Story 9/10
What I love about the story is how suspenseful it is; most of the show takes place with the main character's behind enemy lines thus they have to be on almost constant guard for enemy attacks. Furthermore, there's a real sense of danger as well because the Gundam's pilot, Amuro, has no formal military training yet he's fighting these veteran soldiers and you can see the fear in his eyes therefore it really makes you question whether Amuro will survive or not.
Furthermore, it adds to the suspense how at the end of every episode, instead of saying "to be continued" or "the journey continues", the narrator says "who will survive".
Another thing I love about the story is how it doesn't downplay the horror of war. It's not always soldiers fighting soldiers, children and innocent civilians are effected as well. There's one episode where a civilian woman talks about how she wants to raise her son in her hometown on Earth, but then learns her hometown was destroyed and you see how devastated she is.
Also, I love how the bad guys, the Zeon soldiers, are depicted as real people. In a lot of stories the bad guys are just meant to be these nameless, faceless evil men, but in this anime it's hard to forget that there are people piloting those robots. For example, there's an episode where the fiancee of a soldier Amuro killed comes to kill him to avenge her lost love and it's so tragic when she dies so pointlessly.
However, the story isn't perfect.
Part of the reason I only gave this anime 9/10 was because, near the end, they add these new characters called "new types" who have these psychic powers and it becomes a big plot point. However, it just feels shoehorned in and doesn't fit well with the rest of the story.
Animation 8/10
First, you have to remember that this anime aired in 1979 and the animators had a tight budget to work with with most of the animation focused on animating the battle scenes leaving little to the character animation. All of the characters have very limited facial expressions and show very little emotion.
However, one thing I really like is the design of Gundam and the other mobile suits. Gundam has a pretty wide range of weapons including the Beam Cannon, Beam Saber, Beam Trident, the Shield, and of course Gundam can still do a lot of damage fighting with its' bare hands.
Characters 10/10
Amuro is an amazing and complex character that goes through a lot of changes. You have to remember Amuro never wanted to be a soldier thus it isn't entirely surprising when he begins experiencing PTSD and even gives serious thought to quitting. However, Amuro overcomes these feelings and as the show progresses Amuro and the other character all learn to rely on each other and fight to protect each other.
Char is Amuro's rival and greatest enemy. What I love about Char is how calm and calculating he is during battle. He always waits for the perfect time to attack and knows when to retreat. However, while I love Char, I do wish we could have seen more of him in the show.
As for the other characters, I also wish more attention was given to side characters like Mr. Bright and Fraw Bow.
Sound 7/10
The voice acting is fine, bust it's the opening music that I have a problem with. The opening song is so upbeat and just doesn't seem appropriate for such violent anime about war.
Overall 9/10
Despite being a product of its' time in terms of animation, I'd still recommend this anime to anyone, especially seasoned anime fans who want to know how giant robots became so popular in Japan.
