The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk III

[Shinji_Shinigami]

Personally, i believe this was one episode, that shows the senselessness of war. A war against a noone, with casulties, who, in the end, will be remembered by no one, globally, but all that is left, are the ones scarred by this conflict.

For my taste an example of war.

10/10 for that

[SNT1]

I'm sure I missed it, but what's was the reasoning for the Mars and Earth branch so far away in terms of fighting power, and personnel ranking? Mars branch basically has their top 5 pilots, up to 3 potentially wielding Gundams. I'm thinking someone like Eugene would have smelled the BS a mile away, had he been on the Earth branch. I am satisfied by how this arc wrapped up but looking back I just feel like this arc was set up just so we can see Aston die the way he did.

[Brave Fencer Kirby]

I don't think it's been explicitly mentioned, but it makes sense. The Earth Branch was supposed to train and advise Arbrau, not do their fighting for them. They had enough personnel and hardware to whip Arbrau into shape, but not to fight a war by themselves -- but the conflict with the SAU started sooner than anyone expected and they ended up on the front lines.

Meanwhile, the bulk of Tekkadan's forces are in their main headquarters, where they're available for things like fighting the Dawn Horizon or whatever other jobs come up.

[Amion]

Yes, let's not forget Earth is supposed to be civilized and peaceful, with Gjallarhorn there to smite down any rogue elements like Dawn Horizon.

Mars, on the other hand, is a rather lawless and might-makes-right kind of world, exactly where you'd want the bulk of your fighting power.

Had Takaki had insisted on at least talking with Orga, then things would have gone very differently. Tekkadan could have sent its reinforcements and a new chief of staff far sooner than they did.

[yazi88]

Eugene is Tekkadan's 2nd in command, the Earth branch was stationed there for training Arbrau's forces, no one expected this conflict to happen (aside from the perpetrators in Ghjarrhorn).

Plus like stated above, Tekkadan's main turf is in Mars, where they have the main influence, not to mention the mining they're in charge of for Teiwaz, aside from consoltants, they have no power on Earth, hence why a mostly Junior group was sent along with Chad who is one of the more capable upper ranked Tekkadan member. If he wasn't injured with Makanai, that conflict would not have happened. Not to mention that traitor blocking the calls to the Mars HQ as well as lying to the rest of the kids.

[SNT1]

I agree with the above points, but I still believe it was way too massively lopsided between Earth and Mars branch, even if the Earth crew is a small crew not necessarily for combat. Maybe it's Orga's own fault for putting someone like Takaki 2nd in command (lack of judgement all throughout, including the fact he literally got Aston killed). But the Mars branch is extremely powerful as it is. They've had zero combat losses, Mika's record in battle puts Amuro/Kira/Heero/Setsuna to shame, and that's not even counting Akihiro, who we learn is just a beast at full power, and then you add Shino/Lafter/Azee into the mix? Please. They should have put one of them on Earth for insurance purposes. But like I said, maybe it's Orga's lack of foresight in this department (Naze did worry about his long-term game plans). Hopefully we find out next ep and see his reaction to the mess.

[yazi88]

There's also the very delicate balance of power on Earth to think about, it might aggravate Arbau's rivals along with Ghjarrhorn and possibly even have other military groups/pirates attack Arbrau if they see if Tekkadan is building up their Earth branch, especially if they have a Gundam stationed there.

Plus... no one saw this conflict coming, I will agree with you though that there should've been other senior members there. But it seems the only senior ones capable of command are Orga, Eugene and Chad. Mika, Akihiro and Shino are pilots, they don't necessarily know how to deal with logistics and management, they lead the other pilots in battle. Eugene had some experience being in charge of the younger kids, if that really meant anything in the end.

And how were they to know the auditor/manager stationed to them by Teiwaz would've turned coat until the very end as well as a undercover Ghjarrhorn agent Galan usurping command, they thought the traitor guy had Orga's permission, and he also blocked communications too with Galan's help. By the time it started, Orga sent Eugene and the others to Earth, problem is that they can't do anything for the time difference because of the LONG distance travel. Plus, the Main HQ was training new troops and recovering from their battle with the pirates.

[Kuruni]

Yup. Remember that they suppose to send those Shiden to Earth since the second episode, but that was delay because of the big battle against Dawn Horizon.

[X_zoro]

There's also the very delicate balance of power on Earth to think about, it might aggravate Arbau's rivals along with Ghjarrhorn and possibly even have other military groups/pirates attack Arbrau if they see if Tekkadan is building up their Earth branch, especially if they have a Gundam stationed there.

Plus... no one saw this conflict coming, I will agree with you though that there should've been other senior members there. But it seems the only senior ones capable of command are Orga, Eugene and Chad. Mika, Akihiro and Shino are pilots, they don't necessarily know how to deal with logistics and management, they lead the other pilots in battle. Eugene had some experience being in charge of the younger kids, if that really meant anything in the end.

And how were they to know the auditor/manager stationed to them by Teiwaz would've turned coat until the very end as well as a undercover Ghjarrhorn agent Galan usurping command, they thought the traitor guy had Orga's permission, and he also blocked communications too with Galan's help. By the time it started, Orga sent Eugene and the others to Earth, problem is that they can't do anything for the time difference because of the LONG distance travel. Plus, the Main HQ was training new troops and recovering from their battle with the pirates.

I still can't believe he was trying so hard to play innocent made me almost believe him, but then I remembered Redice was talking shit behind their back a few episodes ago.

[YokozunaBulldozer]

Well, I for one shed a legit tear or two during

Spoiler

Takaki and Aston's last moments and Takaki returning home at the end

.
Also, is it just me or have the scenes of mobile suits doing stuff increased?

[Deathzealot]

They have. You remember Atra's little talk she had with herself at the beginning of the season. She does mention that Mobile Suit numbers have been increasing everywhere since the end of Season One.

[Brave Fencer Kirby]

Mika's record in battle puts Amuro/Kira/Heero/Setsuna to shame

Uh, I think that's a bit of hyperbole there. Kira, Heero, and Setsuna all literally take on armies by themselves and win. Mika's fights in IBO are way less lopsided. Yeah, Mika is a beast in combat by IBO standards, but he doesn't have anything near the ability to mow down mooks like Kira, Heero, or Setsuna does. He's probably about on par with Amuro -- at least, post-OYW Amuro, where he's facing other mecha with beam weapons. OYW Amuro is a nigh-invincible juggernaut that can one-shot basically anything that Zeon throws at him.

[Dark Duel]

I honestly think that says at least as much about the comparative competence of the average grunt in IBO vs other series as it does about the relative skill of the pilots involved, but you also have to take into account that the performance gap between Gundams and mook suits is much narrower in IBO than in a lot of other series, at least IMO.

That being said, I do think that Mika's combat record, while not quite to the level of army-destroying juggernaut of, say, Setsuna or late-CE Kira, is quite impressive. And Akihiro's no slouch either.
So it does, at least IMO, show some lack of foresight not to have at least either Mika or Akihiro there in Arbrau as well.

[SNT1]

Mika's record in battle puts Amuro/Kira/Heero/Setsuna to shame

Uh, I think that's a bit of hyperbole there. Kira, Heero, and Setsuna all literally take on armies by themselves and win. Mika's fights in IBO are way less lopsided. Yeah, Mika is a beast in combat by IBO standards, but he doesn't have anything near the ability to mow down mooks like Kira, Heero, or Setsuna does. He's probably about on par with Amuro -- at least, post-OYW Amuro, where he's facing other mecha with beam weapons. OYW Amuro is a nigh-invincible juggernaut that can one-shot basically anything that Zeon throws at him.

I've been known to lay down some HOT TAKES, sure But the Barbatos only has big swing sticks to do what he does. The power level differences of a Barbatos vs a Graze is nothing compared to the difference between a Wing Gundam and a Leo, or a Strike Freedom and a Windam. Put Mika in a weapon with a few decent long range weapons, and god forbid beam cannons and funnels? No telling what he can do. I'll stop there since we're getting into theoreticals discussions vs other universe techs,

Plus, the other heroes I've mentioned have gotten their butts kicked more than a few times. Mika on the other hand? Perfect record. Which is what I said on my quote. Mika's undefeated, the other protagonists aren't. I'll even disagree that his fights aren't lopsided; he's clearly punked just about everyone except Graze Ein and maybe Gali-Gali in a Gundam. Which even magnifies his skill and potential since he doesn't have the fancy toys that the other protagonists have, save for the AV.

[yazi88]

Um... you do know that unless its point blank range or hitting a exposed joint that the range weapons for the most part don't have a major impact. Melee weapons are the key to taking down MS in this world. Look at the ship to ship combat, it takes a LOT to even down a ship, and aside from shuttles and the bait ship in season 1, we haven't seen any ships get destroyed because they are that durable. The no beam weapons rule has a major distinction in IBO when compared to other Gundam shows, so its not really fair to compare the beam shooting to the combat of this show.

Plus... Its not like Mika goes kills massive amounts of enemies via spam attacks or oversized attacks compared to other protagonists... yes the AV system gives him an edge, but he has skill to back these things up. He has only gone up against 2 other Gundams, but in the case against Gaileo he used tactics and instinct to win. If anything he's using a lot of maneuverability in space to attack his enemies in a similar way that Full Frontal did in Unicorn. On ground the Barbatos uses the weapon mace sword one at a time against enemies. Mika is going to fight against Ghajrrhorn's best pilots this time around cause in season 1 he fought grunts and pompous morons like Carta and even then it was not a full combat group, just a dozen suits at most and he had backup to help him out. Aside from Ein and Gaileo and even Kudel to a point were the only aces/skilled pilots he fought. Plus... he uses a lot of unorthodox tactics and movements too.

And we know that the Gundam pilots win against grunt units all the time. All the examples you pointed above for Gundam protagonists steamroll/beam spam grunts and armies a LOT without a scratch, and their special skill is mostly exclusive to them and make them far more overpowered compared to the AV system in IBO.

We'll see how things go from here. The Gundams aren't THAT overpowered compared to the grunts when compared to other shows.... Look at Garal, he put up a decent fight against the Gusion Full City while in a older suit. Its the skills of the pilots that go a long way, AV system can only go so far at times.

[X_zoro]

We'll see how things go from here. The Gundams aren't THAT overpowered compared to the grunts when compared to other shows.... Look at Garal, he put up a decent fight against the Gusion Full City while in a older suit. Its the skills of the pilots that go a long way, AV system can only go so far at times.

You also get love the fact that he forgot Mika was having a hard time with Lafter and that not even counting the fight with Graze Ein where lost his right eye and left arm.

[yazi88]

The fight with Lafner was different cause the Barbatos was still being repaired and it's engines were not fully working at that time, Nadi and the mechanics didn't have enough time to tune up the machine, either they didn't have the equipment or they didn't have the experience, or both.

[X_zoro]

The fight with Lafner was different cause the Barbatos was still being repaired and it's engines were not fully working at that time, Nadi and the mechanics didn't have enough time to tune up the machine, either they didn't have the equipment or they didn't have the experience, or both.

for real ? lol I might to re-watch all of season 1 after season 2 is done I could I forget a detail like that.

[SNT1]

Um... you do know that unless its point blank range or hitting a exposed joint ......................Plus... he uses a lot of unorthodox tactics and movements too.

Um... You know this isn't up for debate, when I say Mika has a flawless record compared to other Gundam protagonists. It's really simple.
Has Mika lost in combat? No
Has Amuro lost in combat? Yes
Has Heero lost in combat? Yes
Has Setsuna lost in combat? Yes
So on, so forth.

In fact this 'flawlessness' is probably one of my peeves against IBO. Mika's record is only a symptom; No one really has had the capability to have Tekkadan as a whole running with its tails between its legs. Orga's plan is always crazy and high risk but in the end always ultimately prevails. Literally zero suspense on my end when they were facing the Dawn Horizon. They were chumps, we always knew Tekkadan will bitch slap them into the ground. The only complications rose when Rustal's crew chimed in.

And we know that the Gundam pilots win against grunt units all the time. All the examples you pointed above for Gundam protagonists steamroll/beam spam grunts and armies a LOT without a scratch, and their special skill is mostly exclusive to them and make them far more overpowered compared to the AV system in IBO.

Not all the time. A lot of protagonists get their shit kicked in around the middle parts of the story to be given an excuse to get a shinier new MS. Barbatos has never suffered a defeat, it just cannibalizes its victims via small upgrades (Are we on Form 7 now?)

We'll see how things go from here. The Gundams aren't THAT overpowered compared to the grunts when compared to other shows.... Look at Garal, he put up a decent fight against the Gusion Full City while in a older suit. Its the skills of the pilots that go a long way, AV system can only go so far at times.

We must have been watching a different battle. That was a lopsided rout from start to finish. The fact that Galan was able to last 14.69 seconds longer than a normal grunt would is no way considered putting up a 'decent' fight. That was a brutal mauling.

[Kuruni]

Well, while Mika doesn't lose yet, the battle against Graze Ein already cost him an arm and eye (outside of battle anyway). In this context, most Gundam protagonist have better record. A few lose mean nothing compare to permanent injury.

If you want to argue about that, ask your friend to lets you punch him ten times then cut your favor hand's thumb off. Then compare how well you two are in long run.