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Gundam 08th MS Team
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Animation - 8.8 |
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Sound - 8.1 |
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Story - 8.4 |
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Character - 8.6 |
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Value - 8.7 |
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Enjoyment - 9.1 |
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Average - 8.6 |
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| Average |
7.5 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| The 08th MS team has been touted as the most "realistic and gritty" Gundam series that has ever came out of the Universal Century timeline. It no doubt takes a different turn from the standard Gundam fare from a number of aspects and in the end creates a very entertaining watch.
The OVA is a sidestory set in the ubiquitously chronicled One Year War. This time, it focuses on one mobile suit squadron based on Earth commanded by Shiro Amada. He and his comrades fight on the frontlines against the Zeon forces stationed there.
08th MS team certainly had an OVA produced quality. One would not see the true fluidity and motion that was put to work until the action scenes takes place. One battle in particular captures this so perfectly that it has become iconic of the series. Living up to its reputation, 08th MS team tries its best to mesh with real world physics whenever it can. When noticed, you will see bullet shells ejecting out of machine guns, detailed mechanical dismemberment and the like. It always reminded me of shows like Armored Trooper Votoms or Gasaraki from the real robot genre in a sentimental view. The new mecha shows right now could not quite reach the level that 08th MS team achieved. The character designs are simple. Another take on the downplay of the bizarre look that Gundam likes to plaster in their cast.
As a staple in a Gundam series, the OP and ED are standard J-pop tunes that in this case is out of place. 08th MS team is showing itself off as a down to Earth take on war and the music does not connect with its sugary lyrics and happy beat. While I don't think the songs are unbearable, I feel that it got itself into the wrong show. It is more of a promotion to the artist, Yonekura Chihiro, than any other. Voice acting is fine. To coincide with the thematic elements of 08th MS Team, the seiyuus opted for a serious and mature tone which fits well.
As already pointed, the show is aimed to give a realistic perspective on a fictitious mech space war. Therefore, the OVA does not follow a set flow of events unlike the main series. 08th MS Team is chopped up into different segments from the war. In other words, an episode sets in a specific campaign and then two episodes after there is another taking place. Because of this, viewers who are not familiar with the overall conflict might be a little confused from the macroscopic sense, but it is still watchable.
Another point worth mentioning is its occasional inconsistencies. There are a few hiccups that at times stain the plot. A few illogical moments from a realist's standpoint are present such as the romance in 08th MS Team. Like its music it's just tacked on to it and is handled pretty poorly resorting to Shakespearean cliches. Even so, if the viewer sat through the show with a slight suspension of disbelief, 08th MS Team will not disappoint.
08th MS Team reeks of character development and interaction. The main and supporting cast get ample screentime and a treat to see. For something as short as an OVA, 08th MS Team managed to use one character and juggle in the rest without ending as a trainwreck. The characters personalities are humble, but far from boring. You get to feel sympathy to them because they have dreams, fears and principles. They are not simple named grunts. Everyone has a place in the narrative no matter how small. I only wished that a few people were fleshed out more, but I'm content with the finished product.
A must have for any mecha or action fan. 08th MS team is a breath of fresh air over the musty One Year War. Newbies can view this as an entry point to the vast Universal Century Gundam timeline.
Over the huge buffet that is Gundam, 08th MS Team is a tasty sidedish that simply cannot be ignored. It's simply a big thumbs up.
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| Average |
8.3 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Gundam 08th MS Team ist eine der wenigen Gundam-Serien die sich völlig von den gängigen Grundkonzepten die so gut wie alle anderen Gundams innehaben loslöst. Zwar dreht sich die Handlung nach wie vor um den altbekannte Krieg Federation vs Zeon, jedoch bekommt man den Krieg dieses Mal aus einer anderen Sicht präsentiert und das Augenmerk der Serie liegt auf dem Alltag einer Truppe die auf der Erde stationiert ist und damit verbundenen Missionen die es zu erfüllen gilt. Es gibt dieses Mal keine übermächtigen Super-Mechas oder hochtalentierte Superpiloten wie Newtypes und SEED-Nutzer. Die Piloten werden wie völlig normale Menschen dargestellt die tagtäglich vom Risiko umgeben sind das der Krieg mit sich bringt und versuchen einfach nur ihre Mission so erfolgreich wie möglich zu erfüllen. Und dabei wurde, für eine Gundam-Serie, eine Menge Realismus in die Serie verarbeitet, vor allem was den technischen Aspekt angeht: Es ist zum Beispiel notwendig seine Maschine zu warten und Ersatzteile auszutauschen bevor oder während man sich auf einer Mission befindet oder erleidet der Mecha eines Truppenmitglieds einen Totalschaden muss er zwangsläufig ausgetauscht werden. Kurz gesagt: Das die Gundams nach einer schweren Schlacht, in der nächsten Episode wieder tiptop zum Einsatz bereit stehen wobei es den Anschein hat als ob sie nie auch nur einen Kratzer abbekommen hätten, wie in so gut wie allen anderen Gundam-Serien, gibt es hier nicht. Damit schafft es 08th MS Team eine tolle realistische Atmosphäre zu schaffen und diese kommt besonders während den meist actionreichen Mecha-Kämpfen vorzüglich zur Güte, welche übrigens nicht dem gewohnten, gundammäßigen Rumgeballere entsprechen sondern viel mehr auf strategischer Kriegsführung aufbauen, was ziemlich spannend zu verfolgen ist. Die Story ist zwar im Kern nicht unbedingt originell und besitzt nur einen eher schwachen roten Faden aber es ist ihr gelungen mich schon sehr früh zu ködern. Vor allem die Romanze zwischen 2 Personen die auf verschiedenen Seiten kämpfen und ursprünglich eigentlich Feinde sind, hat mich aufhorchen und mit Spannung auf die nächsten Episoden warten lassen. Zwar wurde die Beziehung zwischen Shiro und Aina nach Episode 1 schnell wieder in den Hintergrund gerückt aber trotzdem tat das meiner Unterhaltung nur wenige Abbruch. Denn egal ob sich in einer Episode das 08. MS Team zum Wohle des Gelingens der Mission mit vereinten Kräften in den Kampf stürzt oder einer der sympathischen Charaktere näher vorgestellt wird, ich hatte meinen Spaß und erfreute mich an unterhaltsamer Action, und dem Cast der mir schnell und immer mehr ans Herz wuchs. Ebenfalls sehr gefallen hat mir das dieses Gundam etwas aufzeigt was auch in unserer Welt allgegenwärtig ist: Die im Krieg hervorgerufenen Vorurteile gegenüber den Menschen die auf der Seite des Feindes stehen. Der Hauptcharakter muss im Laufe der Geschichte erkennen dass nicht jeder Zeon ein kaltblütiger, bösartiger Mensch ist und dass seine Sicht durch den blinden Hass auf den Feind getrübt wurde. Eine schön vermittelte Botschaft die weder erzwungen noch plump daher kommt und die Serie in meinen Augen noch zusätzlich aufwertet. Alles in Allem habe ich den kleinen, kurzen Ritt mit Gundam 08th MS Team sehr genossen und die Serie konnte unter Anderem dank einer tollen, authentischen Atmosphäre, liebenswerter Figuren und gut in Szene gesetzter Action, ordentlich bei mir punkten. Gundam 08th MS Team ist nicht wie die anderen Gundams und hebt sich innovativ vom Gundam-Klischee ab. Nicht nur Fans von Gundam zu empfehlen sondern auch jedem Anderen, sogar denjenigen die bisher noch keiner einzigen Gundam-Serie etwas abgewinnen konnten.
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
8.0 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| I think 8th MS Team is very underrated series, since not too much people talk about it. When you talk about the Gundam series, most people would immediately talk about either Gundam Wing or Gundam Seed. However, this show really excels in some areas that the two mentioned shows failed to do.
The animation was rather decent. Don't expect mind-blowing graphics, because this show is dated. However, for its time, the quality is pretty high. The fights are absorbing and intense. The fights are depicted to be very realistic, and unlike Gundam Seed or Wing, the Gundams are NOT all-powerful. Gundams could actually be defeated or damaged, so the battles actually take strategy to win, and not just charge in with your rifles blazing. The last two episodes feature some of the best Gundam vs Zaku fights I had ever seen. Just sitting through the first 10 episodes to watch that was worth it.
The sound was decent as well. Nothing too special, gets the job done. The opening theme song is among the best gundam series songs I've heard, the Ed theme isn't too bad either. However, the OST and background was rather forgettable, unlike the strong orchestra music heard in Wing and Seed.
The story started off slow at first, as it mostly concentrates on the main character's first battles and building teamwork among the 8th MS Team. The story steadily builds up toward an exciting climax, ending with a very touching ending. It's nice to see that there are no absolute right or wrong sides in war. Each character had his or her own motives in war, as such, this story tells a nice tale about friendship, sarcarfice and coping with loss. In the story, the main character would eventually have to decide whether to follow orders as a soldier or fight for his own ideals.
A nice show to recommend fans of Gundam series, and perhpas as an intro to the Gundam universe as well. A nice, short anime with well-animated fights, interesting characters and a well-told war story. I couldn't see why one should pass this one up. Recommended.
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| Average |
7.3 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| The most underappreciated Gundam series out there, and probably one of the best (Next to Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid), 08th MS Team takes Gundam in a different direction, and brings real originality to the series.
The combat animation is solid; as has been stated in a previous review, the combat damage is shown very well, and the anime is very consistent with which parts of the gundams have been repaired. Also, while the character models are dated, they are still full of emotion. However, the backgrounds are extremely bland and uninteresting.
The sound isn't anything too amazing; background music is exciting when it needs to be and depressing when it needs to be, but nothing really stood out as being "great"; merely solid all around.
The story, unlike in most Gundam series which focus on the leaders of the wars, great military commanders and amazing pilots with supernatural talents, 08th MS Team turns its' focus on the lives of one unit, giving little information or background on the war itself. The basis of this anime is not the story, which isn't anything too exciting or amazing, but the characters. The story is merely a way to witness the characters grow and come together. My only problem was with the ending.
Shiro Amada is my favorite Gundam series character of all time. While he is similar to other Gundam heros in that he is an idealist/dreamer, he is also realistic and interesting. The interaction between Shiro, the newcomer, and the members of his squad is also extremely interesting. Aina was also extremely well done as Shiro's love interest and while many might not find it to be believeable, I thought it was, and I enjoyed their relationship and its development.
For Gundam fans, I think this is a must-see; it takes a different and unique view of the Gundam universe, and doesn't take the same route as the other series (though the theme is very similar to many other Gundam series).
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| Average |
7.3 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
5 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| It's been a good two or three months since my last review, but I'm not dead. Been terribly busy and only recently have I had a chance to actually sit down and watch some anime. Since nothing recent really interests me at the moment, I decided to turn my sights on some of the series I watched many years ago. The second on my list happened to be the 08th MS Team, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised with how much it lived up to my previous expectations.
Visually, 08th MS Team, considering its release was in 1996, is quite good. The main cast of characters are each given their own distinctive look and feel, especially through facial expressions. This definitely helps offset the blandness of the scenery a bit; while not all too bad in itself, it just doesn't seem to come alive at all. For taking place primarily in a jungle setting, one would expect much more variation in colors and shadows; the same shade of green seems ubiquitous in every single tree.
And yet, at the same time, 08th MS Team did something that I find absolutely spectacular: combat damage. Throughout the series, all three of the gundams get knocked around in some form or another, but they never get fully repaired. Scrap and salvage parts replace things that were damaged (pay attention especially to the gundams' heads); unlike other Gundam series where the suits are god-like, invincible, and always enter each battle freshly waxed and shined, what happens in one episode affects each ensuing episode as well. Attention to such combat detail is incredible and unique; definitely one of the highlights of the series.
I wasn't able to obtain 08th MS Team with subtitles, which had me more than skeptical going in, but I was in for a nice surprise with the dubbing. In my experience, the vast majority of dubs are as painful as nails grinding on a chalkboard, and completely ruin overall good series (Kare Kano for instance.) The voice actors actually capture the characters' emotions and personalities; conversation was vivid and had no signs of artificiality. With an overall solid soundtrack and catchy opening/ending themes, it doesn't disappoint.
What most disappointed me about 08th MS Team was the story. It's huge focus on its characters really blots out much of the story, and seems to pull some of the purpose out of the series' existence. Though the viewer is given the basics behind the war, it never much goes beyond "the colonies are fighting for indepence from earth." Vague at best, it's full of open ends, and I found myself boggled at the awkward placement of many scenes. With 12 episodes (11 really, #12 is completely worthless and retarded), to leave a story almost entirely blank just doesn't cut it. Much room for improvement.
As I think Charn stated quite nicely, where 08th MS Team scores its points is definitely in its characters. Shiro, Karen, Eledor, Sanders, Mikel -- each have elaborate personalities, emotions, and character. The pressures of war on a human conscience are taken into consideration, as each is forced to deal with the day to day hardships of being soldiers. One connects immediately with each; it carries the feel as if the viewer is actually part of the team. From the loss of family to the loss of love, the acquiring of dreams to the acquiring of purpose, I found the cast amazingly humanized and depth driven, each possessing a natural mixture of idealism and realism.
I think no matter one's prefences, there's something for everyone in 08th MS Team. Despite its Gundam name, it's as different as black and white when it comes to comparisons. It definitely stands on its own, and I would recommend it to anyone in a heartbeat.
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| Average |
9.3 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| I've always found Gundam enjoyable WHEN Newtypes are NOT in the story! Hence my high regard for this series. I enjoyed the way the story's character uses brain and strategy in order to achieve the mission objective instead of pure, brute, unexplainable Newtype strength.
Especially like the way the anime utilised team tactics, command and control, and realistic battle action.
My favourite sence is when the Custom Gouf appeared and massacured all the MS with long range strike ability. Well recon, planned and brutally efficient in execution! Best Zeon performance in the entire series.. Makes you like the "bad" a lot more.
Truely enjoyable and highly recommended over some of the more tedious Gundam series.
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CyBeR |
2005-12-29 05:16:49 |
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| Average |
8.7 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| To my greatest surprise, a little trip down on the Gundam time-scale has brought me quite the surprise in this little series. It may simply be my affinity for good mecha action but I found this series to be nothing less of astounding as to what I was expecting it to be.
Gundam 08th MS Team is free of the hammy war politics that have made the other Gundam series I've watched to be complete wastes of my time, especially Gundam Wing. I guess the determinant factor in this is the fact that 08th is just a side-story and once you understand this about the story, it flows along very well with interesting story moments, great characters and a lot of battles as I've always hoped to see in a Gundam series or better yet said, in mecha, in general.
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Ryuga |
(2005-11-26 11:51:34) 2005-11-26 11:48:21 |
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| Average |
7.8 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
0 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| This is a side-story from the”One Year War” in Gundam 0079. None of the characters from the first Gundam show take part in this show. There are only new, but yet very interesting people.
Most of the anime show takes place in a jungle, except the some very few episodes. Already at the first episode, I became curious of what was going to happen further out in the show. A basically impossible love between a man and a woman from each military force is an important part of the plot. This part is however what makes this anime good. I didn’t feel that the fighting and drama around it was the most important, unlike many other Gundam shows. Anyway, this is a show you shouldn’t miss!
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| Average |
9.5 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| 08th MS Team truely is a gem. Out of all the gundam I've watched so far (0079, 0080, wing, x, seed/destiny) this definitely ranks first. If u're a gundam fan, u cannot afford to miss this one. If u're not, this series may not be the best starting point, but its a good anime anyhow. Give it a try.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.5 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| I bought this OVA on the strength of many reviews that I had read. Although I still have not seen MSG 0079, I have to admit it didn’t have the slightest effect on my enjoyment of this awesome series.
The plot is quite basic, but then most Gundam series are, but there is plenty of side stories that are going on to keep your interest. The main story is that of Shiro Armarda who is assigned to lead the 08th MS Team in the Asian jungle. However on route in space, he assists a GM pilot in a fight, but is stuck in space with a Zeon pilot (who was attacking the GM). In the time it takes for them both to be rescued, Shiro learns his trapped enemy is a lady, and they must help each other to survive. In this time a friendship is forged with the beginnings of a potential romance. As the story goes on, chance or fate leads to their reunion.
The animation in this series is suburb, and its great to see the Mobile suits used in 0079 to be in such detail. Most of the action takes place on the Earth, so there plenty of colour to show the action.
Unlike some Anime, I actually enjoyed the sound in this series, the detail of the noises made by the MS's treading on the ground (even the odd branch snaps) to the voices of the actors. I’ve only watched the dub, and i actually like the voices, they seem to match their characters and are likeable. However, I was not so impressed with the opening and ending theme, they just didn’t grab me like MSG Wing did.
Compared to many other Gundam series in the UC timeline, we do not see to many deaths, certainly not on the scale of what others are, its more like Wing's scale.
All in all, this a great series, and at 12 Episodes, its easy to watch all of them quickly. This one holds your attention, even in the episodes with less action. If you see it available, I recommend you buy.
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nauXolo |
(2005-04-12 16:48:26) 2005-04-06 19:39:18 |
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| Average |
7.6 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
0 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| This is a must for any one who likes mecha anime.
Straight up pure Gundam fighting tactics with really good use of animation in fight scenes. However, for anybody else, there might not be such a heavy interest in it. There isn't some great driven goal in this series. Things just happen. The anime doesn't have any real connections between episodes. Its more oriented around a story about the main character and his interactions with a girl from the opposing side. (As well as his small team of the 08th MS team)
No annoying characters in this Gundam, although it may seem to have very stereotypical war-like people, but they have an interesting story and a human touch to it. They dont' have any annoying whiny qualities like the characters from Gundam SEED. Although there is a romance, since this is only 12 episodes, its most there to help the story trod along. The characters themselves seem very down-to-earth and this anime doesn't go and develop some philosophy, maybe except peace and cooperation through some type of self-sacrifice.
Animation contains nothing flashy. However, it really does its job well: engaging fight scenes, decent character design, it just feels like quite a lot of effort was put into it with no short cuts.
I find this to be one of those most enjoyable Gundams i've seen. No complications, i'd say this is can be representative of the essence of what mecha animes should be like. A good, realistic battle anime, in a good setting, with good simple but consitent character ideals
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| Average |
8.3 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| When 08th MS Team premiered on Cartoon Network (on a night segment called Toonami Midnight Run), my knowledge of Universal Century Gundam shows was rudimentary. I'd read about the One Year War's basics on the internet, read through mecha specs, browsed sites with character profiles, read discussions on message boards, ect, but never gave it that much thought. I was just checking up on the origin of the Gundam franchise. To me, Gundam Wing was the Gundam show of choice, and I didn't need "ye olde tyme Gundam" or it's timeline to satisfy my Gundam needs. But in the commercials, 08th MS Team looked very good. So I stayed up a little later than I usually did and watched it. By the second or third episode I was hooked. And since I felt I needed to learn more about the Universal Century, I started watching the original Mobile Suit Gundam in the regular Toonami block in the afternoons, too (which eventually became my favorite Gundam series).
The most attractive thing about 08th MS Team is how uttery unattractive it is as far as atmosphere. While many Gundam shows have shown the harshness of deserts, the wilds of the jungles, and the horror of space, the 08th MS Team's setting of Southeast Asia is practically a character on it's own, instead of merely a backdrop. This is a dirty battlefield and this section of the OYW is played out that way, with a grittiness and intensity of close combat. You know that with the giant robots and laser weaponry that it's not the most relaistic war show, but it feels more realistic than any other entry in the Gundam franchise available in Region 1.
The art and animation is the best I've seen in any Universal Century show (probably because it's the latest entry in the UC, released in Japan in 1996). The mechanical designs in 08th MS Team are less showy and more militaristic. The characters have distinct, fit designs, and the animation is smooth. Everything feels natural. The forest and deserts are colored well and seem natural.
The sound effects and music are also very good, the music building up at just the right moments. It felt like a lot of work was put into the BGM and I loved the opening and closing songs, as well as the insert, "Mirai no Futari Ni". You can usually count on a good sountrack in a Gundam show, though.
I do take issue with the voice acting in the series, though. Both the English and the original Japanese voice cast seem to have irritating voices. In the English dub especially, where they make the 24 year old Shiro sound as if he were 15. It's not as though the voices are horrendous, and some characters had decent ones, but on the whole the voice work here seemed somewhat uninspired.
Gundam 08th MS Team is a show that focuses in on a smaller part of the One Year War than the original series. The battles with Gundams here are all on Earth and in a specific part of the world. The Gundams here are also more vulnerable and more realistic than the Gundams of other shows. They aren't the invincible monsters in Gundam Wing. They malfunction, break down, are destroyed. A pilot needs to know his mobile suit, he can't just climb into any old thing and PWN his enemy right away. There aren't any newtype pilots here, either, and it's a nice break. The characterization is decent, though there is a lack of character background. What really happened during the Zeon attack on Side 2? Why did Michel decide to join the military? There were certain questions about the characters I would've liked seen answered, though there was at least some evidence to support a quick answers. What strikes me the most about the storyline is it's portrayal of war in the heat haze of close jungle combat and even some desert combat. I like that. It seemed more "real". I found the politics and idealogy interesting, and especially the fact that not all the characters liked to make long speeches about their ideals. Shiro's team poking fun at him for his idealism was a nice touch. I felt the characters had some real natural interaction, despite some poor voice acting.
I've gone back and forth with the love story between Shiro Amada and Aina Sahalin. At first I thought it was sweet and added romance to the mix. Then I thought it was absurd, since they only met once before Shiro seemed to fall in love with her, and they spent most of that time just trying to survive. Funny that the next time they meet they end up spending a lot of time doing that again. But I suppose they found strength in each other and that can attract two people. Still, there is something about Shiro and Aina's relationship that just doesn't sit right. It was rushed. If the show was longer or she had a more active role in the series it would have been more believable. I'm uncertain about it, though. I still think it adds something to the story, but not something all that necessary.
The only other gripe I have with 08th MS Team is the final episode (#12), "Last Resort". This is a completely dispensible episode which adds nothing of use to the story, and in fact, ultimately detracts from the emotion at the end of episode 11. Cartoon Network never even aired this one, and though I'm usually more of a purist, I can't really blame them. For the longest time I didn't even know this episode existed, because I wasn't looking for further episodes. The story ended in episode 11. While it was nice to see Kiki Rosita again, the newtype children bit was a sad grasp at the original Mobile Suit Gundam that the show could've done without.
Gundam 08th MS Team is Gundam at it's OVA finest. More action-packed than Gundam 0080 and more involving than Gundam 0083, plus with some very respectable production values and an atmopshere that can't be beat. For 11 episodes, this series takes you through one intense situation to another in a down-and-dirty war of attrition, and it shows that both sides of the battle have their honor and corruption. It's definitely worth checking out.
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| Average |
9.8 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| As one anime in the Gundam series this might be considered average or not as good. But thats usually the case because die hard Gundam fans are looking for the same thing out of Gundam. This although is a step away from the norm when it comes to Gundam, and it is a great great anime. If you watch it as an anime and not a Gundam show you can understand how good it is even better. It really gives you that war feeling, and gives you an idea into what was going on while the original was going on. It's hard for me to find something bad to say about this anime, because it's just so refreshing to see something like this come from Gundam...
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| Average |
7.7 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| An interesting Gundam Story set in 0079. This show was okay but I think it deserved to be a complete show instead of just an OVA. Even 26 episodes would have been good.
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| Average |
8.3 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| 8th MS team is nicely drawn and they did a good job digitaly remastering this anime. Typical Gundam music, nothing special or too exciting. The love theme in this story is great, I liked the drama in this series, its less tactical and more drama than ur usual Gundam series. Also the characters played a great role in moving the plot along and keeping us from falling asleep. I throughly enjoyed this anime and am glad to see the Gundam series take it up another notch.
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Jamie |
2004-10-17 18:43:42 |
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| Average |
8.2 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| This is a very good anime. In fact, this and Outlaw Star were the shows that originally got me hooked on anime. This show is a wonderful story, that backgrounds a wonderful, Romeo and Juliet type love story with lusciously animated Gundams and mind blowing scenery. I truly loved this anime.
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RoAdKiLL |
(2004-08-29 23:15:22) 2004-08-29 23:08:08 |
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| Average |
9.0 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| This anime contains a well-balenced mixture of action & romance. The mech fights are animated well and are not boring, its doesnt usually come down to a battle of firepower & in this gundam series (ive seen wing also) the Gundams are hardly invincible. The main teams victory in this is due to tactical planning & there is alot of hiding in cover & ambushing.
Animation, it doesnt look as nice at first glance as newer-anime but its also a "retro style" i have come to like. All the motion is animated smootley & is enjoyable to watch. Compared to alot of old anime this is drawn very well & kiki boreder on cute!
(9)(10 for age)
Sound,the theme tunes are good & the voice acting is fine, nothing annoying here... not cool sounds in the mech fights, but that would be over-service right? (8)
Story, This Gundam series isnt about the mechs, or the war. Its about firstly a new commander of the 08th platoon & their friendship (with a strong working-togather theme) & also about this Federation Commander falling in love with a high-ranked Zeon officer/pilot. Very good. (9 lacks length)
Character, All the characters are lively and functional with backgrounds. Its a shame the series is so short. But since this series seems to be about the commander (who is done remarkably well) its good. (9)
Value- i dont know.... awww, value ratings suck. Yeh you can re-watch it (i want to), Its essential to your Gundam collection, its also a pretty good watch for non-animefans (notice i said pretty NOT very). I dont know about the quality of the commercial release, but, the fansub i watched was very good. Only gripe is there is no japanese kareoke works to sing along to. (this value rating is irrelevant imo).(9 slightly lacks ending)
I enjoyied this series very much & you should get & watch this spectacular Gundam-series anime. (im trying to give lower scores & failing miserably, first reveiw of this got 9.7 :S)
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maegima |
(2005-11-22 06:29:32) 2004-08-29 07:16:57 |
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| Average |
8.8 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
0 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| I've heard a lot of good things about the Gundam series, but I was reluctant to watch any because of the warrior/mecha trivial image it carries to the neophyte. Moreover I didn't know which one to start with in the whole Gundam mess.
I started to watch the first 20 episodes of Gundam Seed which I found entertaining but not more. However after I got my hand on the excellent anime music video of Gundam 8th MS, I really wanted to give it a try.
I know now that I will forever be touched by this anime, its story, and the two heroes, Aina and Shiro.
I did not find the first five episodes very interesting especially the first one :) The storyline was very basic and very light. Fortunately they are entertaining enough in introducing the characters and the scenery, but they fail to load you with the intense emotions you get in the rest of the series.
In my opinion, the series really takes off with episode n°6. I don't know if it is me or if they did change anything, but the animation becomes fantastic, the artistic direction impressive (I was especially impressed by the desert and city scenes whereas the beginning in the jungle was much too poor), the plot is getting more and more intense, the develloping characters become incredibly attaching, and the emotions deep and realistics.
Because this is what you really get in Gundam 8th MS, raw emotions which touch the heart. Well, at least mine :)
Ah, didn't I tell you ? It's a love story and a praise for pacifism in a war times. Very raw indeed.
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| Average |
7.3 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| Extremely fun series to watch, especially after episode 5, where my first impressions were completely turned around.
Speaking of impressions dont mistake it for one of those typical shows where the characters are unstoppable and the best at what they do. This is very humanistic in nature and boasts a pretty decent (yet predicatable) storyline with good animation. The ending is definitely worth the watch alone, therefore obviously the last episode rocks.
Watch this if you like big robot action and are a fan of military tactics etc.
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dorfl |
(2004-08-28 23:15:40) 2004-08-28 23:11:30 |
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| Average |
6.0 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
4 |
| Story |
5 |
| Character |
5 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| I enjoyed Gundam 08th MS Team quite a lot. It had a great mix of action, romance and that special feel-good factor to keep me hooked for all 13 episodes. Apart from the crappy op/ed sequences, the animation wasn’t bad, the voice-acting was decent, background music complemented the events well and the pace, apart from the slightly rushed and confused ending, was nice and brisk. I recommend it quite highly.
However, I think I would have preferred a little more theory and idealism (never thought I’d say that) and I would certainly have liked to have a lot more background information about all the main characters. Who is Shiro? Where is he from? Why is he fighting? What about his friends and family? These questions could apply to any and all of the main characters and I found it unfortunate that the anime just glossed over all of this in favour of advancing the story. I think this series could’ve been spread out over a just a few more episodes to more fully develop the characters because it’s next to impossible to understand why the characters embark upon all sorts of actions without understanding them better.
The shallow characterization wouldn’t have been much of a problem if it had been just that. However, it indirectly contributed to the biggest problem I had with Gundam 08TH MS Team: the ending. I can’t really talk about that without spoiling the entire series, but I didn’t agree with it at all partly because it was messy, lame, hasty and predictable, but mainly because it went against so much that had gone on before. I couldn’t even tell whether it made sense or not because I didn’t know the protagonist well enough. It was as if Shiro had turned into a complete stranger at the end and I found myself completely baffled: what exactly is going on here? Anyway, that’s enough prattling, I can’t be any clearer without spoiling the entire series. Definitely watch Gundam 08th MS Team if you like mecha action and/or romance, just don’t be too disappointed by the way it ends.
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