Mobile Suit Gundam' was principally developed by renowned animator Yoshiyuki Tomino, along with a changing group of Sunrise creators who went under the collective pseudonym of "Hajime Yatate".
During its conceptual phase, the series was titled Freedom Fighter Gunboy, or simply Gunboy for the gun the robot was armed with, and the primary target demographic were shnen (boys). In the early production stages, there were numerous references to the word "freedom": the White Base was originally "Freedom's Fortress", the Core Fighter was the "Freedom Wing", and the Gunperry was the "Freedom Cruiser". The Yatate team combined the English word "gun" with the last syllable of the word "freedom" to form the name Gundom. Tomino then changed it to the current title, suggesting that Gundam signified a powerful unit wielding a gun powerful enough to hold back enemies, like a hydroelectric dam holding back floods.
Most Gundams are large, bipedal vehicles controlled from cockpits by a human pilot. The majority of these "mobile suits" have a cockpit in the "torso" of the machine, with a camera built into the "head" to transmit images to the cockpit (with the exception of the head-mounted cockpits in Psyco Gundam) and are non-sentient machines, with the exceptions of the artificial intelligence A.L.I.C.E. in the side-story Gundam Sentinel and four mobile suits built with the EXAM System and sharing a Newtype human soul in The Blue Destiny.
Innovation
Mobile Suit Gundam is said to have pioneered the real robot era of mecha anime.
Unlike its super robot cousins, Gundam attempted a realism in the robot design and weaponry, by running out of energy and ammunition or breaking and malfunctioning. The technology is practical and is either derived from true science (such as Lagrange points in space and the O'Neill cylinder as a living environment) or at least well-explained, feasible technology, requiring only a few fictional elements to function (such as Minovsky Physics as a means of energy production from helium-3).
The necessity of developing humanoid robots is also explained, albeit fictional. The fictional Minovsky particle pervasive in Universal Century is depicted as interfering with radar-guided long-distance cruise missiles, anti-aircraft guns, missiles, and all early warning systems, with weapons systems having to rely on human eyes. In Universal Century, the space-based Principality of Zeon rebels against Earth Federation, requiring a weapons system that could function in zero and normal gravity, be able to open and close air locks, plant demolition charges, and engage with enemy tanks and planes; with a robotic giant being an excellent choice. Once mobile suits have been developed by one side, the opposing force had to develop a similar system, just as British invention of tanks lead to the development of tanks in Germany, and eventually lead to tank-to-tank battles.
Gundam's realistic scientific setting has gained a reputation in the field itself as well. On July 18, 2007, when MIT's Astronautics Department's Professor Dava Newman displayed a biosuit, the suit was referenced as Mobile Suit Gundam's Normal Suit is now real by various news agencies. On February 14, 2008, when NASA proposed research into nuclear thermal rockets, Technobahn, a scientific journal in Japan, referred to the usage of nuclear thermal rocket engines on mobile suits in the Gundam universe.
Narrative
The narrative itself revolves around the mobile suits and their pilots fighting in a war, in which destruction and dehumanization are inherent, through multiple sides; each faction having their own heroes and villains, all of which have their own unique motives, failings, and virtues. Gundam also features political battles and debates on various important philosophical issues and political ideals on the nature and meaning of war, the ideal of pacifism, and the continuing evolution - natural or engineered - of humanity and its consequences. These are often framed in the series as a debate between the protagonist and antagonist over the course of a duel, as they try to convince each other of the righteousness of their causes.
Finally, most of the stories are basically structured as "coming-of-age" dramas, where the main protagonist (and sometimes the main antagonist) and most of the cast's personalities, points of view, allegiances, goals, and actions may or may not change dramatically as events unfold. This makes the plot seem more realistic than earlier super robot animated series where the hero and cast usually act in the same predictable manner, with little connection between the episodes. The best example of this is how the personalities of longtime rivals, Amuro Ray and Char Aznable, are influenced by their experiences in the Gundam saga.
Characteristics and variations
As a metaseries, Gundam functions with different designs and coloring (with most following Kunio Okawara's original Gundam design). Producer Masahiko Asano wrote in his notes on the production of S Gundam that everyone seemed to have their own idea of Gundam and in the meeting, they were trying to find the asymptotic view for everyone in the meeting.
In the Universal Century timeline, "Gundam" is the name of the Earth Federation's (Chiky Renp, ) first experimental general-purpose mobile suit, which is incredibly powerful, compared to most of the mass-produced models eventually used by either side. Afterwards, many powerful mobile suits based on the Gundam's design also carry the name, such as the RX-178 Gundam Mk-II, MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam, LM312V04 Victory Gundam, etc. The Anaheim Gundams, or Greek alphabet Gundams are a series of mobile suits developed by the fictional company Anaheim Electronics, some of them are notably carrying different style heads than other Gundams in the series, like the Rick Dias (Gamma Gundam) and Hyaku Shiki (Delta Gundam).
In the Future Century timeline, the word "Gundam" refers to a space colony's entry in the "Gundam Fight", a competition that determines which colony would rule the Earth for the next 4 years. The pilots who use these Gundams are known as "Gundam Fighters". However, some suits that are called Gundams are not entries in the Gundam Fight at all, with the most operative examples being the JDG-009X (JDG-00X) Devil Gundam and the JMF-1336R (JMF1336R) Rising Gundam.
In the After Colony timeline, the word "Gundam" refers to most mobile suits constructed out of a special alloy called "Gundanium", which can only be mined and produced in space. This alloy gives the Gundams high resistance to conventional weaponry and renders them stealthy under radar, due to its nature of absorbing electromagnetic radiation. Every Gundam has a unique name that befits the nature of the suit and/or its origins, such as the XXXG-01W Wing Gundam, XXXG-01D Gundam Deathscythe and the XXXG-01S Shenlong Gundam.
The After War timeline is a loose continuation of the Universal Century continuity, presenting an alternate scenario, with many of the mecha designs loosely based on Universal Century suits. The After War timeline features a post-apocalyptic setting where virtually all colonies orbiting earth were de-orbited, with the resulting cataclysm almost exterminating humankind.
In the Correct Century timeline, the name "Gundam" is given to the SYSTEM -99 (WD-M01) Gundam "Turn A"/White Doll mobile suit by a specific character, who was originally ace pilot, but placed under suspended animation. The color scheme of the Turn A reminds the character of the Gundam mobile suits from previous eras.
In the Cosmic Era works, Gundams are mobile suits that carry a specific type of operating system, first secretly produced (without the programmer himself knowing what he is programming the system for) by the one of the protagonist's robotics research group, and faced a few upgrades by various factions throughout the story. The acronym of the operating system always spells "GUNDAM", thus, these suits are called "Gundam". However, this is retconned by later toys and scale models tagging the "Gundam", after the unit's own name.
In the Anno Domini timeline of Mobile Suit Gundam 00, the term Gundam is the generic designation of a line of unique and highly effective mobile units developed by Celestial Being, such as the GN-001 Gundam Exia and GN-002 Gundam Dynames. Distinct from concurrently introduced weapons, suit torsos contain a core generator system known as the GN Drive or Solar Furnace, capable of sustaining independent unit function for an indefinite period of time without needing to refuel. In addition, onboard propulsion recycles the generator's GN particle exhaust for high-speed, virtually unlimited output. The particle exhaust disrupts the use of conventional radar and a range of wireless communications.
See also the Japanese article for Gundam Type / for details.
Calendar system
The majority of Gundam, including the earliest series, occur in the Universal Century (UC) calendar, with later series are set in alternate calendars or timelines mostly unrelated to the UC system (at least three of these calendar systems were actually initially numbered after the year that the series premiered, with 1979's Mobile Suit Gundam taking place in UC 0079, 1995's Mobile Suit Gundam Wing in After Colony 195, and 2007's Mobile Suit Gundam 00 takes place in 2307).
Mobile Fighter G Gundam takes place in the Future Century (FC), where space colonies have gained the upper hand over Earth, consequently attempting to put an end to the internal power struggles now plaguing the planet.
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing takes place in the After Colony (AC) calendar system, set after the foundation of the first space colony, where Earth firmly maintains repressive control over its colonies.
After War Gundam X takes place in the After War (AW) timeline, set after the conclusion of the 7th Space War, where the Earth is devastated by massive colony drops.
Gundam takes place in the CC (, Seireki?) calendar system, which director Yoshiyuki Tomino intended as the distant future of all previous timelines. The CC sees the colonies becoming much stronger than the Earth, but unlike the FC timeline, takes a more aggressive stance towards it. The English acronym of CC is Correct Century , in the official Japanese guide book.
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, its sequels, and spinoffs take place in the Cosmic Era, with CE referring to the years after the foundation of the first space colonies.
The latest entry in the franchise, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, is the first series to occur during the Anno Domini (, Seireki?) timeline.
Bandai and Japanese-speaking fans unofficially refer to projects not directly related to the first Gundam series or its staffers (such as Gundam Sentinel and Mobile Fighter G Gundam) as "Another Gundam" stories, and to projects made after 1989 as "Heisei Gundam" stories. On a survey for a video game that would become Gundam: True Odyssey, the Cosmic Era series (including Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray) were collectively referred to as "21st Century First Gundam" (a reference to the original Mobile Suit Gundam series). English-speaking fans have used the term "Alternate Universe" ("AU" for short) as a nickname for the stories that do not take place within the Universal Century timeline, but this is made unofficial for use in Japan.
Franchise
Animated series and films
Name
Media
Year(s)
Mobile Suit Gundam
TV series
Compilation movies
1979-1980
1981-1982
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
TV series
Compilation movies
1985-1986
2005-2006
Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ
TV series
1986-1987
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack
Movie
1988
Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket
OVA
1989
Super Deformed Gundam
Movie
OVA
TV series
1988-1989, 1991, 1993
1988, 1990
1993
Mobile Suit Gundam F91
Movie
1991
Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory
OVA
Compilation movie
1991
1992
Mobile Suit Victory Gundam
TV series
1993
Mobile Fighter G Gundam
TV series
1994-1995
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing
TV series
Compilation OVA
1995-1996
1996
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team
OVA
Compilation movie
1996
1998
After War Gundam X
TV series
1996
Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz
OVA
Compilation movie
1997
1998
Turn A Gundam
TV series
Compilation movies
1999-2000
2002
Gundam the Ride: A Baoa Qu
Amusement park attraction movie
2000
Gundam Neo Experience 0087: Green Divers
Specialty format movie
2001
Gundam Evolve
Animated shorts
2001-2005
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
TV series
Compilation specials
2002-2003
2004
Superior Defender Gundam Force
TV series
2003-2004
Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War
Movies
2004
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny
TV series
Compilation specials
2004-2005
2006-2007
Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO: Apocalypse 0079
OVA
2006
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED C.E. 73: Stargazer
ONA
2006
Mobile Suit Gundam 00
TV series
Compilation specials
2007-2009
2009-2010
Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO 2: The Gravity Front
OVA
2009
Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn
OVA
2010
SD Gundam Sangokuden Brave Battle Warriors
Movie
TV series
2010
2010
Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Movie
Movie
2010 (tentative)
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: The Movie
Movie
To be Announced
Further development
In an interview in the February 2009 issue of OtonaFami, Yoshiyuki Tomino commented on the lack of planning of Sunrise and Bandai and that because a good movie needs 34 years of production time, it is too late for him to do anything for 2009, the 30th anniversary of Gundam. However, he did comment that it was not too late to begin considering the 35th anniversary. His wish was that in the future, a common sentence people would use would be to Think like Gundam.
In April 2009, Gundam Ace magazine confirmed that a Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn animated adaptation is in the works. It was recently confirmed to be a 6 episode OVA.
Super Deformed Gundam
Main article: Super Deformed Gundam
SD Gundam originated from a contributed illustration of a junior high school student from Nagoya by the name of Koji Yokoi to the "Model News" magazine that Bandai was issuing in the 1980s. The illustration is of a Gundam but with an unusual proportion where the overall height of the Gundam is equal to twice that of its head. This illustration interested the chief editor and so leading to Koji Yokoi serializing SD Gundam in 4 frame comics in "Model News".
The super deformed design was suitable for capsule toys and so SD Gundam started merchandising with the Gashapon series "SD Gundam World" in 1985. Although at first SD Gundam started out as a parody of the Gundam series by the 1990s SD Gundam spawned many spin-off series, SD Sengokuden (Musha Gundam) which has a Sengoku setting, SD Gundam Gaiden (Knight Gundam) which has a fantasy medieval setting and SD Command Chronicles which has a modern military style to name a few.
With its popularity, SD Gundam merchandise expanded to include manga, trading cards, anime and video games.
Live-Action Film
Main article: G-Saviour
G-Saviour is a live-action television movie set in the Universal Century timeline of the Gundam metaseries. It also officially marks the last events of the Universal Century.
Manga and novels
Main article: List of Gundam manga and novels
The manga narration of the original series is published in English in North America by a variety of companies, such as Viz Media, Del Rey Manga, and TOKYOPOP, among others, and in Singapore by Chuang Yi.
Series based on Gundam models
Although not directly related to Gundam, these series incorporate Gundam models as part of the stories (it might be noted that Genshiken and Sgt. Frog were created by subdivisions of Bandai and Media Factory and Sunrise, respectively):
Sgt. Frog
Genshiken
Series about Gundam modeling simulation battle
These series are based on lead characters building their own Gundam Plastic Model and have them battle on a simulation arena.
Plamo-kyo Shiro(1982-1986)
A series mainly based on the models of the first Gundam series along with its Mobile Suit Variation series. It is the first series on Gundam models. Series features modification of existing models and creating new ones, like the PF-78-1 Perfect Gundam, Red Warrior, and Musha Gundam, which were endorsed by Bandai and was later released as official models and figures, and also as units featured in various games. The series started the idea for G Gundam of pilot's emotion reflecting the emotion of the unit. Various series basing on the same plot model were published, including sequels like:
New Plamo-kyo Shiro
Super Warrior Gundam yaro
Plamo-kin Taro
Plamo-Wars(1994~1998)
Gunpla Musashi
Video games
Main article: List of Gundam video games
Following the popularity of Gundam, various video games feature original characters previously not found in other media. Some video games have been converted into comics or novels.
Games
Book title
Book type
Description
Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story
Gundam Blue Destiny
Comic
Gundam Side Story: Rise from the Ashes
Novel
Mobile Suit Gundam Lost War Chronicles
ost War Chronicles1
ost War Chronicles2
Novel
Mobile Suit Gundam: Zeonic Front
ZEONIC FRONT00791
ZEONIC FRONT00792
Novel
Super Robot Wars
The Gundam metaverse makes regular appearances in the Super Robot Wars series by Banpresto. In fact, there has not been a single non-Banpresto Original title which has not featured at least one Gundam series and characters. Some series come and go, but Amuro Ray, often in his RX-93 " Gundam", is a regular character and has actually never missed a single game. This all changed in Super Robot Wars Judgement for the Game Boy Advance and Super Robot Wars W for the Nintendo DS. So far, almost every single major Gundam series has made at least one appearance in the series.
The mobile suit units are considered the representing unit in the "real robot" type of mecha. The games' units are often separated by being "super robots", powerful mecha that often have near-limitless powers and technology, but have a shorter range of movement, and real robots, mecha that are physically weaker, but possess a wider range of movement and accuracy. There have been so many mobile suit units that it is impossible to tell a distinct style, however, mobile suits are extremely
