Kidou Senshi Gundam MS IGLOO: 1-nen Sensou Hiroku

What an unexpected gem this was! A true find among Gundam series. I started this with no expectations and was amazed that this OVA was so good in almost every respect.

Story and Characters

The year is Universial Century 0079. The series is mostly seen through the eyes of Oliver May, a technical officer in the Zeon 603rd Technical Evaluation Unit , in charge of testing new military technology. Stationed in the Jotunheim, a civilian transport ship that was converted into military use, Oliver must head into battle and experience the One Year War, only this time from the perspective of a weapon tester who struggles to ... make an impact on an evolving war during changing times.

The 3 OVAs tell stories of 3 different weapons and their technical champions. The first is about a mass cannon who quickly finds a champion in the Jotunheim's gunnery master. The second is a tank which showcases its best power in the hands of an experienced artillery instructor who has a little bit of a drug problem. Finally there is the Zudah mobile suit piloted by a handsome war hero, but all is not what it seems to be.

If I had to rate the OVAs separately, I would have to say the second episode as a standalone would deserve a 10, with the other two being between 8.5 and 9.

The way the plot played through was very good. Each character had their point of view and was fully fleshed out in a very short period of time. I got to like them all very quickly and before I knew it I was emotionally involved. It's the characters more than the weaponary that makes this series great, even though the protagonist(s) all have an affinity and passion for their favorite weapon. Let's just say shedding tears is possible during Gundam.


Art/Animation

CGI type similar to Final Fantasy Spirits Within/Advent Children. Some details are unbelievable (can see individual eyelashes and strands of hair) while others look very obviously CGI'd (repetitive explosions) which seem chunky and blocky. Overall, this was well done compared to most of the older gundam series which has dated animation. The animation is more of a personal preference as to whether you like the CGI or cell drawings.

Sound

Sound was the weakest part of this anime. Voice acting was good but music was so so. Except every time they play that sad violin music the viewer gets so well trained that they inevitably expect someone else to die ...

Enjoyment

I was very surprised by how good this OVA was and thoroughly enjoyed it. It packed more emotional punch in 3 episodes than the entire of Gundam Seed Destiny. Just goes to show that length does not necessarily make a good or bad anime.

"What's that? You can't catch up to the worlds largest fool?"

There was so much that could have gone right with this series.

If I was to sum up MS IGLOO, the words that would be best used to describe it are "It was a complete disaster".

The concept sounded promising, a re-telling of the One Year War from the Zeon's perspective. Sounds great, I mean, finally we get to hear what the One Year War was like from the Zeon's point of view. Already you have me hooked, I mean we've seen what it was like from Amuro's point of view in the original Mobile Suit Gundam, ... 8th MS Team showed us how the One Year War was for a group of conventional Mobile Suit pilots and 0080 effectively shows us how the war is for a little child. So when I found out about this series, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to hear what the Zeon's thought of it.

Oh what a bad move that was.

If there is one positive from this OVA's story, it's that we at least get some backstory on Operation British and the Battle of Loum (aka Char's big moment when he destroyed 5 Magellan Class battleships, and when Mobile Suits where first used in actual combat) but aside from that? Nothing. The story is a complete and total shambles, in fact I'd be hard pressed to call weapons testing a story when placed in a meta-series that is thick with mythology.

Its not that MS IGLOO's story is bad; it's terrible. An episodic series about weapons testing does not work in a series that has become well known for its large scale mech battles; and to be honest its not like the story would be able to stand on its own two feet as a completely stand-alone series either, the reason? It doesn't have its own two feet to stand on, it constantly tries to place itself in the Gundam continuity and fails. Another problem that the series has is its evident lack of character development, even if it is an episodic series, a lack of character development is inexcusable. If I wanted a show where the characters are worse than wafer-thin cardboard cut outs I'd just go off and re-watch the entirety of the crap half of Tsubasa Chronicle. But I'll get onto the characters later.

Now the interesting thing about MS IGLOO, is its decision to put the entire series in CG, if done right, this could have worked so well for Sunrise and Gundam in general. I mean, can you imagine? CG Gundam eh? Now THAT sounds like something special, definitely would have put an interesting spin on things. But no, Sunrise managed to completely squander that opportunity as well. The character models in CG look awkward and flat, here's an example, they look like a bunch of rejects from Final Fantasy The Spirits Within and even that film had the decency to opt for photo-realism. As for the Mobile Suits? Hah, don't make me laugh. Try imagining a bad looking game from the PS2, imagining it? Now think about how bland and flat the textures in that game looked and then compare that to the Mobile Suits in MS IGLOO, done that? That bad looking game from the PS2 era doesn't look so bad now does it?

I suppose that when they're actually in motion they at least look the part, the one benefit about those bland Mobile Suit models is that they at least animate smoothly, the same can't be said for the characters though, I mean we have a salute here and there and odd bit of walking now and then, but most of the time they stay in one place at one time, Sunrise can't even create the illusion that these CG models look even remotely good. Talk about a wasted opportunity.

The voice acting in MS IGLOO is appalling. There is no other word that I can use for it without going into obscenities and its never a good idea to use too many of them in one place. Hideo Ishikawa may have managed to impress people as Itachi Uchiha and Juushirou Ukitake, but in MS IGLOO, he sucks. Voice acting tends to make a character more convincing, of all the characters, Oliver May manages to at least make some sort of impact but that doesn't mean he's good. However the real cretin of the voice cast is Miki Nagasawa, I've heard bad voices and I've heard annoying voices, very rarely though do I ever see a cross between the two. Nagasawa is unforgivably bad, her Monique being one of the most annoying female characters I've ever had the displeasure of viewing on my computer monitor, I actually felt bad for the poor thing; no not Nagasawa's character, the computer monitor, there were a few occasions that I swear it was going to start breaking down on me because of how bad she is.

If I was able to say anything about the characters, it would be...they certainly know how to leave an impression, and no that isn't a good thing. They are hard to watch, a lot of the time I felt like giving up on MS IGLOO because of how bad it was, and the characters are the main cause for it - at no point do you ever feel a connection with them, they're just there, on your screen, wasting your valuable time, I could have accomplished so much in the time it took me to watch an episode of MS IGLOO, something that would have actually been productive rather than wasting goodness knows how many minutes/hours on this travesty that I know I will never get back.

At the end of the day, it's easy to say that MS IGLOO is one of the worst Gundam side stories available, it fails at being a re-telling from Zeon's perspective, it fails at being a stand-alone series, it fails at making you connect with the characters and it fails at showing weapon testing, its original aim.

If this was the first Gundam series you watched, I feel sorry for you. You wasted time, and probably got a sour taste in your mouth of what is usually an excellent mecha show, you're better off forgetting this disaster and going off watching something that's actually good in the Universal Century like 8th MS Team or indeed the original Mobile Suit Gundam. I'm pretty sure most long time Gundam fans will agree that this is definitely ranking up there as one of the worst Gundam series out there.

And to those who have actually watched and enjoyed this series, I have to ask: Are you mental?

Taking place before the original Mobile Suit Gundam, MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War, is told from the prospective of Zeon, more specifically Oliver May. He is a member of the 603rd Technical Evaluation Unit and stationed on the Jotunheim. Over the course of the three part OVA, Oliver and the rest of the main crew of the Jotunheim are joined by one new character each episode and a new weapon to accompany them. Each weapon is tested and evaluated by the crew of the Jotunheim with often tragic endings.

The CG animation is fairly good, but when compared to recent animated features it doesn't ... shine as much as it could have. It was released as a part of the Gundam 25th anniversary. The characters look fairly realistic, but this certainly isn't the cream of the crop in regards to CG animation. Overall it is fairly well done.

The Opening song is decent, nothing spectacular, but you can hardly judge a show on it's opening song. The rest of the music is produced by an orchestra, and does a decent job of heightening the mood or tension of the moment. Some of the music is repeated over the course of the OVA, but as it is short there is no cause for concern. The voice acting is generally well done with the exception of one character. The only Asian character on the show, his crying scene is painful and he fails to show any emotion realistically.

The characters of the show are very nicely fleshed out over the course of the show. Although short, this OVA does a very nice job of developing the characters and nobody comes off as particularly flat. The character models are fairly realistic and their motions are very realistic. No complaints about the characters.

I enjoyed this OVA and as the first Gundam that I have completed I was pleasantly surprised by the direction the story took. It was nice to see the story told from Zeon's side and I look forward to the sequel: Apocalypse 0079. As a prequel to the original Gundam it does a nice job of introducing the development of the Mobile Suits, as well as the propaganda, and conflicts that will be featured in the Universal Century storyline.

TL;DR: I can only imagine die hard Gundam fans watching this and enjoying it ironically.

Oh man. This was a complete mess. From every standpoint. The CGI doesn't hold up at all. Everything looks like a bad PS2 cutscene. The facial expressions where so exaggerated at times I bursted out laughing.
The story is non existent. Because this is supposed to show us the OYW thru Zeon's eyes I thought we would get to know the principalty and it's people better. Nah. Just a couple of battles only from Zeon's POV. The episodes are so boring when it's not being funny by accident because of how incompetent ... it is.
The only good thing about this is the Mobile Suits in action, they're the only part where the animation is actually pretty cool and ejoyable. Sadly this only happens in the last couple of minutes of every episode. In a brighter side, it's only 3 episodes long, so it won't be too insuferable like the 47 episodes from ZZ.

It's really good underbelly stories of the One Year War from Zeons side. Yes, the animation is old "Butt Ugly Martians" style, but this is as good as its gonna get for a tv show in 2004. Each episode focuses on a different experimental Zeon weapon that undergoes live combat testing during the event of the One Year War.

The suits and battles still hold up, and has one of the best opening songs in Gundam. Fans of "08th MS", "Stardust Memory", and "War in the Pocket", will certainly find some enjoyment in this short series focused on the gritty side of war and on new ... machine development. (The second episode being the best)

That being said, if the art bothers you too much, don't force it. The faces are a bit creepy, and there aren't any particularly memorable characters, it's more about their actions taken when faced with tough situations that shines the most.

Yoo, I love this Halo 2 ass animation. Whole things fine. If you really like Gundam, I'd definitely recommend this. If you kind of like Gundam, kinda casual interest, this is a solid pass. It follows some dudes in a ship on the Zeon side and their mission. It is only 3 episodes but like, not only is it just kind of meh, as I stated earlier, the animation is on par with a cutscene from Halo 2. Its all CG, like super bad ultra shit ass CG lol. Kinda cool ig, but it's not that interesting and honestly I don't really recommend it unless ... you are already really interested in Gundam. Also if you haven't yet, watch Turn A lol.

I don't usually write reviews, but MS IGLOO was such a positive surprise that I couldn't help myself.

Gundam is a delicate franchise. The original 70's tv animation layed out a profile to what Gundam should be which would be followed for many years until the introduction of alternative universes, which would then go their own way and do their own thing (arguably not straying too far away from its origins in the end). Because of that, a show that steers away from the Gundam formula (especially taking place in UC) isn't particularly going to please fans, not to mention a fully 3D animated one.

Well, ... what is Gundam, then? Gundam is massive franchise that, although carries the title of "first 'real robot' show", is essentially a relatively grounded fantasy war story. What mostly set it apart in my opinion wasn't the way robots fuctioned, but it's depiction of war, its psychological effects on soldiers and civilians and its political implications.
...with some "shounen fantasy heroic storytelling meant to sell toys" sprinkled on top.

MS IGLOO is to me the odd's one's out, but a very sucessful one at that. I don't mean to say it's the most revolutionary Gundam show ever or a complete 180 degree turn, but it's a very refreshing take on Gundam. If what excites you the most about Gundam are little details in the story and the way it's presented that make you feel like you're a small part of a real war taking place, than I suggest you give MS IGLOO a try.

Let's get the elephant out of the way. Yes, the show is fully animated in 3D. In 2004. Does it look rough at points? Sure. But it can also look incredible. It clearly didn't have the time or budget necessary to make it look as good as it possibly could, but it's far from being unfinished or unpolished. The universe in MS IGLOO is filled with subtle movement: a slight head tilt, a small lip frown. It is also filled with big movements: full-on rage fits, contorted faces. While not everything looks great, you can tell that Sunrise didn't see this as a port from 2D to 3D; the show is built from the ground up as a fully functional 3D work — and it shows. From the get-go you know this isn't your usual Gundam presentation, but at the same time it feels weirdly fitting. Those usual Gundam characters (the captains, the tech guys, the soldiers, the commanders) are all finally alive. It is true the show does have its share of uncanny valley discomforts, but the animation gives body language and history to those people at the forefront of war. The people fighting this war are real people, and this 3D encarnation of Gundam gives us what the 2D animation hinted at.

While one can't say the human characters look amazing all the time (mostly uncanny valley's fault rather than the animation itself, although that has its own hiccups as well), it's hard to deny that the robots move and feel like they're at the top of their game. The robots in MS IGLOO feel like menacingly heavy yet combat-ready agile gigantic pieces of metal. This is crucial to this story, which is essentially about how Zeon realised the future of war is in mobile suits and other forms of technology fall behind on performance and efficiency.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that the robots are cool. Just straight-up badass stuff. MS IGLOO has some of my favorite mecha action scenes ever. All fights feel so full of meaning and narrative. In every little movement we can tell what kind of pilot is behind the buttons and the context in which an encounter affects the overall state of the One Year War as well as what brought it to life — all of that being told by the animation itself only.

All of these new perspectives the new style of animation brings could fall apart if the sound wasn't on pair, but oh boy, how it is. Rarely ever do we get to hear the pure violence of the Gundam universe as well as here. Metal war giants clashing with each other while holding a single small fragile pilot inside; the speed of their thrusters shaking the whole structure to the point of pulling pieces off — all of this is perfectly matched with probably the most realistic sound design ever in Gundam. Not only in the big battle scenes, but also in the small movements, as for such the texture of these pilots suits as they move.

In general, visual and sound come together to portray the very interesting early stages of technology advancement in the Gundam universe. There's a roughness to it that is perfectly found in the presentation. One shot that stood out to me is simple one: a tank-like mobile armor treading through some very rough soil, as the tank's camera and pilot's cabin shake to the point of allowing an enemy attack to be done in an instant without the pilot noticing, thus proving to us the sort of alarming state these soldiers have to be in at all times.

I mentioned previously that this show is not your usual Gundam formula. There is no shounen protagonist here, in fact there's barely a protagonist at all. There are only a handful of new mecha being introduced, as most of them are reocurring mechs from the original Gundam show being carefully used in the story.
But most of all, there's a sensibility to war's reality here that is found on the usual Gundam show, but scattered throughout many episodes of silly hero vs. enemy grunt battles.

Here we have a pilot defensive about older non-mobile suit weaponry because that's what he battled on for so many years and sympathizes with the underdog quality they've acquired, as he himself feels out of place as many younger non experienced pilots pass on the exam to pilot mobile suits — but he is unaible to.
We also have a nation spending their precious war budget on propaganda of a new weapon during a time of low morale and loss of hope, even thought the new hot weapon is objectively worse than current in-use ones, showing us that they see troop and civilian morale as an equally important factor as fire power.

MS IGLOO feels different, but it does not betray Gundam, no — it feels like a welcoming complement to what Gundam has always been but never showed as clearly as here. It is baffling to me how this obviously expansive and risky show got made. I doubt it upped toy sales or even served as a leading bridge to other Gundam shows. Even so, MS IGLOO is very clearly made for fans (with many winks and cameos that make our hearts jump at the screen). But I warn you — not every fan will be able to enjoy this. I, however, have been positively surprised by a very well directed small addition to the Gundam universe that lacks in polish here and there, but presents an ultimately solid and refreshing view on our beloved never-ending war drama.

It is the worst gundam series to date, the animation is dire, it is made entirely by cgi and it is like seeing the graphics of play station 2 or very bad. Above the story is awful. The best 3 episodes in the world. Also the characters are shit, very bad you do not empathize with any. But worst of all is the animation that makes you want to kill yourself every so often and you wonder why you're watching this shit. I do not recommend it to anyone unless you are a masochist. Do not waste your time watching this gundam series having such ... good things from the same saga.
En español:
Es la peor serie de gundam hasta la fecha, la animacion es nefasta, esta hecha enterramente por cgi y es como ver los graficos de la play station 2 o sea muy malos. Encima la historia es abuirridisima. Los mejores 3 episodios del mundo. Tambien los personajes son una mierda, muy malos no empatizas con ninguno. Pero lo peor de todo es la animacion que te da ganas de matarte cada rato y te preguntas porque estas viendo esta mierda. No la recomiendo a nadie a no ser que seas masoquista. No gasten su tiempo viendo esta serie de gundam teniendo tan buenas cosas de la misma saga.