Ok I need to get the negative aspects of MS Igloo: Apocalypse off of my chest before jumping into this. I dont get how after 2 years the animation still barely manages to be an improvement. This is the exact same year that Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children came out too In the opening scene I had thought there were some fixes. Theres quite a bit that had it comparable to Advent Children. The only reason things would look as good as they were was that the lightning hit the model just right at weird times. Its a big shame that the animation wasnt more consistent. I still see everyone giving the same awkward overthetop expressions they did in The OneYear War. Theres still a lot of exaggerated movements from characters and on top of that people still look like pale husks. It is a step up but not by much if youve watched this backtoback as I did. The mobile suit fights in space look great though its one thing about the animation thats hard to criticize. MS Igloo Apocalypse starts off really weak compared to the first series until the second episode hits. Even though its the same story continued from the first volume picking up with the other one left off there just isnt enough focus on establishing much. Anyone watching the first half of this wont see anything special as its mostly expositionheavy which is really unfortunate. I even found myself kind of secondguessing whether or not Apocalypse would be any good period. Im glad I slogged through the first episode because the story is much better as we finally get to see the preparations and fights of Zeon at A Baoa Qu. The drama hits better beats than the first regardless of the short amount of time it has to develop these characters. That being said it can come across awkwardly because of the animation. Small nitpick but it will ruin some scenes that are intentionally serious. Some of the music can hit some melodramatic highs and some of them can hit some pretty generic lows as you hear the same sort of melody in certain tracks which isnt a bad thing all things considered. Apocalype mainly has productionrelated issues stunting its full cinematic potential. Aside from that the plot is great as it progresses towards the end of the One Year War. Apocalypse has such a depressingly sweet sendoff that its worth soldiering through the awkward CGI. There are some instantly recognizable moments from the original Gundam that we get to see here from Zeons perspective. The last half of Apocalypse is really good. I actually really love the final episode which is a far cry from my initial thoughts going into this. The action is fantastic the characterization is onpoint and those who loved the battles in Gundam: The Origin are in for a real treat believe it or not this is the same director. Comparably speaking this volume rates the same as The Hidden OneYear War for me. If it werent for the first episode being a chore to sit through then Id say its a solid piece as is. I personally enjoyed this one more than The Hidden OneYear War and thats mostly because we actually get to see one of the most renowned Gundam battles from 0079 and from Zeons point of view no less.