By Dustin Cabeal

To me, this is the spiritual successor to Gundam Wing, which will always be my favorite Gundam series. This series does all the things that Gundam is known for. The politics, the human cost of war, the chosen one that’s going to stop it all. It does it all and does it exceptionally well. Where it exceeds and manages to be different from the rest of Gundam, is the sheer violence. To me, Iron-Blooded Orphans is very much inspired by the wars in the middle east and ripe with commentary about said wars.

Visually, this is one of the best Gundams in a while. Not that Gundam hasn’t always had some great visuals, but there was a lot of cartoony series thanks to Seeds. Again, the violence is intense and supported by mature visuals. I watch Gundam because I watch Gundam. Doesn’t mean it’s always good, but I always give it a view. Iron-Blooded Orphans is the first in a long time that have grabbed me shirt and said, “pay attention!”