Kidou Senshi Gundam: Tekketsu no Orphans

Over three hundred years have passed since the Calamity War, the great conflict between Earth and its outer space colonies. Now Earth is ruled over by four economic blocs, and the military organization Gjallarhorn is responsible for keeping the peace. Mars, on the other hand, depends heavily on Earth's economy.

Horrified by the appalling living conditions that Mars' inhabitants have to bear, Kudelia Aina Bernstein, a young aristocrat from the Chryse Autonomous Region, gets involved in the Red Planet's independence movement. She hires the services of a local company, Chryse Guard Security (CGS), to escort her on the journey to Earth to negotiate economic conditions with the earthly bloc that controls the region. The Third Army Division—consisting of Mikazuki Augus, Orga Itsuka, and many other child soldiers—are chosen to protect her.

When Gjallarhorn attacks the CGS facilities to assassinate the young revolutionary threatening their interests, Orga and his comrades must not let the attackers accomplish their goal—in fact, Gjallarhorn's actions might turn out to be the unintentional catalyst that leads the children to be the forgers of their own destiny.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Augus, Mikazuki Main

Kawanishi, Kengo Japanese

Itsuka, Orga Main

Hosoya, Yoshimasa Japanese

Bernstein, Kudelia Aina Main

Terasaki, Yuka Japanese

Fareed, McGillis Supporting

Sakurai, Takahiro Japanese

Mixta, Atra Supporting

Kanemoto, Hisako Japanese

Frankland, Lafter Supporting

Hikasa, Youko Japanese

Altland, Akihiro Supporting

Takumi, Yasuaki Japanese

Bauduin, Gaelio Supporting

Matsukaze, Masaya Japanese

Shino, Norba Supporting

Murata, Taishi Japanese

Griffon, Biscuit Supporting

Hanae, Natsuki Japanese

Maeda, Toshihiro Producer

Nagai, Tatsuyuki Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Aketagawa, Jin Sound Director

Yamato, Naomichi Episode Director

Reviews

Jun 30, 2024

Profane_Vestige

Recommended

This is a self encapsulated anime along with its second season meaning you do not need to watch or know about any of the immense library of gundam anime to enjoy this. With that said it is a good well thought out story about child soldiers in the scope of a war that is far above them and yet they have the power to forge their own path out of the hellhole of the battlefield. Tense moments for the too young main characters are a running theme that molds the characters into something that is a sight to behold.

If you are new to gundam anime ... as a whole this is an easy way into the franchise as a whole. Good fights, backdrops of politics, and an enjoyable story brings this up as a golden standard for the new age of gundam anime.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Nov 20, 2024

daaphish

Mixed Feelings

*No spoilers*

Summary
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans follows a set of orphan child soldiers who form a group called Tekkaden, as they engage in an escorting mission through space. The story is part of the Mobile Suit Gundam (MSG) universe, though watching other MSG shows is not required. There are plenty of giant machine battles, as is expected in the mecha genre. The story starts off interestingly by introducing themes of freedom, liberation, war, mistreatment, and loyalty; however, the story develops more into action, battles, and politics which detracts from these themes. There are excessive characters, and very few of them have time to satisfactorily develop with ... all the action. Overall, this series may be of interest to you if you enjoy the mecha genre, sci-fi, and action, and you don’t mind subpar character development. If you are interested in a similar genre with more meaningful characters, dialogue, and thoroughly explored themes, then I recommend Eighty-Six instead.

Story: 5/10
The story starts, captivatingly, with an emphasis on the mistreatment of the orphan characters as child soldiers. It begins to explore themes such as mistreatment, freedom, and loyalty, although most of these ideas fall short partway through the story. The plot incorporates political tomfoolery as the members of the Tekkaden group embark on an escorting mission. The pacing is satisfactory, although the plot accelerates partway through. This amplifies the action at the expense of character development. By the end, the story is complete, but the meaningfulness explored at the beginning is overshadowed by the action of flashing machines, space travel, and weird political figures with fancy beards. Whereas similar shows tackle political themes in a meaningful way, Iron-Blooded Orphans tosses in unnecessary political rules for plot convenience (or inconvenience, as is the case near the end). The story overall is average, and the biggest flaw is that the plot focuses too much on action and thrills and not enough on the characters. If you are looking for a generally straightforward story with an emphasis on action and moderate suspense, then this will likely suffice; however, the change partway through does detract from the overall meaning.

Characters: 4/10
There is a plethora of characters in the show with insufficient time for them to develop because of all the action. Some barely have backstories, some are used merely as plot devices, and even some of the interesting characters are practically written out of the story altogether once their bland character arc is completed. This is quite problematic for any story, and it is especially so for Iron-Blooded Orphans because the story itself could have been compelling: The themes lend to character development, yet the story focuses on fights and uncanny political subterfuge instead of the characters’ decisions, wants, needs, emotions, etc. Ultimately, these characters end up generic and one-dimensional, despite beginning with plenty of potential.

Art: 6/10
The art is a highlight for this show, especially for fans of action, since the majority is a bunch of giant machines blasting at each other. Some character designs are quite extravagant, especially with the fancy hair styles. These designs help to differentiate between the characters.

Sound: 5/10
The music is generally dull and unforgettable, but it is adequate.

Enjoyment: 4/10
I have never been a huge fan of the mecha genre because it often focused on action and battles over substance. I had read the reviews of Iron-Blooded Orphans and thought that this one might be different. It does start off nicely and seems to tackle meaningful themes, but I did not enjoy the second section because it shifted to action rather than developing the characters.

Total score: 4.8/10 (low-average)

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Nov 9, 2023

zohmusic5

Not Recommended

Whilst IBO has had fantastic animation, the mech designs and plot are horrendous.

With too many overarching political subterfuge going on and with no answers being given for all of them. It's even worse with appalling characters and rushed sequences that make the plot fall apart.

It had a strong start, but the writer relies on too many of the same plot devices. Repeatedly saying "suffering = good" doesn't make for a good story.

The entire story lacks cohesion and without any logical nuance, I just can't support this anime.

The story is not unique, we've seen it before and we're seeing it again. If you're into a lot ... of chaos and little plot relevance, I guess this is the anime for you.

Reviewer’s Rating: 1

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