Kidou Senshi Gundam Thunderbolt: December Sky

Given that this movie is a modified version of the ONA with one new scene added in, and the fact that I've already tackled the original OVA, I think it's only fitting that I modify said review and add to it, not out of disrespect for this movie, since I would never disrespect something so great, but because I feel like talking about Gundam Thunderbolt again since it's so damn good, and if I did, I would largely come up with the same review at best and something inferior at worst. So, enjoy. *SPOILERS FOR MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM THUNDERBOLT* Thunderbolt is definitely an interesting installment within theUniversal Century timeline of Gundam. It preaches what we all know by now: war is hell. However, it doesn't do this in a manner that makes it come off as obnoxiously preachy like say, Gundam 00 Second Season, and it doesn't do that in away that involves shooting the quality of its writing in the foot like say, Gundam SEED and SEED Destiny (aka the entire Cosmic Era). At the same time, with hardly even a 1/20 of the length as the Cosmic Era in its entirety, and a mere 1/8 of the amount of runtime as 00 S2, it manages to do far more than both of those series in terms of actually showing just how fucked up war can be. Then again, a large number of series in the UC timeline is dedicated to this. So, even though it does more with the famous "war is hell" angle, does it stand on enough other merits to warrant being called a good addition to Universal Century? Let's find out, shall we? STORY: 8/10 This is a side-story in the ongoing war between the Earth Federation and Zeon. As such, that war it referenced constantly and this is just an ongoing battle in one battlefield, as if it were WWI, where one battalion could be facing off against another in the same battlefield for months. Each side in this particular battlefield near Space Colony Side 4 had a key player: Io Fleming for the EF and Daryl Lorenz for Zeon. Each of them has some baggage that lead them to this war, and it's all done with no words; it's just the music and visuals which are left to speak the backstory to us. I can appreciate this kind of storytelling, where you don't need words to convey something important about the characters, and that's not something you can easily pull off. In the actual battlefield, we get to see just how messed up it all can be, especially when kids are involved in the battle and are forced to panicky as they are slaughtered like their experienced soldier brethren. Some of the soldiers and captains risk their lives to save their crew, be given how much pride both sides have, they'd rather die than flee or get captured, and it doesn't turn out pretty for the captain of the this Earth Federation mothership, who ends up getting killed by her soldiers over this same issue. Even the Zeon are willing to fight to the death and die in an explosion than get arrested, which is what they try to do in episode 4 when they're infiltrated. Meanwhile, Io and Daryl, who plow through each other's soldiers and get their own special mobile suits (Full Armor Gundam for Io and Psycho Zaku for Daryl) end up locked in combat and settling the score that is alluded to have started even before the events of the series, and that same score which has built up over the first 3 episodes, ending in a crazy climax in which neither of them wins. In the end, the Federation forces are captured (I don't get how) and Io is tortured, albeit not without really spelling out the anime's message for Daryl. This anime really knows how to paint a picture on just how horrible war is, and it plays it up to Joe me without becoming preachy, and it does this with just 4 18 minute episodes, amounting to the screen time of 3 TV episodes, and it did so much more than the aforementioned Gundam anime in the preamble, which have so much more time. On the downside, there are Deus and Diabolos ex Machinas in the form of a thunderbolt saving a pilots life in episodes 2 and 4, with the first one being addressed in frustration by Daryl after he almost got a clean shot on Io. Still, this story worked rather well, and with so little time to do so, that's impressive. Sure, the film has the added benefit of a little extra time and yes some things do feel a bit off in movie format as opposed to OVA format, but the core of Thunderbolt remains untouched. CHARACTERS: 8/10 A lot of people take issue with these characters being "one dimensional" and I'm gonna have to dispel that. Like with Cowboy Bebop, while the characters seem like 1D stereotypes of characters on the surface (since yes, there are people who believe Bebop's characters are flat and one-dimensional), thanks to implications andtheruch way in which they are fleshed out, they are much more real than one would initially give them credit for. Io comes off as a bloodthirsty jerk, but he is so much more. After losing his father, he constantly reminds himself of himvia his dad's favorite song. He fights not because he wants to, but because he has to, so he brings his mucus along that way he can get in the mood to fight without letting reality tranquility lose his morale, and he does still care about people, like his girlfriend who he doesn't has the best of relationships with thanks to this war. Speaking of, Captain Claudia Oeer is really unfit for her position, only being placed there on account of rank and the captain slot being forcibly open. The stress of the war makes her relationship with Io very hard, and she even turns to drugs to solve her problems, as then her fate is sealed when one of her more prideful subordinates shoots her for daring to suggest that she and her men should flee on account of being outmatched. She's the most tragic character here for that reason. Cornelius is just the friend of the trio who understands them and provides a bit of insight into the other two characters for us via implication, as well as help be part of the funny running gag of giving Io tissues. Daryl is pretty tragic too, losing one of his limbs early on, he still dreams of what could've been. Even his lover, Karla, can't stand what the loss of limbs is doing to him and his allies. Even still, he loses another one, and this all drives him to ask her to amputate all of his remaining limbs so that he can pilot the new Psycho Zaku in order to combat Io, who has killed most of his cohorts. As Io commented in the final episode, even though he hates what this war has done to him, he has driven himself a bit mad by it, making such a hasty and life-changing decision; he's right about what this has done to Daryl. Karla isn't very happy about being forced to be here herself, as she hates what she has to do to Daryl and the other Zeon troops, as well as the fact that she's part of this war. I really like the romance flashback in episode 4, as it really sells how much she and Daryl love each other, without needing words to do so. None of the other guys are really worth mentioning, but the named cast is pretty good and much richer than people give credit for. To those who say "What about the SEED, Destiny, and 00 Second Season cast? Many of them suffered through war but you criticized them." The thing is, those characters didn't necessarily suffer through war, they suffered through the stupidity of the war's combatants as well as themselves; they were idiots and assholes (in some cases, both, like Shinn from SEED Destiny) who let the war make them worse. Those are not good characters. That's the difference between them and the Thunderbolt characters; these guys suffer like soldiers who actually feel like real, at least somewhat intelligent people, those other ones just don't. ART: 10/10 This is easily the best looking Gundam anime to date, without question (unless I end up seeing Unicorn, and even then, that's debatable), with only the second season of Thunderbolt giving it a run for its money as of now. The sheer detail put into every single frame is astounding, and the digital effects of the lasers and explosions are simply breathtaking. The action looks freakin' amazing due to this, and the Gundams receive the perfect amount of detail, and this series rivals anime put in cinemas. The directing is wonderful in terms of the animation. The character designs also seem pretty realistic, stylistic lines not withstanding. My only gripe, fnyoh can call it that, is that the Doms and other Federation mobile suits have a more child-like shading that somewhat clashes with the gritty and detailed setting and other mobile suits, as that there is some minor CGI with some of the space debris (though they're "blink and you'll miss it"). Other than that, Thunderbolt looks beautiful, and it's easily one of the best-looking anime of the decade. SOUND: 8/10 The OST, done by Naruyoshi Kikuchi, is great,and makes a wonderful fit for this space battlefield in which the anime takes place in. Thunderbolt for Main Theme is a great score for whenever Io steps out into battle with the Full Armor Gundam, with its wonderful free jazz, even if it's absent here, though despite this, the soundtrack is still amazing. The other themes are great at accomplishing the feelings their scenes intend, as if to sell them even more than the writing can. Not a huge amount of these pieces are overtly memorable, but they sell their scenes extremely well, which is still a good thing in its own right. The dub is pretty solid as well, even if I only recognize one cast member. Some moments for some of the characters do feel week, especially in comparison to the Japanese voices, but there are an equal amount of really strong moments. The most notable performance is Johnny Yong Bosch as Daryl Lorenz, and he does do a good job and probably has the least amount of moments that feel even slightly off. Then again, he is in did he most prolific dub actors in anime, and he does do some rather emotional characters, so that's to be expected of him. While I do prefer the Japanese voice acting on this one, the English dub cast did a pretty good job with this one. ENJOYMENT: 10/10 I had a lot of fun with this anime. The slick soundtrack, the awesome battles, the striking feeling of hellishness in war, and the breathtaking visuals were all a real treat to witness, and the characters and writing were no slouch either. Sure, some moments were a bit iffy and weird, but it was truly an adrenaline rush of a series. I simply wish I would get more, and with a second season on the way, that same high seems likely to reach me again. Plus, seeing a Perfect Zeong in action is something that makes my inner fanboy come out, it's that cool. OVERALL: 9/10 RAW SCORE: 88/100 Interestingly, I would say that Gundam Thunderbolt is the perfect Gundam anime for newcomers, no matter which version you go for. It hits on all of the major themes of Gundam with a proper tone and decent characterization and writing, it has kickass action, and it doesn't really require much background knowledge. Even disregarding that, both this and the original OVA are truly solid Gundam anime that deserve all of their fanfare and I'm sure that the manga is just as good. Can I say that either version of Gundam Thunderbolt is the best of the bunch? No; there are some UC Gundam anime that surpass this, such as Gundam Origin. This is just a side-story after all, and it would be weird if a side/story was superior to everything else in the franchise. Even still, this is definitely worth watching, even if you are new to Gundam. With all that said, I bid you adieu.

Gundam Unicorn represents the plight of people in the U.C. timeline at their best. Thunderbolt represents the plight of people in the U.C. at their worst. Unicorn portrayed war as a tragedy, but not in any capacity did it capture its true essence for what it really is: a horrifying calamity that sweeps myriad lives in its wake and cares not for name, face, nationality, or best intentions. Tomino has written Gundam shows where people often switch allegiances on the fly. A Tomino show this is not: the people here are committed and locked in their allegiances; no character has a chance to switch sides,no character wants to switch sides. The forces, both of which we see, are under a soul-crushing weight, like ants in a torrential downpour, being thrown and battered by their own circumstances, including one scene where they're given their orders to defend a sector to the death, to the shock of only one person. The higher-ups acknowledge the "heroicism" of their acts, but the film, in its brilliance, has a tone portraying their acts of war as anything but. It's carnage, it's malevolent, it's unsympathetic, it's macabre. Melodically, the film's music carries with it no melancholy to describe the visions of death it portrays. The battlefield is instead personified through music through Charlie Parker-style jazz: chaotic, improvised, and without solid structure- a sound decision, cemented further by one of the jazz-loving protagonists who feels the unpredictability of the battlefield like he feels improvised jazz. Thunderbolt is a story of humans utterly ensnared within cruel times, of overblown military budgets and desperation, of those once passive to the times swept into frenzied fever. The spread and escalation of war is a result of the failure of leadership at the highest levels, and Thunderbolt captures failures of leadership at a small scale. Atrocities beget atrocities, unfolding into each respective side's umpteenth measure to snuff the other out, in a tense climax to the action with depictions of bodies upon bodies. Except unlike in SEED, both sides are treated as neither hero nor villain, but as small pawns in a deadly game of chess, the larger scale or outcome of which isn't even depicted or known. Innocence is lost. The soul dies, and the shells of what were once men become beasts that crave only the hunt. What to the protagonists were quests to quell the nightmare of war obliterated their humanity, for now they are the nightmare. The truth is you, the reader, too, are an insignificant subject of a societal system, the direction of which is far beyond your control. Should civility break down and give you the choice of whether to hide from the fire, or to become that which lights it, will you be the one getting torched, or are you the one holding the torch?

Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt: December Sky is one of the most intense and visually striking entries in the entire Gundam franchise. From start to finish, it is a relentless rush, throwing the viewer headfirst into the chaos of war with little interest in easing you in. While that approach limits its narrative depth compared to the manga, it also makes for one of the most overwhelming and unforgettable Gundam experiences to date. Visually, this is immaculate. December Sky is one of the last Gundam productions to lean so heavily on high-quality 2D animation, and it shows. The Thunderbolt Sector is a haunting battlefield, cluttered with debris,wreckage, and the remains of past conflicts. Space feels claustrophobic and hostile, less like an open frontier and more like a mass grave. Every frame reinforces the idea that this war has gone on far too long, and that no one left is untouched by it. The mechanical design is outstanding. These are some of my favourite GM designs in the entire franchise, grounded yet brutal, and the space sniper Zaku is a genuinely inspired concept. Gundam has explored sniping extensively on land, but adapting it so effectively to zero-gravity combat feels fresh and terrifying. The mobile suit combat is fast, vicious, and visually dense, demanding your full attention. Sound design and music elevate the experience even further. The jazz-heavy soundtrack is not just stylish, it is deeply thematic. Io Fleming’s aggressive, chaotic jazz mirrors both his personality and the anarchic nature of the Thunderbolt Sector itself. In contrast, Daryl Lorenz’s more subdued musical identity reflects loss, resignation, and quiet endurance. Music becomes a form of psychological warfare, blurring the line between battle score and character expression in a way few anime attempt. Character-wise, December Sky succeeds by focusing on two protagonists shaped by very different traumas. Io and Daryl are not heroes or villains, but mirrors of how war breaks people in different ways. Io embraces violence as an outlet for his ego and pain, while Daryl clings to purpose because war has taken everything else from him. Unlike much of Universal Century Gundam, there is no clear moral high ground here. Both sides are deeply damaged, and neither is framed as righteous. This moral ambiguity places Thunderbolt closer to works like SEED and 00 in spirit, while pushing even further into bleak territory. That said, this adaptation does come with limitations. Like the manga, Thunderbolt begins in media res, but the manga gradually builds its world, factions, and supporting cast over time. December Sky, by contrast, is almost entirely focused on the opening conflict. Because of this, it can feel more like an extended, spectacular introduction than a complete story. There is less room for political nuance or long-term character development, and viewers unfamiliar with the source material may find themselves craving more context. Still, what December Sky does deliver, it delivers exceptionally well. The Full Armour Gundam versus Psycho Zaku battle is easily a top-three Gundam fight and arguably one of the greatest action sequences in anime. It is not just technically impressive, but emotionally exhausting, embodying everything Thunderbolt is trying to say about obsession, dehumanisation, and the cost of war. The movie version is also unquestionably the definitive way to experience this story. The added scenes improve pacing and cohesion, and unlike Unicorn, where the difference between formats is minimal, December Sky benefits greatly from being watched as a single film rather than in the episodic TV form. This is the version I would recommend without hesitation. Ultimately, Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt: December Sky is a brutal, sensory assault that strips Gundam of any remaining romanticism. It is heavy, nihilistic, and unapologetically dark. While it lacks the narrative breadth of the manga, it more than compensates with atmosphere, audiovisual excellence, and thematic clarity. As an adaptation and as a standalone experience, it stands among the strongest entries in the franchise.

(LAZAROTH REVIEW - LONG - SPOILER FREE) "Mobile Suit Gundam: Thunderbolt" Movie/series 1: "December Sky" is an absolute visual spectacle with an promising dark plot, but with some bad execution. Story/Characters/Action: Just when you think that Gundam has exhausted its unique or interesting battle concepts, here comes Gundam Thunderbolt with a space battle among a thick debris field with an even thicker Minovsky particle density that prevents long distance communication. Combined with the high number of deadly snipers and beams that could hit you from any direction unseen, and you have an more terrifying setting than even the jungles of "MSG: 8th MS team". It's a veryunique idea that sets the stage for many great battles and drama. The setting goes hand in hand with showing the utter destruction of war, as even space itself is filled with the deaths of man and machine alike. The hazards it presents leaves you on the edge of your seat! The focus on Zeon soldiers with prosthetic limbs is really unique, instead of being disabled, they fully embrace their second chance to fight for their homeland. The entire Zeon fighting force in this sector is called the "Living Dead", an appropriate name since they are all mostly those who have barely escaped death. Reborn as lab rats, they are tasked to defend their sector to the death, all the while the scientists work frantically and are sometimes even forced to alter the soldier's bodies in order to work on experiments and to improve their performance at any cost, all just to win the damn battle, not even the war. It's a very engaging plotline that's perfect length for a short movie (or an entire movie if you watch the sequel back to back, which I recommend). As usual, the fact that the anime portrays each side as having good and bad people within it helps to show the true nature of war and humanity, and that the actions of a few can have a profound impact on the many. By the time you're down watching all these Gundam anime, you really come to despise war for the havoc it causes as well as the people who started it. You are able to sympathise with both sides of the conflict, almost to the point of not knowing which side to root for. A true Gundam principle that I always love seeing. There's a theme of classism that's got a pretty sick undertone in this anime. The "Elite", who are high ranking members of society, were practically handed top roles in the Military despite lack of experience. The men who serve them hate their guts so much due to their inabilities that they view them as expendable. as they expect them to crack at any time from pressure. The theme of pressure is an overlooked aspect of the Gundam franchise, and in this case, it's quite prevalent as of the effects it can have on people. To the point of even using drugs in order to cope. As per usual of the Gundam franchise, the theme of OBSESSION is carried into this anime as well. In this case, the obsession is between two arch rivals who will stop at nothing to kill each other in battle, risking life and (literal) limb in order to do so. The theme of Obsession continues to be one of the best aspects of the Gundam franchise. The worst thing about this story is the romance. It's rushed, bad, and unbelievable. I have no idea why it's even here. I didn't care about any of the characters, though that may change in the next half, I still feel nothing for them. Their ideas and such were great, but not that well executed. The action is the best thing about this anime. It is utterly incredible to witness! Seeing two SUPER Mobile Suits go against each other was a sight to behold and an visual treat. Definitely some of the best fights in the Gundam franchise. I particularly love the memorable moment when we look through a POV shot of a Zeon soldier as he gets completely pummelled by the Super Gundam. It shows you first hand how deadly and scary it is. Animation/Art/Music. I was genuinely shocked to see a Gundam anime made in MODERN TIMES to have NO CGI in it! It's all beautifully hand drawn. Deep space has never looked more beautiful in Gundam. The anime constantly changes the colour of cosmic fog and gasses in order to give the usual boring black space backdrop a much needed visual makeover. A brilliant idea and a feast for the eyes. The actual ART of the anime is awesome. The thick black lines stand out and the shading reminds me of the shading from the 1979 anime. The animation in this OVA is stellar across the board. I can't praise it enough, so see it for yourself!!! Music was pretty decent, If you love Jazz you'll like the soundtrack. Nothing I'd want to hear again though. Overall: "Mobile Suit Gundam: Thunderbolt" OVA Movie/series number 1, titled "December Sky", is a brilliant visual spectacle with a dark and sometimes engaging plot that explores aspects of the one year war we hadn't seen until now. But outside of its action, setting and animation, I find myself not caring about the characters at all, despite inheriting some of the amazing themes of the Gundam franchise. This may be a length issue, but I will have to wait and see the next OVA in order to have a definitive answer overall... Also, the romance was hot garbage and didn't need to be included. Bonus: There's a sequel to this movie/series, be sure to check it out for the full story! Very soon I will have watched everything about the One year war storyline, as I'm watching everything in chronological order now (I watched the '79 anime first, then origin, after that, it seems fine to watch from chronological order!) Animation: 9.9/10 Action: 9.6/10 Plot: 7.2/10 Characters: 7.2/10 Ending: (since this is only a half of a story, I will reserve the ending for the next OVA.) Overall: 8.6/10 (Yes I uploaded this review twice, once for the compilation movie and once for the OVA series).

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