Iron Blooded Orphans is the latest Gundam series to come to the West, following on from the likes of SEED and 00. Following a group of children working for a civilian military unit called Chryse Guard Security (CGS), our protagonists are caught up in the political movement to free Mars from Earth control when they are hired to transport the noblewoman Kudelia Aina Bernstein to Earth on a diplomatic mission.
While successfully terraformed, Mars is still reliant on the Earth government for wealth and supplies while the population mostly live in poverty. Kudelia seeks to end the injustice through negotiation, but the Earth's military organisation, Gjallerhorn, decides to intervene and wipe out Kudelia and the CGS in a concentrated attack.
Once battle commences, the adults of the CGS send the children to the battlefield while they try to sneak away. This does not go unnoticed, and it's thrilling to watch the child soldiers quickly use this to their advantage by setting them up as decoys. It shows a level of tactical thinking that should lead to some interesting battles in the series to come if this is any indicator.
We're introduced to Mikazuki Augus, clearly the best pilot in the group, who has close ties to a childhood friend and commanding officer Orga which are explored briefly in flashback. When the battle starts to turn against them with the arrival of the Earth military Mobile Suits, it's Augus who activates the Barbatos Gundam and decisively ends the battle.
With this act, episode one of Iron Blooded Orphans is concluded.
There's a lot to unpack here - on a technical level, this is a very sharp looking show. Released in 2015 in Japan, it's relatively modern by Gundam standards. Animation is solid, boosted by strong direction courtesy of Tatsuyuki Nagai (A Certain Scientific Railgun, Waiting in the Summer) and mech designs are very sharp. While the only signature mech in the first episode is the Barbatos, it's a strong indicator that the show will have it's own sense of style - it's an unusual looking Gundam in the sense that the crest is much larger than usual, it has a bladed weapon and is more rounded than traditional Gundams. Design-wise the Barbatos has more in common with the sort of suits you'd see in shows like Tekkaman Blade to my eye.
There's some meat to the bones of this story already, which is impressive in a single episode. The writing skilfully takes us on a tour all the relevant groups, establishing the motivations of the key players. It has moments that are a bit unnerving too - the children have been given unsightly spinal implants that allow them to interface with the mechs they drive (hence Iron Blooded) and it's clear that they're treated poorly by the adults that should, by rights, be protecting them. The geo-politics are also well established, and the scene is set for confrontation from the get-go. To be fair, Gundam has a history of strong starts that don't always pay off, so while I very much enjoyed this, I'll be keeping my expectations in check.
I'd certainly recommend the show at this point though. It looks good, has depth and sets the scene for some (potentially) harrowing things to come. Consider me in on this one.
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