As unconventional and potentially dissuading as this may be its probably best to address the negatives of this series first before getting into what the show does right so try not to get dissuaded dead on arrival, Like I said I believe one's tolerance of the following things are really going to determine whether victory gundam is really for them and knowing what to expect is best in determining this:
-Deaths: lets tackle this one right off the bat, victory gundam is billed with the largest body count in the franchise, and frankly there are quite a few deaths that didnt need to happen. Victory gundam has a bad tendency to introduce a character and give them focus for an episode only to kill them off immediately that same episode. Many of these deaths feel very formulaic and can create a disconnect in emotion the series should be conveying during these death scenes and instead makes them feel sloppy and lacking in impact. It really can make the deaths seem predictable and there are more than a few times where the reasons they die are completely avoidable. The worst case of this is a heroic sacrifice about halfway in of a semi important character up to that point where he/she kamikazes into a enemy to supposedly save another character....however the enemy is completely unaffected and the person they supposedly were saving was just fine without their sacrifice ultimately making their death needless.
HOWEVER! Whilst victory gundam has its poorly executed deaths not all of them are bad, actually there are some truly well done and powerful death scenes. In fact most of the dumb and absurd death scenes are only done on really small and unimportant characters (admittedly sometimes as a result of the dying after being introduced complaint above) but whenever a generally major character dies (and alot of times even really minor one off characters) have some really impacting deaths. Its poorly done deaths are a big issue with the series but there is still really well done ones in there and Id actually argue there is more well done ones than bad and the good actually play a major part in developing the main character uso which ill get into in a bit. If you cant possibly forgive a series for dumb mistreatment of (mostly minor) character's mortality then victory gundam may irk you in the wrong way but if your willing to forgive the series in favor of the ones it does right than it may be more up ones alley
-Absurdity: Victory gundam is a really dark series depicting the most brutal and at times disturbing imagery in the series; in some regards victory gundam is the most realistic gundam in the sense that the true brutality of war and the destruction these mechs are capable of causing are most accurately displayed in this series. And it’s for that reason these random absurd scenes can really hurt the show. Now you’re probably wondering what I mean by absurdity, what I mean by that is Victory gundam has a handful of really out of place goofy scenes that distract the dark tone of the show, worst of which is when the main character fights a squad of jetpacked bikkini soldiers who he unsurprisingly obliterates cause he is in a fucking mech (this scene is on youtube under the name "Bikini Babe Assault in Victory Gundam" if you don’t believe me). They are pretty rare but their appearances are memorable (but not in the good way) so that they will stick around in your mind and potentially hurting the series’ image. These scenes are generally pretty funny but when the show’s point is to be a dark and serious war drama being funny is not a good thing.
Alright so if your still reading and shaking your head in disapproval from how I started off a review for a series I’m recommending by immediately shit talking it then its time to get into the part where I actually say why people should watch it. Victory gundam has its flaws but I believe victory also does much right:
-Characters: This is by far the strongest part of victory gundam, for starters Uso erwin our protagonist has an instantly likable personality, to top this off the way his development is handled is truly excellent. His development is dependent on him coming face to face with the horrors of war and changing as a result of them ultimately becoming a scarred but matured character similarly to zeta gundam's protagonist Kammile Bidan. His character development was very visible and by shows final 10 episodes he felt entirely different than he did at the start. He was a character I really grew attached to and he showcases a real display of humanity, he’s a 13 year old boy experiencing true hell, many of his actions feel genuine like a 13 year old boy would do, he has his naive moments which may or may not be a turn off to some but that just makes him feel more genuine as when you’re young you are naive, To top this off the series isnt sugar coating his maturing nature as he shouldn't be maturing and experiencing what he is at his age, its the loss of innocence due to tragedy which really sums up uso's character as a whole. Out of all the gundam this kid probably goes through the worst experiences and that really is saying alot in a franchise like this, and this hell he goes through really makes him a compelling character.
Uso is a strong pro but he alone doesn't carry the show, he wasn't alone in his likability as the entire supporting cast(minus the doa characters mentioned above) was generally quite lovable and also experience a fair share of development with interesting and enjoyable personalities. Victory gundam still has action every single episode like the ones before it but the show felt like it has more focus on slower and contained moments of characters just interacting and talking, this really helped make the cast easier to grow attached to. I legitimately gave a shit about most of the cast and this really is what made victory gundam for me. The relationships between characters were actually enjoyable to see interact. Shatki the series heroine will get some differing opinions depending on the viewer though, she makes a few dumb decisions during the series that have led to some people disliking her but if you take a step back from our perspective her actions are more logical in her shoes and to her knowledge than to us the viewer who see the entire picture, I personally really liked her just like the rest of the cast but I will not deny some will find her off putting. Marbet and Odello whom make up the guardian archetype and the best friend archetype respectfully to the protagonist uso are particularly really memorable and undergo quite alot of development themselves.
-Pacing: One of the things I immediately loved about victory gundam was its pacing, not because it was always exciting moving from one event to another but rather the complete opposite. It was able to slow down instead of jumping into one traumatic situation after another. This is something that really helped me appreciate the world, characters, as well as made it less tedious as this made victory gundam feel more dynamic as a series progression wise. It’s not a super slow series but it has a good sense of when to slow down and when to speed up. Though it must be mentioned that the pacing in the first 4 episodes is off because they are told out of order due to a classic case of executive meddling, long story short the gundam originally wasn’t meant to appear until episode 4 and the execs didn’t like that so they placed episode 4 first in its broadcast with the 3 episodes before that being told in a “how we got there” type of story.
-Sense of morality: to me gundam 079's greatest strength was is showcase of how both sides of a war have people just fighting for what they believe is right, they have their reasons for doing what they do as well as have their own loved ones goals and ambitions. This strong aspect of 079 was immediately discarded come time for zeta and ZZ in favor of inhuman and absurd villains of zeta’s titans whom lacked any sense of humanity while ZZ was being....well ZZ. Victory gundam was a return to form for this theme and it does it extremely well. Just like 079 it does have a small number of "hurr durr im evil" characters usually as higher ups giving order but it does an exceptional job humanizing the enemy army regardless. You’ll see enemy soldiers talking about their families, showing genuine care for fellow soldiers and civilians, and one thing I absolutely adored me was showcasing how they also express fear of death as well. This humanization of the enemy is also the main reason victory gundam is such a heartbreaking series as the deaths of such enemies (as well as allies) only make it more and more depressing, which in turn I believe makes victory gundam truly sell the horrors of war more so than any other gundam (aside from war in the pocket). Though there is one elephant in the room I must mention while praising its depictions of morality. That elephant's name is katejina loos. Katejina is essentially evil incarnate and her reasons behind why she is such a disgusting human being isn't really touched upon aside from her relationship with one other major antagonist. To me she’s like ghilren zabi from 079, in the midst of this army that share humanity among its soldiers is this unnaturally evil and insane one that your just desperately waiting for the protagonist to squish them with their mech. At the very least she does end up being an entertaining and effective villain as her sheer brutality and unstable nature leads to interesting conflicts but I still wish they at least tried to give her some sense of humanity as there is another character that goes batshit psycho by stories end and acts similarly to katejina but was more a tragic outcome of his/her experience that made them what they were in the end, katejina is just a bitch.
-Tone/atmosphere: Thanks in part to its absolutely excellent ost which utilizes alot more softer sounding string driven music (youtube songs like "the white ghost" and "shakti" to get an idea of its feel) victory gundam does a great job of setting its tone. It can create a very dire atmosphere as well convey the depressing nature of the series whilst also leaving room for a feeling like not all hope is lost. The soundtrack is beautiful and in part really makes the series itself feel beautiful. As stated before this will occasionally be thrown off by some absurd moments here and there but ultimately I felt like victory gundam continually retains its feeling of dire and depressing atmosphere whilst not losing the prospect of there being the possibility of a better future, and that itself leads into one last thing that really makes victory gundam for me…
-Hope for the future: I think its ironic how victory gundam is frequently regarded as the most grimdark in the franchise when it has the most focus put on how there is a hope for a more peaceful future, it goes out of its way to try and say that all these sacrifices and horrors experiences are not all for naught. The series is depressing and has a body count through the roof but it goes out of its way to showcase how the possibility of a better life is not lost. The way it expresses this is through the idea of the younger generation being able to carry the future from the ashes of war which is the main reason the cast is made up of large portion of young kids. People are not dying for nothing they are dying for the prospect of a future where the next generation wont have to experience the suffering the current one has, it idolizes the idea of new life and really sells through how this isn’t some hopeless situation but rather an opportunity to help those in the future. One specific scene in the 2nd to last episode which gets its own insert song specially for this one scene is the best example of why this theme of hope for the future is so important to the series and also stands as one of the best scenes in the entire show.
I am not going to say victory gundam doesn't deserve the flack it gets as I hopefully made clear it does do things really wrong and those that label it with such a infamous label are fairly justified, its not for everyone but I do truly believe there is alot Victory does right and even exceptionally, its just a matter if you can tolerate its shortcomings. Its got its faults that will ruin the experience for some but I believe there is truly a beautiful story to be found here for those that are capable of forgiving its shortcomings. Speaking personally victory gundam was a heartbreaking and powerful story that was able to evoke legitimate emotions from me and while yeah I really wish parts of it were better handled or cut entirely I cant deny that after finishing the series looking back on it there was just so much of it I appreciated and loved about it, and hopefully there will be others willing to give this a shot and experience it the same way I have.
