Four years after the conclusion of the One Year War in Mobile Suit Gundam, the remnants of Zeon hatch one final plan to get back at the Federation: A former Zeon ace, Anavel Gato, steals a prototype Gundam equipped for nuclear attack. Federation Lt. South Burning leads a group that includes rookie pilot Kou Uraki to get the Gundam back and uncover the true plot behind Zeon's plan, Operation Stardust.
Gundam 0083 was created the bridge the gap between the ending of the original Mobile Suit Gundam and its sequel, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. (Zeta Gundam took the story in a radically different direction that was probably confusing as hell to many viewers at the time.) As such, it's probably not the greatest idea to watch this without being at least familiar with the conflicts in the original series, although it is probably watchable all on its own.
For the most part, Gundam 0083 is mostly an exciting action story -- it's certainly nowhere near as dour as Zeta Gundam or even the original series, at least not until the end. In fact, the beginning is actually light-hearted a good portion of the time, although there are plenty of serious moments as well. Most of the humor comes from Kou getting his feet wet in the base and getting used to three arrogant, experienced pilots who are transferred to the base to help find the Gundam that Gato steals.
Right now, I probably cannot go on without at least mentioning the silliness of the names in Stardust Memories: They are freaking goofy even by Gundam standards. Here's a character I haven't even mentioned yet: Nina Purpleton, a head engineer at Anaheim Electronics, which developed the Gundams that are crucial to the series. I don't know if Sunrise comes up with dumbass names because series creator Yoshiyuki Tomino demands it, or if the studio is just a slave to tradition, but seriously. Damn. If a Gundam series came out in which every character had a somewhat normal name, then I think there would be riots.
Anyway, even if they have stupid names, the characters are mostly good. Kou is a straight-laced guy who needs to loosen up (as does Nina, although with her she is mostly focused on her machines), South is a strong commander, Gato is an honorable antagonist who is nonetheless on the evil side and so on. The characters are basically all adults, so there is very little of the random whining and dumbass bullshit that you'll often see from the angsty teenagers in early Gundam series.
The visuals hold up strongly, too, even though the OVA is nearly 20 years old. (That's what happens when you have an actual budget behind a project. :p) Good, fluid animation and some of the cooler battles you'll find in Gundam; the final fight is a particular treat to watch.
If there's one problem I have with the OVA, it's that the story has a romantic element that ultimately drags the story down at the end because it devolves into soap opera bullcrap that turns Nina into an unbelievably stupid, irritating character. Absolutely horrible. I wish that this ending could be an actual person so that I would have the pleasure of kicking it in the nut sack.
Overall, though, Gundam 0083 is a solid OVA and a must-watch for Gundam fans. It's one of the more controversial entries in the series due to that shitty romance crap, but most everything else makes for a pretty good watch.
If you like this, then watch ... : I'll be lazy and once again say to watch the rest of the main UC Gundam timeline. Check the Gundam 0080 post for the details.
