Mobile Suit Gundam

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Mobile Suit Gundam
Title screen
機動戦士ガンダム
(Kido Senshi Gundam)
Genre Drama, Mecha, Military, Science Fiction
TV anime
Directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
Studio Sunrise
Network Animax, Nagoya Broadcasting Network
Original run April 7, 1979 – January 26, 1980
No. of episodes 43
Manga
Authored by
Publisher Japan Akita Shoten
Serialized in
Original run 1979 –
No. of volumes 2
Movie
Directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
Studio Sunrise
Released March 14, 1981
Runtime 137 minutes
Movie: Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow
Directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
Studio Sunrise
Released July 11, 1981
Runtime 134 minutes
Movie: Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters in Space
Directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
Studio Sunrise
Released March 13, 1982
Runtime 141 minutes

Mobile Suit Gundam (機動戦士ガンダム Kidō Senshi Gundam?) is a televised anime series written and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino and made up of 43 episodes aired in 1979.

The series was later re-edited for theatrical release and split into three movies in 1981. The idea of Mobile Suit came from the powered suit of Starship Troopers, although the story otherwise bears little resemblance to that novel. Yoshikazu Yasuhiko did the character designs and Kunio Okawara was responsible for the mechanical designs, including the titular giant robot, the RX-78-2 Gundam.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Universal Century 0079: The Principality of Zeon has declared its independence from the Earth Federation, and subsequently launched a massive war of independence, a war which has raged in every continent on earth and in nearly every space colony and lunar settlement. The Zeon have the upper hand through their use of a revolutionary new type of weapon, their humanoid mobile suits. When a Zeon recon team disobey mission orders and begin attacking Side 7 its citizens stumble across the Federation's latest weapon: the Gundam. With the aid of Earth Federation soldiers stationed aboard the MS carrier White Base the newly formed crew of refugees set out to change the course of the One Year War — or die trying.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Background

The series was not popular when it first aired, and was in fact cancelled before the series was intended to end. The series was originally set to run for 52 episodes and was cut down to 39 by the show's sponsors, which included the original toymakers for the series. Luckily, the staff was able to negotiate a one month extension to end the series with 43 episodes.

When Bandai received the licensing to the show's mecha, however, things changed completely. With the introduction of their line of Gundam models, the popularity of the show began to soar. The models sold very well, and the show began to do very well in reruns and even better in its theatrical compilation. Audiences were expecting another giant robot show, and instead found MS Gundam, the first work of anime in an entirely new genre, the mecha drama or the 'real robot' genre as opposed to the 'super robot' genre. Much like the original Star Trek, the original Gundam was not appreciated by its initial audience, and also like Star Trek, proceeded to spawn a massive sci-fi franchise, spawning numerous sequels, model kits, and videogames up to the present day.

Mobile Suit Gundam was also later aired by the anime satellite television network, Animax, across Japan, with the series continuing to be aired on the network currently, and later its respective networks worldwide, including Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Latin America, and other regions.

The series premiered across the United States on Monday, July 23, 2001 on Cartoon Network's Toonami in the US, but didn't do so well. Following the pattern of its initial airing in Japan, it was later cancelled before the entire series was shown. When the September 11, 2001 attacks occurred, the series was almost over. Immediately following the attacks Cartoon Network, and many other stations, began pulling war-themed content and violent programming as well. Although Cowboy Bebop came back before too long, Mobile Suit Gundam did not. However, the last episode was shown as part of Toonami's "New Year's Eve-il" special on December 31, 2001. It is sometimes stated that MSG was cancelled "because" of the September 11, 2001 attacks. This was verified by a Toonami producer in a March 4, 2002 interview with Anime News Network.

On Saturday, June 8, 2002 the series was given another chance by Cartoon Network in their late-night Adult Swim block, but it was again pulled before completing its run.

In both American TV showings, and on the American DVD release, Episode 15: Cucuruz Doan's Island was cut out. It was felt, even by Tomino, [citation needed] that this episode was not up to par with the rest of the series and so it was never dubbed, making it into a "lost episode" of sorts. [citation needed]

[edit] Episodes

See also: Mobile Suit Gundam Episode Guide

NOTE: These episodes do not use the American episode numberings, which excludes the original Episode 15.

  1. Gundam Rising
  2. Destroy Gundam!
  3. Vote to Attack
  4. Escape from Luna II
  5. Re-entry to Earth
  6. Garma Strikes
  7. The Core Fighter's Escape
  8. Winds of War
  9. Fly, Gundam!
  10. Garma's Fate
  11. Icelina - Love's Remains
  12. The Threat of Zeon
  13. Coming Home
  14. Time, Be Still
  15. Cucuruz Doan's Island
  16. Sayla's Agony
  17. Amuro Deserts
  18. Zeon's Secret Mine
  19. Ramba Ral's Attack
  20. Hand-To-Hand Combat
  21. Sorrow and Hatred
  22. The Trap of M'Quve
  23. Matilda's Rescue
  24. Black Tri-Star
  25. The Battle of Odessa
  26. Char Returns
  27. A Spy on Board
  28. Across the Atlantic Ocean
  29. Tragedy in Jaburo
  30. A Wish of War Orphans
  31. A Decoy in Space
  32. Breakthrough
  33. Farewell in Side Six
  34. A Fateful Encounter
  35. The Glory of Solomon
  36. Big Zam's Last Stand
  37. The Duel in Texas
  38. Char and Sayla
  39. The Newtype: Challia Bull
  40. Lalah's Dilemma
  41. Cosmic Glow
  42. Space Fortress: A Baoa Qu
  43. Escape

[edit] Novel

In 1979, before the end of the anime, Yoshiyuki Tomino himself created the first novelizations of the original Gundam anime series. The novels, issued as a series of three books, allowed him to depict his story in a more sophisticated, adult, and detailed fashion. Perhaps the most controversial difference between the anime series and the novels is that in the latter Amuro Ray is killed in the final attack against the Zeonic stronghold of A Baoa Qu, during which time, his RX-78-3 is peirced through the torso by a Rick Dom's beam bazooka, while Char's unit attempts to warn him about Gihren's intention to destroy the fortress and take the federation's offensive fleet along with it. Char Aznable and the crew of Pegasus II (White Base), along with handpicked men under Kycilia Zabi's command, make a deep penetrating attack against the Side 3 and together kill Gihren Zabi, after which Kycilia is killed by Char. Tomino later lamented that had he known that anime ending would be different and that another series would be made, he would not have killed off Amuro in the novels. Because of such significant deviations from the animated series, movies, and subsequent sequels the novels themselves are not considered canonical; however, the detailed account of past events leading up to the introduction of the mobile suit and early skirmishes of the OYW are more or less accepted in the continuity. Nonetheless, they are often enjoyed by fans because they provide a great deal of detail and help explain the philosophical underpinnings of the Gundam series.

The three novels were translated into English by Frederik Schodt and published by Del Rey Books in September, 1990. At the time, there were no officially recognized romanizations of character and mecha names, and a variety of different spellings were being used in the English-language fan community. In the original three novels, therefore, Mr. Schodt wrote the name "Char" as "Sha." "Sha" is a transliteration of the Japanese pronunciation, although Mr. Tomino later publicly confirmed at Anime Expo New York 2002 that the name was originally based on the French name Charles Aznavour, a popular French-language singer. (Interestingly, the 2004 edition of the English translation revealed that Schodt felt that the "Char" rendering "seemed too close" to Aznavour's name.) He also rendered "Zaku" as "Zak," and (after consulting with Mr. Tomino) "Jion" as "Zeon," instead of "Zion," which was in use in some circles. Some North American fans, already attached to particular spellings, took great umbrage at Schodt's renditions, forgetting that in the original Japanese most character and mecha names are in a phonetic script known as katakana, and that there were, therefore, no "official spellings." Many years later, when the Gundam series was finally licensed in North America, the rights holders did come up with a unified list of "official spellings" for English-language material, and some of these spellings include Schodt's renditions, as well as the renditions to which certain North American fans were attached.

In 2004, Frederik Schodt revised his original translation of the books, which had been out of print for nearly a decade. What had been a three volume set in the 1990 Del Rey edition was rereleased by Stone Bridge Press as one single volume of 476 pages (with a vastly improved cover design), titled Mobile Suit Gundam: Awakening, Escalation, Confrontation. Since the rights holders in Japan by this time had created a unified (although still evolving) list of romanized character and mecha names, Schodt was able to use it, and Amuro's rival in the novel thus became "Char" and not "Sha"; the popular Zeon Mobile Suit, similarly, became "Zaku," and not "Zak". [Source: Frederik L. Schodt]

[edit] Compilation Movies

Following the success of the Mobile Suit Gundam TV series, Yoshiyuki Tomino returned in 1981 and reworked the footage into three separate compilation movies. The first two movies, Mobile Suit Gundam and Mobile Suit Gundam: Soldiers of Sorrow, were released in 1981. The third movie, Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space, was released in 1982.

Each of the three movies are largely composed of old footage from the TV series, however Tomino felt that some things could be changed for the better. Tomino removed several aspects of the show which he felt were still too super robot-esque for the real robot series he intended Gundam to be, such as the Gundam Hammer weapon. The G-Armor upgrade parts were also completely removed and replaced in the narative by the more realistic Core Booster support fighters, and Hayato receives a Guncannon at Jaburo to replace the disadvantaged Guntank. The third movie also includes a substantial amount of new footage expanding on the battles of Solomon and A Baoa Qu.

The three compilation movies were released originally dubbed in English in the late 1990's to the early 2000's, with a different vocal cast than the English TV show dub, direct to VHS. They then were released again both separately and in a DVD box set in America on May 7, 2002. However, the DVD is only available in Japanese audio with English subtitles. This DVD boxset is identical to the 20th anniversary release of the movie compilation DVDs. The original voice cast members rerecorded their lines with the exception of those who were deceased. The 20th anniversary release is digitally remastered but many of the sound effects are replaced, most notably the futuristic gun sounds being replaced by louder machine gun sound effects. Also, the music soundtrack, while not remixed is rearranged and in some cases removed from some scenes. The vocal songs are rearranged also, especially in the closing credits of the second and third movies. These changes, which were supervised by Tomino, have been critisiced by fans.

[edit] Manga

Mobile Suit Gundam manga, namely Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 and Gundam:The Origin are published in English by Viz Communications.

[edit] Characters

From left to right, top: Kai Shiden, Ryu Jose, Amuro Ray, Fraw Bow, Sayla Mass, Mirai Yashima and Bright Noa; bottom: Hayato Kobayashi, Katz Hawin, Letz Cofan and Kikka Kitamoto.
Enlarge
From left to right, top: Kai Shiden, Ryu Jose, Amuro Ray, Fraw Bow, Sayla Mass, Mirai Yashima and Bright Noa; bottom: Hayato Kobayashi, Katz Hawin, Letz Cofan and Kikka Kitamoto.

[edit] Earth Federation

Further information: see main article Earth Federation
Principality of Zeon, from left to right: Giren Zabi, Dozle Zabi, Degwin Sodo Zabi, Kishiria Zabi, Garma Zabi and Char Aznable.
Enlarge
Principality of Zeon, from left to right: Giren Zabi, Dozle Zabi, Degwin Sodo Zabi, Kishiria Zabi, Garma Zabi and Char Aznable.

[edit] Principality of Zeon

Further information: see main article Zeon

[edit] Weapons and Support Units

[edit] Principality of Zeon

Support Units

Mobile Suit

Mobile Armor

[edit] Earth Federation

Support Unit

Mobile Suit

Mobile Pod

Mobile Armor

  • G-Armor
  • G-Bull
  • G-Bull Easy
  • G-Fighter
  • G-Sky
  • G-Sky Easy

[edit] Openings & Endings

Openings:

  • Tobe! Gundam (Fly! Gundam) by Koh Ikeda (TV series)

Endings:

  • Eien Ni Amuro (Forever Amuro) by Koh Ikeda (TV series)
  • Suna no Juujika (Cross of Sand) by Takajin Yashiki (Movie I)
  • Ai Senshi (Soldiers of Sorrow) by Daisuke Inoue (Movie II)
  • Meguriai (Encounters) by Daisuke Inoue (Movie III)


Note: On Cartoon Network's Toonami and Adult Swim airings, much shorter opening and ending sequences, 45 seconds long, were used in place of the Japanese TV openings and endings. These opening and ending sequences are also used in the Bandai releases from Volume 4-10.

[edit] Cast

Character Japanese Actor English Actor (Series) English Actor (Movies)
Amuro Ray Toru Furuya Brad Swaile Michael Lindsay
Char Aznable Shuichi Ikeda Michael Kopsa Steven Blum
Bright Noah Hirotaka Suzuoki Chris Kalhoon Wheat St. James
Mirai Yashima Fuyumi Shiraishi Cathy Weseluck Leslie Buhr
Sayla Mass You Inoue Alaina Burnett Olivia Bardeau
Fraw Bow Rumiko Ukai Kristie Marsden Melissa Fahn
Kai Shiden Toshio Furukawa Richard Ian Cox Christy Mathewson
Hayato Kobayashi Kiyonobu Suzuki Matt Smith Richard Cansino
Ryu Jose Shozo Iizuka Ward Perry Unknown
Lalah Sune Han Keiko Willow Johnson Lia Sargent
Garma Zabi Katsuji Mori Brian Dobson Unknown
Kishiria Zabi Mami Koyama Michelle Porter Bambi Darro
Dozle Zabi Daisuke Gohri French Tickner Peter Spellos
Degwin Zabi Ichiro Nagai Chris Schneider Elliot Reynolds
Ramba Ral Masashi Hirose John Payne Michael McConnohie
Crowley Hamon Yumi Nakatani Lenore Zann Dian Andrews

[edit] Video games

Main article: List of Gundam video games

There have been many games based on or with Mobile Suits from the original Gundam series. Of these, the following have crossed the border into America:

  • Gundam Battle Assault (PSOne)
  • Gundam Battle Assault 2 (PSOne)
  • Gundam Side Story 0079: Rise From the Ashes (Dreamcast)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Journey to Jaburo (PS2)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Zeonic Front (PS2)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation VS Zeon (Arcade)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation VS Zeon DX (Arcade/PS2)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space (PS2)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam VS Zeta Gundam (Arcade/PS2)
  • MS Saga: A New Dawn (PS2) (Mobile Suit Gundam: True Odyssey in Japan)
  • Battle Assault 3 featuring Gundam Seed (PS2)

Current generation games that have been unreleased in countries outside Japan include:

  • Mobile Suit Gundam (1993 arcade game) (Arcade)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam Giren's Greed: Blood of Zeon (PS2/PSP)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Lost War Chronicles (PS2)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Climax UC (PS2)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: The One Year War (also referred to as Project Pegasus) (PS2)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Path of the Soldiers (also referred to as Ace Pilot) (GCN)
  • Quiz Mobile Suit Gundam: Monsenshi DX (PSP)
  • SD Gundam G-Generation (PSX)
  • SD Gundam G-Generation Zero (PSX)
  • SD Gundam G-Generation F (PSX)
  • SD Gundam G-Generation F-If [Expansion pack to G-Generation F] (PSX)
  • SD Gundam G-Generation Neo (PS2)
  • SD Gundam G-Generation Advance (GBA)
  • SD Gundam G-Generation DS (DS)
  • SD Gundam Mono-Eye Stories (WonderSwan)
  • SD Gundam G-Generation Seed (PS2) [Primarily focuses on Seed Era storyline]
  • SD Gundam G-Generation Portable (PSP)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam Generation of Cosmic Era (PS2) [Focuses on Seed Era storyline, including MS Gundam Seed: Mobile Suit Variation (MSV) and Astray stories]

Note: The various Mobile Suit Gundam Series are also featured in the 'Real Robot' side of the Super Robot Taisen/Wars series of games.

[edit] See also

Variation models:

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Preceded by:
—		 Mobile Suit Gundam
1979–1980		 Succeeded by:
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
Preceded by:
—		 Mobile Suit Gundam (in universe)
0079–0080		 Succeeded by:
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team (chronologically)


Universal Century
Anime
MS IGLOO | Mobile Suit Gundam | The 08th MS Team | 0080: War in the Pocket | 0083: Stardust Memory | Zeta Gundam | Gundam ZZ | Char's Counterattack | Gundam F91 | Victory Gundam | G-Saviour
Events
Pre-One Year War | One Year War | Post-One Year War | Operation Stardust | Gryps Conflict | Neo-Zeon Movements | Late U.C.
Topics
Comprehensive Episode Listing | List of Characters | Locations | Mobile Suit Variations | Mobile Suits | Nations and Factions | Newtypes and related technology | Superweapons | Technology | Warships and Spacecraft
Books
The Blue Destiny | Gundam Sentinel | Double-Fake | Gundam Unicorn | Hathaway's Flash | Crossbone Gundam | Gaia Gear
Alternate Timelines
Future Century | After Colony | After War | Turn A Gundam | SD Gundam | Cosmic Era
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