Gundam 08th MS Team, Can love bloom on the battlefield?

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When NYAF announced that Tomino was coming we decide to try to watch as much Gundam as we could before he arrived. Since the original plan was to watch all the Universal Century series in chronological order this meant we had three Gundam OAVs to get through before we could move onto the next major TV series directed by Tomino, Zeta Gundam. I knew that different people liked different OAVs for different reasons so I was eager to watch them all as see which ones clicked with me. The two main selling points on 08th MS Team for me were realism and a good love story.

Since I really started to become a Gundam fan I have heard basically mixed opinions on every single iteration of the franchise. No one seems to completely agree on anything so really who knows what expectations to take into any of these shows! I can’t say I was any more or less curious about 08th Team than anything else on our plates. Nevertheless I went into 08th MS Team full of excitement and vigor, luckily the show kept me feeling like that throughout.

While Amuro Ray was still fighting during the One Year war there were countless other stories going on. One of those is the story of Shiro Amada a young Federation officer who came down from the colonies to help Earth fight the land war against the Zeon. During his trip to Earth he saves a fellow Federation officer in a underpowered Ball. Although he survives the encounter he strands himself on a derelict spacecraft and encounters a beautiful Zeon pilot named Aina Saharin. After they are forced to help each other escape, there is an undeniable bond between the two of them. Once on Earth, Shiro is assigned the commander of the 08th MS team and finds that his fate is tied to Aina who is a test pilot for Zeon’s newest mobile armor super weapon. Both Shiro and Aina must decided what is more important. Is their love doomed to tragedy when they are on opposite sides of the war?

Shiro’s new team isn’t exactly well loved and with a constant rotation of commanders people start placing bets on how long Shiro will last. And unsurprisingly this land war disrupts civilian life in the region as well. Because of this the 08th Team often finds them selves allied with a group of guerrilla fighters who live in the jungle region. While these guerrillas have no love for either side, they see as Shiro comes on the scene that they are the lesser of two evils for now. As for the flip side, we don’t see too much of the goings on as far as Zeon goes. We know there is a big, secret weapon. Though of course Aina is shown on some frequency both pining away for Shiro and also becoming increasingly wary of the project she is involved with. Most notable about this series is its focus away from the battles and robots. That is not to say that they are unimportant, but rather much more emphasis is given to the growing friendships and relationships on and off the battlefield.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #054

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This week your lovely writers were on the Ani-Gamers podcast! Okay, so we did the podcast a while ago but it is just now up. We discuss Otakon 2009, I know our con report was just not enough for you readers so you should listen to this, too! There is also an appearance by the ever elusive Kohaku and travel buddies Ogiue Maniax and VamptVo (obviously since he runs the podcast). Don’t forget to listen till the very last second for a special treat!

Tanpenshu 1 and 2 are a collection of short stories by Hiroki Endo. Endo also writes Eden: It’s an Endless World! which I very much enjoy so I was curious to see his some of his other projects. All the stories in Tanpenshu have the same component parts that make Eden. On the other hand they are all their own stories with their own feel so it’s not like your reading endless variations on one story. We have everything from modern day stories about yakuza, to sci-fi sex stories, to an autobiographical story. All the tales, even when they are comedies, tend to have an adult feeling mixed with a deep melancholy. When he decides to make his story dark they can be as dark as pitch. Because You’re Definitely a Cute Girl is is clear example of that. Platform was my favorite with a very twisted but powerful story. Hang mostly seemed to be very awkward sex scenes with a sci-fi twist. Maybe I am just dense and did not get why it was trying to say but it just seemed gratuitous to me. No matter what all of his stories will stay with you after you read them. The art has a distinctly seinen feel that often can be quite detailed and breathtaking. These are a great buy if you are already a fan of Hiroki Endo but also a great place to test the waters and see if you like him.

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Animal Treasure Island, Shiver me timbers!

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We usually stick to talking about things we love because not only we like the stuff but because it lets us write better reviews. Nothing gets the reviews flowing on to the page like something you love. But sometimes we find some unique and interesting enough but perhaps doesn’t fall into the love category. They might not be as good as the things we love but for one reason or another they are so fascinating they have to be talked about. This vintage anime movie has many unique oddities worth discovering and examining if you are interested in the roots of Japanese animation.

There are many different ways to approach a work and for the most part we tend to put a lot of emphasis on characters, their development, and the relationships presented. However, those are not the only things that we can appreciate and they are not the only things that can give a work merit. For Animal Treasure Island we take on something perhaps we rarely do here on the blog, we are looking at style and direction and its context in anime history.

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