Kidou Senshi Gundam Thunderbolt: December Sky

(LAZAROTH REVIEW - LONG - SPOILER FREE)

"Mobile Suit Gundam: Thunderbolt" Movie/series 1: "December Sky" is an absolute visual spectacle with an promising dark plot, but with some bad execution.


Story/Characters/Action:

Just when you think that Gundam has exhausted its unique or interesting battle concepts, here comes Gundam Thunderbolt with a space battle among a thick debris field with an even thicker Minovsky particle density that prevents long distance communication. Combined with the high number of deadly snipers and beams that could hit you from any direction unseen, and you have an more terrifying setting than even the jungles of "MSG: 8th MS team". It's a very ... unique idea that sets the stage for many great battles and drama. The setting goes hand in hand with showing the utter destruction of war, as even space itself is filled with the deaths of man and machine alike. The hazards it presents leaves you on the edge of your seat!

The focus on Zeon soldiers with prosthetic limbs is really unique, instead of being disabled, they fully embrace their second chance to fight for their homeland. The entire Zeon fighting force in this sector is called the "Living Dead", an appropriate name since they are all mostly those who have barely escaped death. Reborn as lab rats, they are tasked to defend their sector to the death, all the while the scientists work frantically and are sometimes even forced to alter the soldier's bodies in order to work on experiments and to improve their performance at any cost, all just to win the damn battle, not even the war. It's a very engaging plotline that's perfect length for a short movie (or an entire movie if you watch the sequel back to back, which I recommend).

As usual, the fact that the anime portrays each side as having good and bad people within it helps to show the true nature of war and humanity, and that the actions of a few can have a profound impact on the many. By the time you're down watching all these Gundam anime, you really come to despise war for the havoc it causes as well as the people who started it. You are able to sympathise with both sides of the conflict, almost to the point of not knowing which side to root for. A true Gundam principle that I always love seeing.

There's a theme of classism that's got a pretty sick undertone in this anime. The "Elite", who are high ranking members of society, were practically handed top roles in the Military despite lack of experience. The men who serve them hate their guts so much due to their inabilities that they view them as expendable. as they expect them to crack at any time from pressure. The theme of pressure is an overlooked aspect of the Gundam franchise, and in this case, it's quite prevalent as of the effects it can have on people. To the point of even using drugs in order to cope.

As per usual of the Gundam franchise, the theme of OBSESSION is carried into this anime as well. In this case, the obsession is between two arch rivals who will stop at nothing to kill each other in battle, risking life and (literal) limb in order to do so. The theme of Obsession continues to be one of the best aspects of the Gundam franchise.

The worst thing about this story is the romance. It's rushed, bad, and unbelievable. I have no idea why it's even here.

I didn't care about any of the characters, though that may change in the next half, I still feel nothing for them. Their ideas and such were great, but not that well executed.

The action is the best thing about this anime. It is utterly incredible to witness! Seeing two SUPER Mobile Suits go against each other was a sight to behold and an visual treat. Definitely some of the best fights in the Gundam franchise. I particularly love the memorable moment when we look through a POV shot of a Zeon soldier as he gets completely pummelled by the Super Gundam. It shows you first hand how deadly and scary it is.


Animation/Art/Music.


I was genuinely shocked to see a Gundam anime made in MODERN TIMES to have NO CGI in it! It's all beautifully hand drawn.

Deep space has never looked more beautiful in Gundam. The anime constantly changes the colour of cosmic fog and gasses in order to give the usual boring black space backdrop a much needed visual makeover. A brilliant idea and a feast for the eyes.

The actual ART of the anime is awesome. The thick black lines stand out and the shading reminds me of the shading from the 1979 anime.

The animation in this OVA is stellar across the board. I can't praise it enough, so see it for yourself!!!

Music was pretty decent, If you love Jazz you'll like the soundtrack. Nothing I'd want to hear again though.


Overall:


"Mobile Suit Gundam: Thunderbolt" OVA Movie/series number 1, titled "December Sky", is a brilliant visual spectacle with a dark and sometimes engaging plot that explores aspects of the one year war we hadn't seen until now. But outside of its action, setting and animation, I find myself not caring about the characters at all, despite inheriting some of the amazing themes of the Gundam franchise. This may be a length issue, but I will have to wait and see the next OVA in order to have a definitive answer overall...

Also, the romance was hot garbage and didn't need to be included.


Bonus:

There's a sequel to this movie/series, be sure to check it out for the full story! Very soon I will have watched everything about the One year war storyline, as I'm watching everything in chronological order now (I watched the '79 anime first, then origin, after that, it seems fine to watch from chronological order!)

Animation: 9.9/10
Action: 9.6/10
Plot: 7.2/10
Characters: 7.2/10
Ending: (since this is only a half of a story, I will reserve the ending for the next OVA.)

Overall: 8.6/10


(Yes I uploaded this review twice, once for the compilation movie and once for the OVA series).

For what this was, this felt pretty effective. The animation quality is strong, the characters get only flashes of backstory but it works well enough to give them some depth, the use of music is decently strong (albeit the choices should probably get more exploration) and we get some really hardcore moments representing the horrors of this war. The desperation of the Zeon and what they're willing to do is particularly strong, since we know this is near the end of the war and in a period where they know they're losing. Their willingness to mangle or even kill themselves and their compatriots to get ... any kind of leg up over their opponents is played well, and watching both sides fight over the ruins of Side 4, where this war began, really does hit harder if you know the history of this series. It's a nice touch.

That being said, it is still light on character motivations, most of the non-central two characters are easily disposable and lack any meaningful backstory, making those horrifying moments of war feel somewhat empty. Why one of our leads (Io Fleming) is such an effective pilot of the Gundam and his backstory with his girlfriend (Claudia Peer) are half-baked - her story particularly feels like it was jammed in there with only limited explanation. It's an effective movie insofar as what it is trying to do lands, it just doesn't have the kind of emotional attachment or strength of character writing that makes a Gundam series really connect with an audience. Still, it's a worthwhile watch, even if it doesn't reach the heights of other series in this timeline.

After watching the second movie and thinking about this, I've changed my thoughts to Mixed Feelings. Despite my rating being pretty good, and I still think this movie stands well enough itself, I'm torn on whether it's worth getting invested in this series. There's a reason the rating drops off for the second movie, so just be prepared for disappointment if you're going forward with it.

When I don't like a compilation movie, my first instinct is "well, maybe the full series is better," but I'm not sure how that could be. One of the problems I had with "December Sky" was its lack of characterization or an explanation of what the particular battles being fought were about. The first is conveyed through brief flashbacks for artistic reasons, which is fair enough. The latter may have been intentional, but it didn't feel deliberate enough to make me give it a pass. So most of this movie felt like mobile suits zipping around for no reason, blowing people up for shock value ... alone. And then they bring in child soldiers to double down on that in a terrible way.

It's edginess for edginess's sake is what it is. Gundam is usually a lot more thoughtful than that.

Also, I don't know why people give a shit about the jazz element considering the audio mix prioritized it under *bullets* 90% of the time. Couldn't even hear it.