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Gundam 8th MS Team: Ten Years After… Plus Three! (Final thoughts)

8th MS Team sent down to Earth by God Gundam

I have been meaning to write this post ever since IKnight had the gall to post that the 8th MS Team was not realistic. Unlike most people who got into Gundam with either Wing or SEED I started many eons ago with the purchase of 8th MS Team on DVD when I had a summer job. i had watched the occasional Gundam episode on CN but I never could watch it regularly to fully appreciate them, 8th MS team for me marked a departure since it was the fist time I didn’t watch it dubbed. Since then it has remained one of my favorites and has colored my perceptions of how a real robot series should be. LOGH dealt with the strategic, operational, and political aspect of military staff work in the same manner that 8th MS Team deals with the lowliest grunt, that is to say in a fairly realistic and convincing manner. While some aspects of 8th MS Team are quite cinematic it nonetheless retains a good deal of realism. By realism I mean how a series even a science fiction one remains more grounded in the realities of life, in this case military life. Granted that there is still a Gundam it is treated less as a means of realizing a protagonist ideals, but as a practical weapon and pilot’s bride. It’s a much more simple and gritty Gundam without the modern tropes of the recent Gundams and still holds a unique place within the Gundam Franchise along with G Gundam in that they are very different from their brother and cousin Gundams. (EDIT: Comrade Icystorm had trouble reading so image dump is at the end this time, sorry about that.)

Unlike most Gundams 8th MS Team has, relatively, very fragile mobile suits things get scratched your paint job is seldom pristine for very long and improvisation can create some interesting combinations. While we start out the series seeing other teams walk off in Gundams by the end the other teams have had to replace their Gundams with the more economical GM. The titular Hero gets a custom suit built from spare parts as his mid season upgrade while one of the support characters has to make do with a GM head much to her dismay and chagrin. It felt realistic because this was a minor front and was lower on the totem pole for supplies and personnel, hence why everyone had to have some mechanical skill since man power was short and maintenance personnel had to be divided among many teams. This is never spelled out for the viewer, but given how much fine tuning and technical knowledge each pilot had to have it was not unlike the situation for tankers in the real world, you can’t always bother the maintence guys when you need an oil change. When Sanders went off to find Shiro the mechanics only made it mobile and armed with what they had and then sent him on his merry way. It would have been preferable to get a full overhaul, but in the press of combat everything that can move and has a weapon is sent off as the situation demands. An immobile M1A2 hull down is better than a functioning one back at base, and while battlefield logic may seem strange, the thing you have to remember is that necessity is what drives it not sensibility. “Better than nothing” is the motto, hence you had guys in the real world putting sand bags on trucks and Humvees in lieu of simply waiting for some purpose built armored car to show up in an ongoing theater of combat.

The OP montage basically sets the tone for much of the series Gundams are merely a part of a huge military machine that still uses tanks, boats, planes, artillery, and armored cars to achieve its goals. Engineers and mechanics are always busy repairing equipment and salvaging what they can, given the speed at which the Kojima battalion can repair suits and their knack for improvisation it highlights one of the reasons why the Federation won the One Year War, excellent logistical support. Nickard and his underlings are to the Kojima battalion what damage control was for the US Navy in WWII, the decisive factor that allowed their respective forces to stay in the fight even when their troops were not yet as experienced. Just having forces on paper is not enough, things break down and you have to be good at making things mobile again when you only have finite resources. Field life is a bitch, shelter is not always guaranteed and there is always something that can make life more difficult. Combat in 8th MS Team also parallels fighting in dense terrain where small unit tactics are the most important factor along with skills at ambushing and counter ambushing the enemy. It’s not so much you merely run up and hack at the other guy but you hide and wait for him to pass by. When he’s not looking or other wise distracted is then the time to open up a can of whup ass. Not the bravest thing in the world, but it is the wisest approach if you want to live through the ordeal of combat.

I also like how in the 8th MS Team that every one is expending huge amounts of ammunition with out actually having a high hit count since suppression and keeping the opponent off balance was more important than getting finesse kills. “One shot one kill” is something for more elite formations to tout, but even the US Marines know better than to adhere to it word for word. On the front if you don’t know what it is fire off a few rounds just incase for the most part. You can always get more ammo for the most part, but you only get one life. The mere act of shooting at some one automatically will cause them to get off balance and not have a good bead on you. The centrality of vision and being able to see your enemy is really played up here. No matter what your branch you have to be able to see your enemy to kill him hence why buttoning up the enemy is quite prominent in this series. When Shiro went out in a Ball to fight of Aina’s Zaku he did the smart thing and started blasting the weakest part of the Zaku the camera. One it was less well protected and second the enemy cannot hit what it cannot see without outside input for fire direction. Even Norris resorted to the buttoning trick to keep Shiro at a disadvantage in close combat. Like real tanks even if the MS is armored and well protected once buttoned up it becomes vulnerable to every thing including infantry who can sneak up on it blow off scopes, treads, fuel tanks, and the like. Given the increased vulnerability of a lone MS team work is essential and 8th MS Team has one of the rare instances of genuine team work to be seen in Gundam to date, no other Gundam series for me has managed to capture the team dynamic quite like 8th MS Team.

Another thing that tickled my fancy about 8th MS was precisely because no one really gave much of a damn about politics other than Gihren was an ass who needed to be shot like a snake. Where as many Gundam Series outside of UC and less beholden to realism tout politics as something important for the average grunt politics is at best an after thought given how finding toilet paper is usually of greater importance. Being shot at on a near daily basis makes the world much simpler or in fact removes much of the useless complications. If you want to live you will spend much more time shoring up a position practicing, cleaning your weapon, and generally making sure that you are prepared to move out at the drop of a hat. If you’re done with that you’re probably too tired and will be desperate for some sleep. If you have free time you’re more likely to be goofing off with comrades than discussing politics and ideology and losing money on dumb things because there is probably no place to spend it. War is still an adventure, albeit a very dangerous and often tragic one, you have a bunch of people who are plucked out of their comfy civilian lives and shipped off to strange places that they could never have imagined ever seeing, even when you think about home you are more likely to think of someone other than the current jackass who’s calling all the shots. Given how most democracies keep their militaries in theory apolitical as possible it should come as no surprise that the Feddie characters can’t see Gihren as anything more than a blow hard, and really don’t care much about politics at home.

The last big battle did much to emphasize the stark difference in doctrine between the Federation and Zeon. Here we see numerous GM units, Guntanks, and Fighter-Bombers pushing dwindling numbers of more elite Zekes further and further up the mountain. Where the Zekes are reduced to relying on Norris for much of their muscle the Feddies aren’t playing Norris’s game and opted to instead use artillery to pound the position and seal it off so the eventual advance up hill will have a smaller chance of being ambushed. Here is one thing that many Gundam series as of late tend to forget, numbers really do matter. Even if Norris took on six mobile suits at once he was eventually overwhelmed and ended up KIA. In the large scale of things Norris may have killed a bunch of rookies, but there can only ever be one Norris and there were plenty more Feddie Guntankers to come. While Norris vs. the 8th MS Team was cinematic it was realistic in the sense that it was probably how Wittman’s Corner turned out only Norris did not live through it and met his Joe Ekins in Shiro Amada. Shiro did the right thing and turned over command to Eledore as the boys in the truck were the only ones who could “see”. Norris himself was using some tactical acumen in that he went right for his objective of destroying the Guntanks as his one man operation needed to be fast and dirty since he didn’t have enough ammo to play. Norris used the dense terrain to his advantage and used up much of his ammo to create smoke and limit visibility. The scene may have been cinematic but one guy taking on many his number is not unprecedented in warfare, in bocage country a lone well supported Panzer V or Panzer VI could dominate a much larger formation of Allied tanks in dense terrain. Hence for once having the better MS and greater experience gave Norris the edge over the 8th MS Team. Had he been in the open Norris would have been dodging artillery shells for most of the day.

The only real part that I found to break the running theme of gritty realism was the Ball vs Zaku fight in the first episode. On the one hand Shiro did the right thing and initiated an ambush up close and personal so that most of the Zaku’s advantages were negated. However Aina did get a good burst on Shiro. The only thing that kept it in the realm of possible was that Aina was shooting at the most angled parts of the ball. Like the dome shaped turrets on most contemporary Russain tanks such as the IS-3, T-54, T-62, and T-72 the round surface of the ball would in theory be capable of deflecting rounds, but even that is a stretch.

While the love story between Aina and Shiro was erring on the fanciful side, I doubt love ever goes as planned any way. The titular characters are for the most part likable even if they fit a little too comfortably into war movie clichés, but for a Gundam series they stand out amongst the rest because they are exceedingly average. 8th MS team was from a time when not every one had to be a pretty boy to pilot a Gundam and not every opposing ace had to wear a mask, even if Karen isn’t the loveliest lady in all of Gundam she does grow on the viewer for being bad ass normal. Norris and Sanders are on the husky and chunky side, but nonetheless are the kind of pilots from a bygone age of mecha now seemingly lost. If nothing else 8th MS Team is realistic for one simple reason that armor did not outpace firearms technology except for Shiro’s super Ball. All in all 8th MS Team has aged well and should be counted amongst the top series of the Real Robot branch of mecha. The last episode was rather unnecessary and makes a slight blemish on an otherwise slick package. It certainly lacks the complexity of other Gundams, but it keeps within the spirit of 8th MS Team as a real robot series about grunts, in that they opted to follow another military precept, keep it simple stupid (KISS). Besides I just love how the vaunted wonder weapon in development was nearly laid low by a well placed GM sniper who had a much cruder but infinitely more practical weapon.

Unlike most pilots Shiro had to use his BALLs to make his first sortie.

By war’s end 6th Team got replacements in numerous areas…

Like the real world after every battle the it’s the mechanics and engineers who get to have all the fun.

Shiro acts like a real soldier he gets sleep when he can get it no matter the place.

Oh Aina you know this was the first time I heard that voice and fell in love with it.

Oh yes this ass hole now I rmember what I hated most about Zeon…

Poor Sanders was the sole survivor on numerous occasions…

Shinagami Sanders too bad Norris ended up immune…

So you do have balls. – MCPO Karen Joshua

Karen doesn’t fear death, and she sure as hell doesn’t fear Sanders.

Aina’s war face.

One of Karen’s war faces.

Sanders’ war face.

Tis but a scratch!

Back in ye olde Gundam days beam weapons were a pipe dream for most troopers.

Nickard 1, Norris 0

Unlike most Gundam pilots Shiro actually gets out of his Gundam to do recon like real tank commanders.

Kiki wants to see.

Karen and her pilot’s bride.

Gundam desant?

Aina’s “I just was confessed to face.”

So forgiving that Aina .

That’s her answer by the way.

When he first heard that Aina was in love Norris was like…

..and then he was like.

Shiro found the best use of a beam saber in Gundam history.

If only the had ice skates…

I can’t shake him!

Nice choker.

Nii-san has been spying on her.

I loled at the “for Great Justice” speech…

…and Kojima facepalmed.

The MS recovery guys are throrough…

Zekes do recon too…

A buttoned up Zaku has less situational awareness than infnatry, just like a tank.

Surrendering for food.

Thanks a bunch 7th Team, love the 8th Team.

A soldaten’s blank check…

Dell was a dad. Be real funny if his last name was Wiseman…

Poor Kiki…

That’s not how Zaku’s treat women…

…and buy your own goddamn shield.

Fucking Arth.

Oh how Kiki wished that it were…

Seems that everything humanoid suffers equally to form crotch shots…

Don’t forget kids always remember to buckle up…always.

Back in ye olde days facial distortions were hand drawn.

Feddie Tank ready to roll.

Launch all Core Booster IIs for Great Justice…

Today we are taking back Gracemeria.

That’s quite the command vehicle…

She won’t take you back man…

Sweet coffin.

Screw drop pods we do things the old fashioned way…

There are no atheists in foxholes nor are there any in cockpits.

Okay bend your knees and then…pray.

Serious Karen.

Join the Feddies, see the world.

It’s just a flesh wound…

Lol Cynthia I never did like you…

Lock S-Foils in attack position.

Wow that was close. So Gouf how’s Big Zam?

In the rear with the gear.

Sup Zaku?

Here have some more.

Well Dom…

…you almost had him.

But the Guntank knifed ya when you weren’t looking, not that you could have…

I got a bad feeling about this…

I see you…

Bloody hell what a mess…

Well that looked impressive…

Going prone.

Oh you were shooting at me…

Bye guys I am going home…

So scared right now…

Improvised cover.

For a bunch of haughty nobles Zekes sure play dirty.

Screw you!

Dad!

Well that’s one way to say his to your future father in law…

Wow that was close.

Wut?

Karen’s best war face.

The Thin Red Line…

Say that again?

Meet the Sniper.

Sniping is a good gob mate. I promise you’ll never go hungry.

As long as there are two people in the world someone will want some one dead. Oh…

Be polite. Be efficient…

and have a plan to kill every mobile armor you meet.

Well it was a nice watch…

Don’t worry, she okay…

War’s over, so whose up for some ice cream?

40 comments

40 Comments so far

  1. IcyStorm September 5th, 2008 3:17 am

    I wanted to read this, I really did.

    Too long, too many pictures, I died a quarter of the way through. Maybe chunks are better @_@

  2. Crusader September 5th, 2008 3:54 am

    Alright I can see what you mean, just edited just for your comrade. Image dump set at the end of the whole text part of the post. Let’s see if it works better or if you’re just weird… ;)

  3. lelangir September 5th, 2008 5:15 am

    The first Gundam series I was exposed to were proverbial Wing and G on CN and then SEED Destiny later. I did enjoy the ‘relative’ absence of beam weapons and how the machines actually moved like machines instead of nimble martial artists.

    And then teamwork, as you pointed out, was a rarer treat. It was actually nice to see a MS get owned by lowly tanks (3 of them, in that one episode, whichever one it was) although that didn’t last quite that long.

    As for the love story, well, it was ok, though the very last scenes of the penultimate episode were particularly powerful, I thought. But you didn’t like the coda episode? I suppose if you take it as an integral part of the series then yes, it is “misplaced”, though there were aspects of that episode I didn’t like, I thought the very, very ending was great, Michael’s babyish catharsis was awesome, the classic log cabin was cliché and wonderful, the music was stellar – oh yes the music was probably the best part for me.

    On that note it’s interesting to see a guy like Sanders imbued with a trait as so relevantly disparate as jazz piano. With Eledore being a rockstar, I doubt there’s any more meaning behind music in this series, though it was a nice touch.

  4. KYPMbangi September 5th, 2008 6:00 am

    8th MS Team is the penultimate of what Gundam should be in my textbook. War is dirty and should remain like that, not just flashy technicolor, near-immortal emo teen boys and pretty faces. Their ambition of reaching more range of audience and monies had transformed Gundam as one of the mainstream anime had disappointed all of us who appreciate this blog. Kudos to the writer, indeed, 8th MS Team is a godsend from God Gundam

  5. Halcyon September 5th, 2008 6:43 am

    I think you put into words exactly what I love about this series.
    Although, the late last episode was a bit of an existential downer the preceeding episodes were nothing sort of brilliant. I got broken into Gundam with Gundam F91 way back in the mid-90s.

    I don’t count 08th MS Team as part of the Gundam franchise because the only thing it shares in common with it is the titular Mobile Suit. IMO, 08th MS Team is in a league entirely on it’s own. I first saw MS 08th Team on CN’s Toonami block, back when Anime was just breaking into the American Mainstream and Toonami actually carried decent shows (e.g. Rurouni Kenshin, etc) and so this series definitely holds a special place in my heart.

    A lot of people have called this show overrated but I don’t think they understand what the real appeal of the series was.

  6. Ratwedge September 5th, 2008 7:22 am

    Right on. 08th Team was the only real Gundam I enjoyed. It was brutal and it wasnt a beam fest in the sky with laser light discos. It was brutal in its simplicity and it showed us not all Mecha is ‘fancy emo aces’ and ‘giant super robots’.

    I love how it showed just how clunky the Moblie Suits were. It was awesome how they moved more like they were giant robot than other series where they are treated nothing more than exploding cannon fodder.

    At the end of the day I felt more connected to this team than any other team simply because these seemd like regular people just trying to make it through a war.

    Also I still /facepalm when people try to tell me how bad this depicts Gundam, yet in the same sentance they remind me how awesome a gundam with angel wings is.

  7. Zentari September 5th, 2008 7:33 am

    @KYPMbangi: I agree .

    I have to admit that this is one of my favourite mecha series because everything looks normal.No Jesus plot armor , characters are believable and down to earth (instead for say Lacus who is a plot device with a supercomputer in her head ) and because numbers and experience do count and while good equipment helps, it does not win the battle for you (something that Gundam 00 came pretty close to achieving too,gundams WERE ZOMFGHAX but when swarmed by enemies they had trouble fending them off).

  8. rollchan September 5th, 2008 8:16 am

    who’s the STAR of this show? its not Amuro Ray, right? :P

  9. Myssa Rei September 5th, 2008 9:08 am

    Rollchan: No, the lead is one Shiro Amada, who at that time was the OLDEST titular MS pilot (I think he was 27) in a Gundam series,

  10. bearzerger September 5th, 2008 10:11 am

    I liked it, no endless and what’s worse retarded philosophical debates no emo-teen in the cockpit. No superhumans and most especially no cute little robots accompanied by a ditzy female.

  11. rollchan September 5th, 2008 10:29 am

    @myssa: thanks:)

  12. IKnight September 5th, 2008 11:45 am

    Great post. I’m going to have to go and rewatch Norris and the team (yet) again.

    On the realism issue, looking back I see that I focused very much on the visual element (because I’d be the first to admit I’ve no idea what military life is like), and I think visually there’s still a sense of arrangement and artifice to the show (a prime example being that Gouf outlined against the sun). Not that that’s a bad thing: it looks better that way. In terms of the relationships between the mecha and other vehicles, the emphasis on the mechanical element (and indeed on the mechanics), the clunky and chunky Gundams and perhaps above all the teamwork I take your point that The 08th is in a sense very realistic. (And we already agree that it’s a great show.)

  13. SnakeEatSnake September 5th, 2008 12:18 pm

    I haven’t been exposed much to the “mecha” genre and of what I’ve seen I haven’t much liked. 08th MS Team is one of the rare exceptions though…the realism you spoke of, and that real sense of danger in each scrimmage is what set this above other mecha anime I’ve seen.

    Could you guys recommend any more “Real Robot” anime like 08th MS Team? I’d appreciate it.

  14. skoll September 5th, 2008 12:32 pm

    Excellent post, Crusader. 08th remains my favorite Gundam series to date, because the machines have WEIGHT and BELIEVABILITY despite the obvious impracticalities of creating a humanoid fighting machine of that side. More than that, it was refreshing to see the grunts’ struggle, those without plot-armor and instead make due with composite or even rolled homogenous plate.

  15. bearzerger September 5th, 2008 12:49 pm

    @SnakeEatSnake
    I’m tempted to say Voltron or Zoids, but no, the level of realism in 08th MS is pretty much unheard of in a mecha anime. The best I can think of is you could try Legend of the Galactic Heroes, but that’s a space opera, so it’s not really the same.

  16. Crusader September 5th, 2008 1:22 pm

    @lelangir
    The mecha here are much slower and much less nimble than other Gundams and it lends more towards the Mobile Suits being machines rather than over sized armor for the pilots. The team work for both sides was generally good, in the tank ambush you mentioned the Zekes made used of concealment, hull down, and debris to their advantage, even with inferior weapons in an ambush mos advantages of superior technology often end up negated.

    The last episode was bittersweet, but the change was rather jarring, but understandable since there was a change in director since the original guy (Kanda) died. Since a tragic real life problem in production occurred perhaps it was inevitable that there was a noticeable shift between the majority of the series and the last episode.

    The music was great all round, and having Sanders be a piano player indicated that een if he’s killed 6 mobile suits he was at one point a a civilian who was drafted into the the Feddie military. They all had lives before they ended up as members of the 8th Team. Unlike more recent Gundam pilots they were young adults who had built lives before their conscription since Eledore probably didn’t want to be there in the first place.

    @KYPMbangi
    Agreed most of the more recent Gundams seem to be more interested in retreading old ground and repackaging it into a new product to sell toys Fukuda was rather blatant when the BS that was Cosmic Era ended up being very much an overly long toy commercial. It revived the Gundam franchise as a product but I think the cost in terms of originality and spirit seem to have been irreversibly violated.

    Right now I don’t think that we will ever see a Gundam quite like 8th MS team which is a shame, but in the end makes it all the more special.

    @Halcyon
    While 8th MS Team is radically different from most other Gundams in the same way G Gundam was, it did follow the concept of real robot much more faithfully than any other Gundam before or since. For a franchise now so strongly associated with Gundam SEED, and GSD it is understandable how since 8th MS Team is almost the antithesis of the popular modern perception of how a Gundam series should be that the the 8th MS Team seems to be a black sheep. Bing a much less complicated series much of the enjoyment relies on sympathizing with the exceedingly average characters, and appreciating the realization of Gundam as a practical weapon rather than an invincible instrument of ideology.

    CN in the 1990s was a great time for anime in the places where you could get it. It introduced me to a lot of things like Gundam Wing, G Gundam, and Char’s Counter Attack. It is sad to see what has become of it but it was nonetheless a milestone for anime in the West.

    @Ratwedge
    Aesthetically I can see how 8th MS Team doesn’t score nearly as many points for cool mecha designs given the emphasis on samey mass production models. I still like many of the UC Gundams because they formed a coherent continuity. 0083 is another favorite of mine because it was the equivalent of “Top Gun” for Gundam.

    I like how it did not degenerate into beam spam and showed a period of transition to the beam technology that would be come more common place in later Gundams. There were beam weapons, but they were in such small numbers and had numerous technical complications that like many veterans the team opted for more reliable projectile based weapons even if they were inferior. The preparation of the GM Sniper’s coolant was indicative of how new this beam technology was to the Kojima battalion.

    The attrition rate for Zakus and Gundams is pretty much even, it was only Nickard and the legion of mechanics that kept the Kojima battalion in the fight despite the average piloting skill of the majority of the pilot pool.

    @Zentari
    While Gundam 00 has done somethings right in the latter part of the series, I still hope that they are taking more notes from 8th MS Team rather than Gundam SEED for the second half. It would be a shame if all they did was cut and paste from Zeta and Wing. At the very least let’s hope no more new Gundams show up aside from the mid season up grades for the titular cast.

    @Myssa Rei
    Shiro was the oldest to date, and its kind of gets kind of creepy when you consider how old Kiki was. Though in all fairness Kiki was only 10 years younger. I guess 10 Years After she would be a magnificent woman.

    @bearzerger
    Yeah 8th MS Team is everything that a modern Gundam is not. It was from an age when old guys could still kick a young pilots ass, sadly there are few old guy pilots any more.

    @IKnight
    Norris vs. 8th MS Team is still a good standard by which to measure what a good gritty real robot fight should be. Norris was not beat bu superior pilots, he was beat because the 8th MS team played it smart and wore him down, though at great cost. Too bad Norris’ efforts were kind of in vain though…but it was a great fight.

    The arrangement might have been artificial, but much of the realism was derived in how those situations were portrayed. Much of my appreciation for it was due to the little things like MS recovery teams, combined arms, liberal use of improvisation, and the emphasis on how an armored MS had sever limitations in terms of situational awareness. Much of it did parallel the tank crew experience much as it was in WWII which the OYW was based on.

    A degree of artistic license and story boarding was to be expected, but for the most part it kept faith with the grunt spirit and pathos of real robot. I think that there is a charm in simplicity at work here given how the more complicated you make it the more likely you are to fail on some fronts. Nevertheless I am glad we both agree that 8th MS Team is still one of the more unique Gundams within the franchise and is a really good series.

    @SnakeEatSnake
    For more real robot, I strongly recommend Patlabor and to a lesser extent Macross, Dai Guard, which is more of a spoof on how costly collateral damage can be. The term real robot is troublesome because the only qualifications are really mass production and tactile control surfaces. Admittedly there are few if any series that have the same level of realism to them as the 8th MS Team so inevitably for other real robot shows expectations for the weight and realism on par with 8th MS team will have to be reduced.

    @skoll
    I like that comparison to composite armor that the cast has. They aren’t invincible and at least two of them got seriously mangled. I take it you are a fan of the big, slow, and powerful side of mecha? ;)

    Mobile suits may be impractical, but their incorporation here was so slick that you forget how inefficient they really are from a practical stand point. Nevertheless it was as real as a robot could get.

  17. SnakeEatSnake September 5th, 2008 2:08 pm

    @Crusader
    So in other words, 08th MS Team is more or less the only one of its kind? I’ll check out Patlabor though…I’ve been meaning to get around to that anyway. Would you say the TV series is better or the movies?

    @Bearzerger
    LOGH interests me, but the length (110 eps?) is sorta off-putting.

  18. skoll September 5th, 2008 2:09 pm

    @ Crusader

    Not slow, necessarily. Rhinos are fast, but also heavy, and it’s this kind of heaviness that I like, the feeling of momentum. I’ll give you an example. If you’ve watched Full Metal Panic, the first season, you’ll remember the first Arbalest/Venom fight, and right after Chidori soothes Souske’s insecurity in using a weapon system based on will an emotion than solid mechanics, he raises his mecha’s shotgun at Gauron. That particular action is burned into my brain as one of the most outlandish, excessive, and weightless movements I have ever seen a mecha make. It didn’t feel like the arms had any weight, or required any sort of wind-up that any artificial muscle inevitably must have. It was airy.

    Similarly, in Gundam SEED, the ‘Hero Mecha’ practically prance about the place. Another fact to consider is that in other mecha series, it never feels like the armor of the mecha interfaces correctly with incoming fire. It either causes fire to bounce away worthlessly, like the countless times in the Gundam metaseries where some shit-faced pilot tries to use his head vulcans against a mobile suit, or it doesn’t matter at all. 08th MS Team showed armor for what it is, a substance that distorts, breaks away, and absorbs damage.

    One thing I forgot to say, and I don’t want to criticize you, but I feel its important to touch on the difference between realism and verisimilitude. You say that IKnight claimed 8th isn’t realistic, and by the dictionary, he is absolutely right– but so is every mecha anime. Realism is closeness to reality, and Gundam strays far from our world of small arms and mechanical machines of war. Verisimilitude, on the other hand, is having the APPEARANCE of truth, or BELIEVABILITY, meaning, given a particular set of suspensions of disbelief, something makes sense and feels real in its own context.

  19. Crusader September 5th, 2008 5:08 pm

    @SnakeEatSnake
    I never got to see the movies, but judging by the few episodes I saw subbed on IATV in the US it’s pretty good. Wish I still had cable though.

    @skoll
    Many mecha shows seem to operate on havok physics, and it comes as little surprise how dramatic effect can over take the principles of real robot. You’s dthink that with the progress of technology they could actually have real battle damage without fuss, sadly this is not the case.

    I think that 8th MS team is realistic in the way it portrays the basics of military life in general, though I agree given how fantastic a Gundam is that verisimilitude is the proper word for it. Learn something new every day I suppose, I never came across that word in college at least not in my science major.

  20. Haesslich September 5th, 2008 5:30 pm

    “Real Robot” shows actually seem to focus more on the robot/mobile armor as a tool of war, rather than as a superweapon which lets individual soldiers defeat whole armies… which is how Gundam originally started, but later shows have moved more into Super Robot territory. With Super Robot shows, the robot’s as much the hero of the story as its pilot, whereas Real Robot shows focus on the pilot more than the robot as the hero.

    Real Robot shows tend to treat the mecha as the ‘cheapest possible unit issued to a soldier to allow them to survive’ rather than ‘most expensive unit possible in order to help them win battles easily’. That’s where shows like Macross the original or the original Gundam really shone – they were mass-produced or production units, weren’t invincible – just really tough – and weren’t god units the way later Gundams have turned out. It’s like the difference between an M-1 Abrams going out against a T-80 tank versus an M-1 fighting a horde of 2 foot high cavemen infants armed with stones a half-mile away; the latter has no chance to survive unless the M-1 crew is REALLY stupid and careless… which was how Gundam Wing and Gundam SEED Gundam pilots tended to lose their lives.

  21. Crusader September 5th, 2008 6:58 pm

    @Haesslich
    I agree more with your view on how a real robot show differs from super robot shows, but it seems that the old definition of “more mechanical” basis as the principle definer of Real vs Super is going to have to be discarded. Given the small showing of Super Robot series in the old vein and the general twilight of true Real Robot shows I guess the current hybrid mecha show as exemplified by the more CE Gundams, Code Geass, and to a lesser extent Macross Frontier is pretty much the norm for years to come. Given how an expanded audience is what most series are going for these days it’s sad how much of the pathos exemplified in Real Robot by 8th MS Team has been lost in favor of more traditional super robot tropes.

    So in regards to one of Ms. Kikuko Inoue’s roles in 8th MS team how do you think Aina will stack up to Grace? It was kind of jarring to hear her voice as some one so sweet and idealistic after getting more accustomed to the always interesting Grace.

  22. Zentari September 5th, 2008 8:16 pm

    @Crusader : I don’t doubt that ALL sides will have significant power-ups given how (fake) SFs are pretty much mainstream. What I DON’T want is Code Geass , as in a gundam shows up, is unbeatable for an episode or two and then suddenly even common fodder can kick it’s ass.I also REALLY liked how the meisters got their asses handed to them again and again.If they weren’t piloting gundams they would all be dead by now due to being outsourced , outmanned and outgunned .

  23. Crusader September 5th, 2008 8:51 pm

    @Zentari
    I hope that there isn’t another TRANS-AM in store for the second season of Gundam 00. That way Ali can scan kill off a few of them like the weaklings they are. iF ti turns out like Code Geass then we’ll probably have to wait another decade until those people leave Sunrise to allow for another significant shift in the Gundam Franchise. Though they could always bring Tomino back.

  24. Tenryu September 5th, 2008 10:08 pm

    Shiro Amada invented new way to use a beam saber, i remember when i first watched that i thought it was pure genius.

    Then came Loran Cehack, using the wrist power of a mobile suit to wash cloths, inventive but not so awe inspiring.

    i liked this series because it shows MS warefar is serious business… not just go into a MS and start shooting enemies down without consideration… which tends to happen a lot nowadays in new mecha anime.

  25. random hero September 5th, 2008 11:59 pm

    @ SnakeEatSnake

    one real robot series i can recommend is gasaraki, admittedly there is a bit of mysiticism in it but the robots in the show are very realistically portrayed.

  26. Haesslich September 6th, 2008 12:03 am

    random hero: One real robot series i can recommend is gasaraki, admittedly there is a bit of mysiticism in it but the robots in the show are very realistically portrayed.

    You mean, ‘realistically portrayed right up until the point that the large demons start running around towards the end of the show’. Patlabor’s more realistic than this in its portrayal of large mecha.

    Crusader: The point of real robot isn’t necessarily the mechanics, just as it wasn’t for ‘hard’ sci-fi, so much as a believable handwave behind the technology and a focus on the people who used it rather than the technology itself. It’s basically the difference between, say, Starship Troopers and GaiGaoGar perhaps. Or between Patlabor and Gurren Lagann.

    As for Kikuko Inoue, look for clips from MGS3 on YouTube which involve “The Boss”, who she played. Better than Aina.

  27. random hero September 6th, 2008 12:15 am

    i never said it was better than patlabor, i was just recommneding a series, besides, barring the flashbacks the giant demon thing only ran around once and even then it only scored a body count of 2 TA’s, as well as demonstrating why swords aren’t much use against guns

  28. bearzerger September 6th, 2008 2:08 am

    @SnakeEatSnake
    Haesslich mentioned another one which might be on a similar level as 8th MS: Starship Troopers. I’ve seen the six episodes Yoroshiku has released and it’s definitely in the right genre.

  29. d3v September 6th, 2008 8:07 pm

    Great post, 08th Ms Team is my favorite Gundam series of all time – I actually collected it in fansubbed VHS tapes (back in the day before we were able to get everything from a series of tubes).

    Personally, I consider Shiro to be one of the better Gundam pilots simply because he doesn’t rely on sheer hot-bloodedness and GAR to win and actually uses his head.

  30. d3v September 6th, 2008 8:15 pm

    @Haesslich
    If you want a character who is as close to a “best of Kikuko Inoue compilation”, then look no further than Grace from Macross Frontier. She can seem downright sweet and thoughtful at times, but is also quite cunning and devious (and not to mention sexy).

    As for Aina, well you can’t go wrong with what for all intents and purposes is Belldandy in a Mobile Armor (with matching flight suit).

  31. Haesslich September 6th, 2008 8:29 pm

    d3v: We already mentioned it, or at least I did elsewhere, indicating this has got to be one of her meatier roles after years of the Belldandy Voice. Evil, plotting, vampish at times, while still able to go gentle… and being able to trash Sheryl’s ego using her gentle-evil voice (Ep 18).

    She’s like the hottest Cylon ever, really.

  32. Crusader September 6th, 2008 8:43 pm

    @Tenryu
    No better use has yet been found for the beam saber after all these years…

    @Haesslich
    Not over emphasis on technological aspect per-se but it is one of the more stronger elements that differentiates the two, voice commands a la G-Gundam are much more super robot than real robot.

    Still since Aina was my first Kikuko Inoue role Aina is special for me. Grace is probably going to be more remembered than Cecile as the best Kikoku Inoue voiced character simply because it was an inspired choice by Kawamori and his team. I wonder who else the considered for the role of Grace. Nevertheless I think we can all agree that Kawamori made the right choice and Kikuko Inoue is having a ball being the dead smexy evil cylon that is Grace.

    @d3v
    You sir are hard core man. I was never that hard core to use VHS for fan subs or buy anime that way.

  33. Haesslich September 7th, 2008 12:35 am

    Ep 22’s been subbed. Looks like Alto and Klein hang out together a lot more now… but then again, with Mikhail gone, she has to be the one to (gently) beat sense into his head. Or he likes to hang around nee-san types.

    By the way, my timeline? Luca just confirmed the dates of infection… which puts it a year out from when the 117th Research Fleet got destroyed. In other words, Grace DID find Sheryl after Mao and company apparently got killed.

  34. Crusader September 7th, 2008 1:00 am

    Yes it has been subbed and how! What kind of man would pass up the chance to hang around one of the Greatest Meltrans of all Time?

    Yeah you win the time line thing no need to rub it in… :P

    Macross Frontier 22 Post inbound ETA 2 hours from now…so tell me comrade is the LZ hot?

  35. Haesslich September 7th, 2008 1:38 am

    There is no LZ: Grace just went to town here, and Alto’s coming in with missiles to finish off whatever’s left with his ‘emo teenager scream’ at full throttle. And Luca definitely has made his decision; anyone who goes against Leon must die. Which may include Alto, should Sheryl decide that the ‘traitor to humanity’ is correct. But at this point, it looks like Ranka’s career is shot.

  36. Crusader September 7th, 2008 1:49 am

    Copy that just call and we’ll bring the thunder, now how many shots of Grace and I fit in…

  37. d3v September 7th, 2008 3:03 am

    @Crusader
    Well you have to consider that when I got those tapes, VHS was literally the only way to watch the 08th.

    @Haesslich
    I believe someone mentioned hat GRace was like having Belldandy and Urd in one single person. Although personally, I think she’s more like a combination Belldandy and Hilde.

  38. Haesslich September 7th, 2008 4:20 pm

    I’d say with that giggle at the end that she’s more like Belldandy and Hild meet the Lord of Terror in one body. Such delight in carnage…

  39. A.r. October 20th, 2008 7:13 pm

    Eh, 08th is alright. Shame what the second director did to it though. IMHO he turned it into little more than a Disney movie with giant robots, complete with Pwetty Pwincess Aina. Though Ghinius is still probably my favorite fictional character of all time. And even though I immensely dislike Aina from episode 7 on, I still made a custom doll of her (along with Ghinius and Shiro) and try to refrain from bashing her in my fanfiction. Go figure.

  40. S.K. March 4th, 2009 11:04 am

    My personal favourite Gundam series, precisely for the reasons discussed here and now I have a foil to silence those who argue “doesn’t that show have giant mecha?” whenever I try to explain the realism depicted therein. Verisimilitude…ah hah!

    Anyway another Gundam series I feel holds to the real robot ideals rather well is 0080:War in the Pocket. This is not least because of the distressingly realistic response of the child protagonist to the war “Explosions! Cool! No school for me tomorrow, YAY!”
    I’ll admit that there are certain geriatric tropes present such as a Gundam that keeps standing no matter how much gets thrown at it (with a wince inducing revelation of the standard ridiculous Gundam colour scheme) and a love across divides that Shakespeare first thought up but there are still a great number of pros to this title. The Gundam is standing and not responding to its attacker because the projectile weaponry it uses, while not albe to pierce its prototype armor still panics the inexperienced (but well trained) pilot within. In an earlier attack a soldier is killed by overwatch fire when breaking cover against the orders of his superior while attempting to secure an objective. This the tragic end to an otherwise flawless team based attack on an enemy installation; each unit securing sub-objectives and covering their teammates when possible.
    Each of the Mobile suits has the cumbersome movement and feeling of weight (even in weightless space) that I feel is key to suspension of disbelief in a mecha series.
    I can only finish up with a depiction of how depressingly realistic the final death of one of the characters is revealed to be. Their sacrifice, doubtlessly tragic, is even later revealed to have been ultimately pointless, the romance ending in a tragic, unromantic and hard-hittingly realistic manner.

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