However, why does it get an overall 5 then? Because it's distinctly lacking in a lot of ways. The CGI is good when the MS and vehicles are on screen, but the characters cycle through absurd facial expressions. I don't know if this poor quality is a limitation of CGI or an intentional homage to the wacky perspective and animation errors of Mobile Suit Gundam, but either way I greatly prefer the cel-animated look of even shows like Victory Gundam, which itself is on the lower end of animation quality at times.
Similarly, some of the weapon ideas are fundamentally stupid, even for the franchise that brought you the Zakrello. The Z'Gok Diver looks uninteresting, and while it's great fun in Giren's Ambition V, its episode is quite weak. The plot is predictable in its attempts at eliciting an emotional response, and by the end you have no attachment to the characters because they are so neatly fitting into archetypes. In addition, the ending episodes make prominent the Nazi influence on Zeon to an almost uncomfortable extent - the generic space villains with capes and silly hats of the original series are replaced by trenchcoats, jackboots and other paraphernalia.
What the show does do right, most of the time, is action. There are several fights I'd consider very good (the Hildolfir fighting the Zakus, Char at the Battle of Loum, and the bits of the fall of Zeon you see) but the hamfisted attempts at tragedy make Victory Gundam look like a serious and tragic war story, and it need not be said barely compare to shows like War in the Pocket or Area 88 in their attempts at showing the human cost.
Watch MS IGLOO if you're a diehard UC fan, or you think Zeon were robbed of victory. Otherwise, it's quite possibly the weakest entry in the Universal Century.
