The second disc of the 08th continues the story of Shiro and his squad of Federation Gundams in their fight against the Zeon in Southeast Asia. There are three more good episodes on this disc, but the last episode is the best of the lot.

The current disc concerns itself with the 08th dealing with a new prototype mobile armor being created by the Zeon leader in the region. In a plot twist (isn't there always one?), the test pilot is Aina -- the leader's sister and the Zeon pilot Shiro met on his way to Earth.

These episodes begin drawing out and exploring the personas of the different soldiers in the unit, with different degrees of success. The last episode finally starts bringing out the angst and unrequited love stories that we're used to seeing in Gundam tales. The episode also finally gives Shiro some personality - his obsessive and devoted nature becomes evident as he focuses on destroying the mobile armor while ignoring the personalities of his team.

Once again, the animation is very nice, although not very advanced. The colors are great, as is the whole transfer. Just like the first disc, Bandai continues to impress with their DVD authoring. However, the menus continue to disappoint with very slow loading times and jerky cursor control. Hopefully, the next couple discs will go with a new menu system.

The music is suitably cinematic as is proper for the series, but it is truly just background music. Other than the catchy opening and nice closing, there really is nothing memorable. However, it fits and feels right, so one can't complain. The sound overall is excellent and clear.

The case has another great image on it of a Gundam at night with demonic glowing eyes. Better yet, the cover is reversible with an even better image on the reverse of Aina, crying, standing on the head of an ice covered Gundam. The insert has another letter from Michel to B.B., a very cool feature, with some nice graphics.

The bonus clips on this disc are fantastic. They are basically omake from the Japanese release, but they describe the history of the Universal Century in great detail, including man's exodus to space and the building on the space colonies. They are a must-see for any Gundam fan. The MS Encyclopedia makes a return with nice art but little information.

These episodes are a great addition to the series, and the last episode hints that better things are to come. If the story tightens up into a more coherent plot rather than being episodic, the series will turn out excellent. If not, it will still be a fun ride. In any case, the third episode of this volume is truly excellent. It is recommended for pretty much anyone who likes adventure stories. If you liked the first disc, expect more of the same goodness.

Video Quality: A
Audio Quality: A-
Presentation: B
Content: B+
Overall: B+