Synopsis
The setting is in Mars, a colony of Earth. There has been a growing discontent among Martians with regard to their status as a colony. At the forefront of this independence movement is Kudelia, the daughter of one of Mars’s representative.
She’s scheduled to fly to the Earth in order to broker for their independence. But you know, security is always a problem with such trips. So they’ve hired a group of mercenaries to be her escort. Problem is, they’ve hired an unremarkable company and chose the most rag-tag unit it has.
Sure, Kudelia chose that specific unit herself because of some stupidly idealistic reason. But really know, the situation sounds all too fishy.
So as expected, on the eve of their departure, just as Kudelia arrives in their base, they get attacked.
But because the enemy is overwhelming them, the mercenary company higher-ups decide to escape, leaving the Third Unit, the one assigned to escort Kudelia, on a suicide mission to stall the enemy.
But Olga, the unit’s commander, has other plans. He brings out their own mobile suit, piloted by their ace Mikazuki, and they all fight back. And this is essentially what Mobile Suit Gundam – Iron-Blooded Orphans is about: A rag-tag group of street youths standing against the gears of war.
Review
It’s Gundam. You should know what to expect. Obviously, there’s some awesome mecha going around here.
Actually, the show pretty much starts with the standard Gundam plot setup. Everyone starts at rather low-tech. Political factions are introduced. A base gets ambushed. Standard stuff.
But what Iron-Blooded Orphans gives a different spin on is in its cast of characters, specifically the make-up of the Third Unit. They’re not really military. They’re not the accidental heroes. They’re not the terrorists with bravado. They’re a bunch of unwanted people whose main worth is in being cannon fodders, who are all clawing their way towards survival. And that gives the show its grit.
Maybe I’m just being far too optimistic about this, because it’s been so long since I last really enjoyed a Gundam series. But hey, who cares. One must dream.
There are two interesting things to pay attention to in this show. One is how well it will handle not only the politics of war but also the dynamics of social classes. The episode manages to touch upon this slightly, when Kudelia offers a handshake to Mikazuki, explaining that she wants them to be on equal terms, and then Mikazuki just flatly comments that the statement simply means they were not on equal terms in the first place. It’s an interesting commentary to the possible sophistry of social justice.
Another interesting thing to take note of is on how this particular Gundam series takes elements from other non-Gundam mecha shows. Olga and Mikazuki’s relationship is very much reminiscent of Kamina and Simon of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, and Kudelia’s role as an overly idealistic and slightly ignorant Martian envoy to Earth reminds me of Asseylum from Aldnoah Zero. It will be interesting to see if there will be other elements that they’ll “borrow” from other shows.
Waifu Index
You don’t look for waifus in Gundam shows. You just don’t. Except when Lacus is involved. She’s the only exception.
3 Comments
I hope, Comet Lucifer, will be good too.
Every Sundays eh..?
Ooohh boy.