Kidou Senshi Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory

This is the story that sets out to bridge the gap between the original Gundam series, and Zeta Gundam. Does it do a great job of that? Personally, yes and no. Yes, because you learn about what happened to the Federation to where it become in Zeta Gundam, and no, because you don’t really get to see what happens to the majority of the original cast from the series such as Amuro and Char, and mostly concentrates on the cast created exclusively for this saga. There are some other previous Gundam characters that will have brief cameos, but if you want to know, watch and ... find out. But I say for what it does in an overall sense, it works out pretty well.

Kou and Anavel do have good chemistry as rivals, but isn’t really that epic in comparison to that of Char and Amuro. Not saying it’s a bad thing, but you really can’t top that. The cast does ok in standing out, but I just don’t feel they have the kind of impact that an Amuro, Captain Bright, or another cast member from the original Gundam can have. But both Kou and Gato are likeable characters in their own right and you can see things in their points of view. Kou just has something to prove to himself and to his peers, while Gato is doing it for duty and patriotism to his nation.

The only thing that bothered me was the Nina and Kou story arc. I felt it was thrown in there too much for convenience and I felt for the sake of giving it an all around story by adding in that element, which I felt was unnecessary. Yes, I will admit that Nina and Kou do have a good chemistry as well, but I just felt it was really useless and doesn’t really advance anything and felt the twist to that relationship was anti-climatic. But anyway, the development is basic and the pace is moderate.

I think the art design is really excellent for its time. It represents a certain transition era of how anime is done today to how it was done back then. Like if you’re familiar with my other reviews, I always talk about how in the 1980s, anime was more circular and in the 1990s and now, it’s more angular. Well, this anime was done in the early 1990s and you get a balanced mixed of those styles and they mesh excellently. I say Kou’s circular design really represents he’s still a kid, and Gato’s more angular look shows more dignity and maturity and higher status to him. So I really like that use of those art styles to contrast those two in my personal opinion.

The mobile suit designs I think are my 2nd favorite of all time. After all, the great Shoji Kawamori himself does the mechanical designs; you can’t deny his presence and credit. I like how detailed and articulate they are. Though the mobile suits tend to look more packed and bulky, the skills of the pilots that are portrayed justify their agile mobility and fast speeds. The action is explosive, fast paced, and electrifying. Plus, the GP02A like some other Gundams sort of breaks the tradition with the head design of being more rectangular and not having the grilled mouth, which I thought was cool and looked intimidating. I really loved the features all the mobile suits have and you get overall variety.

OK, I will state that I have no familiarity with the dub with this anime so I can only comment and score on the Japanese. Forgive me for not mentioning the dub since I have never seen it. I was shocked to learn that Horikawa Ryo, the voice of Vejita from Dragon Ball Z, happens to voice Kou Uraki! In comparison to Vejita with this role, he’s more humble, childish, and developing. I thought he did excellent in portraying such a character. And I also enjoyed Ohtsuka Akio’s performance as Gato. He also voices in Solid Snake in the Japanese Metal Gear Solid and is also famous for playing Batou in the Ghost in the Shell installments. He brings a unique kind of appropriate charisma to the character where you can also feel the passion he his motivations.

The majority of the music is also highly energetic and suits the high-octane atmosphere of this series. The opening theme, The Winner is highly addictive and goes along with how I just described the soundtrack and atmosphere in an overall sense. And the first ending theme, Magic, is a unique George Michaels esque love song that is sung in perfect English. It’s about wanting that moment with that girl now and forever and want to always make it special. Gundam 0083 does have some romance, so I felt it was an interesting touch.

I say 0083 is more for the dedicated and hardcore Gundam fan. Those not familiar with the Gundam franchise will probably not understand some of the basic concepts such as who Giren and Kycilia are who are briefly mentioned in the intro to the first episode, and about why Sydney is under water. But if you want to watch it for the action, then you’ve come to the right series. Also, if you want to watch cool looking robots, then you still came to the right series. The plot isn’t necessarily the best, but I don’t think it’s flawed enough to be considered bad or below average. Granted some things about it do get annoying, but in the end everything works out. Once again, I still say those who are familiar with the original Gundam, and especially Zeta Gundam are going to understand the story best considering the purpose of this anime.

With its masterful balance of action-packed battles, intense drama and a touch of romance, Gundam 0083 is required viewing for any anime fan.

Story

Gundam 0083 gets started with a bang in the very first episode and the momentum carries through all the way to its dramatic end. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep you hooked and waiting for what's to come. Both drama and action are given equal screen time and presented with equal intensity.

Art

For an OVA from 1991, the animation quality in this series is simply amazing. In fact, Gundam 0083 still shines by today's standards. The design of the artwork itself ... is also a highlight with great detail being put into backgrounds and things such as uniforms.

Sound

There is quite a bit of the typical background music you'd expect to hear in a war story. However, also included are some well-composed atmospheric pieces that set the mood for certain dramatic scenes. The opening themes are upbeat and catchy, with the second in particular being a highlight with it's brilliant guitarwork. Both endings are slower ballad type numbers. The contrast works well here as it fits with the anime's ability to balance dynamics. In terms of voice acting, the main vocal cast cast does a great job conveying the emotions of their characters. The English dub is also surprisingly well done and on par with the original.

Characters

We are the shown the perspective of both the Zeon and Earth Federation with the main focus being on Anavel Gato and Kou Uraki, respectively. The characters of Gundam 0083 are all adult which makes this series stand out from most other Gundam stories. Don't take that mean there ins't as much room for character development though, as plenty of growth occurs during the course of the OVA.

Enjoyment

As the series progressed, I was drawn in more and more by the characters and found myself torn between the two warring sides. Every episode left me in anticipation of the next.

Overall

As someone who isn't extremely fond of mecha series in general, Gundam 0083 was able to keep me entertained and make me wish there were more shows like it.

9.5 out of 10

Stardust Memory is mecha pornography, and I am a total mecha pervert. If you ever got a little hot when you watched Gurren Lagann's combination, aroused by the scent of a Gundam model, or felt flushed after watching Macross Zero's THRUST VECTORING, then you know what I'm talking about. If you don't, you'll probably be able to enjoy it, albeit on a different level. The best thing about Stardust is that the creators know that there is a segment of the human population that are raving mechaphiles (why else would their cheaply made plastic models sell so well...and be so damned enticing...), and the brunt ... of the episodes (or at least the most that you'll take out of it) are composed of well-animated fight sequences in space, and a clever land battle. The OVA has all of the charm of old-school Gundams and Gundam fight scenes with the sophistication of 80's OVA animation: the mobile suits are dingy and get pockmarked with bullets and shrapnel, and most of the fights are determined by the pilots' skill and wits, rather than a magic Deus Ex Gundam. The space battles are orgasmic, with thrusters flaring about as the characters dodge beam rifle shots over lavishly-rendered backgrounds. All of the fights have a kind of heft and plausibility that some of the newer series just don't have. They are a blast to watch, and I can only imagine how good it'll look in the Blu-Ray release.

The other thing you'll take away from it...is how poorly written some of the characters and scenarios are. Nothing really stands out: Nina's a bitch, Gato is manly and a fantatic, Cima wears too much makeup, Burning is Burning, and Kou hates carrots. Nobody's really worth mentioning, and whenever there aren't beautiful mobile suits on the screen, you want to skip past the aimless dialouge and watch some more giant robot matches. There's talk of conspiracy, and the ineptitude of the Federation's bureaucracy is a lot more apparent here than it was in first. The OVA ties into Zeta Gundam, but the references, and its place in the Universal Century timeline aren't too obvious the first time around, and feel a bit out of place. It's the same kind of problem that the Star Wars prequels suffered from: everything looks shiny and new compared to the older material, and a little bit of text at the end of the OVA keeps it from messing with the continuity. All of that aside, it fleshes out our understanding of the Gundam universe a little bit more, an gives us lots of cool-looking mecha to play around with. And most importantly, more cool-looking mecha to buy as plastic models.

Mobile Suit Gundam 0083 is a highly underrated work in the Gundam series.
I feel this is because people have the wrong sorts of expectations going into the show, but since I watched this with no preconceived notions, I feel like I was able to enjoy it for what it was.

The story is set in 0083, just four years after the One Year War and the events of the original trilogy. While some of the events are related to bridging a gap in the UC timeline between Zeta Gundam and the original, the story is its own self-contained entity with a lot to offer.

The romance ... angle may not have anything on MS 08th Gundam team, but it is still solid. Moreover, its rather ordinary, when put up against the canvas of a major civil disturbance and War. This creates a sense of the people and situations being real. The interaction between the soldiers themselves feature some good old fashioned ribs, and petty jealousy, making the whole thing FEEL like a military base.

Often times, these fairly petty personal issues will crop up in battle. For instance, the pilots relationship with their commander, Lt.Burning is pulled off rather well and Burning himself is a badass. Another character whose compelling personal story is Kelly Layzner, a former Zeon pilot that Ko meets towards the middle of the story. These simple, but effective relationships makes the battles meaningful and interesting to watch. This tapestry of interpersonal relationships also taps into the overall plot going on in the background, featuring series setpieces like Anaheim electronics, the Zeon remnants, and ending with the Formation of the TITANS at the very end.

OVerall, the story is an interesting Gundam sidestory, much like MS 08th Gundam Team and I found it highly enjoyable. Just don't go in expecting to find out what Char was up to and youll be fine.

Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory is one of the many small OVAs (and movies) released between ZZ Gundam and the next TV series, Victory Gundam. It's also by far the most substantial installment, consisting of the highest number of episodes at 13 with each running a half hour. That's still less than half the total time of your usual Gundam series, but considering how damn long most of them are, often without a good reason to be, should anyone complain? All of the three OVAs released during this period focus on the events of the One Year War, with The 8th MS Team and ... War in the Pocket focusing on the war's impact on smaller parts of civilization and the army. 0083 is its own side story and mostly concerned with its original new tale, but is the most chronologically significant as it gives some background as to the rise of the Titans organization that kickstarts the events of the highly popular and earlier released Zeta Gundam.

Specifically we follow rookie pilot Kou Uraki, who by chance earns the right to pilot one of three new Gundam models in a search for Zeon remnant Anavel Gato who has stolen one of the two remaining Gundams. Kou and the rest of the Albion crew's battle with the ace pilot Gato and what remains of Zeon's forces leads them into Zeon's massive plan for revenge: "Operation Stardust". What is the true purpose of the desperate Zeon force's new plan? Aboard the Albion, Kou is forced to grow as a soldier not only for the sake of his mission but also to earn the love of Nina Purpleton, the Gundam development team's most stupidly named crew member.

Gundam 0083 is notorious for its reputation as "mecha porn". Not only is this one of the most disgusting combinations of words ever to come out of the English language, but it's an incredibly demeaning judgment that tells onlookers nothing other than to pass by this Gundam installment in favor of many others. Is this reputation deserved? To bring up the conclusion early because it deserves it: absolutely not. Gundam 0083 is far more than its high production values. On the contrary, it's by all measures one of the best Gundam installments ever made. I've yet to see any Gundam without sizable flaws that need to be fought to ignore, but relative to the franchise as a whole it's very puzzling as to why Gundam 0083 has its reputation.

It's logical then to start off addressing the most common criticism: that Kou Uraki and Nina Purpleton are terrible, frustrating characters. Among a franchise that's almost known for how its main protagonist is typically one of the least likable characters, it's bizarre to see 0083 getting so much fire for its characterizations. Kou's biggest offense in particular isn't so much his actions as that he's a fairly typical, normal man. Amuro Ray and Kamille Bidan were prone to some aggravating emotional fits, but they had a powerful voice with something to say and stood out among their peers. Kou is a hestitating soldier who gradually becomes a straight-faced normal one and at his most memorable is a bumbling lovestruck idiot who fails with women like someone who's never touched one in his life. While Kou and Nina's interactions and over exaggerations to each other's... over exaggerations can be rather cringeworthy, it's worth noting that they're (sadly) still among the most tolerable main Gundam characters simply for the fact that when they are being stupid, it's -almost- never in ways that selfishly jeopardizes their mission or the lives of their fellow crewmembers. They're normal people who dip into awkwardness now and again, as opposed to awkward people who dip into slight bouts of Tomino-induced schizophrenia.

From there we can get to one of the best qualities of Gundam 0083 that people -don't- talk about: its great supporting cast. Kou's best friend and fellow rookie pilot is the bespectacled Chuck Keith, a slacker dork who's basically the opposite of Kou in that he feigns confidence and fails at women and piloting completely while Kou gets anxious and sweats a lot yet succeeds. Keith grows as a pilot over the series as well but it's much more subtle since the focus is never on him, which turns out to be a waste (more on that later). South Burning (what) is their commander before and after their mission aboard the Albion. One of the franchise's better mentor pilots, we actually get to see Burning give Kou and Keith combat advice during their battles and his warm grandfather-esque guidance makes him immensely likable despite his also minor role. Bernard Monsha is the last major-minor character on the Albion and its third best pilot, despite his hiding of it through his excessive drinking, jealousy of Kou, and sexual harassment of Nina. Though not really a good person, Monsha is humanly flawed and his strong personality and expressions color some of the most memorable moments in 0083.

On the Zeon side we mainly see the aforementioned Gato, an ace pilot compared to the Red Comet Char Aznable. To describe Gato's character requires also bringing up one of the things 0083 does right relative to other Gundam series, which is actually portraying Zeon in a respectable fashion. The original Gundam series wanted to push the belief that both sides had good people on them, but the good Zeon soldiers were mainly minor characters pushed away before long to service screen time to the megalomaniacal Zabi family. Meanwhile, most of what we saw of the Earth Federation were of our admirable heroes. In the end it really wasn't daring enough to make that a major theme and deal with the consequences, but in 0083 we're given the perspective of Gato and his fellow Zeon soldiers without the Zabi family. For the first time we see for an extended period their dignity as soldiers, love for their homeland, and respect for each other and their ideals over their individual ambitions. The Zabis mostly go unmentioned, which helps to explain some of their extremism from their perspective that they were simply denied their independence, rather than the evil ambitions of the Zabi family.

Returning to Gato, he's a hero to the Zeon and a charismatic lynchpin of their rebellion, despite answering to the equally respectable Aiguille Delaz. Gato is also hinted to have some sort of a past relationship with Nina, but this ultimately amounts to very little and is handled so poorly it may as well not have been a part of the story at all. Gato is a cool character overall but an awkward rival for Kou, with the age and experience/perspective gap being too large to ever be cleared unlike Amuro/Char, and it doesn't help that the two actually barely have contact over the course of the series despite Gato getting several scenes dedicated to him. Kou eventually fights Gato on equal skill, but there's just very little chemistry to their relationship dynamic and we're ultimately treated to one of the franchise's more underwhelming rivalries. And of course, there's need to mention Gato being a significantly better character than Kou.

On the other hand, the evil seeds of Zeon have passed down into Cima Garahau, a fierce queen bee who commands her own fleet, stylized like that of space pirates complete with animal furs lining the command center and an old ship wheel at the helm. It's a little ridiculous, but I love this villain. Her tastes are hardly contemporary but do nothing to undermine her fleet's power potential and add a lot stylistic flair without being too unrealistic despite tackiness. Cima herself is expectedly combative and frequently defiant of the Delaz fleet, and in addition to her wearing a cape and garnishing a hand fan her men wear worn and tattered uniforms. Cima is badass and fulfills the evil role on the enemy side while also making it very fun. Many of the series's most exciting scenes involve Cima and she overall contributes the most to the show's sense of style.

Though Tomino is given a writing credit, I can only assume (and be thankful) that he didn't actually have much of a hand in the dialogue, which is the most down-to-earth behind The 8th MS Team, which is the most commonly cited reason as to why people favor that series. Kou and Nina can be weird and forgettable, but they're surrounded by likable archetypes. It's unfortunate then that after the midway point Gundam 0083's own director switches, and they push so many of these characters to the backburner in order to focus solely on Operation Stardust and Kou's weird obsession with Gato. These characters go from being in every other scene and talking to delivering a handful of lines each episode and lose what further chance they had at developing themselves. It's a real shame, and if the series didn't develop so much good momentum by this point it could have been enough to cripple what was left. Instead we're left with an above average Gundam cast that are yet utilized less effectively than most. It's a waste of potential.

Getting back to the original point and Gundam 0083's legacy is the animation quality. In general the series is as detailed as early 90s anime ever got, and although greater things have been achieved since with even higher budgets, it's obvious that this OVA production still far exceeds your average TV production. On the other hand, it's got that same disease all early 90s OVAs and movies have where it looks like all the black ink pens were broken and leaking ink over every cel. In other words, many scenes are extremely dark and have a significant negative impact on the composition of a scene by so many figures and poses going unhighlighted. This is doubly troublesome considering almost all of the series takes place in the darkness of space, and Gundam 0083 isn't much an exception when it comes to space battles where they use heavy zoom-ins and no sense of perspective to have the action be chaotic and unpredictable. Laser blasts and enemies come in from any side of the screen whenever without a logical progression to much of the battle or fighting. The early battles that take place on the ground on Earth are by far the best, and it's unfortunate it's downhill from there when Gundam has a rare opportunity to make use of a fat budget.

Though Gundam 0083 stumbles around here and there, so does every single Gundam, and yet 0083 is able to tap into some of the strengths of its greatest series to create one of the most cohesive entries in the franchise. The bizarre Tomino dialogue is nowhere to be found, characters aren't always mature but this doesn't result in completely insane actions and decisions, the often criticized "Newtype magic" is pretty much nonexistent, the cast is enjoyable and brought to life due to great detailed expressions gifted by its nice budget that also aids the show in general and makes the action better than ever before, and... boy, what's the problem? Stardust Memories isn't only one of the most unfairly maligned Gundam entries, it's one of the first ones anybody should watch. It's due for a more fair, less superficial analysis don't you think?

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
Overall 0083 is a pretty descent. It acts as a bridge for Zeta and the original series. In 0083 a team of ragtag Zeon fleets that honestly act more like terrorists than soldiers to try and topple the Federation. They do use many Gundam cliches though, i.e. a colony drop. However, it is still terrifying and the way Operation Stardust unfolds is brilliant.
The art is everything you've come to expect from Sunrise, in the last two decades anyway. The mechanical designs will blow you away and their fluent movement is positively gorgeous. Takashi Imanishi really knew what he was doing.
The characters really aren't ... anything different, except the protagonist Kou. He is considerably less emo than Amuro or Kamille. All the other Gundam stereotypes fit. Gato is the ace Zeon pilot who strikes fear in the heart of Feddie soldiers (Char). Synapse is the calm collected captain of the Albion (Bright).
Overall despite the many cliches 0083 is very enjoyable, I recommend it to any Gundam or mech fan. I ecspecially recommend it to fans of Gundam Zeta.

As I fall more and more in love with the UC universe, 0083 sits well with the whole timeline - it serves as a real link between 0079 and Zeta and tells its own story at the same time. It does however fall short of perfection for one very silly reason.

The 8th MS team is the best UC OVA in my opinion but 0083 had a real chance of sitting on that throne if only the director hadn't switched half way through, the second half of the show (as enjoyable as it is) is told clumsily, the plot twists come across weakly and you can't ... help but feel something integral is missing from the show. The first half episodes 1-7 are perfect and deserve a 10 rating on their own.

The Characters are all fairly typical but they work well together, gato the nightmare of solomon especially, who I find to be cooler than char (just my own opinion). Nina and Ensign Uragi have a bumpy romance. As far as development goes Uragi is the only one who really changes but then in a 13 ep series its difficult to focus on developing the whole cast.

The story is well told until episode 7 and afterwards bad directing aside the plot is multilayered, I won't say anything else because I don't want to spoil anything for anybody. I would reccomend this to any fan of UC gundam, not as an introductory series though.

I love the art, we all know modern mecha can't compare to the classics, the handdrawn backgrounds bring the whole show to life. I want to give this show a 9 but for reasons I've already stated its getting an 8 =[.

(Skip to the botton for TL;DR)
I'm watching all the U.C. Gundam shows by emission order, and I think this right here is the very definition of "ok show". 0079 was not very good in my opinion, Zeta was amazing, ZZ is a crime against everything good in this world. CCA is horrible, but not as horrible as ZZ. War In The Pocket is the best Gundam show so far and my personal favorite, and F91 Is very bland with few redeeming qualities beside good animation.

0083: Stardust Memory is just ok.

The story is fairly average, nothing noteworthy but also not insulting like ZZ or ... CCA.

Most of the characters are very bland or undeveloped, but besides something Nina does in the ending they never do anything as nonsensical and stupid as the characters from...ZZ and CCA would do.

Hey, this is an OVA, so the art direction and animation is the best part. If you're into Mecha porn or just Sakuga porn in general there will be several moments here that will delight you.

This isn't gundam at it's brightest, but also it's not at it's worst. It's just ok. If you're a Gundam fan, go ahead and watch it. If you're a Mecha fan, you probably won't understand the whole thing unless you do your googling, but the mechs are cool and the fights too, so you can watch it.
If you're neither of those...meh. Maybe you should find something else. not bad, but not remarkable. It's only 12 episodes long though, so maybe go ahead If you really want to.

TL;DR: 0083: Stardust Memory is the Mc' Donalds of Gundam. If you just want to satisfy your cravings for hamburger (Gundam/mecha) It will work just fine. If you're looking for a nice meal that you will probably want to repeat, I suggest looking somewhere else.

"Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory" is my favorite of all the Gundam franchise entries because of how well balanced it is. It combines all the aspects of my favorite Gundam series. The original gave us the savior suit and all the lure that comes with it, Zeta gave us the tragic and horrible nature of war, 08th MS Team was a realistic perspective on the strategy and tactics of battle and how one man cannot win the war on his own.

The story is a familiar one to Gundam fans. Zeon wants to attack Earth... again. It's up to a young, rookie Gundam pilot and ... his friends to save the day aboard their new warship... again. But, rather than our young hero (Ensign Kou Uraki) hoping in his Gundam and laying waste to the enemy all the time, he relies on his teammates and takes time to learn how to be an ace pilot. The enemy, Anavel Gato, is neither the cool, calm, leader nor the Newtype that Char Aznable was. He is vengeful. Hot-headed at times. Those two center the series, but the side characters are very important and each add so much to the series.

The subplots and side plots move along with as much steady pace as the main plot and the intrigue level is high. With only 13 episodes, the pace is rapid and exciting leading up to a very exciting and somewhat unexpected conclusion. The meat of the show, the mechs, are pretty awesome. Uraki's Gundam Zephyranthes is the standard stream-line Gundam with all the trimmings. Gato's stolen Gundam Physalis is one of the beefiest Gundams ever made. With massive armor, shield, and most importantly a nuclear cannon that would make Freud say, "Compensating?"

The art and sound are all very good for the time it came out. The soundtrack is decent (at one point borrowing from John Carpenter's "The Thing" I swear) Sub vs. Dub? Win for the Sub. With special mention going to Gato's Japanese VA, Akio Ootsuka (his English counterpart Kirk Thornton does well, too).

The pound-for-pound amount of action, drama, and range of emotions that are packed into these 13 episode is the best of any series. There is not as much sweet, sweet, 'splosion porn to be had as in other series, but the strong plot more than makes up for it. I have watched this one series more times than any other. It's that good. Anime fans will like it, Gundam fans will love it. 8/10, check it out. Cheers!

You're looking at my number ten of all time favorites.

The 90s were a wild ride for Gundam. The first alternate universes, it's big break stateside, and a series of OVAs that did the biggest favor for the franchise; they ignored the Newtypes completely. Yeah, I said it.

0083: Stardust Memory focuses on regular human characters, putting them all through hell for character development. In this case we have vengeful Zeon ace Anavel Gato and rookie Fed pilot Kou Uraki. Gato aims to reignite the One Year War and take the Federation down with their own nuclear fire, and Kou follows him from ... Australia back to Solomon in space, proving he has what it takes to challenge the Nightmare himself.

To this day I'll get urges to watch 0083 and that'll be my weekend right there. In fact I may just be due for another viewing. A bridge between the original series One Year War and a lead up to earlier Zeta's Gryps conflict. Very good scifi, great mecha combat on land and space, a must see for fan and curious alike.

Sieg Zeon!

The peace between the Earth Federation and the Zeon Space Forces have come to an abrupt halt. Rogue zeon forces have stolen one of two top secret mobile suit and intend to use it as part of a milatary operation called stardust.Kou Uraki an enthusiastic rookie becomes the pilot of the remaining gundam called 'unit one', and along with the crew of the Albion federation battle ship persue the rogue's in order to retrieve the mobile suit and uncover the plans behind operation stardust.

Firstly may I start by saying the animation in this ova puts ninety percent of the animation that we ... get in todays anime to shame.The detail by which each character is drawn is simply phenominal.You dont see eyes that cover three quarters of the face , ears that are crudely drawn or triangular pointed chins.The animators ensured that every wrinkle is seen,every character has their unique physique and dont simply look like cardboard cutouts.the background whether earth or space is well done and not overdone with unrealistically bright colours.

The music is ok,nothing special but I did like the closeing theme,its a real soothing love song that goes well with the love aspect of the ova.

Now character wise this ova pales in comparison to the likes of gundam 08th Ms Team,their not bad just not memorable.Kou Uraki is the enthusiastic young pilot with a passion for everything gundam.He is quite naive with a childlike attitude.Nina Purpleton Is a engineer who life revolves around her work with little time for anything else.The action sequences are also good though not the best.

Overall a good ova thats worth a watch.

Gundam Stardust Memory has some good aspects of it, and others not so good. It has some great plot elements, others couldn`t be more cliche for the UC. It has some interesting characters and some amazingly lame. As someone who has watched everything Gundam-related, for me, Stardust Memory is the only series of the franchise that I can`t properly classify. More bellow.

Story: This is story happens before Zeta Gundam. As this series progresses its dark tone gets darker and darker, which totally fits it since this is basically a prelude to Zeta Gundam. I enjoyed the atmosphere of this series, as well for its dark ... tone and the final acts, which are good, and truly provides you with a genuine plot-twist, that will set the events of Zeta. However, some things are very cliche, and they steal away some of this series charm. The fact that some characters are extremely lame ruins some interactions and pacing of the story. They also fitted a massively badly-written romance in the middle that just doesn't feel right. I can sum the story as enjoyable, with its dark tone and final plot-twist, but loaded with uninteresting characters that undermine what Stardust Memory could have been.

Art & Sound: The art is amazing for the time, and the sound is pretty good. The OST is forgetfull. I must highlight how I enjoyed the atmosphere of the series. The art director of this series knowns who to create a good ambiance, the colors are well-chosen, the city has some sort of nostalgic fell about it. Props for the art!

Character: This is a mixed bag. Some characters like Gato, are good and enjoyable, with personalities that you wish to see more, but most are either neutral (like 70% of them), or lame. The protagonist, Uraki, is cliche and childish to the point you don`t actually understand its motivations. One of the villans, Cima, is cliche at the point of evil laughs, and sly evil comments, which is very distant of the overall tone of this series, even Gundam in general. Nina has nothing to stand out, looking like a watered-down version of Sayla Mass with a touch of some Flay c**p. There is no character development, which is no excuse just because this is only 13 episodes because War in the Pocket was able to make great character development in 6 episodes. Uraki is a terrible pilot, maybe the worse Gundam pilot in the series, and an immature teenager to the end. At least you will get some more stories of characters that will be major in Zeta Gundam.

Mechas: I like the main Gundams of this series, the GP01 to 03 types. They are variations of the RX-178 type, but with some cool mechanics and better appearances. GP01 is basically RX-178 in HD, but GP02 looks like Zeta mixed with ZZ, kinda nice. GP03 is a deluxe edition of RX-178, inside a Mobile Armor. Also, in this series, you will see what I think was the inspiration for MS Kshatrya, of Gundam Unicorn.

Overall this is an enjoyable series because of the art, final plot-twists and its dark tone. But the characters (except for Gato) are tiresome and lame, especially Uraki, the protagonist, Nina, and Cima, one of the antagonists. If you like Zeta Gundam and good art, see this series.

Stardust Memory is evidence that a Gundam anime can actually endure terrible main characters and a story that craps its pants and collapses right before the finish line. Functionally it operates as a prequel to Zeta and a sequel to the original Mobile Suit Gundam, helping bridge the transition from here to there. It does suffer like most prequels from you being one step ahead of it because you know how things end up and characters who don't make an appearance later in the timeline lack importance.

First off the story is serviceable for the most part, a ticking clock element with the race ... to find the stolen Gundam and find out what Operation Stardust is and how to stop it. Though the scale of time isn't properly conveyed so if you dwell on it you start to wonder why the Albion seems to be doing everything by itself despite a huge Federation fleet that is shown later seemingly doing nothing of importance. It is only in the last few episode where the story completely falls on its face, this is partly the fault of the characters which I'll get into soon. But it feels so rushed in the final act which does lend to the sense of urgency that the characters are supposed to be feeling but hours pass in mere seconds as if nothing happened during that time. Lastly the ending is a complete downer, it makes sense since it leads into the downer world that is Zeta, but it goes a little too far in my opinion as 0079 was a plenty downer year already so it feels like just adding misery to the pile. They do try to add some bitter sweetness to it but that too falls on its face because it is for two characters that I honestly couldn't believe anyone would like, no avoiding it now I guess.

I'm not saying 0083 has a bad cast, quite the contrary I like a lot of the side characters a lot, and I wish more time was spent with them. The problem lies in the main trio and the main antagonist, we'll start with him. Admiral Delaz is an empty uniform, his entire goal is to take revenge upon the Federation for losing the OYW,as if the Federation didn't deserve to win or something. A supporter of Ghiren Zabi that somehow lacks any sort of real personality or flavor to him. This extends to his most loyal supporter Anavel Gato, whose main struggle is dealing with his feelings of guilt for not dying with his comrades, which is almost interesting until you listen to him blame the Federation for all of it, as if he doesn't have scores of fellow soldiers who he killed on the Federation's side. He believes himself to be righteous, his zeal for Zeon just being his defining character trait along with smugness and being a ham. His opposition isn't much better, main character Kou Uraki is interesting for the first few episodes and then I just want to strangle him with his own intestines. He starts out as a greenhorn test pilot who is really interested in mobiles suits and as demonstrated, Gundams, and he is quickly confronted with real combat which hits him hard. Then he sort of acts like an angsty crybaby and bounces around from episode to episode and then you start to pray for Keith to be the main character because at least he is consistent. But considering who his love interest is I can't really blame him for being all over the place, if I had to deal with Nina I'd find the nearest airlock to jump out of after 5 minutes. Nina alternates between hot and cold with Kou which while irritating isn't exactly a problem but her attachment to the Gundams just adds another layer of emotional drama that I just don't care at all about. The two are awkward around each other, which I guess is supposed to be cute but it always leads to some melodrama and usually has an angsty undertone too it which doesn't help. But Nina's, uhh, surprise revelation and what inevitably comes of it pretty much tanks the show, the pure daytime soap opera level of it all just detracting from the gravity of what is happening which is pretty damn important.

But like I said, there are characters that I really enjoy, the bridge crew of the Albion deserved more time to shine as they all seemed like real interesting people, before they all became Titans. The back up mobile suit team is full of personality that barely gets any focus besides the sexual predator who likely would have been imprisoned before the start of the show as there is no reason for the Federation to be so lenient on what would be defined as sexual assault. Maybe he'd be funny if that wasn't the hat he wore but that was pretty much all there is to the character and if it wasn't played for comedy he'd be a henchmen for Yazan. Chuck Keith is a cool dude, like Uraki he is a bit of greenhorn but he doesn't have a gundam so there is actual danger for him, and he doesn't screw up as much as his friend Uraki. Chuck and the mechanic Mora's relationship was barely touched on at all and it still was miles better than the main romance. I honestly wish those two were the main couple, as Uraki and Nina's relationship makes me long for death. Even the side antagonist Cima Garahau was better suited to the role of main antagonist, bringing flair and depth to the Zeon side, that gets even better with the side materials that help explain her backstory as opposed to Delaz, who looks worse the more you consider the eventual history of the UC timeline. While Cima is a tragic character while Delaz could only ever aspire to be one of the background officers for Hitler expy Ghiren Zabi.

Okay now to talk about everything else which is pretty good to great. The Art direction is just, imagine a chef's kiss and you got it. The style leans closer to detail and a more militaristic feel. The animation is great, the battles are all good and filled with exploding chaos. The sound effect are 90's Gundam standard, if you've watched any shows from that era you know what I am talking about. The openings are both good and catchy along with the first ending, the second ending is a little too generic sounding and forgettable. The show is pretty enjoyable, you know so long as the main characters aren't on screen or Uraki is keeping his mouth shut. Though I will admit one moment in a duel with Gato was extremely entertaining as it switches to the Albion bridge to Nina's perspective and you can still hear their grunting over the radio, meaning they can both hear it along with everyone else on their channel, and having it play over the shot of the bridge was just priceless entertainment 10/10.

I may have undersold the positive qualities of this show and oversold some of the negative aspects. Gato is a serviceable villain for Uraki, if a little too flat of a character. But I am not kidding when I say Kou and Nina drag this show down, especially when together. Their awkwardness isn't endearing because it is surrounded by melodrama. The ending really does leave you with a bad taste in your mouth, the last time I watched it I questioned why even bothered to in the first place. But on this rewatch I have found enough good to say that fans of Gundam or mecha or even anime fans with time on their hands should give it a chance, though the latter group should probably watch the original Gundam series or the movies to get an idea how everything sorta works. Skipping the Nina and Kou parts doesn't make it too hard to understand I guess, and if you don't want to do that just wait until it becomes too unbearable before skipping to the next scene. Give it a try, it isn't the worst Gundam series ever, Seed Destiny still has that title clutched in it's iron grip.

While most Gundam shows released before ~1995 are around 50 episodes long, 0083 leaves you wondering why so many episodes are needed when this 13 episode OVA packs a much more cohesive, interesting, and powerful story than any other full length Gundam series released before it. 0083 holds up incredibly well in 2017. The animation quality, while dated today, was ahead of it's time. Victory Gundam, released 3 years later than 0083, is definitely put to shame by how great this show looks.

Despite the plot once again being a recycle of the same Gundam trope of an inexperienced pilot being thrust into the cockpit of ... responsibility without preparation, and going on to be all-powerful by the end of the show, 0083 does enough things different to keep things fresh. Episodes 6 and 7 stick out as real highlights of the show, and include a great story that is not only powerful and emotional, but fits in well to the overarching story and helps to grow the characters. No prior knowledge is required of Gundam and the Universal Century, however, for U.C. fans, there is a lot to enjoy.

The mobile suit designs in this show are at their most creative and expressive in a Gundam series compared to any show released before it. The GP02A has become one of my favourite designs, and the Xamel is one of the coolest, more expressive suits I've seen. Mobile suits in 0083 have a realistic finish to them, you can often sense their weight and impact. This show is probably the most realistic interpretation of the Gundam timeline I have seen.

This show is, of course, not without it's flaws. A common criticism of the characters is how dim-witted some of their decisions can be, and while i can think of a couple of occasions between the main character and his love interest that left me wanting to kill myself, I feel like most of these moments can be justified, and serve the plot well. Every other character that is not one of the two main characters can often feel flat or unimportant, or can feel pushed to the side to concentrate on the two MCs.

I loved my time with 0083. It's a show, and for me, the first Gundam I have seen, that seems to know what it's doing and stay consistent from start to finish. It knows what experience it's trying to deliver, and executes it flawlessly. At the time of writing, I have only seen Gundam shows released before this one, but to me, 0083 feels like, for the first time, Sunrise have worked out the formula for what makes a great Gundam show, and I wouldn't be surprised if future series follow in it's footsteps.

Stardust Memory is a Gundam OVA that takes place between the One Year War of Mobile Suit Gundam and the events of Zeta, taking place 3 years after War in the Pocket.

Operation Stardust is a plan spearheaded by Anavel Gato, a notorious spectre of the One Year War known as The Nightmare of Solomon, alongside the head of the Delaz fleet, Aiguille Delaz. These are ostensibly the antagonists of the series, but they are also the reason that there's a series at all, the engineers behind the events unfolding, and the necromancers behind the resurrection of warfare in Universal Century 0083.

Resurrection, rebirth, memory. The meaning ... of these words is probed throughout this series as they echo in the vacuum of space. Other than the protagonist Kou and his closest friend Keith, essentially every other character in the series is a veteran of the One Year War, or at least has experienced the repercussions of it firsthand. Whereas Kou and Keith are only indirectly familiar with the nature of war, which one could say is as good as not being familiar at all. Their fear is palpable as they're first thrown into combat. When Anavel Gato attacks the Albion and seizes a Gundam and a nuke at the beginning of the series, there's a shot of Nina Purpleton shaking as missiles rain down on the base. Mora Boscht asks if its her first time seeing a battle firsthand, and Nina continues to shake in silence, her eyes wide, as we get a great cut to Kou shaking in fear in his cockpit. With this wordless exposition we realize, though he may be a mobile suit pilot, this is his first overwhelming taste of battle. All Kou and Keith know of the One Year War are the spectres and legends that continue to haunt, like that of the Nightmare of Solomon, whom they initially conceive of as a foe whose legendary powers they couldn't possibly contend with.

So far on my journey across the Universal Century, I've seen Mobile Suit Gundam, 08th MS Team, and War in the pocket. Stardust Memory is the series that takes us back into space, and it's got a bit more action up its sleeve than those other two OVAs. While I preferred the look and feel of War in the Pocket, where the style and direction all feels a bit more purposeful, Stardust Memory certainly looks great, and takes the combat up a notch.

Scars and spectres are everywhere in Stardust Memory. Yet rebirth and resurrection are as much about rewriting history, trying to ignore the parts we'd rather forget, as they are reestablishing its continuity with the future. Kelly Layzner sees the resurrection of the war as a chance to redeem himself, and he intends to fight as if he never lost his arm in the first place, ignoring the scars wrought by battle. It costs him his life, when he could've taken the opportunity to live a peaceful life with Lateura. Dazel is bent on making up for Zeon's humiliating loss at A Baoa Qu. On the Feddie side, Monsha can't accept that he's not the hero who wins the war and gets the girl in his narrative as he may have been during the One Year War, and relentlessly takes out his insecurity and frustration on Kou.

Stardust Memory is an inspection of the ways the past haunts the present, the way our scars, legends and memories linger, and even seem to control our fates as we struggle against them. Gato harps on the value of his/Zeon's ideals, and the fight for independence for all Spacenoids; Delaz delivers a televised speech about the totalitarian rule of the Federation, echoing some of the Zabi propaganda from 0079, and the need for Zeon's fight to carry on; but are they not blatantly overlooking the self interest, racism, greed, and internal rot which caused the collapse of Zeon in the first place? How easy it is for one's ideals to get lost and drift by the wayside in the heat of war, as others within your own faction vie to seize control of the armed forces and the narrative. As one character says in Gasaraki (another amazing mech anime), it's much easier to start a war than to stop one. Will the ills of Zeon's past not haunt its rebirth, once the plot is set in motion and it's too late to turn back? Does success in the present ever pay for the past sacrifices and missteps? Does it transform a failure into an act of heroism?

The other side of this, the haunting of the past, is the far more trying task of learning from experience. The older characters in Stardust Memory, for the most part, live in, or try to reenact the events of their past, perhaps trying to get them right the second time. Yet inevitably, they fail again. Rather than learning from one's own experience, experience is something passed on to the next generation, as with Lieutenant Burning and Kou. Burning is a sort of mentor and father figure for Kou as Kou acclimates himself to becoming a soldier, and a man.

(Spoilers to follow)

The event that the series is leading up to is a return to the Sea of Solomon, a sector of space drenched with history, for another battle. This is where the blood was shed and metal was rent and torn that earned Gato his nickname, the Nightmare of Solomon, and the legendary status that looms over him along with it. The Nightmare of Solomon is more than just his nickname though, it's a nightmare which continues to pervade the lives of all the characters involved in the series. It's Gato's nightmare as well. In the episode where the combatants rush back into the sea, we see Gato staring out the window of his spacecraft, second guessing whether he should really return, anticipating the potential repeat of history, and the loss of more of his Zeon comrades' lives. A Sea of stars washes over his reflection in the window. Elsewhere, gazing out the window of another ship into oblivion, Haman Karn asks herself how long they'll be trapped in the cold of space fighting for the sake of "ideals."

Shortly after, Kou returns from a sortie, having just lost Lieutenant Burning, and says to himself "The sea [of Solomon] is hell" through gritted teeth. He doesn't even have time to mourn before the combat picks back up. There's a feeling that the continuation of war is compulsive, inevitable, unstoppable. Once the Gundam is stolen, there's no turning back. Once the nuke is deployed, there's no turning back. Because people died for what they believed in years ago, because people continue to die, the surviving characters must put their lives on the line and fight, too. Gato must continue to test the righteousness of his beliefs until he's stopped, and Kou must stop him. That's the only way, Kou tells himself, for the hell to end. It's time to put everything Lieutenant Burning taught him on the line. And yet, does it ever really end? How will the memory of operation Stardust haunt the future?

As they prepare to battle, the lingering debris and bodies, zombified mechs and soldiers from the first battle in the Sea of Solomon, obscure the Zeon troops. The scars, spectres and memories of a past clash; yet even beyond the grave they are in a sense involved in the combat. Perhaps Lieutenant Burning has become a piece of floating debris just the same. With no burial, no memorial, he's become a fact of the terrain of space. Anonymous but material. The man forgotten, his corpse and mobile suit preserved frozen in place. What threshold separates the dead and destroyed from the living? "We'll use them for cover, and that's why we'll win" Gato explains.

Gato's nuking of the Federation's Naval Review is, it turns out, just the beginning of operation Stardust, and more of a symbolic victory. The reenactment of the One Year War doesn't end here, as after smashing two space colonies into each other, Cima and Dezal intend to smash a third colony into Earth itself, repeating the "most terrible tragedy of the One Year War." This isn't a mere matter of history repeating itself, it's an almost pathological compulsion to repeat history on purpose. As this war disease starts to take hold of Nina and Kou, Nina warns Kou that she wants them both to back out while they have the chance, now that the two Gundam units have been destroyed. But it's too late, there's a third unit, and Kou is the only one who can use it, with Nina's technical support, to stop the colony from barreling into Earth.

And this is where the series really tips its hand.

Up until now we've seen Kou go through a typical coming of age arc, embroiled in this world haunted by its past, full of soldiers with codes of honor, allegiance to ideals, thirsts for vengeance and glory. Unfortunately, while Kou does become a man, everything he learns about being a man comes from these haunted soldiers, so he's trapped in the same exact mindset as them. By the end of the anime, Kou doesn't accomplish anything. He doesn't retrieve Unit 02. He doesn't kill Gato. He doesn't stop the colony from crashing into Earth. If everything he's learned isn't enough to save the day, to protect humanity, to stop the endless war, then how DO we get out of this mess?

Well, the answer WOULD be Cima and Nina.

At this point in the story, Cima reveals that she's been colluding with the Federation to stop Dezal. Nina reveals she had a romance with Gato between the One Year War and operation Stardust. These women have no sense of allegiance, and that's the key that allows them to step outside of the narrow viewpoint shared by the soldiers and see that the bloodshed is leading nowhere. Just like Haman Karn and Lateura, Nina and Cima are skeptical of the male soldiers' obsessions with their ideals. At what point does the violence bring their vision into reality? Will it be when the colony strikes Earth? Is that when the Spacenoids will be free? Kou is utterly unable to grasp why Nina won't let him kill Gato, and thinks it is simply a matter of her having stronger feelings for Gato than for him. But she simply is brave enough to ask: what is actually gained by killing Gato, if the mission is already over?

However, Nina fails to protect Gato because he won't allow himself to be protected. He sacrifices himself by ramming his mobile suit into a Federation Ship. Like Kelley, he insists on dying an "honorable" death in combat, while trying to reach Earth to pass on the legend of their battle to the future generation. Cima is similarly foiled by Gato and Delaz, and she's brutally murdered by Kou, right after she asks him "Who's side are you really on?" Ironic, coming from her, but it goes to show that this battle is not really between Zeon and the Federation, it's between those in allegiance to senseless murder in the guise of heroism, and those in allegiance to protecting innocent lives. The tragedy is that the few individuals (all women, mind you) who are capable of examining things from outside the soldier's perspective, are incapable of doing anything about it because they're horrendously outnumbered by haunted soldiers on all sides.

Ok, so like a lot of people have mixed feelings about 0083. But personally I enjoyed it up to the ending really. Now there will be some spoilers so skip the bracket. [[I wasn’t a fan about the ending when Nina straight up leaves Kou for Gato. Maybe if there was more writing about there past that explained why she had strong feelings for him, I think the story overall would be more enjoyable. And in the last episode she doesn’t even try to apologize for the stuff the made Kou go through. If there was some sort of apology in the ending then it ... might have been more enjoyably for me.]] other than the fact the story gets a Bit choppy at the end, I still think this is a good gundam series. If u wanted to get into gundam, personally I started with unicorn so I’d recommend that, but this one isn’t that bad either.

This is one of my most favourite Gundam series. I really enjoyed how nicely the Gundam models were depicted, with many technical details and a clear attempt to make the movements and mechanics somewhat realistic, supported by a great Top-Gun inspired soundtrack and stunning visual art.

When it comes to the plot, it also stays on the usual Gundam style, by depicting the various characters with a serious tone far from the usual heroes/villains approach, while also giving emphasis on the struggle of the war and how it impacts people relationships in order to pursue their ideals, without never exceeding in giving evidence about which ... faction is wrong or right.

That’s why I always loved Gundam, cause since the beginning it always attempted to be an adult show, not a kid-oriented one and Stardust Memory is not different from this. For sure a classic series which I easily recommend to all Gundam fans. Thanks for reading me!