My Review of "Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow"

Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow is the continuation of the Mobile Suit Gundam series. The first movie was a little long but it was only to introduce us to many of the characters of the series. Now that we're into the sequel the series can go right into stories and action without too much explanation. As a result we have a much faster flowing movie and one that is more exciting than the first.

The movie starts off right where the last movie ended. Char had double crossed the golden child of the Zeon forces Garma Zabi. Now the Zabi family wants revenge on the Earth Federation for the death of their favorite son. Garma was supposed to be the successor to the head of the Zeon forces so it was a pretty big deal that he had died.

Char is still scheming and it's really interesting to see what he's up to because we know that Sayla of the earth federation is his sister and something is up. This storyline brings back memories of the novel I read in the 90s. I know what's going to happen but it's fun to see how it unfolds in this movie. Char's character is portrayed pretty accurate to the novel. He's beyond evil at this point. We already think he's a bad guy because he's working for Zeon but it's even worse now because he betrayed Zeon without them knowing. Who knows what this expert tactician is planning.

Our main hero Amuro falls further into shell shock as the war is really starting to get to him. He is after all a teenager. A teen to see that much death and destruction is obviously going to take a toll. Things take a turn for the worse when some of his close friends fall in battle. There's nothing he can do to prevent any of the deaths that he's going to encounter and he hates himself for it.

One exciting new addition is the concept of new types. This was mentioned in the first movie but wasn't really talked about. In this sequel the concept of new types is a prominent talking point for many of the military higher ups. They believe the whole crew of white base (Amuro's regiment) is filled with new types. This crew is very young and are able to keep the enemy at bay. It's hard to believe that they aren't all new types as rookies can't be as lucky as they've been.

This puts white base in a precarious position. The military wants to use this crew to act as a decoy for the Zeon forces. So we're going to expect a lot more intense battles for white base. It's really tough for white base to believe because they themselves don't believe that they're new types to begin with. Plus the crew is really young they're fearful of what's going to happen.

The little kids on the base even prove themselves pretty useful closer to the end of the movie. I liked how they used them but they do still feel a little out of tone with the movie with their kiddy like look and demeanor. I forgot if they're going to have a prominent role in the third movie or not but if the whole crew is full of new types you never know.

I like how a lot of the movie addresses the motivations of each of the characters. Even the villains aren't totally villains. Amuro has even kind of forged respectable relationships with his foes before their big fights. It's quite odd to see some of them interacting so cordial when they know they're going to have to kill each other in a matter of hours.

After the first movie we have all of the characters fleshed out and we understand the world that they live in. Now there's a ton more action and it can be quite tense. The animation of the scenes are reminiscent of television cartoon animation but it still works. This movie doesn't focus on the look of the movie but more of the substance of its characters. With all of us so invested in each of the characters it's more impactful when each of the characters get into battles. I kind of miss this approach with action movies and shows.

They don't pull their punches either. It's war and it feels like war. Big characters will meet their demise and some of them you might not even expect. I think that's what makes this series even more special. You don't know if they're going to kill of a character or not. It's sort of like Game of Thrones before it got crazy. None of the characters are safe and the unpredictable nature of the world sucks you right in.

Overall, I would say that you still have to watch through the first movie to understand this movie. Once you slog through the first movie this sequel will reward you for your efforts. The movie kind of ends with a semi cliffhanger but not as much of a cliffhanger than the first movie. I have to give this movie a 7.5 out of 10. It's just as long as the first movie but it's much more entertaining this time around.