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Film Review: Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow (1981) by Yoshiyuki Tomino

Gundam 2 still
"I'll beat the Zeon so there won't be any more girls like you."

The adventure continues. After the massive success of the first “Mobile Suit Gundam” movie, it was near inevitable that more would follow and five months after the first film, “: Soldiers of Sorrow” was released. In Another compilation of ‘s original Mobile Suit Gundam series, there is a clear intention by Tomino to streamline and refine that original series.

Gundam II is screening as part of AX Cinema Nights

Having survived against the formidable Commander Char Aznable, the crew of White Base make their way to the safety of the Earth Federation’s secret base. Still pursued by agents of the Principality of Zeon, they need to rely on all their skills. The pressure is also mounting for Amuro Ray, pilot of the Federation’s experimental mobile suit, who must face what it truly means to be a soldier.

As another compilation film, covering episodes 16-30 of the original anime, things pick up from where we left off last time. As such, it shares both the strengths and weaknesses of the series. It has the hugely entertaining action and meticulously detailed vehicle designs, but also the fractured pacing due to the piecemeal nature of the film. One of the effects of this is that for half the duration, it seems like someone is taking out the Gundam without authorization every five minutes or so when it would normally be happening in different episodes. Lieutenant Noa really should put some extra security on that thing.

The pacing issues are lessened somewhat by there being 30% of original footage made for the movie by Studio . Most of these scenes feature the higher ups in the Federation discussing Newtypes, essentially psychics with a higher range of awareness that gives them an advantage in combat. It’s an easy way to explain why such young people like Amuro can pilot giant robots, but despite there being a lot of conversations around the topic, it’s never confirmed who on the White Base’s crew is one. The most likely candidate is of course Amuro but it’s almost certain that at least Sayla Mass is also one. Sayla herself and her personal connection to Zeon get more of a focus here which is good as there’s only so many of Amuro’s existential crises one can sit through.

There is more of an emphasis this time on the cost of war and the effect it has on people as not every member of the White Base crew or its allies will make it to the end. In addition to this, we see the devastation of civilian areas when the ship’s crew spots it in Belfast. There are great little moments that give the sense of an international story and not a solely Japanese one, despite it being the language spoken. It’s in Belfast that the big emotional crux of the film’s second half happens. The character Kai has previously proven himself to be an opportunist and a coward. After attempting to jump ship he encounters local girl Miharu (a very Irish name) who it becomes apparent is a Zeon spy out of the necessity of caring for her younger siblings. The confliction of loyalty versus morality makes for a compelling storyline.

As there is a bit more focus on the character of Sayla Mass this time, it gives more of a chance for actress Yo Inoue to shine. She has a mature determination combined with confliction as she seeks answers about her connection to Char Aznable.

Little has changed in terms of the animation compared to the previous film, which is not surprising. The new animation fits in seamlessly as the same animators as the original show contributed it. One interesting change is in the music, as in addition to and who did the original series score there is additional music by future Studio Ghibli mainstay who at this point only has children’s shows “Giatrus” (1974) and “Robokko Beeton” (1976) under his belt.

The old saying goes that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That is very true of “Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow” as it is a natural and consistent continuation of the first film. As such if you enjoy what that film offered you will enjoy this just as much. It’s the next chapter in a wider story and it’ll be fun to see where that story will go next.

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