I also started catching up on gundam shows I missed, I'm over half way through IBO and I'm gonna watch G-Reco next.
What was the overall impression of which was better between the two? What were the strengths of each.
I like a lot about IBO but I get the feeling the 2nd half isn't going to have the right pay off. What it does right is pretty damn good though, I like that for the first time in ages gundam fights actually feel like small naval skirmishes with boarding tactics being used. I kind of like how gritty it is without feeling like it's trying too hard to be dark. None of the characters are really broody, Mika just doesn't have a personality though beyond "just gotta do what i gotta do" but it fits with how poorly educated he is and the shitty life he has lead.
The show has had some really great moments so far though.
For me, I found I liked IBO's potential more than its execution. Lack of beams was a pretty welcome change, like the Crank vs. Mika fight early on, but then it still ends up being "Gundam steamrolls dozens of suits singlehandedly" anyway, with the animation and choreography not really being that interesting to watch for a some fights. Mika was interesting at first, but really ended up just being a novelty of being "that MC who subverts common Gundam cliches", and all development got shoved onto Orga and Kudelia. In fact, a lot of the side characters were a lot more interesting than Mika in the long run. Thought it dragged during most of the middle arcs, but got better at the end, aside from a major asspull that I will never forgive it for. MS designs were generall pretty interesting, aside from the waist on literally everything that just trips me off, and I really agree with the idea that it was gritty without being too dark or edgy. Still decent, and I hope S2 patches up what I wasn't too fond of.
G-Reco is extremely divisive. Even though I ended up liking it a lot, I can easily see and agree with why it gets a lot of the hate it does. Fairly convoluted multi-factional and subfactional conflicts, dozens of characters that all are clearly Tomino creations in how they speak and behave, pronouns and pronouns that are explained exactly once but get brought up again and again, a pacing in the latter half that shows it definitely needed more episodes, and an ending that just kind of...ends. On the other hand, animation is fantastic, designs are colorful and vibrant, and atmosphere is generally fun and comfy. The plot works well enough to string along an adventure story that shows off the world, and it just makes me wish it had more episodes to do so. Hopefully the compilation movies end up alright.
