Story: First, I must tell you that you need to know about the Universal Century (UC) storyline from the Gundamverse. If you are not familiar with the UC, you can still enjoy, since this is basically the first part of the whole story (not by release, but chronologically). However, if you are familiar you will get the full experience, instead of just a basic enjoyment, you will remember who each character is and their role in the UC timeline, adding more depths to them. I think that only those who know the UC will agree with my highest score. Anyway, the story has an organic fell about it. Everything makes sense, it is well developed, perfect pacing, with a great balance between the political, the military, the action, and the characters stories. I fell that The Origin is everything that Gundam Unicorn tried to be, but couldn`t. I am extremely pleased that they decided to create this OVA series because the story is perfect in so many aspects that the only thing I can say is: watch, is just to damn good. But be warned, you will only fully enjoy if you know the UC of Gundam. Otherwise, it will feel has regular anime for you.
Art & Sound: Even better than Unicorn, in my opinion, in terms of art. And Unicorn is supposed to be the Gundam with the highest budget. My only complaint is that there is only one OST that I remember. Moreover, the mechas' art is superb in The Origin.
Character: Damn, they are all good. It is a surprise actually because all Gundam has at least one damn annoying character at some point. But hey, not here! All characters are great, or at least funny. After I saw The Origin I have a whole new appreciation for Char Aznable, the famous all-time antagonist of the Gundamverse. If you don`t know, Char is the reason all Gundam has a guy in a mask at some point. Char development is great. Actualy, it is so great that after this OVA series he became the most developed characters in the history of Gundam. The other characters like Dozle, Artesia and other secondary characters are all extremely well scripted. Thus, it is a surprise that no character felt out of place, or is compelled to make stupid choices. They...are...all...good. I am just happy about this, you have no idea. So, don`t worry, you will not be disappointed here.
Mechas: Not much variety here, you will mostly see Zakus. Nevertheless, the art for the mechas is OUTSTANDING. In The Origin, you will fell what made Gundam be known as Real Mecha Genre. The mechanical aspects are realistic, their movement is on point and it's like you can see how heavy they are. Amazing. If the mecha art of Gundam: The Origin became the standard for all Gundam, I would be a happy man.
Overall, this is one of the best additions to the UC story I saw so far. The Origin makes Unicorn looks like a kid eating a bottle of glue in the corner of the class. Char became even more interesting after these OVA and everything is well scripted in this series. Don`t miss, just don`t miss it.
