Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket | The Gundam Retrospective

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  • Опубликовано: 30 сен 2024
  • -- THIS VIDEO CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR MSG 0080 --
    Released in 1989, Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket was Sunrise and Bandai's foray into the world of OVA's. Original Video Animations gave fans some of the most memorable anime of the 80's and 90's and Mobile Suit Gundam is no exception. Join me in this retrospective look at Gundam's first OVA, a personal story about loss and growth. With feature quality animation and soundtrack, and some of the coolest mechs around.
    Watch me live: / retcon_404
    I say stuff: / retcon_404
    Short videos here: / retcon_404
    Stream Archive: www.youtube.co....

Комментарии • 344

  • @leelee9417
    @leelee9417 2 года назад +572

    The "Don't worry Al, another war will start soon...!" line at the end of the show is genuinely one of my favorite quotes in fiction.

    • @damienhailey118
      @damienhailey118 2 года назад +164

      Worse is that, given their ages, those kids are gonna be just old enough to actually fight in the Gryps War.

    • @vetogunner
      @vetogunner Год назад +8

      i cry in that scene

    • @austinreed7343
      @austinreed7343 Год назад +28

      @@damienhailey118
      If they survive, they get to fight in the Neo Zeon wars too. Maybe also Cosmo Babylonia. Pretty sure they’d be too old for Zanscare, though.

  • @LordCornshoe
    @LordCornshoe 2 года назад +468

    Man, that scene of Al crying at the end gets me everytime. It's just incredibly sad that he's the only one who knows what really happened.

    • @blackbird7781
      @blackbird7781 2 года назад +40

      And the happy music playing just like in the beginning just aaaaahhhh!

    • @brentrazz6355
      @brentrazz6355 Год назад +7

      I was like not expecting this type of story from Gundam coming from other series to this one.

    • @sharlesdaviskendy2391
      @sharlesdaviskendy2391 Год назад +45

      The worst part is that his friends just assume he’s upset the war is over and there won’t be any more cool mobile suits and try to console him by reassuring him that there will be another war sooner or later.
      Which, considering the history in UC…

    • @nickirmen6671
      @nickirmen6671 Год назад +25

      And the fact that the one girl who hated him and tattled on him couldn't help to feel bad and comfort him too

    • @WhoamI-ll7rk
      @WhoamI-ll7rk Год назад +16

      The fact that only Al knows the truth bugs me

  • @ariaakee
    @ariaakee 2 года назад +264

    I also loved how Bernie's message for Al included a lesson for him that soldiers fight for what they think is right and that he shouldn't hold a grudge against the Gundam pilot. This is something that even the viewers forget and tend to see factions in black and white

    • @comradeweedity1648
      @comradeweedity1648 10 месяцев назад +5

      Yeah but if you think like Hitler was right, or in this case Gihren, it's pretty black and white.
      Zeon was committing massive war crimes.

    • @Romapolitan
      @Romapolitan 9 месяцев назад +8

      ​@@comradeweedity1648The point is more so in believing what's right, not doing right. Originally the Zeon just wanted to be independent and that was exploited so it could become a fascist regime, Germany hated the tready and that was exploited so it could become a fascist regime. Just like Germany we barely see Zeon conscript soldiers, except a few, actually fighting for the power hunger of those who started the war and instead they fight to survive just another day or because they got blinded by the idea of glory

    • @ezraho8449
      @ezraho8449 3 месяца назад +3

      @@comradeweedity1648I think the message is less about the greater ideologies of the factions and more about the motivations of individuals. The Zabi’s wanted to control people like Hitler but many in Zeon just wanted to obtain freedom from Earth. On a smaller scale individual soldiers fight to protect themselves or their friends (like Kira in Gundam Seed at least at the beginning).

  • @snaeper5862
    @snaeper5862 8 месяцев назад +23

    Al not only lost Bernie in the battle, but learned that Chris was the Gundam's pilot in the same moment. Whoever won that duel, he would have lost someone dear to him.

    • @thevenom2731
      @thevenom2731 8 дней назад +1

      And Chris left the colony, as well. So Al sort of lost both, anyway. Damn. At least the three of them are seen chilling in one of those Gundam Build series.

  • @matteste
    @matteste 2 года назад +153

    Just a slight correction, the Zaku has a fusion reactor, not a nuclear reactor. It uses Helium-3 as fuel and the moment the reactor is turned off the reactions inside fizzle out. The reason they sometimes go boom is if a beam weapon of some kind hit the reactor while it is running which leads to an out of control nuclear fusion reaction.

    • @solastro5595
      @solastro5595 2 года назад +7

      Still nuclear fusion hence a type of nuclear reactor

    • @matteste
      @matteste 2 года назад +12

      @@solastro5595 Nuclear reactor specifically refers to nuclear "fission" reactors. Those are reactors that make use of unstable heavy elements whose decay generates energy. Fusion reactors work entirely differently by fusing lighter elements into heavier ones which requires a completely different process.
      They are nor are they considered the same kind.

    • @DIEGhostfish
      @DIEGhostfish 2 года назад +7

      But nuclear fusion doesn't work that way, when the core is breached the fusion just stops. It can release a jet of plasma and superheat the air causing a shockwave for sure, but it won't go off like it does in these shows./

    • @warmachine5835
      @warmachine5835 Год назад +8

      @@DIEGhostfish I ended up making a headcanon for this saying that because the megaparticles used in beam weapons are a byproduct of these fusion reactions, something about getting hit with a beam takes what should normally be a dying fusion reaction and makes it runaway. Of course, this gets scuttled by the scene in 08th where they're suiciding GMs into mines in a bid to get one of their reactors to go off.
      Honestly, almost no media gets nuclear reactors right.

    • @DIEGhostfish
      @DIEGhostfish Год назад

      @@warmachine5835 I mean that commander is a moron.

  • @Raithul
    @Raithul 2 года назад +245

    0080 is honestly probably the high point of Gundam for me. It's very well animated, honestly up there with CCA for best-looking imo, short enough that it says what it needs to say without belabouring the point, and remains emotionally affecting even having watched it several times.
    Having the PoV character be such a direct audience projection for the "wow cool robot kid" is... not subtle, but it is effective. And the relationship between Al and Bernie works so well in both directions.

    • @_gungrave_6802
      @_gungrave_6802 2 года назад +6

      If only more Gundam media were written to tell a well written story rather than padded out to tell a 25 to 50 episode gunpla advertisement I'd be happy.

    • @mpo48
      @mpo48 2 года назад +8

      @@_gungrave_6802 basically you don't want gundam you want code geass, people who cant appreciate the mecha part of a mecha series shouldn't be watching these shows.

    • @sergeipancake7010
      @sergeipancake7010 Год назад +3

      @@mpo48 soy consumer be like:

    • @mpo48
      @mpo48 Год назад +3

      @@sergeipancake7010 gundam consumer, not a soy consumer, fucking hate soy.

  • @vopop30
    @vopop30 2 года назад +265

    In-universe, Sydney is totally obliterated. It was the impact sight from the colony drop at the start of the 1 Year War. Bernie really made a bad call there.
    War in the Pocket is my single favorite piece of Gundam media. I have no shame admitting I cried at the end.

    • @Raithul
      @Raithul 2 года назад +54

      Though apparently, by that point, Sydney had not actually been decided as the canonical impact point of the colony drop. So it's a lie that got worse in retrospect.

    • @DraeonKaiser
      @DraeonKaiser 2 года назад +53

      You know, the funny thing is the reason they got found out was that he said it would be snowing when it would have been summer

    • @blackbird7781
      @blackbird7781 2 года назад +25

      Saaame. I cried at the end. Especially at how the other kids didnt get it

    • @Lexbomb6464
      @Lexbomb6464 Год назад +1

      @@DraeonKaiser I don't get how that made him suspicious though.

    • @StevenBukal
      @StevenBukal Год назад +27

      That wasn't his mistake, actually. It's not like everybody raised in a city stays there for the rest of their lives. People move and travel all the time. His real mistake was confusing the seasons and talking about December snow when December is Summer in the Southern hemisphere. Especially easy mistake to make for a guy who's actually from space instead of Earth

  • @theHETOBRINE
    @theHETOBRINE 2 года назад +166

    The operation being called rubicon is very important as its a reference to the phrase crossing the rubicon which refers to crossing the point of no return.

    • @theHETOBRINE
      @theHETOBRINE 2 года назад +29

      It's also a reference to the rubicon river in Italy which supposedly crossed by ceaser in 49bc which was risky move that allowed him to win the civil war

    • @DrForrester87
      @DrForrester87 2 года назад +30

      @@theHETOBRINE That's what the point of no return means. Once Caesar cross the Little Rubicon he had no alternative but to win. He had violated Roman law by taking his army over the river. It was do or die, literally.

    • @primusvsunicron1
      @primusvsunicron1 2 года назад +12

      Had it failed Amuro would have gotten the Alex Gundam

    • @Foxxie0kun
      @Foxxie0kun 2 года назад +16

      @@primusvsunicron1 And if Amuro had gotten the Gundam Alex, it would have changed a whole lot of events going forward.

    • @seththesheriff1275
      @seththesheriff1275 Год назад +8

      @@Foxxie0kun char gets 💀

  • @lanzer22
    @lanzer22 2 года назад +49

    for those who thought the characters look familiar, (especially those brows) 0080 character designer is Haruhiko Mikimoto, famous for being the character designer for Macross and many of its spinoffs. He also designed Gunbuster and was probably the hottest designer back then.
    0080 is still my favorite Gundam OVA, but not one I would watch over and over. :)

    • @manhwafanatic
      @manhwafanatic Год назад +1

      yeah I couldn’t shake off the macross vibes the whole watch

  • @kolinmartz
    @kolinmartz 2 года назад +83

    This OVA really hit close to me watching it recently. I was once Al. War was just something on TV. Before I joined the army.

  • @robots_are_cool
    @robots_are_cool 2 года назад +118

    Great vid!
    0080 is probably the most anti-war Gundam has ever gotten, the best Christmas watch since Die Hard, and made me want a kit of the Kampfer like you wouldn't believe. 9/10 I'm ready for some mouth-watering hamburgers.

    • @Retcon404
      @Retcon404  2 года назад +18

      Holy shit I think I have to do a WITP/Die Hard christmas watch party this year. maybe serving burgers would be in bad taste...

    • @robots_are_cool
      @robots_are_cool 2 года назад +10

      @@Retcon404 the anti-Hallmark movie marathon will be one to remember

    • @NebLleb
      @NebLleb 2 года назад +5

      Nah, I wouldn't watch this at Christmas. I'd probably actually watch it back and forth with the last episodes of Mobile Suit Gundam 1979.

    • @seththesheriff1275
      @seththesheriff1275 Год назад +2

      B-Bernie...

  • @SGTSAM101ST
    @SGTSAM101ST 2 года назад +44

    I love how that if u had never seen any Gundam lore beforehand... U can still enjoy the story

    • @brentrazz6355
      @brentrazz6355 Год назад +3

      That's true

    • @thevenom2731
      @thevenom2731 8 дней назад

      True, but you do enjoy the story more with the context of the original show.

  • @Grizabeebles
    @Grizabeebles 2 года назад +68

    One of the little details I love about this OVA is how disassembling of the Zaku as part of the plan created a whole chain of lore that shows up in later entries of the series.
    If my memory is right, I believe the first models of Zaku were rolled out as colony construction equipment in order to help Zeon to hide its arms buildup before the war. That means that "under the hood" an early-model Zaku is about as alarming to a customs agent as truck engines and forklift parts.

  • @joshuaroman6479
    @joshuaroman6479 Год назад +29

    The Alex's forearm guns will always be one of my favorite features of any Gundam, and it makes sense as it's almost like a response to the shield-mounted guns that you see in the Gouf suits. This anime is so fantastic. It will always be one of my favorites.

  • @crimsonnewtype3241
    @crimsonnewtype3241 2 года назад +38

    War in the Pocket is definitely Gundam at it's core. Awesome video as always, man! Looking forward to the next ones!

  • @hitachicordoba
    @hitachicordoba 2 года назад +34

    Love the Xenogears theme playing in the background, the GOAT mecha JRPG! A life-altering PS1 game IMO. Hiroko Moriguchi is indeed our Gundam Goddess, but I would humbly submit that Christina Mackenzie, Emma Sheen, Four Murasame, Roux Rouka and Bianca Carlyle should be included in that pantheon. 0080 is my favorite UC Gundam series, IMO the Grave of the Fireflies of Mecha anime

  • @someone_one_one
    @someone_one_one 2 года назад +50

    Definitely one of the sadder entries in the Gundam universe.

    • @someone_one_one
      @someone_one_one 2 года назад +4

      Now has anyone seen mobile suit girls:a raid in the pocket

    • @daytimelantern6570
      @daytimelantern6570 2 года назад +5

      Yeah but gundam is sad in general

    • @daytimelantern6570
      @daytimelantern6570 2 года назад +1

      @Sakata Gintoki Victory fuck man that was something. IBO didn't do it for me probably need to rewacrh it

    • @daytimelantern6570
      @daytimelantern6570 2 года назад

      @Sakata Gintoki It's been a whiiile since I wached it and don't rember everything but yeah definitely the edginess wasn't something I liked but it definitely was pretty dsmm brutal in the fights they were awsome with the mele most unique thing to a gubdam show I'll give it that

    • @daytimelantern6570
      @daytimelantern6570 2 года назад

      @Sakata Gintoki Yeah def gonna rewacth it probably gonna get it on blu ray the fights were awesome and brutal just gonna have to come with more of a open mind to it thanks brody always nice to chat about gundam 😁👍

  • @tratamarack441
    @tratamarack441 2 года назад +15

    You just instictively know that Bernie is going to die when he decided to fight a gundam with a Zaku, and it feels bad...

    • @JohnnyRocker023
      @JohnnyRocker023 7 месяцев назад +2

      That's what kills me. The second you learn Chris is a gundam pilot, you know exactly what's going to happen to Bernie

  • @legomania2427
    @legomania2427 Год назад +16

    “To him, War is just something distant that happens on tv” my man, you’re giving me Ace Combat 04 intro cutscene flashbacks.

  • @thepronoob4039
    @thepronoob4039 2 года назад +118

    War in the Pocket is amazing. From the heart wrenching story, the gorgeous battle scenes, great mechanical designs and also one of the greatest OST from any anime.
    9/10 a must watch for all Gundam and Mecha fans.

    • @kendonl.taylor5111
      @kendonl.taylor5111 2 года назад

      Is War in the Pocket canon?

    • @thepronoob4039
      @thepronoob4039 2 года назад +3

      @@kendonl.taylor5111 every anime is canon. Questions about canonicity only really comes up when it comes to side content like manga or novels.

    • @jrockoclock7088
      @jrockoclock7088 Год назад +3

      It also has a nice meta-commentary on the whole idea of gundam where it's like yeah war has cool shit in it but at the end of the day it personally affects you and sucks. That tank looks cool until it breaks down your house. Or your friend was in it when it got blown up. Really does a good job of bringing that home in even a fantastical situation

    • @thepronoob4039
      @thepronoob4039 Год назад +1

      @@jrockoclock7088 Al is, in my opinion, the best reader/viewer surrogate I've ever seen in all the stories I have read. Representing the innocence about war for most of the anime's viewer with his age and viewpoint. It is extremely easy to see yourself in him and empathize when eventually shit hits the fan.

    • @OPTIMUSL1ME
      @OPTIMUSL1ME 4 месяца назад

      ​@@thepronoob4039 Thunderbolt is not canon

  • @DIEGhostfish
    @DIEGhostfish 2 года назад +15

    Too depressing to watch without immediately following up with the Build Fighters episode where the main three are all happily living in the BF Universe.

  • @thefirstguyjaek255
    @thefirstguyjaek255 2 года назад +21

    Al watching the firefight says a lot about his preparedness for war and how little distance there can be. He is seeing people he now knows getting ripped to shreds and dying. That went beyond his imagination

  • @WatcherMovie008
    @WatcherMovie008 2 года назад +15

    Al's parents are not separated. Al's dad keeps him away from Side 6 so he rarely gets time to be at home. It reflects the actual situation in Japan where the father leaves quite early in the day and usually never comes back home until very late at night. If anything, it more of Al's parents just not spending more time with Al and being passive with him.

  • @themarky2714
    @themarky2714 2 года назад +12

    Al IMO is one of the best characters in the franchise, a mirror to the people who partake in the phenomenon that is Gundam. Rich in self-deprecation, naivety, and irony.
    He's up there with Char, Garrod, Kihel/Diana and Lockons.

    • @JohnnyRocker023
      @JohnnyRocker023 7 месяцев назад +1

      His friends are also sort of the meme of the "war is bad" message going over the guy saying "wow cool robot".
      We can have both tho the robots are cool but war is bad

  • @LOH3NGR1N
    @LOH3NGR1N 2 года назад +35

    This is one of my Favorite Gundam series. Excited to hear your takes!
    After watching, I have to say you gave a great run down and I love how you explained the characters. The development they did for such a short story is what drew me in. You get so attached so quickly then poof they're gone and it gives such a heavy emotional impact. Going to binge your other Gundam videos now as I build an Exia MG

    • @Retcon404
      @Retcon404  2 года назад +3

      I'm glad you enjoyed! Good luck on that MG sounds like a fun build

    • @jasonbourne5922
      @jasonbourne5922 2 года назад +2

      @@Retcon404 You ever thought of doing the 8th MS Team? It's also good.

  • @Pokey_Puni_
    @Pokey_Puni_ 2 года назад +26

    This is one of the peaks of gundam, no question or doubt about it.

  • @RedDragonM1
    @RedDragonM1 2 года назад +18

    This was to me, one of the BEST Gundam OVAS....and one of the most tragic....the ending with Al just breaking down into tears sums it all up for me.

  • @eshaw2115
    @eshaw2115 2 года назад +12

    With a last name like Killing, you'd think he would be a pacifist....LOL.

  • @_gungrave_6802
    @_gungrave_6802 2 года назад +3

    As cool as the kampfer was it is not a mech designed for open combat. It is purely a hit and run mech as it quite literally has no armor. It is the mobile suit definition of a glass cannon to where even a zaku 1 or the the zaku prototypes from Origin could kill it.

  • @terrelltownsend8016
    @terrelltownsend8016 Год назад +2

    What's sad about Bernie's death is that he died for nothing. A Zeon fleet was going to nuke the colony if the Alex Gundam wasn't destroyed, but the Federation prevented it.

  • @trazyntheinfinite9895
    @trazyntheinfinite9895 2 года назад +9

    Oh btw: war in the pocket is a major keyhole moment back into time.
    "If only we had mobile phones in this story about giant robots."

  • @TekkaSage
    @TekkaSage 2 года назад +6

    Bernie lying about being one kill away from being an ACE pilot isn't much of a lie by the end of the anime. Destroying a Gundam was seen as making you an ACE in the eyes of Zeon.

  • @StevenBukal
    @StevenBukal Год назад +4

    I've watched all the UC Gundam series from '79 to Unicorn and I honestly think 0080 does the best job of actually conveying the messaging the franchise is going for. The mainline series all have a fundamental incoherence to them: "War is hell ... now watch our cast of magical space psychics take on entire armies and win and personally change the fates of nations". We do see devastation and consequences for the cast, but ultimately these are romantic stories of war driven by heroic figures. 0080 shows the hell of war at every level. Leaders are corrupt and spend the lives of their men to advance their own interests. Soldiers are deeply flawed people doing what they feel they have to, just like we all are. And there are no heroes on a battlefield, the random violence of war kills good men, bad men, and innocents indiscriminately and often for no reason at all

  • @danethorson
    @danethorson 9 месяцев назад +3

    One can only imagine how battle at A Baoa Qu would go if Amuro actually received Alex. He would destroy Char.
    And Bernie gets huge credit for heavily damaging Alex. He does it through cleveryly set up traps, deception and surprise attack. This is huge achievment because if you have watched original series, you know that Zaku can't even scratch a Gundam.

  • @manhwafanatic
    @manhwafanatic Год назад +5

    I was so impressed by how much money was visible on this mini series. I honestly thought the first episode would be a self contained movie movie but it just kept going! The cuts are short and dynamic(for live action this is the cheap method but for animation it’s the opposite), often the shots are wide and there were times when there were two digit number of independently moving characters on screen. It’s unreal to me how much work was put in, and it’s sad to see we probably won’t ever see this kind of show again from that side of the Pacific.

  • @russell5700
    @russell5700 2 года назад +12

    I've made it my goal to watch all of universal century over the past year or so and I'm getting very close to the end. I very much enjoyed watching your video series thus far and I'm looking forward to seeing your takes on later installments in particular 08th MS team and 0083.

    • @Retcon404
      @Retcon404  2 года назад +3

      Thanks! The UC is quite a trip, I started with my rewatch of the original back in October and have been going strong since.

  • @nicodalusong149
    @nicodalusong149 2 года назад +14

    Yes, F91 is less sad. It's the opening to a new era of gundam in more ways than one (that was the intent anyway). Crossbone Gundam isn't animated yet but it's essentially official material and it's quite a ride being the continuation to F91. I'll say it now before you get to it, Seabook and Cecily are probably the absolutely most successful couple in any gundam show or universe.
    On the topic of War in the Pocket, yeah, the movie is basically about the reality of the outside world reaching in and slapping Al so hard it knocks the brat right out of him. There's actually a post-story to War in the Pocket that a few of the japanese gundam channels cover. If I remember rightly, sometime after the events of the movie, Chris leaves the colony again and sends a letter to Al which talks about a number of things such as how she's been doing, checking in with Al and asking about Bernie (she still has no clue and is still interested). I forget the rest of the other details but I suggest you try looking for it if you have the time.

    • @justarandomyoutubeuser5074
      @justarandomyoutubeuser5074 2 года назад +5

      the crossbones fans will be crossbones themselves by the time an adaptation comes out

    • @nicodalusong149
      @nicodalusong149 2 года назад +2

      @@justarandomyoutubeuser5074 At the rate we're going, that just might be the case.

    • @solastro5595
      @solastro5595 2 года назад +2

      The scene where a shell hits a random mothers head is brutal and then I watched victory gundam and oppffff

    • @nicodalusong149
      @nicodalusong149 2 года назад +4

      @@solastro5595 Victory is Tomino in depression part 2. It's not just Zeta level but even worse. That's why the deaths become more ridiculously over-the-top.

  • @madmachanicest9955
    @madmachanicest9955 Год назад +2

    I think people need to give Berny a bet more credit he should have had no chance at ALL fright the Alex. He did did destroy the gundam in the end but died doing it. that max hem a great pilot if you ask me.

  • @blackbird7781
    @blackbird7781 2 года назад +7

    Ngl, Gundam 0080 War in the pocket personally had the best story IMO

  • @TheVgrey
    @TheVgrey 2 года назад +5

    I love war in a pocket but boy what a downer

  • @Maioly
    @Maioly 2 года назад +13

    The one saving grace of srw gc for me is that you can save bernie by using the games gmmicky lomb targetting mechanics
    Pity he all but disappears from the plot anyway cuz the writing on that game is painfully average by srw standards.

    • @primusvsunicron1
      @primusvsunicron1 2 года назад +3

      GC also lets Amuro use the Alex

    • @marcosdheleno
      @marcosdheleno 2 года назад

      you could try sd gundam ds. probably the best sd g gen game, since it manages to mix alot of random events from diferent universes and make them into one straight line(well technically 2 or 3).
      for example, i will never forget the mission where you go with the zeta fight not just the titans, but also the federation from seed. or how mu pilots a core booster and then a gaplant instead of the moebius->skygrasper(even though the moebius 0 is one of my favorite MAs in the franchise, and hands down the reason i even started watching seed back in the day).

  • @brunnen1
    @brunnen1 2 года назад +5

    theres a japanese commercial for 0080 dvd that has an older al narrating it reflecting on his time with bernie

  • @rusticbox9908
    @rusticbox9908 8 месяцев назад +3

    17:23 it's Christmas time because it's running in parallel with Gundam 0079 late December Abao Qu, to not confuse the audience they called it 0080. It's actually Late December 0079 and the NT-1 did not make it to Amuro due to the attack on the Antarctica base.

  • @daytimelantern6570
    @daytimelantern6570 2 года назад +8

    War in the Pocket has a speical place in my heart it's favorite ova in general the ending is just fucking depressing also Al's cousin is waifu material

    • @Fabonj
      @Fabonj 2 года назад +2

      Whoo-ee, this comment is an emotional roller coaster!

  • @KnightShadowsong
    @KnightShadowsong Год назад +4

    "after her recovers from the blunt force trauma" Best line i've ever heard right there.

  • @charaznable6597
    @charaznable6597 2 года назад +11

    i see the Gundam Ovas as stories exploring the effects on different groups in war. the common soldier that rises to greatness, a starry eyed ensign that becomes dispossessed with the earth federation, the children that are allowed to glorify war as a game versus its reality

  • @Jetblast01
    @Jetblast01 2 года назад +2

    Giant robots are cool...only when YOU get to be the pilot. Otherwise, it's completely nightmarish.

  • @tokyobassist
    @tokyobassist 2 года назад +9

    This one probably has my favorite music of any of the UC series. That score that plays during Cyclops team's mission at the beginning and the one during the Kampfer fight is straight fuego.

    • @ZombryaTheDark
      @ZombryaTheDark 2 года назад +1

      Yeah. That synth is haunting during the kampfer vs the Alex

    • @Johnnybomb1
      @Johnnybomb1 Год назад +2

      @@ZombryaTheDark Unfortunately, that particular piece of music is unreleased, and never appeared on the Original Soundtrack, along with a few others.

  • @demomanchaos
    @demomanchaos 2 года назад +5

    Bernie's final video made be lose it in a way damn near nothing I've watched had. Not a lot hit me like that, but damn that one stung me right in the feels.

    • @Retcon404
      @Retcon404  2 года назад +1

      Such a great ending to this show.

  • @ez-8238
    @ez-8238 2 года назад +3

    My number 1 is war in the pocket My number 2 is 8th ms team.

  • @KageNoTora74
    @KageNoTora74 2 года назад +4

    I was fifteen years old when War in the Pocket was released. The Alex was among the first Gunpla I built.

  • @onryu
    @onryu 2 года назад +7

    We need more shows like war in the pocket, I always find myself asking how many solders/people die in space battles when each ship blows up, or ground battles when a entire building full of civilians crumbles during a battle

    • @hitachicordoba
      @hitachicordoba 2 года назад +1

      Legend of the Galactic Heroes (OG on HiDive and DNT remake on Crunchy) shows massive scale space tactical battles with millions of casualties- the greatest space opera of all time.

    • @onryu
      @onryu 2 года назад

      @@hitachicordoba might have to check that out

    • @onryu
      @onryu 2 года назад

      @@hitachicordoba I found 3 seasons of it, think I found the first season

  • @jrockoclock7088
    @jrockoclock7088 Год назад +1

    I agree with the last part, and I think this series is pointing a finger at the audience who are like Al. Al's sort of a contrarian who likes zakus, but clearly has no concept because even the drawing he makes at the beginning has a GM shield. He just likes the idea of the adventure and fantastical elements of it, but at the end of the day he is confronted by the brutality, and the pacing of the show is interesting in that regard because it's pretty mellow until the kampfer is completed and the cyclops team is ready for their assault and then everything moves extremely fast.
    The point is yeah tanks or mechs or whatever are cool until your friend gets ace'd and it's a childish notion that this can't affect you. Al is the proxy for people who are eager for war but have no concept or foresight for how it might actually impact them.
    Also side note about "oh this is so anti war then why are the mechs so cool looking" war machines just look cool and intimidating that's a crucial element. Even WWI razzle dazzle camo looked dope as fuck. If they looked stupid as shit they wouldn't be plausible or intimidating, plus hasbro has to make some money.

  • @MegaKirbySuperstar
    @MegaKirbySuperstar Месяц назад +1

    This is a top tier Gundam for me. It looks great, tells a good self contained story, anyone can watch it whether they are familiar with Gundam or not (as long as they know what they're in for with "show with big robot"), it's emotionally effective, and even makes good commentary on the folks who consume Gundam. It's just solid. It's a favorite.

  • @jl8060
    @jl8060 2 года назад +10

    Differing from my opinions of most of UC so far, I actually love War in the Pocket and is my favorite UC entry and definitely one of the higher points for me. The small scale story when compared to the larger events help ground the One Year War timeline in believability, no Newtype BS in the way. The relationship between all of the characters are engaging, and I cared more about one death in this series than all of the deaths in Zeta and Victory combined. To add to the bleakness of it, it was unlikely the Alex would've done much had it been delivered, with the war being in its final stages, truly being a pointless endeavor and really hitting that anti-war message that is done exceptionally well here. Al may be too on the nose for those shallow Gundam fans that he basically portrays, really only liking Zeon for their cooler looking suits. I don't know what it is about the Alex, but it's another favorite of mine too. I only wish that it were more popular when people seem to only care about Stardust Memories or 8th MS Team as noteworthy OVAs.

    • @Retcon404
      @Retcon404  2 года назад +4

      I really loved War in the Pocket, great entry that really shows the heart of Gundam.

    • @jl8060
      @jl8060 2 года назад

      @@Retcon404 Very true. In all honesty, it is all of what my pre-conceived notions of Gundam were fitted right into one tight package.

    • @Reragi
      @Reragi Год назад +2

      08th MS Team may be a shining showcase of what Gundam is, but War In The Pocket is a perfect example of what Gundam is all about.

    • @jl8060
      @jl8060 Год назад +2

      @@Reragi 100% agree wholeheartedly. 8th MS Team is good at showcasing what Gundam is to a regular person, but the core heart of it is what makes War in the Pocket the best for me still.

  • @TheVgrey
    @TheVgrey 2 года назад +3

    I recognize xenogears music

  • @miles2378
    @miles2378 2 года назад +4

    I was that age during the First Gulf war.

    • @nurlindafsihotang49
      @nurlindafsihotang49 Год назад

      Same here. The start of realization i would grows up in crazy decade, 8 years later our country's 32 years dictator toppled down and my country almost engulfed in civil war.

  • @CrimsonMey
    @CrimsonMey 5 месяцев назад +1

    I've always thought that Al wasn't just dumb kid who was too young to understand war and the consequences thereof. Throughout the show he was shown as incredibly smart and manipulative. He could spin a well crafted lie on the spot. He understood the motivations of people and know what to say to make them sympathetic to his cause. I really think that at that point in his troubled life, Al just couldn't care less. He wanted to experience being the main character in his own story instead of the kid with bad grades and parents on the brink of a divorce. I think if he hadn't experienced what he did, he could have had the potential to grow up into a bad egg. I think he learned empathy and regained his humanity.

  • @sharlesdaviskendy2391
    @sharlesdaviskendy2391 Год назад +1

    One of the interesting tidbits the movie didn’t mention is how absolutely pointless everything happening here is from the viewer’s perspective.
    The Federation is working real hard to finish the Alex, but we know the Alex won’t be finished in time.
    Meanwhile Zeon is desperate to destroy it but, again, it is meaningless.
    At every step characters do what’s right from their perspective and at every step doing the “right thing” is the absolutely worst thing they can do.

  • @OCTO358
    @OCTO358 Год назад +4

    Props for using Front Mission OST in this video.

  • @lumpenada977
    @lumpenada977 Год назад +1

    "Zakus are way cooler! GMS suck!" - You know that line was very well intended to reference the audience.

  • @moralitiesaspook168
    @moralitiesaspook168 2 года назад +4

    I cry watching the end every time

  • @KurtBarcelona
    @KurtBarcelona Год назад +1

    this was the most tragic gundam that I've ever watched and experienced. Sad

  • @pippupaladin
    @pippupaladin Год назад +1

    i mean guns ARE pretty cool and i'd be hyped as hell to get to handle one when i was 11, but i admit this kid getting a gun would be a bad idea

  • @warmachine5835
    @warmachine5835 Год назад +2

    Holy shit I missed the frog torture line completely jesus christ.

  • @ct_tele
    @ct_tele 2 года назад +4

    YES MOM!

    • @Retcon404
      @Retcon404  2 года назад

      I actually cut that part down it went even longer lol. When I was watching this and Al says "Youre getting a divorce?" I started laughing so hard. This dub has some really funny lines in it.

  • @tm2jetfire
    @tm2jetfire Год назад +1

    It works great as a feature-length film if you splice it together and remove most of the op/ed sections. Blu ray should have included a marathon mode like AoT.

  • @kevinlin4895
    @kevinlin4895 2 года назад +3

    I watched this over 30 years ago and still remember it as vividly as yesterday. It was my first exposure to the franchise (technically Zeta but only read about it, didn't see it until much later). Gundam has always been about the human side of the story, with complex characters and plot. That's what attracted me to the franchise. I remember when I watched it as a teenager the thing that immediately struck me was the contrast with North American cinema, never mind animation.. which I guarantee.. Al would be able to stop the fight and Chris+Bernie live happily ever after.

  • @webfox100
    @webfox100 2 года назад +4

    Sorry to hear you were sick. Glad you are feeling better. Good video.

    • @Retcon404
      @Retcon404  2 года назад +1

      Thanks! yeah it feels good to be not sick for sure

  • @echocodeenvy8491
    @echocodeenvy8491 21 день назад +1

    This is the live action movie 🎥 we need

  • @NebLleb
    @NebLleb 2 года назад +2

    What was next? The franchise's first OVA and the opportunity with it to be experimental with the first Gundam show Tomino didn't have a hand in.
    As I make my way through the original series, I'm definitely going to alternate between Mobile Suit Gundam 1979 and 0080: War in the Pocket when I reach the final half of the series. Also, I have a Master Grade kit of the Gundam NT-1 (the destroyer of dreams at the heart of 0080's yarn) and am currently waiting for replacement parts of this writing due to how its wrist joints weren't made correctly.

  • @vladlock
    @vladlock Год назад +2

    I went and watched this show specifically because of how well this video portrayed the show.

  • @linkkenni
    @linkkenni 2 года назад +4

    The Star Ocean 2 dungeon track made me double take. Love that OST.

    • @Retcon404
      @Retcon404  2 года назад +1

      Love the series, have never been able to play SO2 all the way through but I definitely want to.

  • @bradthomas3144
    @bradthomas3144 2 года назад +2

    Have you watch winter in wartime it's was about a young boy find about a underground resitence

    • @Retcon404
      @Retcon404  2 года назад

      I have not, I'll have to look it up and add it to the list.

    • @bradthomas3144
      @bradthomas3144 2 года назад

      Yeah I watch it wen I had Netflix

  • @marcosdheleno
    @marcosdheleno 2 года назад +7

    whenever someone asks me what's the best entry point for the franchise, when it comes to UC, i always says, start with either MS IGLOO or War in the Pocket.
    those are 2 small 6 episode series that really manage to show what gundam is all about, both in therms of the drama of war, but also how it breaks those involved in it, and even how each side has its own story and point of view.

  • @epis8613
    @epis8613 2 года назад +9

    Got this as an afterthought many years ago along with Char's counterattack. I did not expect this to be by far my preference between the two. Highly underrated.

  • @BIGhappyG33
    @BIGhappyG33 9 месяцев назад +1

    Let’s be honest. Additional armor or no, those mines should have shredded the Alex wrapped up the way it was

  • @lawzy7172
    @lawzy7172 Год назад +1

    the dub scenes hurt me but i love this retrospective series anyway

  • @dangerwarg9682
    @dangerwarg9682 Год назад +1

    Unable to process it...? Dude, Al is the only one who knows what happened. Anyone would cry over that if it happened to them and their friend, especially when it didn't have to be like that.

  • @tdnavy1066
    @tdnavy1066 Год назад +2

    This is easily my second favorite Gundam show after the 08th MS Team.

  • @egmccann
    @egmccann 2 года назад +2

    Have to say War in the Pocket's one of my favourite Gundam shows. Yeah, I like the others to varying degrees, some for the story, some for the designs, but I think I like this in no small part for the lack of "teen somehow gets into top secret military mech and saves the world." It's just good.

  • @MeSpawn297
    @MeSpawn297 Год назад +1

    HamBernie is one of those lines that was so shocking my imaginary image of it is still etched on my soul.

  • @Dragos23
    @Dragos23 2 года назад +3

    Keep up the amazing work! Really enjoying the gundam retrospectives

  • @gwenfairholm8080
    @gwenfairholm8080 2 года назад +4

    Im loving the gundam retrospective! Looking forward to the next video!

    • @Retcon404
      @Retcon404  2 года назад +1

      Thank you very much!

    • @gwenfairholm8080
      @gwenfairholm8080 2 года назад +1

      @@Retcon404 of course! Thank you for helping me get caught up on my new favorite franchise faster!

  • @brentrazz6355
    @brentrazz6355 2 года назад +3

    It's one of the strongest Gundam story for me.

  • @joe718gt4
    @joe718gt4 2 дня назад

    I remember watching this for the first time and being disappointed after the Arctic battle. Pretty slow. But then finally got the point. Good thing they amped it up at the end too

  • @WorthlessWinner
    @WorthlessWinner 2 года назад +2

    Kinda odd Bernie said he's from Australia given Operation British

    • @Retcon404
      @Retcon404  2 года назад +1

      I think other people said at the time that 0080 released Australia hadn't been decided as the target of the colony drop in cannon yet. Didn't age well though lol.

    • @WorthlessWinner
      @WorthlessWinner 2 года назад +1

      @@Retcon404 - yeah, just listened to the gundam breakdown podcast episode on this show and they give a detailed explanation of when this became cannon. I completely forgot that this wasn't revealed in MSG

  • @worstthingsfirst
    @worstthingsfirst Год назад +1

    The team at Toonami knew what they were doing when they aired this in November 2001. A bunch of American kids just saw an attack on their country two months prior and war was inevitable.

  • @Che1seabluesdrogba11
    @Che1seabluesdrogba11 2 года назад +1

    Thats crazy an arm mounted Gatling defeats the enemy unit lol

  • @MrShiki1134
    @MrShiki1134 Год назад

    In my head canon... Bernie survived ... and went on to retire from the military and marrying the alex pilot... 😂😂😂

  • @byte.mp311
    @byte.mp311 Год назад +1

    I started watching 0080 because of gunpla, my first kit was the HG GM Sniper II. Watching the rest of the shows I can confidently say that 0080 is one of the best pieces of Gundam media behind CCA.

  • @louisduarte8763
    @louisduarte8763 Год назад

    14:40 And also hear Solid Snake totally fail at stealth infiltration.
    16:06 DAY-UMN! She turned that thing into Swiss cheese! The lesson here is: never bring a (laser) sword to a (mini) gun fight.
    Looking back on "War in the Pocket", I see Al is almost Too Dumb To Live (and possibly psycho), Bernie's just a regular guy caught up in big events beyond his control while working under some terrible people (really, Col. Killing offs his own superior officer to take his place, orders a nuclear attack on a neutral colony, and the Kampfer sounds like something the Nazis would have built in WWII), and Chris... is pretty cute as well as a total badass. Really, one of the few female Gundam pilots across the franchise who's also not a NewType? That needs recognition.

  • @JayImahara
    @JayImahara 2 года назад +1

    As a kid growing up with Wing, G, and 0079 back in the Toonami days, the only thing that I got from the shows was how cool the gundams were, how flashy they were, and of course the moody protagonists. It wasn't until my early teens when I discovered 0080 where the anti war messages and the horrors of it finally clicked. It hit hard, but it made me appreciate the whole package of gundam that much more.
    Great retrospect as always.

  • @jefftc14
    @jefftc14 Год назад

    I hated this when I first watched it because I couldn't stand the kid being a traitor etc.... but it's actually a really amazing OVA... not a whole lot of action but a great message and storytelling etc.. also Kampfer and Alex FTW

  • @ワンダフルバニーモヒロザ

    Earlier in the show, it is mentioned that Bernie is bad at lying and that he can't help but look away when he lies. In his video letter, when he is saying some macho nothing about wanting to fight the gundam, he is looking away. But when he is telling Al not to hate Federation soldiers for his death, he is looking straight at the camera. God I love this show.

  • @Hoju3942
    @Hoju3942 Год назад

    ...MechWarrior 2 music! Beautiful! Also, war is bad.

  • @pauljordan0203
    @pauljordan0203 7 месяцев назад

    I own the 1/144 HG Kampfer model kit, and I custom painted red, cause I thought it would look cool in that color.

  • @Brobro7SF
    @Brobro7SF 7 месяцев назад

    Apparently the kampfer weighs a bit less than a Sherman tank. It was built with titanium and ceramics composites.

  • @pauljordan0203
    @pauljordan0203 7 месяцев назад

    you know, they show these side story mini series, introduce these characters only once each, and yet after that, in Zeta, Double Zeta, Char's Counterattack, Unicorn, you NEVER hear the mention of their names in any of the main timeline of the UC storyline.

  • @diego_villena
    @diego_villena 7 месяцев назад

    Is there any theory on why Killing was so hellbent on nuking the colony? Did he really just want the gundam gone that bad, or was there something else at play? Politically, that’s big move that I’m not sure is a locked net positive, even in Zeon.