Synopsis:
Mobile Suit Gundam: MS IGLOO is an OVA series portraying previously unseen side events during the One Year War. The first portion of the story (episodes 1-6) centers around the 603rd Technical Evaluation Unit, a ragtag Zeon crew tasked with testing prototype weapons. The second installment (episodes 7-9) switches to a Federation team haunted by a Shinigami (death god).
MS IGLOO was released in blocks of three, with the first installment subtitled "MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War," while the next collection continued the story with "MS IGLOO: Apocalypse 0079." Later, a final three episodes were released as "MS IGLOO 2: Gravity Front."
Release Date:
2004-2009
Episodes:
9
Timeline:
UC 0079
My Grade:
D
Review:
I had read poor to lukewarm responses to MS IGLOO prior to viewing, though Leah and I felt there wasn't much to lose here since it was a limited run OVA series rather than a full 50+ episode TV production. I wouldn't say I regret watching it, but it's certainly the worst Gundam series I've seen to date.
The most notable feature of MS IGLOO is the fully CGI animation. This is retroactively interesting as an experiment, but unfortunately the quality is pretty low, even (arguably) for its time. The mechanical mobile suits and other vehicles aren't too bad, but the humans, which take up a substantial amount of screen time, are noticeably awkward. The characters' eyes all look pretty dead and their teeth have that uncanny effect of being too outlined - the best comparison would be to an early PlayStation Two era CGI cut-scene. Unlike older hand-drawn animation, which can retain a certain charm, the visuals here just feel muddy and dated.
If the visuals were the only problem then it wouldn't be so bad. But unfortunately the characters and tone are also sub-par, dragging down what is, in theory, an interesting concept. In this behind-the-scenes war story we see various previously untold events, usually centering around test weapons that could have turned the tide of the war, but which were ultimately destroyed or abandoned for various reasons. The characters through which we experience these stories, however, range from forgettable to annoying, with few redeeming qualities in between. Most are stereotypical anime caricatures with the melodrama dial turned up to eleven - a spunky young officer who puffs her cheeks out like a child when she's mad; a clueless, overly animated cadet who's body language borders on slapstick; a captain who does nothing but sit in his chair pontificating middle school-level philosophy; and an endless parade of wooden tough guys with troubled pasts (who just die in the same episode they're introduced anyway). They all seem like characters out of a bad JRPG.
All that said, there are some redeeming moments. In particular, we enjoyed Episode 2 - "The Howl that Dyed the Setting Sun," in which a disgraced, drug-addicted officer must pilot an uncalibrated tank in the desert against a squad of Zakus. It's a "last stand" type of story and it's pretty cool to see how he deals single-handedly with the theoretically superior Zaku weapons.
Overall though, Mobile Suit Gundam: MS IGLOO is a forgettable and skippable entry in the Gundam franchise, one that only the most dedicated fans will likely find much value in.
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