Post Disaster 323.
Over 300 years have passed since the Calamity War. The planet of Mars has been settled but those
living there seek independence from the Earth Government. The beautiful Kudelia Aina Bernstein seeks to
travel to Earth to speak on behalf of the Martian People, protected by the
Private Security Company CGS. However,
the Earth Peacekeeping force Gjallarhorn seeks to crush the independence
movement and attempts to kill Kudelia before she leaves. When her protectors flee, the contingent of
Child Soldiers they left behind step up, ready to liberate themselves from
their oppressors. A new legend begins as
Orga Itsuka and MIkazuki Augus lead the charge…with Mika piloting a long
dormant Mobile Suit into battle: The Gundam Barbatos.
As I was grumbling and fuming my way through Gundam:
Reconguista in G, I always knew that, with luck, I’d be moving onto better
things for the second half of
Gundam Month Mark VI: The Undiscovered Country. Dear Readers, I’m happy to report that we
have indeed arrived at something better and a lot more challenging and far more
bad ass…aka what Gundam should always be.
Welcome…to Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans. I should point out right now, at least for
this review, I’m gonna be making some callbacks to G Reco if only because after
the Hell I went through with it, it feels only right to point out what IBO does
so differently and correctly from the outset…I think I’ve earned that, hence
why I’m kicking off this ten day review set on the same day G Reco is over and
done with.
IBO kicks off quite differently from most Gundam
shows. For one, Mars is a primary
setting rather than just being a pipe dream or final glimpse as it is in most
entries. We don’t stay on the red planet
for too long but this is a 50 episode series that looks to see both Mars and
Earth as battlegrounds for our heroes.
Speaking of, you wont find any wide eyed youths or random cheerleaders
dancing about in Tekkadan. These boys
are all battle hardened or battle hungry, but more importantly, a lot of them
have been raised as slave labor or child soldiers most of their lives. We’ve seen Gundam leads with this kind of
background, most notable Gundam Wing’s Heero Yuy and Gundam 00’s Setsuna F.
Seieu and we’ll talk about their equivalent IBO in a moment. But I think this is the first time such a
group of youths are the main focal point of a Gundam series. It adds a whole new layer of complexity to
how the world of the Post Disaster Era works…and it aint pretty, especially
when you have kids getting Mobile Worker and Mobile Suit control systems
surgically grafted into their spines…ouch.
A planet as harsh and unforgiving as Mars feels perfect for
our two lead protagonists: Orga and Mikazuki.
We see in flashbacks that these two have known each other since they
were kids and…well they kind of have a very messed up friendship. While Mika isn’t without his good points, he
is also one of the most messed up Gundam leads, being so numb to the horrors of
violence that he doesn’t break a sweat when it comes to killing or giving it a
second thought. And Orga uses this to
his advantage several times, which in itself is messed up. Mika is Orga’s “Yes Man”, who will do
anything the Tekkadan leader asks…such as killing their old oppressors in cold
blood when they don’t want to surrender to the kids coup d’etat. Don’t get me wrong, the former CGS front men
deserved to be punished for using child soldiers as human shields. But flat out executing them is pretty damn
dark, even by Gundam standards. And
remember…Mika and Orga are supposed to be the good guys. Still, it makes them a helluva lot more
compelling and fascinating to explore than anyone in G Reco.
I’m sure I’ll get to know the rest of Tekkadan in due
time but for this intros purposes, I’m gonna touch on other supporting leads,
starting with Biscuit, who is the heart and soul of Tekkadan. While he is ok with killing CGS members,
Biscuit is more the brains of the operation and even gets Orga to spare an
accountant so they can figure out their finances. Biscuit might not be much of a fighter but
he’ll probably make a helluva tactician that can give Orga a run for his
money. We have two central female leads
too: Kudelia and Atra. Both have a
serious crush on Mikazuki, with Atra even joining Tekkadan as their cook with
motive being concern got Mika (and to make sure she doesnt Mika to
Kudelia. Kudelia herself feels like a
hybrid of Relena Peacecraft and Marina Ismael from Gundam Wing and Gundam
00…kind of fitting since they were the main romantic leads for their respective
leading men (even if Setsuna and Marina denied anything in hilarious deadpan
fashion). She truly wants independence
for Mars and is willing to put herself in the middle of the conflict to see
things through. But she’s not confident
in her own inner strength yet and puts a lot of blame on her shoulders. The girl cant even cook for herself and Mika
notes this by passing on shaking her hand because his is dirty and hers is
clean. Mika though is constantly
challenging Kudellia’s mindset and their relationship feels closer to Setsuna
and Marina than Heero and Relena. Last
there’s Gjallarhorn, the keepers of the peace in Space, Earth and Mars. We see two members from this elite fighting
forces: McGillis and Gaelio, the former I think is going to be Mikazuki’s Char
for the series while Gaelio is his loyal lacky…also McGillis is engaged to the
guys NINE YEAR OLD SISTER!!!????...how Game of Thrones of Gundam, also GROSS!!!
So the characters have promise, especially the loyal but
morally grey zone lead duo. What about
the Gundam? The Barbatos is a death
bringer incarnate. It’s a lot more
skeletal than most starting Gundam Units, without a lot of armor. This gives it ferocious speed but that’s
interesting is its primary choice of weapon: a giant hammer. Most of the Mobile Suit combat on Mars, and
even a little in space, is more close quarters and gladiatorial in nature. These are hard hitting machines and the
Barbatos shows a lot of wear and tear, curious considering it’s a 300 year old
Mobile Suit and can still run ok. I did
like McGillis’ thoughts on the Batbatos’ appearance: “Machines bearing the name
Gundam have appeared at many turning points throughout our history. They’ve played a major role in the fate of
Mankind”. Oh and look G Reco, we didn’t
have to wait til the last act to refer to the Gundam by it’s proper title. The action itself is intense as you’d expect
and the show does not skimp on the violence towards anyone of any age (a lot of
the Tekkadan kids get killed in the first big battle on Mars). Though, the animation occasionally looks a
bit unfinished and unpolished at times, hampering the fight scenes and some
smaller character moments. Sure it looks
good when needed like the Barbatos’ bad ass first charge. Otherwise, you’d think a Gundam TV Series
would do its best not to show cracks this early in the show.
Overall, after dealing with a Gundam series that felt more
like a soulless, below average Mecha series, it’s good to see Gundam return to
it’s hard hitting roots with an emphasis on “War is Hell” and “Mars aint the
kind of place to raise your kids”. Led
by two questionably moral leads and featuring a style of combat we haven’t
really seen in Gundam since G Gundam, aka hand to hand and melee weapon
carnage, Iron Blooded Orphans looks to be an intense ride that will hopefully
make Tekkadan to be more heroic and not just “we’ll do anything to survive and
kill anything in our way”. Remember,
these are supposed to be “the good guys.”
Hopefully we can see that in the future.
See ya Monday and look out for new reviews right up til the end of June
for Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans, right here at the Gundam Anime
Corner.
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