Stardust

This 13-part TV series reaches its climax as the true nature of Operation Stardust is revealed: the Zeon plan to "drop" a gargantuan orbiting space colony onto the Earth. Although the lengthy space-battle sequences are well choreographed, the focus of the conflict shifts to a complex game of betrayals and changing loyalties. The ruthless Commander Cima turns on her fellow Zeon officers, while Nina Purpleton wrestles with her complicated past. The ongoing, frequently interrupted duel between Zeon ace pilot Gato and Lt. Kuo Uraki of the Earth Federation Forces comes to a disappointing conclusion; the filmmakers also fail to resolve the romance between Kuo and Nina satisfactorily. The weak ending feels doubly disappointing, given the excitement director Toshihiro Kawamoto brought to the earlier episodes. Originally broadcast in 1991, Stardust Memory is set between the end of the original Gundam and the sequel Gundam Z. Rated 13 Up: Violence, profanity. --Charles Solomon