Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
gatorbiscuits
If Gundam 0079 is one of the most "It actually is that good" pieces of art ever made, then War in the Pocket is the reverse. Frankly did not care for this. I know exactly what it's going for. The entire look into the loss of childhood innocence and the naivety at which children look at war as just big epic battles not accounting the horror and loss of life. I appreciate it, I get it, and the darkly humorous final scene to nail it in is morbidly great. Unfortunately the whole thing is just a slog to sit through I'm afraid. What a shame after the incredible opening sequence in the first episode. First Gundam miss for me since really trying to dive into it outside of randomly coming upon a series or whichever was airing at the time.
Will be one of those things I admit to not liking as me and…
Read at the sourceFranktamas
It was awful, the only positive thing that I can say that is was competently and not offensively bad. The creator wanted to tell a story. and 0080 told that story, the problem was that their story was terrible.
I think the fact that the title says 0080 (after the peace treaty) but the show takes place during 0079 (before the peace treaty) already tells a lot about the world-building. It's like if they'd call a movie 1946 Recovery from the War, but it would take place in 1945 April during the Siege of Berlin.
Second big problem was with the power-levels, the mobile suits get defeated like it was nothing, which makes a really huge contrast with the base concept of Gundam, making Mobile Suits devastatingly superior against conventional weaponry.
The characters were both really cliché and te…
Read at the sourceMoeTie
Quite Probably the Best War Drama That Anime has to Offer(LR);
'0080 - War In The Pocket' is an 1989-1990 Gundam Ova series commissioned to commemorate the passing of Gundam's 10th anniversary. Aside from an interesting background, such as being the first non Yoshiyuki Tomino project or being the only one of the 3 "90's" Ova series that doesn't have a troubled production (some would suggest it to be the only "90's" product that went smoothly in general), 0080 in it's own right is maybe the most interesting Gundam entry to date, from it's meta-level criticism of the real robot genre's audience, to it's incredibly uncompromised and effective anti-war story and astounding production values - This is one entry in the Gundam franchise that truly qualifies as 'Art'. Let's start with the spoiler…
Read at the sourceJust_Matt_
You know those memes where there's a guy looking at the RX78 shooting upwards, going "wow cool robot" while missing the point that "war is bad"?
Yeah, Gundam 0080: War In The Pocket is that, except you're the observer and the Gundam has locked onto YOU instead of a few feet above your head. Did you get that WAR IS BAD? No? Well you're in for a fucking schooling now.
Animation is still superb and the music, while slightly less memorable than Stardust Memory's, does its job well enough. Unlike Stardust Memory though, the story told here is actually good, supported by main characters that act like actual human beings and a love story that works. Goddamn if it works.
A mandatory watch for anyone with even a passing interest in Gundam, no more and no less.
Read at the sourceThe_Fylkir
This OVA is an absolute masterpiece. I usually don't write reviews of series, but I just had to recommend it to somebody. It is also a land of many "firsts". It's the first Gundam series not directed by Tomino. It's the first Gundam OVA. It's also the first extended view we have of what life in the colonies is like as well as the first story from the perspective of civilians. It absolutely nails everything it's trying to be
The story is outstanding, both from a critic's perspective and the way it fits in with the rest of the Universal Century timeline. It makes the world of Gundam feel "real" more so than 36 episodes of Mobile Suit Gundam or 50 of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam ever did.
The art and animation are beautiful, as is expected from an OVA of a popular series like Gundam. There's no…
Read at the sourceManthors
Gundam War in the Pocket plot happens during the events of MS Gundam and takes a very different view from the war going on at the time. This is a very different story when compared to the rest of the franchise but it is a hell of a story and you can`t miss it. More bellow.
Story: It gets you off guard. I can`t say much without spoiling it for you. So, let me just explain in simple facts. You will get a feeling that the story is something that it is not. It will make you believe that it has nothing to hide, but it does. I think this is one of the best side stories of the Gundamverse. You will follow a kid and a Zaku pilot, mainly, and the writers were extremely on-point on their relationship. This is a war story, but not like the others from the classical Gundam series. This is more on the…
Read at the sourceliteraturenerd
Overview:
Finally, I conclude my trilogy of great, underrated anime gems. War in the Pocket is a Gundam anime, but you don't actually need to have an encyclopedic knowledge of the Gundam franchise or the One Year War to enjoy it. It works perfectly well as a stand alone feature, while also being highly enjoyable to longtime Gundam fans. Basically, it's the perfect Gundam series!
Plot and characters:
Hundreds of years in the future, war has broken out between a militaristic space colony called Zeon and the rest of Humanity. This war was depicted in the original 1979 Gundam series and is called the One Year War. Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, takes place during a minor theater of this war and focuses on everyday soldiers.
The 1979 series was about a guy born with special powers called…
Read at the sourceCodeBlazeFate
In the hellfires of the battlefield, people are predestined to die. The tragedy of this reality doesn’t impact the dead, or usually even the survivors, but instead, the families of those who lost their lives. Seeing war firsthand can be as traumatizing as losing someone in it. In fiction, we often take for granted the sheer levels of brutality on display in shows like this, as we relish in the spectacle of the fights and the possible charm of the combatants, at least until one we care about dies. Gundam has nearly always embodied this as a franchise, but nowhere has the franchise been more poignant in regards to this than in 0080, where the effects are at its most tangible.
Putting this into perspective, there have since been anime that showcase scenes of soldiers scrambling in terror in…
Read at the sourceRedInfinity
"War does not determine who is right - only who is left" -Bertrand Russell
Sometimes, the best war stories are not told from the perspective of the people who fight, but from those who don't. Without offering any sort of resistance in most cases, civilians are defenseless against the cruelties which are present at these times. This way, some horrific stories remain hidden without record and linger profusely in the wounded hearts of many. Gundam is a series that usually relies heavily on action to show off the designs of the mechs, which are the main selling point of the franchise. By this method, a lesser emphasis is placed on what is happening in the background of the stories, separate from the pilots who control them. War in the pocket diverts from the norm and instead focuses on Side 6…
Read at the sourceSkittles
War in the Pocket is a stellar example of how revolutionizing a time-tested mecha franchise can bring about positive results. Preferring to avoid genre tropes such as angsty teenage pilots and testosterone-fueled robot brawls, this six-episode OVA chronicles a mature tale akin to celebrated war dramas. It’s the first Gundam series not directed by the legendary Yoshiyuki Tomino, but by no means does that make it inferior. In fact, War in the Pocket is easily the best entry in the saga until today.
While most Gundam stories revolve around a brash teenage pilot, War in the Pocket opts for something completely different by having an eleven-year-old—a civilian—as its lead character. At first, Al hardly seems to be a good choice for a Gundam protagonist. Here we have a schoolboy who loves playi…
Read at the sourceSpace_Pirate
Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket is only a six episode ova, and there isn't a lot of content for me to write about, so it will be a rather short review, of what I liked and didn't like.
Story: (7)
The story centers around the main character Al who befriends a Zaku special forces pilot and the actions of the group. The story itself is pretty simple and there isn't a lot of twists, but it's well told through the development of characters and events that occur.
Art: (9)
This is my favorite animation style. The Zakus, Goggs, GM Mobile Suits, and Alex Gundam all look fantastic. The action is spot on as well. A few of the characters have bland facial animations and big eyes, but that is only a minor nitpick. Overall the art design is great.
Sound: (4)
My only major complaint about the show is…
Read at the sourcebenjireturns
War in the Pocket is ok. I'll try not to spoil anything beyond the first episode, but I will say that the first half is somewhat boring. The second half is really where this series takes off, so if you're unsure halfway, push past it.
I decided to write this review because most of them are glowing and rate this short series highly, and I don't feel like there was an outsider's view (by outsider, I mean that I have never seen anything Gundam related before; I've seen various other mecha shows, but Gundam isn't one I'm familiar with). That being said, I don't believe I needed to know the background, but I do feel that knowing the background beforehand might have improved my opinion of the show.
The story of War in the Pocket is one we see from time to time, but it's more rare than not: The…
Read at the sourcemidnightblade
Mobile Suit Gundam 0080 War in the Pocket is if nothing else very different from any other gundam show I have watched. It is about how a young boy named Alfred and the nuetral space colony he lives on get dragged into a war situation , but this OVA is more about the characters than it is about the poltics or action.
I think I enjoyed War in the Pocket mostly because I believe this is the first UC gundam that just follows either normal people or grunt soldiers for the most part. There is much less of a focus on crazy newtype powers that were dominating previous UC gundam shows, or overly dramatic political plotlines .
Its quite interesting that we get to see part of the One Year War conflict through the eyes of a child in a neutral colony. Alfred was cute but difficult to watch through a…
Read at the sourceJizzyHitler
Many months ago I decided I was gonna make it my goal to watch through every single universal century gundam and many of it's spin offs. Out of all the grand scale battles and magical newtype powers spread across the many entries of the universal franchise, I found a little ova by the name of war in the pocket. This short 6 episode ova stood out from the fellow gundam installments as well as many of its contemporaries in the genre even to this day. Set within the one year war from the original gundam series war in the pocket focused heavily on telling the war from the eyes of a civilian child as well as a rookie grunt on the antagonist army of the zeon from the original series. The series favors a slow build to focus on characters rather than action. Even in the rare moments of action the…
Read at the source5camp
Let's get some Christmas themed anime all up in this review place!
First impressions were bad, primarily because it set up exactly the same way every single other friggen Gundam series seems to do. We’re on a space colony and here’s this kid who loves giant robots but ohsnap robots attack! The kid finds a giant robot with no pilot in it. It’s around about there that this show differentiates itself because the kid in question is about 8 years old. Even when the pilot of the downed robot picks himself up and points a gun at him, the kid is still jumping about with unbridled enthusiasm, wanting to have a look at the Zeon gun and asking to have a go in the cockpit.
The primary theme of War in the Pocket is…well, it’s Gundam so it’s WAR IS BAD. But being a bit more specific, it’s about the ch…
Read at the sourceMonkey_D_Luffy
Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket is the first OVA to enter the vast Gundam franchise. After seeing the three lengthy first Gundam series, I was expecting a short six episode OVA to not quite live up to the standard set by those series. While, yes, it doesn't fully match such titles as Mobile Suit Gundam or Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, it's still a wonderful tale that without a doubt deserves its place in the Gundam metaseries.
The story is definitely the outstanding quality in War in the Pocket. You wouldn't quite expect this, since it's all jammed into just six episodes, but Tomino Yoshiyuki and his gang, of course, pulled it off. Impressively too. It's a little different than the others because this time we get to watch the war from the viewpoint of a typical 10 year old boy, Alfr…
Read at the sourcejmoriarty84
It brings a whole new chapter to the official first series in which we were to believe that side 6 was always officially neutral, but this series says other wise. Though none of the other series characters are present, it is noted, that you have to be a “freak” to truly pilot the Gundam NT-1 Alex. This series does an excellent job portraying the series about how naïve kids can be. Al is aware of how dangerous things can be, but he puts the excitement factor first without thinking of the potential consequences of what may happen. You also really feel the bond Al and Bernie develop. Bernie has a general understanding of kids, but after awhile, he then sees some use for him in his missions as well and always looks out for him. Bernie has that thing with Al because he is still…
Read at the sourceChag
As a small member of the huge gundam metaseries, Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket is often overlooked. This is a real shame, as 0080 is one of the most touching war stories to be found in the anime medium.
The story of 0080 is distinct from other gundam series in that it features a civilian child's point of view on war. It is the story of Alfred Izuruha's journey of disillusionment as he grows out of his starry-eyed romance for war and the military, ultimately realizing the devastation and meaninglessness of it all. Though the risk of spoilers prevent me from elaborating further, it must be noted that the story goes beyond merely reminding the viewer of the obvious, such as "lives are lost during times of war". Al's personal growth is a heart-wrenching and emotional ride as he l…
Read at the sourceStormy_77
This series was only 6 episodes long but packed more character development in it than most 50+ episode Mobile Suit Gundam series. The protagonist, Al, is likeable, and is a kid that most people can quickly and easily identify with. He finds school boring, is good at some subjects, is failing at others and is afraid of his mother "grounding" him for his bad grades. His father is never around and he hungers for male companionship, which he gets from a new friend, Bernard Wiseman.
The friendship between Bernard, a rookie pilot, and Al, the school kid, grows despite the difficulties of the political situation in their supposedly "neutral" colony. The usual misunderstandings arise, and one can't help but be amazed and amused at Al's ingenious methods of problem solving. It is a relationship wh…
Read at the sourceOtakuFreak
Hey there everyone. Yes, it's another Gundam review by yours truly. This time I'd like to introduce you to another of my favorite Gundam spin offs, Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War In the Pocket. Unlike many of the Gundam seires that you'd usually see that takes place after the Original Gundam or in another Gundam Universe, Gundam 0080 takes place during the end of the Original Mobile Suit Gundam series. This fan fic version of the great One Year War explains the story of the people the live within the colonies. Though the show was only six episodes long, it was worth watching.
The story begins like this, the War between Zeon and Federation is about to come to an end and things don't look good for Zeon. A team of Zeon pilots, The Cyclops team, was sent out by Solomon force to steal a supposed…
Read at the source