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.
