Kidō Senshi Gundam: Tekketsu no Orphans (TV 2)

Title:Kidō Senshi Gundam: Tekketsu no Orphans (TV 2)
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans (TV 2)
機動戦士ガンダム 鉄血のオルフェンズ
Overall:Buy
Keywords: , , , , , , , ,
Notables: Animation - SUNRISE
Second season of Mobile Suit Gundam: Tekketsu no Orphans.


Series premiered on October 2, 2016.
Animated by Sunrise.
[edit] The Gundam franchise:

Gundam (main story, UC0079-0083) Gundam Z (sequel, UC0087) Gundam ZZ (sequel, UC0088) Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack (sequel, UC0093) Gundam Unicorn (sequel, UC0096) Gundam: Twilight Axis (sequel, UC0096) Gundam Narrative (sequel, UC0097) Gundam F91 (sequel, UC0123) Victory Gundam (sequel, UC0153) Gundam: The Origin (prequel, UC0068-0079) The 08th MS Team (side story, UC0079) MS IGLOO (side story, UC0079) SD Gundam Mobile Fighter G Gundam (Future Century) Gundam Wing (After Colony calendar system) Gundam X (After War timeline) Turn A Gundam (CC timeline) Gundam Evolve Gundam SEED (cosmic era) Gundam 00 (Anno Domini timeline) Gundam AGE Gundam Build Fighters Mobile Suit Gundam-San Gundam: G no Reconguista (Regild Century timeline) Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans (Post Disaster timeline)
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Buy 9 9 9 8 9 9 Ggultra2764 [series:3253#1552]
In this second series of Iron-Blooded Orphans (which I'll refer to as IBO for the remainder of this review), Tekkadan serve as bodyguards to a new organization created by Kudelia to help restore the independence of Mars while also contending with the remnants of Gjallarhorn, when the military organization's credibility to the masses became damaged following the events of the first series. However as the series progresses, multiple parties are able to exploit Tekkadan's brutal reputation on the battlefield to decredit them and cause things to go on a downward spiral for the group as the series progresses.

IBO's second season will perhaps become remembered in time among Gundam fans as one of the more darker and bittersweet entries in the franchise to date, and for good reason. The first series established Tekkadan as a team of tragic anti-heroes consisting mostly of child mercenaries who knew only how to fight throughout nearly their entire lives and sought to break out for themselves as an independent entity by taking on the job of protecting Kudelia to get her to Earth and reveal the corruption of Gjallarhorn. As mercenaries, they are not hesitant to kill any enemies that get in their way and will strike up deals with any party or organization that will assure them success, hence their dealings with Teiwaz and Gjallarhorn's McGillis Fareed.

In the second series, Tekkadan have become instant celebrities to the people of Mars for their exploits in exposing Gjallarhorn's corruption. While Orga and the other members hope this would allow them to become an honest business due to their association with Kudelia, their brutal reputation among their enemies and the dealings they made with questionable entities eventually comes back to haunt them in later episodes. Through complicated manipulations and politics, Tekkadan's public reputation among the masses eventually becomes tarnished and the associations they established with questionable parties unravel. While I won't spoil too much else of what happens with Tekkadan, all I will say is that the series returns to the days of older Gundam titles where you would never know who would wind up a victim of the travesty of war and IBO cruelly delivers on showing how Tekkadan's reputation eventually comes back to bite it hard.

Outside of its focus on Tekkadan, IBO also takes a decent amount of time to explore more about the complicated power structure within Gjallarhorn and further develop the character relationships within the series. The series devotes time to exploring McGillis' motives and past, which turns out to be a rather tragic one due to being an illegitimate child of one of Gjallarhorn's influential families. In addition, more of the power structure within the organization is explored with the Seven Stars, those making up the seven most influential families within the organization.

A number of the show's character relationships also have time to get further fleshed out and focused on. Some of them are on the romantic side and serve to show more of the human side to the mecha pilots of the series, this most notable in Mikazuki's relationships with Atra and Kudelia as he starts to better understand human social skills. Others serve to explore how character relationships have deteriorated due to the complicated manipulations that occurred in the ensuing conflict between Tekkadan and Gjallarhorn, this notable with McGillis as his manipulations lead his former friends in Gjallarhorn to show hostility toward him as they learn more about his actions and motives.

In terms of presentation, IBO's second season retains the high-quality visuals and fluid animation of its first series that made mecha action scenes a treat to see. This combined with the title's great musical composition within action and dramatic situations offers it one of the best overall presentations within the past year for an anime.

Overall, the second season of IBO is yet another excellent recent addition to the Gundam franchise as it offers a tragic and bittersweet end to the struggles of Tekkadan that will remind fans of older entries in the franchise coming from Yoshiyuki Tomino. A definite watch for fans of the Gundam franchise, provided you have already seen IBO's first season.

Last updated Sunday, April 02 2017. Created Sunday, April 02 2017.

Other Sites
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Official Japanese Series Web Site http://g-tekketsu.com/

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