Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin

Gundam is one of what I consider to be the legendary series, a story that was told in 1979 and is now at the point where the children who grew up with it are now making their own contributions to the saga, and in a way that enriches the saga, not destroys it. You know, the opposite of its near-contemporary, Star Wars, which has been reduced by a collection of untalented narcissists in a shambling monster completely unrelated to its roots. But we are here to speak of Gundam and the superiority of its contributors, not of the Disney-mutiliated abomination wearing Star Wars the waya serial killer would wear the face of a cherished friend before making the next murder. Broad strokes of a quite familiar story: In the middle of a war, the youth Amuro Ray ends up in possession of a prototype mecha known as the Gundam. Conscripted into service in order to protect the warship that carries both this weapon and civilian refugees with no other choice, he must use the Gundam in battle against one of the most dangerous men in the universe: Char Aznable, the Red Comet. Unlike other remakes and reimaginings, this manga was illustrated by the animation director of the original Gundam, Yasuhiko Yoshikazu. Not only a man intimately acquainted with one of the most defining science fiction franchises, he himself is a legendary mangaka: every panel is drawn by hand, using art brushes, without any of the modern technologies that have made drawing manga easier, all of it in a solo effort. That means all the work in modern manga that requires a small team to do (the storyboards, panel arrangement, character positioning, and penciling without guides (the shapes other artists use to orient themselves and the action)) was done by one elderly Japanese gentleman. Well, the man's a legend, so the art is excellent, with a distinctive style that recalls the original Gundam anime, but also surpasses it with the cleanness of its lines and the compelling action Yasuhiko-sensei's art conveys. The layout and action flows from one panel to the next quite naturally, and there is definitely a sensation of being drawn in a manner similar to an anime. The art is as much of a carrying point as the story. On the topic of the story, it's a retelling, but it's not a retelling the way the West does things, where the original story is forgotten in favor of using the franchise name to tell some worthless hack of a "creative's" totally unoriginal fanfic (Rian Johnson). Yasuhiko-sensei instead moves <i>events</i> to make the story flow more cleanly than the original Gundam did. The broad strokes remain the same, but the timing changes in a way that makes the narrative flow more rapidly, while fitting in more backstory that was lost in the original series. Anyway, for Gundam fans of old and for new readers, it's a must-read. A true masterpiece created by an actual master who worked on the original series, it is Gundam at its quintessential finest. The volumes are still being published in the West, so gather them all up and devour them as time enables, as the story is timeless, the heirs to its tradition continue to love this franchise, even if it is recently starting to show some cracks in the foundation (Witch from Mercury? Who thought that Gundam Utena was even remotely a good idea?)

(Minor Spoilers Alert) Talking about THE ORIGIN is kinda complicated, since in addition to being a love letter from its author to a specific series, it has enough differences from the series directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino to stand out on its own merits. However, seeing it as a replacement for the original series is absurd, since there will be differences in characterization and storytelling if the reader is planning to get into the animated Universal Century, but despite this, THE ORIGIN does it stand up well on its own? Yes, it does. Story: "It is the year Universal Century 0079, and the eighth month of a vicious war betweenthe Earth Federation and a breakaway nation of space colonists, the Principality of Zeon. The story follows the crew of the warship White Base, as they fight to ferry the experimental RX-78-02 Gundam mobile suit to the Federation base at Jaburo." The story is practically the same, but with changes that are mostly positive, such as making clear the route that the White Base takes on its journey to Jaburo, earlier foreshadowings of the Newtype concept, or the story arcs focused on the past of the Zabi and the Deikun family that leads to the beginning of the main conflict. And while the story remains the same, it no longer feels so tied to the monster-of-the-week format that the original series had, meaning the Gundam doesn't always have to appear in every chapter, and we could even say that the story is more cohesive. Not to mention the attention to the small details that make the difference, like delving deeper into certain characters that were minors in the OG series, or even how the first volume begins with the narration that kicks off each episode of the OG series, or how a specific chapter has the lyrics of a closing song, waiting for you to think of it or play it on whatever device you have at hand; we could even mention that it also adds a bit of what we saw in the sequels like Z Gundam or Char's Counterattack, something that is understandable, since Yas had no plans to give sequels to this manga, since for him, the 1979 series is the only one for him, and it is the only one with which he has any kind of responsibility as a member of the creative team. Characters: While the characters are the same, there are certain moments that show this wasn't written by Tomino, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, although it could be a bit of a surprise to readers who just saw 0079. Many of Char's virtues are exaggerated, but in the final stretch we see him at his lowest point, or how Bright seems a bit grumpier than in the original series. But even with those details in mind, it is clear that Yas did not want to alter the arc of each of the main characters, and even wanted to expand them just the right amount. Art: Yasuhiko's art is simply superb. And this isn't limited to his drawing style, but also to how he arranges the panels to make the conversations and quieter moments flow smoothly. Not to mention the impeccable battles, which, when they happen, are incredibly satisfying to read. There are even panels that use frames from the original series as a base, but with much more detail. For the art alone, this is one of those mangas that you have to read in physical form, even if it is a bit expensive. Conclusion: Mobile Suit Gundam THE ORIGIN is not only a highly recommended science fiction war story that anyone can read, it's a passion project from a man who understands the message Tomino wanted to convey over 40 years ago, and the fact that he was able to adapt it to another format, and that the themes the story touches on still feel relevant, speaks volumes about both the source material and this retelling. While I said this manga can be enjoyed as a standalone story, I don't recommend it if you plan on watching the Gundam anime set in the Universal Century, not only because of the differences between the manga and the anime (as well as other canon issues), but also because this isn't just another Gundam manga, it's a love letter to the origin of this massive franchise. Trust me, and read it.

I am a man who grew up with Mecha Animes. The first thing that i watched on tv in my entire life was the Voltron Anime when i was 5 years old. Then there came Vehicle Voltron, Laserion, Macross (Robotech), Dorvack, Red Baron, Combatler 5, Evangelion, Votoms. Unfortunatly, Gundam has never been aired on tv in my country, but finally, i got in the Gundam with the Gundam: The Origin manga. I mean as a mecha guy, it was inevidable for me to check out Gundam one way or another, eventually because Gundam is the First Mecha Anime in Japan that started everything. It is theblue print that every mecha anime built on. It is the Foundation. And i got exactly this ‘’Every Mecha Anime Ever’’ feeling out of reading Gundam: The Origin that once again proved to me that Gundam is the blue print for every mecha anime/manga. I have been a manga guy for decades now, so i prefered the manga of Gundam: The Origin over its anime and read the manga. It was alot of fun to read. The art was amazing with that 80s mecha anime style that i am fimiliar since my childhood. I am totally in love with the art of this manga. Coloring on the colored pages were amazing as well. Totally superb art. Story was good as well, but not without its flaws. The First big flaw that bothered me was Char and Sayla’s first encounter to each other as soldiers of the opposite sites. It could have been really dramatic and cool, but the way, they acted and the dialog was abit heavy handed at that part. Dozle’s MS, the Big Zam’s design was too ridiculous for my taste. Still laughing remembering that Mobile Suit… (lol) Sladger and Mirai relationship was so melancholic and tragic. I loved it, but later on there came the melancholic Char, Lalah and Amuro love Triangle that endded in tragedy and then Amuro and Fraw romatic releationship… It turned into a repeatative romance overdose for awhile in the manga with how they came as one after another without a break. I really liked the Char Aznable character, he was this cold and calculating man. He didn’t know what love was, he didn’t consider anyone as his friend, he was just manipulating and using the people in his life for his ultimate goal which was revenge. He also had this amused expresion on his face all the time like everyone around him and all the stuation, he was in just amused him. He was the kind of dungerous, cold and calculation man that you wouldn’t want in your life, but he was also very carismatic. Yeah, he was a ruthless bast*rd, but he was a very charming ruthless bast*rd until the moment of the final encounter between him and Lalah against Amuro. There, he showed that he really loved Lalah… That totally contradicted with how Char behaved until that moment and i didn’t like that. I broke a point for that. The Final Showdown between Char vs Amuro was not as magnificent as i hoped it would be… Char’s Ultimate Zeon Principlaty MS, the Zeong’s design was not that good, but i gave it a pass… But i was totally not imperest. Actually, Char’s Red Zaku II MS was alot cooler looking. The Sword Fight at the end… When Char and Sayla previously encountered each other as soldiers of different sides, Char said: ‘’I don’t want to have to kill you, don’t get in my way again’’ (or something similar), but here, at the Sword Fight, he said to Amuro: ‘’I fight to protect Sayla’’ this totally contradicted with what Char said to Sayla with his encounter with her in previous chapters of the Manga… The Reason for these contradictions in Char’s character was probably because someone ‘’warned’’ the Mangaka that Char was such a ruthless character and that was a bad example for kids, so the Mangaka added this shonen mc traits like ‘’i fight to protect my loved ones !’’ to Char’s character to make him a better example for kids… I mean i can hear the ‘’ THE CHILDREN, THINK OF THE CHILDREN !!!’’ cries of ‘’responsible’’ adults… (lol) And they ruined Char as a character for me. I really liked what a charming ruthless bast*rd Char was before they ruined his character at last chapters of the Manga… Such a shame. SIDE NOTE: If it was up to me i would totally give Lalah a mecha as well. A pink mecha with a chest plate in the shape of boobs. Her mecha’s boobs would shake when she used her psyctic new type powers of ‘’La – La -La’’ and prevent Earth Federation MS pilots including Amuro to focus on the battle and make them lose the Control of their Mobile Suits and Zeon would win the war ! No matter how the use of Lalah’s mecha would be an inhumane war crime. This way, i could totally transfer the experience of watching the Youtuber Gunpla Meli into the manga… Something has never had such a huge power over me ! I have never been so helplessly powerless against something ! I want to express my Gunpla Meli experience by transfering this experience into the Gundam Manga.