Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin is an ode to excellence an art habitually outdoing itself. It is the epitome of what Gundam is and was and is the type of work only a master can craft. Origin is cinematic brilliance and one of the finest in modern manga adapting and modern anime storytelling. As such it is as charming and emotionally evocative as its tentpole franchise has ever been perpetually asserting itself among the best this decade has to offer in terms of an animated series. It would be unwise to herald such a title as absolute perfection there are blemishes in this magnificent work of art. The questionable overreliance on 3D CGI can be offputting when nonmechanical objects rendered in such a style look worse than Dozle in a car accident. Additionally the film series stumbles choppily at first before truly hitting its monumental stride. Some of the ending themes are forgettable and the music takes a while to truly match the scale and magnificence of the series proper. Certain moments regarding character relationships can feel rushed as well. However in the face of an 18meter behemoth of passion and glory these issues the size of a hammerinduced dent. They exist yet mean little mere bumps and scratches in the left calf of a machine painted oiled and buffed with the utmost care. The character designs by legendary Gundam veteran and original mangaka Yoshikazu Yasuhiko are absolutely perfect perfect updates on both the iconic designs of yore and the art redesigns of the manga. The expressions are the liveliest in the entire franchise striking the perfect balance between character detail and freedom of animation of the models. As for the mechanical designs of the pre0079 era they work exquisitely as the prototypes and predecessors of what would become the norm of the OneYear War. The CGI work for these mechs in particular is nothing short of commendable as the clunky experimental designs of the iconic mobile workers prototypes to the iconic mobile suits are capitalized on tremendously. The directing of the action sequences courtesy of franchise veterans Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and Takashi Imanishi is exquisite most especially in regards to the iconic Custom Red Zaku II Char pilots. One need look no further than the spectacular opening scene in episode 1 or the battle in episode 6 to know exactly how kinetic and monumental these skirmishes are. The smoke effects work wonderfully as well particularly in regards to the purple smoke and explosions of Federation ships and student artillery. Dare I say if the CGI were present in the mechanical models exclusively this would be Gundams visual magnum opus It already achieves such marks from a directorial standpoint. Even more care was taken to make sure that each development of the characters narrative and technology kept the integrity of the original series intact. Chars vengefulness was built up perfectly and shown to be as innate to his as humanly possible. Seeing him in a position of power is an absolute treat whether it be him taking down a Guntank singlehandedly as a child or beating up a spy with his fists and a spiked plank. His malicious tendencies also originated from a place that feels both human and sensible unlike a more direct counterpart in Anakin Skywalker aka Darth Vader and how the Star Wars prequels attempted to do the same. Additionally witnessing other major characters from the original series in their younger forms was particularly charming. The biggest standouts were Dozle the lovable oaf and Ramba Ral both of whom were particular highlights in Origin. Even witnessing a younger Amuro Ray was wonderful especially when everyones favorite troublesome little mascot Haro began acting like the lovable goof fans know and love. The characters brand new to Origin held up as well and worked wonderfully in their roles particularly Rambas father and the man who would take care of Char and Sayla in the second episode. Every second spent with these characters is wonderful and full of the type of bittersweet pleasantness you never get in anime especially when you are familiar with where they end up in 0079. The voice acting held up tremendously as well. Keith Silverstein did a marvelous job playing Chars teenage and adult self with just the type of calculated semidominant and slightly spiteful tinge that truly made up Char as a person up until the end of the original 0079. Kirk Thornton was splendid as a slightly younger but ultimately gravely Ramba Ral and Doug Stone was splendid as his desperate constantly stressed and slightly deranged father. The most interesting casting choice was Mike Pollock best known for his role as Eggman whose performance as Char and Saylas caretaker Don Teablo Mass. There are a plethora of other cast members who did wonderfully in their roles as well such as Liam OBrien and other wellknown VAs such as Lisa Ortiz and Patrick Seitz make great background character voices. Even Hamons singing in the penultimate installment in both languages especially in the context of the originals story is as beautiful as it is soulcrushing. Everything melts into a wonderful English dub lipsyncing issues aside. Theres a sense of love and passion Origin exudes a marvelous sense of charisma that exemplifies the joys of cinema. It may not be as thematically rich as Thunderbolt as visually mesmerizing as Chars Counterattack or as inviting as Turn A but in many ways this exemplifies the best of what Gundam has to offer. Even when displaying a sense of brutality synonymous with Gundam this love letter to the franchise never stops bringing a sense of whimsy and evoke visceral emotion to the silver and digital screens. You may need to watch other installments to truly appreciate this one but in doing so this is your reward: the absolute pinnacle of Gundam
95 /100
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