I watched Gundam Thunderbolt and...
That sure is a weird one, but I like it! Season 1 and season 2 (or in my case December Sky and Bandit Flower) are very different beasts, so I'll mainly cover season 1 first and then talk about what's different and new in season 2. Let's jump in.
For one thing, it almost feels like the two opposing protagonists live in different genres, which I guess could be part of the intention since they're associated with different genres of music. On one side there's Io Flemming, a.k.a Cowboy Bebop but edgy, killing soldiers by the dozen, wiggling his bum at their comrades via webcam and getting free gundams handed to him, all to the tune of funky jazz. And on the other... hand (oops) you have Daryl progressively losing all of his friends and his limbs, with sad flashbacks to his childhood, running on the beach and holding his father's hand. And the weirdest thing is that somehow, it kind of works, and gives the show a unique identity, especially in the UC where things tend to be pretty derivative. Though it's not canon to the UC, which is probably for the best.
Actually, it's more like no one is having a good day on either sides, while Io is having a ball. And while he's meant to represent someone who only lives to kill, mirroring Daryl literally losing parts of himself until just a soldier remains... the fact that he's enjoying it so much is a bit counter productive to the message. But they compensate by making probably the most viscerally harrowing Gundam show I've seen. Between the amputations, the commander lady taking drugs, the kid rookies sent to their death en masse and everyone going crazy at the end, permanently for Daryl's missus, it's heavy stuff. Though it did have an aftertaste of... revelling a bit in the horror and violence? It's may just be because the art style reminded me of Hellsing Ultimate, and being edgy and violent is its whole schtick.
Still, season/movie 1 was a hard watch. And the ending scene where Daryl gazes at his prosthesis and realizes what he has lost was a big downer. But because they added a bunch of gundams to the battle of A Baoa Qu, I cheered myself up by imagining Char fighting Amuro in the Zeong, seeing three more gundams pass him by and going "what the fuuuuuuuuuck?". Still makes no sense in the greater continuity but hey, it's better than having something entirely redundant and derivative like many of the stuff in the UC, so let them have their fun.
Now for season/movie 2. It's... much more tame in the harrowing department, which I don't know how to feel about it. It definitely loses some of its uniqueness and bite, but after the aforementioned big downer it was nice to see Daryl enjoying a break at the beach. And even if it becomes more of a typical Gundam side-story, it's a competently made one. I may have to go back on this statement when it's over since it's in the TBC stage, but I enjoyed what was there.
The action scenes were really cool, and the vitriolic dynamic of "We love each other, but also we spend all of our time bickering and playfully insulting each other" that Io and Bianca is very fun. And while we're bringing in the Neeeeeewtyyyypes again, they don't seem to be making a point about the future of humanity, souls, gravity, etc so that's nice for me. Making a villain a Newtype who uses his powers to create a cult is a cool idea, and something we've not really seen yet. However, there are still some tonal dissonances here and there, cause there's a heart-wrenching scene of a Zeon soldier getting drunk in his submarine cabin because he just learned that his wife and 6 months old baby were just killed. And then it cuts to feddie soldiers daring each other to get branded on the bum.
Now a few details before moving on to animation and designs.
I liked the snowfield fight a lot, and I liked the part where the Gundam almost sinks and gets crushed by the pressure, but the way they establish it with the mobile armour getting past an arbitrary depth and getting instantly compressed into a perfect ball was unintentionally very funny. I'm 97% sure that's not how it works. Though Io was lucky it wasn't Shiro Amada piloting that thing when it turned into a ball, or he'd have been cooked, heh heh heh.
Another very small detail that I found funny was the Zeon radio. Yeah, I also have many products from the brand "France". Or since Zeon is named after Zeon Deikun... the brand "Charles de Gaulle" I guess.
And I gotta mention the soundtrack. Obviously, it's an absolute jam (My fave is Groovy Duel, the duet that Io and Bianca play).
Now for the visuals. Animation quality is superb, and i feel like there are some touches to give it an old school, cell-painted look, which I like. As mentioned, the art style on the faces reminded me of Hellsing a tad, and it's not one I'm a big fan of but it doesn't bother me either. The fights are beautiful and extremely dynamic, to the point where I thought they used 3D models when I saw gifs from the show.
However, in the first movie, it sometimes gets hard to read. Two dark and cluttered mobile suits fighting in a dark and cluttered environment is not a win. On that note, between this and the Unicorn FA, Full Armor apparently means "Forget About readable silhouettes or shapes, visual balance and identity, just pile a load of shit and weapons onto that Gundam". They're some of my least favourite Gundam designs, though they remain miles above the Xi and Penelope gundams. And the psycho Zaku suffers from some of the same problems.
As for the Atlas Gundam... I have mixed feelings. I really like the colour-scheme and the detailing, I kinda like the multi-purpose rocket-skis, but there's something stiff and awkward about its silhouette and general anatomy. Too many parallel lines probably.
That about wraps it up. Next, we're going back to hot take land with one I found not very good but endearingly dumb: The Origin. See ya!
My gundam reviews :
> Hathaway's Spark > Mobile Suit Gundam > Gundam Zeta > 0083: Stardust Memory > 0080: War in the Pocket > 8th MS Team > The Witch from Mercury > Gundam Thunderbolt > The Origin > Turn A Gundam > F91 > Gundam Unicorn > Gundam 00 > MS IGLOO > Gundam Narrative > Iron-Blooded Orphans > Gundam Wing > Twilight Axis > Requiem for Vengeance > Gquuuuuux > Gundam ZZ > Reconguista in G > Cucuruz Doan's Island > Mobile Fighter G Gundam > After War Gundam X
