Orga Itsuka is the leader of a group of what's called "human debris", orphans part of a PMC organization who have underwent a medical operation to interface their nervous system directly with machines, dubbed "Alaya-Vijnana". When they are tasked with escorting Martian revolutionary aristocrat Kudelia Aina Bernstein to Earth, they are attacked by Gjallarhorn, a powerful and corrupt army that wants to keep their absolute control over both Earth and space. Abandoned, desperate, and with nobody to turn to, Orga directs his best friend Mikazuki Augus to pilot their only asset, a 300-year-old relic from a colossal war - Gundam Barbatos, while they also aided by Gjallarhorn officer McGillis Fareed, who wants their help to root out Gjallarhorn's corruption from the inside-out. But will Orga's and McGillis' alliance change their world for the better, or will it lead to their own destruction?
Iron Blooded Orphans is definitely one of the better Gundam series out there, cutting out much of the philosophical crap that plagues so many of the shows and instead going where no Gundam show has gone before: not just using child soldiers as characters, but fully exploring the concept itself. However, this show is not for the faint of heart; it is perhaps the darkest Gundam series yet, going beyond drama to ultimately be a tragedy. I do have mixed feelings about the irony of the ending.
Iron Blooded Orphans also has other differences from most Gundam series: it puts more emphasis on pilot than machine, and introduces an entirely different style of combat. Instead of the Gundams being Super Prototypes with superior armor and weaponry piloted by novices, they are centuries old relics with only twice the power source, and piloting skill and the Alaya-Vijnana increase in reaction speed are what truly make a difference on the battlefield. And instead of beam weaponry being cutting edge technology that cuts through warships like soft butter, it is out-of-date and unable to pierce modern armor, with kinetic weapons only able to be marginally more effective, for once actually justifying melee weapons and actually giving combat more of a medieval feel to it, and making mobile suits mostly incapable of taking on warships.
One of the Best Gundam
Orga Itsuka is the leader of a group of what's called "human debris", orphans part of a PMC organization who have underwent a medical operation to interface their nervous system directly with machines, dubbed "Alaya-Vijnana". When they are tasked with escorting Martian revolutionary aristocrat Kudelia Aina Bernstein to Earth, they are attacked by Gjallarhorn, a powerful and corrupt army that wants to keep their absolute control over both Earth and space. Abandoned, desperate, and with nobody to turn to, Orga directs his best friend Mikazuki Augus to pilot their only asset, a 300-year-old relic from a colossal war - Gundam Barbatos, while they also aided by Gjallarhorn officer McGillis Fareed, who wants their help to root out Gjallarhorn's corruption from the inside-out. But will Orga's and McGillis' alliance change their world for the better, or will it lead to their own destruction?
Iron Blooded Orphans is definitely one of the better Gundam series out there, cutting out much of the philosophical crap that plagues so many of the shows and instead going where no Gundam show has gone before: not just using child soldiers as characters, but fully exploring the concept itself. However, this show is not for the faint of heart; it is perhaps the darkest Gundam series yet, going beyond drama to ultimately be a tragedy. I do have mixed feelings about the irony of the ending.
Iron Blooded Orphans also has other differences from most Gundam series: it puts more emphasis on pilot than machine, and introduces an entirely different style of combat. Instead of the Gundams being Super Prototypes with superior armor and weaponry piloted by novices, they are centuries old relics with only twice the power source, and piloting skill and the Alaya-Vijnana increase in reaction speed are what truly make a difference on the battlefield. And instead of beam weaponry being cutting edge technology that cuts through warships like soft butter, it is out-of-date and unable to pierce modern armor, with kinetic weapons only able to be marginally more effective, for once actually justifying melee weapons and actually giving combat more of a medieval feel to it, and making mobile suits mostly incapable of taking on warships.