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. 
 
Compared to the Urd Hunt movie, Interlude does way more with it’s 20 minutes by not skipping around and doing a quick compilation of the year gap between IBO Season 1 & 2.  Instead, the short looks at sometime after the end of Season 1 and shows the beginnings of Mika and Orga’s next steps in their journey.  Orga continues to evolve into a business minded leader while also learning how to write his own signature.  Mikazuki, meanwhile, needs to adjust to his bodys semi crippled state and admit the Barbatos might need some upgrades for him to really bring out its potential.  Not a second is wasted on either of these plots and whether or not they need to be dragged kicking and screaming through them, they’re mini journeys well worth being added to the IBO Anime legacy.
 
It’s also pretty astounding that Interlude can even fit in an awesome action scene with Mikazuki back in the cockpit of Barbatos again.  Just incase you somehow forgot home much ass this thing can kick, Interlude is happy to show you.  It might not rival the best of the series but more Mika and Barbatos is welcome.  Just as welcome are all the familiar faces from the series including Kudelia, Atra, Shino, Eugene and Akihiro, just to name a few.  It makes Interlude all the more special seeing these guys again and, more shockingly, seeing them at a time when their lives aren’t in danger and they can actually chill and laugh for a little bit.  If you know the TV Series, this might add to Tekkadan’s eventual tragedy.  But Interlude’s not about that.  This is about celebrated a slightly underrated Gundam cast and the journey they went through in Season One to get to where they are now and there’s not a dour moment in sight for this normally super serious series.
 
If there’s one negative thing you’ll take away from Interlude it’s the length.  We waste an entire hour on Urdr Hunt’s pointlessness but only give 15-20 minutes for the real stars of the Post Disaster Era?  It feels unfair.  There’s no reason there couldn’t be a feature length adventure that took place between TV Seasons.  Look at Cowboy Bebop?  It managed to masterfully tell a lost tale from the Bebop Crew and set it just before the shows final few episodes. I don’t know what an IBO movie would be but it would probs have something to do with Tekkadan solidifying their new status going up against some group that doesn’t think they deserve what they’ve obtained.  It’d be tough but doable.  Seriously though, it’s just so great to be back with Tekkadan again it leaves one begging for more.
 
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans-Wedge of the Interlude does what few short films like it manage to accomplish.  It looks at an unseen era of an old favorite, expands the story and characters only slightly, and celebrates everything that made it great and then some.  They even cap it off with a glimpse of post series life for the IBO survivors that will no doubt bring a tear to the eyes of IBO fans.  This could have been a full length movie.  What we have is what we have and yeah, it kicks Urdr Hunts ass six ways to Sunday in a quarter of its runtime, cause that’s what Tekkadan does.
 
9/10