Opening Songs
OP 1 - Raise Your Flag (MAN WITH A MISSION)
OP 2 - Survivor (Blue Encount)
Ending Songs
ED 1 - Orphan's Tears (MISIA)
ED 2 - Bonds Of Blood And Iron (TRUE)
Genre: Action, Drama, Science Fiction
Episodes: 24
Ah, here we go. FINALLY, a true and true "Gundam" series that managed to suck me back into this one hell of a ridiculous franchise. I'll be honest, the only "Gundam" that I watched and finished before this was one freaking "Gundam SEED" and its sequel, "SEED Destiny", so I've been out of the loop for a long, LONG time. "Double 0" didn't really appeal to me and I dropped it halfway back in 2008 when I was still a wee teenager. So in a way, it was only 8 years later in 2016 that I went ahead and watched "Iron Blooded Orphans", because this one seemed like it had potential. And believe or not, I actually liked this one. Some complained that this one was too dark and serious...but let's all be honest here. Do we REALLY want another season of "Build Fighters"? Because I sure as hell don't. Or how about "Reconguista G"?! Huh?! YOU WANT ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE?!!
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| Whatever she wears, Kudelia is bae material. Even if its Selveria's sexy ass outfit. |
When it comes to opening themes, I believe "Iron Blooded Orphans" has some of the best themes of 2015-2016. It's two opening themes are top notch, especially the first one, "Raise Your Flag" by MAN WITH A MISSION. It's techno-rock awesomeness literally makes my ears tingle with glee, and I can't stop headbanging during the chorus segments. If any flags were raised during the opening segment, its my hype flags, that's for sure. The second opening theme, "Survivor" by Blue Encount is pretty good as well, its nowhere near the level of "Raise Your Flag", but its fast paced and hype inducing, which what you'd be looking for in an opening theme.
Rating: 8.0/10
I really enjoyed the show when it comes to the first season of "Iron Blooded Orphans". As the title suggests, putting the bleak world of "Gundam" in the viewpoint of children war slaves is quite a cruel and harsh thing to do. It's this very same viewpoint that makes the show slightly more fresh than those from before in the franchise. The story is simple, but most of the characters are strong and very well portrayed here...with the exception of our protagonist, which is a damned shame. The entire show's progression was well done, and since this IS "Gundam" after all, most of the mech battles are very well done. Sound design was amazing, and the battle choreography was top notch for the most part. When it comes to the DESIGNS of the mechs though, I didn't quite like the path they were taking here, other than a few of the robots, most of the others looked quite plain and generic. Also, it kind of disturbed me that the good guys were always winning (there are maybe only 1 or 2 really dangerous baddies here). They just had to diagnose Mikazuchi with the Tatsuya syndrome, didn't they? He is ridiculously broken, so much so that no battle ever feels like a challenge, maybe with the exception of the last one.
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| Now this is why we watch Gundam. |
The calamity war has longed passed, and now, Princess Kudelia is trying to repair relationships between mars and Earth. Being the symbol of hope of peace, she is the greatest face that one can ever hope to see on their side. Meanwhile, a group of war orphans are going on their lives as per usual, living under some adults trying to abuse them. Leader of the orphan group Orga, stages a rebellion to overthrow their overlords. With him are his best friends, friends so close that he can call them his brothers, among them are protagonist Mikazuchi and smart guy biscuit. They stage a revolt and overthrow the government, all while awakening a mobile suit that was hidden underneath their base all the time. Mikazuchi pilots said moble suit, the Gundam Barbatos. After their successful overthrow, Orga renames their band into the "Tekkadan", and he jumps himself onto a ship to aid Kudelia to bring peace to the nations.
With season 2 on air now, I can only wait for the time that I eventually get to sink my teeth into the conclusion of this series. So far, I do quite like it, and after how the first season concluded, I can only imagine that things are going to change for our heroes. Let's see how things actually turn out.
