I finished 0080 over the weekend (thank you Greene) and have mixed opinions about it. The intent is to view war through a child's eyes, but I don't really give a shit about this kid. Yet I appreciate how it focuses on the nature of warfare: A rookie stuck in an impossible mission, who ultimately dies for no reason at all. In that way I enjoyed it more than MS 08th Team, which felt sort of forced like Metal Gear Solid: Do you think love can bloom on the battlefield? Well maybe, but considering you've met this person once for about three hours, it's doubtful. 0080 highlights the decisions soldiers had to face: how to fight, how to be brave, when to flee, and what to stand for. And how all of that could be for naught. It's just cruel that Chris killed Bernie and that the nuclear attack was intercepted. But that happens constantly. People die for stupid shit like bureaucratic fuck ups or in Bernie's case bad timing. For that I think 0080 shines, more so than I've seen in this series, and that poignancy is what I'm expecting from Gundam. Whether Al detracts from that... eh. I don't mind him as a character, I just wish the show didn't revolve around him so much. Well, again, that was the intent, but I don't know if they handled it in the best way. I can't really give an unbiased statement considering my abhorrence of children.

On a Gundam note, why the hell have a non-newtype be a test pilot for a newtype mobile suit? Now THAT'S a bureaucratic fuck up.