Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt: December Sky (2016)
War never changes, but the tech sure does.
After getting my buddy into the hobby of gunpla to the point where he now has a pile of shame, I realize there really isn’t a lot of them for me to do on here. I mean, a lot of giant robot shows tend to be just that - shows - which isn’t very fitting for a movie night. Yeah, you occasionally get some movies that function more as a compilation of sorts - like the movies for the OG Gundam show or to some extent even the Gurren Lagann movies. Now, with what’s available to me, there was really only two main options - a movie for the Seed series (which I’ve never watched), or tonight’s movie. Well, obviously, we get tonight’s movie, one that I also knew nothing about until watching it outside of someone mentioning “i really should watch it” and jazz. Grab your radios and prepare to be instructed on how war is bad again, tonight we watch Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt: December Sky.
War is always the same, even when the tools are different. In the future of space, there’s some war going on - our factions being Zeon and the Federation. The movie doesn’t really go too crazy explaining much of the backstory, outside of the two sides don’t like each other and a line-drop about Zeon’s goals. We follow a few characters from both sides - rival pilots after a fateful first encounter sees the Fed pilot execute one of the Zeon pilot’s crew. What follows is a lot of action, plenty of flashbacks, and a lead up to an impressively dangerous finale. Even if it takes you to the end of the movie, the story’s goal to make you see there isn’t really any good guys in war should find itself rather effective.
The copy I watched is dubbed, so I can’t speak to the original voice actors - but I imagine it’s probably pretty well done on that front as well. The characters bring different energy and personalities with their line deliveries. Some do better than others as with any movie really, but considering all they have to work with is their voice itself, they do a pretty wonderful job of getting emotions across. I think most would find the dub to be just fine. The worst parts are generally only account on things being overly dramatic, which isn’t really something to be held against the actors in so much the writing I feel.
Speaking of writing, the characters are alright. I didn’ t really say bad, I didn’t really say good - I feel like perhaps the amount of good and evil going into each side kind of helps dampen a lot of the normal draws towards any given person. John Wick, for example, might have been a master killer, but the fact he’s driven by his dog’s death is all you need to justify all his killing because it’s black and white. Here, everything is grey, everyone has their own problems, and each side is pretty layered with muck. If anything, it’s easier to feel sorry for the classic “bad guys” Zeon, given the rough shape most of them are in and the somewhat psychotic front of the main hot headed Fed pilot that comes off a bit as bloodthirsty plenty of the time. Most the Zeon crew in turn ends up feeling far more friendly despite their rough shape. It’s a change of pace for folks looking for things that are less clear cut - but expect a bit more of a depressive trek than you might get from something with more defined sides.
Dom
Animation quality is great here. Yeah, it might have a few brief moments that aren’t quite as good, but most of the time the thing is so on point with it’s animation it’s a real treat. Good colors, shading, actual animation in regards to body movements and facial expressions - the art does some pretty heavy lifting. Even if you hate characters or something else, at the very least you shouldn’t be too upset about how the thing looks. A good handful of the different mobile suits from the franchise float around as well - with the real showboats being the introduction of the Psycho Zaku and the Thunderbolt’s version of a Full Armor Gundam. Considering the DVD quality of everything, it looks relatively fine on the big old projector I’m watching it on as well. Note a whole lot of complaints from me in this category. Some of the shots get pretty brutal, but oddly also arguably not very graphic.
Audio is prettty good. I mean, yes, I already talked about the dub actors doing a pretty good job. Yes, any of my compaints there feel more largely like issues with the scripting or writing. The other parts though - the sound effects and the likes - don’t forget the role they have to play either. Gundam iconic laser-sounds, plenty of explosions, gun shots, thrusters and other things you probably wouldn’t hear in space but make things far more entertaining are here and sound good. Music also plays an interesting role here, with both the main pilots having similar yet different music that plays in their cockpits as they go about business. What that means for the viewer is this nice difference between jazzy energy and smooth relaxing that doesn’t necessarily feel as though it’s expected but also somehow works. You also get some acid-trip bleeps and bloops towards the end to help sell that things are getting unsettling, so plenty of help from the soundtrack on this one around.
As i always say, I’m not really the target of the thinking movies. Like, don’t get me wrong, I’m not blind and I can see the obvious lines towards the horror of war, how everyone has their own individual problems and background effecting their actions and judgements and how they perceive things. It’s really not hard to notice some of it when it spells it out for you like when they comment on the new cannon fodder effectively just being kids that don’t stand a chance. You also get a lot of actions from both side that could honestly come off as war crimes to be honest, but when your fighting to survive you do what you got to do right? Justification and being right aren’t the same thing, but that doesn’t stop people from using their anger over things as justification for whatever they are about to or have done. Other folks could probably do way more with it, but I’m here for flashy giant robot fights, and honestly thinking too much about the more human elements mostly just brings my mood down so I try not to dwell on it too much.
The main course
If you want some space war action with giant robots where everyone is at best a grey moral level - this one could be for you. If you want Gundam action overlaid with some jazz, this one could be for you. Animation quality is great, sound quality is also real good - just don’t expect to leave feeling all happy and great with the world. It is a good play on using music to amp some stuff up and drive plot elements. I can see where it might not be for everyone (especially with the parts of it that feel like it’s condensing stuff as a clip show), and it’s not exactly the easiest thing to find, but it was pretty solid stuff.