Gilamar Skirata
The most important step is always the next one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOWdeSUqOAQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IddxplDVGw8
Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans is one of my favorite anime of all time and it is definitely one of the best "Modern" Gundam series to come out of the 2010s. I remember seeing the teaser announcement at Anime Expo. "A New Gundam Project" I read at the Gunpla booth. I have to admit, I was both terrified and excited as my childhood memories of Gundam like G Gundam, Gundam Wing (and Endless Waltz), and Gundam SEED for a moment overwrote all of my instincts telling me Gundam, and mecha in general was in a losing battle. Series like Gundam 00, Gundam Age, Gundam Build Fighters and even potential new IPs like Aldnoah Zero had all fallen flat for me. Be it the poor art design, awkward story telling, or bland characters the only one that even caught my attention was Gundam 00 and only because the endings/Op were great, the art was fantastic, and the Gundam designs themselves were stylish and sharp. But then...alien invaders happened...innovators (READ: Re skinned New Types) and yeah...I pretty much skipped Gundam after that point. The initial launch of Gundam Unicorn was great for me, and while I loved the series, its drawn out schedule (it ran from 2010 to 2014 with several month long breaks between each of its 7 episodes) honestly made me forget most of the plot points and characters' names, ambitions, and roles. Enter Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans.
A weekly Gundam series with an overly convoluted political landscape, a princess-like character who needs to get from point A to point B, and a group of super muscley men, er, boys (that's important for later), piloting super old, outdated giant robots.
Sign me up.
The story follows a group of child soldiers through their first job after becoming an independent PMC. Their job is to take a Martian dignitary to Earth in order to have her speak on behalf of the Martian colonists who are suffering after an event simply called "Disaster 323" that happened some time ago that saw the founding of a sort of government alliance. That alliance now rules over Earth and Mars but has levied some unfair rules on Mars, essentially making the citizens of Mars absurdly cheap labor for the Earth sphere. Except...None of the politicians on Earth wants her to show up because they know she'll gain massive amounts of public support and turn the tide in favor of Mars should she be allowed to speak there.