As the War continues, Amuro and the White Base crew must make their way toward the Earth Federation
Headquarters, Jaburo. On their way they will meet several new enemies and face off against impossible
odds. They will fight in Operation Odessa to relieve the Earth from the clutches of the Zeon
forces.
Lives will be lost, new friendships will be made, and discoveries lie at every corner. Amuro soon
learns that he possesses the power of the mysterious Newtypes.
(Source: Otakufreakmk2)
I didn't really type out a full review for the first Mobile Suit Gundam compilation movie because my thoughts on it were pretty clear-cut. It's a condensed version of the first part of the TV series, non-essential scenes (and episodes) are cut, the whole thing feels like it's playing at a faster speed than normal, it's fine, whatever. The second movie has left me with a lot more thoughts, but that isn't necessarily a good thing. This movie is paced way worse than the first one. Like, WAY worse. It's like ten minutes shorter than the first one, and the first few minutes are a recap of the first movie. While the first movie only has to cover the first thirteen episodes of the series, and nearly entirely omits at least two of those episodes, this movie is left with the unenviable task of covering fifteen episodes, specifically episodes 16 through 30, pretty much none of which having unnecessary fat that can be trimmed. The result is a movie whose meager two-hour runtime buckles under the heft of the sheer amount of ground it has to cover. My issues with the first movie are only compounded here. The Odessa Operation got the worst of it. Most of it got cut down to a simple narration given describing the battle. The episodes in this arc are also reordered in a weird way that doesn't really make sense. Ryu's death is robbed of any impact it had in the TV series. Once they leave Odessa the pacing kinda gets better, and most other big emotional moments get adequate enough coverage, but it's still too fast for my liking. Now what makes this movie different from the first is that there are much more substantial additions and changes made to the plot. Some are good, some are... eh. By far the biggest one is the added discussion and depiction of Newtype powers, which are not even mentioned by name in the show until the final arc. It does kind of come abruptly in the show, and to some may feel out of place in the realistic wartime setting of Gundam, but this movie feels like it's wayyyy overcompensating. The first movie already mentioned Newtypes once near the end, but this movie can't go two lines of dialogue without mentioning them, which is kinda (really) annoying. Newtype powers in the show have this mystique to them, and are eventually presented in a very show-don't-tell way that I quite enjoyed, and I can't help but feel that is ruined here in the movies. I will give it credit where credit is due though, as the Federation already being aware of Newtypes at all levels this early on makes the way they treat the White Base and its crew WAY more crueler, and adds an extra dimension to the "both sides suck" motif that Gundam wears so well. The other big change is the replacement of the G-Fighter and accompanying G-Armor upgrade for the Gundam with the new Core Booster. The first movie already began the trend of changing/removing aspects of the world's technology that were too super-roboty according to Tomino by doing away with the G-Hammer weapon (which is just a giant mace lol). This movie makes a much more substantial change by replacing the G-Fighter, a segmented fighter craft that could mix and match parts with the Gundam, with the Core Booster, which is just a souped up Core Fighter. This is a change that I welcome because while I absolutely adore the goofy mechanical designs of First Gundam, I kinda just thought the G-Fighter and G-Armor were eyesores and frankly incoherent as a concept for weapons technology in-universe. So yeah, all in all, Gundam II takes everything I took issue with in Gundam I and makes it worse. But it also has more meaningful and interesting changes than the first movie, even if I'm not a fan of them all. I still wouldn't say I enjoyed this one, though.
_Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow_ has always been my least favorite of the compilation movie trilogy, and rewatching it after seeing the TV series has only reinforced that position. The fatal flaw lies in the runtime; it is the shortest of the three films despite having the most material to cover, adapting a whopping 15 episodes (a number achieved by cutting 2 episodes entirely). As such, the issues with pacing, skimming through character arcs, and omitting character moments from _Gundam I_ are amplified. The biggest victim of the film's compression is the character of Ryu. In the TV series, the audience and cast grow to feel an attachment to the character as a reliable and likable member of the White Base. His death halfway into the show hits hard due to the time the audience has come to know him, and the grief over his death among the cast is felt for several episodes after. In the compilations, he gets little screentime before his death and the impact of his death is lost, especially since it gets shifted to after another prominent character's death. Just about every character arc and plot line from the source material suffers from having things cut out, but this one in particular bears mentioning. There are a few changes that work in the film's favor, however. The earlier establishment of Newtypes shifts the dynamics of the war, with the growing possibility of Newtypes being real and among the White Base weighing heavily on the Federation. This compilation movie also replaces the toy company-mandated G-Fighter and its maligned combined forms with the Core Booster, which feels more in line with the aesthetics and tone of _Gundam_ than its TV counterpart. As with the previous compilation, the reanimated scenes give the film a visual upgrade. The film also contributes the eponymous insert song* "Soldiers of Sorrow", a rocking anthem of the toll war takes on people that is synonymous with the franchise for good reason. At its core, _Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow_ is still the original _Gundam 0079_ with the basic narrative, characters, and action that made it an enduring classic. But this compilation film feels heavily compromised, and compared to the previous compilation film, there's fewer improvements to compensate for the cuts to the original. Notes: *Or rather, an insert song in the original mix. In 2000, the compilations received a surround sound mix including rerecorded dialogue, altered sound effects, and most noticeably, moved the song "Soldiers of Sorrow" to the end credits instead of playing during the climax. This 2000 mix was used for the American DVD and Blu-Ray releases, while the streaming versions licensed by Netflix and certain home video releases outside North America (such as the recent 4K release by All the Anime in the UK) use the original mix.