Mobile Suit Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans (Season 1) | The Gundam Retrospective

[@andrewowens4421]

Take your time dude. The reason why we love your videos so much is because of the care you put in them. It's because you go so in-depth, meaning you take your time to understand what the anime is trying to say before giving your thoughts. So you don't have to rush, rushing would make your videos not anywhere near as good as they are. I'm just glad it's finally out and enjoyed it.

[@dainoconnor]

Agreed. I'm so relieved and glad he's still making content and comes back with one of my favs too

[@DrBunnyMedicinal]

Agreed! A good video takes as long as it takes, and trying to rush one out almost always ends up with a weaker result.

[@Antishizim]

Take your time brother, get some rest

[@dylansmith1364]

Biscut is the heart and soul of the group and he must be protected at all costs. That foreshadowing hurts.

[@muchluck7981]

IBO is the Gundam that kept me in Gundam. Most other Gundam shows did not scratch that spark for me and I watched both build fighters and 00 Gundam season 2. Season 1 was so good and season 2 was good in a painful way. Watching IBO kept me watching Gundam and I found my second favorite show in build divers rerise

[@False_Convoy]

Re:rise is so fucking good, most slept on gundam anime ever I stg

[@broodo1]

It's crazy that 2015 blessed us with both IBO & Thunderbolt. An alternative & UC timeline series.

[@muchluck7981]

@@False_Convoy doesn't help that it came after the trainwreck of the original build divers. One of the cases where the sequel is way better than the original

[@vali6717]

I'm in an almost opposite boat . IBO season one was alright in my book but the conbination of it's second season, Unicorn, and Thunderbolt was a tripple whammy that put me off the IP until G Witch managed to draw me back.

[@muchluck7981]

@@vali6717 And I think that's a good thing. if everyone liked the same kind of gundam then it would be boring

[@Omniterra88]

Thank you for all of the hard work you put into your videos; your fans all passionately adore them. While I don’t personally comment much, I do genuinely appreciate the dedication and effort that you put forth. The wait for your content is always worth it! Happy Holidays!

[@satanicpuppyoverlord9054]

IBO has one of my favorite settings in all of Gundam. So much interesting history, world building and dynamics. Has aged really well. it's crazy it's almost 10 years old.

[@00spinz35]

and were getting and urdr hunt movie/anime which will be great

[@anthonyjordanmoviesandmore2470]

I think that scene with marbit trying to get the kids to look away is one of the most tragic in the series she was trying to protect their innocence and finally realized that in a sense was stripped away from them long ago

[@marklafrancis253]

Time for the first Gundam series I showed my husband to be when we first started dating. We were emotional wrecks by the end and love this series.

[@NineToFiveGamerUC0079]

Congratulations!

[@theblackunicorn261]

Great video, one small correction: CGS didn't just have Barbatos in a warehouse gathering dust, but instead was found by Arkay in the desert one day and was brought back to be used as a generator for the CGS base due to its 2 ahab reactors

[@山本雨馬]

Saw the video title and thumbnail and almost cried. One of my favorite pieces of fiction. "...some of the best music in the franchise" indeed. I learned that the Tekkadan were inspired by the Shinsengumi, so has got me reading about them and that time in history. Fascinating, heartbreaking stuff, and deepens my love and understanding of IBO. So thank you for another wonderful review, and I'm looking forward to your thoughts on season two, when/if you feel up to it. Take care!

[@mix-up9003]

It was a surprisingly gritty story with smaller scale but very impactful battles, I was happy to see a Gundam series that had the main action child soldiers and didn't shy away too much as how bad their lives were before they managed to emancipate themselves. I like the fact that negotiation and double dealings were as important as the battles themselves

[@timebrain3188]

Seems youtube ate my comment. Don't burn yourself out, gotta take care of yourself first and foremost. Anywho, Iron Blooded Orphans was the first Gundam show that I watched as it aired, and on the official youtube channel no less. Absolutely loved it, love the physicality of the mech fights, and love that it's a mercenary story. Makes it stand out to the other shows, and that, along with the 'salvaging mechs and gear' aspect makes it kinda feel somewhat Battletech-ish, which I rather enjoy. Very curious to see how ya feel about season 2, but season 1 stands on it's own nicely in my mind. Till then, keep on keeping on!

[@FictionalLuvus]

The prodigal son returns

[@SRTifiable]

Worth the wait. Glad you took a little time off to reset!

[@RepliAmras]

I am so glad our boy is alive and well!

[@dainoconnor]

Hyped for the video! I was just checking your stuff for updates yesterday. Fantastic!

[@insanebiker3329]

This is the series that got me into gundam in general

[@therougechipmunk8058]

Cant wait for part 2 bro, i love IBO and watch any video anyone puts out on it.

[@derianardor]

FINALLY this series got me back into gundam

[@papaPR1ME]

Love the transparency on the delay! Was so stoked to see this, this morning!!! Thank you!

[@BladeRaider]

Back during IBO's original airing, I would watch it on Sunday morning while eating breakfast. Eggs, bacon, maybe some potatoes. Sunday morning breakfast was never the same after Biscuit died.

[@TheLPRnetwork]

10:10 No! The gundam was the generator powering the base!

[@kyrudo]

You have no clue how excited I am to see this in my feed. I've been waiting for this one for so long!

[@arcadia1104]

I was also there during its airing. the hype train was real and most people kept pumping each other up in the comment section each ep. I was depressed for a week after the Graze Ein bodied the Rouei and you can hear bone cracking as it drilled the MS, i was hoping the entire week that Azee and Lafter would have survived that attack. I really enjoyed IBO thru and thru.

[@BOTCHED]

Don't ever feel like you need to rush your work man. Love your videos, keep it up.

[@ontil68]

This is the third time this week I’ve listened to someone talk about ibo… even though I’ve seen it 3 times. lol. I love ibo.

[@thedudeabiding1582]

We love you, bro. Take your time. Burnout is no joke. Your videps are awesome because of the time you put in, so take all the time you need.

[@kimbertactpro9]

This show truly brought me back into the gundam fold. Before this, I had seen both Seed shows and Unicorn but IBO got me fully. I bought as many gunpla kits as I could, downloaded fan art, and even watched and rewatched Urdr Hunt. Hopefully the movie or OVA for Urdr Hunt is coming out soon.

[@EastsideBodega_]

IBO is the essence of Gundam.. no one wins, and yet the future is safe

[@muchluck7981]

And yet all people talk about in discussions about IBO is NLA, beam weapons and how other MS would survive giant nails from space

[@JeffreyMcLain]

I love getting into small creators like you and enjoying finding stuff like this. DUDE. Thanks so much for the work on these, I've really loved the channel. Thanks for everything.

[@khipp1587]

Ive been waiting for this review for forever!!!!!! Thanks Retcon you a real one!

[@justinwhite9434]

Thank you for this retrospective!

[@mechamaniac1567]

Been waiting for someone to actually cover the mess that was IBO's production. The Nagai-Okada quarrels singlehandedly destroyed what could've been a genuinely good, maybe even great AU. And yes, it's VERY VISIBLE in Season 2 that they didn't know where to take the show.

[@ParagonGoetia]

This is misinformation of the highest degree face palming against itself since Nagai was entrusted with Studio 3 for a lenghty adaptation of the spin off, so bud, Id say read the room and realize the proper info is out there for everyone to read.

[@mechamaniac1567]

Quarrels inside production =/= Nagai being considered inappropriate to head a project. It's known that Mari Okada never agreed with his vision for the show.

[@dillasoul2228]

Always worth the wait

[@lunerblade13]

28:03 naze mentions that meruba was sent to a teiwaz working colony in order to pay off the debt he made requesting naze’s assistance because originally meruba was going to compensate naze with his ship if memory serves.

[@lifesbetteronaboard]

Been waiting for this one for a minute! V excited to hear what you thought, this is one of my favorites

[@thereadherring2364]

I cried so hard at numerous points in this series and i was not expecting that from a Gundam series. Yeah, wasn't expecting like a deep social commentary on war and slavery and child soldiers and Neo-colonialiism. It's just feels so grounded in reality compared to the other series. It's probably home to the most brutal and horrific scenes in the franchise. (Though that one scene in WFM takes my #1 spot. IYKYK)

[@jmfowler9062]

Thanks for keeping this up. I've been watching this series of yours since the beginning. It's been really good content!

[@ez8-frame942]

This gundam alone got me into buying kits and still my favorite gundam series of all time

[@thegreataggron]

Gusion and Kimaris still remain 2 of my favorite mobile suits to this day. That and the Graze's also just look so cool and different from the usual fodder suits

[@ratchet2505]

Thank you for these videos, please take your time 😊

[@xSpocKx]

Thank-you for taking your time!

[@GrimDarkNarrator]

Thanks for the retrospective. Didn't even feel/sound that you recorded this over many days. IBO is one of my favorite animes of all time. It was my proper introduction to Gundam about 3 years ago, too. I had watched the OG Gundam show prior to it but, while decent, I found that to be really dated in some aspects. Following IBO, I watched Gundam 00 and Gundam Seed and these three became sort of the holy trinity of mecha anime for me. Love all of them but only the Season 2 ending of IBO got me to outright cry. Huge props to it for that and to you for this video :)

[@anthonyjordanmoviesandmore2470]

I love how that Gundam with the true AV system is basically a dreadnought from Warhammer 40K part walking tank part life support system and the existence for the poor soldier put inside it is just living hell😊

[@baronvonslambert]

Yep, with my team down 3 scores in the championship and just throwing a pick, IBO retrospective it is.

[@LordSpleach]

1:23 To start the actual video.

[@monkeyiki13]

Ein became a Warhammer 40k dreadnought

[@nickieninja1]

AYYY been waiting for this. Excited that you’re back

[@jeremycarr3448]

Thank you for the video. They're always worth the wait!

[@reedjohnson5916]

This is my favorite gundam series, ive made most of the gundam kits from ibo

[@blazinkid5178]

Oh my lord, he's done it! Season 2 is gonna be... something, I guess.

[@ThatGreyGentleman]

Thank you for taking your time with all of your videos ❤ such a shame this show has ONLY ONE SEASON, RIGHT GUYS?

[@Jhayzer021]

Its time to raise your flag!. 💪

[@akaMokassin]

Your videos are always worth the wait. Thanks for making them. Though its hard watching them because of my overwhelming beardenvy.

[@anthonyjordanmoviesandmore2470]

Even with what happened to biscuit I still felt sorry for Carta she was thrown to the wolves and manipulated by a man she was in love with and his death ultimately meant nothing to her

[@Artemie-np3qu]

YESSSSS LETS FUCKIN GOOOOO! IBO IS WHAT GOT ME INTO GUNDAM! And BTW, take your time!

[@broodo1]

I remember when you 1st started the 'Retrospective' back in early 2022. I think you cranked out 24 to 26 anime related videos that year. I'm intentionally not counting your video game content. You'll see why. Then in 2023 you admitted to being burned out .... & only blessed us with 20 to 22 anime related videos. With this year being a modest 13 anime videos. This doesn't even include the notorious F91 re-uploads or any other time you re-uploaded or edited a video after release. This is my personal opinion, but I don't think you EVER have to apologize for taking breaks.

[@Jociaoftrades]

This was a great video and made me want to watch S1 again. I honestly loved S1. S2 just reminds me that it is a Gundam series after all and I just can’t find myself watching it a second time.

[@robertfaulkkner5508]

THE RETROSPECTIVE CONTINUES! Burnout is understandable. Hope you're faring well.

[@derianardor]

They literally made Ein a Warhammer 40k dreadnaught Omg lol never realized till now

[@snakelikeme]

Mika was a savage

[@ROSPoetry1]

For a lot of people this brought them into Gundam. I think it was needed after years of no projects. People got over how the Barbatos looked by watching it be badass in the show. My favorite is still 00 but IBO scratched an itch I had for a while. I’m just glad it sparked a new era of Gundam fans even if I personally didn’t enjoy IBO.

[@KevinJDildonik]

"Point at a planet and go" is actually wrong. Orbit is hard. Admittedly Gundam has the dumb version where you just drive places. So space lanes are stupid in Gundam. It's like saying there's only one path across the ocean... That's... dumb. Sail around. In real life though Earth orbits the sun at approximately 100,000kph. Mars orbits slower, closer to 85,000kph. And they could be all the way across the sun from each other since their orbits don't match. You basically have to launch off one, change speed by 15,000kph, and fall toward where the other planet WILL BE after the transit time. This is complicated, and means there really would be "space lanes". Some orbits would minimize transit time, etc. So if someone wanted to blockade a space lane with space mines, you kinda sorta could do that. It would be super expensive and only work one time per orbit. But this works for a giant robot show. Like Zeon keeps throwing mines up along the main shipping route every orbit, the jerks. But in that sense IBO is actually closer to reality than something like The Expanse. In The Expanse, even ships that are literally pushing blocks of ice for colonists drive directly at the target. This is really, really dumb. You could save orders of magnitude on gas if you basically swung the rocks around in a wide orbit. It might take years to arrive. But they'll still need the water in 4 years. So you can just keep firing off rocks estimating how much you need to arrive when. Imagine sending toilet paper to Costco in a Ferrari going flat out on the highway every run. Versus delivering by freight train. The cost difference would be absolutely stupid.

[@fakesmile172]

To be fair, most sci-fi isn't too realistic with physics for a myriad of reasons. As long as things work well and make sense in-universe, that's usually good enough. How else would the Space Battleship Yamato journey the over 300k light years to Iscandar and back without bending physics a bit?

[@kogato221]

Burn out is real, man. Do what you have to and welcome back.

[@Doiboy35]

My first non Build and non SD Gundam anime! Really liked this series, love the model kits (even if the frames can be floppy sometimes)

[@rtaylor2682]

The ART is always on time dude❤

[@Thrdwrld32]

Great vid. I'm also a huge IBO fan it got me to start getting into Gunpla. A part of the discourse surrounding this show I never got behind is the way some people call Tekkadan's course that of following the villain's. But I refuse to call a group of abused and enslaved children villains. Also Ein's story isn't all that tragic, he was an Uncle Tom that got what he deserved.

[@tannietf2]

been waiting for this one forever!

[@AngeVNs]

Nice! I was hoping you would get to this series eventually. It's very interesting

[@SaintsInHell24]

Season 1 of IBO was great! Season 2 on the other hand... was fine. But overall I throughly enjoyed it and I'm excited that this vid is finally released! A belated birthday present to boot as well!

[@kennethvillanueva4353]

Hey man take your time. Been here since 200-300 subs and how you do these videos are always great.

[@ignisofficialgaming]

I think I speak on behalf of your whole audience when I say it’s better you take your time with making your videos. We care more about you doing well and the quality of your content, not the quantity of videos you put out for us to watch. Also, I’m right there with you in being biased in favour of IBO. It was my first Gundam series and I absolutely adore it and everything it brought to the table, even in spite of it having its flaws

[@swagm0mmy906]

i love ur stuff man take however long u need

[@LOH3NGR1N]

Always a UC fan but this series was just so badass i got the iron flower tattooed. I got back into anime in 2018ish when NT came out but this was most recent release so decided to watch it and completely fell in love with Anime after a few years away from watching during highschool.

[@liquidRkive]

THANK YOU FOR UPLOADING I LOVE YOU

[@don_shoti804]

Our King has returned

[@RedRobin714]

I still want a calamity war series because the idea of humans piloting demons to fight angels is a great story.

[@Riderofrohan11]

WOO! IBO! i'm excited

[@thatdeadbird_llc]

happy to see new content!

[@MrDarksol]

First off to agree with everyone in the comments I definitely agree that you should take your time with these videos. Well it is taking a lot longer for each one to come out it is really really good content and it is overall very fun experience to go through with your journey throughout all of this. So again take your time and secondly my thoughts on iron blooded orphans season one was moral on the lines of this is gritty but not in a classic gundam level gritty. This was raw and way in your face and more caveman with sticks equal victory type of logic but it was something different. They finally gave us a princess character that honestly didn't annoy me all that much and she grew to become one of my favorite princesses in the franchise, MC while he does suffer from Heero and Setsuna levels of stoic, Mika KNEW when to shoot with no remorse but he does have an arc, the way the story was simple was refreshing, we finally got some competent good female mobile suit pilots again and the side characters was great. From what I did remembered I definitely enjoyed season one immensely...... And then season 2 happened.

[@kudicid1234]

god i love these videos so much

[@nilus2k]

IBO is my favorite modern Gundam

[@jericmagnaye2705]

McGill is worst than Char when it comes to love affair

[@Lakefront_Khan]

Gilly saying he's gonna treat bro's 9 year old sister good is just ruthless.

[@ebindelgado9660]

The thing that always hit me about IBO S1 is the portrayal of poverty

[@thedragondemands5186]

Please keep up the good work I love your channel

[@TheLegacyDan]

00 got me back into anime and IBO kept me there, despite both their flaws that's why they are in my top 5 Gundam series. Funnily enough, my thoughts on both of their seasons are the same. Season one is fantastic and while season two isn't quite what I was hoping for they end their series in a completely satisfying way.

[@grip3939]

Hahahaha 2013, me who vividly remembers watching this series during it's weekly release. Meaning that's 11 years ago. LoL...... Oh you're not joking

[@twelfthknight]

I started IBO with some trepidation. The Post-Disaster timeline is pretty bleak even by Gundam standards and I'm pretty averse to grimdark story-telling at this point. I could easily see a writer rubbing their hands in secret glee for all the pain and inhumanity they could inflict on the viewer. However, it's pretty clear as you go that while IBO is definitely dark it isn't cynical. It expresses a great deal of sympathy for these character born on the bottom rung of society like the Tekkadan, for Kudelia in her sincere effort to improve the world, and even those Gjallarhorn members whose minds and lives have been twisted by a quasi-medieval culture that they've been indoctrinated into to maintain their privilege. This is a case where the economic system and civilization built to reinforce it are at fault for the depressing nature of this future, not that humanity is just rotten to the core and that nothing anyone does matters. It's honestly probably my favourite AU setting in the franchise, largely because it goes through the effort of making the universe feel realistically flawed. Also space pirates. I love space pirates.

[@rayhayes7701]

The first Gundam I watched in a long time after OO and that was a really big gap between those shows. Unfortunately I did not get to watch most of it until it was finished air as I was starting to not have cable anymore. Thankfully Hulu had the show in full so watching wasn't a problem. This season is probably my third favorite season of the whole franchise.

[@TedtheFox]

IBO starts like most armored core games, worker units against a military mech

[@lordofworldz]

Burn outs a real thing that you shouldn't apologize for. Rather wait a while for a quality video then a rushed half assed video bc of burnout

[@reversingthewayprod]

Dude, you're killer. Dont worry a bit.

[@OtherMomo]

You kinda glazed over the "dont know what a funeral is" bit, and didnt mention the haunting detail that the kids get excited, saying "i hope when i die i turn into the best fireworks display too" (or something like that, its been a while since i saw season 1)

[@LizardMan8675309]

I can’t tell you how much fun I had in season 1. Season 2 is uhhh, something…

[@Joshua_Shadow_Manriguez]

Ein became a Gundam. Season One Setsuna would be jealous.

[@Nomadic_Gaming]

the ibo universe needs the urd hunt anime already and a calamity war show its one of the best done gundam series for all the reasons you list like character interactions and plot all being done up front no offscreening or skipping it lays it all out it absolutely no holds barred you see brutal and beautiful scenes the designs didnt hit for me at first too but the more i realized this universe has anti beam down due to the ai mobile armors and the war it made sense and the fights w ballistic and melee is just so weighty and satisfying this universe is by far the best gundam series period its absolutely just grabs you and takes you on a massive ride unlike any other gundam series it is one of the few anime that hearing certain tracks immediately inspires emotions from the scenes tied to it be it rage sorrow hype writing soundtrack animation design this show has it all its fucking peak gundam and peak mecha and peak anime in general

[@spikmaster18]

Enjoyable video as always, but I'm still waiting for the "Fafner Dead Agressor: Retrospective" video 😅

[@Smitty_Werbenjagermanjensen111]

Looks interesting maybe I’ll stop watching westworld for Fafner 🤔.

[@williamcase426]

Believe in the Gundam

[@GertusMaximus747]

I was wondering where my gundam boi has been! Take care of yourself first and foremost, RC! Quality over quantity all day! Also, I found your channel during a very hard break up a few years back so I thank you for aiding in my mental health getting better. Love ya bud!

[@False_Convoy]

Iron Blooded Orphans is not my favorite Gundam by a mile, but as a 16-17 year old, this Anime was my life blood. It was the 3rd Gundam show I watched, 00 and Unicorn being the first 2. 00 is still my favorite to this day. But man I fucking love this show, the MS design is really cool, but for me the main thing is the SOUND. The mecha fighting has this roar, this resonance. It’s powerful, raw, and sometimes horrifying. This shows sound design is something else. I also adore McGillis and Gaelio, I think McGillis is one of the most underrated Char clones. Gaelio is just fucking awesome, I love his arc over the anime.

[@fakesmile172]

Almost every Gundam anime has amazing sound design and music.

[@False_Convoy]

@ I fully agree, just in terms of how the mecha melee fights and weaponry sounds it’s probably my favorite. Especially the melee fights. 00, Unicorn (extends to Narrative and Hathaway as well), and Witch From Mercury I think sound especially incredible as well as IBO. I like the sound of most Gundam shows, I’m not a huge fan of AGE or SEED in terms of sound design. Lot of inconsistency and overused royalty free sounds. SEED moreso on the inconsistency front. Depending on what you are watching the same rifle will sound totally different. Both make up for it with amazing soundtracks though, and despite their issues still sound overall good.