MSG Thunderbolt is a story about the kinds of people that are able to survive and even thrive in the extreme environment of war, this is illustrated through the struggle of opposing factions ace pilots, protagonist Daryl Lorenz an amputee sniper of the 'Living Dead Division' and antagonist Io Fleming of the 'Moore brotherhood' a thrill seeking adrenaline junkie of questionable morality. For both factions their ace is indispensable but for very different reasons.
The Living Dead Division is a military corps of amputee pilots and it represents men who must first be broken down before their concious might assent to the grim theater of war. Observing them at their base the 'Dried Fish' we see an easy going band of brothers who cherish each other, their radio chatter is frequented by gallows humour, positive reinforcement and cooperation. They have all paid a heavy price in this war, literally a pound of flesh and lament their regrettable circumstance. They seem more like conscripts drafted into war rather than volunteers fighting for independence.
The protagonist is the personification of the Diving Dead Division's attitudes. Daryl Lorenz the ace sniper enters this skirmish having lost both legs in a battle prior. He is a melancholy man who, if he had some romantic notions of war in his youth, has long since become disillusioned of them. He has fond memories of family outings to the beach where he would run across the sunny shore with a broad grin on his face but now he can only experience that by running while piloting a mobile suit which gives him no pleasure, in fact it does the opposite, it brings him to tears as the innocence of that memory is lost, he runs now only in the guise of a killing machine. If Daryl Lorenz and crew have to fight they fight for their pals along side an evanescent hope of peace that might someday come if they cling to their humanity, the little they have left.
Io Fleming and his division represent men who are predisposed for whatever reason to war, they don't just survive war, they thrive on it. Looking at the constituents of the 'Moore Brotherhood' one finds a very young outfit who appear to be straight out of boot camp and are constantly berated by their superior officers. The young soldiers have an almost religious reverence for the Gundum type mobile suit making sure to salute it as they enter its hanger, this behaviour may be the fruit of some kind of early indoctrination that preps children to be soldiers, one is left to wonder how early this process began if they are being deployed at such a young age.
Io Fleming himself needs no indoctrination his evil lends him a natural inclination to war. He is a self centered hedonist that enjoys the the cheap thrills war has to offer be it the rush of making intricate manoeuvres through debris at high speed or the killing with impunity that war affords him. He treats his own squad as expendable even though he has the talent to help them in battle he would rather use this teammate as decoys towards his own ends, if they die so much the better. He openly declares that he does not care what you think of him or if he is punished for his sins. The leadership of the Moore Brotherhood is not phased by such a man, despite his traumatic and unprocessed past and ostensive death wish, they continue to promote him even going so far as giving him his own squad to lead but then again this is the same leadership that sends children to the front lines, if it assures victory and furthers their military careers they will gladly make a deal with the devil, they are professionals.
In both factions there are characters who are exceptions to the rule and their descenting views serve to heighten the moral tension within their respective camps. In the Living Dead Army there is an insensitive scientist who sees the soldiers as nothing more than lab rats, he cares only for his own survival. Meanwhile the Moore Brotherhood's ship the 'Beehive' has an empathetic captain who is driven to the edge by usurpers that would do anything for total victory.
Both the music and visuals in MSG Thunderbolt are striking this show is worth watching just for them but there is also a clever use of those assets as narrative devices. The lightning strikes that occur sporadically, because of static energy discharging form the ashes of a doomed nearby colony, are used to highlight moments of dramatic tension and are even used as a key element in some important set pieces in the show. The way both characters interact with the Jazz is more integral though, Io Fleming likes to bang about in his cockpit with drumsticks when he is not piloting and when he is, he is using his mobile suit itself as an instrument to perform his Jazz improvisation of mass destruction. Daryl Lorenz on the other hand uses Jazz to calm his nerves with sentimental oldies the only escape he has from his hellish circumstance.
No matter how you look at it waging war is an unnatural and futile act you might go into it saying you have a just cause but it will break you down long before it is over and then question fast becomes just how much of your humanity are you willing to rescind to win this death game? That is the question MSG Thunderbolt asks and seeks to resolve through this antagonistic duo. Few series are able to strike at their point with the efficiency of Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt, delivering a meaningful commentary on war through a flash, just 4 episodes, a feat many series fail to achieve even across multiple seasons and it does so in prodigious style whose jazzy thunder still echoes through my heart long after the credit roll.
