Customer Reviews

Mobile Suit Gundam 0080 - War in the Pocket (Vol. 2)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Gundam is one of the most well-known animes ever created. Gundam 0080 follows the original Mobile Suit Gundam, and wraps up the one year war. It is very short, only six episodes, but its short length actually helps it. You see, this series isn't about a historic war, or gigantic mobile suits (although Gundam fans will find enough to satisfy). This is a story of a young boy, and how a single event changes him into an entirely different person. These first three episodes are decieving, as they seem very innocent and carefree. However, I pity the person who doesn't watch the rest of the series, because it truly is one of the most sorrowful Gundams ever created. If your anime viewing is limited to Gundam Wing, than you are in for a huge surprise. Take it from me, I was as big a Wing fanboy as anyone before I saw this. Now however, I prefer the older Gundams. The environment in this series is surprisingly realistic. The main character is Al, a very young boy who is fascinated with the concept of war and would love more than anything else to pilot a real mobile suit. He meets Bernie, a Zeon pilot, and begins to realize how awful war really is. It would be a crime to spoil it for you, but I will say that Al's personality changes completely by the end of the series. The first episode you will love. The second and third are rather slow, but are very important to the plot. I greatly encourage you to purchase the second DVD because the last three episodes are much better than the first three. This series is a great choice for Gundam fans, anime fans, or just about anyone. Strongly recomended.

In many ways, Gundam 0080 was the last word in 80's style mecha shows. While many were just cranking out action and trying to see who could develop the most the episodes (VOTOMS won by my count). Gundam 0080 kind of stays away from that formula and goes for a full soap-opera-like setting. There is some action, but the show isn't focused on it so much.

The episode begins near the end of the One Year War. When a Zeon team fails at destroying a Federation shuttle headed for Side 6 which may contain mobile suit materials, a new strategy is taken. A group of Zeon spies make it into Side 6 to find the rumored Gundam and destroy it. Caught in the middle of this is Al, a little boy who is in love with mobile suits. He is not really a pro-Zeon person. All he wants is to see mobile suits.

This is probably the only Gundam saga I've seen that is actually relaxing. While intense battles are fun to watch, it's always nice once in awhile to watch a relaxing mecha show. I think what helps most is the music which is a mix of orchestral and synthesized music. Even during combat, Gundam 0080 still feels relaxing. Very story-book-esque storyline.

DVD extras are a tad above normal. ... The commercial collection was pretty cool.... The packaging is great featuring the reversible cover with the original cover art from the Region 2 DVD. Man, 0080 has some sweet art.

Overall, Gundam 0080 is not an epic Gundam saga that will shake the boundries of Gundam, but it was one that is worth watching if not for the drama and animation alone. Recommended.

This was one of the best series i have seen. I have been a big gundam Fan for about 8 years and this is one f my favorites. The best thing about this series is that you really get to look at the Zeon side of the war. The plot twists and indepth charters make this a must for gundam and anime fans.

/<begin rant> To buck the review trend that I keep seeing on Amazon.com regarding Gundam "ANYTHING", I WILL NOT talk about the episodes and what happens. If you want a synopsis, go BUY the DVD.
/<end rant>

Pros:

1>Typically good DVD menu put together by Bandai DVD authoring team.
2>Art looks like Haruhiko Mikimoto's work, so if you like Macross/Lynn Minmay, or Gunbuster style artwork, you will like this.
3>Very focused storyline, not as involving as the original Gundam series. You can concentrate on the character development instead of trying to understand the entire Gundam Universe.

Cons:
1>The DVD encoding seems to be a bit "noisy". Its very noticable with solid color shots. Not the cleanest DVD port I've seen, but it definitely gives the copy a somewhat rustic feel.

Recommendation:
Must have for ANY Mikimoto (Robotech/Macross) and/or HARDCORE Gundam fan.

I can only review the story (from VHS viewing), not the quality of the DVD product here. Gundam 0080-War in the Pocket is a war story that rates against against the classic novel "All Quiet on the Western Front". There is little or no humour in this story. It is a story of innocence lost, and that there are no winners in war, only victims. The story revolves around Al, a kid who collects all sorts of information about the war which is going on between the Federation and the Zeons. He lives on a neutral colony, and uncovers accidentally that the Federation is secretly building an experimental mobile suit on the neutral colony. In a bizarre twist of fate, he makes friends with a Zeon pilot Bernie, and passes on the information, thinking that he can make friends with the Zeons.... which instantly makes his home a target. I'm not going to spoil the story further. The story is tragic, and deeply moving. This is a strong anti-war movie and I cannot rate it highly enough.

Set on a neutral colony during the war between The Federation & Zeon, the story concentrates on Alfred, an 11 year old obsessed with the supposed glamour of war. The six part series does contain some stunning battles, but it's the character devlopment and the tragedy of the loss of life which make this feature stand out. It's pretty bloody in parts, but if you've got kids who like Alfred think war is a game, then this film should help change their minds.

Taking place at the same time as "Mobile Suit Gundam" the OVA series "Gundam 0080" actually does not take place through a soilder's view, rather, it shows a kids prespective, and surprisngly, the show was Pro-Zeon. Meaning 0080 was probably the most original Gundam Series as of this time, Even though the show has a ton of action it mainly showcases the human side of war, as we watch Al's prespective of war change, it stops being a living cartoon to him and shows its true colors, Al learns that war is a hard and sad thing, and its interesting to watch. Al also showcases the usual kid habits of wanting to help out, wanting to feel important, Al is really a manifest of a lot of childish traits we all had growing up, which is what makes him an amazing charater. But the other characters are great too, they devolop amazingly, and after 6 episodes you begin to really care for them. The ending is really unexpected and sad, I almost cried while watching it, and thinking about it sends a shiver up to my spine.

Would I suguest Gundam 0080? Yes, very much. To fans of war drama, to mech anime fans, and to general people.

The mecha designs in this manga are brilliant and are, IMHO better than the new Gundam Wing series. It focuses more on the characters than the other series, detracting from the Giant Robot Cartoon stereotype. I would really reccomend this to anyone who likes Mecha-related manga or just wants to watch a VERY good series.

As far as mecha anime shows go, this 6 part OVA is depicted from an original and thought provoking angle, that of 11 year old Al, a normal (if you can call living in a space colony normal) kid who loves playing soldiers, not caring for the political reasons for war, but playing at it from an innocent's point of view. On initial viewing of this series I was immediately impressed with the standard of the animation for a series made in 1989. The assault by the Zeon force on the Feddies on the ice pole is nothing short of stunning. While the mobile suit battles are few and far between, the story as a whole makes up for any real lack of action. I even played this for my fiancee who loathes anime, but is a teacher, and she felt a real emotional impact at the end of the series. I've watched this several times now,and it gets better on each viewing. I would like to see Sunrise continue with the Universal Century story line, the depth of which can only be matched by Gundams Western equivalent, Star Wars. Roll on Zeta!!!

Seriously, 0080 reminds me of a foreign film. It's just so simple and poignant, and you're truly touched by it. It doesn't have a lot of action, but you fall in love with the characters. What's also incredible is that it shows the nice side of Zeon, and even an EF fan like myself can sympathize with the Zeeks.

If you can't get past the fact that the animation isn't shiny and mecha aren't constantly blowing each other up, then it's your own loss.