Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team

Anime has a large variety of characteristics, and among the more under-appreciated qualities are that stories tend to emphasize character interplay with an often striking level of sophistication.

Such is the case with this 1996 anime series focusing on war between Earth's Federation and a rebel empire known as the Zeon. The focus is on two characters, Shiro Amada, a lieutenant of the Federation who, after an attack on a Federation troop ship in space, winds up flying a mobile armor suit into battle against his attacker; the battle somehow goes wrong and both Amada and his enemy are floating in the remains of a destroyed battlestar; Amada's enemy is a Zeon officer, named Aina, and when the two cross swords in the weightlessness of the abandoned warship they get to know each other, and begin to form a friendship.

Both must go their separate ways and are eventually rescued. Later, as the Earth Federation - called Feddies by the Zeon - and Zeon struggle on the planet itself, Amada and Aina meet again in battle, and again fate forces both to cooperate, this time in the deadly frost of a mountaintop. Once again their friendship begins to blossom, and once again fate takes them their separate ways and to eventual rescue.

Both young officers face grave controversies as a result of their encounters. For Shiro Amada, Feddie honchos suspect him of being a Zeon spy, while Aina finds herself clashing more and more with her brother, Zeon commander Gineus, who is obsessed with completing a super-weapon called the Apsalus - even to the point of double-crossing his own officers to get it finished, with his favorite method of doublecross being high explosives.

There is plenty of action involved, and amid the combat, there is a striking moral dilemma involved. Though the Earth Federation are notionally the good guys and the Zeon betray a sinister hue that makes them the notional bad guys, ambiguity pervades the entire conflict - just who IS in the right here?

It is a question that plagues both Amada and Aina to the point they both turn against their nations, leading to a final confrontation on a vast mountaintop when the Apsalus appears and opens fire on Feddie forces.

It all leads to the very best scene of the entire series, a scene played out against an oppressive glow of white light.

The 08th MS team features two hopeful romantics from different sides of the conflict. Aina, the Zeon officer, and Shiro, the Federal Forces' new pilot, meet in a battle in space, throughout the 12 episode series (and one "movie") the two debate their love for each other while trying to come to grips with the war that surrounds them. It features a Romeo and Juliet romance and unbeatable animation. By far one of the best to hit American Shores. Suit Up!

This Gundam series only follows Gundam 0083 Stardust Memory. The story takes place during the same time line as the original Gundam in the year U.C. 0079 the time of the One year war, but the mobile suits are designed as new models are and are as a result look more articulate. The Hero of the story is a young Lt. Shiro Amada, who may lack any real combat experience but makes up for it with creativity and effort.

His life get complicated when he meets Aina Sahalin a Jion ace pilot (the enemy), the to end up falling in love and begin to change their attitudes about the war around them. The other cast of characters in the story are not there for background either, every one in this story has a history to them.

There is also another Ace mobile suit pilot in this series that can be added into the pantheon of ace mobile suit pilots. Right up there with Char Aznable and Anavel Gato is Norris Packard, not the top villain in this series, but his presence give the 8th mobile suit team a hard fight. 3 of them against Norris and his single MS-07B Gouf custom mobile suit.

In conclusion This Gundam along with Stardust Memory is a must see!!

This show is a great anime to watch whether you like Gundam or not, but is especially fun to watch if you are a Gundam fan watching the series in chronological order. It's animation and voice acting are good and it has a Cowboy Bebop vibe to it. Overall it's a very good show that I highly recommend.

Unlike most other Gundam series, which take up their majority of their time in space, 08th MS team is 95% ground-based. This thrilling, well-animated OAV series focuses on the 08th MS team, a group of pilots who have limited mass production Gundams for Ground use. Their goal is to search out a Zeon research base holding a powerful mobile armor. However, problems start to emerge when the team leader falls in love with the pilot of the armor. The OAV has some of the best animation in Gundam-there's a lot of movement and detail. The mecha designs by Kunio Ookawara and Hajime Katoki are great-Ookawara gives Gundams and GMs a tank-like feel, while Katoki redesigns classic Zeon mobile suits for the 90's. The story is well-done, with convincing characters and a fully realized love story(Much better than the half-hearted romances in 0083 and Wing) Overall, a great series, I suggest you check it out when it comes to video/DVD next year.