is a Japanese

light novel A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a ''wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...

series written by Kōjirō Nakamura and illustrated by ARK Performance, released by

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology Al ...

under the ''Yatate Bunko'' imprint. It is the second ''Gundam'' media to feature a main female protagonist after '' Mobile Suit Gundam École du Ciel''. Set after the events of ''

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn is a novel by popular Japanese author Harutoshi Fukui (''Shūsen no Lorelei'', ''Bōkoku no Aegis'', '' Samurai Commando: Mission 1549''). The novel takes place in Gundam's Universal Century timeline. Character and mechanical designs are ...

'' and before the events of ''

Mobile Suit Gundam F91 is a 1991 anime film. It was ''Gundam'' creator Yoshiyuki Tomino's attempt to launch a new ''Gundam'' saga, set 30 years after ''Char's Counterattack''. He re-teamed with character designer Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and mecha designer Kunio Okawara for ...

'', in which it focuses on two former Zeon remnants as they were hired to investigate the remains of the asteroid base Axis. The novel is loosely based on

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

's opera ''

Tristan und Isolde ''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the 12th-century romance Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg. It was compose ...

''. An

original net animation An original net animation (ONA), known in Japan as , is an anime that is directly released onto the Internet. ONAs may also have been aired on television if they were first directly released on the Internet. The name mirrors original video animati ...

series was released by

from 23 June 2017 to 1 September 2017. A theatrical compilation of the ONA series was released in theaters on 18 November 2017.

Story

Set months after the events of ''

'', the story focuses on two former Principality of Zeon Remnants, former weapons developer Arlette Almage and former test pilot Danton Hyleg. Both of them are hired by the Earth Federation Forces research team to investigate the remains of the asteroid base Axis. But upon their arrival, they encounter a Cyber Newtype, Quentin Fermo, who pilots the mysterious mobile suit, the RX-78AN-01 Gundam Tristan. Tristan attacks them for unknown reasons.

Characters

; : A former Zeon mechanic who worked closely with

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, ...

. She was also a suspected Newtype, and was regularly tested by the Flanagan Institute. She moved with Danton to Side 6, and agreed to join Mastema's expedition in order to find out what happened to Char. Pilots the AMA-X4 Ahava Azieru. ; : A former Zeon test pilot. Despite his incredible skills, he was unable to take a life, forcing him into a testing role. After the Second Neo Zeon War, he left for Side 6 with Arlette. He and Arlette are later recruited by Mastema to investigate the ruins of Axis. Pilots the AMX-011S Zaku III Custom and AMX-104 R-Jarja. ; : The leader of the Mastema special forces unit. He leads an expedition to Axis to find a rumored Psycoframe research facility. ; : A Cyber Newtype who works for the Buch Junk Company. He is sent to investigate Axis after the Laplace Incident, but encounters Danton, Arlette, and the forces of Mastema. Pilots the RX-78AN-01 Gundam Tristan and RX-78KU-01 Kurwenal. ; The brother of Quentin Fermo, working with the Buch Junk Company. Pilots the RX-160G Byarlant Isolde.

Media

Light novel

officially launched their own light novel publication arm ''Yatate Bunko'' as a way to expand the stories of their previous franchises such as ''

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 ...

'', ''

Armored Trooper Votoms is a Japanese military science fiction mecha anime series produced by Nippon Sunrise, created and directed by Ryosuke Takahashi and featuring mechanical designs by Kunio Okawara. Following directly in the footsteps of Takahashi' ...

'', '' King of Braves GaoGaiGar Final'' and ''

Matchless Raijin-Oh is a 51 episode Japanese anime television series, and the first series produced for the Eldran franchise funded by Tomy and produced by Sunrise. It aired in Japan from April 3, 1991 to March 25, 1992. The story revolves around a group of ele ...

'' through monthly light novel series. The ''Twilight Axis'' light novel was written by Kōjirō Nakamura and illustrated by ARK Performance, the creative duo behind ''

Arpeggio of Blue Steel is a Japanese manga series produced by Ark Performance and serialized in Shōnen Gahosha's '' Young King Ours''. Twenty-three manga volumes have been released and an anime series by Sanzigen aired from October to December 2013. The same s ...

''. The first chapter was published in Yatate Bunko on 7 November 2016. Twenty chapters were published, with the last on 28 December 2017.

Anime

series based on the novel was released by

on 23 June 2017 and ended on 1 September 2017, exclusively for Gundam Fan Club members in Japan It will be directed by Se Jun Kim with mecha designs from Shingo Abe and music by Takashi Ohmama. A theatrical compilation of the ONA episodes, titled was released in theaters in Japan on 18 November 2017.

Manga

A manga adaptation of the novel by Azusa Maxima was serialized in

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

's ''Monthly Young Magazine'' between 20 October 2017 and 20 March 2019 and collected into three volumes.

Merchandise

Similar to previous Gundam series, merchandise for Twilight AXIS will be released under the High Grade Universal Century 1/144 Gunpla line.

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 ...

announced a HGUC 1/144 scale model of the RX-78AN-01 Gundam AN-01 Tristan for a June 2017 release to coincide with the anime's release. An exclusive P-Bandai HGUC 1/144 Zaku III Custom was also announced.

References

External links

* * {{Monthly Young Magazine 2016 Japanese novels 2017 anime ONAs 2017 anime OVAs Gundam anime and manga Kodansha manga Light novels Seinen manga Sunrise (company) 2017 films