Kidou Senshi Gundam II: Ai Senshi-hen

Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow picks up where the first film left off, developing the story of the White Base crew further while concentrating on the personal conflicts and development of the characters. The transformation of Kai from a hot-headed, arrogant young man to a more mature, responsible member of the crew is one of the film's strongest points. But there are flashes of immaturity still. Both Kai and Amuro have moments where they make rash decisions, leaving the White Base alone or charging in blindly without caution. Though these decisions can be realistic due to the chaos of war, they are sometimes ... irritating and take away from the tension of the movie. These sequences are a reminder of the same issues in the initial film, proving that despite the characters growing, they are learning to handle responsibility in critical situations.

Technically, the film is fine. The inclusion of the Core Booster is enhancing action sequences better and more intriguingly than the original G-Fighter. The quality of animation is on par with the early 1980s and does a great job of depicting tension, scale, and combat intensity. Voice acting and soundtrack augment action as well as emotional scenes. Parts of it are dragged out because the compilation format makes it so, with pacing slightly off and dialogue sometimes depending too much on exposition, but from a technical standpoint, the technical aspects work for the story.

Emotionally, the show is at its best when it tries to cope with the human cost of war. Over and over, the crew experiences loss, danger, and ethical dilemmas, and the show handles these scenes with seriousness. The image of the White Base airborne with a flock of birds, for instance, is particularly iconic, as a symbol of hope and strength amidst anarchy. While Soldiers of Sorrow is not completely free from the flaws of the first film, namely pacing and even more irresponsible character actions, it is a more nuanced exploration of the emotional lives of the crew and the brutal reality of surviving war. Overall, it's a thoughtful and sometimes uneven addition to the Gundam franchise, worth a comfortable 7 out of 10.

One thing about Soldiers of Sorrow on rewatch that really struck me was how it's structured. It was always, on paper, going to be the most difficult film of the group to make since it's covering the most episodic portion of the show (which is the Ramba Ral storyline and the eventual trek to Jaburo). You are inevitably going to have some stop and start unless you decide to just completely shift gears and do something totally different, which would also defeat the purpose of these movies, which is ultimately an easy money maker in the wake of a sudden popularity surge.

I do think though ... that Soldiers of Sorrow does ultimately do the right thing by instead re-ordering events to at least give the film two distinct halves with two clear antagonists, which helps immensely. Much of the fluff from the Ral arc is completely exercised, instead focusing on the meat from the backhalf of the story - mainly Amuro's desertion, Sayla's hunt for Char, and making sure everything with Matilda doesn't feel completely last minute and out of place - and it's almost relentlessly dour to the point of being difficult to watch on purpose. It's impressive that despite it's overall lack of graphic violence or language that the original MSG remains supremely effective in showing the cost of warfare, and it's less in the casualities, and there are many, but it's just in how it never seems to end.

Even after the first half and the film races to Jaburo and the finish line, the film's body count stacks up, the war isn't even close to being over even as the brass says it's going to be and the White Base crew is stuck playing a guniea pigs in a system that really is more interesting in whatever the hell a "Newtype" is. And while that Newtype business will mostly find itself in the last film (and where the movie trilogy really starts to ramp up in what it wants to do), here it's all background to emphasize just how little our lead cast's importance is in the grand scheme of the war. Again, this is survival, not victory.

The stuff I really do love how are the actual animation changes though, which are fantastic across the board. They are minimal and mostly relegated to some new scenes and shots, but they all blend in seamlessly and the new Core Booster fits the nature of the UC more then the goofy as hell G-Fighter (which always looked like a toy to me). I also do really think the film deciding to rearrange the Jaburo fight so it's one massive siege as opposed to two smaller attacks was a smart narrative one as it is still manages to keep everything in while amping up the tension.

I think overall this is probably my least favourite of the films, but only just barely. It's got a lot of middle installment syndrome and this is mostly heightened by it's dedication to try and stick to the original show as much as possible. Like the first film, I can't really recommend this to newcomers as a starter, but it's a great refresher and the newer elements are interesting enough to stick around for.

Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow improves on the first compilation film in some key technical areas, but it also doubles down on many of the trilogy’s most frustrating problems. Where the first movie felt rushed and uneven, the second often feels confused about what it wants to emphasise, resulting in a film that is more visually engaging yet thematically sloppier.

One of the most frustrating moments involves Sayla Mass. At one point, she steals the Gundam to pursue her own goals and goes rogue, a scene that already exists in the original television series. Even there, the tone is questionable, particularly when she later ... lies to the crew and claims she only did it to “prove a woman could pilot a Gundam,” a line that everyone accepts without question. However, in the full series, this moment is softened by the fact that Sayla is more consistently developed as a character, with clearer motivations and emotional context. In Soldiers of Sorrow, that supporting material is largely stripped away. What remains is the same poorly aged scene, but now without the character depth needed to mitigate it, making it feel far more careless and damaging than it did in the show.

The film also mishandles the concept of Newtypes. Rather than being slowly introduced as a frightening and tragic evolutionary development, the term is thrown around constantly and casually. Characters begin using “Newtype” in nearly every conversation, stripping the concept of its weight and mystery. This is not a problem unique to Soldiers of Sorrow, and it continues in later Gundam works, but it is at its most egregious here. Compared to the television series, where Newtypes emerge gradually and painfully, the movie treats them almost like a buzzword.

Amuro continues to suffer from the trilogy’s compressed storytelling. He has yet another emotional breakdown, but once again, the film does not give these moments enough space to feel earned. His attraction to yet another older woman also returns, further cementing a pattern that already felt questionable in the first movie and becomes increasingly uncomfortable as the trilogy progresses. Without the television series’ slower pacing and psychological focus, Amuro’s behaviour reads less as trauma and more as repetition.

Where Soldiers of Sorrow clearly improves is in its action. The mobile suit combat is noticeably stronger than in the first film and, in some cases, genuinely impressive, especially considering the era in which it was produced. Battles are clearer, more dynamic, and more visually satisfying, showing a better understanding of how to present mech combat in a cinematic format. These sequences are easily the film’s strongest asset and help carry it through its weaker narrative stretches.

Unfortunately, stronger action cannot compensate for the thematic dilution caused by the compilation format. By condensing multiple arcs and character developments into a single film, Soldiers of Sorrow loses much of what made the original series compelling. The tragedy of children forced into war, the slow emotional erosion of the White Base crew, and the moral weight behind Newtypes are all present, but flattened.

Ultimately, Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow is a step forward in spectacle and a step backwards in meaning. It is more entertaining to watch than the first movie on a purely visual level, but it further demonstrates why the compilation films fail as replacements for the television series. By rushing character arcs and trivialising core concepts, the film weakens both its emotional impact and its message. While it has its moments, it reinforces the growing sense that Gundam’s ideas simply do not survive this level of compression intact.