Welcome to Gundam Plus II, the successor to the original Gundam Plus site.
Part 1
Hello everyone and welcome as we take a look MS Igloo and we’ll see if the Gundam universe translates into the CGI medium. I remember liking this when I first saw it so it’ll be interesting to see if a few years removed my opinion changes or not.
We start off by establishing when exactly in the UC timeline we are in, in this case 0079.01.04 as we’re also in space watch the Zeon Test Support Vessel Jotunheim getting resupplied along with some odd equipment being transferred over as well as we hit the opening credits.
We’re back and we immediately get a quick recap of events in the UC universe starting from the very beginning of the UC calendar right up to where we are right now and the events that led to the Federation-Zeon war. A nice little bit for those who are watching this and are completely unfamiliar with the Gundam universe. We also get a voice over as we see Engineering Officer Oliver May looking at earth from space and some of his thoughts of the Earth and those who live in space.
On the bridge of the space as an alert comes in because a pair of Federation Cruisers is coming in fast as the orders are given: Prepare for combat. The Cruiser takes a shot but miss due to Minovsky particle interference. The first officer says that they should evacuate the area as soon as the workers are recovered but their Gunnery Officer (Hemme) messages the bridge and say that they should fight but the captain disagrees. Hemme continues to argue noting about how their escort cruiser is fighting as they speak and they should as well as we see the fire fight take place outside. I have to say the CGI of the ship battles is quite nice looking. Oliver May then enters the bridge and says they need to stay and recover the equipment outside because it could change the war. Hemme then begins to yell at Oliver and the captain has had enough just as the supply vessel is destroyed by the Federation cruisers. Outside the Zeon cruiser continues to fight off the cruisers and manages to destroy one and damage the other enough to drive it off. The captain then tells Oliver to finish recovering his important cargo very quickly as they search of any survivors of the other ship.
So time has passed as we see Oliver walk onto the bridge and give his briefing to the captain about the recovery about the equipment as the Captain explains to Oliver why they survived – the ship is old and slow and that he is not willing to risk the lives of the crew for someone he doesn’t know. We then see the bridge door open as Special Operations, Captain Monique Cadillac notes that there are times when ships will be asked to do even more dangerous things for the Zeon people as well as announcing that she has boarded the ship and along with her we meet Engineer Examiner Washiya who fits the role of the “new kid”. She then continues to speak about how their escort did its duty and that their ship should do the same in retrieving the equipment much to the Jotunheim’s Captain annoyance. At this point we also learn the Captain’s name is Martin Prochnow as Oliver then notes that all the test personnel is now assembled.
We then goto a flashback as Oliver is receiving his mission outline at the Zeon HQ in which he and his unit will be testing new experimental weapons in combat condition. We also learn what Monique’s role in all of this is – basically she’s to make sure things go the way the higher ups in special operations want. We then see what the 603 (the unit number) is going to be testing in blueprints and then we’re taken back to the present as we see the equipment in question in the cargo bay of the ship as it’s being assembled. Oliver then tells us what it is exactly – The experimental Anti-Ship Cannon Jormungand which is an extreme long range cannon for taking out enemy ships. As Oliver goes over what it’s expected and how it works we see that Monique is very shocked, awed and surprised by it. We also learn in the briefing that its maximum range is 300 Kilometers and the Chief Gunnery officer chimes in saying that even he’s impressed.
The briefing is interrupted when they get a message from the second fleet – the plans have changed. We then see the ship veer off as the rest of the fleet along with a colony fly past and Oliver wondering what is going on. Monique quietly answers: Operation British, dropping the colony on Earth. Now we know when abouts in the timeline we are in the Gundam story. Oliver is outraged at this tactic but Monique knocks him to the ground and says that a surprise attack is perfectly acceptable in a time of war. As we watch the Colony slowly fly towards Earth Oliver gives a voiceover where for the first time he’s questioning his part with the Zeon people.
It’s now UC 0079.01.15 and the war is in full swing as both sides of the conflict are moving their fleets as we learn via Oliver that this was a trap by the Zeon to get the Federation to move their forces into a specific region to have a decisive battle and that the Jormungand will finally be used in actual combat as we see it being positioned and assembled in space. Once again, the CGI for the spectacular as we watch the cannon assembled and prepped for combat. We also see that the Hemme is outside with his crew to man the cannon as they notice the Zeon fleet fly by signaling them good luck as they head into combat.
It’s now combat time as both sides line up their fleets for a large scale battle. It’s basically what you’ve seen in those old films of the navel battles in WWII. Back to the Jormungand as it’s arming and preparing to fire as Oliver starts the sensors to gather the data from the weapon as they aim their first shot. Back with the fleets as they begin their large scale battle as we see ships firing at each other and vessels on both sides taking hits and damage and some even being destroyed. Back with the 603 as they don’t understand why they’re not getting any sort of firing instructions and Hemme is growing impatient and angry at not being given the order to fire. Hemme gives up and just aims and fires anyway and we see his shot miss completely but the wake of the shot cause’s damage to one of the Federation ships.
Frustrated at the lack of targeting data from the fleet Oliver launches in a small ship with Washiya as they plan to fly ahead and try to send back more accurate information. As they fly off they get an alert on their screens of incoming objects. We then see what those objects are – Mobile Suits, Zaku’s to be specific. A red Zaku then flies ahead of the Oliver’s ship and starts giving it a message via a signal. The signal is that the assault will go as planned with the mobile suits and that they should pull back – message sent by Char Azanble. We then watch as the Zakus tear apart the federation fleet including watching Char’s Zaku take down a ship or two. This is what we’re been waiting for the entire episode and what made me think that if they wanted to – you could do an entire series in CGI and make the mobile suit battles look like this.
Back with the Jotunheim as they come to the realization that not only were they not counted on but they weren’t even used or planned to be used in the battle in the first place. Hemme says that no matter what he’ll shoot anyway as some errand rockets fly in and hit the cannon damaging it, injuring Hemme and blasting the rest of the gunning crew into space. Oliver then sees and signals the Jormungand that a federation cruiser has broken through the lives and is heading straight for them. Monique gives her suggestion – abandon the operation and evacuate the area, which Prochnow agrees with and gives the order to do such. Hemme notes that he won’t be able to make it in time so Prochnow orders a rescue squad to be launched, surprising Monique.
As the ship comes closer Hemme sees that he won’t need any observation data in order to shoot as Oliver tries to talk him out of it. Hemme says that his time and the time of gunners are over and that the era of Mobile Suits has begun and with his final shot he hits the cruiser and destroys it. The credits start to roll as we get Oliver’s final report about the cannon and the results – which he notes could have been different had they been given the same trust as the Mobile Suit unit and that it is unconfirmed if the Jormungand speared on the battlefield again.
Nimrod’s thoughts – Well, I’ll be honest and say I’m torn on it. On one hand while the story is interesting it’s really nothing special and nothing really memorable in the long run. Other the other hand the visuals are simply mind blowing and it’s one of those “you have to see it to believe it” type things. Is it something to rush out to see and/or buy the Dvd for? I would say no right now but let’s see down the line shall we.
