Cannon vs Canon: Self-destruct superior prototypes in the name of continuity

MS IGLOO 2, Episode 3: Steamrolled

Before I open my mouth to complain (again), let it be known that MS IGLOO 2: The Gravity Front is about the closest thing to life this side of Macross Zero. Detailed and dusty, you may or may not squint through haze and smoke. As a demonstration of what is possible with CPU cycles, it is top notch, and if you were to watch just one episode, watch the third.

The finale of Gravity Front is the best episode of the OVA. The RTX-440 is analogous to the Hildolfr: outgunning the competition, deceptively agile for its size and only outmanuevered by taking to the air. Huge progress has also been made in other areas. Rocket launchers have an ammo capacity of one, and no one does anything stupid like bring knives to a gun fight.

MS IGLOO 2, Episode 3: Who brings infantry to a tank fight?

I stand corrected. But at least armor withdraws if they're damaged, instead of committing suicide.

MS IGLOO 2, Episode 3: Glomped

Oh come on. Who trades the most OP unit on the field for a Zaku? An RTX-440 for a Dabude is a more equitable exchange, although I don't see the point of driving into one with 4 armed mines. Especially if you can drop the mines and then run away.

So maybe progress has not, in fact, been made, but I still stand by the claim if for only one reason: the staff finally understand splash damage.

MS IGLOO 2, Episode 3: Dom-inated

Dom-inated. My apologies. But to their credit, they used their rockets as limited bracketing fire.

To put a positive spin on this episode, Odessa marked the last major committment of ground forces, and so the deployment was completely gratuitous because, tanks can't be used in space. That's the only explanation I could see for infantry, and a disturbing lack of air presence. A carrier wing or more worth of aircraft was present at the end of 08th MS, and only for recon …

If there were that many present at Odessa maybe one might have spotted the trench. And the artillery positions. Then they would bomb them around the clock. Is this too much to ask for?

MS IGLOO 2, Episode 1: Don't step on me bro

Series Assessment

One of the few things that I do like about MS IGLOO 2: The Gravity Front is the title. The Gravity Front is to Zeon what the Eastern Front was to Nazi Germany so the title seems deliberate.

If it wasn't apparent by now, I have a lot of misgivings about Gravity Front, which is a shame given all the work that went into the CG. Gravity Front is an OVA of extremes, but more frustrating than gorgeous. Burnt-out husks, desert landscapes, and firing ordinance were simply not enough to overcome the use of a plot hack spirit character, token Federation commander, and the horrendously bad attempts at laughter. There are other ways to convey insanity. Really!

The original MS IGLOO runs didn't have the awesome particle effects and skin modeling, but it also didn't make life complicated for itself. Acts of stupidity by the protagonist (i.e. death by gloating) were kept to two instances over the course of 6 episodes. This is in contrast to the "everyone has time to be stupid but no one has time for shared fire control" attitude of its successor.

And people may say that IGLOO is a bunch of one-shots but the original always had some semblance of an anchor in the form of the engineering crew. Half of an episode was spent onboard the Jotunheim, the captain always gave the briefing, etc.

Who do we get for recurring characters in MS IGLOO 2? As noted above, a hack death spirit and pansy Corematta. The continuity in the cast was sorely missed.

IGLOO was all about being on the losing end, knowing that you were losing the war, and the desperate improvisation and fighting that goes with the territory. The whole point was seeing Zeon fall apart. IGLOO 2, apparently, is all about having your thirst for revenge stoked by a death spirit.

Revenge stoked by a ghostly character is not in itself a terrible premise; Shakespeare managed to wring a five act play out of it. But in the characters and their actions in MS IGLOO 2 there is only mind-numbing stupidity. That is the only tragedy to be found.

Lists

Protagonists ordered by likeability

  1. Yandell
  2. Nozon
  3. Barberry

Protagonists ordered by apparent skill

  1. Nozon
  2. Yandell
  3. Barberry

Protagonists ordered by irritation of laughter

  1. Nozon
  2. Yandell
  3. Barberry

Protagonists ordered by Mobile Suit kill count

  1. Barberry (13)
  2. Nozon (unstated, but at least 6 Zaku's and 2 Dom's)
  3. Yandell (7)

Trivia

Nobuyuki Hiyama voiced Lewis in episode 1.