Line #10 Anime/MobileSuitGundamThe08thMSTeam


1	%%
2	%%Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1646786476094525800
3	%%Please don't change or remove without starting a new thread.
4	%%
5	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mobile_suit_gundam_08th_ms_team_blu_ray.jpg]]
6	[[caption-width-right:350:''Zeke don't surf.'']]
7	%%
8	->''"Feeling as you do, do you believe you can still fire at the enemy?"''
9
10	One of the most popular ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' {{OAV}}s, ''Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team'' is a TwelveEpisodeAnime released in 1996 and 1999. Set [[DuringTheWar during the One Year War]], it runs alongside the events of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' and ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam0080WarInThePocket Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket]]''.
11
12	The story centers on Shiro Amada, a young and eager [[TheFederation Earth Federation]] officer, as he takes command of the titular mobile suit team. Notable among ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' series for abandoning nearly all of the franchise's SuperRobot origins, thereby making it the hardest sci-fi, and most solidly RealRobot ''Gundam'' show to date. Eschewing the OneManArmy ace pilot protagonist archetypes in SuperPrototype Gundams of the main series, ''08th MS Team'' instead focuses on TheSquad doing their part in a much more localized conflict, just a small part of the larger war. With nary a [[PsychicPowers Newtype]] in sight, and the local Gundams being [[UsedFuture cobbled together out of spare parts]] instead of [[SuperPrototype ubermachines]], ''08th MS Team'' has a much different flavor than the average ''Gundam''.
13
14	The series begins with EnsignNewbie Shiro Amada en route to Earth, having just been assigned to command a mobile suit team. Along the way, he becomes involved in a battle and ends up [[EnemyMine working with an enemy pilot]] named Aina to survive after they're both stranded in space. Once he makes it to Earth, Shiro soon has his hands full, between having command of [[TheSquad the 08th MS Team]], dealing with [[LaResistance the locals]], unearthing his team's [[CynicismCatalyst emotional]] [[SurvivorsGuilt issues]], and encountering Aina again. Meanwhile, the war heads towards its conclusion, with Aina's brother Ginias working on a project with the potential to win the war in a single stroke...
15
16	In 1998, a compilation movie, called ''Miller's Report'', was released, focusing on Shiro's court martial in episode 8 of the series. This movie was never released in North American theaters, but is available on DVD, and scenes from the movie were spliced in with episode 8 in the 2001 Creator/{{Toonami}} broadcast. In 2013, a short film, ''Battle in Three Dimensions'', was bundled with the Blu-Ray Remaster box set (Hell, [[Anime/GundamBuildFighters Ricardo Fellini]] really liked it).
17	----
18	!!This series contains examples of:
19
20	[[foldercontrol]]
21
22	[[folder:Tropes A-M]]
23	* AceCustom: The Ez-8 is a {{downplayed}} version. Functionally, it's a rebuild of Shiro's RX-79[G] using the parts they had available, customized to Shiro's recommendations and battle data. It has a slightly different weapon loadout and performs a little better than the regular RX-79[G], but nothing like Char's various three-times-faster custom suits.
24	* AcePilot: Norris Packard, a single Zeon soldier who repeatedly poses a threat to the entire 08th Team, is explicitly identified as an ace by Sanders (in a tone somewhere between [[OhCrap awe and terror]]). By the end of the series, all of the 08th Team's pilots count in terms of "five confirmed kills", but it's Norris who best exemplifies the character role.
25	* AFatherToHisMen: Shiro, whose priorities for his team are roughly "don't die", "accomplish the mission", and "try not to get anyone else killed" in that order. On the Zeon side, there's Yuri Kellarny, who honestly and earnestly cares for his men despite being loud, obnoxious, and pissing off Ginias because he thinks it's fun.
26	* AllThereInTheManual:
27	** The Hover Trucks have a proper name, the Bloodhound, but it isn't mentioned onscreen until ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamMSIGLOO Gundam IGLOO]]''.
28	** According to the ''VideoGame/GihrensGreed'' games the Zaku I that appears in Shiro's flashback was piloted by none other than [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory Cima Garahau]].
29	** The ''VideoGame/SDGundamGGeneration'' series goes into some detail about Michel's fate after the war. Specifically, he became a TV producer and created [[ShowWithinAShow a show based on his adventures during the OYW]]. Said TV series was [[ArtisticLicense apparently heavily embellished]], being the source of all the non-canon Ez-8 Gundam variants seen in the games, most notably a space use version from a completely fictitious story arc depicting Shiro participating in Operation Star One rather than being crippled in his climactic battle with the Apsalus 3.
30	* AlphaStrike:
31	** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] when Shiro fires all of the Ez-8's weapons simultaneously at Norris while sliding down the side of a building, [[ATeamFiring only to miss entirely]]. Norris even [[LampshadeHanging comments]] "Well, that ''looked'' impressive".
32	** Despite being completely ineffective in the source material, this maneuver is often made the Gundam Ez-8's strongest attack in its appearances in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars''. Sometimes even the building appears from nowhere just for the Gundam to slide down!
33	* AnimeAnatomy: Oddly, Aina's scene with Shiro in their improvised hot spring has this, with no nipples visible, but Kiki's introduction scene of her skinny dipping doesn't.
34	* AscendedExtra: The Flight Type Gouf has an incredibly minor presence in the story, a pair of them showing up to flank the Apsulus III and then be destroyed. The ''Battle in Three Dimensions'' short featured the main antagonist, Zhukov, utilizing it to attack the 08th MS Team, showing it to be a force to be reckoned with when used to its fullest potential. The short was even named in reference to the suit as its ability to fly brought the fight to a three-dimensional space rather than a typical earth-based two dimensional one.
35	* AssholeVictim: When a trio of Zeon mobile suits occupies the guerrilla village, the first one to die is the unsympathetic asshole of the three.
36	* BadassNormal: All of the show's long list of skilled, dedicated, veteran soldiers are entirely normal humans -- notable in a setting where [[TelepathicSpacemen Newtypes]] are, if not exactly common, at least end up as a major factor in virtually every important conflict. Entirely justified, as the story takes place before, during, and right after the Battle of Odessa, where even Amuro's Newtype abilities had barely even began to manifest and the concept was only known to specific Zeon scientists.
37	* BewareTheNiceOnes: Shiro and his team in general are pretty decent folks, with Shiro himself being a TechnicalPacifist. That said, they're definitely competent in what they do. Not to mention that Shiro [[spoiler:drops said technical pacifist clause against Ginias and actively kills him]].
38	* {{BFG}}: Both sides of the conflict occasionally use cannons that are quite large even on the scale of HumongousMecha. Sanders wields the 08th Team's in the latter half of the show.
39	* TheBigGuy: Sanders, the second most experienced pilot, physically largest member of the team, and usually carries TheSquad's {{BFG}}.
40	* BittersweetEnding: In three stages, no less! At the end of the penultimate episode, [[spoiler:both Shiro and Aina are missing and presumed dead]] by the rest of the team, but a final shot reveals them [[spoiler:both alive, struggling to escape the battlefield, with Shiro missing the lower half of one leg and Aina suffering from some pretty nasty burns sustained earlier in the episode]]. The last episode is a semi-DistantFinale, taking place somewhere between a few months and a year or two later, and features [[spoiler:Michel, now an alcoholic (or at least something of a loser), meeting up with Kiki again to look for Shiro]]. After a somewhat bizarre series of events, the final scene shows them arriving [[spoiler:at a cabin in the woods, the new home of Shiro and Aina, with Aina being [[BabiesEverAfter visibly pregnant]]]].
41	* BloodFromTheMouth:
42	** Ginias exhibits this in the first scene of episode 11, presumably a symptom of his SoapOperaDisease.
43	** So does Aina after [[spoiler:Ginias shoots her -- but it's a subversion, in that [[PocketProtector the bullet hit her watch, and she's fine]].]]
44	* TheCameo: In the final episode [[spoiler:Dr. Flanagan]] from the original MSG series appears in a flashback.
45	* CantBatheWithoutAWeapon: When she realizes she's being peeped on, Kiki takes just long enough to swim to her clothes before she starts shooting.
46	* CatapultNightmare: Though we're never told how much of it is FlashBack and how much of it is NightmareSequence, Shiro catapults out of sleep ''and immediately assaults his LoveInterest after dreaming about the One Week Battle, when the Zeon murdered ''billions'' of people by flooding the space colonies with nerve gas.
47	* ChekhovsBoomerang: Aina's watch, which Shiro ended up with after the first episode, which probably helped his growing romantic feelings for her as well as serve as a continual reminder that Gineas is [[SanitySlippage off his meds]]. When he finally gives it back, it seems like it's finally served its purpose, until [[spoiler: it [[PocketProtector then saves Aina when she's shot by Ginias.]]]]
48	* ChildSoldier: A group of children in the last episode of the series are this, who also act as TheRemnant in case of a new war.
49	* ColonelBadass: Norris Packard holds the naval rank of captain, equal to an army colonel. He is also a badass.
50	* ConspicuousCGI: The decoy balloons deployed during the battle against the Apsalus II during it's test flight stand out like a sore thumb. It's the only use of computer imagery in the entire series. The "Miller's Report" recap special shows that they were traditionally animated with the rest of the scene, so the CGI was added in afterward.
51	* CranialProcessingUnit: {{Averted\|Trope}}; Karen's Gundam remains operational even after getting its head punched off, and even manages to destroy its attacker with a bit of help aiming (and the only reason it needed help was that its cockpit displays had been smashed in addition to its head being removed). After that they're able to get her Gundam functioning again by simply replacing the head with one from a GM.
52	* DarkerAndEdgier: This particular Gundam anime did a good job of showing the good and evil on both sides of the war.
53	* DefeatEqualsExplosion:
54	** Much like War in the Pocket, Mobile Suits tend to not explode when they're taken down. Their reactors are noted to have the potential to go critical if struck by a blast so several characters explicitly try to avoid blowing their enemies up lest they damage surrounding civilians.
55	** Ryder actually tries to invoke this when scouting Ginias's base by deliberately sending in troops into trapped areas to detonate their reactors, but he has no luck at it.
56	** This series also features robots exploding should their ordinance be shot with Packard destroying the Guntanks by blasting their ammunition and [[spoiler:the Apsalus's beam weapon taking a hit]].
57	* DefectingForLove: Aina for Shiro, though she doesn't join the Federation so much as [[spoiler:they both give the finger to both sides and go AWOL]].
58	* DistantFinale: Not ''that'' distant, but the final episode takes place sometime between the end of the One Year War and ''Gundam 0083.''
59	* DivergentCharacterEvolution: The team's three Ground Gundams start out looking identical, but Shiro and Karen's are both damaged and remodeled towards the end of the series, leaving Terry as the only one still using the stock configuration.
60	* DuringTheWar: Another One Year War side-story (a scene from Garma's funeral plays during episode 1, and part of the second half of the series is Zeon troops trying to regroup after the fall of Odessa), and also a thin allegory for Vietnam. Thin to the point that it could easily be taking place ''in'' Vietnam (it's at least taking place in the general area of Southeast Asia, which includes Vietnam).
61	* EliteMook:
62	** The Ground Type Gundams can be seen as this to the military. They're essentially grunt suits with better armor and weapons, not game-changers like the main Gundam, but more important than GM's.
63	** The GM Snipers at the series end are also fairly powerful suits. In contrast to the standard GM which tends to get thrashed easily in this series, the Snipers are far deadlier, one even managing to cripple the Apsalus.
64	* EnergyWeapons: The 08th Team starts out equipped with [[LaserBlade beam sabers]] and gets equipped with beam rifles about halfway through the series. They still tend to carry a mix of weapons, though; by the end the team typically has a beam rifle, a machine gun, and a {{BFG}}.
65	* EnsignNewbie: Shiro is the TropeNamer; Eledore (at least in the dub) refers to him as this. He's the commanding officer, but he's also new to commanding and ''the planet'' which trips him up somewhat.
66	* {{Expy}}: Cool older pilot who took care of a young Zeon noblewoman when she was a kid, acts as a WorthyOpponent toward the hero, and pilots a Gouf... Are we sure Norris Packard isn't [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Ramba Ral's]] lost brother? His English VA, Creator/MichaelMcConnohie, even voiced Ramba Ral in the dub of the ''Gundam'' {{Compilation Movie}}s.
67	* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler:After the destruction of the Apsalus, Shiro and Aina, who can't get to the Zeon side (and have nobody left there who cares about either of them anyway) and would likely face arrest and trial if they go to the Federation side, allow the record to state that they both died in the explosion and start a new life away from the war.]]
68	* {{Fanservice}}: Kiki's [[NakedOnArrival introduction]] in the second episode features her SkinnyDipping in a pool [[WaterfallShower below a waterfall]]. The viewer [[NippleAndDimed gets a good few shots of Kiki's anatomically-correct breasts]]. Shiro also [[NakedFirstImpression first meets her]] when he ends up [[ShowerOfAwkward stumbling upon her as she's bathing]] and she [[CantBatheWithoutAWeapon quickly produces pistol]] to chase him away.
69	* FashionableAsymmetry: The RX-79[G] ground type Gundams have asymmetrical torsos. Instead of the usual vent, the left side of their torso houses a combination gatling gun and multi-purpose grenade launcher.
70	* FatalFamilyPhoto: In a variation, Michel's fixation on mail from home distracts him from his work to the point where it nearly kills ''Shiro'' rather than himself.
71	* {{Fingore}}: When lost in the mountains, Shiro injures his hand from frostbite. It's not too bad, especially since Aina dresses the wounds quickly. When Shiro has his nightmare about Operation British, he imagines one civilian reaching out to him, and tearing his own fingers as he grabs onto Shiro's helmet.
72	* FourthDateMarriage: [[spoiler:Shiro and Aina]] elope after having met a grand total of three times.
73	* FreezeFrameBonus: If you pause at just the right time during the Apsalus III's start up sequence, it's apparently running a lot of mid-90s software and hardware including both an AMD K6 and Cyrix 6x86MX all Microsoft's MediaNotes/DirectX.
74	* GatlingGood: Norris' Gouf Custom and the Test Flight Goufs have one attached to their shields. Norris even [[ThrowAwayGuns detaches it]] to lighten the mecha's load after it runs out of ammo.
75	* GeneralRipper: The Earth Federation Forces' Captain Ethan Ryer, who is remarkably callous about throwing away the lives of his men, sending mobile suit teams on suicide missions into the trap-filled entrances to Ginias' ElaborateUndergroundBase in the hopes that their mecha will [[GoingCritical Go Critical]] when they're destroyed and take out the base for him.
76	* GiantRobotHandsSaveLives: [[spoiler:Shiro catches Aina out of the air after she gets shot and falls out of the Apsalus III]]aqa.
77	* GreaterScopeVillain: Ginias may be the series' BigBad, but the presence of the Zabi family (and especially Gihren) can be felt throughout the show. Gihren's speech is broadcast in the first episode, portraits of both he and Degwin adorn the walls of Ginias' headquarters, the "Sieg Zeon" salute is given in front of said portraits, and so on and so forth. The Zabis essentially plays the same role in this show, as UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler will in almost any World War II movie.
78	* GreyAndGrayMorality: Both good and bad people exist at all levels of the military on both sides, the Gray vs. Gray vibe comes across strong in the 08th MS Team.
79	* GrievousHarmWithABody: Shiro, in mid-FreakOut, ''rips off his own mobile suit's arm'' and bludgeons his target with it.
80	* HighHeelFaceTurn: Aina, as the only prominent female Zeon character, is also the only one who ends up leaving them for her love.
81	* HighPressureBlood: Of the MachineBlood variety, when Norris Packard stabs a ''tank'' a fountain a liquid erupts. Generally assumed to be [[JustifiedTrope hydraulic fluid or oil or somesuch]] (supported by the fact that it's pitch black when it erupts from the "stab wound"), but it's really obvious what effect they're actually going for, especially waith Karen saying immediately before that he was targeting the crew of the tank right before he stabs.
82	* HoverSkates: The Dom moves with these. The large exhaust ducts on their legs that allow for it prompt Federation pilots to call them "skirts".
83	* KickTheDog: Ginias has a string of these toward the end to demonstrate just how loony he's gotten, culminating in his crossing the MoralEventHorizon. He [[spoiler:kills his own allies to prevent them from shutting down the Apsalus project]], then [[spoiler:kills the Apsalus project team immediately after they finish it]], then [[spoiler:violates a ceasefire, which gets a ship filled with wounded men and his own evacuating soldiers blown up]], ''then'' [[spoiler:shoots his sister when she calls him on his bullshit]]. Then gets [[spoiler:punched into goo by a giant robot]].
84	* TheLancer: Karen, the most experienced pilot, and much more pragmatic than Shiro.
85	* TheLeader: Shiro, the story's [[TheProtagonist protagonist]] and the 08th Team's commanding officer.
86	* LaResistance: The locals fighting Zeon. They're not especially fond of the Earth Federation either, though they eventually warm up to the latter.
87	* LaserGuidedTykebomb: In the last episode, Michel and Kiki encounter a bunch of former Zeon kids who were quite obviously meant to be this. Subverted in that a) they don't know what they're supposed to be and b) they don't really want to anyway.
88	* LatexSpaceSuit: All mobile suit pilots in space, as is typical for UC Gundam. Amusingly, Shiro wears his (rather than the much more comfortable fatigues that everyone else uses) during his first mission on Earth, and practically drowns in his own sweat because of it.[[note]] this is completely unrealistic, as the realities of space mean that space suits have integrated heating ''and'' cooling systems. The only practical way to get rid of heat in space is radiating it, so without an LCVG occupants would rapidly cook themselves during EVA operations[[/note]]Aina wears her on Earth, and it absolutely clings to her.
89	* TheLoad: Michel, the most emotional and least useful member of the team.
90	* LoveAtFirstSight: Shiro and Aina first meet in episode 1, then don't see each other again until episode 6, at which point they consider themselves a couple. At the end of episode 11, which is their third meeting, [[spoiler:they desert their respective sides and elope.]]
91	* MachineBlood: The battle between Norris and the Team has this when Norris stabs a guntank, resulting in a massive gout of oil being sprayed across his mobile suit.
92	* MadScientist: Ginias begins the series as a relatively sane, if obsessive scientist. He starts going unhinged when rumors float around that Zeon may cut his funding in favor of some other project, and snaps completely when its simultaneously revealed to him that his funding and materials ''will'' be cut and seized, and that Aina is in love with a Federation pilot.
93	* MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter: Aina to Ginias, though it's actually "Mad Scientist's Beautiful Sister".
94	* MauveShirt: The couple of recurring Guerrilla fighters, The Magellan Team, the 07th MS Team, and Topp Squad. All are named soldiers that populate their respective sides and give the cast some extra faces
95	* MidSeasonUpgrade: Subverted by Shiro's Ez-8 and Karen's "GM Head". Instead of being a new and improved, more effective fighting machines, both examples are repair jobs designed to keep the units functioning and are not obvious improvements (though supplementary materials state that the Ez-8 has slightly better performance characteristics than a standard RX-79[G]). The "GM Head" had its original head (which was punched off) replaced by a head from a GM model, while the Ez-8 is a near-total rebuild of Shiro's machine after it was completely trashed. Both, however, admirably serve their primary purpose -- [[MerchandiseDriven selling more model kits]].
96	* MundaneMadeAwesome: Norris Packard walking alongside his Gouf Custom as they head out for combat. He's literally doing nothing but walking through the hangar, but they do their damnedest to make it really cool.
97	* MundaneUtility: In Episode 7, Shiro uses his Gundam's beam saber to create a make-shift hotspring to keep him and Aina warm in the mountains. [[spoiler:In the last episode of the OVA, a group of {{child soldier}}s use the technique to create one from the beam saber/naginata from a broken Gelgoog, a hint that they'd met Shiro and Aina.]]
98	[[/folder]]
99
100	[[folder:Tropes N-Z]]
101	* NetGun: One of the Gundam Ground Type's equipment is a net gun scaled up to HumongousMecha sizes used in ambush and capture missions. The same gun is used by the Ground-type GM. Later in the UC timeline it seems that the idea gets replaced by the Clay Bazooka, which fires clay rounds to ensnare mobile suits.
102	* NeverFoundTheBody: Because they were both at point blank range when the Apsalus exploded, [[spoiler:Shiro and Aina]] are assumed to have been vaporized by the blast. [[spoiler:They both survived (though Shiro lost a leg), and they use the fact that everyone thinks that they're dead to desert.]]
103	* NotSoDifferentRemark: On multiple levels. First when Shiro begins to realize that most Zeon soldiers are just regular people trying to survive the war, rather than faceless evil psychopaths. Later, he realizes that some of his ''own'' [[GeneralRipper superiors]] actually ''are'' psychopaths, just like the Zeon higher-ups.
104	* OhCrap: Every time the Apsalus shows up. Notable moment when Michel is about to be blasted away by its cannon. Also, Sanders when he realizes just how skilled Packard is.
105	* TheOjou: Aina, who is effectively the matriarch of the Sahalin family, though since her brother Ginias is the patriarch, that leaves her in a distinctly subordinate position.
106	* PetTheDog: In the dubbed version of "Duty and Ideals". One of the lost Zeon pilots returns his food bowl back to a village girl and placed some bullet casings inside. The photograph in his Zaku's cockpit is likely meant to imply he himself is a father, so this behavior is especially understandable. The original sub has him simply returning the bowl to the child after using it and placing Zeon-made bullets, but the dub included the line of [[{{Woolseyism}} turning it into a gift to fit the paternal nature of the scene]].
107	* PocketProtector: [[spoiler:Aina's pocket watch stops what would otherwise be a fatal gunshot.]]
108	* PunctuatedPounding: Shiro does this to Norris to declare his love for Aina while smacking him with the Ez-8's ripped off disabled arm.
109	* PsychicPowers: There are almost no Newtypes to be found in this series. [[spoiler:Although the Zeon {{Child Soldier}}s who show up in the final episode are from the Flanagan Institute, their interactions creeping out Michel and Kiki.]]
110	* RealRobot: Probably the most so of any Gundam series to date. The mecha are portrayed entirely as mundane (if powerful) military weaponry rather than any sort of unique or special technology, and they even use reasonable military tactics like combined arms (the 08th Team consists of three mecha and a "hover truck" support unit, and later on they're teamed with an air wing of [[CoolPlane Jet Core Boosters]] and [[CoolTank Guntank]] artillery units for an assault on a major base). Special note must be made of Topp's squad of Zakus. They're dinged and damaged and have clearly improvised repairs and captured weapons.
111	* TheRemnant: The DistantFinale deals with a gang of Zeon {{Child Soldier}}s claiming that they're waiting for Zeon to come back to continue the war. [[spoiler:They're Newtypes from the Flanagan Institute, the same place Lalah Sune was brought to in the original series.]]
112	* {{Samurai}}: Norris Packard definitely follows the theme. An honorable warrior, loyal retainer of an aristocratic family, follows orders without question despite his lord being either evil or insane, and ultimately chooses to die honorably in combat rather than retreat, surrender, or be captured? Yep, he's a samurai. It's no surprise that when he's introduced, he's wearing a Zeon officer's helmet, which is incredibly reminiscent of a samurai's ''kabuto''.
113	* RuleOfThree: Sanders is known as "Shinigami" or "Grim Reaper", because every time he's with the same unit for three missions, the entire unit gets wiped out [[SoleSurvivor except for him]] on that third mission. By the time he's with the 08th team he's painfully aware of the nickname, and tries to get himself transferred away before what will be their third mission together, but they ultimately break the pattern.
114	* SenselessSacrifice: Used multiple times to reinforce the fact that WarIsHell. Notable examples include [[spoiler:Kiki's village vs. Topp's Zaku team]], where ''neither'' side wanted any bloodshed but it ends with both sides decimated anyway, and [[spoiler:Norris Packard vs the 08th MS Team]], which is rendered moot by the actions of both side's superiors a few minutes later.
115	* ShaggyDogStory: [[spoiler: Aina spends a few episodes trying to get the hospital ship Kergeren off the Earth safely, but in the end her brother screws everything up by attacking during a temporary cease fire and the ship is shot out of the sky [[NeverMyFault (after which Gineas places the blame entirely on the Federation.)]]]]
116	* ShieldBash: The Ground Gundam (along with the Ground GM and many other MS in the supplemental materials) has a shield with a claw-like front, designed to be used to stab enemy machines (or, for that matter, the ground to be used as a stabilizer for long-range shooting). To this end, it also can be slid forward giving it better reach.
117	* ShootTheDog: Shiro, when he's forced to kill enemy soldiers despite his obvious reluctance to do so. He hates to do it, but it's something that has to be done.
118	* ShoutOut:
119	** Shiro's Ez-8 Gundam is named after the iconic [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M4_Sherman Sherman "Easy 8"]] variant.
120	** In the final episode, upon seeing a swan flying overhead, Michel claims that he "hates seeing beautiful things". This is a reference to Lalah Sune from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', who is associated with swan imagery.
121	* ShownTheirWork: The [=OP=] showed scenes where Terry and Shiro were interacting with the local populace peacefully. This is an example of what the military would do in an anti-insurgency operation in order to get the populace to support the military instead of anti-government forces.
122	* SilkHidingSteel: Aina, crossed with TheOjou. This is best demonstrated in the party scene where she deflects Admiral Yuri's advances firmly but delicately. She is also, of course, a skilled Mobile Suit and Mobile Armor pilot.
123	* SissyVillain: Ginias, whose slight frame, PrettyBoy looks, emphasis on scientific achievement over martial prowess, and his [[SoapOperaDisease chronic illness]] make him less than manly. This is especially evident in contrast to Yuri, a BoisterousBruiser frontline commander.
124	* SixthRanger: Kiki, who starts out primarily as a representative of the local guerrillas, but eventually ends up tagging along for missions that take them far from inhabited areas.
125	* SlippingAMickey: In ''Miller's Report'', it's heavily implied that Miller put something in Shiro's coffee to make sure he wasn't hiding anything when discussing his actions and his relationship with Aina.
126	* TheSmartGuy: Eledore, who doesn't get to pilot a mobile suit but acts as a sort of on-scene MissionControl. Shiro trusts his recon skills to give battle command over to him during the "Shuddering Mountain" battle.
127	* SociopathicSoldier:
128	** While most characters, Federation and Zeon, are shown to be varying shades of gray, Arth (Zaku II pilot of the squad that occupies Kiki's village) is entirely a stereotype of an invading soldier. He condescends to the local populace, just wants to kill the villagers and take what they need, and even has intentions to force himself upon Kiki and only changes his mind because his CO turns her weapon on him.
129	** In the novelization, the Federation soldiers who gang-rape Kiki to the point that she commits suicide. Naturally referring the less savory aspects of the US-Vietnam War.
130	* SoleSurvivor:
131	** Sanders, multiple times in the backstory. Every team he's been on has been wiped out, leaving him the sole survivor, on his third mission with that team. It's uncertain how many times this happened, but it was enough to give him a reputation for getting his teams killed, as people started nicknaming him "{{shinigami}}" (or "grim reaper" in the dub).
132	** Kiki is the sole guerrilla to survive the disastrous encounter with Topp's MS Team. Thanks to the 08th Team's interference the village's non-combatants survive, but all the fighters are killed.
133	* TheSquad: Most prominently the eponymous 08th Team, but other examples include Topp's three-man Zaku team and a trio of Magella Attack tanks that volunteer to ambush the 08th Team.
134	* SuperPrototype: A surprising aversion in the ''Gundam'' franchise: Shiro and company only use limited- or mass-production model mobile suits, with the only unique units they have being made that way in desperate attempts to repair battle damage. Said limited production suits still outperform a Zaku or a GM, but they're still not prototypes. The Zeon forces do have one example in the Apsalus mobile armor.
135	* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
136	** One of the reasons this series in particular is so loved by a lot of the fandom is because the Gundams are not portrayed as the miraculous superweapons of the previous series. The machines need maintenance (''lots'' of it), repairs after battle are resource- and time-consuming (two of the team's three Gundams are personalized by the end of the series just from desperate attempts to keep them functioning after a complete trashing [Shiro's] or losing their head [Karen's] rather than intentionally making {{Ace Custom}}s), and the environment adversely affects them. One of the biggest obstacles the heroes face in the series is ''sand'' getting into the joints and components of their machines causing them to break down.
137	** In a more short-term example, Shiro attempts an AlphaStrike at Norris while sliding down a building, only for [[ATeamFiring every shot to miss]] because his movement ruins his accuracy. At least it looked impressive.
138	** AcePilot or no, one unit up against six at a time is practically a death sentence. Norris sorties anyway under the full knowledge that he's highly unlikely to survive the day's events, and even though he does succeed in his mission, [[PyrrhicVictory it takes him sacrificing himself to make the shot he needs]].
139	** The last episode had [[spoiler:Kiki manage to evade the attacks by the orphan named Shiro when he vehemently objected to giving back the names given to his charges, then destroyed his stick with a knife attached to it. This was because Kiki had some combat experience whereas the child didn't as he and his charges had been stranded there since the last days of the One Year War and were only taught some survivial skills by the real Shiro and Aina]].
140	* SurvivorsGuilt: Sanders doesn't take the repeated slaughter of his team too well. He has something of a complex about it.
141	* TheTeam: The 8th MS team contains: Shiro, the commanding officer acting as TheHero; TheLancer, Karen, who is the most experienced pilot, and much more pragmatic than Shiro; TheBigGuy, Sanders; TheSmartGuy, Eleodore; and Michel, who is basically TheLoad. Later they get a SixthRanger Kiki, who acts as TheHeart.
142	* TheGlovesComeOff: Twice, both near the end of the series. Once by Norris Packard, who [[spoiler:abandons any hope of being evacuated]] while fighting the 08th Team, and once by Shiro, who [[spoiler:makes an exception to his TechnicalPacifist stance to kill Ginias]]. With Aina's permission, no less.
143	* TitleDrop: Said word-for-word in the "Battle in Three Dimensions" short found in the Blu-Rays:
144	-->'''Shiro:''' The enemy's fighting in three dimensions!
145	* TripodTerror: The Apsaras 3 has three retractable legs used to brace itself when firing its WaveMotionGun at full power.
146	* TryNotToDie: Shiro issues this order to his team, usually in the form of "come back alive!" At one point, he doesn't say it, prompting Michel to wonder if he's become a DeathSeeker.
147	* UsedFuture: While not a particularly good example overall, it's one of the few Gundam shows that attempt it at all. Instead of using pristine SuperPrototype Gundams, the main mecha are stopgap units built out of parts leftover from the project that developed the [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam original Gundam]], and they get rebuilt/repaired in a variety of unique ways thanks to a lack of spare parts. Attention is also paid to maintenance and upkeep, especially on long range missions where they're away from support facilities for extended durations. While they look relatively pristine in animation (due to the difficulty of hand-animating visible wear and tear at a consistent quality) the promotional artwork for the show (see the [=BluRay=] cover above) often depicts the units of the 08th MS team covered with scratches, dents, and accumulated dirt and grime from operating in the field.
148	* VehicularTurnabout: Attempted by a group of guerilla fighters. [[MsFanservice Kiki]] lands on top of Shiro's cockpit, tricking him into open it to reveal a band of rebels waiting to take his Gundam at gunpoint. {{Subverted}} when it's quickly made apparents that none of the guerillas have the first idea how to operate his Gundam, and when Shiro is not inclined to help them, they opt to take him prisoner instead.
149	* VillainousBreakdown: Ginias, whose goes from a fairly mundane leader of a Zeon research group to a completely AxCrazy MadScientist type over the course of the series.
150	* WarIsHell: As any ''Gundam'' series, though this one is notable for bringing the view to ground-level, showing how destructive it is to both sides, many of whom are decent people ordered around by sociopaths from higher grounds where it's easy to dismiss the human cost of the war.
151	* WaveMotionGun: The Apsalus's mega beam cannon, designed to destroy an ElaborateUndergroundBase from high altitude. When it's fired, it blows a hole through a mountain.
152	* WhatMeasureIsAMook: Approached from a different direction from normal. In the second half of the series, Shiro has difficulty fighting because after getting to know a Zeon officer as a person and developing feelings for her, he is no longer able to see Zeon soldiers as faceless mooks, and thus is reluctant to kill them. [[spoiler: In the climax, Aina convinces him that her brother [[BigBad Ginius]] is a monster ''as a person'', and needs to be taken down.]]
153	* {{Yandere}}: Ginias to his sister and to his ''mobile armor''. He loves them for sure, but would rather no one else has them if he can't.
154	* YouShallNotPass: Norris does this for his last fight against the 08th Team, to prevent them from [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown destroying a ship filled with evacuating wounded]].
155	[[/folder]]

Context Anime / MobileSuitGundamThe08thMSTeam