Kidô senshi Gandamu II: Ai senshihen

The war between the Principality of Zeon and the Earth Federation continues as the crew of the White Base and Gundam pilot Amuro Ray fight Zeon's Earth Occupation Force as Amuro struggles with the realization that he's a offshoot of humanity called a "Newtype" and what that entails for him in the ever blurring lines of the conflict.

The second film in the compilation film trilogy of Mobile Suit Gundam's first series, Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow continues the story of Amuro Ray as the pilot of the Gundam with White Base engaged in an earthbound conflct with Zeon's forces. Like the previous series entry, Soldiers of Sorrow is primarily made from episodes of the show and like the previous film it hits all the expected beats but doesn't really form a cohesive whole.

For me a lot of Soldiers of Sorrow felt like a "bridge" entry in the trilogy in that it exists simply as set-up for the payoffs in the third film. While sometimes "bridges" are necessary in storytelling, Soldiers of Sorrow is a case where it makes it maybe a tad more obvious that it's a bridge point than it should. There's a part of the movie where Amuro Ray is at odds with White Base commander Bright Noa due to Amuro's suspected status as a "Newtype" leading to Amuro being sidelined temporary for reasons that don't really resonate all that well since we're really not told what a "Newtype" is until quite a ways into the movie. There are some solid story beats in the film such as subplot between an self-interested dismissive pilot named Kai who falls for Miharu, a reluctant Zeon spy who has no love for Zeon but does what she does to support her younger brother and sister after the loss of their parents and it falls nicely under the series/film's explorations of war in how it effects regular people who are just trying to survive and have no interest in the political machinations of the conflict. But aside from that, most of this really just feels like set-up for the confrontations in the final film.

Soldiers of Sorrow is okay. It boast the same engaging action as the first film, but there's not as much emotional resonance with the characters this time around. It's worth a viewing simply for the sake of completing the trilogy and seeing the story as told in film format, but it's a little messy in the execution.