I think stepping back from these specifics a bit will allow us to see that, while 08th MS Team may not look a lot like the original Mobile Suit Gundam, it is a fine representation of what the franchise has become. So far, I’ve only compared 08th to UC series that came before it, but looking at its 90s AU contemporaries proves instructive.
Because of the first three words of its title, Mobile Suit Gundam: 08th MS Team never needs one of these retrospectives to be re-discovered.
In short, both its differences from and similarities to its predecessors make 08th MS Team a fantastic point of entry into the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise, even twenty years later.
In terms of poignantly conveying these ideas, 08th MS Team is among the most successful entries in the franchise.