Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team

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Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team
機動戦士ガンダム 第08MS小隊 (Kidō Senshi Gandamu Dai Zerohachi Emu Esu Shōtai)
Genre	Military science fiction
Original video animation
Director	Takeyuki Kanda, Umanosuke Iida
Studio	Sunrise
Released	January 25, 1996 – April 25, 1999
Episodes	12
Original video animation
The 08th MS Team: Last Resort
Director	Umanosuke Iida
Studio	Sunrise
Released	July 25, 1999
Episodes	1
Manga
The 08th MS Team Side Story: Trivial Operation
Anime and Manga Portal

The anime series Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team (機動戦士ガンダム 第08MS小隊, Kidō Senshi Gandamu Dai Zerohachi Emu Esu Shōtai^?) is a twelve-episode Gundam OVA series that takes place during the One Year War, and depicts the point of view of the common soldier rather than that of the Newtype aces. The series takes place concurrently with the original Mobile Suit Gundam, therefore, in terms of the timeline, 08th MS Team begins after the start of Mobile Suit Gundam and ends before the television series culminates. The release of the OVA began in 1996 and ended in 1999. A twelfth epilogue episode, called "Last Resort", was released a few months after the series ended, and featured a more surreal plotline than the rest of the series.

The series taking such a long time to be released (Last Resort was released a full three and a half years after the series began) was largely due to the sudden death of director Takeyuki Kanda in July 1996. The series was later completed by a new director, GONZO's Umanosuke Iida. The first eleven episodes of 08th MS Team were shown on Cartoon Network in 2001. "Last Resort" was never shown on television because Cartoon Network allegedly did not want to show an episode that revolved around children being drafted into the military. However, all twelve episodes are on the DVD release.^[1][2]

Plot summary

The series is set in Universal Century year 0079 in the jungles of Southeast Asia. The Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon are fighting a brutal guerrilla war for control of the area and its resources. Zeon’s best hope for victory in the region rests with an experimental mobile armor and its pilot, Aina Sahalin. Meanwhile the Earth Federal Army, which has been fighting the Zeon in the region, receive reinforcements in the form of Ensign Shiro Amada, newly named commander of the 08th MS Team. Aina and Shiro know each other from a mutual rescue in space, but when Shiro discovers that Aina is in fact the pilot of the Zeon mobile armor he is arrested for treason. The Federation offers Shiro one chance at redemption: He must take the 08th MS Team deep into Zeon held territory to find Zeon’s hidden base. With the Zeon backed into a corner, and the Federation dependent on Shiro and his team for victory, the star crossed lovers must decide where their true allegiances lie: with each other, or with their respective sides.

Characters

Main characters

Shiro Amada

Lieutenant Shiro Amada is the newly appointed commander of the Earth Federation's 08th Mobile Suit Team stationed in Southeast Asia. Before he assumes this position, however, he befriends a Zeon pilot named Aina Saharin up in space and unbeknownst to both of them their fates become intertwined. is voiced by Nobuyuki Hiyama in Japanese and Steve Staley in English.

Aina Saharin

Aina Saharin is the daughter of a noble family from the Principality of Zeon. While piloting her prototype Zaku amidst a debris field in space, she meets Shiro Amada and form a bond with him despite the fact that they are fighting on opposite sides. Although the two of them part ways, they are destined to meet again on Earth after Shiro takes command of the enemy's 08th Mobile Suit Team. Aina Saharin is voiced by Kikuko Inoue in Japanese and Emilie Brown in English.

Supporting characters

Eledore Massis

Petty Officer 3rd Class Eledore Massis is a veteran member of the 08th MS Team. He serves as operator of the team's support hovertruck. He's not very brave and openly admits he's not cut out to be a soldier. Despite this he doesn't hesitate to put himself in danger when he has to, especially when Karen is involved. Eledore Massis is voiced by Keiji Fujiwara in Japanese and Christy Mathewson in English.

Ginias Saharin

Rear Admiral Lower Half Ginias Saharin is a Zeon officer charged by the Sovereign Degwin Sodo Zabi to build a mobile weapon powerful enough to destroy the Earth Federation Forces military headquarters of Jaburo. He is also the older brother of Aina. Although Ginias is quite brilliant, he also clearly suffers some kind of mental illness as revealed later in the course of the series. Ginias Saharin is voiced by Sho Hayami in Japanese and Lex Lang in English.

Karen Joshua

Master Chief Petty Officer Karen Joshua is the 08th MS Team's tough, abrasive second-in-command and NCO. The team's longest-serving mobile suit pilot, Karen is initially underwhelmed by her new commanding officer Shiro Amada. As a former medical student, and the widow of a military doctor, Karen can double as a field medic in cases of emergency. Karen Joshua is voiced by Mami Koyama in Japanese and Debra Jean Rogers in English.

Kiki Rosita

Kiki is the daughter of the leader of an anti-Zeon guerrilla resistance. She encounters Shiro Amada just before he is taken captive by the guerrillas. When Shiro finally convinces them to assist the 08th MS Team Kiki follows him, coordinating support and providing communication between the MS unit and the resistance. Throughout all of this, she maintains a mild infatuation with Commander Shiro. Kiki Rosita is voiced by Chinami Nishimura in Japanese and Michelle Ruff in English.

Michel Ninorich

Corporal Michel Ninorich serves as navigator and gunner of the team's support hovertruck. Between battles, he writes letters to his girlfriend B.B., who still lives in the space colonies. Like Shiro, he was transferred to the Earth Federal Army and assigned to the 08th MS Team. Michel Ninorich is voiced by Hiro Yuuki in Japanese and Tony Ricci in English.

Norris Packard

Captain Norris Packard is an ace pilot originally sent to observe the Zeon Forces in Southeast Asia, but gets stationed at the hidden base where Ginias Sahalin is working on his Apsalus Project. There he observes Ginias' sister Aina Sahalin as she tests the three Apsalus Mobile Armors. Packard is like a surrogate father for Aina and is probably a family friend. Norris Packard is voiced by Osamu Ichikawa in Japanese and Michael McConnohie in English.

Terry Sanders Jr.

Chief Petty Officer Terry Sanders Jr. is another veteran member of the 08th MS Team. He has gained a reputation of being cursed due to several notorious strokes of bad luck: Every team he was assigned to would be completely annihilated on their third mission together, save for Sanders himself. This earned him the unfortunate nickname of "Shinigami Sanders", "Sanders the Reaper" in the English version. Terry Sanders Jr. is voiced by Tesshō Genda in Japanese and Steve Kramer in English.

Production and development

Theme music

Opening:

• Arashi no Naka de Kagayaite (嵐の中で輝いて, lit. Shine in the Storm) by Chihiro Yonekura

Endings:

• 10 Years After by Chihiro Yonekura
• Mirai no Futari ni (未来の二人に, lit. The Future for Both of Us) by Chihiro Yonekura (episode 11)
• Arashi no Naka de Kagayaite (嵐の中で輝いて, lit. Shine in the Storm) by Chihiro Yonekura (episode 12)
• Eien no Tobira (永遠の扉, lit. Gateway to Forever) by Chihiro Yonekura (Miller's Report ending theme)

Compilation movie

In 1998 Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team had a compilation movie released. Titled Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team Miller's Report, the movie largely focuses on the court martial of the main character, Shiro Amada, for his concerning attitudes towards the enemy. Mainly composed of footage from episodes seven and eight of the series, Miller's Report also takes bits from episodes one and six to use as evidence against Shiro during his trial.

Miller's Report also has a lot of new footage, and it introduces a new character that was not seen in the series, Alice Miller, an Earth Federation investigator sent to assist in the court martial of Shiro Amada and to determine if there was a Zeon spy in the 08th Team. A new scene where Eledore Massis comes back to the 08th Team after his leave of absence is also included, and the 08th Team is shown being given the orders and launching for the mission they would be on in episode nine.

Miller's Report ties together episodes eight and nine, which previously had felt a little disjointed. Miller's Report was not fully shown on TV in America, although the new scenes were all spliced into the eighth episode for the Toonami broadcast. Miller's Report was released on DVD in America separately from the main series, but is included as a fifth disc with all 12 episodes (4 discs) in the Collector's Edition Box Set.

Notable thematic elements

This section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (August 2009)

The 08th MS Team was one of the most 'realistic' installments of the Gundam series. Some vehicles and mobile suits were redesigned to become more practical. The Gundams were not portrayed as extremely durable like they were in many of the other series. Gundams often suffered massive damage when fighting against minor enemies or simply from falling down. A well-aimed burst of Zaku machine gun fire could bring down a Gundam, which would have been unheard of in many of the other series. There is even one instance where a Gundam breaks down because of sand trapped in its gears (a common problem experienced by armed forces, especially in desert environments where sand storms are frequent). The Gundams are rarely even referred to as such, opting for the common term, mobile suit. At one point in the series, three Zeon pilots and their suits are ambushed and significantly damaged by guerrilla infantry armed with only assault rifles and anti-tank weapons.

The skill of the pilots in the show are also downplayed. The Gundams are advanced compared to Zeon equipment, but the pilots themselves are inexperienced. For example, most of the engagements in the series feature main characters missing targets frequently and emptying entire magazines of ammunition to kill a single Zaku at close range. No Newtypes are mentioned in the course of the series (though it is strongly implied that the children at the center of the final episode are Newtypes, having been sent from the Flanagan Institute) and with Gundams being mass produced units, more focus is put on the characters and setting. Much of the political bent featured in other Gundam stories is absent, and more attention is paid to the psychology of soldiers fighting on both sides.

The show also emphasizes the use of tactics, an element absent from other shows where the main characters simply charged each other in combat. Characters discuss flanking, supporting fire, and teamwork while Mobile Suit troops use forests, mountains, and buildings (urban warfare) for cover throughout the series. Generally pilots on all sides of the conflict are hesitant to face the enemy alone, an attitude that is a marked contrast to Amuro Ray's frequent solo sorties into 10-to-1 odds or worse.

This change of attitude is also present in this series' treatment of ace pilots. The original series had main characters fighting (and often defeating) aces on an almost episode-by-episode basis. In 08th MS Team however, the only pilot that could be considered a Mobile Suit ace is Zeon Pilot Captain Norris Packard. His skill is so great that he easily fends off the entire 08th MS Team plus several supporting units single-handedly. Shiro, who is himself depicted as being one of the more skilled Federation pilots in the South East Asian theater, engages Norris in the only one-on-one Mobile Suit duel depicted in the series and is barely able to survive the encounter. Only through teamwork, desperate improvisation, and a lack of ammunition on Norris' part are the Federation forces able to defeat him, and even then he is able to destroy all of his primary targets before finally succumbing to enemy action.

Reception

Episodes

1. War for Two (二人だけの戦争, Futari Dake no Sensō^?)
2. Gundams in the Jungle (密林のガンダム, Mitsurin no Gandamu^?)
3. The Time Limit on Trust (信頼への限界時間, Shinrai he no Genkai Jikan^?)
4. The Demon Overhead (頭上の悪魔, Zujō no Akuma^?)
5. The Broken Order to Stand By (破られた待機命令, Yaburareta Taiki Meirei^?)
6. Battle Line on the Burning Sand (熱砂戦線, Nessa Sensen^?)
7. Reunion (再会, Saikai^?)
8. Duty and Ideals (軍務と理想, Gunmu to Risō^?)
9. Front Line (最前線, Saizensen^?)
10. The Shuddering Mountain, Part I (震える山(前編), Furueru Yama (Zenpen)^?)
11. The Shuddering Mountain, Part II (震える山(後編), Furueru Yama (Kōhen)^?)
12. Last Resort (ラスト・リゾート, Rasuto Rizōto^?)

References

1. ^ "Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team (OAV)". Anime Encyclopedia. Anime News Network. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=24. Retrieved 2007-02-05. 
2. ^ "Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, Miller's Report (movie)". Anime Encyclopedia. Anime News Network. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=1002. Retrieved 2007-02-05. 

External links

• Official Website (GundamOfficial)
• Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia