Mobile Suit Gundam 0083 Review
Mobile Suit Gundam 0083 Stardust Memory
Synopsis
The year is UC (Universal Century) 0083. Three years after the end of the One Year War, peace on Earth and the colonies is shattered by the presence of the Delaz Fleet, a rouge Zeon military group whom are loyal to the ideals of the late Gihren Zabi. Ace Pilot of the Delaz Fleet, Anavel Gato, once known as The Nightmare of Solomon, infiltrates the Federation’s
Review:
Gundam 0083 marked the second OVA (Original Video Animation) series in the Universal Century era of Gundam. Unlike the previous and first OVA series, Gundam 0080, which was only six episodes, Gundam 0083 contains a lot more action and isn’t entirely based around the characters plot wise, not to mention is thirteen episodes. However, we do get to see some interaction between characters. For example, how Kou and Nina’s relationship develops from the beginning to the end and the ongoing rivalry between Kou and Gato.
Story wise, this really isn’t nothing special. You have the Earth Federation and Zeon at war with each other. However, there is a nice twist of events towards the end that one probably wouldn’t expect and just goes to show you, that even the good guys can have some bad apples, if you know what I mean. A flaw or few in the story though is that there is some plot holes that aren’t really explained. While one of them I won’t get into, because it is a spoiler, I will discuss the other apparent one. That is, while Gundam 0083 takes place in the year 0083 of the Universal Century, it seems like a lot of the mecha is more advanced compared to the mecha in Zeta Gundam, which was the second Gundam TV series that took place in the year 0087 of the Universal Century. Looking at the fact that the Gundam GP03 Dendrobium Orchis and Neue Ziel, which both contain I-Fields and plenty of fire power, and then comparing them to the Zeta Gundam and Qubeley, you can see which of them are the more advanced in terms of technology. While the story may not be this series strong point, I’d definitely have to say there are plenty of other things that make up for it, especially the action which is superb in my opinion.
Character wise, I wouldn’t really go into this expecting anything too deep. You have Kou Uraki who is the rookie pilot of the Earth Federation who keeps putting himself down for not being able to stop Gato. Not to mention Nina Purpleton who seems to be depressed from time to time. Of course most of that revolves around a certain plot hole which I’d rather not speak about, as it would be a spoiler. Though it’s not like it takes away from enjoying this wonderful Gundam OVA.
When it comes to the animation of this series, it looks incredible in my opinion for a Gundam series that came out in 1990. It’s obvious the animators put a lot of work into animating this series. From the Gundams to even the Zakus, you can see there was a lot of detail put into animating them. Not to mention Gundam 0083 probably has some of the best looking mech designs, especially the Neue Ziel mobile armor. Even the characters are drawn very well and look very realistic. Overall, I love the animation in this series.
As for the music, I can honestly say this series was very well done musically in my opinion. The background music fitted the series perfectly, especially a lot of the climatic pieces used in a lot of battle scenes. I really liked both opening themes as well. The Winner, being the first opening theme, and Men of Destiny, being the second opening theme. I didn’t really care for either of the ending themes to be honest, except I thought Evergreen, the second ending theme, fitted in the last episode very well in my opinion. My only complaint is that there were a few times when the music would overshadow the sound, making it hard to hear what the characters were saying.
Comparing the dub vs. the sub, while I’m a sub watcher, I actually found the dub to be done very well and quite watchable. Though I admit I did not watch all of the series dubbed, I did listen to almost half of the series in dubbed format watching this series when it aired on Cartoon Network. I personally think the dub voice actors did a good job fitting the characters. It definitely ranks up there as one of Bandai’s best Gundam dubs, along with Gundam 0080 and Gundam F91. I did however watch this entire series in Japanese with English subtitles. I also enjoyed listening to the original Japanese voice cast. For those of you Dragon Ball Z fans out there, you may be surprised to find out that Ryo Horikawa, who did the voice of Vegeta in the Japanese version of Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT, does the voice of Kou Uraki in the Japanese version. Honestly, when I first heard Kou with the same voice as my favorite Saiyajin, it made me smirk a bit. Honestly, one could go either way with whatever formats you’d want to watch this series in. If you prefer dubs, I say watch it dubbed. If you prefer subs, I say watch it subbed.
My final thought being, that not everyone is going to enjoy this series. While its strong points are definitely the action, music, and animation, it’s a bit lacking in character development. To be perfectly honest, I really wish they would have explained more about Cima’s background. She was definitely an interesting character. If you don’t mind a Gundam series with a not-so-strong plot, but with great animation, mecha, and action, this is definitely your series. While it is probably not the best Gundam OVA out there, it will remain my favorite, just because this series really met my expectations. Overall, it was an enjoyable series. One I definitely wouldn’t mind rewatching again.
Gundam 0083 Stardust Memory Rating: )))).gif)
