Anime: Kidou Senshi Gundam: Tekketsu no Orphans

Okay, 10 years passed after I watched Gundam Seed Destiny, I found something that caught my attention and it was "this". This anime has better value than it's predecessor like Gundam 00, G Reconguista, Build Fighter and so on. Okay, lets do some review.

Animation
After watching from first to end episodes, there are two issues with their drawings. First, when they have normal activities, the drawing was good both from close and mid range, but on the other hand, background was bit blurry which it makes my eyes have difficulties to watch it entirely. Second, Battle animation was vary, from High Quality drawing and depth details to Low Quality with some bad color switch which it was copy pasted several times to save drawing time and it happens so often.

Songs and CV
There are many differences theme they add on their OP and ED songs, one with Rocking OP with Sadness ED while 2nd part was Metallic OP with Gentle ED which it makes feels very powerful responses to listeners. Some CV are good while some are normal or with low pitch voices which it makes me laugh sometimes when they are talking. Background voices was very good with less mistakes and it makes synchronize with paces.

Story
The beginning stories tells about some childrens from various ages were working as Slaves and were hired for Dirty works from mining mineral in Outer Space to Sacrificial Pawns for raiding and lab experiment which it called Alaina Vijnana System. They have hard times to deal with foods, sleep time and health problems while their hard worked were transferred to Higher Ranks for Earthlings and some wealth people. And revolution begins with Orga as Mastermind while Mikazuki as Orga's bodyguard and most trusted friend with absurdly skillful in any terms except common sense and love.

It's about Politic Issues and Dictatorship
This reminds me about 1st Gundam born 1979 where Powerful mecha are considered as Main Weapon for War. This one is same, but with history why Gundam appears. Mecha are tools for politics and they never miss even single series till now because more weapons means more power for Capturing HVT (High Value Target) and easier to control people to obey them. Gjallarhorn are same, they have so many powerful armaments hidden in secret area yet less people are skillful enough to master it. Tekkaadan main mission was to free enslaved people and to end Dirty Schemes behind Governor Systems which Higher ranks have absolute influence in it.

Learning about people and how system works
I dont like the concept of having powerful mecha that always win in any battle no matter what happens, I prefer learn about how people thinks the system works or how does world learn in different views since it was the main point why Stories are born. Sometimes you can find solution by thinking out of box since craziest ideas have more chances to turn tides rather than plain ideas which almost all of time are rejected and was ignored. People cant act by themselves, but they need 3rd Party or having connection to smooth the plans and this is how it works in Tekkadan.

Sometimes struggle end with tragedy or huge loss
No matter how big or small the plan is, there IS always loss included no matter how perfect your plan since sudden events coming from nowhere. E.G: having themselves freed on 1st Eps with several people died in process or having Fujita died after protecting Kudelia or Biscuit dead while protecting Orga even McGillis killed his best friends Gaelio for executing next plan. This is happened on some Gundam Series.

Character
Gundam Orphans solely focused on how Character developed and how to deal problems or issues they face for next plan yet there are some fatal flaws on them.

1. There are too many Roster Characters I found along series which is the main problems since Tekkadan itself has 50+ people, not included with Gjallarhorn and other characters which is harder to handle most of them and remember each one.

2. Some characters have good role how to act, but some of them have bad role to act
Take an example from Mikazuki, while he is very skillful on normal combat and mecha combat, but he sucks in common sense, love and how to react. He always obey Orga command and he has robotic emotions which is pains me a lot when looking at him. Also one more thing, when he is pinched in combat, he become even more ruthless with his eye changed and his willing to kill even more dangerous even it was just simple mecha or targets. It was same with Orga, he was too naive with his ambitions yet he still doubt how his plan works and he cant be weak in front of them but in reality he suffers most from all of them since he is Leader of Tekkadan. McGillis was the most unpredictable guys I've ever seen in this series, he acts as Double Agent which is hardest role to play since a slight mistake will cost his life definitely.

Value
The main mission was still not ended since it was continued on 2nd season, but it already covers almost half of the story. The uniqueness from this one is since it majority consist of warriors from all ages which cant be found on other Gundams which mostly aged from teenagers to young adults audience making it most unthinkable from all series.

Enjoyment
At last, after some failed Gundams in 2010's, this one is finally succeed in this era. Well made stories, more developed characters, great battle animation, also great soundtracks making this one great anime I've ever seen for this time. There are other Gundams are good one like 08thMS, 0080 Pocket, Z Gundam and Seed which considered as one of the best in their era, hard to find that one.

Note: This review only covers the first season of this show. The second season will be covered in another review after it is aired by the end of the year.

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Review
Gundam Age was a trainwrack, Gundam G no Reconguista is not even worth mentioning, Valvrave was a bad joke, and Cross Ange was simply ridiculous. All these attempts to honor one of the most important franchise of the industry only worked to show how this one animation studio has fallen in the last decade. Take a look at all the last jobs from Sunrise and you will notice something is wrong. Phi Brain? Accel World? Nunally in Wonderland? Seriously? Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere? Sacred Seven? God damn... THIS is the studio that once animated Cowboy Bebop and Gundam Seed? These guys were the ones animating Zegapain? That's hard to believe in these last few years eh... well... at least they delivered Gundam Unicorn recently.

Anyway, let's toss the rumbling of an old guy aside. This is a review about Kidou Senshi Gundam: Tekketsu no Orphans (Gundam Orphans), the newest entry of this ancestral franchise. So, how's that going? Is it another Gundam G Reconguista? Does it follows the footsteps of Gundam Age? Or does it bring us back to better days for the franchise in the past decade?

Gundam Orphans narrate the rise of a group of children, born and raised in a post-war Mars and enslaved to a system that uses them as paid guns for dirty work while privileged humans from Earth revel in wealth and comfort. These children, led by Orga and with the cold Mikazuki as their vanguard, rise against their oppressors and take a job to transport a rebel leader from Mars to Earth, hoping to carve their names in history and perhaps changing the opressive system ruling them too.

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1. A different art style
   The first thing you will notice about Gundam Orphans is its artistic choice, which is a mixture of classic elements with a few bold attempts to bring it uniqueness. Your very first point of attention will probably be the characters, a group of children with a portion of standard designed and some cartoon-inspired ones, like the very protagonist: Mikazuki. There is a weird merge of distinct concepts. The big cartoon eyes of Mikazuki and Biscuit does not resonate that well with bishounens such as Orga and Gundam Age-inspired Atra. An interesting choice that sadly doesn't pay well while running, as each character makes you feel as if watching a complete different show.
   
   Ah... but the quality
   If there is a huge let down, it is the overall consistency of the show. Sometimes you get awesome animation and detailed mechas, but at many times what you will see are lazy workarounds, especially when depicting the characters in medium and long distance. Lazyness strikes more often than not, and although you can keep watching it for the superb action moments, it will always be there to haunt your experience. I personally prefer the recycled scenes of old than lazy scenes of modern day.
   
   The sound direction delivers
   The past decade was a tremedous success in the audio experience of the Gundam franchise. Seed, Seed Destiny, and 00, as well as all their movies, specials, and OVAs. Gundam Orphans follow the teachings and deliver a superb soundtrack, going from fast-paced and impactful openings, dramatic merging endings, to a pletora of great background themes that raise the show one step up when it comes to tension and identity. Voice-acting also works in favor of the show, with a good array of varied actors and a healthy dose of cartoon voices to break the mold from time to time.
   
   Less about mechas and more about people
   Gundam Orphans offers you amazing mechas, awesome combats, and some interesting spaceship warfare, but impressively, this is not its focus. Everything here is more about how these children can complete their task, prove themselves as true professionals, and face a system that calls them "space rats" and wish to purge them from existence. All of that while transporting a promising leader that could bring about a revolution in Mars and reignite the flames of war of ancient past. Amazing? Right? However...
   
   It struggles with useless things
   Although tackling an absurdly serious plot about brotherhood, prejudice, and evolution, Gundam Orphans from time to time tries to be uselessly comical. It is shy on such attempts, mostly dealing with dumb events about a group of children living on their own or about how a certain men has a crew that is entirely composed of women, but it is there nonetheless and serves nothing to refresh and evolve its characters. It wastes far too many moments on that, but fortunately it chooses to follow a straight route to its finale after the first half.
   
   Gundam Seed Successor
   Although the starting point and the background of Gundam Orphans has its deal of originality, with ancient war and its Gundam machines, Mars exploration, military children, and so on, its narrative in this first half is incredibly similar to Gundam Seed. The Tekkadan (the group of children) will flee Mars, play a game of cat-and-rat against the oppressive Gallajhorn and find a way to reach Earth, when things get a little more calm for a few moments before pursuit starts again. This formulae leads to an action-packed experience, although with a less character driven start, and a few episodes to consolidate its cast and provide major turnovers.
   
   And yes, it becomes awesome
   Although late, Gundam Orphan starts to truly kick in in the last ten episodes, changing to a tale of vengeance and head-on confrontation against the system. A true rebelion, one taken by youngsters who are easily seduced by power, rage, and fear. Fights become even more amazing, decisions are made with a heavy amount of tension and impact, and the sequence of events lead from one moment of chaos to the next. This end as a solid ground for the next season and it also wraps things up quite nicely, leaving you satisfied and also expecting what comes next.
   
   It does a decent job with its cast, however...
   Mikazuki and Orga are the main heroes, the guys we want to hear the tale from. Orga is a greedy young man with a dream of freedom, yet with his doubts about what to do and the weight of leadership over his shoulders. He is the most interesting character of the tale, the most human, and the one that truly suffers as the tale progresses. He, however, is sided by Mikazuki, a cold-hearted bastard whose blood is not iron as the name of the show, but winged, winged blood from the freezing-hearted maniac bastards from Gundam Wing. Mikazuki is mostly boring, immune to change, immune to evolution, immune to the plot. He is a disservice to the main cast of the show, and the major responsible from preventing this from reaching higher levels of development. At the same time though, Mikazuki is a fuc*n barbarian, like a mindless version of Kira Yamato, which means that when he fights, things get REALLY interesting. At some points I wish to aplaud him from being so awesome during combats, but being a bore everywhere else still weights a lot on the show.
   
   There are also far too many people
   Tekkadan is a huge group of children, from the misplaced Atra to the brutish Akihiro. Add that a group of women and their leader, lots of political figures that appear once every 10 episodes, and a villain side with at least four major characters, and you have a cast size that does not help in the development. The spotlight changes from one episode to the next, you rarely get to focus on them enough to truly understand their behaviors, and perhaps only one or two manage to gain importance enough so their deaths become meaningful even if it happens twenty episodes after they are introduced.
   
   But there are some changes
   Orga and Kudelia take the lead here. These two manage to get the most of the events around them and become interesting and charming characters. This is far more impressive when they both start as annoying rebel-without-cause teenagers. Join that bits of development with Biscuit and a few interesting changing of sides by some villains and you have enough spice to make up for the battalion of undevelop characters and an annoying cold-hearted static protagonist.
   

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Comments
Finally, a worthy Gundam. While Gundam Orphans is short of being a true masterpiece to bring back the franchise to previous height, it manages to reach a superb mixture of tension, action, and character development across its episodes. If you wanted a Gundam at least as good as Gundam 00, here you have it. It is a different kind of experience, but a Gundam nonetheless.

After more than half a decade Sunrise released a TV Gundam that honors its franchise. Gundam Orphans is a solid reimagination of the mecha-driven tales of the past, in special about Gundam Seed, offering a fast-paced show filled with addicting moments, awesome cliffhangers to keep you watching it and a decent, albeit flawed, production.

It shines when it either focus on the rise of kids in the middle of chaos and when urging the berserker Mikazuki to combat. Managing to be awesome in these two aspects turn it a show to be respected, but sadly it gets too many annoyances to be a true masterpiece. There are too many characters, the early middle part is boring, and it takes too many turns when dealing with its objective.

It finally got on the right track by the end of this season, so I can only hope the next one will see a true masterful Gundam in the works.