I am purely reviewing this movie as it stands now. The effect it has had on mecha anime and anime as a whole is not considered and frankly doesn't make this movie any better. The question I am trying to answer is: "does this movie hold up compared to modern works of anime?"
With that out of the way, let's actually review this.
It doesn't take a keen eye to notice that the visuals are clearly dated. However, if you enjoy this type of eighties aesthetic you might still be able to enjoy it. And while the visuals can be seen as having a certain style to them, the audio suffers from its age far more. Sadly this makes for a rather poor listening experience.
The plot isn't anything to write home about either. The tropes that this movie popularised forty years ago have now become so widespread and have since been improved upon so greatly that this movie starts to feel like a parody of its own genre at times.
It's full of plot holes, logical inconsistensies, slow pacing and dumb character choices. The main character is a bland Mary Sue or Gary Stu, whichever you prefer and the side characters aren't too well developed either. There is a relatively interesting dynamic between our hero, Amuro and the main villain, Char. But in general, this plot has not much to offer anymore.
The strongest part of this movie is its sci-fi theme. It gives an interesting take of how people thought our future might look, and to be honest, I'm a sucker for that sort of stuff. I won't delve too far into it, as it is best to experience this for yourself.
In short, I can't recommend this movie to a broad audience anymore. Anyone who wants to watch this should be aware of this movie's shortcomings (even if they are a result of the times it was produced in).
There are plenty of movies from that time (and even way before) that have better animation, story, characters, pacing and sound design. And there are plenty of mecha anime from the last 20 years that have completely surpassed this.
P. S. Also who in their right mind came up with the name "Fraw Bow"?!
