Reviews for Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters in Space

Mobile Suit Gundam: the Movie Trilogy is the definitive incarnation of the massively influential Mobile Suit Gundam TV series. It may not be perfect, but it definitely deserves its lofty status in the history of anime as a proven classic. As one cannot have one part of the trilogy without the others, this review will cover all three of the compilation movies. The first question on any new viewer's mind regarding the story of Mobile Suit Gundam: the Movie Trilogy (MSG) would be: "Do the films condense too much story from the TV series to fit into its limited run time?" The answer to that is"no". MSG takes the liberty to cut some of the flab from the original series and manages very well in terms of preserving the integrity of the story. The pacing may strike as a little faster than usual, but there are no glaring problems pertaining to the question above.

The story of MSG follows the crew of White Base, a secret earth federation battleship housing the RX-78-2 Gundam. The protagonist, Amuro Ray, makes the difficult transition from an ordinary civilian to the ace pilot of the federation military, along with a number of other civilians who were also pulled into the conflict against the Principality of Zeon when their space colony was destroyed by a Zeon attack, the purpose of which was to destroy the White Base, along with the experimental mobile suits being developed in secrecy. The long journey aboard the White Base exposes Amuro to many ugly facets of war far beyond the destruction of his home and the loss of life. In the midst of it all, Amuro is burdened with the responsibility of risking life and limb to protect his friends and comrades aboard the White Base, a target of constant Zeon attack, with the gundam. All this weaves an engrossing tale of struggle and growth, rife with challenges on and off the battlefield, making MSG a very interesting war story. There is an epic feel to the films, because though the adventure of the White Base stretches over many destinations, it is but a small part of the vast web of war and politics that makes up the interstellar conflict, and the characters' struggle for survival in the monstrous web makes them seem all the more vulnerable and the story that much more gripping.

The characters of MSG are some of the most iconic in the history of anime. Amuro, as mentioned above, is a very well-developed character. His teenage angst may strike as a little too much in the beginning, but his clear maturation throughout the story makes him an endearing character. The antagonists of MSG also also equally memorable, as they are some of the best antagonists one will come across in anime: the cunning and skillful Char Aznable and Ramba Ral, the bold and courageous Dozle Zabi, and even the cold and calculated Ghiren Zabi -- all of them have plenty of admirable traits that really makes the viewer respect the nazi-inspired Zeon. Even when these antagonists bite the dust, the viewer would still feel for them.

Hailing from the early 80's, MSG's visuals and sounds are quite aged. Though the animation has definitely improved from the sometimes laughable quality of the original TV series, it will not win over any new anime fans by itself. The frame rate is low, the proportion are sometimes warped, and the details are always shallow. Yet despite all this, MSG still manages to produce a number of memorable battle scenes, which is something to applaud for. The mecha designs, especially that of the gundam and zaku II, influenced mecha designs for decades to come. Even to this day, these old-school robots are sights to behold. The sound effects of MSG are almost as iconic as the mobile suits themselves. Fans will recognize the buzzing sound of the beam saber as well as blast of the beam rifle from miles away. Granted, the quality of these sound effects aren't anything amazing objectively, but they serve their functions well, and their nostalgia value is beyond measure. There are also a couple of very catchy battles tunes to be heard, as well as great sound acting, though Amuro's voice may be a little over-the-top at times.

In the end, Mobile Suit Gundam: the Movie Trilogy should be a must-watch for anyone interested in mecha anime or the history of anime in general. Its influence, popularity, and historic value is simply through the roof. There is a reason why even almost three decades later, model kits of the old RX-78-2 are still selling like hotcakes and the name "Char Aznable" remains recognized almost everywhere in japan. MSG is the very definition of a classic, and this fact cannot be denied. What lies in question is the modern viewer's enjoyment of the aged classic. But with a stellar story and memorable characters, MSG still has the quality to win over its viewers, a quality that will most likely remain as long as there exists people who watch anime.

The final installment of the Mobile Suit Gundam movie trilogy is a masterpiece. Watching this film, it is incredibly difficult to believe that the movie is a compilation of over 20 TV episodes as the pacing, plot, art and character development are all outstanding. If any of the three movies in the trilogy have any rewatch value or are strong enough to stand on their own, this one is it. Let's begin with the story. The Newtype concept comes full circle in this installment, embodied by a love triangle between Amuro, Char and Lalah Sune. The relationship transcends relatively simple romance and enters the realmof spirituality. Amuro's identity as a Newtype propels Lalah into becoming the most important person in Amuro's life, a relationship that is somehow believably intrinsic despite being slightly rushed. Newtypes in later series are synonymous with super-skilled ace pilots (a fact that Gundam Unicorn bluntly points out) This doesn't feel like the case in this movie; true understanding and love at first sight were Tomino's original vision of the Newtype concept and it really shows.

As a result of accepting his new identity as a Newtype and his relationship with Lalah, the rivalry between himself and Char becomes a deeply personal feud leading to many interesting confrontations. Char's identity is also finally revealed as is Sayla's, allowing justification for his actions and neatly concluding the movie. Without giving away too much, Char's identity is also closely linked to the Zabi family who have a much larger role and presence in this film and give a greater insight into the inner demons of the Zeon rulers.

The characters become fully developed and mature in this film, their identities solidifying and defining their further appearances in the franchise. Amuro's journey is complete. He is now a noble soldier bound by his duty to protect those he loves, a stark contrast to his former angst-ridden self. Though all of the White Base crew is combat-hardened, they are undoubtedly family and the audience always hopes that the final, dangerous confrontations with Zeon won't claim any lives, not only because such a death would be tragic for the audience but also for the other characters. The character development is just that good; you really feel for them.

This constant danger that the characters are placed into creates a very effective sense of dread, keeping the suspense tight and making the action that much more enjoyable. And there's plenty of action. From the famous confrontation between the Gundam and 9 enemy Rick Dom suits, to the gigantic scale of the space battles, the action only abates during critical scenes of character development, finally concluding in the epic Battle of A Baoa Qu.

After all is said and done, one can only sit back, exhale and exclaim "wow!" as the credits roll and the fantastically 80s kitsch track "Megurai" sung by Daisuke Inoue plays. This film has solidified in my mind why the original series is so revered in its home country, to the point of becoming part of the national consciousness. An impressive trilogy to say the least, any Gundam fans who have not experienced the original series or the Universal Century should do what I did and witness this amazing trilogy, especially this powerful work of art that is the final installment. And as a self-referential sign of things to come, the credits conclude with a wonderfully cryptic sentence appearing in English which I will quote:

And now... in anticipation of your insight into the future.

32 years later, after watching hundreds of animes, i still find myself enjoying every second of this movie from beginning to end. You may ask yourself: But isn't this movie outdated? How could i enjoy anything so old? Well, that's exactly what Mobile Suit Gundam is all about. It's about a series which made a huge impact in the industry, and even today, you can still see its influence which still lies deep in the roots of the history of anime. This movie, aired in 1982, reprises the events from the original series created by Yoshiyuki Tomino back in 1979, from episodes 31 to 43,with almost a whole new animation.

The story in this one it is really well paced and covers almost all of the main events from the original series, with less political background than the previous movies and more focused on the battle scenes. It's plot revolves around the fictional characters Char and Amuro, where their rivalry reaches new heights with the appereance of a new female character called Lalah, who finds herself very attached to both of them, and the upcoming decisive battle between Zeon and the Federation.

The art is also unbeliable. Even today, i am still impressed by it and i certainly think that it won't discourage anyone who decides to give this movie a chance thirty years later. The character's design are quite appealing for an anime this old and they match the characters personalities pretty well. Also, i find that many of the battles which happen during the movie are extremely well animated and would put in shame many animes from today.

The sound... what can i say about it. Amuro, voiced by Toru Furuya, and Char, voiced by Shuuichi Ikeda, two of the most well know seiyuus in the anime industry, reached a legendary status within this series, giving birth to one of the best rivalries ever made in anime. The soundstrack suits every scene pretty well, specially in the most touching scenes from the movie, and the great ending theme "Meguriai", which made me shed a few tears...

As for the characters, there is some development from the White Base's crew members, specially Mirai, and from the Principality of Zeon, but it mainly focus on Char and Amuro. For those who also watched the original series, there may be some criticism about the characters in the movies simply because their development seems to be a bit rushed, which is very true, but you can still apreciate how they feel about themselves and others, along with their particular perspective on war, friendship, love and death.

Overall, the movie is very enjoyable, with a fair balance between romance, action and drama, and characters with a depth way ahead of its time. But not everybody may be used to watch anime this old, and would be understandable if that hold them back from enjoying this beautiful movie to its fullest.

I personally think an anime movie can't get much better than this.It is never too late to give Gundam a chance and enjoy this fantastic movie, along with the rest of the Universal Century related series.

I've looked at the first two films based off of the original Gundam series. And now we're on the finale, Encounters in Space. So far, they haven't been good. They've been pretty trite and overly predictable. I'd like to see them end on a high note, but I don't expect it given what we've seen thus far. Story: So, when we left off our heroes were leaving Earth in White Base with the Zeon forces in hot pursuit and attacking the Jaburo headquarters behind them. Sayla also had a quick encounter with her missing brother who happens to be Char of the Zeon forces. Holidayswill definitely be awkward for their family.

In this film, we open with White Base having returned to space and engaging in battles with Zeon forces there. The conflict is coming to a head and both sides are in an increasingly desperate state. The Zeon have a new super weapon and White Base is the lynch pin in the Federation attack against it.

Let's start with the biggest issues with the film. The most obvious being that, like the previous films, its way too predictable. Any major character who's going to die has an obvious death flag. The narrative itself has no unexpected twists. In addition to that, the bad romance writing gets particularly egregious here. There's a weird love pentagon thing going with Mirai, Bright and two other dudes who weren't in the prior films and only have minor roles in this one. So, it's kind of pointless and doesn't contribute anything except some contrived romance melodrama. Because that's what we need to add intrigue to this story about intergalactic war. Speaking of pointless nonsense, Amuro's father shows up in this for no good reason. Amuro just kind of speaks to him briefly, realises he's suffering from some kind of brain damage and then acts like the whole thing never happened.

You may recall that when I reviewed the first film I mentioned that it tried to make both sides sympathetic but failed because the Zeon are basically portrayed as space Nazis. Well, this film exacerbates that perception by outright comparing Gihren, leader of Zeon's forces, to Adolf Hitler. So, the comparison is deliberate and they're still trying to show the Zeon as somewhat sympathetic... Suddenly, it makes a lot of sense that the original creator of Gundam, Tomino Yoshiyuki, also directed, created and scripted both Brain Powerd and Garzey no Tsubasa.

The most interesting element is still Char's whole arc although it's kind of a letdown with how it ultimately concludes.

Characters:

The big problem with the characters as a whole is still that they're duller than a plastic spoon. Amuro is also really getting on my nerves at this point. There's a part of the film where he encounters someone on the opposing side who says it's weird that he's fighting without any actual reason. He doesn't deny the fact that he has no reason for fighting but still thinks it's petty that she's fighting out of a sense of gratitude and loyalty towards someone else. And while watching that exchange all I could think was "at least she has some motivation." Seriously, this guy just admitted to not having any real reason to fight and he thinks she's the one being petty in that situation? Fuck off.

Art:

So, we have art and mecha designs that haven't really aged very well. If I'm being honest, the only mech designs in this I kind of like are Ball and Big Zam and it's not because they're good designs. It's because they're stupid in a way that kind of makes me laugh. Ball is literally a tiny ball-shaped mech. Big Zam is a massive saucer with no manoeuvrability attached to a pair of huge legs for no apparent reason. Seriously, what purpose do the legs serve? All the weapons seem to be in the saucer section. Is it supposed to be so that it can kick or step on other mechs and call them scum?

Sound:

The acting is fine, even with Amuro's whininess. Inoue You and Ikeda Shuuichi have the strongest performances. The music is and has been the most consistently quality element in these films.

Ho-yay:

There's none. No one is Trowaing anyone else's Quatre.

Areas of Improvement:

1. You can't make your antagonists sympathetic while also making a clear comparison to them and Nazis.

2. Amuro needs stronger motivation. He comes across as someone who's letting themselves get dragged along into a conflict that they have no strong feelings about.

3. If you suck at writing romance, just don't have romance. Trust me, the fans will ship characters they think mesh well regardless and you certainly don't need romantic drama to add intrigue to a story about an intergalactic war involving mecha. You just need better writing for the intergalactic war involving mecha.

Final Thoughts:

This is not a strong ending. Not only are all the problems with these films still present, but they're actually accentuated with pointless scenes and a bunch of poorly executed romance. And because of that, I'm not giving this part of the trilogy an average rating. I'm giving it a 3/10.

In this review of the last movie, I will leave out the art and sound parts because they are similar to the first and second one so instead of repeating myself, I will focus on the story and the characters. As a conclusion to the film series, it did great. First mention would be the battle scenes. I stated in the second movie that Gundam should be more battle oriented (like developing the war aspect of the story). And that's what I got. Politics were kept to a minimum in this one and it was rather well done except the Hitler kudos (yeah Gihren Zabi,I'm talking about you). How come he is successful with his superior race speech? It's like a bad attempt at creating the ultimate villain but failing because he had no personnality.

Another thing that caught my attention was the "Newtype stuff". It seems to me like an equivalent of the Force in Star Wars (Gundam and Star Wars really got something in common). Newtypes are like Force users, some have a stronger affinity with the Newtype Force and start developing abilities (Like Amuro the chosen one). I didn't mind at first because it tied well with "Humans adapt to their environment". However, the possibility of a "Newtype afterlife"... it was weird (no spoilers here).

It should be taken into account that a compilation movie has to cut out minor plots like the relationship between supporting characters. I liked how Sayla Mass and Char displayed more background story but what bothered me was the relationship between supporting characters like Lieutenant Bright and Ensign Mirai or Frau Bow and Hayato (not spoilers). They made a weak drama impact and it was hard to understand because of its underdevelopment and the short time allowed.

I also have something to say about the nudity in this film series. Really, what's the point? I know it's no more than two minutes but still, it felt out of place. What about giving more character depths instead? Though that's just a personal thought.

All in all, the third movie was really good. The story itself had a good conclusion, not some "to be continued bullshit". I didn't feel the necessity of watching the entire Anime to get a better understanding but it's true that some characters still need more scenes. I'm just nitpicking in this review because there wasn't any major flaw worth noticing.

Now I watched all of the first Gundam as episodes and not as movies, so I decided to make this review on the final movie to make it easier. Definition of a Mid anime. To put it simply, you're sitting to watch a 43 episode history docu of “Space WWII.” It has its moments of being interesting and also has a good way of how war can affect a person. Amuro (MC) is 15 when the show starts, just a kid who likes to tinker. Then he turns into a battle-hardened warrior with a 400/0/0 KDA. The side characters thankfully don’t suffer from what Ilike to call the “MHA problem.” Although there are a ton of side characters, most don’t really matter since they don't affect the plot too much, so forgetting them isn't the biggest crime. However, the major problem this anime has is that you really can start anywhere (Remember I didn't watch it as movies.) You could basically skip to any episode, although not getting all the context, could simply keep going since the show just either skips it or tells it again. Overall, MID.

Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters in Space is often held up as the strongest entry in the compilation trilogy, and on a purely structural level, that reputation makes sense. It is more focused, more visually confident, and more decisive in its narrative than the previous two films. Unfortunately, it is also where many of the original series’ most uncomfortable writing choices, particularly regarding women, romance, and morality, are pushed to the forefront with little restraint or reflection. Early in the film, the viewer is confronted with a moment that is difficult to excuse even within its historical context. A male character physically assaults a woman andthen offers this act as genuine romantic advice to another man, explicitly framing violence as how women should be “put in their place.” The film does not meaningfully challenge this worldview. Instead, the woman who is beaten subsequently becomes attracted to her abuser and develops romantic feelings for him. This is not subtext or accidental implication. It is presented plainly and uncritically, and it is frankly staggering that this was written, animated, and approved as a legitimate romantic dynamic. While earlier Gundam works struggled with gender writing, this scene stands out as especially indefensible.

This problem bleeds directly into the film’s central emotional thread, the Char, Amuro, and Lalah triangle. While Char being around twenty and Lalah being seventeen is uncomfortable, it is nowhere near as disturbing as what later occurs in Char’s Counterattack. However, it unmistakably foreshadows the direction that character writing will take. Lalah herself remains a deeply flawed character. Her death is handled with such tonal clumsiness that it borders on the unintentionally comedic, undercutting what is meant to be one of the most tragic moments in the story.

To the film’s credit, Lalah’s death does serve an important narrative function in the broader Universal Century. It becomes a defining trauma for both Amuro and Char, shaping their development in Zeta Gundam. Unfortunately, that growth is later undermined by Char’s Counterattack, which effectively retcons much of Char’s earlier progression. In isolation, Encounters in Space sets up something meaningful. In the context of the larger UC timeline, that meaning is partially squandered.

Sayla Mass once again suffers from the compilation format. Her poor decision-making returns, but without the television series’ slower pacing and character work, these moments feel less like flawed human behaviour and more like careless writing. By this point in the trilogy, it feels expected rather than disappointing, which is perhaps the most damning thing that can be said.

The film’s greatest weakness, however, lies in how it presents the morality of the conflict. This is not an issue unique to Encounters in Space, but it becomes most apparent here. The One Year War is depicted in starkly black and white terms. Zeon are portrayed as overwhelming, often cartoonish villains, while the Federation are positioned firmly as the “good guys.” The series goes so far as to explicitly compare Zeon leadership to Adolf Hitler, leaning hard into the space Nazi imagery without much nuance.

As a result, it becomes difficult to engage with the conflict on any deeper level. Zeon forces are presented as genocidal monsters, and Char himself is framed less as a tragic figure and more as a near-demonic presence. You are not encouraged to understand them, only to root for their destruction. There is nothing inherently wrong with a black and white story, but when placed alongside later Universal Century entries like Unicorn, which humanise both sides, or alternate universe series like SEED and 00, which actively critique the idea of binary morality by introducing third parties trying to end the war itself, 0079 feels comparatively shallow.

This lack of moral complexity makes the story less thought-provoking and, ultimately, less memorable. Where Unicorn interrogates ideology and responsibility, and where SEED and 00 explore cycles of violence and systemic failure, Encounters in Space largely settles for a straightforward good-versus-evil conclusion. It is effective on a basic narrative level, but it lacks the emotional and philosophical resonance that later Gundam would achieve.

That said, the film is not without merit. The space battles are some of the strongest in the trilogy, and the final confrontations between Amuro and Char carry a sense of inevitability that works well dramatically. As a conclusion to the compilation trilogy, it is functional and occasionally powerful. As a replacement for the television series, it remains deeply flawed.

Ultimately, Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters in Space reinforces the same conclusion reached by the previous films. While the compilation trilogy succeeds in condensing the broad outline of the One Year War, it consistently fails to preserve the nuance, character depth, and thematic weight that made the original series matter. When combined with outdated and often troubling writing around gender and romance, the final result is a version of Gundam’s origin that feels increasingly hollow the closer it gets to the end.

It is an important historical artifact, but as a viewing experience, it only strengthens the argument that Mobile Suit Gundam is best experienced either through the full television series or through The Origin, rather than through these heavily compromised films.

There are memorable death scenes happening constantly throughout this entire movie. Like, "the mobile suit legs are just for show; the brass will never understand that" was a HUGE brained line that casually pointed out they had thought this space war stuff through, but they just spent the whole movie iterating on what it means to die in a space war to drive that home in as gruesome a way as possible. Amazing. The story was a little too disjointed for me, though. Not necessarily in a bad way, but I felt like I was drowning in all the exposition about the ongoing battles and misseda lot of the background motivations. So the revelations about Char didn't hit as hard, and, honestly? Neither did Lalah's death. I wasn't expecting that to be an incidental event in the middle of the movie. Of course, "I've done something I can never atone for" after the GORGEOUS mental connection between Lalah and Amuro dad excellent. But then Amuro and Char just fight as normal here, mostly. Albeit with huge brained space combat damage.

So, I dunno. It didn't seem that deep to me—certainly not as deep as the other two movies—but it was a great ride. And perhaps I need to take into consideration that I watched this during the 100+ degree heat wave the Pacific Northwest experienced in 2021. I know this whole movie has been mined for greater depths, especially in connection to "Zeta Gundam" and "Char's Counterattack", but I'm just on my couch trying to stay hydrated, y'know? I'll probably watch this again sometime before I die, though. Maybe then.

Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters in Space brings the original Gundam trilogy to a cliffhanging, emotionally charged close, reinterpreting the 1979 anime series' final episodes in movie terms. The action finds the White Base crew back in space for the ultimate battle against the Principality of Zeon. Amuro Ray, armed with full awareness of his Newtype abilities, faces Char Aznable for the last time, resolving their extended and acrimonious rivalry with a dramatic and poignant confrontation. Aside from its historic space battle action, the movie is occupied with the human toll of war, the fragility of relationships under circumstances of extremity, as well as philosophicalaspects of the Newtype phenomenon.

The narrative is structured into a series of several major arcs that build tension as well as emotional impact. The White Base crew's return to space entails strategic combat and friendship moments, reminding the viewer of the stakes for every character. The A Baoa Qu battle is obviously the standout, an action-filled combination of grand space battles and more introspective emotional moments. Watching Amuro and Char fight each other in the final duel was really compelling, and the tension had me on the edge of my seat, making it one of the highlights of the series. Similar to the first two films, some minor characters are underdeveloped due to the runtime being shorter, and emotional moments are occasionally rushed. Lalah Sune's poignant identification with Amuro and Char and Sayla Mass's reflections on her brother and the role she plays in the war are still moving, but the film cannot provide the series's longer format to explore them fully.

The film holds up visually wonderfully for the early 1980s, with thrilling space battles and tastefully choreographed mobile suit action. The music enhances action and feeling, especially in the duel climax and quieter introspective moments. Voice work helps to convey sadness and tension in the characters, particularly in the Amuro and Sayla scenes. While the film continues the pacing issues in the previous installments, the scope and emotional impact of the final battle surpass anything in the first two films. Overall, I gave this film a 8 out of 10. This is a wonderful, thrilling conclusion to the series with a great climax, even if some background depth is necessarily sacrificed by condensing the story into a single feature.

For those who have seen the original Gundam series, Encounters in Space is a must-watch, especially for the grand finale battle and the depth of feeling of Amuro and Char's rivalry. The film manages to balance spectacle, philosophy, and character drama, and although it shares some pacing issues with its predecessors, the ending leaves a lasting impression.

While I found the first two MSG compilation movies nearly unwatchable for their pacing and cutting of the heart of the show I love so very much, Encounters in Space offers some appreciated extra bits for the ending of the story, well worth experiencing even as a series diehard. The touched up animations, frames, and new scenes to either expand on pre-existing scenes or compensate for cut elements elsewhere are all great, and particularly with the Zeon scenes you get the sense a lot of them would have been in the show if it was not cut short. The recent watch I did of thismovie followed right after I had just finished rewatching the series. I was interested, 'could this movie work as an improved final arc from the show'? The last episodes of MSG are a whirlwind of excitement but you can see cracks in the paint here and there.

While there are improvements to most of the action scenes, we see the grunt suits of each faction putting up more of a fight, I still feel there are too many narrative compromises for the overall character journeys for pretty much all characters other than Char; he maintained nearly all his scenes and even got some extras from the show. I will say this is undoubtedly the best of the three compilations and can function as an actual movie, whereas the other two did not feel so. There are some absolutely gorgeous moments for sure, but most of these moments are also from the show only having what would appear to the casual viewer as minor touchups or music differences.

This being said, I cannot say anyone should skip the Series version, or even skip just the last 10 episodes or so in favor of this film, it is still well worth experiencing as a cherry on top of the OG MSG cake, but it's still missing many of the spices and flavours that made the original characters so endearing.

For full disclosure: My only experience with the Gundam franchise has been through these three movies. I have not seen the original Mobile Suit Gundam, hence why I won't make any comparisons to the show here and will only talk about how the trilogy stands on their own. That said, this finale does an excellent job of nicely wrapping up all the plot points established in the previous movies. We learn what happens to White Base, Amuno and the crew, Char, newtypes, and how the One Year War reaches it's conclusion. Each member of the cast has time to shine and the final battle last solong as to properly convey it's sheer scale and impact. Everything about it is 'grand' and is the best send-off for a story this big.

This is the final compilation film in the original Mobile Suit Gundam saga. "Encounters in Space" is both powerful and moving, offering an epic finale filled with victory and tragedy. Several plot points from the previous films find closure here. The war between Zeon and the Federation reaches its climax, and the rivalry between Amuro and Char—at least for now. Without revealing too much detail, I believe this movie adeptly handles its characters and resolves lingering plot threads. One notable theme in this last movie is the concept of Newtypes, pivotal to the conflict between the warring factions. It delves into the philosophy of Newtypes, their treatment,purpose, and the fear associated with them. Newtypes play a crucial role in later Gundam entries, and their mythical qualities are emphasized here.

The political turmoil within the Zeon royal family intrigued me. They're a dysfunctional group, lacking love and respect for each other, each pursuing their own goals. Speaking of dysfunction, this movie has an astonishing number of major character deaths, illustrating the toll and consequences of a major war like this.

While I can't claim that any movie in this trilogy is perfect, they consistently achieve their respective goals. You never feel like you're missing out on the full experience of this series, despite some content being cut. I'll close out with this line:

"Please understand. I can be with you anytime."

I hope that someday, I can visit that place as well.

The third Mobile Suit Gundam movie is just as good as the first one. This one does contain more of that secret sauce that was somewhat lackluster in the first movie. Obviously, the art style is consistent throughout, but in III, how far that art style is taken is pushed even further. In the first movie, it feels like we're just getting a mech anime that's about war and nothing else. II shows us that there's a little more going on than we can see on the surface. By the third movie, the mystery is revealed, except it only raises more questions than we previouslyheld. This is a good thing, as this trilogy concludes quite satisfyingly (although not in the way you might think), but also leaves me intrigued to know where the series goes from here.

Amuro is one of the most interesting main characters I've seen in an anime. He's not necessarily funny or entertaining, but his arc and development are clear to see, and by the third movie, you find yourself impressed with Amuro's skill and demeanor. Amuro has come a long way from not wanting to pilot the EVA... erm, I mean Gundam... to giving Char a run for his money. The scene where Char helps Amuro with his car was a little tense, but not nearly as gripping as the scene in the second movie where Amuro runs into an enemy squadron on lunch in the same restaurant as him.

Yeah, this series is awesome and well worth watching.

This is a film compiling the events of Mobile Suit Gundam, from the aftermath of Jaburo up to the ending. The film cuts quite a fair bit compared to the cuts from the previous two films, with the major cuts being the duel with M'quve at Texas colony, and the entire character of Challia Bull. It would be a fair argument to say these are inconsequential or even worthwhile cuts, but I think the decision to completely omit an ending to M'quve's character is pretty unsatisfying. Not that the watcher really has time to lament any of that, as by far this film features the most excitingparts of the original series, Solomon and A Baoa Qu, and the spectacle is very well shown. The compilation films have gained a reputation for changing much of the original script to properly introduce and discuss the 'Newtype' theory that is placed at the forefront during the final parts of the series, which while in the first two films these changes made some scenes drag with philosophical nonsense, in this film, the viewer is given so much more visual reference for the abilities and realities of Newtypes, and makes for a pretty decent payoff, despite how explicitly Newtypes are foreshadowed.

The animation remains very distinct, as with the previous films, however on this occasion there have been far fewer touch-ups, as at around this stage of the original series, the art was actually pretty consistent. The new mecha introduced are absolute classics, with the Gelgoog being a standout, a really intimidating design that incorporates much of the designs of previous MS. The Gundam, however, stays the same, now at the end of its cutting-edge status.

The ending song, "Meguriai" is just so amazing, and makes the ending scene incredibly powerful, definitely evoking the feeling of reuniting with family after so much hardship. Music on a whole maintains the quality established in the first two films and the series, and is definitely a strength.

It's quite difficult to say whether I recommend the compilation films over the series in most cases, and I tend to side with the series despite its pretty obvious (and charming) flaws, but for the third film, I would say it is worth watching, and can even serve as a replacement for the final part of the series.

After being disappointed a lot more than I expected to be with the last movie going into this was more on the mindset of "getting it done" and thus this might be a slight bit more broad and biased. First of all I still do not recommend this film either. This time however if I would be only rating the story itself minus the ridiculously forced Deus Ex Machina-esque Ending this would indeed be the best movie of this trilogy. Sadly that ending exists and thus we arrive at the score I gave for it, making it only slightly better than the disaster that was the secondmovie in this Trilogy.

First of all the story is fairly balanced between finally getting to the point and things happening mostly because Zeon and the Federation cast outside the White Base crew make their moves and for once most of their actions seem to be entirely congruent with how they were Set Up prior to this one, so that alone is a huge positive this movie has over the last two. We get a power struggle in the Zenon Family with Ghiren ultimately using a powerful weapon called the Solar Ray Canon to assassinate his own father as well as after setting up "Peace Negotiations" also the Envoy of the Federation side.

This is what I want to hone in on, because that was also the first scene the Deus Ex Machina writing with Amuro suddenly being able to "see" the attack outside his own body reared it's ugly head. I get that the writers left the "New Type" powers deliberately vague up to this point and that was fine as it only seemed to pertain to his fighting abilities inside Gundam. But now we have him basically becoming the "All Seeing Eye" which results in one of the most insane twists I saw in a long time.

Near the End the White Base Crew gets trapped inside Luna II (I think that was the name?) and suddenly we have Amuro guiding every single member outside to safety as he is able to speak to them in their minds. I think even as insane and forced as that was I might've even been okay with just that happening. But from that point on it gets worse.

Because just like in the last movie the writers use the group of small children who are of course now able to to do the exact same thing with their "New Type" abilities to get Amuro himself out. Even after White Base itself already exploded and we saw him being trapped inside even further before this point.

In the last review I wrote "This imo is also a perfect candidate for a remake and rewriting it having basic logic applied to it and above all taking out anything with these small kids would improve it massively."

I never imagined this would turn out to be true for the Ending of two of three movies in this trilogy, yet here we are. Amuro (somehow) survives and lives happily ever after and so does the vast majority of the named cast on White Base. Which ,imo also was a massive misstep.

I will start the Manga written by the same director "Gundam The Origin" in the next few days before I go into the Anime's with the same name. So for now that is all I will write about OG Gundam, thanks for reading!

First I'll point out that this trilogy is my introduction to Gundam as a franchise and specifically to the story of the original 79 series. With the previous two films while you definitely feel the awkward pacing of cramming a series into a movie, the story I felt I got the story without skipping anything too major. This one however really feels like the cliffsnotes of the story and felt like skipping stuff, and worse IMO this movie fails as an end to the trilogy with the final battle not really showcasing any of our cast (besides Amuro) doing anything. On top of that there's Newtypeas a concept. I don't know if the series handles it better, but with both previous movies bringing up the question of Amuro's skills vs the Gundam's durability (especially with Ramba Ral's final words), establishing Amuro as just a chosen one - who can just pilot the Gundam better because of that - devalues the progress he makes. The previous film's idea that Newtypes don't actually exist just seems so much better for the story. At the very least this is another failing of the movie as an adaptation in how it conveyed the idea.

Easily the most fascinating of the trilogy by default simply due to how much of it seems dedicated to rounding out the edges of the original. No longer is this mere recap, instead Encounters in Space is almost a psuedo remake whose additions, while minor on paper, add up over time to create an experience that does feel distinctly different from the original series. While the back third of MSG always had a lot of talk about Newtypes and the next stage of human evolution and all of that jazz, almost every conversation in Encounters in Space is seemingly dedicated to this single topic. Newtypesare no longer just some weird background thing to explain Amuro's prowess in battle - they are the endgoal, the thesis.

Most of these additions, ranging from animation cleanup to straight up new sequences, serve to streamline this into by far and away the most straightforward of the films narratively as well. If there is any takeaways from this one in particular is that Tomino and his team really wanted to make sure this one hit the mark, and with Yasuhiko back on board after missing out on the original run's last bit due to medical issues most of the cleanup feels like Yasuhiko getting a chance to run wild with a movie budget. The final A Bao Qu sequence is still a marvel of boarding and animation; some of the best stuff of the early 80s is here, cel animation at it's most jaw-dropping. People drew this!

What works less I think is just the general rushed feeling some of this has. I still stand by that I think the Lalah storyline doesn't work nearly as well without the episodic, weekly structure. By removing that, while Furuya, Ikeda, and Han absolutely sell it performance wise, it lacks the punch it really should have simply just due to a lack of screentime. The entire Texas sequence is also a bit of a bust in this version, haphazardly removing M'Quve's storyline in a way where it's obvious that something has been cut out - maybe the only time in the trilogy where this is really noticeable, honestly.

This is still probably the best of the three films though by a good margin, however, and as a longtime Gundam fan it most assuredly works as a good primer for the series if you are newcomer. Just like the prior two films, I think that the original series is probably superior as versions go but this particular installment has too much going for it to really ignore.