What is it?
The 2015 Japanese mecha anime (animated) television show Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans.
What is it about?
This is how Wikipedia describes this anime (animated) television show:
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans (Japanese: 機動戦士ガンダム 鉄血のオルフェンズ Hepburn: Kidō Senshi Gandamu Tekketsu no Orufenzu), also referred to as G-Tekketsu (Gの鉄血), is a 2015 Japanese mecha anime series and the fourteenth installment in Sunrise’s long-running Gundam franchise.
It is directed by Tatsuyuki Nagai and written by Mari Okada, a team which previously collaborated on Toradora! and Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day.
It aired in Japan on MBS and other JNN stations from October 4, 2015 to March 27, 2016.[1] making this the first Gundam series to return to a Sunday late afternoon time slot since Mobile Suit Gundam AGE.
A second season premiered on October 2, 2016.
The series follows the exploits of a group of juvenile soldiers who establish their own security company after rebelling against the adults who betrayed them on a futuristic, terraformed Mars.
Iron-Blooded Orphans deals with several real-life problems such as war, slavery, child soldiers, poverty, corruption and neo-colonialism.
The series’s catchphrase is “The sustenance of life is on the battlefield.” (いのちの糧は、戦場にある。 Inochi no kate wa, senjō ni aru.)
My Thoughts
I actually miss this anime television show in the current Toonami lineup, it was way better than Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn which was so convoluted and full of random names and words et cetera that it had me lost and confused and not caring and caused my brain to shut down so my brother GC and I did not even finish watching it (eventually we stopped watching Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, and I would take a nap until each episode was over) and Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn is probably the most convoluted and random name-filled show that I have seen part of in recent memory, and so the current Toonami lineup is not that good now without shows like Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans (which I did like, and it was not convoluted like Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn was).
I like the name (which fits this anime well) and the concept of Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans where a group of abused (slaves, child soldiers, test subjects, physically abused, et cetera) and neglected (uneducated, pretty much homeless in a way, poor, et cetera) hard-working orphans struggling on planet Mars fight to escape together after forming their own private security company and then going on a mission through outer space and other planets while trying to build a better life for themselves and others who are also struggling on Mars and other colonies.
The characters build strong relationships, they suffer through real struggles and real losses, and the end credits song that is also sometimes used in the show itself is beautiful and amazing 👏.
I can actually get a bit emotional (sad and happy) at times (most of the time) when listening to the song Orphans No Namida by Misia, this song fits this anime perfectly, and it reminds me of my younger days and of some of my cousins when they were kids as well and of some of our hopes and dreams and goals et cetera in life and how things have actually turned out for us now that we are adults 😿:
This is a real underdog story where these orphans have been through so much and they have to keep fighting and moving forward trying to survive while trying to reach their goals as others try to stop them and kill them, and there are often real consequences to their actions.
I could relate to this anime because it shows some of the struggles of poverty, unfair and unbalanced social systems, people forming strong relationships that are equal to or stronger than family bonds, people fighting for freedom and independence, people struggling to find and make their place in the world, people trying to make the world a better place, et cetera.
It was interesting getting to see a group of mostly orphan children and young people as the main characters, and to see them having to deal with more realistic and harsh situations than you would expect for something like this.
The end,
-John Jr
John Jr's Blog 