Anime REVIEW: Mobile Suit Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Season 2

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans season 2 is available in streaming form via Daisuki

The past few years have seen Mobile Suit Gundam go from strength to strength, enjoying a steady flow of series, OVAs, blu-ray releases and of course model kits. Part of this recent success can of course be attributed to Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, the latest entry in the long-running mecha franchise which concluded its first 25-episode series mid-2016. The show’s dub also marked the first time in over a decade that Gundam aired in the US on Toonami – the programming block that helped popularise Gundam in the West back in the 90s with Gundam Wing. After a short break Iron-Blooded Orphans returned for a second season in October 2016, running for a further 25 episodes until April 2017. As before the series was helmed by Mari Okada and Tatsuyuki Nagai – a writer/director combination that had previously collaborated on AnoHana in addition to other popular works.

First Impressions: Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans Season 2

Following its brief hiatus over the past few months, Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans has finally returned for its second season! Comprised of another 25 episodes to bring the total count up to a comfortable 50, this latest instalment in Sunrise’ landmark mecha franchise continues the story of the rebellious child soldiers Tekkadan and their struggle for freedom in the era following a catastrophe known as the Calamity War. Like the first season it is written and directed by Mari Okada and Tatsuyuki Nagai respectively – a pair that also previously worked together on shows such as Toradora! and AnoHana.

Anime Review: Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans

Though a constant influence and staple in the anime world for over 35 years, right now Mobile Suit Gundam seems to be enjoying quite a boom. Between the endless supply of model kits, multiple television series and OVAs mecha fans are in no short supply of new material from the genre-defining franchise. And although the Yoshiyuki Tomino-led Reconguista in G proved divisive among the fanbase, it wasn't long before Gundam was back for a brand new instalment in the form of Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans (also abbreviated to simply G-Tekketsu from it's full Japanese title). Adding another alternate timeline into the franchise's long and varied chronology, Iron-Blooded Orphans comes from director and writer team Tatsuyuki Nagai and Mari Okada - the pair famously behind AnoHana as well as many other notable anime works of the past few years.

First Impressions: Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans

If there's one thing I have to commend the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise for, it's its tenacity. Despite original creator Yoshiyuki Tomino-helmed and 35th anniversary celebration series Gundam Reconguista in G not going down quite as well as hoped and firmly dividing fans, the mecha juggernaut is back a year later with a brand new series as if nothing phased it at all. This new series, entitled Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans (but also referred to as G-Tekketsu), is a rather curious beast being the brainchild of Tatsuyuki Nagai and Mari Okada - the writer and director team behind AnoHana of all things. While this isn't either's first foray into the world of mecha (Nagai previously directed Idolmaster: Xenoglossia while Okada worked on Aquarion Evol), but it does set a rather interesting precedent on what to expect from this latest instalment of Japan's landmark mecha franchise.