Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO

Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO (機動戦士ガンダム MS IGLOO?) is a series of CGI feature short films of the popular Gundam meta-series. The series' storyline takes place during the One Year War of the Universal Century. Two series have been released under the original title: The Hidden One Year War, which was exclusively shown at Bandai Museum in Matsudo, Japan but has seen a limited release on DVD, and Apocalypse 0079, an OVA series released on DVD starting in April, 2006. The director of MS IGLOO is Takashi Imanishi (previously directed Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory), and Yutaka Izubuchi is the supervisor.

 
 
 
 

A sequel series, Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO 2: The Gravity Front, was released on October, 2008.

Overview

Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO

Taking place during the One Year War in the year U.C. 0079, MS IGLOO follows the missions of the crew of a former civilian cargo ship Jotunheim (named after the land of the giants in Norse mythology), which has been commissioned to become an experimental support ship by the Principality of Zeon to test various prototype weapons for combat use. However, the crews also served as witnesses to the cruelty of the war, as well as Zeon's path from initial successes to the eventual fate of defeat. What distinguished this show from others is that the main character of the series, Engineer Lieutenant Oliver May, is not a mobile suit pilot, but a technical officer who monitors and reports the weapons testing.

This show is the first to depict some events early in the One Year War that have not been shown in a Gundam anime previously, including Operation British (before the colony hits Earth), the Battle of Loum and the Earth Drop Operations. It also features some of the biggest mecha designer names in the industry, including Yutaka Izubuchi and Hajime Katoki.

Although it is the first Universal Century Gundam series since Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, which was last released in 1999, MS IGLOO had been a relatively low-key project compared with contemporary Gundam series such as Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny. The Hidden One Year War has only seen a limited DVD release, though it has been available for rental in Japanese stores starting 2006. Apocalypse 0079 by contrast was given a mass release, and as a result it managed to reach a few Top 5 Anime DVD charts.

Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO 2: Gravity Front

Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO 2: The Gravity Front (機動戦士ガンダム MS IGLOO 2 重力戦線, Kidō Senshi Gandamu MS IGLOO 2 Juuryoku-sensen?) was announced on March 25, 2008. The series would consist of three 30-minute episodes and have its setting based on Earth and from Earth Federation's point of view. The 3D CGI will be in high definition, higher in quality than what was seen in the previous productions. The production staff is largely unchanged, though the mecha designers behind the design works in this series are Yutaka Izubuchi, Kimitoshi Yamane, Takuhito Kusanagi, Shinji Aramaki and Fumihiro Katagai. The super high-detail designs will appear in the U.C. Hardgraph line and be used as is in the animation.

The 1st episode "Shoot at that Death!" was officially released on October 24, 2008. The 2nd episode "King of the Land, Forward!" was released on January 23, 2009. The 3rd episode "Odessa, Iron Storm!" was released on April 24, 2009.