce themselves by firing at him. Karen, meanwhile, never entertains any kind of romantic feelings for him whatsoever. While some of Kirito's harem-like female companions have a bit of tsundere snark, they all subordinate themselves to him pretty quickly. He starts as a mentor to Asuna. Other girls like Lisbeth and Keiko come to him for help. And while Asuna spends the second half of SAO awaiting Kirito in a cage, Aina remains Shiro's partner to the end, even supporting him in their final escape as he struggles to walk.
The fundamental difference is that SAO always makes a point of making Kirito look cool. When he's becoming a pariah it's in service of noble goals and doesn't really impact him because he's a loner anyway (not because he lacks social skills, but just because he's too cool for friends.) Gundam doesn't pull its punches with Shiro. People fight against him or treat him with indifference. He makes bad decisions and looks weak or foolish. He is almost irrelevant to the actual outcome of the war he's fighting. His fundamental values turn out to be naive and impractical. He sweats in the heat and nearly freezes to death in the cold while Kirito strides confidently through a blizzard without a coat. He's always vulnerable and in danger of dying at a single slip-up, while Kirito can stand still and tank enemy players' hits just to show off because he regenerates faster than they can possibly hurt him.
Both of these characters begin from the same long-lived stock hero: the kind black-haired anime boy who holds human life in highest esteem and is tortured by the deaths he could not stop. But while Kirito never really feels like anything more than a stock character and doesn't drive much emotional investment, Shiro really does come off like a real person and is quite lovable. A lot of it's in small details: Shiro grumblingly blames his subordinates for his own mistakes and starts petty arguments just to assert himself as a tough leader. He makes bad choices and lets his personal feelings compromise his dedication to duty. He comes close to death and it terrifies him to the point of hysteria. We can still believe in him as a hero because when it really matters he buckles down, keeps calm, and does what needs to be done.
Gundam is very adept at handling its tone. While there are some scenes of melodrama and the unlikely nature of the romance might clash with the grittyness of the military sections for some, it does an excellent job mixing moments of levity and heroism with its harsh military nature. It has the best kind of comedy in an otherwise-serious story, where it's used to humanize the characters and build up their relationships. Eledore jokes that Michel's girlfriend will leave him for writing too many letters and later transfers Sanders' "reaper" nickname to the kid, both of which are genuinely funny and additionally serve to give the impression that they're getting to know one another while they work side-by-side in the tank. This series is an excellent example of an ensemble cast, where all of the characters interact with everyone else in different ways and display ever-growing relationships and independent character arcs. There's an impressive amount of change almost all of which is brought on organically by the decisions of the characters. Look at how characters like Aina, Kiki, and Michel react to Shiro the first time they see him and then compare that to their attitude toward him in the final scene, for instance.
A moment that demonstrates all of these strengths at once occurs in episode 6. Kiki steals a letter from Michel's girlfriend to make fun of him, laughingly reads it at first, and then apologizes and hands it back to him as the letter becomes more downbeat, describing the sorrows of separation from a lover as brought on by the war. Not only is it a great use of a mid-scene tonal shift and a legitimately touching moment, but it serves to advance the relationship of the two characters and give more detail to the series' depiction of the difficulties of war all at once. This in turn demonstrates the ultra-efficient writing that makes the 12 episode OVA so impactful.
I want to call attention to this show's excellent end credits sequence, composed mainly of a single still shot from a fictional video camera, trained on Shiro sitting down and reading a book while all the action and animation occurs around him. Beyond this creative framing, it's also used to give a little bit of extra characterization to the crew, some of whom are aware of the filming while Shiro isn't and jokingly flash the peace sign into the lens - or, in the case of Eledore, whose head is out of shot but is identifiable by his action - spreading a pornographic magazine so that its contents show up in the video. When Shiro finally does notice, he makes a stern face at the camera and then throws his book at it - but you can see him smile just a moment before it hits.
This is an example of how the show deliberately uses its visuals to tell us about its characters. Since the characters whose faces we don't see are still identifiable by their actions (Kiki has the camera,) it's a testament to how distinct and well-defined their personalities are.
In addition to animation and expressions, Gundam uses background details, like the way the characters decorate the cockpits of tanks or mobile suits, to add subtle nuances to its characters and world.
The visuals are equally important in realizing its rather strong and evocative atmosphere. This series runs through a variety of locations from the scorching desert and jungle to frozen mountains to outer space, and each of them is full of little details that help the viewer immerse himself. Shiro stumbles upon a floating corpse while stranded out in space and when he ducks into an oxygenated room in a decimated space-station his abandoned helmet floats in the foreground while he speaks to Aina in the background. He sweats and removes his jacket in the jungle and takes shelter under a sheet in the desert while Sanders slowly collects water from underground. In the mountains, Shiro and Aina stand on the now-frozen water that they bathed in moments before. During the fight scenes, we're treated to ideas like water slowly leaking into a damaged mobile suit or Shiro camouflaging himself under the earth to await an enemy. Importantly, the atmosphere is used to create a sense of adversity. Shiro has to use his wits to survive the inhospitable climates he's forced into, and a long stay in the desert saps the will and focus of the crew while they're on an important mission.
All of these things are impressive and show how carefully put together the OVA is. The difficulty Shiro has taking down single enemies and the detailed atmosphere help to form one half of the relative realism for which this Gundam series in particular has a reputation. The military operations themselves - the details of war - are displayed in a slow-paced, logistics-heavy manner that's enjoyable to watch and further supplements the series' tone. The second half of that realism comes from the serious depiction it gives to the nature and effects of war - the aspect that elevates this series to the status of a classic.
There's a character (I can't remember his name, because it is only spoken once) in this show who only appears in one episode, operating a Zion Mobile Suit. He keeps a photograph of his young son on the inside of his cockpit. His son is never mentioned in dialog - that photograph is the series' only indication of his existence. The father is characterized as kind and honorable, befriending a child from the Guerilla village and attempting to de-escalate tensions when his group ends up in battle with the Guerillas and the Federation.
This man dies. He does not die nobly for a worthy cause and it is not a cackling villain who kills him. He dies a pointless and ugly death in a meaningless, avoidable skirmish started because of the weaknesses and fears of both sides, and he is killed by Shiro Amada of the 08th MS Team - the series' hero.
The show does not stop to remind the viewer in explicit dialog that a good man has pointlessly died. We never see his wife and son mourn him or go through life irrevocably damaged by his absence, but we may imagine that if we like. It would be easy to miss his death altogether, or to pay it little attention, because it occurs in the middle of an intense battle sequence that determines the fates of a massive number of characters. It simply happens and the show moves on, allowing the viewer to think as much or as little of it as he will. It's not even the emphasis of its own sequence, which is used to demonstrate Shiro's powerlessness to uphold his own beliefs in the midst of the war.
This understated, powerful, and deeply purposeful - and therefore undeniably artistic - character death appears in a direct-to-video spinoff of a cartoon blatantly and totally designed to sell toy robots to little boys. It's a funny world we live in.
The show makes sacrificial idols of its naive heroes. Shiro and Aina have a great estimation of the value of human life. They're tired of the war and simply trying to get through it while preserving as many lives as possible, because they can't do anything to change the outcome itself, an admirable part of its structure that emerges because of its status as a spin-off to a complete story. The show makes a point of repeatedly demonstrating just how powerless they are to achieve that goal, mercilessly killing the people they have worked so hard to save - and frequently forcing them to be the ones to do it. It makes no secret of the fact that there are noble people and villains on both sides, and that its heroes are capable of being cowardly, weak, petty, immature, and hypocritical. It ends with most of them as half-forgotten outcasts - if not fugitives who will be remembered as traitors.
Mobile Suit Gundam: the 08th MS Team is a tour de force. It's good enough to be instructive: it uses its medium to serve the story, it's full of atmosphere and character-building adversity, and it's a master-class in tone. Watch this anime.
