, also known as ''First Gundam'', ''Gundam 0079'' or simply ''Gundam '79'', is an
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
television series, produced and animated by
Nippon Sunrise. Created and directed by
Yoshiyuki Tomino
is a Japanese mecha anime creator, animator, director, screenwriter, songwriter and novelist best known for creating the ''Gundam'' anime franchise. He was born in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and studied at Nihon University's College of Art. ...
, it premiered in Japan on
Nagoya Broadcasting Network
JOLX-DTV, virtual channel 6 (UHF digital channel 22), branded as is the Chūbu region flagship station of the All-Nippon News Network, owned by the , with its headquarters in Nagoya. It is broadcast in Aichi Prefecture, Gifu Prefecture, and ...
and its affiliated
ANN
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie.
Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
stations on April 7, 1979, and lasted until January 26, 1980, spanning 43 episodes. It was the first ''
Gundam
is a Japanese military fiction media franchise. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise (now Bandai Namco Filmworks), the franchise features giant robots, or mecha, with the name "Gundam". The franchise began on April 7, 1979, with ''Mobile ...
'' series, which has subsequently been adapted into numerous sequels and spin-offs. Set in the futuristic
calendar year
Generally speaking, a calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day, and thus consists of a whole number of days. A year can also be measured by starting on any o ...
"
Universal Century
is a Japanese military fiction media franchise. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise (now Bandai Namco Filmworks), the franchise features giant robots, or mecha, with the name "Gundam". The franchise began on April 7, 1979, with ''Mobile ...
" 0079, the plot focuses on the war between the Principality of Zeon and the Earth Federation, with the latter unveiling a new
giant robot known as the
RX-78-2 Gundam
The is a fictional manned robot (mecha), introduced in 1979 in Yoshiyuki Tomino's and Sunrise's anime series ''Mobile Suit Gundam''. In the series, it is a prototype weapon for the Earth Federation when it falls into the hands of Amuro Ray, the ...
piloted by the teenage civilian mechanic
Amuro Ray
is a fictional character introduced in Sunrise's 1979 anime series ''Mobile Suit Gundam''. Amuro is a mechanic who becomes the pilot of the mecha known as RX-78-2 Gundam to protect himself from the Zeon forces invading his space colony during the ...
.
In 1981, the series was re-edited for theatrical release and split into three films. The characters were designed by
Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
is a Japanese animator, manga artist, and anime director. He is best known for being the character designer and animation director of the original ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' anime, which began in 1979. That same year, he began working as a manga art ...
, and
Kunio Okawara
is a mechanical designer in the Japanese anime industry. Okawara was the first in the industry to be specifically credited as a mechanical designer. He designed mecha for the ''Gundam'' and ''Brave Series'' franchises, as well as those of numerou ...
was responsible for the mechanical designs, including the eponymous giant robot, the RX-78-2 Gundam. The first film was released on February 22, 1981. Tomino himself also wrote a trilogy of novels that retell the events of the series. Two
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
adaptations of the series have also been written by two
manga artists
A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan.
Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist bef ...
.
Despite initial low ratings that caused the series' cancellation, the popularity of ''Gundam'' saw a boost from the introduction of
Bandai
is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and Richmond ...
's
Gunpla models in 1980 and from
reruns
A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. There are two types of reruns – those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated.
Variations
In the United Kingdom, the word ...
and the theatrical release of the anime, leading to the creation of a prolific and lucrative media and toy franchise. The series is famous for revolutionizing the giant robot genre due to the handling of mobile suits as weapons of war, as well as the portrayal of their pilots as ordinary soldiers. This aspects contrasted with the previous style of portraying hero pilots and their giant super hero robots.
Plot
Set in a
fictional universe
A fictional universe, or fictional world, is a self-consistent setting with events, and often other elements, that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed, or fictional realm (or world). Fictional universes may ...
(
Universal Century
is a Japanese military fiction media franchise. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise (now Bandai Namco Filmworks), the franchise features giant robots, or mecha, with the name "Gundam". The franchise began on April 7, 1979, with ''Mobile ...
year 0079 according to the Gundam Calendar), the Principality of Zeon has declared independence from the Earth Federation, and subsequently launched a war of independence called the One Year War. The conflict has directly affected every continent on Earth, also nearly every space colony and lunar settlement. Zeon, though smaller, has the tactical upper hand through their use of a new type of humanoid weapons called mobile suits. After half of all humanity perishes in the conflict, the war settled into a bitter stalemate lasting over 8 months.
The story begins with a newly deployed Federation warship, the ''
White Base
The SCV-70 ''White Base'' (ホワイトベース ''Howaito Bēsu''), also nicknamed Trojan Horse (木馬 ''Mokuba''), is a fictional spaceship from the Japanese science fiction anime series ''Mobile Suit Gundam''. It serves as the mothership of ...
'', arriving at the secret research base located at the Side 7 colony to pick up the Federation's newest weapon. However, they are closely followed by Zeon forces. A Zeon reconnaissance team member disobeys mission orders and attacks the colony, killing most of the Federation crew and civilians in the process. Out of desperation, young
Amuro Ray
is a fictional character introduced in Sunrise's 1979 anime series ''Mobile Suit Gundam''. Amuro is a mechanic who becomes the pilot of the mecha known as RX-78-2 Gundam to protect himself from the Zeon forces invading his space colony during the ...
accidentally finds the Federation's new prototype arsenal—the
RX-78 Gundam
The is a fictional manned robot (mecha), introduced in 1979 in Yoshiyuki Tomino's and Sunrise (company), Sunrise's anime series ''Mobile Suit Gundam''. In the series, it is a prototype weapon for the Earth Federation when it falls into the hands ...
, and manages to beat back Zeon forces. Scrambling everything they can, the ''White Base'' sets out with her newly formed crew of civilian recruits and refugees in her journey to survive.
On their journey, the White Base members often encounter the Zeon Lieutenant Commander
Char Aznable
, born and also gone by the name , is a fictional character from the ''Gundam'' franchise. He is originally one of the main antagonists in ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' working for the Principality of Zeon, named after his late father Zeon Zum Deikun, ...
. Although Char antagonizes Amuro in battle, he takes advantage of their position as Federation members to have them kill members from Zeon's Zabi family as part of his revenge scheme. Amuro also meets ensign
Lalah Sune
This is a list of fictional characters from the 1979 Japanese science fiction anime television series ''Mobile Suit Gundam''.
Earth Federation
Amuro Ray
is the son of Tem Ray, the project leader for the Earth Federation's Project V, whi ...
with whom he falls in love, but accidentally kills when facing Char. When the Federation Forces invade the Fortress of A Baoa Qu to defeat the Zeon forces, Amuro engages on a final one-on-one duel against Char due to both blaming the other for Lalah's death. Having realized he forgot his true enemy, Char stops fighting to kill the last surviving Zabi member, Kycilia Zabi. Amuro then reunites with his comrades as the war reaches its end.
Production
![2008TaipeiGameShow Day2 DigitalContentForum Yoshiyuki Tomino](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/2008TaipeiGameShow_Day2_DigitalContentForum_Yoshiyuki_Tomino.jpg)
The "Mobile Suits" of the show were inspired by the
powered armor
A powered exoskeleton, also known as power armor, powered armor, powered suit, cybernetic suit, cybernetic armor, exosuit, hardsuit, exoframe or augmented mobility, is a mobile machine that is wearable over all or part of the human body, provi ...
from the novel ''
Starship Troopers
''Starship Troopers'' is a military science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Written in a few weeks in reaction to the US suspending nuclear tests, the story was first published as a two-part serial in ''The Magazine of F ...
'' from 1959. Mobile suits were conceptualized as human-like robots which would not only appeal to children.
Yoshiyuki Tomino's original plot for the anime was considerably much more grim, with Amuro dying halfway through the series, and the crew of the White Base having to ally with Char (who is given a red Gundam), but finally having to battle him after he takes control of the Principality of Zeon. The original concept found expression in a series of novels written by Tomino soon after the show's conclusion, and elements of the storyline weaved themselves into ''
Zeta Gundam
is a 1985 Japanese television anime series, the second installment in the ''Gundam'' franchise, and a sequel to the original ''Mobile Suit Gundam''. The show was created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, with character designs by Yoshikazu ...
'' and ''
Char's Counterattack
is a 1988 Japanese animated science fiction film set in the Universal Century timeline of the ''Gundam'' franchise.
Making its theatrical debut on March 12, 1988, ''Char's Counterattack'' is the culmination of the original saga begun in ' ...
''.
In previous series Tomino worked in, villains were alien agents. ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' was the first of his work which featured humans as antagonists. The director commented he wanted to tell a story about war.
He aimed to expose thoroughly starting with Japanese aggression in Manchuria in 1939. Tomino did not allow for changes to history and wanted to use the story to make viewers confront the tragic realities of war. The director was unwilling to discuss the message of his work, expecting the viewers to reach their own conclusion. Additionally, he commented he "packed his frustrations" when making ''Gundam''.
Tomino met mechanical designer
Kunio Okawara
is a mechanical designer in the Japanese anime industry. Okawara was the first in the industry to be specifically credited as a mechanical designer. He designed mecha for the ''Gundam'' and ''Brave Series'' franchises, as well as those of numerou ...
when he first worked in two television series from Sunrise. Tomino liked Okawara's work and asked him to collaborate with him in his upcoming project. Originally, the anime would be called "Gunboy" but it was renamed ''Mobile Suit Gundam''. The ''White Base'', the mothership of the protagonist crew members, is designed with a 3 plane view method by Kunio Okawara, however, it is not specially designed for the anime series Gundam, it was actually a salvaged design from the anime ''
Invincible Steel Man Daitarn 3
, also known as ''The Unchallengeable Daitarn 3'', is a Japanese anime television series created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Hajime Yatate, and animated by Sunrise. It was first broadcast on Japanese TV in 1978. The series lasted for 40 episodes. T ...
''.
[''Gundam Century Renewal Version'', Kishosha, March 15, 2000, ] The idea of having a space carrier from Tomino is partly inspired by the earlier science fiction anime ''
Space Battleship Yamato
is a Japanese science fiction anime series produced and written by Yoshinobu Nishizaki, directed by manga artist Leiji Matsumoto, and produced by Academy Productions. The series aired in Yomiuri TV from October 6, 1974 to March 30, 1975, ...
'', which he claimed to be a fan of.
It was intended to be in a more realistic black color, but was changed to white by the order of Sunrise, who similarly ordered the main mecha, Gundam, changed from a grayish white to white, red, blue and yellow. Director Tomino showed great disgust in the color change, also noticing the unrealistic non-aerodynamic design of it after the show was on air, said in an interview that such design would never appear in the real world, since it would be a sitting duck from fighter aircraft. Tomino still held a grudge 10 years after the show aired and stated in an interview in ''
Newtype
is a monthly magazine publication originating from Japan, covering anime (and to a lesser extent, tokusatsu, manga, Japanese science fiction, seiyuu, and video games). It was launched by publishing company Kadokawa Shoten on March 8, 1985, with i ...
'' 1989 April issue that the imaginary enemies of Gundam are Sunrise, sponsors and television stations.
Tomino compares the machines with religious history in Japan, most notably the worship of
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
statues located in temples. The relationship between the pilot and the mobile suit has also been compared with the
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
drivers who rely on machines to achieve a goal. In order to give the mechas fast movements, most of the fights were situated in space where there was low gravity. This led to the creation of space colonies as a common setting. In order to explain how a person as young as Amuro could pilot the Gundam, the team came up with the idea of Newtypes.
Media
Anime
In February 1980, ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' was aired in Italy, the first country to broadcast the show outside Japan. In Australia,
Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
broadcast the anime in Japanese with English subtitles from 1982 to 1984. ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' was also later aired by the anime satellite television network,
Animax
, stylized as ANIMAX, is a Japanese animation satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. The channel also dubbed other cartoons in Japanese language. A subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan, it is headq ...
, 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, and other regions.
Hoping to capitalize on the success of ''
Gundam Wing'' from the previous year,
Bandai Entertainment
was a Japanese anime, film production, and distribution enterprise, established by Bandai and a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. They focused mainly in international distribution of anime properties in North America.
Most of the anime and f ...
released a heavily edited and English-dubbed version of ''Mobile Suit Gundam'', premiering on
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...
's
Toonami
Toonami ( ) is an American late night television programming block that primarily broadcasts Japanese animation and occasionally American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and produced by Williams Street, a divis ...
weekday afternoon after-school action programming block across the United States on Monday, July 23, 2001. The series did not do as well as ''Wing'' but the ratings were high enough for the whole series to be aired and to spawn an enormous toy line. Due to
9-11
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...
, Cartoon Network, like many other American TV stations, began pulling, and editing, war-themed content and violent programming, resulting in the cancellation of the series. However, the series finale was shown as part of Toonami's "New Year's Eve-il" special on December 31, 2001. On Saturday, June 8, 2002, the series was given another chance by Cartoon Network on their late-night
Adult Swim
Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim
Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...
and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...
block, starting over from the first episode, but it was again pulled before completing its run because of low ratings.
On May 30, 2006, Bandai Entertainment re-released the English dub of the TV series in a 10 volume DVD set. There was no Japanese audio track included, apparently because
Yoshiyuki Tomino
is a Japanese mecha anime creator, animator, director, screenwriter, songwriter and novelist best known for creating the ''Gundam'' anime franchise. He was born in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and studied at Nihon University's College of Art. ...
felt that the original mono mix was in too poor of a condition to use. However, in 2007 the original series was released on DVD in Japan, which sold over 100,000 copies within a month's time from December 21, 2007 to January 21, 2008.
Only one episode out of the 43 episodes ("Cucuruz Doan's Island") had never been dubbed nor aired. This was at the request of Yoshiyuki Tomino, as he felt that it was not on par with the other episodes, resulting in the episode becoming a "lost episode" of sorts. Despite this, the episode was included on Japanese DVD and Blu-ray releases, and was dubbed in Italian in the early 1980s.
At the 2010
New York Comic Con
The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006.
History
The New York Comic Con is a f ...
/
New York Anime Festival
The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006.
History
The New York Comic Con is a f ...
, Bandai Entertainment announced that they would re-release ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' with both the original Japanese audio and the English dub. Bandai released Gundam in two sets in the summer of 2011. The first set was released on September 13, 2011.
Following the closure in 2012 of Bandai Entertainment, the series went out of print. At their
New York Comic-Con
The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to comics, Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, Film, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006.
History
The New York Comic ...
2014 panel, Sunrise announced their plans to re-release all of the ''Gundam'' series on home video in North America, starting with the original series. They would be distributed via
Right Stuf Inc.
Right Stuf Inc. (formerly known as The Right Stuf International Inc.) is an American video publisher and distributor of video programming that specializes in Asian entertainment (anime and live action films). The company since 2022 is owned by ...
They released the series on Blu-ray and DVD in October 2015.
On July 25, 2015, British anime distributor Anime Limited announced they would release ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' in cooperation with Sunrise for the first time in the UK on DVD and Blu-ray.
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. Along with this adaptation came several major changes to the story. For example, Amuro is already a member of the Federation military at the time of the initial Zeon attack on Side 7, and the main characters in the Federation serve on the ''White Base''-class ships ''Pegasus'' and ''Pegasus II'' rather than the ''Pegasus''-class ''White Base''. Additionally, the war continues well into the year UC 0080 in the novels, whereas it concludes at the beginning of that year in the anime series. In the novel Amuro Ray is killed in the final attack against the Zeonic stronghold of A Baoa Qu when his RX-78-3 is pierced through the torso by a Rick Dom's beam bazooka. This occurs as 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 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.
The three novels were translated into English by
Frederik Schodt and published by
Del Rey Books
Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn, by Penguin Random House. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It ...
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
Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...
, a popular French-language singer. (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 written in ''
katakana
is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji and in some cases the Latin script (known as rōmaji). The word ''katakana'' means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana characters are derived fr ...
'', and that there were, therefore, no "official spellings." Many years later, when the ''Gundam'' series was finally licensed in North America, the rights holders came 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 re-released by
Stone Bridge Press
Stone Bridge Press, Inc. is a publishing company distributed by Consortium Book Sales & Distribution and founded in 1989. Authors published include Donald Richie and Frederik L. Schodt. Stone Bridge publishes books related to Japan, having pu ...
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".
Films
Following the success of the ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' TV series, in 1981 Tomino reworked the footage into three separate compilation films. The first two films, ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' and ''Mobile Suit Gundam: Soldiers of Sorrow'', were released in 1981. The third film, ''Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space'', was released in 1982.
Each of the three films is 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 narrative by the more realistic Core Booster support fighters, and Hayato receives a RX-77 Guncannon at Jaburo to replace the disadvantaged RX-75 Guntank. The third film also includes a substantial amount of new footage expanding on the battles of Solomon and A Baoa Qu.
The first ''Gundam'' film, upon release on 22 February 1981, drew a large crowd of 15,000 people at its premiere, leading to concerns from police and media that it could lead to social unrest from a riotous crowd. The event is considered a turning point in the
history of anime
The history of anime can be traced back to the start of the 20th century, with the earliest verifiable films dating from 1907.This article, by a German researcher, was first published on January 4, 2013 in ''The Japanese Journal of Animation S ...
, referred to as "the day that anime changed" according to ''
Asahi Shimbun
is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...
'' newspaper. The first film grossed , and ''Gundam II'' grossed .
''Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters in Space'' was 1982's fourth
highest-grossing Japanese film, with a
distribution income of and a total box office gross of .
Collectively, the trilogy grossed at the Japanese box office.
In 1998, the three compilation films were first released directly to VHS subtitled into English as part of Bandai's AnimeVillage releases, which makes them among the first ''Gundam'' works released in English. A year later, Bandai released an English dub of three compilation films in 1999. Featuring the voice of
Michael Lindsay
Michael Lindsay (May 9, 1963 – August 31, 2019) was an American Voice acting, voice actor who worked largely in anime, credited often as Dylan Tully.
His most prominent roles were Kisuke Urahara in ''Bleach (TV series), Bleach'', Kankuro in ' ...
as Amuro Ray, and
Steve Blum
Steven Jay Blum (; born April 29, 1960) is an American voice actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, his most well-known roles include Spike Spiegel from the anime series '' Cowboy Bebop'', Garazeb Orrelios from the animated series ''St ...
as Char Aznable. Due to the dub mispronouncing the word Gundam as "Gun-dam", and the Principality of Zeon being called the "Duchy of Zeon", Sunrise prevented it from being re-released after its debut on VHS. The films were released again in North America on May 7, 2002 in DVD format, available separately or in a boxed set. These are also available only with re-done Japanese audio with English subtitles, the DVDs identical to the 20th anniversary release of the film compilation in Japan. The original Japanese voice cast members rerecorded their lines with the exception of those who were deceased. The 20th anniversary release was digitally remastered and many of the sound effects were replaced, most notably the futuristic gun sounds being replaced by louder machine gun sound effects. Also, the music soundtrack, while not remixed was 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 films.
Bandai Visual
was a Japanese anime, film production, and distribution enterprise, established by Bandai and a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. They focused mainly in international distribution of anime properties in North America.
Most of the anime and ...
has announced the re-release of the ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' films on DVD from new HD masters and with the original, theatrical, mono audio mix. This boxed set was released in Japan on December 21, 2007. On May 18, 2010, Bandai Entertainment re-released the 20th anniversary version of the trilogy under their Anime Legends label. As with the TV series, the films were re-released in North America under Sunrise themselves with distribution from
Right Stuf Inc.
Right Stuf Inc. (formerly known as The Right Stuf International Inc.) is an American video publisher and distributor of video programming that specializes in Asian entertainment (anime and live action films). The company since 2022 is owned by ...
The trilogy of films were distributed on DVD in the United Kingdom by Beez Entertainment in 2005 in Japanese and with a selection of subtitle tracks including English. Anime Ltd. has since acquired the UK license and has released a limited edition Blu-ray box set of the film trilogy (limited to 500 units) as an exclusive, sold only on their AllTheAnime.com store. It was released on March 27, 2017, in Japanese with English subtitles only.
A animated film adaptation based on the "Cucuruz Doan's Island" episode titled was released on June 3, 2022.
Manga
There have been three manga series based on ''Mobile Suit Gundam''. One was written by
Yū Okazaki between 1979 and 1980 and compiled into two volumes. Another is ''Mobile Suit Gundam 0079'' by Kazuhisa Kondo. It was published in ''Dengeki Comics'' from 1993 to 2005 in a total of twelve ''
tankōbon
is the Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...
'' volumes. Viz Media published its first nine volumes in English between 2000 and 2003. The third manga is ''
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin'' by anime character designer
Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
is a Japanese animator, manga artist, and anime director. He is best known for being the character designer and animation director of the original ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' anime, which began in 1979. That same year, he began working as a manga art ...
. It was published from June 2001 to June 2011 in
Kadokawa Shoten
, formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines su ...
's ''Gundam Ace'' magazine and collected in a total of 23 ''tankōbon'' volumes. The series was first released in English by
Viz Media
VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...
but was dropped before it was completed; it was then released by
Vertical
Vertical is a geometric term of location which may refer to:
* Vertical direction, the direction aligned with the direction of the force of gravity, up or down
* Vertical (angles), a pair of angles opposite each other, formed by two intersecting s ...
from March 2013 to December 2015.
Besides adaptations, there is a popular parody
yonkoma
, a comic strip format, generally consists of gag comic strips within four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom. They also sometimes run right-to-left horizontally or use a hybrid 2×2 style, depending on the layout requirements of ...
manga titled ''
Mobile Suit Gundam-san
, commonly referred to as ''Gundam-san'', is a Japanese yonkoma (4-panel) parody gag manga series by Hideki Ohwada. A part of the ''Gundam'' media franchise, it is a parody of the original ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' anime series, featuring Amuro R ...
'', which was written and drawn by Hideki Ohwada and serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's ''Gundam Ace'' magazine since 2001. This manga was adapted into an anime in 2014. Ohwada also created a spinoff manga, , which follows Yoshiyuki Tomino and the Sunrise staff as they work to make the television series and the compilation films. This series was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's ''Gundam Ace'' magazine from 2009 to 2011 and compiled in the ''Gundam-san'' tankōbon starting in Volume 5. The manga was also collected in two tankōbon volumes released on January 24, 2014.
A continuation of the ''Mobile Suit Gundam 0079'' manga, titled ''Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 Episode II Luna'', will begin serialization in
Kadokawa Shoten
, formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines su ...
's ''
Gundam Ace
is a monthly Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by Kadokawa Shoten. It largely focuses on the ''Gundam'' franchise. There was a Chinese version published by Kadokawa Media (Taiwan) Co., Ltd, discontinued in 2008.
Overview
Gundam Ace s ...
'' magazine on November 26, 2022.
Video games
(For the list below, only video games featuring mobile suits that appeared in the One Year War, or related variations are included.)
There have been many video games based on or with mobile suits from the original ''Gundam'' series. Of these, the following have been released in North America:
* ''
Gundam Battle Assault,
Gundam Battle Assault 2''
* ''
Gundam Side Story 0079: Rise From the Ashes''
* ''
Mobile Suit Gundam: Journey to Jaburo''
* ''
Mobile Suit Gundam: Zeonic Front''
* ''
Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation vs. Zeon''
* ''
Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space''
* ''
Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Zeta Gundam''
* ''
Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire'' (''Mobile Suit Gundam: Target in Sight'' in Japan and Australia)
* ''
MS Saga: A New Dawn'' (''Mobile Suit Gundam: True Odyssey'' in Japan)
* ''
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam,
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2,
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3'' (''Gundam Musou'' in Japan)
* ''
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Reborn'' (PlayStation 3 only)
Games that have been unreleased in countries outside Japan include:
* ''Gundam 0079 The War for Earth
* ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' (1993 arcade game)
* ''Mobile Suit Gundam: Spirits of Zeon ~Dual Stars of Carnage~''
* ''Mobile Suit Gundam: Spirit of Zeon ~Memory of Soldier~''
*''Quiz Mobile Suit Gundam: Monsenshi''
*''
Giren's Greed'' (series)
* ''
Mobile Suit Gundam: Lost War Chronicles''
* ''Mobile Suit Gundam: Climax UC''
*''Mobile Suit Gundam: The One Year War''
*''
Mobile Suit Gundam: Path of the Soldiers'' (also referred to as ''Ace Pilot'')
* ''
Gundam Battle
''Gundam Battle'' is a series of games made for the Sony PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita game consoles, all based on a similar game engine. Currently there are six games in the series.
''Gundam Battle Tactics''
''Gundam Battle Tactic ...
'' (series)
* ''
SD Gundam G Generation
SD Gundam G Generation is a series of strategy-RPG video games that focus on the Gundam anime franchise.
History
The ''G Generation'' series technically began in 1996, when Bandai released a series of six games for Nintendo's Super Famicom con ...
'' (series)
* ''
SD Gundam: Scad Hammers''
* ''
Mobile Suit Gundam: Operation: Troy''
* ''
Mobile Suit Gundam: Bonds of the Battlefield''
* ''
Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam''
Reception, influence and legacy
''Gundam'' was not popular when it first aired, and in fact came close to being cancelled. The series was originally set to run for 52 episodes but was cut down to 39 by the show's sponsors, which included
Clover
Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...
(the original toymakers for the series). However, the staff was able to negotiate a one-month extension to end the series with 43 episodes.
[The Legend Story of Gundam, Goods Press, March 15, 2011, ] When
Bandai
is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and Richmond ...
bought the copyrights to build plastic models for the show's mecha, which was a relatively new market compared to the old
Chogokin
{{nihongo, Chogokin, 超合金, Chōgōkin, Chō: ''Super'', gōkin: ''alloy'', Sometimes spelled either Chougokin or Cho-gokin is a fictitious material which first appeared in Go Nagai's ''Mazinger Z'' manga and anime and is later adopted by Popy ...
series Clover was making, things changed completely. With the introduction of their line of Gundam
model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a mea ...
s, the popularity of the show began to soar. The models sold very well, the show began to do very well in reruns and its theatrical compilation was a huge success. Audiences were expecting another
Super Robot
Mecha anime and manga, known in Japan as and , are anime and manga that feature robots (mecha) in battle. The genre is broken down into two subcategories; "super robot", featuring super-sized, implausible robots, and "real robot", where robots are ...
TV show, and instead found ''Gundam'', the first work of anime in an entirely new genre: the Real Robot genre. The Anime ranked #2 on ''Wizard's Anime'' Magazine on their "Top 50 Anime released in North America", and is regarded as changing the concept of Japanese robot anime and the turning point of history in Japan.
Despite being released in 1979, the original ''Gundam'' series is still remembered and recognized within the
anime fan community. The series revolutionized
mecha
In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines controlled by people, typically depicted as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the mean ...
anime, introducing the new Real Robot genre, and over the years became synonymous with the entire genre for many. As a result, for example,
parodies
A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...
of mecha genre commonly feature
homage
Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to:
History
*Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance
*Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts
*Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...
s to ''Mobile Suit Gundam'', thanks to its immediate recognizability.
The series was the first winner of the ''
Animage
is a Japanese anime and entertainment magazine which Tokuma Shoten began publishing in July 1978. Hayao Miyazaki's internationally renowned manga, ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'', was serialized in ''Animage'' from 1982 through 1994. Oth ...
'' Anime Grand Prix prize, in 1979 and the first half of 1980. In the top 100 anime from ''Animage'', ''Gundam'' was twenty-fourth. The magazine ''Wizard'' listed the series as the second best anime of all time. By the end of 2007, each episode of the original TV series averaged a sales figure of 80,928 copies, including all of the different formats it was published in (VHS, LD, DVD, etc.). The first DVD box set sold over 100,000 copies in the first month of release, from December 21, 2007 to January 21, 2008. As part of the 30th Anniversary of the Gundam series, the company officially announced a project on March 11, 2009 called ''Real-G'', a plan to build a 1:1 real size scale Gundam in Japan. It was completed in July 2009 and displayed in a Tokyo park then taken down later. The 18-meter tall statue was reconstructed in Shizuoka Prefecture and was taken down in March 2011. In August 2011 it was dismantled only to reopen in Odaiba, Tokyo on April 19, 2012. It stood Odaiba along with a gift shop called "Gundam Front Tokyo" until it was dismantled in March 2016.
Most of the critical response to the series has been due to the setting and characters.
John Oppliger
AnimeNation was an American business that included RentAnime.com, a discussion forum, anime industry news, and a column called "Ask John." It was previously a retailer of anime and manga products until 2014 and an anime licensing and distribut ...
observes that the characters of
Amuro Ray
is a fictional character introduced in Sunrise's 1979 anime series ''Mobile Suit Gundam''. Amuro is a mechanic who becomes the pilot of the mecha known as RX-78-2 Gundam to protect himself from the Zeon forces invading his space colony during the ...
, to whom the young Japanese of that time could easily relate, and
Char Aznable
, born and also gone by the name , is a fictional character from the ''Gundam'' franchise. He is originally one of the main antagonists in ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' working for the Principality of Zeon, named after his late father Zeon Zum Deikun, ...
, who was "simply
..fascinating", made a major contribution to the series' popularity. He also concludes that "in many respects First Gundam stands for the nostalgic identifying values of everything that anime itself represents".
The series has been praised by
Anime News Network
Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...
for the way it portrays war with Amuro facing traumatic moments as a result of killing enemy soldiers in his becoming of a soldier.
The series is also notable for having humans from a different race as antagonists rather than evil creatures. However, the animation has been noted to have notoriously aged when compared with series seen in the 2000s.
Mecha anime creator
Shoji Kawamori
A is a door, window or room divider used in traditional Japanese architecture, consisting of translucent (or transparent) sheets on a lattice frame. Where light transmission is not needed, the similar but opaque ''fusuma'' is used (oshiire/ ...
attended
Keio University
, mottoeng = The pen is mightier than the sword
, type = Private research coeducational higher education institution
, established = 1858
, founder = Yukichi Fukuzawa
, endowmen ...
in the same years as ''Macross'' screenwriter
Hiroshi Ōnogi
is a Japanese screenwriter and novelist focusing on anime productions.
Ōnogi attended Keio University in the same years as ''Macross'' character designer Haruhiko Mikimoto and creator Shōji Kawamori, both of whom he would first collaborate w ...
and character designer
Haruhiko Mikimoto
is a Japanese anime character designer, illustrator and manga artist. Mostly active during the 1980s, during that decade he rose to prominence and is considered one of the top character designers of his time.
He graduated from Keio University, ...
, where they had a ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' fan club called "Gunsight One", a name they would use years later as the call sign of the bridge of the
SDF-1 spaceship from their first ''
Macross
is a Japanese science fiction mecha anime media franchise/media mix, created by Studio Nue (most prominently mecha designer, writer and producer Shōji Kawamori) and Artland in 1982. The franchise features a fictional history of Earth and the ...
'' anime television series. In fact, ''
The Super Dimension Fortress Macross
is an anime television series from 1982. According to story creator Shoji Kawamori, it depicts "a love triangle against the backdrop of great battles" during the first Human-alien war. It is the first part of two franchises: The ''Super D ...
'' mecha anime series was inspired by Gundam in several aspects during its early development.
Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films ''Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and ''The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for Be ...
has cited the series as an influence on ''
Pacific Rim
The Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The ''Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geologic Pacific Ring of Fire.
List of co ...
''.
American musician
Richie Kotzen
Richard Dale Kotzen Jr. (born February 3, 1970) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. As a solo artist, Kotzen has back catalogue of more than 20 album releases. He was a member of glam metal band Poison from 1991 to 1993, Mr. Big ...
, former guitarist from
Poison
Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...
and Mr. Big, released an album called ''Ai Senshi ZxR'' in 2006 in Japan. The album consisted of covered music from the Gundam series and original songs. American musician
Andrew W.K.
Andrew Fetterly Wilkes-Krier (born May 9, 1979), known professionally as Andrew W.K., is an American conceptual performance artist, rock singer, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and actor. Raised in Michigan, Wilkes-Krier began his m ...
also released an album called ''
Gundam Rock
''Gundam Rock'' is a cover album by Andrew W.K., released on September 9, 2009 only in Japan. The album consists of covered music from the Gundam series to celebrate its 30th Anniversary.
The front cover artwork features an original illustratio ...
'' on September 9, 2009, in Japan. The album consists of covered music from the Gundam series to celebrate its 30th Anniversary.
Background research
The background research of ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' is well praised in its field. The positions in which the colonies (sides) are located in orbit are called
Lagrangian point
In celestial mechanics, the Lagrange points (; also Lagrangian points or libration points) are points of equilibrium for small-mass objects under the influence of two massive orbiting bodies. Mathematically, this involves the solution of th ...
s, and are real world solutions to the
three-body problem
In physics and classical mechanics, the three-body problem is the problem of taking the initial positions and velocities (or momenta) of three point masses and solving for their subsequent motion according to Newton's laws of motion and Newton's ...
. The colonies (sides) are based on the
O'Neill cylinder
An O'Neill cylinder (also called an O'Neill colony) is a space settlement concept proposed by American physicist Gerard K. O'Neill in his 1976 book '' The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space''. O'Neill proposed the colonization of space for th ...
design for
space habitats. The Gundam franchise was a major contributing factor to the fame of the O'Neil cylinder in Japan.
[王立科學博物館]
Rides
"Gundam the Ride: A Baoa Qu" was an
amusement park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
attraction at the
Fuji-Q Highland
is an amusement park in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan, owned and operated by the namesake Fuji Kyuko Co. it was opened on 2 March 1968.
The theme park is near the base of Mount Fuji. It has a number of roller coasters, as well as two haun ...
Amusement Park located in
Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi
is a Cities of Japan, city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 48,782 in 19,806 households and a population density of 400 persons per km2. The total area of the city is .
Geography
Fujiyoshida lie ...
, Japan. It was a
dark ride
A dark ride or ghost train is an indoor amusement ride on which passengers aboard guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain Animatronics, animation, sound, music and Special effect#Live special effects, special e ...
for the park. Gundam the Ride, which opened to the public on July 20, 2000, was based on ''Mobile Suit Gundam''. Set during the final chaotic Battle of A Baoa Qu, Gundam the Ride places its riders in an Escape Launch Shuttle about to leave the battleship ''Suruga''.
The animation of Gundam the Ride used mostly computer graphics, however, all human characters were hand-drawn cel animation, similar to the style current ''Gundam'' video games are done in. All of the character designs for Gundam the Ride were done by
Haruhiko Mikimoto
is a Japanese anime character designer, illustrator and manga artist. Mostly active during the 1980s, during that decade he rose to prominence and is considered one of the top character designers of his time.
He graduated from Keio University, ...
. The ride's characters make a cameo appearance in the video game "Encounters in Space" while the player (playing as Amuro Ray in his Gundam) is making his way through the ''Dolos''.
The ride closed on January 8, 2007 and replaced with "Gundam Crisis Attraction" The main feature of this attraction is a full size 1:1 Gundam model, lying flat inside the venue. Instead of sitting in a movable cockpit and watching a CG movie, it requires participants to carry handheld devices throughout the attraction to find certain pieces of information, similar to a
scavenger hunt
''Scavenger Hunt'' is a 1979 American comedy film with a large ensemble cast which includes Richard Benjamin, James Coco, Scatman Crothers, Ruth Gordon, Cloris Leachman, Cleavon Little, Roddy McDowall, Robert Morley, Richard Mulligan, Tony R ...
, in order to activate the Gundam. The interior of the attraction is a mock-up of a Federation ship, and employees remain in-character inside of the ride.
See also
*
Bildungsroman
In literary criticism, a ''Bildungsroman'' (, plural ''Bildungsromane'', ) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood ( coming of age), in which character change is impo ...
* ''
Gundam
is a Japanese military fiction media franchise. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise (now Bandai Namco Filmworks), the franchise features giant robots, or mecha, with the name "Gundam". The franchise began on April 7, 1979, with ''Mobile ...
''
*
Gundam model
Gundam models, or , are model kits depicting the vehicles and characters of the fictional ''Gundam'' multiverse by Bandai.
These kits became popular among mecha anime fans and model enthusiasts in Japan and nearby Asian countries beginning in th ...
*
Gundam (fictional robot)
The is a fictional manned robot ( mecha), introduced in 1979 in Yoshiyuki Tomino's and Sunrise's anime series '' Mobile Suit Gundam''. In the series, it is a prototype weapon for the Earth Federation when it falls into the hands of Amuro Ray, th ...
* ''
Super Dimension Fortress Macross
is an anime television series from 1982. According to story creator Shoji Kawamori, it depicts "a love triangle against the backdrop of great battles" during the first Human-alien war. It is the first part of two franchises: The Super Dime ...
'' (1982)
* ''
Genesis Climber Mospeada
(literally "Armored Genesis MOSPEADA") is an anime science fiction series created by Shinji Aramaki and Hideki Kakinuma. The 25-episode television series ran from late 1983 to early 1984 in Japan. MOSPEADA stands for Military Operation Soldi ...
'' (1983)
* ''
Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross'' (1984)
Notes
References
External links
* Official Website
Anime*
*
*
{{Toonami Cartoon Network
1979 anime television series debuts
1981 anime films
1982 anime films
Akita Shoten manga
Animated space adventure television series
Anime with original screenplays
Anti-war works
Bandai Entertainment anime titles
Dengeki Comics
Fiction about telepathy
Films set in a fictional country
Kadokawa Shoten manga
Military science fiction
Shōnen manga
Sunrise (company)
Toonami
Vertical (publisher) titles
Viz Media manga