Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team – Review

Can love be born on the battlefield? There are countless occasions in which the saga of Gundam has tried to answer this question, with almost always tragic endings. One of the most representative is certainly the story of Shiro And Ainanarrated in the never too much praised Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Teamalways remembered for his “realism” in telling a different aspect of the One Year Warthat of simple soldiers stationed in the forests of Southeast Asia far from the concept of Newtype. Dated 1996, this OVA series has been a great success in its homeland and has been long awaited by the Italian public. Finally, thanks to Dynit, Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team is finally available in home video version, as well as streaming on Prime Videoin a collector’s box containing the series and the special Miller’s Report in format DVD and Blu-rayLet’s take a look at it in our review.

War for Two

As in the case of War in the PocketAlso Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team It is set during the One Year War narrated in the First Series Of Gundam. After the incipit of the first episode set in space, during which the protagonist Shiro Amada will meet for the first time Aina Sakhalin Of Zeonthe scene of events will move to the South-East Asian front, where the young second lieutenant will be called to lead theKojima Battalion 8th Platoonto whom some of the few existing examples of Gundam Ground Type. While not as powerful as the unit on board the White Basethese land variants of the White Mobile Suit built with scrap pieces, technologies and unused elements of the Project Vare equally threatening to the Zeon soldiers stationed on the planet.

Ginius SakhalinAina’s brother, is however developing a gigantic Mobile Armor capable of giving Shiro and his team a hard time, theApsaras. And it will be on board this vehicle that Aina will meet Shiro again, once again in the guise of an enemy. The love story between the two will unfold throughout the twelve episodes that make up the series, and the trial that Shiro is undergoing on charges of being a spy will be at the center of the special medium-length film. “Miller’s Report” included in the box set, which summarizes the first part of the series integrating it with some unpublished elements.

However, what is missing from the roll call is what we can consider the thirteenth episodemade in 2013 for the Japanese Blu-ray edition, “Battle in Three Dimensions”. This is an interlude between the ninth and tenth episodes, of which probably Dynit failed to obtain the publishing rights, a real shame. Despite this shortcoming, The 08th MS Team It is an essential product in the collection of every true enthusiast. Gundamas well as an incredibly representative series for the franchise, despite its events not impacting the canon of the saga.

10 YEARS AFTER

Even after almost thirty years from production, the animations of Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team are still excellent today, as well as the excellent soundtrack that gives us two of the most memorable songs of the entire franchise, the opening “Arashi no Naka of Kagayaite” And “10 YEARS AFTER”, both sung by Chihiro Yonekurawho made her debut in the Japanese music scene with the double single containing both.

As in the case of 0080, also theEighth Platoon is presented by Dynit in a combo edition containing the series and the film, both in format DVD That Blu-ray. As already said in the review of War in the PocketI consider the inclusion of the older format superfluous, to which I would have preferred a code to download the series in digital format. In terms of dubbing and adaptation, Shiro and companions can count on a cast that has been able to best transpose the characterization of the characters into our language. Each voice is particularly appropriate and each voice actor has done their job to the best of their ability. The same, however, cannot be said for the Italian adaptation which, in addition to maintaining the Italian pronunciation of the term “Gundam” as we are now used to hearing, presents some not so happy choices. For example, the nickname of Sanders It has been mistakenly adapted as “Platoon Killer” when in reality in Japanese it is simply “Shinigami“, that is to say “god of death” — a term that anime fans are familiar with from mainstream series like death Note And Bleach. The meaning of the term is completely distorted, because “god of death” is understood as a person capable of bringing bad luck to anyone around him, while “squadron exterminator” seems more suitable for an ace capable of wiping out all the enemies that stand in his way. Even the pronunciation of some names, such as “Aìna” instead of “Aina” at first glance it left us a bit disoriented, accustomed to the Japanese pronunciation. For the rest, we can consider ourselves quite satisfied with the work done: it was worth waiting so many years to finally see in Italy one of the series of Gundam most loved.

The box contains, in addition to the six discs with the episodes (three Blu-rays and three DVDs), a Collectible postcard and the usual bookletwhich this time has been made with greater care and presents decidedly fewer oversights than the more unfortunate booklet contained in the box set of War in the Pocketalmost bordering on perfection. Inside the booklet, as usual, we find the summaries of the episodes, the character and mecha sheets, illustrations, preparatory drawings and more.

Who do we recommend Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team to?

Belonging to the genre of Universal Centuryand in particular being set during the One Year War, Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team It is recommended to those who have already seen at least the original series from 1979. However, in a certain sense it is also enjoyable by those who have never approached the franchise, because the common thread of the OVA series is not the conflict itself, but rather the love story that is born between Shiro and Ainaas well as the friendship that binds the second lieutenant to his platoon.

To learn more about the production background of the series and its complete analysis, we recommend you read the book by Jacopo Mistè, Yoshiyuki Tomino & GUNDAMwhich we have already told you about in our review.