Kidou Senshi Gundam 0080: Pocket no Naka no Sensou

Both with with how tragic and devastating war is seen through the eyes of children. 0080 shows how war is not a game and only results in death and suffering while Fireflies depicts how hard it is for individuals to survive in a war torn country. 

Both depict the horrors of war and how it affects the young generation that isn't used to such violence. 

Both of these are for me atleast similiar in execution even with Eva 3.0 because the main focus of both is really on the meta commentary of its own culture and affect the fandom of their each franchise. In otherwords i see both franchise are really commenting the culture surrounding its franchise with different conclusions which Gundam gives you conclusion of fantasy being in a space warfare of real robot Genre is rather childish not something to dream of, also shows the MC how cruel it can be living in that fantasy. And as Eva Rebuild goes it comments on how the obsession of Eva had gone into since 97 and its resolved it by giving each of the characters freedom from the fantasy scifi of Evangelion and resolution to move on with their lifes as normal people because living in normal "gray" life is grateful and joy rather just living in mere fictional world. How Alfred (Gundam 0080 MC) regrets and evaluate his life in the end of episode as realization of living in Gundam world is not a pleasure is actually feels the same rhythm how Shinji finds resolve of Destroying eva and choosing world without Eva without reset it from 0 is actually for me an answer if Gundam 0080 war in pocket if it was an Evangelion Super Robot mecha Genre adaptation. overall for me both of these enrty have their own bravery and perspective to actually critisize and meta-comment on their affect and culture that surrounding them. read more 

Both are about a little boy from a peaceful place getting thrown in the middle of a war, having to directly face the tragedy and horrors found in such conflict head on. War in the Pocket is more subdued and low stake while being the more tragic one, while Ima Soko ni Iru Boku is more explicit and high stake despite being more optimistic. 

In 8th MS Team, you get to see what the One Year War was like on Earth while getting the perspective of the average soldier fighting those battles. In War in the Pocket, you get to see how that same war affects a space colony which has gotten pulled into it, from the perspective of normal people. 

Both of these '80s OVAs are coming-of-age stories of sorts that concern loss of innocence and a gained understanding of the horrors of war. Also, they largely take place in the future in space, and their characters are designed by the same person. 

Both anime show a realistic depiction of war through the eyes of children. While their length and art styles differ, both anime show similar imagery of destruction and weapons of war, and give an anti-war message by showing the tragic way they can affect people, especially civilians and especially children. 

A similar dirt and grit combat style carrying the mech genre along with the classic animation style. If you liked 0800 or 08th MS team, you would probably find the Soukou Kihei Votoms series interesting. 

Both shows feature child characters learning about the cruel reality of the world they live in. Both are also very emotional and impactful. 

If you liked the harrowing coming-of-age madness from Evangelion, War in the Pocket (written by Gainax co-founder Hiroyuki Yamaga) is another story you'll probably love. It doesn't require much knowledge of any other material, and at six episodes it's not too long either. Gundam is always known for its personal look at the horrors of war, but this one is probably its most emotional effort.