A Gundam series that takes place in primarily a jungle area and emphasizes guerrilla tactics? I’m hesitant to make the comment this show is “Vietnam Gundam” but now as I write this review I wonder if that’s not me being a bit too cautious on my part. Anyways, this is another OVA side story of the One Year War from the original Mobile Suit Gundam. One that asks: Can love bloom on the battlefield?
On his way to this new assignment on Earth, pilot Shiro Amada has an encounter with a Zeon pilot named Aina Sahalin. Later on Earth, Shiro becomes the leader of the 08th MS team tasked with suppressing Zeon forces in Southeast Asia. Together with his team, Shiro works to keep his comrades safe and to find a way to make it out of the war alive. Unfortunately, Shiro will see Aina again as she’s the test pilot of the new Zeon mobile armor, the Apsalus, that is being tested in the same area.
The series offers a very unique experience compared to other series. It doesn’t empathize the traditional head to head battles with mobile suits crashing into each other type of action that we see in other series. Instead there is a great focus paid on stealth, infiltration, and setting traps for the enemy. One episode showcases the efforts to plan, set, and practice an operation to take out the Apsalus. Once again the Gundam Franchise does its best to dive deeper into how people work through war.
The characters also offer a very interesting mix of different individuals with unique motivations. Shiro has a relationship with an enemy pilot, Sanders has survivor’s guilt, and Michel working on keeping his relationship alive with his girl back home. The Romeo and Juliet aspect of Shiro and Aina’s relationship is the real stand out though. The two are very cute together and as the viewer you’ll find yourself rooting for them to make it in the end. They have a rocky road though that they’ll have to experience first.
The machines in this series are great entries to the UC Gundam franchise. The Apasalus really is one of the better designed mobile armors that exist in Gundam History. If the Zeon has been able to mass produce this machine they would have definitely won the war. Also, I love the EZ-8, even though its a machine that is made out of spare parts I still think its a pretty awesome machine. Especially the way Shiro pilots it. That man really knows how to push a mobile suit to its breaking point.
The one aspect of this series that most fans are very familiar with is that it had a hand off mid way through its run. It was originally directed by Takeyuki Kanada between episodes 1-6, but from 7 to the ending it was instead done by Umanoskuke Iida. It does make a person wonder if the Kanada would have finished the series in a different way then what we actually got. It does make a person think.
That “What If” aside, this series is still really good. I highly recommend it to any fan of Gundam but also Giant Robots in general. It proves the point that love can indeed bloom on the battlefield.
RATING: A-
This show’s biggest problem is how unbalanced it is. The first episode is one of those pre-recap episodes where it flashes ahead to show all the intense action which is going to be coming later down the line in the series. From their, episodes two through six are spent just introducing all of the powers at Mazinger’s disposal. The series then rushes to a final battle in the last three episodes for a final battle with Dr. Hell but introduces a new ultimate villain who isn’t properly defeated in the very last one. The series doesn’t even get a proper ending in the next Mazinger series, Mazinkaizer SKL. It just ends, which is the major flaw it posses.
The mecha are the one memorable aspect of the show. The designs are the same as they were from the original series only updated thanks to the new animation style. The Mazinger truly is a beast of a machine. The series succeeds in expressing just how powerful the robot is and how it is able to go head to head with all of Dr. Hell’s forces. Just wish it didn’t take so long to properly express all of its potential.
This show is over the top in a great way. From the main character having the nickname of “The Galactic Pretty Boy” to the villains of the “Glittering Crux Brigade” this show pushes the envelope of what is acceptable but you find yourself enjoying every minute of it. The show manages to reach levels of ridiculousness but at the same time retain a level of drama where you find yourself worried for the characters and their circumstances. Each character has a properly flushed out backstory and realistic motivations. Also, almost every one of them has a special power because of being connected to their Cybodies which resulted in a lot of hi-jinks.
The show does suffer from a “Monster of the week” format but this is kind of to its advantage. The monster of the week format allows each of the different members of the Glittering Crux Brigade to get a bit of screen time to so they can have their own time the spotlight before Takuto kicks the crap out of their own distinct Cybody.
The series has a lot of good points to it. It succeeds in making sure to advance the universe building aspect of the franchise while making references back to the older shows. References include the Nyan-Nyan restaurant become a franchise, the previous idol songs being played in the background, and even an episode where the characters are cast in a movie based on the events from Macross Zero. This attention to detail really helped to make it feel like it was a proper continuation of the Macross franchise.
New mecha are also introduced in the series. The strike brace is an attachment weapon that helps to cool down the robots and has both defensive and offensive capabilities. It’s a pretty cool piece of hardware. The enemies also get new suits known as Kirschbuum which are meant to be Anti-Valvrave type suit and are incredible destruive. These robot additions help to keep the combat scenes strong but often detracts from the characterization of the show.
The Gigantic Project 
