I'm jumping into another Gundam series, and this one doesn't disappoint at all. Truthfully I had seen Iron Blooded Orphans a while back last year when it had premiered in October, but I hadn't been really paying attention to watching it so I fell out of the loop of watching it. Back in June, the English dub of the show premiered on Toonami and yet again I had missed it, but I've gotten caught up thanks to on demand TV.

Iron Blooded Orphans is the 14th installation in the Gundam series, and it makes it entrance a pretty strong one in my opinion. The first episode is great because it doesn't waste its time by spewing out tons of exposition. its very confident in its own storytelling. All the different factions and the cast get thrown at you all at once. It might seem confusing, but it is only deceptively so. By the end, everything irons itself out and becomes straight and clear. The story takes place over 300 years after an event known as the Calamity War; in which conflict between Earth and the outer colonies broke out. Mars has been successfully colonized and settled by humanity. Martian citizens seek independence from Earth and while some parts have achieved this, others have fallen short of that. It centers around a group of children and teenage soldiers working for a civilian security company, Chryse Guard Security. They're entrusted with the task of protecting the Martian noblewoman Kudelia Aina Bernstein whose goal is to secure independence from Earth for her nation, Chryse. One day during her stay with the company, they are attacked by Gjallarhorn, an Earth military organization looking to stamp out the independence movement on Mars. All of the adults flee during the attack, and the leader of the children, Orga Itsuka, rallies them to rebel against their higher-ups and form their own group. As any chance of winning seems lost, Mikazuki Augus turns the tides by piloting a impromptu repaired Gundamn unit, Barbatos.

All of this is within the first episode and it's great. I got hit with instantly likable characters, great and desperate battles –– a deep story about people fighting for their independence. There's not very much to dislike about the show. Except my gripes with the main character Mikazuki. His character lacks any depth of emotion and feeling. After seeing eight episodes, I don't see any growth for him. His line delivery is stale and dry, and he just goes with the flow of decision making. Maybe his lack of emotion is due to a story element not yet revealed but for now, I'm not enjoying Mikazuki's character. Overall, the show is a great watch and I'm looking forward to more.