Kidou Senshi Gundam Thunderbolt 2nd Season

Includes spoilers It's bad. It's so bad. I had high hopes after season 1 (which is an at least 9/10 piece of art), this is just disgusting compared to it's predecessor. I will rate this season comparing to season 1. Story: 1/10 literally nothing important happens, that's not saying no plot progression was made. Like season 1 they tried to cram as much information as they could in to 4 episodes, except it was way lighter in season one due to the high quality battles. This entire season is purely exposition, with no mech fights that are remotely comparable to season 1. The intense battles between the 2 main characters was what drove the show to greatness, this season is just nothing comparison, literally like not watching anything. since none of the side characters ever got any development, none of them matters when they die. the main characters didn't even fight so they had plot shield the entire time, which made none of the battles involving them interesting.things that drives the plot is as pointless as it gets. Things that happens in season 1: Io got captured, Claudia dies, Daryl looses his limbs. How season 2 negated all of these things: Io breaks out first thing for no good reason, Claudia is just not dead, 2 limbs or no limbs, Daryl once in a while clinches his teeth OH NO! Art: 7/10 not much to say, very stylized way that excelled in season 1 now mostly spent on talking animation. goofy ass fodder mechs and planes ruins the moments (when there are basically no "moments") Sound: 5/10 remember how much the frantic, scattered jazz pushed the space battles in the asteroid field? well now we have that over slow underwater crap that doesn't ever fit the pace of the music. Character: 1/10 Whats character development? Season 1 characters you gave a shit about because nobody else mattered: Io, Daryl. Season 2 you gave a shit about because nobody else mattered: just Io. I'm willing to bet that you can't name anymore than Io Daryl and Claudia off of your head because none of them made any kind of impression nor impact on the story. Season 2 characters include: that bald chick, that one chick that played an instrument, the professor chick that has daddy issues Enjoyment: 1/10 i want my wasted time back. it's a gundam show, there is barely any gundam, plus the only gundam lost it's first legit battle to some dude. Over all: 3/10 is as generous as I can get After note: this season shouldn't even be called gundam thunderbolt since it has nothing to do with gundam thudnerbolt. the actual gundam: thunderbolt isn't in here, the "thunderbolt sector" wasn't in here, the shit that happened in gundam thunderbolt didn't matter cause the fact that claudia is alive, and Io escaping immediately negates all of season 1's plot. This is literally a piece of garbage using a superior show's title to gain views.

*Spoilers for both seasons of Gundam Thunderbolt* The phrases "Robots are cool" and "War is hell" are nothing if not ubiquitous with Gundam. Anyone who fancies himself even a remote fan of Gundam can tell you that. Yet, while most war stories opt for the "war is hell" angle, there aren't that many of them that really feel...human. Sure, we can have something like "Apocalypse Now" and "Saving Private Ryan" which accomplishes that, but most of the time, we get "SEED Destiny" and "00 Second Season" which have it's characters come off as more "idiot/asshat tools for a broken narrative" than truly human characters that make us feel something good. Gundam Thunderbolt has always felt human. Yes, it still goes the "robots are cool" angle Gundam and most mecha anime in general have as their bones, and yes, there is a lot of sick jazz to really get the adrenaline pumping when action takes place, but Gundam Thunderbolt feels truly human about expressing war and its combatants, and this second season is no exception. Yet somehow, a lot of people fail to realize this, seeing it as nothing more than pretty action romps with little substance. While in the surface Thunderbolt is another epic war series full of some of the flashiest visuals you will ever see in anime, it presents everything more realistically than dramatically, all the while making perfect sense, effectively becoming more dramatic than most of its much longer brethren. So, how does Gundam Thunderbolt go about being human, and what does this Second Season do to strengthen such a human feel? Well, let's find out, shall we? It's one whole year after the One Year War, and now Zeon remnants have aligned with this strange religious cult known as the South Seas Alliance to take down the feddies. Once again, we have two stories, two main perspectives to follow, Io and Daryl. The interactions they have with their crew are excellent and really bring the best out of everybody in terms of expressing their character, and their battles are as exciting as always. Then in episode 6, we receive a reminder of just how human this show really is after the epic reestablishing episode 5 did and was meant to do. One Zeon troop lost his newborn son in debris and is now fighting out of grief while all we see is a scene of him crying while swiping through pictures of him and his wife right after her giving birth. Next we see Commander Bull, and in one moment, he flicks the head of a bobblehead baseball player with pictures of him and his son also being in the amphibian mobile suit he’s piloting, and in another scene, him getting ready to shoot himself in his room full of more baseball bobbleheads. I love this kind of human storytelling placed on even grunts we’ll never see again. Whereas any other Gundam anime would've shown them fighting while shouting about their children or not even showing bobbleheads, this one does, and I'm really thankful for it. Everything this anime teases us with even slightly is tied up perfectly beyond the main plot. In episode 5, we see the old hag chairman (or whatever position she holds) having a sort of incense necklace and in the finale, it turns out this was from her Newtype Facility that the original cultist, Levan Fuu was from before he began his cult. After an awesome session of playing the song “Groovy Duel” before a mission in episode 6, Io and his new jazz aficionado friend Bianca say they'll do another session, and in the next episode, they remark on how they never did and how they'll do that right after the operation that lasts from then to the end of this finale, except it's gonna keep going because this show burns us with a cliffhanger. Before that, a few things I wanna clear up, as well as one minor gripe. Some people have accused the Groovy Duel scene of being nothing but filler. That is not true. That was there to quickly reinforce that this hobby of Io’s and Bianca’s they share wouldn't be just a one-off aspect of them that never came up again, unlike most anime that have character mutually involved in a hobby unrelated to the show’s narrative. We already know that about Io, but we didn't know that for Bianca, and it was fun to see them do it and then Io reminiscing about episode 1 of last season where he was in space combat before his suit got sniped. I'm also glad that episode 7 reinforced this, though after episode 6, that was set in stone about the two and their friendship. A few issues come up though. Well, actually just one. Apparently, Claudia survived getting shot being in the ship that got destroyed and somehow she was reduced by the South Seas Alliance. How? It's a dismal plot point and a big issue with the second half of the season, but it's not enough to derail my experience with the show. Io is just as cool as ever, especially in his new Atlas Gundam, and it's nice to see him really worry about Claudia once she shows up, though I already covered him last time. His chemistry with Bianca is damn fine though. Speaking of, Bianca is officially the best girl in Thunderbolt. Going through a lot of crews and being an awesome jazz aficionado was damn fun to know about her, and overall she’s very fun and full of jabs. Some of my favorite moments of her include her threatening to drop Io by calling him a selfish prick and asking if he wants to take a swim when he complained about her being late as his Mobile Suit’s footstool in episode 8, and her covering her head and apologizing after seeing Cornelius grind his knuckles on Io’s head for messing up his mobile suit and saying that she was guilty of it as well. Speaking of, Cornelius is here and doesn't do much but hey, fun to have him and the tissue gag back. Like Io, Daryl is back and we don't really need to delve much into him this time, except for one thing. Remember when Karla started going crazy and screaming her head off in episode 4 last season? Well, as a result, she has reverted to her prepubescent stage mentally and thanks to the whole 3 metal fingers resemblance her father had to Daryl, he has to pose as her father while she is in recovery, which is insanely bittersweet. His crew and their interactions are pretty alright as well. We don't need to touch up on Claudia either. She’s basically the same except with new people and we already covered that. Including those two soldiers from episode 6, we have a really wonderful and rather human cast. Hell, their dialogue is often great too, especially Bianca’s. I love when a series a built a bit on its old cast while making the new guys just as great, which is surprisingly hard for Gundam sequels to do if Gundam SEED Destiny and 00 Second Season have taught me anything. The mobile suits and new Gundams like the Atlas Gundam, all look damn amazing, and some of the Feddie suits that didn't look quite right in season 1 now look perfect here. The stellar action is fun and flashy as always, like when Daryl pulls off a maneuver that involves boosting into his Frizzy Yard cloak and it looks shimmering with the red protective cloak and the blue-ish booster flames, and the battle at Ao Boa Qu in episode 5. Despite the mildest of weird CGI, this probably even tops or at least definitely rivals season 1 for the title of best looking Gundam anime. Hell, the Groovy Duel sequence was pretty well animated, and contrary to some people’s belief, has no reused footage other than Io simultaneously reminiscing on the battle in episode 1. Needless to say, this ONA is as eyegasmic as it was before. It is Gundam Fucking Thunderbolt, after all. Naruyoshi Kikuchi comes back for this season as well, delivering another round of great scores. The elephant in the room is “Pretty Song” for being so upbeat and so different from any kind of music from the series, and it's definitely a cute song, no pun intended. Others such as the episode 6 and 7 ED themes I can't currently find a name for, as well as “Groovy Duel” which rivals “Thunderbolt for Main Theme” from season 1 in terms of being real…

(This review contains minor spoilers for the second season, along with spoilers from the first. Spoilers from the second season are rather minor details, so they will not affect your viewing of the show.) The first season of “Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt” is, in my opinion, the defining Gundam entry for this generation. Many Gundam series attempt to convey the message of the brutality of war to its viewers. For an entire franchise centred around the idea of gigantic robots fighting one another, the Gundam series has always had some anti-war undertones amongst its exciting stories. That being said, the first season of “Thunderbolt” was no exception. It weaved a tale of pain, brutality, and tragedy unprecedented in any Gundam series before it. Not even the dark “Iron-Blooded Orphans,” a recent Gundam series about child soldiers, was close to demonstrating the dark nature of war and conflict like “Thunderbolt” was able to. So how does the second season fare? Thankfully, very well. “Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt Season 2” (which I will call “Thunderbolt 2” for the duration of this review) is another look at the struggles of warfare. Story: In this season, both Io Flemming and Daryl Lorenz, the leads of their respective factions, are given further insight in regards to their lives after their fateful duel. Viewers are given a look as to the aftermath of the horrific events of the first season. Both of our heroes (or villains, depending on your outlook) have to come to terms with their losses incurred. For Io, it is the loss of Claudia, while for Daryl, it is the loss of Karla. Of course, this season isn’t just about these two characters’ losses. Rather, it is the ongoing conflict between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon. I have one complaint this season however, and that would be that there is an imbalance between the stories of both sides unlike the first season. To put it bluntly, the Earth Federation’s side of the story was far more interesting and exciting than that of Zeon. While this isn’t an issue in itself, I would have liked to have more of a balance between the two, as I felt at many times that the second season was more Earth Federation-centric than usual. The first season really gave us a chance to look at Zeon from a more human perspective, and while that still continues in the second season, I felt that it was rather dampened. I won’t go into too much detail, but expect the show to begin introducing themes of religious extremism into the mix. Yes, that’s right. While hints of a religious cult have always been in the shows, viewers are about to see their entry into the series. Animation: “Thunderbolt” has some great animation. The art style has a rugged look to it that fits with the style of the series. In addition, the fight sequences are well-choreographed and look like legitimate fights. Many Gundam series venture into the fantastical when it comes to combat, but the combat in “Thunderbolt” is realistic, brutal, and well-thought out. By the way, if you like GMs and other grunt units, this is going to be like heaven. I'd also like to add that there is a jaw-dropping amount of details in regards to the mechanical aspects of the mobile suits. Take some time to pause every once in a while. You'll notice some insane amounts of detail. Sound: Jazz has been a major component of the musical score in the first season of “Thunderbolt.” This continues in the second season as well. Some might disagree, but the dissonance between upbeat jazz music and the brutality of war depicted on screen is perhaps one of the best things to come out of this series. The voice-acting is great. I’ve never been able to articulate my opinions adequately in regards to voice acting in general, but I will say that the voices behind Io and Bianca are outstanding. Character: For this section, I will be focusing only on Daryl (who I feel has had the worst characterization this season) and Bianca (a newcomer who I felt was a fantastic addition to the series). Daryl Lorenz is my favorite character, but I felt that his story this season was severely underdeveloped. I am aware that strong character development should not be expected in a four episode net series, but this does not hide the fact that he had relatively little growth. Many may disagree, but it is my opinion that Daryl was somewhat inconsequential in this season, which is disappointing given his massive role in the first. While there are many new characters in this entry, the most notable would be Bianca, who is a fellow Earth Federation pilot alongside Io Flemming. Her chemistry with Io Flemming is some of the best I’ve seen. Their combined love of jazz and their impressive piloting skills make them a fun pair to watch on and off the battlefield. The rest of the characters are pretty great as well, but it was Daryl and Bianca that really shaped my score for this category. Enjoyment: This show is a blast to watch. There’s more intrigue and action than you can shake a manipulator at. The gritty and mature plot will certainly appeal to those looking for a darker version of this beloved franchise, while the excellent animation will definitely appeal to those simply wanting some mecha fighting action.

Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt 2nd Season Review Story (7/10) Good More Specifically (7.75/10) Good The story for Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt 2nd Season was good, it definitely explained what was going on in the struggles of war far better than it's manga counterpart during the sections that were covered. Although even with that being said the concept of the struggles of war were indeed present you can tell that it was definitely more laid back (at least until the last episode) than season one. This arc slowly but surely introduced the monks and their realization of newtypes but I did feel it did it take a bit too long to address where all these monks came from and what their plans are even for 4 episodes. One thing Season 1 focus and portrayed were 1) The Struggles of war and what humans are willing to sacrifice to get their way and 2) Rivalry between not only the Zeon and The Earth Federation but Io and Daryl the two main character. This season 2 did still has confrontation between Zeon and the Earth Federation (as it should) but the paths that Io and Daryl have taken did not clash once (as far as I remember) this entire season and if it did and I can't remember (because you know we got one episode a month) it wasn't memorable. Anyway my point is if there's one thing that from a story standpoint that I feel Gundam does better than most anime is the rivalry story and how it plays out between the main character and antagonist, with that missing I can't sit here and say this from a story standpoint is superior or even on the same level as season 1 but it's still good nonetheless. Art and Animation (10/10) Outstanding This is one thing that Sunrise just can't go wrong with especially when it comes to this series the amount of detail in the art style and animation just looks so outstanding you pray that everything they do Gundam related brings this type of quality to the table, nothing bad in my opinion can be said about this section. Sound (8/10) Very Good More Specifically (8.75/10) Very Good The Sound effects and still very good and distinct but the BGM this time around was hit or miss for me. I feel (especially for the final episode) the whole happy go lucky music vibe that they were going for during grueling and painful scenes of death during battle felt just a tad out of place. I feel they were going for a happy/sadistic vibe of happy music during death scenes but like I said I don't feel it meshed too well although the actual music playing was good I felt it didn't really fit as well as the other BGM. The openings and endings did raise this up for me as all of them are bangers Characters (8/10) Very Good More Specifically (8.50/10) Very Good The characters that were focus one were very good, not a lot of characterization or development that happened during these four episodes. It doesn't really hurt them as characters but as far as vast and noticeable improvements in comparison to season 1 nothing really is showcased. Now Io does have some what of characterization during the last few minutes of episode 7 and the entire episode 8 as he show how much he truly cares for Claudia, which is something that was borderline unclear in season 1 so credit there is given. Enjoyment (8/10) Very Good More Specifically (8.75/10) Very Good+ My enjoyment was very good for the majority of this season although I do definitely believe this pales in comparison to my enjoyment of season 1. Because like I said for me personally I get a unique high off of the quality rivalry that Gundam also presents in it's stories so when it's not present or not good my enjoyment takes a big hit. (It's probably why I didn't enjoy the MC of Ironblooded Orphan's Mikazuki he lacked a worthy rival). Nonetheless I still enjoyed it just not as much as season 1 and feel the same will be the case if this gets a season 3. Overall (8/10) Very Good More Specifically (8.75/10) Very Good Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt 2nd Season just like Season 1 blows it's manga adaptation out the water and proves that Gundam is far better watched than read, that can't be said about every series. The sound effects in Gundam battles is something that can't be missed and it's so unique. Although I feel this isn't as good as Season 1 this is still a very good season I feel that the pacing of Thunderbolt is going to stay at the pace that it's at if do get a season 3 which it would behoove them to make one, they can't leave this story like this plus that have enough manga content to adapt it so it's only a matter of time.

The second season of "Gundam thunderbolt" is an example of an anime with good productive values being thrown away because of having a very bad story Story (2/10): The first flaw in the plot is the pacing, in the first season everything was very fast, in the second the story develops very slowly, to that is added the fact that the anime is incomplete. Another negative point is how there is no real tension in the battles, in the first season the characters made a good rivalry and that made the battles entertaining, instead in this season the characters fight against enemies that I do not give a damn about. On top of that, they dare to revive Claudia, ruining her death even more leaving a cliff hanger for a third season that never came out (and I hope it never comes out). Bianca's introduction was also a shit and a desperate attempt to add something new so that the viewer does not lose interest in this boring anime (which happened anyway). Art and sound (7/10): I don't give a damn about the animation if the plot is shit so don't cry at me saying that the animation is good and that's why my rating of this anime is wrong. Overall (2/10) because as i say i don't care about the good animation if the plot is shit.

Gundam Thunderbolt's second season is nothing more than the burned out husk of a once great show. A bold-faced insult to the glorious first season it succeeded which sucks it dry of the energy it once had in favor of hollow pandering and incomplete, shallow storytelling. Let's start with the very basic premise of this season, more specifically how it's broken from the very foundation. What defined the first season of Thunderbolt was the intense, morally gray rivalry between its two leads and the squads they represent. The show gave you time to truly get to know both Io and Daryl, grow attached to them and know their understandable reasons for fighting. This, in turn. made it all the more weighty when the two sides clashed, perpetuating their self-destructive cycle of vengeance over an ultimately-worthless sector of space in a fashion which is both exciting and tragic. It's here where Thunderbolt Season 2 utterly fails. Being set after the One Year War, the fundamental conflict which defined Season 1's themes and characters is gone, and with it goes everything which made the story interesting. In its place, we now have the South Seas Alliance, an entirely new faction whose defining traits are "is evil" and "is vaguely cult-like", made up entirely of faceless minions with no definable character traits or motivations of their own. Consequently, every battle in this season is absurdly boring, the character motivations and emotional intensity of the first season traded out for brainless, plotless schlock where no meaningful character writing or investment can be found. Now in response to this, some of you might say that a big part of what makes Thunderbolt good is that it's cool action spectacle which you can turn your brain off to, so the fact that the writing has went to shit shouldn't be a huge impediment to one's enjoyment. I'm sorry to say, however, that the action and spectacle in this season are also rather lacking. Now, to be clear, the show isn't exactly bad looking. The art style is still on point, the Mobile Suit designs are great, and the animation is a bit above your average seasonal trash, but it's still a major step down from Season 1. Moving the setting from space to Earth did a number on its action choreography, which now feels so much more sluggish and watered-down compared to the infinite creativity of the first season. The storyboarding rarely feels very striking or impactful outside of a few memorable scenes in the first episode, and the new color palette means that so very few of the visuals truly pop like they should. This isn't helped by the fact that it just *drags*. Each episode is a few minutes longer than in Season 1, and while that might not sound that bad on paper, in practice it means that the season is collectively over 20 minutes longer than the first one, yet not nearly as much happens in it. Fights are drawn out longer than they should be and the plot tying it together is too thin to justify the extra time given to it. The collective result of all this is that the entire season just feels so stale. watching through it all feels like it actively drains one's energy simply because it's so much more of a time sink next to Season 1 without nearly as much to get invested in. And coming out the other side it just feels like you've actively wasted your time. In many ways, this season feels more like a crude parody of Thunderbolt's first season than a true follow up. A work which sets out to be a vague facsimile of the action fest it looks like on the surface while failing to understand the human core which made it work. It's a truly soulless *product* rather than a *story*, and I can't in good faith recommend such a thing to anyone who truly enjoys Thunderbolt.

I don't even know where to begin with this. Too preface this, I am writing this almost purely out of contempt for Ren0001's review, as I literally could not disagree more strongly. This is one of my all time favorite anime's, as this isn't some derivative, overdone, generic anime with their "Tsundere, "B-B-aka, look up my skirt you pervert!" bullshit anime's that every main stream anime publisher seems to be pushing out in vast numbers these days. Rather, this anime actually does convey the horrors of war and the underlining tragedy that marks the whole, damn series! Seriously, in just the first two episodes we have the main federation charter already trying to recover from the loss of his quasi friend/love interest Claudia by recouping with a new female interest, minor characters from both Zion and the Federation shown realistically having to deal with the loss of their friends and family (the guy suffering from alcoholism after the loss of his wife and newborn child), and the humanization of traditionally antagonist opposition characters on the Zion side from something as simple as a love of bobble-heads to the morning of that charters death from a simple salute rendered from his friend. How you can look at this and not even begin to understand that the whole show is about something more than just two charterers fighting each other is beyond me! This season was amazing from beginning to the end. From the musical scoring, action, to even the seemingly minor actions each unnamed character committed out of emotion grief or just out of character eccentricity/personality. Rarely have I ever seen an anime which actually left a lasting impact or had something real to say as much as Gundam Thunderbolt did. We need more of this. Not Ironblooded Orphans, not ZZ, not any generic anime, but something like this with real messages beyond just action scenes. I could not rate this highly enough, and as such I enthusiastically give this a 10/10. I hope I see more from this director as I believe he truly knows the spirit of this anime and is one of the few directors who seems to be able to convey the spirit behind the original anime concept!

This review contains terms/words which are minor spoilers to the gundam universe. Read at your own volition. Story - 5 If you've thoroughly enjoyed the first season and think you can jump straight into the second season without knowing anything about the gundam universe then you're wrong. Unlike the first season which had a strong focus on war and its effects on people, the second season relies heavily on the viewer knowing about the Universal Century and important events in it. The show has many unanswered questions for people unfamiliar with UC such as: How did they rescue Io? What is the Battle of A Baoa Qu? What are Zeon Remnants? What is the state of the war? What are Newtypes? These are all things you have to be familiar with beforehand which the show does little to no explanation. And even if you did know all of that, the story is very simple and not really that interesting. It actually feels like more of an introduction to the new setting of Thunderbolt than a complete story. Art - 8 Another thing which is very subjective based on whether you're familiar with the Universal Century is the art. Sure you can say: if it's a robot and it looks cool then the art is good. But there's actually more to the design of these machines than you may realize. The main focus of this show in particular is aquatic mobile suits and it takes models from the original series and redesigns them to have more aquatic features. And although you may think: who cares? You have to realize that gundam is more than just a show, it's also basically a huge advertisement for their line of plastic model figures, and if they make the designs well enough, people will be interested in buying them so it's very important to make interesting designs which people want to buy. Animation wise it's almost as good as the first season. The fight scenes are really fluid and there aren't really any badly animated scenes considering how short this series is. The setting however is very much different and I feel it takes away from the appeal that the original series had where the setting played a huge role in the art, this one doesn't utilize it as much. Sound - 9 Soundtrack is as good as the first season. If you enjoyed the style of music in the first season, typically jazz and blues, then you'll definitely enjoy the music here as well. Character - 7 They introduce a few new characters which I really liked how they designed and introduced them. In terms of development of old characters, there's not much simply because of how short the show is but obviously it's also because they assume you've watched the first season before watching the second, there's no point reintroducing characters within such a short time frame. As I've said, this really feels like an introduction to the new setting of the Thunderbolt Series rather than a full story. There are a few new interesting characters but don't expect that they'll do anything dramatic or too exciting. Enjoyment - 9 Your enjoyment of this show is entirely based on how much you like mecha or gundam. If you're watching this without any knowledge of gundam or the Universal Century, you have to keep in mind that there are a lot of things they don't explain which are important to the story so you're basically watching it for the sake of seeing giant robots fighting and nothing else. Overall - 8 Even with a mediocre story, the art, sound and overall enjoyment of seeing giant robots fighting makes this series a really enjoyable watch. It's probably one of the best animated gundam series if nothing else.

(LAZAROTH REVIEW - MEDIUM LENGTH - SPOILER FREE) "Mobile Suit Gundam: Thunderbolt" movie/series 2, "Bandit Flower", is a visually stunning, but narratively disappointing, OVA sequel to the first OVA. This review will be shorter since most of my relevant critique is found in my first OVA review, as it carries over to here. Animation/Art/Music. Animation remains almost as stellar as the first OVA, such a beauty. There's some Mild CGI, but it's most often used sparingly to enhance a scene, rather than outright replace entire animation like most modern Mecha. Speaking of Mecha, the new mobile suits from both sides look incredible. There's some really great and creative cinematography. The varied settings due to taking place on earth rather than space is fresh, but loses some of the lustre of the first OVA. Music is experimental, which I give credit for, even if it sounds like a bunch of drunk monks moaning into the microphone at times. The jazz is jazzy, so if you're a fan, you'll like it. Story/Characters/Action: The story suffers from being too short. If it was longer, as in an entire anime season, it would feel much better as, really, not much happened in this OVA. Like, at all... I'm left with a feeling of "So that's it?", especially since it's been ALMOST A DECADE since this movie released. But I'll touch on that later, first, I need to praise the novelty of its narrative setting first. Focusing on the direct aftermath of the One year war, it's very intriguing to see the Federation and the universe as a whole dealing with Zeon remnants who won't abide by the ceasefire after the Zeon empire's full official surrender. This is the earliest content (I think?) right after the war ended, but it hasn't really ended yet until the rebel resistance is squashed forever. I love that we get something like this, as it is something that media rarely portrays. Usually in war stories that have the war end on screen, by the very next scene, the world has returned to normalcy. But in this anime, things are more realistic. There will obviously be those who never give up, too prideful or vengeful to admit defeat. There are some decently interesting ideas, but the story feels so... frivolous that I really wish they had just turned this into a 24 episode season or something. There was enough source material for that at the time, surely? Overall: This OVA was still quite entertaining due to the action, even if I didn't enjoy the story. I don't think I can even recommend that people watch this movie after they have seen the first movie. The first movie can be enjoyed in a purely visual way, the 2nd movie is more plot focused, even though the plot is extremely underbaked, partly due to this movie/series feeling like an "in-between" movie/series, but even then, it could've been better executed. As much as I think it's a cardinal sin to say this, I think you're best off watching only the fight scenes on YouTube or something :/ Bonus: I'm VERY disappointed that the Thunderbolt storyline wasn't a finished series. I hadn't realised that they were adapting an ongoing manga until it was too late. I HATE stopping in the middle of a story, especially when I have to wait YEARS AND YEARS for a continuation, as I have a horrible memory, which is part of the reason why I write such detailed reviews for almost everything I read/watch, to remember my feelings on something. I prefer to BINGE COMPLETED things, though I do make some exceptions, like with weekly/monthly manga that I keep up with. But if it's Video, I prefer binging, so I don't watch anime weekly. I wait until it's over to see all of it at once. Since there hasn't been a Thunderbolt anime in almost an entire decade, I really hate that I will probably forget the story whenever that other movie comes out, if it ever does!! Worse than that, they've only adapted 7 volumes out of 24 (with more on the way)! Usually in this situation, I'd read the manga, but I really like the animation quality of this spin-off adaptation. It was a treat for the eyes, but I guess with a story this meh, I can forgive stopping in the middle like this. Animation: 9.2/10 Action: 9.1/10 Plot: 3.0/10 Characters: 5.6/10 Ending: (It's unfair to judge an ongoing story on an arbitrary ending due to not adapting the entire thing, so no rating here...) Overall: 6.2/10 (Yes I uploaded this review twice, for both versions of the adaptation.)

The definition of a "mid Gundam spinoff". There's really nothing of worth or real interest here apart from really good animation. Why did Thunderbolt need a second season exactly? The whole story felt complete, and, surprise surprise, trying to extend on nothing gives you nothing. All the main characters already completed their arcs and s2 doesn't introduce enough new elements to tell an engaging story. God dammit I'm tired of being nice to those Gundam spinoffs; it's just shitty, boring fights. There's no depth to them, no ideologies striking each other, it's fucking military roleplay again. Why do we keep wasting animation budget on those

Well, this particular short gundam series, well the second season that I have seen of this, was actually like a gundam anime movie packed into literally four episodes that had both sides literally trying to eliminate each other, but also, it seems like each side or each individual ace pilot was trying to pause or hesitate in between or before each attack, but gathered themselves and do what they were told by the orders give above or at the "top" one should say, even though this was a short and limited anime series I still enjoyed it nonetheless. I just wish there was more of a specific story to tell about this series, they even made two side compilation movies about this, which i am definitely not going to watch.