As a great fan of the Gundam Franchise I can safely say that IBO as a whole is a fantastic war drama along with having some better spins on the franchise itself to keep it fresh. IBO is VERY different from other Gundam Series, but alas the core theme is still present. As long as Sunrise continues to experiment with the Gundam Franchise then perhaps the infinite possibilities that inhabit the core concept of Gundam can finally be discovered. In this case IBO shows plenty.
Story: 8
No matter how good a story is, presentation is key. The most boring of concepts within a story can be made interesting if presented JUST right. The same can happen the other way around where the most interesting of concepts can be made boring if the presentation is off. No matter how perfect someone's writing is people will find some sort of fault in it. The key of a good story is to present the premise, give tension, give reasons, give life and have a good time on that roller coaster ride. And a roller coaster ride best describes the story of IBO. Things keep happening and lead to another incident and you wanna know what happens next. If you have that "I wanna know what happens next" mentality for your target Audience to have, then you nailed presentation.
Iron Blooded Orphans is about a mercenary group known as Tekkadan trying to survive the bat crazy world of Mars/Earth government finding their footing. People fight, people cheat, people murder just to get by. Tekkadan is no different. They are mercenaries after all. They aren't supposed to be good guys, but people we can relate to. That spark of humanity is all what we need to follow a character. However, inhuman concepts that harbor within Mika are also important within dramas. With many characters with different points of the story you can see what they go through. It might be brief but all what you need is brief. It's a war drama after all. ANYONE can die.
As things go on, Tekkadan gets pushed and pushed until they struck a deal that they will soon regret. Watching their spiral into failure is indeed depressing, but that is Gundam at its finest. The ending itself is more unique than the other Gundam series' endings but it is at least bitter sweet. The theme for IBO is Family and the cold heart truth of reality that you can't change who you are or even how things are unless you become the very thing you set out to destroy.
Art: 9
Looking gooood again eh Sunrise? I never bought any Build Fighters or G Rec models, but I have bought several of IBO because of how amazing they are. The MS Designs are AWESOME! Getting some unique ones here and there and the Barbatos is a very cooold Gundam! COOL COOL COOL! What else must I say? Animation is saved for the action which makes total sense, and the color pallets work just fine. In the future I wanna get myself a Tekkadan jacket for obvious reasons. AHEM! Enough of me fan boying. I'm not the best on art analysis, but if Gundam's visuals rely on rule of cool then I was say they did a splendid job.
Sound: ALL of the openings are amazing! The Tekkadan theme is off the hook! And you know once that theme is playing you just wanna root for them! Take my word for it, listen to it with the Unicorn theme when you can.
Character: 8
I can say with great confidence that IBO knows what it's doing with its characters. With the theme of Family you can see Tekkadan giving themselves a shoulder to cry on and give each other support. Akihiro wanting to be more family orientated, Takaki leaving to get away from the fighting, Orga struggling and making poor choices, Atra opening up more and even Gaelio with McGillis are great wonderful characters to follow. Mika is...strange. I would say he is crazier than Heero and Setsuna. He is with out a doubt a sociopath that only cares about Orga. Though I feel like he has way too many Kira Yamato perfect moments, he is still touchable. Presentation is key here. When Mika is being perfect he looks GOOD being perfect, and when he struggles he REALLY does struggle and push his body and mobile suit to the absolute limit. That kid isn't afraid of death. Mika is far from realistic but characters like this exist because of how awkward they are. He certainly a wild card in IBO and I'm glad to get a shot to experience his flavor. McGillis is a what if Char failed from the beginning, though McGillis struck me as a small disappointment. It's not because he failed or how he failed, his failure makes sense to show how idealism on a single note can't accomplish everything. Even becoming the very thing you sought out to destroy. My disappointment lies within his interactions with Mika.
Have you ever noticed when McGillis had a flash back his young self has the EXACT same expression as Mika when he was younger? I always felt that IBO was setting up Mika and McGillis to have a clear rivalry or friendship. McGillis growing up closed his heart from people, planned ahead and did ruthless things for himself. Mika on the other hand did ruthless things for Orga, someone he CARES about, his heart is closed but not entirely. Basically a Good Sociopath and a 'Bad' Sociopath. But over time it is hinted out that McGillis TRULY is a good man who got corrupted by his own ideals. Making him closer to Mika than mirroring him. It felt like wasted potential that they would seem to hint that McGillis and Mika are very similar yet very different at the same time. Oh well, guess my expectations were subverted. But it still irks me...which leads to
Enjoyment: 9
Perhaps what I see the most in IBO threads here on anime list is the anger meter. People get ANGRY when characters die in a way they don't see fit. People get ANGRY when certain characters DON'T die. Die die die. He must die, no he must live. It's all the same. Things happen because the route is set for people's demise. It's satisfying when Iok dies, it's sad when Laughter Dies. The deaths fulfill their purposes. It fills you with emotions that you will never forget which is mission accomplish for a war drama. And honestly I feel like people here forget about that. I enjoyed it for what it was and had my own sort of way for fun. The show is a roller coaster and I love that aspect.
Overall: IBO gets an 8. Some disappointments but the good outweigh the bad. I had a great time with this show and I can't wait for the next franchise.
