Kidô senshi Gandamu II: Ai senshihen

The first show set the Gundam universe up. It showed some complex things, but it was mostly about trying to escape from overwhelming enemies when your only hope is a ship and a giant robot manned by war displaced civilians. Now the second part just continues the story, but also brings more complexity and starts to expand the world with various factions, family drama, multiple ship and mobile suit designs, hidden bases and political intrigue. It also starts to show that no matter on which side you are you get good and bad people and that you can respect your enemy while you are killing them as you have to fight next to people you despise.

I thought the first Gundam was a little bit more technical, here they just throw new designs around and think less of how people manage on the inside of these fighting machines, but they also expand the characters and the political map and get more into the antiwar message that I feel the series is pushing. In conclusion I liked it more than its predecessor.

Comparing the movies might be irrelevant anyway, since both were released in the same year, so in fact it's just the second part of a larger story, with more to come. I will be watching Gundam III now.