Tuesday, March 22, 2005

ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US!!!
good morning everyone. well, sorta. its pissing down with rain here. (d'oh!) oh well. welcome to England, where you can recieve rain snow and sun all within a month of each other. order our special package and well throw in a hurricane for free!


its still pretty warm though, so I guess I can't complain.

I got my exam timetable yesterday. I got a clash again this year. My music exam and one of my comms exams are on the same date at the same time. Luckily this year I have the afternoon free so I can do one of the exams then, but i'll have to be in isolation between exams. but its better than last year. Last year I had three exams on the same day. I had to do two of them back to back, then the third in the afternoon. I was knackered.

ne hoo, enuff about me. instead of a comic today (which i didnt have time to do yesterday) I've got a anime review instead.

DARKE SECRET TECHNIQUE: ANIME REVIEW!!!

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM 0080: WAR IN THE POCKET

At 6 episodes long, this is the shortest Gundam series. (other than one-off movies like GUNDAM F91) However, the creators manage to weave a powerful and intense story into those 6 episodes about the tradgedy of war.
Young Al is a resident of Side 6 colony Libot. He and his friends long to be a part of the One Year War that is raging on. He dreams of Mobile Suits and his hobby is collecting war memrobilia. His life is turned upside down when a Zeon pilot gets shot down within the colony. Bernie Wiseman is the pilot, and he is assigned to a special team called the Cyclops Force. Their mission: Locate and capture or destroy the Newtype Gundam being built within Side 6.
Al some how manages to get involved with Bernie and the Zeon team. Little do they know that the pilot of the new Gundam, Code-named the ALEX, is Al's good-looking red head neighbour, Christina McKenzie. Bernie, Al and Christina become good friends without ever realising their plight.
The Cyclops force attempt to capture the ALEX with their new MS: Kampfer. However, the attempt fails and soon Bernie is the only one left alive. Zeon are desperate, so unless the Gundam is destroyed by christmas, they will blow up the colony with nuclear weapons. The three friends are heading for tradgedy. How will it be resolved? Watch and find out.

I really liked Gundam 0080. Its probably the only Gundam series where you hope the Gundam will be destroyed so that the colony will be saved. The Zeon, normally the bad guys, are shown in a different light. The Cyclops Team are the guys you end up rooting for, almost. When they get killed, you can't help but feel sad. Bernie and Chris are really likable characters, and Al is okay too, but annoying sometimes. The final fight between Chris and Bernie is really intense, it had me on the edge of my seat. The real tragedy is that they don't even know that they are fighting each other.
The mech designs are interesting, although we don't see enough of the Kampfer. The ALEX gets limited action too, only in the last three episodes, on the second disc, do we see it do anything. I dont mind though, ALEX is one of my favourite Gundams. (the Master Grade model is standing on my desk as I type) The opening action scene between the Cyclops Force and the Feds Cold Climate GMs is brilliant and gives you a taster of what the series will be like.
The battle between the Cyclops Force and the ALEX is particularly brutal and bloody. no censors here people, this is as close to reality you will get (apart from the slightly dated animation).
The real force behind the series is its story line, and its message about war. War is not a game, it is not fun. It is serious and tradgic, for both sides of the conflict. It also effects civilians as well. Whether through terroist attacks that are followed by war, or by certain actions within the war, everyone is effected. Words cannot describe how I felt whilst watching the series, it really made me think, and I really enjoyed it.

The music is dated, as this was created late 1980s and the animation shows this as well, it being one of the older styles of anime. Its still endearing though, and was fun to watch.

The DVDs come with tonnes of extras, so that should keep you busy.

FINAL ANALYSIS: When it comes to the mini-series, (War in the Pocket, Stardust Memories and 08TH MS team) I have to say that 08th MS Team is my fav, with War in the Pocket a close second. 08th MS team is newer and better animated, and i enjoy the story line. However, this review is about War in the Pocket, so I would totally recommend seeing this series at least once if you are a die-hard Gundam fan (like me). If you're into mech battles and high action content, then this series is probably not for you. However, if you like your anime thought-provocative and meaningful, then I suggest you give this a go, even if you're not a Gundam fan. You wont be dissapointed.

FINAL THOUGHTS: This series is so detailed and descriptive, alot of thought has been put into it. As MAHQ.net says: "In Gundam Wing, hundreds of people could die in one episode, and it's meaningless. In this series, one person dies, and it means everything"


END REVIEW



hope you enjoyed the review. If you didn't, well. *sticks tongue out*

see if i care...

ciao.

EDIT: ooh, Azumanga Daioh mp3s... *download*


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