Kidou Senshi Gundam 0080: Pocket no Naka no Sensou

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Alternative Titles

Japanese: 機動戦士ガンダム 0080 ポケットの中の戦争

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Information

Type: OVA

Episodes: 6

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Mar 25, 1989 to Aug 25, 1989

Producers: Bandai Visual

Licensors: Nozomi Entertainment, Bandai Entertainment

Studios: Sunrise

Source: Original

Genres: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi

Themes: Mecha, Military, Space

Duration: 27 min. per ep.

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Statistics

Score: 7.99¹ (scored by 33,741 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #643²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #2803

Members: 60,925

Favorites: 1,056

Available At

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ANN

Synopsis

Alfred Izuruha is a 10-year-old who lives in the neutral colony cluster of Side 6 and, like most boys his age, is obsessed with the war between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon. Unbeknownst to him, Al's next-door neighbor, Christina, is the test pilot of a prototype Gundam being developed in secret by the Earth Federation in the colony. A Zeon Special Forces team is assembled and tasked with infiltrating the colony in order to either steal or destroy it.

When a skirmish breaks out between the Federation and infiltrating Zeon forces, the fascinated Alfred stumbles upon a Zaku mobile suit that has been shot down, piloted by Zeon rookie Bernard "Bernie" Wiseman. After this encounter, the two start a mutual friendship, so Alfred can learn more about the war that interests him so much, and Bernie can acquire inside information about the colony to aid his team's mission.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket was a project made to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the franchise. It marked the first time someone other than Yoshiyuki Tomino had directed a Gundam project, with Fumihiko Takayama acting as lead director.

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Kidou Senshi Gundam 0080: Pocket no Naka no Sensou
Prequel:	Kidou Senshi Gundam
Side story:	Kidou Senshi Gundam: Dai 08 MS Shoutai
Sequel:	Kidou Senshi Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory
Summary:	Kidou Senshi Gundam: Hikaru Inochi Chronicle U.C.

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Wiseman, Bernard

Main

Tsujitani, Kouji
Japanese

Mackenzie, Christina

Main

Hayashibara, Megumi
Japanese

Izuruha, Alfred

Main

Namikawa, Daisuke
Japanese

Lugenth

Supporting

Furuta, Nobuyuki
Japanese

Izuruha, Michiko

Supporting

Orikasa, Ai
Japanese

Carioca

Supporting

Hardy, Steiner

Supporting

Akimoto, Yousuke
Japanese

Lunland, Dick

Supporting

Masuoka, Hiroshi
Japanese

Mr. Mackenzie

Supporting

Muramatsu, Yasuo
Japanese

Mrs. Mackenzie

Supporting

More staff

Staff

Maseba, Yutaka

Producer

Yatate, Hajime

Producer

Uchida, Kenji

Producer

Takayama, Fumihiko

Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Edit

Opening Theme

"Itsuka Sora ni Todoite" by Megumi Shiina

Edit

Ending Theme

"Tooi Kioku" by Megumi Shiina

Reviews

Jul 27, 2017

RedInfinity

Recommended

"War does not determine who is right - only who is left" -Bertrand Russell

Sometimes, the best war stories are not told from the perspective of the people who fight, but from those who don't. Without offering any sort of resistance in most cases, civilians are defenseless against the cruelties which are present at these times. This way, some horrific stories remain hidden without record and linger profusely in the wounded hearts of many. Gundam is a series that usually relies heavily on action to show off the designs of the mechs, which are the main selling point of the franchise. By this method, a ...

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Jul 2, 2008

Chag

Recommended

As a small member of the huge gundam metaseries, Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket is often overlooked. This is a real shame, as 0080 is one of the most touching war stories to be found in the anime medium.

The story of 0080 is distinct from other gundam series in that it features a civilian child's point of view on war. It is the story of Alfred Izuruha's journey of disillusionment as he grows out of his starry-eyed romance for war and the military, ultimately realizing the devastation and meaninglessness of it all. Though the risk of spoilers prevent me from elaborating further, ... it must be noted that the story goes beyond merely reminding the viewer of the obvious, such as "lives are lost during times of war". Al's personal growth is a heart-wrenching and emotional ride as he learns firsthand about the true faces of war from Bernie and the few days the two share together within the time frame of the series. Though virtually every gundam series share the anti-war theme, 0080 is the most effective amongst all of them in relaying the simple message: war is bad. As unimpressive as that sounds, 0080's achieves this without being preachy or cheesy (two very common pitfalls in war anime), while evoking strong emotions from the viewer.

The limited cast of 0080 is fairly ordinary, but very befitting of the story's needs. As hinted above, Al is a great character simply because of his unique and integral role in the story, though he may come off as too bratty and annoying for his own good in the beginning. Like most other gundam series, the two sides of the conflict are not portrayed as black and white. Zeeks such and Bernie and Feddies such as Christina are just ordinary people following orders from the institution of war -- the only true "bad guy". This allows the moral and lessons of the story to bear more weight than a typical "good guys vs. bad guys" scenario.

Since 0080 aired in 1989, the aesthetics of the OVA does seem aged. However, the animation, especially during the action scenes, are still sights to behold to this very day. Though 0080 is skimpy on mecha action, the few scenes that does appear throughout the series are very well done, some of which even rank among the most memorable mobile suit battles to be animated.

All in all, Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket is recommended to anyone interested in a great story about the tragedy of war, especially fans of the gundam franchise. With a moving story, excellent hand-drawn art, and great characters, it is hard to go wrong with this small but radiant gem in the prolific gundam universe.

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Feb 19, 2024

Franktamas

Not Recommended

It was awful, the only positive thing that I can say that is was competently and not offensively bad. The creator wanted to tell a story. and 0080 told that story, the problem was that their story was terrible.

I think the fact that the title says 0080 (after the peace treaty) but the show takes place during 0079 (before the peace treaty) already tells a lot about the world-building. It's like if they'd call a movie 1946 Recovery from the War, but it would take place in 1945 April during the Siege of Berlin.
Second big problem was with the power-levels, the mobile suits get defeated ...

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Poll: Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket Episode 2 Discussion Veethorn - Dec 9, 2009	37 replies	by saberriderninja »» Jan 22, 2:15 AM
Poll: Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket Episode 6 Discussion ( 1 2 ) kiririnshi - Oct 14, 2009	99 replies	by Maesstrom »» Dec 20, 2023 4:21 AM
Poll: Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket Episode 5 Discussion Veethorn - Dec 9, 2009	25 replies	by Lol1268 »» Nov 26, 2023 8:06 AM
Poll: Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket Episode 4 Discussion Veethorn - Dec 9, 2009	26 replies	by Lol1268 »» Nov 25, 2023 7:23 AM
Poll: Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket Episode 1 Discussion Veethorn - Dec 9, 2009	36 replies	by Lol1268 »» Nov 18, 2023 8:36 AM

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Kidou Senshi Gundam 0080: Pocket no Naka no Sensou

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Wiseman, Bernard

Mackenzie, Christina

Izuruha, Alfred

Lugenth

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Mr. Mackenzie

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Kidou Senshi Gundam 0080: Pocket no Naka no Sensou

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Synopsis

Background

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Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

Recent Forum Discussion

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