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Takayama Fumihiko
A contemorary (inside the series chronology) of the original Mobile Suit Gundam, this OAV series does well to provide new points of view on the One Year War. Animation: 8 This ... Home Twitter
- Unrated 4x2j5b
10.02.2005 20:58 - rs2160)
Rating
| Vote |
9 |
| Average |
8.16 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
A contemorary (inside the series chronology) of the original Mobile Suit Gundam, this OAV series does well to provide new points of view on the One Year War.
Animation: 8
This series was done in 1989, however the animation may surprise you. Every episode is well drawn and animated. Foregrounds and backgrounds are bright and vibrant, animation is smooth and detailed. As a largely character-driven piece, this series doesn't rely heavily on it's animation, but it is none the less of very high quality. Character designs by Haruhiko Mikimoto shine as well as the few, brief appearances of mobile suits.
Sound: 7
There's nothing truly spectacular here, everything and everyone does its job and does it well. The opening and ending tracks are quite nice and evocative. Nothing stands out of place, all facets are well executed but nothing deserving special praise.
Story: 9
Set near the end of Mobile Suit Gundam's One Year War, but away from the action in one of the colonies of Side 6, the tale told in War in the Pocket truly shines. It brings a whole new perspective to the already balanced world shown in MS Gundam. The people on the other side in a war aren't necessarily evil, ugly aliens. They are people. People just like you. Maybe in a slightly different world, you'd be friends with the guy you're trying to kill. As such, the tale follows Al, a young boy in Side 6. He's enamoured with the new mobile suits being used in the war, and befriends a pilot who gets shot down in a skirmish inside the colony. The pilot of a Zeon Zaku. He helps his new friend, Bernard; even introduces him to the pretty girl next door, Christine MacKenzie.
As you follow Al and Bernard, you see that they're just doing what they think is right, you get real comion for someone who is ostensibly the bad guy. If all Zeons are bad, why is it that Bernie is such a nice, kind guy? He wants to do the right thing, protect the people he cares about. As the series builds to a climax, you can see events coming that you desperately hope won't. Something bad has to happen to someone you like.
Sometimes, in a war, no one really wins.
Character: 8
The key to the plot pulling you in so much in War in the Pocket is compelling characters. You can intuitively understand how everyone comes to the decisions they do. They grow and interact in such ordinary human ways that you can't help but sympathize with all the key characters, be they Federation soldier or Zeon trooper. The characters themselves make the conflict of the plot so gut-wrenching.
My only, minor, gripe is that I'd like a tiny bit more development of Christine. But I see also how that would be difficult to do.
Value: 8
Tremendously rewatchable, the story craft in this OAV series makes it so compelling you have to see it again
Enjoyment: 9
Brilliant and gut-wrenching. Sci-fi, but so real it almost hurts. See this series.
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