Sure this film does have its weird Playstation 2 visuals in a Silent Hill 2 sortofway where some characters have blank white faces but to be fair having unsettlingly creepy cutscenes played in that games favour. A majority of MS Igloo looks seemingly out of date in a modern time where CGI animation has reached photorealistic levels. If we really want to play devils advocate the CGI show Reboot from 1994 had really dated animation and yet it has such a devoted following for a variety of reasons. But youre all not reading this to hear about animation how bad the animation is thats a given. Youre here because you want to know something about this film why do I think its good? So I pose this rhetoric. Is there anything redeemable from this ugly monstrosity. The answer is a resounding yes.The Hidden OneYear War is quite a venture and an interesting look at Zeons perspective with plenty of great story details peppered in throughout. However those going into The Hidden OneYear with no idea of the events in 0079 will be as lost like a kid at a supermarket. This provides absolutely no contextual jumping point for newcomers and is a horrible place to start. Things will appear spontaneously with little need for introduction barely bracing the viewer for impact. Its a Gundam movie tailored for Gundam historians ironically with no appearances of the famed Gundam at all. The politics story beats and references will all be but lost on the average viewer. The sudden breaks in the film also create some awkward pacing despite this being a compilation film bridging the original episodes together. The story while good relies heavily on ones Gundam knowledge. It doesnt establish much with many of the more memorable plot points being ones that have been reiterated in series prior. Some of the side characters are forgettable but in a way its poetic as each individual seems like a cog in the Zeon machine. Those looking for one cohesive story wont find it here as youll most likely be lost for a majority of this one. The bulk of The Hidden OneYear War boils down to a series of Zeon vignettes seeing their contribution to the war effort. It does an excellent job at hammering in the Nazi parallels mainly their overreliance on experimental weaponry that would win the war. The music is also grandiose ditching the cheesy 70s cartoon beats and properly portraying this epicscale war between Zeon and The Federation. I still love this film mostly because Im familiar with 0079 and all of its counterparts. It adds a lot of depth into the OneYear War with plenty of fun action scenes that showcase some neverbeforeseen vehicles. It also gives fans some really sweet looking mobile suits too. Its a shame that the overall package wasnt more appealing for people who are uninterested. The story while straightforward and melodramatic feels like a necessity as many Gundam shows are Federationdominated stories. Its so rare to see Zeons perspective onscreen Gundam: Thunderbolt is the only one that comes to mind. All things considered its a worthy addition to the UC and certainly shows the scale of the war. I wouldnt mind a remake of this film there is plenty of good content here thats seemingly buried underneath a moldy coat of paint. Review taken from my Letterboxd https://letterboxd.com/rileymarini/film/mobilesuitgundammsigloothehiddenoneyearwar/