Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket

This anime is an amazing deconstruction of war, showing that the mobile suits that the Earth Federation and Zeon use are more than just "Cool looking robots", they're essentially death machines, and it shows how War affects civilians and our youth. A real amazing piece of work and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes an emotional story about war.

When Gundam0079 became the movie trilogy most of us are familiar with, a lot of it was sheer action and less of anything else. This OVA is kinda the opposite. Though there're only half a dozen episodes, it isn't filled with action, but emotional things. The two main action sequences in this, I believe, are enough to satisfy me. After seeing so many gundam series, movies, and OVAs, I was completely ready for a civilian-esquire movie. This movie did a fantastic job of that. What makes this movie stand out is that shows both sides of the war have good and bad people. It made the Zeons seem more human rather than the original movies where they're depicted as the second rise of evil Nazis. Most people that don't like anime that I've forced to watch this movie (lol), liked it. So, I'd recommend it to a lot of people just for the anti-war story. If you're a Gundam fan, and haven't seen this, you shouldn't be reading this; you should already be watching it right now.

If you are uninitiated to the Gundam world, this is a good place to start. If you are burned out on Star Wars or Star Trek, here is a compelling, realistic sci-fi series you can become immersed in. Not the simplistic boy-saves-world-in-giant robot story you might have expected, but rather a complex, emotionally compelling space war drama where the line between the "good" and "bad" guys is decidedly less than distinct.

Gundam 0080 focuses on the story of Al Izuruha, a young, naive boy living in a neutral space colony. He spends his days daydreaming about Mobile Suits and playing war with his friends. During the course of this series, Al befriends an "enemy" soldier, Bernie Wiseman. By the end, little Al learns some hard lessons about the reality of war and the requisite suffering and sacrifice.

I loved this OAV series, with its cool mecha designs, involving story, and likeable characters. I recommend this series to anyone who likes realistic SF anime, or to those who think anime is just silly or sexy entertainment.

this series made for video has the same essence of all the gundam series and movies: a dramatic atmosphere and exciting battles. the story is about an 11-year-old boy named Al Izuruha who is simply fascinated by war and the mobile suits used in combat. He roots for the Zeon Army (the "bad guys"), this is easily explained because he lives in a neutral space colony. His neighbor is a girl named Cristina MacKenzie who is an Earth Federation test pilot. She is going to test the new Gundam "Alex" which is sent from Earth not before being chased by the Zeon special forces "Cyclops" Team. Al befriends Zeon pilot Bernie Wiseman, whose mobile suit is shot down. Bernie is part of the Cyclops team who infiltrated the colony undercover and smuggling a mobile suit named "Kaempfer" to seek and destroy the new Gundam, which once tested thoroughly, will be sent to Amuro Ray, the best Gundam pilot in the One Year War. While the Cyclops team tries to avoid that, Bernie, Al, and Cristina become very good friends.

The climax of this series is charged with emotions that will make anyone who isn't a sci-fi or war fan feel the same thing that Al experiences towards the end, which is tragic in a way. The final scene is one that any director would want to put in his movie to win an Oscar.

The series related to this Gundam saga are Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) and 08th MS Team (1996).

UC 0079, the One Year War is almost at an end. A neutral colony of Side 6 has been targeted by Cyclops, a Zeon task force. Their target, a new Gundam being built exclusively for Newtypes (supposedly built for Amuro Ray from the original Gundam saga) inside. When little boy Al Izuruha, a fan of Zeon MS, encounters a Zaku after battle breaks out in the colony, he befriends newbie MS pilot Benard "Bernie" Wiseman. The two become good friends, Al is treated as an honorary member of the Cyclops team. Through the show, Bernie acts as a father figure to Al (whose real father is always working) and seems to be taken with Federation pilot Christina McKenzie, but eventually they must meet....in battle. Al soon learns that war is not child's play and Bernie must choose to make the ultimate sacrifice to complete his mission.

For only 6 episodes, Gundam 0080 is a well done show. The mobile suits are extremely well designed, and the animation may look dated but really shows emotion in the characters. If you liked 0083 then check this one out, or if you are new to the Gundam world, this is a good show to start with. If you look to a show for drama and character development, this is the one for you, it focuses more on that then mobile suit battle. I would rate it more of a drama than action.

Mobile Suit Gundam 0080, War in the Pocket.

Sometimes you have to lose to win.