Gundam: The Digest

INTRODUCTION

Some parts are inaccurate and the document is basically unedited (had to filter some special characters) but it remains intact and a little outdated. But feel free to tell me what to add. - Jorge Donato

Dave Deitrich: deitrich@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu 

Why is Mobile Suit Gundam so popular? One reason is the realistic feel of the series. Up until 1979 Giant Robot features had all followed a set pattern. A young boy found the robot, usually designed by his father or uncle, and proceeded to defeat the enemy over a series insanely-hyped battles. Throughout the series the boy would form an emotional attachment to the giant robot, thinking of it as a friend or big brother. Since the shows were basically giant commercials for kids' toys, the directors would make the combat as flashy as possible, ignoring all physical laws in favor of exciting battles. The plot and storyline were always secondary in the directors' minds.

Mobile Suit Gundam was much more realistic in terms of storyline for the time. For the first time ever, the mecha were toned down to simple war machines, allowing the characters to interact and develop more personality. The mecha themselves were neither good nor evil; it was the person inside who determined that. Also, the plots and characters in Gundam were much more mature than their counterparts in other shows. Characters were no longer strictly "good" or "evil", but instead had their own varying sets of ethics and goals. And the characters were not immortal, they would often DIE during the course of the series, sometimes without any lengthy death scene or time for remorse.

Another reason that Gundam is so popular is the highly developed background story to the series. Few animation series have a background as complete and well thought out as Gundam. Each of the series relates to the previous ones, and often the same characters will reoccur in multiple series, slightly older and more mature with each passing year. This finely developed background increases the overall "realism" of the Gundam saga. However, this background is also sometimes confusing to new anime fans, who see a later series in the Gundam timeline without knowing what happened in the previous ones. The main purpose of this article is to give you, the reader, a basic understanding of the background of the Gundam saga, so you can hopefully get more enjoyment out of watching the superb shows such as Gundam 0083 or Char's Counterattack, which occur later in the Gundam timeline.

THE START OF THE UNIVERSAL CENTURY

The Earth Federation Government (EFG) came up with a bold plan to relieve the Earth's overpopulation problem. Massive space colonies were constructed at LaGrange points (points in space between the Earth and the Moon where the gravitational forces of both bodies creates a zone of stability) to hold the excess population. Huge asteroids were towed from the asteroid belt to Earth orbit to provide raw materials for building the colonies, called "Sides," and then the hollowed-out asteroid shells were turned into colonies. Large mining colonies were also built on the Moon to provide raw materials for colony construction, and eventually became huge domed cities holding millions of people. The EFG then started a policy of "forced migration;" everyone not essential to the government was forced to relocate to the new colonies. This period became known as the start of the "Universal Century," and the calendar was changed to represent the year as Universal Century year 0001, or U.C. 0001.

Within 40 years almost 50% of Earth's population had finished migrating to the new space colonies. By this time there were several hundred colonies of different shapes and sizes surrounding the Earth. A general feeling had developed among the colonists that they were no longer part of the Earth, and that "all of mankind should leave Earth, the cradle of life, in order to preserve her." Many of the colonies had banded together and formed their own local governments, political bases, and ideologies. However, the Earth Federation Government still exercised political and economic control over the colonies, much to the colonists' displeasure.

One of the most rebellious colonies was Side 3, located on the far side of the moon away from the Earth. Side 3 had developed into a principality led by Zeon Zum Daikun, a philosopher and strong leader. Daikun predicted that life in space would force the human species to evolve into a "new type" of human, and these "New Types" would eventually lead the way for mankind to a new era of peace and prosperity among the stars. His ideas were extremely well received, and by U.C. 0058 Side 3 had declared its independence from the EFG and renamed itself the Zeon Republic. The EFG tried to force Side 3 to rejoin them by imposing economic sanctions on the colony, but the Zeon republic was firm in its resolve and would not give in. Unfortunately, friction began to develop in the Zeon Republic between Zeon Zum Daikun and another powerful member of the new government named Degin Sod Zabi. Zabi believed that the EFG government was weak and should be destroyed for the benefit of the colonies, but Daikun was against the idea of war with the EFG. Then in U.C. 0068 Zeon Zum Daikun died under extremely mysterious circumstances, and accusations of assassination were never proven. Degin Sod Zabi was appointed as the next prime minister of the Zeon Republic.

Under Zabi's rule, the Zeon Republic became prosperous, but it also became increasingly militant and warlike. Taking advantage of his current popularity among the masses, Zabi made his move to seize all power in the Republic. In the fall of U.C. 0069 Zabi renamed the Republic to the Zeon Archduchy and declared himself Grand Duke. All remaining supporters of Zeon Zum Daikun were cast out as Zabi changed the government into a dictatorship with himself and his family in command. Then, under the Zabi family rule, the Zeon Archduchy began preparations for war with the EFG.

THE MOBILE SUIT

Over the years the design of the Hydro-Skeleton developed considerably. The original design developed into a robot unit with an enclosed cockpit for the pilot. Advanced computer control took over the repetitive and mundane functions of the suit, allowing the pilot to concentrate on more detailed matters of construction. Eventually the Hydro-Skeleton evolved into what is now called the Junior Mobile Suit (JMS). JMS units are not used much in modern times except for colony maintenance and asteroid mining, and occasionally for training of Mobile Suit pilots. Although some engineers had experimented with large scale Hydro-Skeletons for heavy construction, they were never able to perfect a power source that was both powerful enough to supply the needs of a large suit, but small enough to actually fit in the aforementioned suit. This problem was inadvertently solved by the discovery of the Minovski particle.

In U.C. 0070 a physicist named Dr. Minovski discovered a new particle that could absorb large amounts of electromagnetic radiation. Scientists quickly realized that this particle, named the Minovski particle, could be put to use in two ways. First, Minovski particles could be used to produce materials that would screen out most forms of radiation. This meant that shielding for nuclear reactors could be made extremely small while still providing full protection for the pilot. Further research in Minovski reactors also led to the discovery of nuclear fusion reactors, which further increased the power output of the small reactors. Second, the Minovski particles could be liberally distributed in an area of space, blocking almost all electromagnetic radiation in the area. This meant that any radar or radio communications in the area would be useless.

The Zeon Archduchy was quick to realize the military applications of the Minovski particle. The elimination of radio and radar meant that space combat would soon be limited to visual range only, so the Zeon engineers concentrated on developing a fast attack craft that could quickly approach a target and destroy it before the target could visually lock onto the craft. The Earth Federation Military (EFM; the military arm of the EFG) on the other hand started to refit all of their space cruisers with Minovski reactors, hoping to make them much more powerful than their Zeon counterparts. This led to the EFM Salamis and Magellan class space battle cruisers, which were the most powerful warships in existence for their time.

The Zeon engineers used the Hydro-Skeleton as a basis for their attack craft. They made the suit larger, with heavy armor and a small but powerful Minovski reactor. This new type of vehicle was named the Mobile Suit, or MS. A heavily shielded visual sensor system called the "Mono-eye sensor" was developed and equipped on the MS, giving the pilot a highly-detailed 270-degree view of his surroundings. A hand-held autocannon which was powerful enough to blast through most forms of EFM armor was also developed for the MS. Finally, a powerful system of thrusters was added to the suit to give it high speed and mobility. In U.C. 0074, the Zeon military forces unveiled the first successful prototype combat MS, the MS-05 Zaku. By U.C. 0078 all of the initial design problems had been solved, and the Zeon Archduchy began mass production of the MS-06 Zaku II, an upgraded version of the original Zaku.

THE ONE YEAR WAR

On January 16th a peace meeting between the Zeon Archduchy and EFG was held in Antarctica. The resulting treaty, called the Antarctica Treaty, banned both sides from using ABC weapons against the other's civilian populations. By now, however, both sides' military forces had been so exhausted that neither one could gain a true advantage. The war degraded into a stalemate. The Zeons took advantage of the lull in combat to launch a massive invasion of Earth.

On March 1, 0079, the Archduchy military staged its first drop operation. The 1st Terrestrial Mobile Division is dropped at Lake Balchas and the Aral Sea, to the north of the Tien Shan mountain range. The force captured the Federal Forces's Baikonur spaceport, and then headed around the west shore of the Caspian Sea into Europe, and around the east shore into the Middle East. Three days later, on March 4th, the Archduchy military droped a resource mining unit commanded by Ma Kube at the north shore of the Caspian Sea. Several days later on March 11th, The Archduchy military staged its second drop operation. The 2nd and 3rd Terrestrial Mobile Divisions are deployed on the west and east coasts of North America, respectively. Within two days, the 2nd Terrestrial Mobile Division captured the Federal Forces' California base.

The Zeon Archduchy military staged its third and final drop operations on March 18th and April 4th. The 4th Terrestrial Mobile Division was deployed at three points in southeast Asia and Australia, while its reserve forces, the 5th Terrestrial Mobile Division, was dropped at the Red Sea and the shore of the Persian Gulf, and fanned out into North Africa and the Middle East. This division is the Zeon foreign legion, consisting of spacenoids who volunteered to fight for Zeon after the start of the war.

The EFM, on the other hand, implements their "V-plan." A secret research base on Side 7 begins to work on developing a mobile suit for the EFM that is superior to anything the Zeons have. To aid in this task, two new discoveries have been made available to the Side 7 engineers. The first is a special metal from the moon called "Lunar Titanium," which is several times stronger than any metal previously known. The second new development was beam weapon technology, which was a by-product of Minovski particle research that the Zeons never bothered to pursue. This new technology could be used to create a MS weapon that had the equivalent power of huge battleship weapons. This new MS rifle was called the Beam Rifle. A further refinement of this technology led to the development of the Beam Saber. The Beam Saber was a melee weapon which could cut through several feet of steel in less than a second. Unfortunately, both these weapons had bugs in them that occasionally caused them to loose power or break down completely. These problems would not be solved until the closing days of the One Year War.

The result of the Side 7 engineers' efforts was well worth the wait, however. In July of U.C. 0079 the prototype RX-78 Gundam MS was completed. The Gundam was the best thing that could have happened to the EFM at the time. No Zeon MS could penetrate the Gundam's armor or match its firepower. The RX-78 Gundam would turn the tide of battle in the EFM's favor, and eventually contribute greatly to the defeat of the Zeon Archduchy. Kido Senshi Gundam, the first Gundam series, begins at this point.

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM

The original Gundam series begins in the Fall of U.C. 0079. A new EFM Mobile Suit Carrier named the White Base has just been completed, and for its maiden voyage has been dispatched to pick up the RX-78 Gundam and other experimental mobile suits from Side 7. No sooner does the White Base arrives at Side 7 than it is attacked by a Zeon scouting expedition led by Major Char Aznable. Acting against Char's orders, three Zaku pilots invade the colony and try to capture the Gundam for Zeon. During the confusion of the attack, a young colonist named Amuro Rey finds himself at the EFM research base and near the brand-new Gundam. Enraged by the destruction the Zakus are causing, Amuro boards the Gundam and quickly familiarizes himself with the controls. (Amuro's speed learning is later attributed to the emergence of his New Type powers.) He quickly activates the Gundam and proceeds to destroy all three Zakus before they know what's going on.

Meanwhile, the White Base has suffered serious damage at the hands of Char's forces. All of the command staff have been wounded or killed, leaving the ship's young quartermaster named Bright Noah the only person in command. Bright receives orders to take the new mobile suits and as many civilian refugees as he can and escape to Luna 2, an orbiting EFM base. Bright recruits several civilian members into the crew to help fill up the missing ranks, including Amuro Rey and a young medical student named Sayla Mass. During the evacuation, Sayla accidentally runs in to Char Aznable, who is secretly trying to get a closer look at the Gundam. Char immediately recognizes Sayla as his sister! Furthermore, we learn that Char is actually Cassoval Rem Daikun, the son of Zeon Zum Daikun. Char is trying to rise high enough in the Zeon military that he will be able to avenge his father's death on the Zabi family. Sayla tries to convince Char to give up his quest, but the arrival of Amuro in the Gundam scares him off.

The White Base escapes Side 7, in the process handing Char the first of many defeats at the hands of Amuro Rey and the Gundam. After arriving at Luna 2 and unloading the wounded, Bright is ordered to take the White Base down to the Earth's surface with the Gundam and to become the spearhead of a new attack force against the Zeon invaders. Over the next two months Amuro, Bright, and the crew of the White Base proceed to acquire an amazing string of victories against various Zeon forces occupying the Earth. Slowly the Zeons are driven off Earth by the EFM, until finally most of the Earth's surface has been recaptured. Meanwhile, the White Base finally arrives at Jaburo, the EFM's central command headquarters located deep underground in the jungles of South America. The White Base is refit and resupplied, and then sent back into Earth orbit, there to take part in a new offensive against the Zeon forces. The ship is attacked while reaching orbit and stops at Side 6 for quick repairs and resupply.

By this time Amuro has discovered the real source of his incredible battle record; he is what Zeon Zum Daikun called a "New Type." New Type humans are people with increased perception who can sense things normal humans cannot. Amuro can actually sense when an enemy is near and act accordingly. Remember that with Minovski particles there is no longer any radar, so this is a very powerful ability indeed. In fact, a secret Zeon research base at Side 6 is working on a new development called the Psychommu Interface (short for Psychic Communicator Interface). The Psychommu Interface will theoretically allow a New Type to control remote-controlled drones (called bits) over an unlimited distance; this is also a very powerful weapon in a world without radar. In order to help test this new device, the research base has temporarily gained the help of two powerful Zeon New Types: a young girl named Lalah Sun, and Char Aznable.

Lalah and Amuro accidentally meet on Side 6. Lalah already loves Char, but cannot help but feel a strong attraction to Amuro. Amuro clearly has a crush on Lalah from the start. Amuro and Lalah talk about themselves and New Types, but are separated during the next battle between the White Base and Char's forces. After the battle, Amuro and the White Base are ordered to the war front via Side 5, an abandoned space colony. After a brief encounter with Char and Lalah at Side 5, the White Base crew learn their final destination; they are to lead an assault on Solomon, one of the last Zeon fortresses between the EFM and Side 3, the Zeon Archduchy's home colony.

Meanwhile, Giren Zabi, son of Degin Zabi, learns of the planned attack and prepares for it in two ways. First, he begins construction of the "Colony Laser," a huge weapon made by evacuating one of the colonies and turning it into one giant laser. Second, he gives permission for Lalah to use the Elmeth, an experimental Mobile Armor equipped with the Psychommu Interface. A mobile armor is a large mobile suit equipped with much heavier armor and a more deadly variety of weapons. They are EXTREMELY expensive to make, however, so only a few are made during the course of the One Year War. During the battle of Solomon, Lalah (in the Elmeth) and Char confront Sayla and Amuro. During the battle Lalah and Amuro accidentally form a "New Type bond," where the two share memories and feelings on a level beyond human understanding. The bond is interrupted by Char, who is jealous at Amuro's and Lalah's relationship. Amuro and Char fight, and Lalah tries to stop them by flying between the two combatants, just as Amuro is about to finish off Char with his beam saber. Amuro accidentally impales the Elmeth on the beam saber, instantly killing Lalah and forcing Char to retreat. Sayla and a griefstricken Amuro also retreat to the White Base.

The Battle of Solomon ends with the total destruction of the Zeon forces. As the EFM prepares to finish the war by capturing Side 3, Degin Zabi requests an armistice to meet with the EFM and surrender. A large fleet under command General Grenville of the EFM meets with Degin Zabi's forces to officially accept Zeon's surrender. However, just before Degin surrenders Giren Zabi fires the Colony Laser, instantly destroying both the EFM fleet and Degin Zabi. In the resulting confusion the Zeon forces regroup and attack the EFM forces that are approaching Side 3.

The final battle between the EFM and the Zeon forces is the fiercest battle of the One Year War. During the battle Giren Zabi is killed by his sister, Kishiria, for the crime of patricide. Amuro in the Gundam and Char in his new Mobile Armor, the Ziong, fight their climatic final battle. The two continue to fight even after both their suits are destroyed, until they are interrupted by the arrival of Sayla, who manages to convince Char not to kill Amuro. Char saves Amuro and Sayla, and then returns to Side 3, where he finally avenges his father by killing Kishiria Zabi. The EFM defeats the remaining Zeon forces, and the One Year War ends with victory for the EFG.

GUNDAM THE 08th MS TEAM

This original video series is, in the real world, the latest chapter in the Universal Century saga. It takes place in the same One Year War era as the original series, depicting the point of view of the common soldier rather than the cosmic adventures of newtype aces.

It's late in the year UC 0079, in the last weeks of the One Year War. After the destruction of the Earth Federation's military power and the Zeon conquest of half the Earth's surface, the Federation has finally caught up with the Zeon technology and begun rebuilding its forces for a counterattack. Nine months after the start of the war, the Federation has begun trial production of its own mobile suits and organized fighting teams to test them in battle.

Earth Orbit
A transport ship is en route to Earth, transferring Federal Forces soldiers from the space colonies to Earth. Among the ship's passengers are young officer Shiro Amada, and fresh-faced recruit Michel Ninorich. Their attention drawn by a nearby signal flare, the passengers spot a Federation mobile suit engaged in a running battle with a Zeon prototype. The foolhardy Shiro enters the fray in a Ball, a crude space pod intended for manual labor, enabling the Federation pilot to escape. Shiro's Ball and the Zeon prototype are both destroyed in the skirmish, and both combatants are forced to seek refuge inside a wrecked battleship. Putting aside their differences, Shiro and the Zeon test pilot, a young woman named Aina Sahalin, team up to create a distress signal and are each rescued by friendly forces.

Southeast Asia
Arriving on Earth, Shiro takes command of the Kojima Battalion's 08th Mobile Suit Team, part of a test corps stationed in Southeast Asia. In addition to Shiro, the team's pilots include veteran Karen Joshua and grim ace Terry Sanders Jr., the Federation pilot Shiro rescued in Earth orbit; all three are equipped with a ground combat version of the Gundam. Michel and the happy-go-lucky Eledore Massis are assigned to operate the team's support hovertruck. Almost immediately, the 08th MS Team are dispatched to aid another team in a nearby skirmish. In the ensuing night battle, Shiro becomes lost and spends the next day wandering through the jungle. On his wanderings, he comes across a young girl bathing, and is rewarded for his peeping with a few rounds of hot lead.

For its next mission, the 08th MS Team is sent to capture a Zeon-occupied village. Shiro orders his pilots to split up and attack the enemy from two sides, and is promptly waylaid by guerillas on his way to the rendezvous. It turns out that these guerillas are the associates of Kiki Rosita, the girl he encountered earlier. Bargaining with his captors, Shiro enlists their aid in attacking the Zeon encampment in return for vital food and medicine.

Flying Nightmare
Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, a Zeon scientist named Ginias Sahalin has completed an ambitious weapons development project. In his secret mountain base, Ginias has developed the powerful mobile armor Apsalus, capable of atmospheric flight and armed with a devastating mega particle cannon. Its test pilot is his sister Aina, the same Zeon pilot whom Shiro encountered in space. During a test flight, the Apsalus is intercepted by the 08th MS Team. Shiro and his team succeed in crippling the mobile armor, forcing it make an emergency landing nearby.

Shortly thereafter, amateur musician Eledore receives word that one of his songs has been picked up for a major-label release. He commandeers Michel to help him celebrate, and they sneak off the base to a nearby village. Unfortunately, they've stumbled upon the very same village where the Apsalus has crash-landed, now occupied by Zeon soldiers frantically trying to repair the damaged mobile armor. Briefly captured, the two escape, but Eledore is badly wounded in the process.

With the Apsalus airborne once more, the 08th MS Team is sent to stake out its desert testing ground. After nearly a week of tense waiting, they finally sight the mobile armor and spring their trap. Though the Apsalus escapes, Shiro is able to cling to it with his Gundam, and the overloaded mobile armor eventually crashes in the snowy peaks of the Himalayas. Once again, Shiro and Aina are forced to cooperate to survive, but their growing closeness is interrupted by the arrival of both sides' rescue parties. To protect her brother's creation from capture, Aina triggers the Apsalus's self-destruct system and takes out a Federal Forces transport plane, then abandons Shiro in the snow.

Escape from Odessa
At the same time, the Federation is concluding its Operation Odessa campaign in Eastern Europe. Some of the defeated Zeons escape into space, but cocky general Yuri Kellarny and his men are left behind. Yuri decides to lead the surviving forces eastward to his friend Ginias's research base so that they can use its power source, the space cruiser Kerguelen, to return to space. He orders Ginias to halt his precious research project and prepare for the fugitives' arrival.

Meanwhile, another party of Zeon stragglers makes its way through the jungles of Southeast Asia. Stumbling upon Kiki's village, this trio of war-weary mobile suit pilots hold the guerillas hostage to obtain food. Shiro, who has been confined to base as a suspected spy due to his relationship with Aina, defies orders and leads the 08th MS Team in a dangerous rescue mission. Despite Shiro's efforts to resolve the situation without bloodshed, the guerillas are all but wiped out, and he is forced to kill a panicking Zeon pilot.

Mountain Siege
Having determined that the Apsalus project poses a dire threat, the Federal Forces direct the Kojima Battalion to locate and destroy Ginias's secret base. While searching the area, the 08th MS Team encounters Yuri Kellarny's convoy of carrier planes. A handful of Yuri's men manage to hold off Shiro and friends long enough for their fellows to reach Ginias's base. Yuri waits at the base's entrance for his loyal underlings to return, then finds that Ginias has locked him out to prevent him from meddling in the all-important Apsalus project. Ginias sets off a bomb to eliminate Yuri, which has the unfortunate side effect of giving away his secret base's location.

With the target located, the entire Kojima Battalion is mobilized to lay siege to the base. Ginias's engineers scramble to complete a new, more lethal incarnation of the Apsalus, while the rest of the base's personnel prepare to escape in the Kerguelen. Zeon ace Norris Packard, the Sahalin family's loyal retainer, sets out to eliminate the Federal Forces' artillery mobile suits and clear a safe path for the Kerguelen to launch. After a fierce battle with the 08th MS Team, Norris succeeds in wiping out the artillery battery at the cost of his own life.

Final Attack of the Apsalus
As Shiro and his team regroup, they see a horrifying sight rising over the ruins of the mountain base: a recreated, revised Apsalus, with Ginias and Aina at its controls. After wiping out a large portion of the massed Federal Forces, Aina offers to hold her fire if the enemy allows the Kerguelen to escape. But no sooner has the Kerguelen launched than Ginias opens fire again, and the escaping ship is shot down by Federation snipers.

Tired of his sister's soft-heartedness, Ginias shoots her. Aina topples out of the Apsalus's cockpit, only to be caught by Shiro's Gundam. As Ginias draws a bead on the two lovers with the Apsalus's cannon, Federation snipers shoot the mobile armor full of holes and it crashes to the ground. Even as the Federal Forces rush to capture the fallen Apsalus, Shiro races to destroy it, crushing the mobile armor's cockpit just as it opens fire for the last time. The Federation command post is vaporized by the Apsalus's parting shot, the mobile armor explodes, and Shiro and Aina disappear in the blast...

Epilogue
Months later, the war has ended in victory for the Earth Federation. Michel Ninorich leaves the Federal Forces and, accompanied by Kiki Rosita, sets off in search of his missing comrades. Their wandering leads Michel and Kiki to a group of children who bear the names of Shiro, Aina, and the rest of the 08th MS Team. These children turn out to be refugees from Zeon's newtype research institute; since their names and memories had been stolen from them, two kindly strangers gave them new identities. Now certain that their friends are alive, Michel and Kiki press on and at last find Shiro and Aina, living together in peace.

GUNDAM 0080: WAR IN THE POCKET

Still flush with the success of Char's Counterattack, Bandai embarked on a new project to make an OVA (Original Video Animation) series for the Gundam universe in 1989. However, Tomino declined to have anything to do with the new series, preferring instead to let it end with Char's Counterattack. So instead Bandai contacted Hiroyouki Yamaga to write the screenplay, and Haruhiko Mikimoto (of Gunbuster and Macross fame) to do the character designs. Mecha designs were done by Yutaka Izubuchi, who worked on Char's Counterattack and the Patlabor movie, and the entire series was directed by Fumihiko Takayama. Gundam 0080 was a large success and led the way for future projects by Bandai.

Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket takes place, as the name implies, in U.C. 0080, specifically in the closing weeks of the One Year War. The story begins with an attack by the Cyclops team, a special Zeon commando force, on a secret EFM base located somewhere in Antarctica. Despite the Cyclops team's attack, the EFM defenders manage to load a new prototype mobile suit, the NT-1 Gundam "Alex", into a shuttle and launches it into space.

The story shifts to the neutral colony of Side 6, and focuses on a young boy named Alfred Izuruha who lives there. Al and his friends, like many kids their age, are fascinated with the war and the military, especially the Zeon mobile suits. While sneaking around the colony in search of mobile suits, Al accidentally photographs the arrival of the NT-1 "Alex" to the colony. Then on his way to school the next day he witnesses a battle between several Zeon Zakus and EFM mobile suits. He pursues one of the Zeon Zakus as it is shot down with his camera, and follows it to the crash site. At the site of the wreck Al meets Bernard "Bernie" Weisman, the pilot of the fallen Zaku. Bernie trades Al his rank insignia in exchange for Al's camera. Al eagerly agrees. Bernie then escapes the colony with another Zaku.

The Zeon high command analyzes Al's film and learns that the NT-1 "Alex" is on Side 6. The remaining members of the Cyclops team, along with Bernie, are ordered back to Side 6 to capture or destroy the prototype Gundam. Upon arriving at Side 6, Al runs into Bernie again, and convinces the Cyclops leader to let him join their team. (In reality, the Cyclops leader just wants to keep an eye on Al and make sure he doesn't tell the authorities about them.) Al and Bernie search the colony for the current location of the NT-1. During the search Bernie meets Christina McKenzie, Al's next-door neighbor and old baby-sitter. Bernie immediately falls in love with Christina, but he and Al are unaware that Christina is secretly a test pilot for the EFM.

Bernie and Al eventually locate the "Alex," and the Cyclops team launches an attack. However, Christina and the "Alex" easily repel the team's mobile suit. All the Cyclops team members except Bernie are killed in the attack. Bernie contacts the Zeon informant on Side 6 and discovers that the Zeon command plans to destroy Side 6 with a nuclear missile if the "Alex" isn't destroyed by Christmas. Bernie initially decides to run away, but Al convinces him to stay and protect the colony. Al and Bernie repair Bernie's old Zaku, and Bernie prepares to destroy the NT-1, still unaware that Christina is the pilot. Bernie gives Al a tape to play in case he is killed. As Bernie launches the attack, Al learns that the Zeon fleet carrying the nuclear missile was destroyed in route to Side 6, therefore Bernie no longer needs to face the NT-1. Al runs to the battle site and tries to stop the fight, but his pleas fall on deaf ears. Before Al can stop them, the Gundam and the Zaku destroy each other. Christina is wounded and Bernie is killed.

The next day the One Year War ends. Al plays the tape Bernie left him before going to school. In the tape Bernie gives Al info about the planned Zeon nuclear attack, and tells him to take it to the authorities. He also tells Al to say good bye to Christina for him. As Al goes to school, he meets Christina. She tells Al that she has been transferred back to Earth and will be leaving very soon. She says good bye to Al and asks him to say good bye to Bernie for her. When Al arrives at the now-destroyed school he listens to the principal talk about friends and family lost during the war. The previous events finally become too much for Al, who breaks down crying. His friends try to comfort him by saying "Don't worry Al! Another war will come around soon!"

GUNDAM 0083: STARDUST MEMORY

Operation Stardust begins during the battle of A Bao A Qu, the last battle of the bloody one-year war. The Duchy of Zeon forces fight bravely against the Federation forces, but the war is becoming a lost cause. As if that wasn't bad enough, the Zeon leader Giren Zabi is killed. Realizing this, Zeon Colonel Auguille Delaz, believes it would be pointless to continue fighting and advises his troops to retreat and fight again another day. He is met with some resistance from his ace pilot, Anavel "Nightmare of Solomon" Gato, but he manages to convince Gato to stand down. 

The One-Year War has ended. The Earth Federation forces rebuild their somewhat wrecked war machine, along with developing new Gundams. In association with Anaheim Electronics, They built the Gundam RX-78GP-01 "Zephyranthes" and the RX-78GP-02A "Physalis".  The GP-02, however is a very risky move because it has the capability to deliver a nuclear mortar (A big Antarctic Treaty no-no). Regardless the two Gundams arrive at Torrington base in Australia aboard the assault carrier Albion.  There, we first meet Ensign Kou Uraki, a test pilot at the Torrington base. He and his best friend Keith get aboard the Albion to check out the new Gundams, but are chased away by head engineer Nina Purpleton. Meanwhile, an Anaheim employee manages to sneak  Anavel Gato into the base. Dressed as a Federation officer, he manages to get inside the Albion and steal the GP-02A. Once he captures it, he commands his back up units to attack the base, catching the Federation be caught totally by surprise. During the chaos, Kou commandeers the GP-01 and goes one-on-one with Gato. Their duel is interrupted and Gato escapes with his men and the GP-02A. Kou, along with Keith and their commander South Burning,  Chase after him and manage to foil Gato's first attempt to get into space, but Gato manages to escape with the GP-02 thanks to a Zeon submarine.

Kou and company heads back to Torrington, which is in shambles. South Burning was injured and two of Kou's fellow test pilots were killed. Meanwhile, the Albion takes the responsibility of getting the GP-02A back. Kou and Keith become part of the Albion's MS team, along with South (who is still recovering form his injuries). They get more pilots too, three former comrades of South: Chap Adel, Alpha Bate, and Bernard Monsha. Also, they get a GM Cannon and a couple of GM Custom mobile suits along with the GP-01. The somewhat arrogant (but amusing) Monsha, scoffs at the fact that Kou is the pilot of the GP-01 and challenges him to a duel. They square off in some ruins with Kou in is GP-01 and Monsha in the GM Custom, While Nina, Keith, and Mora watch on. Kou manages to beat him, however, South catches them and both Kou and Monsha are sent to the brig for insubordination.

Fortunately the two are released when they reach Africa to search for Gato. When the cover of the Anaheim spy (the one that assisted Gato) is blown, he steals a core fighter and high tails it to the secret base. Realizing their cover is blown, the Zeon shoot down his fighter and head off to keep the incoming Federation forces occupied. Gato prepares the GP-02A for liftoff in an old HLV (Heavy Lift Vehicle, a space shuttle), while Kou, Monsha, and Keith are held at bay. They manage to eventually break through the lines, but it is too late. Gato has launched into space to join the Delaz fleet.

Gato and the GP-02A assemble with the Delaz fleet at what used to be Side 5. There, Gato is shocked to discover that Delaz has chose to have ex-Zeon marine Cima Garahau and her fleet assist him. Despite Gato's distrust for her, Delaz feels her assistance would be helpful. Delaz then goes on TV and declares war against the Earth Federation, also showing off their captured GP-02A. The Albion then shows up at Side 5, but is attacked by Cima's forces. The Albion's escort ships are destroyed during the melee and if that's not bad enough, Kou's GP-01 is badly damaged from his encounter with Cima herself.

After getting their tail kicked pretty bad on the last mission, the Albion heads to port at the Moon city of Von Braun City. There, the team is put on temporary shore leave while the Albion and it's MS troops are repaired, and the GP-01 gets it's space full burner upgrade. During his time on Von Braun City, Kou is in regret over his loss to Cima and getting the GP-01 damaged. During his stroll by himself he is attacked by a gang of street thugs. He is saved however, by an one-armed man named Kelly Layzner. Kou uncovers that Kelly is an ex-Zeon MS pilot and is secretly rebuilding a mobile armor in his junkyard (The mobile armor can be piloted with one hand). Kou assists Kelly in rebuilding it, which helps Kou get his confidence back. Later, the GP-01FB is completed and just as Kou hears the news, Kelly attacks in his Val Varo mobile armor. Enraged that Delaz would not accept the handicapped ex-soldier into his fleet, Kelly decides to challenge the Gundam to prove he can still do it or die trying. Kou goes out to encounter Kelly, and a fierce battle ensues. Kelly is killed by Kou in his GP-01FB, afterwards Kou finally has the courage to tell Nina his true feelings.

Now that all of the repairs to the Albion are complete, the team heads out to Kompei Island. Before they arrive, the Albion clashes with Cima's fleet again. During the battle, South Burning comes upon a discovery of a briefcase in one of the wrecked ships. He retrieves it, but then is attacked by Cima. He manages to get away, but his GM Custom is badly damaged. When he reunites with the others, he begins to tell them about the documents inside the briefcase. Unfortunately, before he could get into details, his GM Custom explodes. The Albion and team arrive at Kompei, where a massive Naval review is given and the Federation ships are all lined up. A perfect time to attack. Gato arrives at the scene with the GP-02A's Nuke Bazooka deployed. He fires, destroying a good portion Federation ships. Kou notices Gato and the two resumes their duel. During the fight, both the GP-01FB and GP-02A are destroyed. When both pilots exit out of their hatch they both get a good look at each other, face to face.

Now, Operation Stardust kicks into high gear. Cima and her fleet send a newly constructed colony directly to smash into the moon. The Federation takes its remaining ships from to pursue the runaway colony. Meanwhile, the Albion docks with the Anaheim space station La Vie En Rose to obtain the new GP-03 "Dendrobium" Gundam. Unfortunately the Federation forces guarding the station will not let the Albion take the new Gundam. However, with the assistance of Anaheim engineer Lucette Audevie, Kou manages to take the GP-03. Lucette loses her life in the process, but before she dies, she tells Kou about a dark secret regarding Nina. After the Albion's crew manages to stop the occupying Federation forces from attacking Kou and the new Gundam, they make their way to the center of the colony conflict.

Elsewhere, Gato gets hardware upgrade as well. During a meeting with "neutral" Zeon officials, they give him a new mobile armor called the Neue Zeil ("New Goal"). They immediately head out to wreak havoc on the pursuing Federation fleet. As the Colony approached the moon, Delaz gives the signal to his cohort on the moon to activate the moon's laser launching system to fire the colony's rocket boosters, thus moving out of collision with the moon. This cohort is none other then an Anaheim Electronics executive director O'Sullivan. This move  not only stops it from colliding but sends it around the moon and directly towards Earth. Now, the Federation's fleet has run out of propellant, no longer able to chase the colony as it heads right for the Earth.

All seems lost for the Earth Federation, however, the Albion has arrived. The Albion and the new GP-03 attempt to stop the colony. Gato and the Delaz fleet strikes back at the Albion and the remaining fleet. During the melee a group of Federation ships, led by Jamitov Heimann, assemble by a giant Solar System Mirror array located near the Earth. During all of this, Cima shows her true colors and back stabs Delaz. She reveals she is part of the Federation at the Solar Array, and orders a cease-fire while she has her gun pointed at Delaz's head. Delaz is not phased by the recent events and urges Gato to continue on. This enrages Cima and she pulls the trigger. Gato, angered by Delaz's death, smashes the bridge of his ship. Cima narrowly escapes, and high tails it back to the Solar Array forces. Gato does not pursue her but instead heads directly to the Solar Array to stop it from destroying the colony. Cima, later has a run in with Kou and the GP-03, and is killed by the GP-03's massive mega beam cannon. Meanwhile, the Solar Array fires on the colony. Unfortunately it is not able to destroy it when Gato manages to destroy the command module of the Array.

During the chaos, The Albion manages to hold it's own against the Delaz fleet. In an unexpected twist, Nina steals one of the core fighters and heads out to find Gato. Gato has entered the colony to make some final coarse corrections when Nina shows up. She begs him to stop with tears in her eyes, aiming her gun right at him. Gato continues what he was doing, and is shot. But not by Nina, but by Kou Uraki Kou is about to finish him off but Nina stops him. Her and Gato escape, while a frustrated Kou shakes his head. Nina continues to ask Gato to stop but he just knocks her out and places her back in her core fighter. As they exit the colony he hands over the core fighter's cockpit to his friend Karius to take back to the Neutral Zeon fleet. Gato then waits for Kou to exit the colony, as soon as he does, their duel continues. Kou is suffering a heavy beating by the hands of Gato's Neue Zeil. However, before Gato can finish him off the Solar Array fires again, enveloping both machines in the bright light. When it all clears, Kou is still alive, but Gato is nowhere to be found. His Gundam exits out of its External Booster/Weapon attachments and grabs its rifle. Frustrated by the turn of events Kou fires wildly into space. Meanwhile, Gato's heavily damaged Neue Zeil is floating in space. He encourages the remaining troops to follow him in a break for the Neutral Zeon fleet. However, the Federation fleet opens fire on them and Gato kamikazes into a Federation Destroyer's bridge. Back on Earth, it is later realized that the target was not Jabrow base in South America but the Midwest United States, the Earth's main food source.

In the aftermath, Director O'Sullivan commits suicide then face prosecution of his crimes. A trial begins and Kou Uraki is found guilty of Insubordination. He is sentenced to 1 year of hard labor. Meanwhile, Heimann begins the infamous "Titans" to deal with any new rises in pro-Zeon activity. Later on, the records of the experimental Gundams were deleted and Kou was set free as a result. He arrives at a new North American base were he sees his old friend Keith again. As he runs aside of Keith's Gelgoog Marine, he notices a jeep sitting outside the fence of the gate. In it sits Mora and Nina, who is waving and smiles back at Kou.

BACKGROUND TO ZETA GUNDAM

However, not all of the politicians on Earth agreed with the EFG policies. Blex Fora, a Federation senator who proposed massive government reforms on Earth, fled the EFG and traveled to Side 2 to gain support. Senator Fora eventually created the Anti-Earth Union Government, or AEUG; an organization dedicated to the idea of "free space," without EFG rule. This idea appealed especially to the industrialists and the private sector on Earth, who had been suffering an economic loss due to the EFG's suppression of colony expansion. Fearful of loosing economic support, the EFG formed a special military force called the Titans to suppress the AEUG. Unfortunately, the Titans carried out their mission with extreme ruthlessness. In U.C. 0087 during a pro-AEUG rally on Side 4, Commander Bosk Om of the Titans ordered the use of nerve gas to eliminate the protesters. 30,000 people were killed. Instead of crumbling, however, the AEUG resolved to fight harder after this massacre. This is where the saga of Zeta Gundam begins.

ZETA GUNDAM: THE TITANS CONFLICT

The first Gundam series was so successful that Nippon Sunrise eventually managed to convince Tomino to write a sequel. Finally in 1985 Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam began its television run in Japan. By the end of its 50-episode run, the series had achieve even greater popularity than the original Gundam. To this day many fans consider Zeta Gundam the quintessential example of the Gundam saga.

The series begins at the colony of Green Noah 2, where three prototype RX-178 Gundam Mk. II mobile suits have just been delivered to the Titans for testing. Three AEUG mobile suits led by ace pilot Quattro Bagina secretly enter the colony to get information on the Gundams. Later we learn that Quattro is really Char Aznable, who has changed his identity and joined the AEUG to fight against the Titans. He is discovered, however, and is forced to flee back to his mothership, the Agahma. There he opts to attack Green Noah 2 and attempt to steal the Gundam Mk. IIs for the AEUG. During the attack, a teenager by the name of Camille Vidan escapes from the Titans headquarters on the colony. Camille had always disliked the Titans and was being held on suspicion of being an AEUG sympathizer. Camille manages to commandeer one of the Gundam Mk. IIs and quickly familiarizes himself with the controls. In a virtual repeat of Amuro Rey's first performance in the RX-78 Gundam, Camille defeats the other Gundams and escapes to the Agahma. Eventually, with Camille's help, Quattro manages to steal all three Gundam Mk. IIs from the Titans. However, both of Camille's parents are killed in the resulting battle.

Camille joins the AEUG and fights with Quattro against the Titans. Over the course of several battles many of the original crew of the White Base join Quattro and the AEUG, including Bright Noah, who eventually becomes captain of the Agahma. During the battles with the Titans Camille's New Type powers start to emerge. Quattro and Bright both believe that Camille is like a second Amuro Rey, and a tremendous boon to the AEUG forces. Eventually the AEUG prepares to strike at Jaburo, the main EFM base on Earth. Even though the AEUG forces win the battle, it proves a hollow victory as all of the EFG officials have already fled. Shortly after the battle, however, Quattro (a.k.a. Char) is reunited with his old adversary, Amuro Rey. Amuro has been held under house arrest for the past 7 years since the EFG really doesn't know what to do with him, and the Titans are not interested in him. The events of the One Year War have left deep emotional scars on Amuro, who is now very quiet and morose. Amuro has also developed an irrational fear of space, perhaps due to his fear of seeing ghosts of Lalah Sun again. Amuro joins Quattro and Camille in protecting the AEUG pilots until they can get back to the Agahma, in orbit around the Earth.

Quattro eventually escapes to the Agahma, but Camille and Amuro remain behind. During the AEUG's battles on Earth Camille meets Four Murasame. Four is bio-soldier, an attempt by the Titans to create artificial New Types for their forces. Four is also a talented MS pilot and pilots the enormous Psycho Gundam for the Titans. Unaware of each other's military status, Camille and Four eventually fall in love. However, their romance is cut short when Four is ordered to attack the AEUG survivors in the Psycho Gundam while Camille opposes her in the Gundam Mk. II. When four discovers that Camille is piloting the Gundam, she defies her orders and helps Camille to get back to the Agahma, but then is quickly captured by the Titans. Amuro stays behind on Earth with the remaining AEUG pilots to resist the Titans.

Once Camille rejoins the Agahma, he is assigned to pilot the MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam, an advanced new mobile suit built out of the remains of the captured Gundam Mk. IIs. On the other side of the Earth, the Titans recruit an ambitious captain and powerful New Type named Paptimus Scirocco to destroy the Agahma. During the successive attacks on the Agahma by Scirocco and the Titans Camille's New Type powers continue to grow, eventually surpassing Quattro's and Amuro's powers. The struggles between the AEUG and Titans become more intense and more deadly, as several prominent pilots of both sides die in battle. However, the war has been dragging on for over a year now and the colonists are beginning to loose faith in the AEUG. This defeatist attitude makes the war much more difficult for the Agahma.

However, a new unexpected turn of events pops up when both sides detect the asteroid colony Axis approaching the Earth. Axis contains the last remnants of the Zeon Archduchy and the Zeon Military Forces, and could provide a significant change in the balance of power if they could be convinced to join the AEUG. The Agahma is ordered to travel to Axis and negotiate a treaty with the Zeons. The Titans also realize the potential power that Axis represents and sends their own ship, led by Scirocco, to try and beat the Agahma to Axis. Despite repeated attacks by Scirocco's forces, the Agahma manages to arrive at Axis first and meet with Minerva Zabi, the 8-year-old leader of Axis and the last surviving member of the Zabi family. Negotiations appear to be going well when Quattro attacks Haman Kahn, Minerva Zabi's advisor and the true leader of Axis. Haman recognizes Quattro as Char, but does not reveal his secret to anyone present. Instead, Haman orders the Agahma to leave Axis. Scirocco's ship arrives at Axis and negotiates a treaty with Haman. The Agahma returns to Earth, defeated.

Upon returning to Earth the Agahma is ordered to participate in an attack against the Titans missile base at Mount Kilimanjaro. During the attack Quattro and Camille return to the Earth's surface and are reunited with Amuro and his AEUG forces. They attack the Kilimanjaro base but are repelled by Four Murasame and the repaired Psycho Gundam. Four has undergone extensive brainwashing to try and suppress any rebellion left in her. Despite her conditioning, however, Camille eventually manages to free her mind after battling the Psycho Gundam in the Zeta Gundam. However, just as Four manages to completely free herself, she sacrifices her life to save Camille from a Titans mobile suit. As Camille cradles Four's broken body, Amuro and Quattro remember Lalah's death. Camille convinces Quattro to become Char Aznable again and assume leadership of the AEUG.

Camille and Char return to the Agahma to continue to fight the Titans' space fleet. However, they are unable to prevent the Titans from launching another Nerve Gas attack on Side 2, one of the foremost AEUG supporters. Char realizes that the war must be ended quickly or more colonies will suffer the same fate. He sends Camille back to Axis to secretly negotiate a treaty with Haman Kahn to defeat the Titans. After the AEUG meets Haman's demands, she agrees to help them. Haman feigns friendship with the Titans and tries to recapture the old Zeon colony laser built during the One Year War. Her plan fails, however, and the Agahma must rescue Haman's ship from the Titans. Haman then aims the Axis asteroid on a collision course with the Titans' main asteroid base. The resulting collision completely destroys the Titans' base, and the AEUG manages to capture or destroy many of the escaping Titans ships.

Scirocco then tries to renegotiate a treaty with Haman. Upon learning of the Titans-Axis negotiations Char is furious and travels to Haman's ship along with Camille confront her. All negotiations break down completely as Scirocco tries to double-cross and kill Haman, and Haman breaks off all contact with both the Titans and the AEUG, driving both Scirocco and Char off her ship. Furthermore, she directs the Axis asteroid in a collision course with the moon in an attempt to cripple both parties. Haman still remains interested in convincing Char to rejoin the Zeon forces, however.

Meanwhile, the AEUG starts preparations to finish off the Titans once and for all. The Agahma manages to gain control of the colony laser, and Bright uses it to alter Axis' path, thereby causing it to miss the moon entirely. The AEUG then begins a series of harassing attacks designed to draw the Titans forces into the laser's line of fire. During the final battle Scirocco realizes the AEUG's plan and leads an attack on the colony laser. Char, Camille, and the crew of the Agahma try to repel Scirocco's forces. During the attack many Agahma pilots are killed. Haman Kahn even enters the battle, determined to make Char join her or kill him herself. Scirocco, Char, Camille, and Haman begin dueling in the colony laser's barrel just as the Titans fleet moves into range. Char and Camille drive Scirocco and Haman away, but Haman gains the upper hand over Char and proceeds to destroy his mobile suit after Char refuses to join her. Camille finally defeats Scirocco with the aid of ghosts from Camille's past, but with his dying breath Scirocco reaches out with his New Type powers and destroys Camille's mind. Bright fires the colony laser, destroying the entire Titans fleet and permanently ending their threat. Haman retreats back to Axis to consolidate her power, while the Agahma picks up Camille, now hopelessly brain-damaged. The Titans Conflict is now over. As the respective combatants leave the area Char's destroyed mobile suit drifts by. The hatch is open.

DOUBLE ZETA GUNDAM: HAMAN'S REIGN

Based on the popularity of Zeta Gundam Tomino decided to write a third series in the Gundam saga. He was somewhat disappointed with the pessimistic ending to Zeta Gundam, and wanted the new series to be "happier" than the previous two. He also wanted to wrap up the Gundam saga once and for all with the new series. In 1986 Mobile Suit Double Zeta Gundam began it's run on Japanese TV. However, halfway through the 47-episode series Tomino decided that he did not want to abruptly end the series, and instead made the storyline of Double Zeta Gundam much more serious. However, most fans though Tomino overdid it, with long drawn-out speeches and huge battles between ridiculously powerful New Types. By the time the series ended in 1987 Tomino admitted that Double Zeta Gundam had turned out to be a flop. To this day it remains the least popular of the Gundam series.

Double Zeta Gundam begins immediately following the final battle of Zeta Gundam. Heavily damaged in the final battle with the Titans, the Agahma limps back to Side 1. While undergoing repairs, Bright Noah and the crew of the Agahma meet Jude Ashita, a 14-year old boy who makes a living with his friends by salvaging debris and working at a junk yard on the colony. Jude also has a sister named Rhina who he cares for greatly and supports. Jude sees the Zeta Gundam and realizes that it would make him rich if he could steal it. So he and his friends execute a series of unsuccessful raids on the Agahma to steal the Zeta Gundam.

Unfortunately, Jude is not the only one interested in the Zeta Gundam. Haman Kahn is very interested in obtaining the Zeta for her personal use, and sends several Zeon agents with mobile suits to capture the Zeta from Bright and the Agahma. By a strange coincidence, all of Jude's raids on the Agahma seem to coincide perfectly with an attack on the ship by Zeon forces. Jude manages to board the Zeta Gundam and defeat the Zeon mobile suits every time, but always is forced to abandon the Zeta and escape before Bright and the Agahma crew arrive. Eventually Bright realizes that Jude is a powerful New Type, and relaxes his guard, actually letting Jude sneak onboard the ship several times and use the Zeta Gundam. However, after several battles the Side 1 government gets tired of the destruction and asks the Agahma to leave before the Zeons arrive in force. Bright reluctantly agrees, but before he leaves he invites Jude and his friends to join him on the Agahma. They agree.

The rest of Double Zeta Gundam involves Jude and his friends travelling around defeating the Zeons and the last of the Titans. With Jude's help, the crew of the Agahma build the MRX-010 Double Zeta Gundam, a new extremely powerful mobile suit that allows Jude to defeat several powerful Zeon mobile suits and mobile armors.

However, about halfway through the series Jude's sister Rhina is captured by Zeons while exploring an abandoned colony, and taken to the Axis asteroid. For the rest of the series Jude battles Haman Kahn and the Zeons to get his sister back. By the end of the series Jude finally defeats Haman after a lengthy battle and rescues his sister. Tired of fighting, he then leaves the Agahma and signs onto a gas-freighter which is travelling to Jupiter. This marks the end of the Double Zeta Gundam series.

GUNDAM: CHAR'S COUNTERATTACK

Undaunted by the failure of Double Zeta Gundam, Bandai (the new animation division of Nippon Sunrise) commissioned Tomino to write a full-length movie for Gundam. This time, Tomino came up with a two-hour story that would serve as the conclusion to the 70 hours of previous Gundam saga. Char's Counterattack proved to be one of the finest examples of (then) state-of-the-art animation, and became a landmark in animation history.

Char's Counterattack takes place in U.C. 0093, 5 years after the end of Double Zeta Gundam. Char Aznable has reappeared and formed the Neo-Zeon Alliance, a force pledged to bring independence to the space colonies no matter what the cost, even if it means the destruction of the Earth. Unprepared for the assault, the EFG forms the Londo Bell forces, a military group with the express duty of defending Earth against the Neo-Zeon forces. The Londo Bell forces include heroes from the One Year War such as Bright Noah, now captain of the battleship Lar Kailum, and Amuro Rey, now the top pilot of the EFM. The Londo Bell is the only thing standing between Earth and Char's revenge.

As Char's Counterattack opens, the Neo-Zeon forces are leading their first major attack against the Earth. Neo-Zeon operatives have captured the asteroid Fifth Luna and have moved it into a collision course with the EFM headquarters in Lhasa, Tibet. Caught by surprise, the Londo Bell forces are unable to launch an effective counterattack. Nevertheless, Amuro Rey manages to break through the enemy lines and attacks the asteroid thrusters directly. Neo-Zeon ace pilot and artificial New Type Guynei Guss attempts to stop him, but Amuro easily gains the upper hand over Guynei. However, his efforts prove futile as Char Aznable arrives in his new mobile suit, the MSN-04 Sazabi. Outnumbered and outclassed, Amuro retreats.

Meanwhile, the EFG sends Senator Adeneur Paraya to Side 1 to secretly negotiate a peace treaty with Char and the Neo-Zeon, in an attempt to avoid further conflict. Senator Paraya and his daughter Quess board a shuttle that will take them to Side 1. At the last minute, Paraya uses his government status to get a seat on the shuttle for Hathaway Noah, son of Bright Noah, who is trying to rejoin his dad in space. The shuttle launches but narrowly avoids hitting the falling Fifth Luna asteroid. Fifth Luna slams into Tibet, destroying the EFM base there. Char only needs to drop one more asteroid, and the Earth will suffer a "nuclear winter," that will kill all life there.

Disgusted by the Londo Bell failure, Amuro Rey temporarily leaves the Lar Kailum for the Von Braun colony on the Moon, home of Anaheim Electronics. There the Anaheim engineers, under the leadership of Amuro's girlfriend Chien Agi, are working on the RX-93 Nu Gundam, a new high-performance mobile suit designed to counter Char's MSN-04 Sazabi. However, shortly after Amuro's arrival the Neo-Zeon launch a diversionary attack on the Lar Kailum and her escort ships to distract them from Char's shuttle. Char is going to Side 1 to negotiate with the EFG forces for peace. Bright sends a message to Amuro on the moon, who takes the half-complete Nu Gundam and returns with Chien. Amuro and the Nu Gundam succeed in stopping the Neo-Zeon forces, who retreat after Char's shuttle has successfully left the area.

The Lar Kailum then rescues the shuttle containing Senator Paraya, Quess, and Hathaway, which had been damaged by Fifth Luna's fall and almost drifted into the battlezone. Senator Paraya commandeers the Lar Kailum and orders Bright to transport them to Side 1 for the negotiations. Once they arrive, Senator Paraya meets with Char and manages to negotiate a treaty. Char will surrender all his warships to the Londo Bell if the EFG sells him the now-abandoned Axis asteroid. To make the deal final, Char brings the payment for Axis in gold bullion, and promises to send the Neo-Zeon fleet to Luna 2 asteroid for disarmament. Senator Paraya and the EFG officials gladly agree to Char's proposal. As the EFG party leaves, Char comments on how stupid they are, but then thinks to himself "I'm doing something dirty, Amuro. If you're near, seek me out."

Meanwhile, Amuro is taking some well-earned R&R and is showing Hathaway and Quess around the colony. During their tour, they accidentally run into Char, who is taking a horse ride in the countryside. Amuro chases Char and eventually manages to knock him off his horse. Amuro and Char battle, arguing all the time about the other's goals. As Amuro gains the upper hand, however, Quess runs forward and steals his gun. Quess has been impressed by Char's views and yells at Amuro for attacking Char. Then Guynei arrives in a mobile suit to help Char escape. As Char leaves, he invites Quess to accompany him.

Much to Char's delight, Quess turns out to be a powerful New Type, almost as powerful as Amuro Rey. Char pairs her up with Guynei, who begins training her as a mobile suit pilot. Char secretly hopes to use Quess as a weapon to defeat Amuro and the Londo Bell. Meanwhile, Char uses decoys to split his forces into two groups. He sends one group disguised as the main Neo-Zeon fleet to Luna 2 to "surrender," while the other half of the fleet travels to Axis ahead of schedule. Meanwhile, a small EFM fleet awaits Char's forces at Luna 2, led by Senator Paraya. As the EFM fleet begins to recon the Neo-Zeon fleet, the Neo-Zeons open fire. Guynei and Quess attack the fleet together, and during the battle Quess unwittingly kills her own father when she destroys the EFM command ship. The EFM fleet is completely destroyed, and the Neo-Zeon forces capture Luna 2, including a stockpile of nuclear weapons which was intended to be used as a last resort against Char's forces.

Meanwhile Amuro and Bright discover Char's treachery by inspecting tapes of the Neo-Zeon fleet. Realizing that Char has already defeated the forces at Luna 2 and captured the Axis asteroid, the Londo Bell forces race toward Axis. However, Char has already begun to drop the Axis asteroid on the Earth. He plans to detonate the captured nuclear weapons just before the asteroid crashes, further contaminating the Earth's surface. The Londo Bell forces attack with regular missiles mixed with spare nuclear missiles taken from Side 1. Unfortunately, Char and Guynei are able to destroy the missiles before they can strike Axis. Bright then orders the Londo Bell mobile suit forces to attack, but the attack fails and Axis begins its final fall towards Earth.

Amuro and Bright make a final plan to stop Char. They plan to split Axis apart using their few remaining missiles, thereby making the debris miss the Earth all together. Should the missiles fail, the Lar Kailum will land on Axis, and the crew will use Junior Mobile Suits to set explosives inside the asteroid that will split it apart. Bright apologizes and says that it is highly likely that they won't be returning from this mission. As Amuro and the crew prepare for the final battle, Bright allows Hathaway, who stowed onboard the Lar Kailum in order to save Quess, to stay on the main bridge. He also tells Hathaway to make out a will.

Amuro leads the attack in the Nu Gundam. Meanwhile Char has assigned Quess to pilot the Alpha Azieru, an enormous Neo-Zeon mobile armor. Quess and Guynei both try to stop Amuro, but Amuro manages to invade them, killing Guynei in the process. Meanwhile, Hathaway is beginning to develop New Type abilities of his own, and senses Quess in the Alpha Azieru. He manages to steal a Londo Bell mobile suit and goes off to confront Quess. Quess has by now lost Amuro and is now fighting Chien, who took off in a damaged mobile suit to try and help the Londo Bell forces. Hathaway approaches Quess and begs her to stop fighting, but Quess is bitter and tries to force Hathaway away. While Quess is distracted, however, Chien launches a missile at the Alpha Azieru. Quess senses the approaching missile and dives in front of Hathaway to protect him. The Alpha Azieru explodes and Quess is instantly killed. Hathaway lashes out in anger and accidentally destroys Chien's mobile suit, killing her too.

Meanwhile Amuro alone has managed to penetrate the Neo-Zeon line and begins attacking Axis' nuclear engines. Char attacks him in a desperate attempt to drive him away. During the combat, Amuro discovers an abandoned Neo-Zeon battleship that is holding the stolen nuclear weapons from Luna 2. Realizing Char's plan, Amuro destroys the battleship with a few well-placed shots. Char is furious.

Amuro and the crew of the Lar Kailum enter Axis to place the explosives. Char also follows them in and begins dueling with Amuro with bazookas. Bright and the crew finish setting the explosives and escape, while Amuro distracts Char. In a final savage mobile suit battle, Amuro finally defeats Char, destroying the Sazabi and capturing Char's escape capsule. The explosives detonate and Axis shatters into several fragments. However, the explosion slows one of the fragments enough to be caught by Earth's gravity, and the fragment begins to enter the Earth's atmosphere.

Char laughs, claiming that he has won. However, Amuro takes Char's escape pod with him and attempts to use the Nu Gundam to push the fragment back into orbit. Inspired by his actions, the surviving Londo Bell and EFM mobile suits try to help him. Even some of the Neo-Zeon pilots decide to try and help push Axis away. Amuro knows that the other mobile suits cannot stand up to the strain however, and prevents them by committing suicide by using his New Type powers to push the other pilots away. However, the Psycho-frame (a more advanced version of the Psychommu system) built into the Nu Gundam overloads due to the incredible amount of psychic energy being directed toward one objective. As the Psycho-frame grows brighter and brighter, Amuro and Char exchange some heated debate about ethics. Amuro criticizes Char for turning Quess into a machine, and Char counters by blaming Amuro for Lalah Sun's death. Their argument is cut short as the Psycho-frame explodes. The light of the Psycho-frame focuses on Axis, and Bright and the others are shocked to realize that Axis is actually heading AWAY from Earth! The Psycho-frame's glow then surrounds the Earth, as all the survivors of the conflict look at it in wonder.

GUNDAM F-91: THE CROSSBONE VANGUARD

Gundam F-91 takes place in U.C. 0123, 30 years after the final battle between Amuro and Char in Char's Counterattack. The colony Frontier IV, on the far end of the Earth sphere is attacked by the Crossbone Vanguard, a mysterious military organization with goals similar to those of the Neo-Zeon. In the midst of the chaos, high school students Seabrook Arno and Cecily Fairchild manage to gather a dozen schoolchildren and attempt to escape the colony. However, before they can get away Cecily is captured and turned over to the Vanguard. Seabrook fails to save her and is shot. His friends take him and leave the colony, leaving Cecily behind.

Cecily is introduced to Korozo, a commanding officer in the Crossbone Vanguard who wears an iron mask. Furthermore, Korozo claims to be Cecily's father. Korozo introduces Cecily to her grandfather, the leader of the Crossbone Vanguard, who tries to convince her to join them. Cecily is dazed by the events.

Meanwhile, Seabrook and his friends run into the EFM's training warship, the Space Ark, in the bordering colony of Frontier I. The crew of the Space Ark is busy transforming the ship into a resistance base against the Vanguard. The Space Ark also contains the prototype mobile suit F91, and Seabrook and his friends decide to help the engineers finish the suit and ready it for combat. Eventually Seabrook becomes pilot of the F91 and infiltrates Frontier IV in an attempt to rescue Cecily. However, Cecily has finally accepted her destiny by the time Seabrook finds her and has become a mobile suit pilot with the Crossbone Vanguard. Cecily tells Seabrook that she cannot leave yet, and helps him to escape. Seabrook regretfully returns to the Space Ark.

The EFM and the Crossbone Vanguard clash several more times, and during these battles Seabrook's and Cecily's New Type powers start to emerge. Eventually, Seabrook convinces Cecily to leave the Vanguard and join the crew of the Space Ark. As the EFM forces start to gain the upper hand in their war with the Vanguard, Korozo decides to use one of his final weapons. Korozo releases the "bugs" into Frontier I in an attempt to destroy the F91 and the Space Ark. The "bugs" are modified bits that seek out and destroy anything they find. Appalled by the mass destruction and death the bugs cause, Seabrook and Cecily use their New Type powers to destroy them and then go after Korozo in his Mobile Armor. Cecily's mobile suit is destroyed by Korozo, and Cecily herself is lost in space. An enrages Seabrook uses the F91 and his New Type powers to destroy Korozo's Mobile Armor, killing Korozo in the process. Eventually Seabrook manages to find Cecily using the F91, and as the two embrace the Crossbone Vanguard retreats to regroup and prepare for future battles.

V GUNDAM

Time-line / Synopsis
Original Gundam TV series started with a mass immigration into space due to overpopulation and the Federation government treating the colonists like second class citizens. Zeon Zum Daikun at Side 3 declares Side 3 the Independent Republic of Zeon. He is assasinated and is replaced by his lieutenant Zabi. Zabi rechristens the place the Zeon Archduchy and starts a war of conquest under the pretense of independence.

Using Minovsky particles to jam radar and Mobile Suits in close quarter combat, the Zeons kick the Federation's butt. They also use ABC weapons and even drop a colony on Earth. Later, the Antarctic Treaty is signed by both parties to prevent massive death via ABC weaponry.

The EFM starts their own MS program and creates the Gundam, which in the hands of Amuro kicks major Zeon butt. The EFM starts to gain the upper hand, and the Zeons suffer a power struggle in their own ranks. The EFM wins the war.

Gundam 0080: A Side Story, deals with the Zeon commando "Cyclops" and their attempt to destroy the NT-1 Gundam prototype, which fails.

Gundam 0083: Delaz was pissed at the violation of the Antarctic Treaty on the Feds part by the building of the Atomic Gundam. He decides to steal it and use it against them.

Zeta Gundam: The Titans form at the end of 0083 to prevent any additional actions like what happened there. Over time, they turn into a bunch of bullies, suppressing any anti-EFM movement. The more moderate faction of the EFM break off and forms the AEUG to oppose the Titans.

Gundam ZZ: After the Titans' defeat, the Axis force comes into play. Axis helped the EFM and the AEUG defeat the Titans under the condition that they get Side 3 back. When the EFM breaks their promise, the AEUG is stuck with fending off Axis. Axis terrorizes the EFM until they recant and give Side 3 to Axis. Reforming as Neo-Zeon, again they suffer an internal power struggle, and the EFM/AEUG close in and win.

Char's Counterattack: Char, who disappeared in Zeta, reappears with a huge and motivated army and seeks to "punish" those on Earth by dropping Axis asteroid on Earth. Amuro, in his trusty Nu-Gundam puts a stop to this. ^_^

-- Intermission

OK, here's where the timeline gets relevant to Victory, so pay attention. ^_^

Gundam F-91: After the Zeons' wane in power, the Crossbone Vanguard take over the Frontier colonies and declare them the Cosmo Babylonia. The EFM puts up a fight to stop this (not too successfully).

After F-91, the CV manages to keep their hold on the colonies they swiped by striking a deal with the Jupiter Energy Fleet and holding Earth's energy supply hostage, forcing the EFM to leave them alone.

After Iron Mask's death in F-91, Vera Rona goes back to Babylonia and denounces her father's claim of a born nobelty that people should follow. The CV breaks down due to internal strife, but not before Vera learns of a force in the background that was manipulating things behind the CV... Vera and her followers disappear on the CV's flagship, the Babylonia Vanguard ...

Turns out that Vera and her crew disappeared on purpose. The ship is rechristened the Mother Vanguard, and now they fight the so-called Jupiter Empire, a presumed elite-force amongst the Jupiter Energy Fleet. The Jupiter Empire is too small to confront the EFM by itself, so instead it backs other groups like the CV with financial and technical support, waiting for the EFM to weaken until the Empire can go in and strike the last killing blow.

Crossbone Gundam: A Side Story manga by Tomino. Shows the efforts of Vera Rona, Seabrook Arno, and Zabine Chareux to stop the Jupiter Empire. Hasn't ended yet.

Victory Gundam: Side 2 secedes from the EFM, declares itself the Zanscarl Empire, and is bent on EFM conquest. It is strongly hinted that the Jupiter Empire is backing this group also. Usso, a 13 year old kid, gets his hands on the Victory Gundam and helps the civilian militia, the League Militaire, fight the Zanscarl Empire's troops.

Yes, Victory Gundam has already ended. But with Tomino's new manga establishing the link between F-91 and Victory Gundam, along with the hinting of a larger conflict with the Jupiter forces, I'd say we Gundam fans are in for another interesting Gundam story or two.
^_^

THE FUTURE OF GUNDAM