The Kojima Battalion mobilizes in full for one final push
against Ginias Sahalin’s Zeon forces. The
08th MS Team is at the front of the offensive and they’ve got more
than just Zeon to worry about. A cold
blooded Federation commander wants Shiro’s head for his seemingly traitorous
stance. Between deals behind the scenes
and the very scariest pilots Zeon has to offer, this could end up being the
final mission of Shiro Amada and his trusted team. As the One Year War draws to a close, the
secret love of two enemies may be the only thing that can end this battle once
and for all.
Now THIS should have been the movie Miller’s Report ended
up being. The two part epic finale of
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, The Shuddering Mountain, is
one of the most epicly animated, well paced and…overall decent payoffs to a
great series and an excellent entry in the Gundam mythos.
Well maybe I was a bit too quick to praise. Because really a lot of the good stuff in
this finale falls to the first half of The Shuddering Mountain. Norris has placed himself on a pedestal as
high as any Gundam, nay Mobile Suit pilot.
He knew how to make his Gouf act like a freaking one man army as he took
on a team of Guntanks and the entire 08th Team. Some of this fighting was intense as
hell. The scene where Norris stabbed the
Guntank from above, oil (and probably a little blood) splattering over his Gouf
is easily one of the most iconic images from this series yet. Norris knew he was in control of the entire
fight, even up to his heroic sacrifice.
He really was a foe worthy of respect and admiration…and that he was a
better suited enemy for Shiro than the final boss, Ginias.
I do not get what Ginias’s deal ever was. Was he just looking for glory? Was he really hiding a lot of hurt because of
mommy issues like Aina suggested? Or was
he just plain insane? It really is hard
to peg as there’s never been a clear line of reasoning behind him being the
villain of this series. If we had a
little more time with him to deepen his character, maybe he could be
salvaged. But when he poisoned his own
research team after the nearly worked themselves to death finishing the
Apsilas…why? Ginias was easily one of
the weakest elements of this series and fails to live up to Gundam antagonists
like Char, Ghiren Zabi or Scirroco from Zeta Gundam.
Who ended up being a better villain was Ryer. Sowing seeds of betrayal in the 08th
Team, mercilessly ordering the shooting down of a Zeon Hospital ship and
outright calling for Shiro’s execution, this guy was scary. If anything, Ryer is a good template for how
ruthless the Titans unit of the Federation is destined to be down the line in
Zeta Gundam. Thankfully, he got what was
coming to him in a couple of a ways: firstly, getting rejected by Kojima, who
lead the 08th Team to stop the Apsalis and simply arrest shirts; and
secondly when he got blasted to death by the Apsilas. So just rewards there.
So after some pointless banter from Ginias and threats
from Ryer and a desperate battle, the fight drew to a close. Shiro and Aina vanish but we know their
alive…and the story simply ends. It’s
fitting it does so in such a way. But I
do wish we had gotten an extra bit of resolution as to the fates of the 08th
Team. Karen, Sanders and Eledore were
all characters I was highly invested in and I wanted to see what happened to
them post One Year War, even if it was just a clips montage. Still, seeing the stills of the aftermath of
Shiro and Aina’s battle with Ginias, mixed to Eledore’s sweet tune, was a not
so bad way to wrap things up.
…
Sigh…
I guess I have to do this, don’t I? I really wish the series had ended here…but
it didn’t. Nope, there’s an extra
twelfth episode that serves as a pointless epilogue and is quite possibly the
worst and most needless entry in the whole of the 08th MS Team. What’s even worse is that Michel and Kiki are
at the forefront of the tale. While
there are some good ideas in them finding a ship full of potential Newtype
kids, the story serves no purpose as to actually show us that Shiro and Aina
are still alive, albiet Shiro’s missing a leg and Aina is pregnant. But again, we saw them limp away at the very
close of the prior episode. We knew they
were ok and we knew they were going to be happy. Leave it at that. I didn’t need an extra episode with two of my
least favorite characters running around looking for their lost comrades. And
if this episode was needed, why not throw in the others as well? Well Michel in his narraration reveals he was
discharged while the others were reassigned…ugh. At least there was one small consolation
knowing that Michel got dumped by the girl who couldn’t wait for him. The almost faceless BB’s understandable fears
of never seeing her boyfriend again because of the war aside…what did she ever
see in a whinner like Michel? I almost
don’t want to say it, but I hate this episode and it keeps me, along with my
other nitpicks, from giving this series a near perfect grade.
Well, if you look past Michel, Kiki, GInias and Episode
12…and the fact that Miller’s Report could have been easily folded into the
existing narrative rather than as a separate movie, Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th
MS Team delivered on almost every front.
The action was gritty and intense.
The cast was likeable and gelled really well. The animation varied from time to time but
was pretty consistent and well done for the hand drawn era. And save for a couple of references to place
this into the Universal Century timeline, the series survived without much
direct help from the original series to stand on it’s own. There are plenty of tales that can be weaved
into the One Year War without focusing on White Base. Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket did this
pretty well and 08th MS Team successfully continued the trend. If there was a series I would suggest a new
fan start with in the Gundam pantheon, I’d point them…to the original series
but if they wanted a shorter primer, I’d point them here. It’s a down to Earth, dirty and rugged
setting…but it’s just as much Gundam as any other space fairing entry. So I’m gonna give it a…
9/10
Next week, get ready, the big summer project gets
underway. Three reviews a week right up
to Otakon. It’s finally time for Code
Geass. See ya then.
The key with understanding Ghinius is realizing how much his abandonment issues rule his life. I think unfortunately, actually being mentally ill is a key part in understanding him. I think he's actually quite complex, just that his complexity is missed by many people.
ReplyDelete