History Anime / MobileSuitGundamThe08thMSTeam

* FreezeFrameBonus: If you pause at just the right time during the Apsalus III's start up sequence, it's apparently running a lot of mid-90s software and hardware including both an AMD K6 and Cyrix 6x86MX all Microsoft's UsefulNotes/DirectX.

* BadassNormal: All of the show's long list of skilled, dedicated, veteran soldiers are entirely normal humans -- notable in a setting where [[TelepathicSpacemen Newtypes]] are, if not exactly common, at least end up as a major factor in virtually every important conflict. Entirely justified, as the story takes place before, during, and right after the Battle of Odessa, where even Amuro's Newtype abilities had barely even barely to manifest and the concept was only known to specific Zeon scientists.

* ConspicuousCGI: The decoy balloons deployed during the battle against the Apsalus II during it's test flight stand out like a sore thumb. It's the only use of computer imagery in the entire series, and even the "Miller's Report" recap special shows them traditionally animated with the rest of the scene.

** The ''VideoGame/SDGundamGGeneration'' series goes into some detail about Michel's fate after the war. Specifically, he became a TV producer and created [[ShowWithinAShow a show based on his adventures during the OYW]]. Said TV series was [[ArtisticLicense apparently heavily embellished]], being the source of all the non-canon Ez-8 Gundam variants seen in the games, most notably a space use version from a completely fictitious story arc depicting Shiro participating in Operation Star One rather than being crippled in his climactic battle with the Apsaras 3.

* AnimeAnatomy: Oddly, Aina's scene with Shiro in their improvised hot spring has this, with no nipples visable, but Kiki's introduction scene of her skinny dipping doesn't.

* BadassNormal: All of the show's long list of skilled, dedicated, veteran soldiers are entirely normal humans -- notable in a setting where [[TelepathicSpacemen Newtypes]] are, if not exactly common, at least end up as a major factor in virtually every important conflict.

* CatapultNightmare: Though we're never told how much of it is FlashBack and how much of it is NightmareSequence, Shiro catapults out of sleep ''and immediately assaults his LoveInterest'' after dreaming about the One Week Battle, when the Zeon murdered ''billions'' of people by flooding the space colonies with nerve gas.

* GatlingGood: Norris' Gouf Custom has one attached to its shield. It's also [[ThrowAwayGuns detachable]] to lighten the mecha's load after it runs out of ammo.

%%* GiantRobotHandsSaveLives

* LaserGuidedTykebomb: In the last episode, Michel and Kiki encounter a bunch of former Zeon kids who were quite obviously meant to be this. Subverted in that a) they don't know where to start and b) they don't really want to anyway.

* PetTheDog: In the dubbed version of "Duty and Ideals", one of the lost Zeon pilots gives a village girl a bowl made from a bullet casings as a gift. The photograph in his Zaku's cockpit is likely meant to imply he himself is a father, so this behavior is especially understandable. The original sub has him simply returning the bowl to the child after using it and placing Zeon-made bullets, but [[{{Woolseyism}} turning it into a gift was done to fit the paternal nature of the scene]].

* TheSmartGuy: Eleodore, who doesn't get to pilot a mobile suit but acts as a sort of on-scene MissionControl.

** Also, AcePilot or no, one unit up against six at a time is practically a death sentence. Norris sorties anyway under the full knowledge that he's highly unlikely to survive the day's events, and even though he does succeed in his mission, [[PyrrhicVictory it takes him sacrificing himself to make the shot he needs]].

* VehicularTurnabout: Attempted by a group of guerilla fighters. [[MsFanservice Kiki]] lands on top of Shiro's cockpit, tricking him into open it to reveal a band of rebels waiting to take his Gundam at gunpoint. {{Subverted}} when it's quickly made apparant that none of the guerillas have the first idea how to operate his Gundam, and when Shiro is not inclined to help them, they opt to take him prisoner instead.

** The last episode had [[spoiler:Kiki manage to evade the attacks by the orphan named Shiro when he vehemently objected to giving back the names given to his charges, then destroyed his stick with a knife attached to it. This was because Kiki had some combat experience whereas the child didn't as he and his charges had been stranded there since the last days of the One Year War]].

* LatexSpaceSuit: All mobile suit pilots in space, as is typical for UC Gundam. Amusingly, Shiro wears his (rather than the much more comfortable fatigues that everyone else uses) during his first mission on Earth, and practically drowns in his own sweat because of it. Aina wears her on Earth, and it absolutely clings to her.

** As above under LatexSpacesuit, Shiro wears his normal suit for his first Earth battle - and five minutes later, he needs to peel it off because the completely unventilated space suit is making him sweat too much.

* PetTheDog: In the dubbed version of "Duty and Ideals", one of the lost Zeon pilots gives a village girl a bowl made from a machine gun shell as a gift. The photograph in his Zaku's cockpit is likely meant to imply he himself is a father, so this behavior is especially understandable. The original sub has him simply returning the bowl to the child after using it, but [[{{Woolseyism}} turning it into a gift was done to fit the paternal nature of the scene]].

* SissyVillain: Ginias, whose slight frame, {{Bishonen}} looks, emphasis on scientific achievement over martial prowess, and his [[SoapOperaDisease chronic illness]] make him less than manly. This is especially evident in contrast to Yuri, a BoisterousBruiser frontline commander.

* TheHero: Shiro, the story's protagonist and the 08th Team's commanding officer.

* PeekABangs: Ginias, used to show his aloof and cold (and increasingly unstable) nature.

* WaveMotionGun: The Apsalus's mega beam cannon, designed to destroy an ElaborateUndergroundBase from high altitude.

* NoPronunciationGuide: Michel is a French name, typically pronounced similar to "Michelle." Everyone in the English dub pronounces it more like, "Mi-KELL."

* HighPressureBlood: Of the MachineBlood variety, when Norris Packard stabs a ''tank'' a fountain a liquid erupts. Generally assumed to be [[JustifiedTrope hydraulic fluid or oil or somesuch]] (supported by the fact that it's pitch black when it erupts from the "stab wound"), but it's really obvious what effect they're actually going for.

* HuskyRusskie: Played mostly straight with Yuri Kellarny (though he's quite competent and caring when it comes to his men), and inverted completely with {{bishonen}} MadScientist Ginias Sahalin.

* DarkSkinnedRedhead: Karen Joshua, the most down-to-earth and hands-on member of the team.

* IllBoy: Ginias, who suffers from IncurableCoughOfDeath. Whether the SanitySlippage is a side effect of this or due to his briefly-mentioned FreudianExcuse is a subject of much FanWank.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gundam08th.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:A grittier side of [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam the One Year War]] we all remember]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/08thmsteam_blu_ray_cover_350px.png]]

* GrievousHarmWithABody: Shiro, in mid-FreakOut, ''rips off his own mobile suit's arm'' and bludgeons his target with it. [[WhatAnIdiot Despite the fact that his beam saber was available and functioning]].

The story centers on Shiro Amada, a young and eager [[TheFederation Earth Federation]] officer, as he takes command of the titular mobile suit team. Notable among ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' series for abandoning nearly all of the franchise's SuperRobot origins, thereby making it the [[MohsScaleOfSciFiHardness hardest sci-fi]], and most solidly RealRobot ''Gundam'' show to date. Eschewing the OneManArmy ace pilot protagonist archetypes in SuperPrototype Gundams of the main series, ''08th MS Team'' instead focuses on TheSquad doing their part in a much more localized conflict, just a small part of the larger war. With nary a [[PsychicPowers Newtype]] in sight, and the local Gundams being [[UsedFuture cobbled together out of spare parts]] instead of [[SuperPrototype ubermachines]], ''08th MS Team'' has a much different flavor than the average ''Gundam''.

* UsedFuture: While not a particularly good example overall, it's one of the few Gundam shows that attempt it at all. Instead of using pristine SuperPrototype Gundams, the main mecha are stopgap units built out of parts leftover from the project that developed the [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam original Gundam]], and they get rebuilt/repaired in a variety of unique ways thanks to a lack of spare parts. Attention is also paid to maintenance and upkeep, especially on long range missions where they're away from support facilities for extended durations. While they look relatively pristine in animation (due to the difficulty of hand-animating visible wear and tear at a consistent quality) the promotional artwork for the show (see the [=BluRay=] cover above) often depicts the units of the 08th MS team covered with scratches, dents, and accumulated dirt and grim from operating in the field.

* NotSoDifferent: On multiple levels. First when Shiro begins to realize that most Zeon soldiers are just regular people trying to survive the war, rather than faceless evil psychopaths. Later, he realizes that some of his ''own'' [[GeneralRipper superiors]] actually ''are'' psychopaths, just like the Zeon higher-ups.

* ShoutOut: In the final episode, upon seeing a swan flying overhead, Michel claims that he "hates seeing beautiful things". This is a reference to Lalah Sune from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', who is associated with swan imagery.

* UsedFuture: While not a particularly good example overall, it's one of the few Gundam shows that attempt it at all. Instead of using pristine SuperPrototype Gundams, the main mecha are stopgap units built out of parts leftover from the project that developed the [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam original Gundam]], and they get rebuilt/repaired in a variety of unique ways thanks to a lack of spare parts. Attention is also paid to maintenance and upkeep, especially on long range missions where they're away from support facilities for extended durations. While they look relatively pristine in animation (due to the difficulty of hand-animating visible wear and tear at a consistent quality) the promotional artwork for the show (see the [=BluRay=] cover above) often depicts the units of the 80th MS team covered with scratches, dents, and accumulated dirt and grim from operating in the field.