Roujin-Z

In the early 21^st century, Japan faces a crisis as it’s medical resources are being overwhelmed by the number of elderly patients in need of care.  To combat this issue, the Ministry of Public Welfare creates the Z-001: a fully automated hospital bed that can tend to any elderly patients needs.  It’s built to be perfect…but the truth is far from it.  When messages from the prototypes test subject, Kijuro Takazawa, begin reaching out to his beloved nurse, Haruko Mitsuhashi, it’s only the beginning of something more than a simple malfunction.  Soon, the Z-001 shows its true colors and it’s determined to help fulfill Takazawa’s wishes and no one is safe from the rampage its about to unleash.

I remember seeing a small portion of Roujin-Z during an Anime Night screening on the SciFi Channel when I was a kid and was always fascinated by it. Not only is the title cool (hey, given how young I was if the title had Z in it that automatically made it cool), but you had some sort of sentient robot bed with an old man at its core causing havoc in poor Tokyo, how can you not be curious about that.  Having now watched it from beginning to end, I can certainly say it is a very fun scifi action comedy from one two of Anime’s most celebrated masters.  And while it has messages that kind of get drowned out by an insane second half, Roujin-Z still succeeds by being a dumb fun 80min flick that many can appreciate.
 

The March to Year 13

Man oh man let me tell you: Scheduling for 2026 is proving to be the most challenging since I started this blog back in 2014.  I’ve got a bunch of titles I’d like to look at and some are at the mercy of waiting for a US release date.  There’s been a lot of shuffling around but I think I’ve got things locked in from March to July/Mid August.  Why bring this up?  Because March, the month of the Gundam Anime Corner’s Birthday, has been a whirlwind of ideas that I haven’t been able to settle on.  Plus, there’s that aforementioned unrevealed US Release Date.  Yeah I was really hoping that after it’s release in Japan back in January, Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: The Sorcery of Nymph Circe would see a quick turn around on it’s arrival stateside.  Sadly, no such date has been announced, which means it’s not going to be this years 12^th Anniversary Review.  Don’t get me wrong, once it does arrive I’ll pencil it in somewhere before the end of the year.  But what does this all mean for March?
 

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans-Wedge of the Interlude

Tekkadan has done the impossible.  Once seen as expendable trash, they managed to strike a major blow to Gjallahorn’s rule and become a feared group of Mars based Mercenaries.  For now, the struggle has ended but life goes on and yet begins to change for the iron blooded orphans.  For Orga Itsuka, he must begin to master the new responsibilities of leading Tekkadan through business means.  For Mikazuki Argus, he must accept that in order to continue fighting, he must rely on others in his new state.  Thus begins the next chapter of the journey of two friends and their fearsome fighting force into a bold new era.

Wedge of the Interlude is a 15-20minute short film included as a bonus feature with Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans-Urdr Hunt: Path of the Little Challenger.  And given how horendeous that Compilation disaster turned out to be, I wouldn’t be surprised if you missed it by leaving the theater as soon as Urd Hunt was done.  If you didn’t then I’m not sure if saying sitting through Urdr Hunt is worth it but dammit, it’s terrible quality makes Wedge of the Interlude all the more amazing because it is so good to be back in proper Iron Blooded Orphans territory with the characters we know and love in a period of their lives we never saw much of in the TV Series.  In short: it’s good to be back with Tekkadan again, if only for a criminally short while. 
 

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans-Urdr Hunt: Path of the Little Challenger

For Wistario Afam, the restoration and prospertity of his home colony, the Venus based Radonitsa, has been his life long dream.  When he finds himself a sudden participant in the Urdr Hunt, Wistario potentially has the means to make this dream a reality.  Going up against Pirates, Vagabonds, Warriors and Mercenaries, Wistario will have to fight tooth and nail to achieve the ultimate prize.  He is unaware, however, that his actions will have serious consequences for Radonitsa should he fail as the world of the Post Disaster Era continues to change in the wake of Tekkadan’s revolution.

Released as part of the 10^th Anniversary of Iron Blooded Orphans, Path of the Little Challenger is a Compilation Film comprised of the Anime segments of a now defunct Mobile Game: Iron Blooded Orphans G.  It’s the first bit of brand new Gundam storytelling from the Post Disaster Era since IBO’s conclusion in 2017 and while not exactly held in as high regard as Gundam Wing or The Witch from Mercury, Iron Blooded Orphans is still considered a solid entry in the Gundam franchise.  You wouldn’t know that from watching the Urdr Hunt movie though.  While it does boast some of the brutal close quarters combat action that helped define the parent series, Path of the Little Challenger is still a short and fast compilation film that lacks any of what made IBO so great in the first place.
 

T5W#550-Top 5 WTF Moments in Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans

Save for a fun Monty Python influenced Top 5 on the matter (see here: https://gundamanimeblog.blogspot.com/2025/05/t5w508-top-5-gundam-iron-blooded.html) I never thought to do some kind of celebratory Top 5 for the 10^th Anniversary of Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans last year.  Granted 2025 was mostly spent celebrating the 30^th Birthday of Gundam Wing but that also feels a little unfair to the boys of Tekkadan and their bad ass Mobile Suits.  To say IBO is one of the hardest hitting entries in the Gundam franchise is kind of an understatement.  It’s hits are as emotionally charged as the giant hammers that get whammied into Mobile Suits on an episodic basis.  There are also some truly F’ed up moments that are both shocking and awe inducing.  Since we’ll be covering the 10^th Anniversary Double Feature Special This Friday, on todays Top 5 Wednesday I’ll be counting down my picks for the Top 5 WTF Moments in Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans.