Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (機動戦士Ζガンダム) is a 1985 Japanese television anime series, the second installment in the Gundam franchise, and a sequel to the original Mobile Suit Gundam. The show was created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, with character designs by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, while the series' mechanical designs is split among Kunio Okawara, Mamoru Nagano, and Kazumi Fujita. The series was originally aired on Nagoya Broadcasting Network and its sister ANN stations between 1985 and 1986.
The plot is set in the futuristic "Universal Century" timeline, and takes place eight years after the events of the original series. Zeta centers on a new conflict that is formed between two new factions - the Titans, a corrupt task force formed by the Earth Federation, and the Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG), a rebel group who seek to end the Titans. The show is told through the perspective of Kamille Bidan, a teenage member of the AEUG and pilot of the RX-178 Gundam Mk-II, and later the MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam. Several main characters from the previous Gundam series return in supporting roles, including Amuro Ray and his rival Char Aznable, the latter of which returns as a pilot for the AEUG under the new identity of Quattro Bajeena.
New and old characters together for the same cause.
They're against a very human threat.
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam is, of course, the second installment in the Gundam franchise, so first off watch the original Mobile Suit Gundam beforehand. That should go without saying. Comparatively, this sequel not only lives up to its predecessor, but even surpasses it. Moreover, I think Mobile Suit Z Gundam is perhaps the best Mecha anime from the 80s. Essentially, because it has everything that makes an Anime a masterpiece: Excellent animation, excellent soundtrack, a good story that is not that hard to follow, and interesting characters, and I'm dead serious because I'm a sworn Macross fan.
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam's tale is set seven years in the future after its prequel, and quite a bit has happened since then. In the One Year War we watched a brutal war between the Earth Federation Forces and the Principality of Zeon. Now, we watch as a tyrannical sect of the Earth Federation, known as the Titans, and the Anti-Earth Union Group, a faction of rebels, duke it out. In the beginning of the series, we're sort of just quickly tossed into the middle of things, but as the story progresses things make more sense and it turns out fine.
Amuro Ray returns.
And so does Char Aznable.
Zeta's story is also a bit more mature, and becomes more developed than Mobile Suit Gundam's. There really is not a centralized antagonist, like Char in MSG. You could consider this a slight downfall, or perhaps even an improvement, because it's questionable whether or not Zeta would have felt a bit too dependent on the MSG story. So maybe you will feel like you're missing something, or you might be glad that it isn't just a rehash. But, as I was saying, the plot gets developed nicely as more obstacles, alliances, secrets, and politics are involved. Speaking of which, Zeta does an exceptional job at building up political battles, that aren't too simple, but that are still easily followable. Overall, Zeta tells a brilliant story that is somehow a more everlasting adventure than it's predecessor which by no means, it's saying Mobile Suit Gundam is a bad anime. On the contrary, Mobile Suit Gundam is one of the most influential mecha Anime of all time!
As above mentioned, and 36 years later the animation quality is remarkable. One aspect of the animation that I really liked the first time I saw. Z Gundam, remains today as a thumbs up in my book: The nice use of camera splitting, a la Bryan De Palma. It's something that isn't very popular in today's animation techniques I'd say. If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's when we have one image on the screen, and then part of it is split to display another image, or something pretty popular is when the screen is just cut in two with different images on top and bottom. Zeta definitely utilizes the best animation techniques available for its time.
Now, the sound is actually outstanding and very impressive. Most of the background tunes are made of magnificent orchestral pieces that capture perfect moods. The sound effects are of course a huge improvement from MSG, and they actually don't sound old at all or anything. The opening and ending themes are similar to the background music; really nicely made instrumental compositions. The voice acting is pretty much standard voice acting.
The best dogfights in Mecha anime history.
The mighty Z gundam.
Now where to start with our Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam characters. This time the story follows a young man by the name of Kamille Bidan. He becomes a member of the AEUG aboard the Argama ship and is a valuable Gundam pilot. Like Amuro Ray, he is a Newtype. In the beginning he is somewhat of a whiny and foolish kid, but, no doubt about it, this boy suffers much more than Amuro did as an assortment of tragedies occur throughout the series. I'd say his character as the lead protagonist gets better developed than Amuro's as well. Speaking of Amuro, just about every character from the White Base crew have appearances. Some are more important than others, but it is nice seeing how the crew has all matured. Bright Noa and Char Aznable, better known as Quattro Bajeena (four vaginas? WTF?!) in Zeta, are main characters as well, and Char himself gets much more developed as well. The characters of course deal with deaths, relationships, switching alliances, intense battles, and the like. However, there are minor moments where this Anime shows its age, like the way women behave, and other obsolete concepts of family, coming of age and manning up. Still, a fantastic upgrade that has all that "dark and gritty" feeling some older fans of anime used to describe some of these shows from the 80s.
The "newtype" concept seeing in the original Anime is now expanded and somehow juxtaposed to the "Cyber-newtype" new race of artificially enhanced humans ready for space travel and most importantly, ready for space combat. The dogfights in Z Gundam are perhaps the best you'll see in a Mecha anime from the 80s.
New magnificent mecha.
Newtypes prefer blondes.
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam is praised by fans of the Universal Century sect of the franchise, with many lauding it for its bleak tone, character development, and its complicated expression of war. However, the series has also been criticized for being overtly depressing, and frequently exhibiting a directionless plot. Even the series' director, Yoshiyuki Tomino, has expressed not liking the show, finding in retrospect much of the hostility and abuse inflicted upon characters to undermine any realistic depiction of war.
The review website Mania.com gave the anime an overall 'B+' rating, regarding it as "one of Yoshiyuki Tomino's greatest works." They stated that the "lack of an A/A+ is that this is recommended for fans who are already familiar with the Universal Century storyline," recommending that audiences view "the original movie trilogy" first before watching Zeta Gundam. The reviewer Chris Beveridge of Mania.com gave certain volumes of the series a full 'A' rating, describing the last ten episodes as being "the huge payoff episodes" where "you can almost feel the characters being rushed around a bit and moved through the paces. But at the same time, it all comes so fast that it's simply enjoyable to watch so much happen and change so quickly."
Beveridge would later review the Blu-Ray releases of the series for The Fandom Post, giving both sets of Blu-Rays a 'A-' rating. Beveridge writes in the review for the first set, "It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost ten years since I last saw this series as you realize just how much anime you consume. But it also makes you realize which ones truly stand out over the course of time and this one is definitely one of them." Beveridge found the second half of the series weaker, though still claims that the show "hits most things right".
Gorgeous mecha from the 80s.
While reviewing for the Blu-ray release of the series, Ollie Barder of Forbes gave the show a rave review, even titling it as "Possibly The Greatest 'Gundam' Series Ever Made". Barder praised the series' more realistic approach to war and its striking designs for the many different robots, though did find the transforming mechas out of placed in Zeta's more grounded reality. Lauren Orsini of Anime News Network also praised the series in a review for the first Blu-ray release, giving the dub for the first set a 'B', praising it for its powerful storytelling. Orsini was more critical of the second half of the series, finding the plot too chaotic and calling it Gundam's "awkward coming-of-age". But Orsini still praised the second half for its mecha designs and strong emotional payoffs, ultimately giving the subtitle version of the series a 'B'.
In the NHK's 2018 mega "All Gundam Poll", Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam was place as the second best anime in the Gundam franchise, only behind the original 1979 Gundam show. The NHK reported that there was a total of 1,740,280 votes in the poll, with 46% of the votes for Zeta coming from voters between the ages 40 to 46.
The giant Psycho Gundam.
Legendary heroes.
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam absolutely does not disappoint in enjoyment. Every episode is action-packed with awesome mecha and space warfare. It is a superb and fun watch all the way through, and it totally lives up to the greatness of its prequel. It is a joy to follow and gets seriously epic at the right moments.
Overall, it is remarkable how well Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam was pulled off after the spectacular Mobile Suit Gundam. Pulling off another marvelous show that not only lives up to, but surpasses the first is hard to do, but here it is incredibly done.
Japanese screenwriter Yuzo Yamamoto died on the 25th of November as stated by an official tweet from the original animation production project "Midori Kamikaze Jin
Ryger" which Yamamoto presided. He
was 71. The private funeral was held on the 29th, and was attended only by his relatives. The production company working with Yamamoto stated the production of the project was put on hold.
Mr. Yamamoto
made his screenplay debut in 1973. He created He created the J9 trilogy (Braiger, Baxinger, and Sasuraiger), as well as Srungle and Acrobunch. In addition to Fujiko Fujio's original works
such as "Okake's Q Taro" and "Perman", he worked on many
animated works such as "Denno Frog""Time Bokan" series,
"Mobile Suit Gundam" and "Urusei Yatsura", all influential names that resonate in the Animé industry until this very day.
Mobile Suit Gundam is a televised anime series, produced and animated by Sunrise. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Nagoya Broadcasting Network and its affiliated ANN stations on April 7, 1979, and lasted until January 26, 1980, spanning 43 episodes. It was the very first Gundam series, which has subsequently been adapted into numerous sequels and spin-offs. Set in the futuristic calendar year "Universal Century" 0079, the plot focuses on the war between the Principality of Zeon and the Earth Federation, with the latter unveiling a new giant robot known as the RX-78-2 Gundam piloted by the teenage civilian mechanic Amuro Ray.
In 1981, the series was re-edited for theatrical release and split into three movies. The characters were designed by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, and Kunio Okawara
was responsible for the mechanical designs, including the eponymous
giant robot, the RX-78-2 Gundam. The first movie was released on
February 22, 1981. Tomino himself also wrote a trilogy of novels that
retell the events of the series. Two manga adaptations of the series have also been written by two manga artists.
Despite initial low ratings that caused the series' cancellation, the popularity of Gundam saw a boost from the introduction of Bandai's Gunpla models in 1980 and from reruns
and the theatrical release of the anime, leading to the creation of a
prolific and lucrative media and toy franchise. The series is famous for
revolutionizing the giant robot genre due to the handling of mobile
suits as weapons of war as well as the portrayal of their pilots as
ordinary soldiers, as opposed to the previous style of portraying hero
pilots and their giant super hero robots.
Don't make me angry!
Kick in the nuts!
International Release
In February 1980, Mobile Suit Gundam was aired in Italy, the first country to broadcast the show outside Japan. Mobile Suit Gundam was also later aired by the anime satellite television network, Animax,
across Japan, with the series continuing to be aired on the network
currently, and later its respective networks worldwide, including Hong
Kong, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and other regions.
Hoping to capitalize on the success of Gundam Wing from the previous year, Bandai Entertainment released a heavily edited and English-dubbed version of Mobile Suit Gundam, premiering on Cartoon Network's Toonami block across the United States on Monday, July 23, 2001. The series did not do as well as Wing but the ratings were high enough for the whole series to be aired and to spawn an enormous toy line. On May 30, 2006, Bandai Entertainment re-released the English dub of the TV series in a 10 volume DVD set. There was no Japanese audio track included, apparently because Yoshiyuki Tomino felt that the original mono mix was in too poor of a condition to use.
However, in 2007 the original series was released on DVD in Japan,
which sold over 100,000 copies within a month's time from December 21,
2007 to January 21, 2008.
Hopeful girls.
Angry men.
At the 2010 New York Comic Con/New York Anime Festival, Bandai Entertainment announced that they would re-release Mobile Suit Gundam
with both the original Japanese audio and the English dub. Only one
episode out of the 43 episode will not be dubbed, at the request of Yoshiyuki Tomino. Bandai released Gundam in two sets in the summer of 2011. The first set was released on September 13, 2011. On July 25, 2015, UK anime distributor Anime Limited announced
they would release Mobile Suit Gundam in cooperation with Sunrise for the
first time in the UK on DVD and Blu-ray.
In both American TV showings and on the international DVD and
Blu-ray release, episode 15 ("Cucuruz Doan's Island") was cut out.
According to Yoshiyuki Tomino, the removal was made at his request,
with the episode becoming a "lost episode" of sorts, never being dubbed. The episode remained on the Japanese DVD and Blu-ray releases.
Today's review is based on the Japanese Blu-Ray box set.
Where it all started.
Need a ride?
The Review that came 39 years later
Mobile Suit Gundam is a title every anime fan has surely heard. Some of us
love and praise the franchise spawned by this original series, and for
some of us it just didn't quite do the job. Regardless, there is no
denying it is a revolutionary title that has advanced anime as a whole.
It's truly a classic series that has left its impact, or rather, is
still making an impact on anime. Along with Space Battleship Yamato & Super Dimension Fortress Macross, I'd say Gundam completes the ultimate space opera trilogy of perfection.
The central plot of Mobile
Suit Gundam is fairly simple, laying out a brutal war between
two sides: the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon. Amuro Ray,
our main character, gets involved in the conflict by boarding the
Federation's great weapon, Gundam (I'm not gonna explain details because
then it defeats the purpose of watching for yourself.) Long story
short, he becomes the Gundam's pilot and a valuable member of the
Federation crew that works aboard White Base (a war spaceship somewhat inspired by Yamato) Now what
makes this great is the fact that everybody aboard White Base, from the
Commander of it to Amuro, is a total novice with little to no
experience. Over the course of the series we get to see their
development together as well as individuals. The tale is filled with
elements of stuff like death, killing, family, friendships, etc., all
building up to a spectacular finale. Our story of course focuses
primarily on the White Base gang and their adventure, but it does a good
job at also centering in on the opposing side at the right times and
giving insight to their side of the battle. Also, just to add, the
pacing is exceptionally good.
The series is from 1979, so do not expect top-notch animation by today's
standards. I'm sure it was five star art in its time, but I simply
rated it a 6 by today's standards. Don't let that turn you off though.
The sound is obviously old as well, so the sound effects have that old
recording sound that really doesn't stand up to today's sound quality,
so again the 8 is by today's standards. But again, give it a chance
because it's actually pretty cool. As for the opening and ending themes,
they're just kinda fun songs that, as you'll see, are for the purpose
of Mobile Suit Gundam alone. The background music actually consists of
some pretty interesting and catchy tunes that couldn't fit the show
better. They're different than a lot of the stuff you hear in today's
anime.
The Gundam slap!
Children crying in space.
Now for Characters. As I've said, they're all amateurs. A lot of the
characters aboard White Base go through tragedies that bring out great
development. Some of them have hidden secrets and relations, some of
them fall in battle, some of them leave White Base, and many other
things. There's plenty for you to discover about our crew as you go
through the series.
Enjoyment is definitely at its best. The father of mecha, Mobile Suit
Gundam, sure doesn't lack in its action. We have a nice variety of
different Mobile Suits on both warring sides to switch things up, and
the Gundam itself is very entertaining to watch because it has a large
array of weaponry. Also, a battle takes place in just about every place
you could think of: space, land, sky, underwater, underground, and even
inside White Base itself. The enjoyment factor does not disappoint, and
always entertains your eyes with superb military brawls between mechas,
and even hand-to-hand combat.
The Jumbo sized Gundam toy.
a life size Gundam just because.
The series that never was The early preproduction notes and the planned 52 episode version include
a lot of weird stuff that never made it into the final product,
including:
The Gundam was originally going to be a somewhat less
flashy-looking red and black robot with a blank, GM-like face called
the Gunboy, but this was changed at Bandai's request into the more Toyetic
samurai-like design we all know and love. The Guntank, by contrast, was
much sillier looking, with its cannons sticking out of its chest and
big, pipe-like arms with humanoid hands. Oddly enough, the Guncannon's
early designs look about the same, except that it was supposed to be
painted white.
Miharu was originally going to be a very different character, the only
element surviving into the finished series being that she was still a
redhead. In the original plot outline, Miharu Zabi was the
youngest child of Degwin Zabi, a naive but sweet girl totally at odds
with her warlike siblings. This version of the character was later
retooled into Dozle's daughter, Princess Mineva in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam.
Char was supposed to pilot a Dom (which he does in the novelization
instead of the Gelgoog, which was cut out) and even the Gundam itself in
addition to the other suits he uses.
Lightsabers & giant mecha!
Boy why the Gundam doesn't have an A/C system!
The battle of A Baoa Qu
went quite a bit differently, featuring numerous new mobile suits that
were eventually rolled into the MSV model kit line MSX (which at one point was going to become the basis for a proposed sequel before Zeta got made). The stand-out moment has to be when the Gundam is destroyed not in a final duel with Char, but by the MS-12 Gigan, Zeon's goofy response to the Guntank — and it wasn't even in the hands of a named character, to boot.One major part of this would have included Degwin Zabi (who doesn't get
killed by the Solar Ray in this version) breaking down in front of
Sayla and begging her forgiveness for killing her father. The final
version leaves the question of whether Zeon Deikun was assassinated or
died of a heart attack more open-ended. This version would have provided additional characterization for Sayla,
as Degwin would have asked her to kill him, so as to end the fighting
but she refuses, saying she's not vengeful, like her brother, Char.
Another massive Aborted Arc
from the original 52 episode outline of the series, was the Newtypes.
Originally, they would have dominated the last 1/3rd of the series and
given a more complete introduction as far as being mentioned early on in
the series as opposed to just being mentioned in the last seven
episodes of the series. In particular, there would be multiple Zeon
Newtypes and one of which would end up being responsible for Layah's
death; as she would be executed once her friendship with Amuro was
discovered and setting Char up for his roaring rampage of revenge during
the battle of A Baoa Qu. Perhaps most infamously, in the
original draft of the series (pre-dating the original 52 episode
outline), Amuro was going to be a Decoy Protagonist who dies about half-way through the story. The White Base would then go into an Enemy Mine alliance with Char. This original concept was used as the basis for the Novel Adaptations. Interestingly, said concept was only used because Tomino didn't know
how popular the series would become, thinking that the series
cancellation was the end of it. He's stated that had he known how
popular Gundam would've become, he would've had Amuro live. On the other hand, we were saved from Char's arc being a "Shaggy Dog" Story.
Originally he was supposed to betray Kycilia and end up working
directly for Ghiren. While this fits his M.O. up until this point, he
actually starts earnestly fighting on Ghiren's behalf,
since by this point it's very obvious that the Zeon are going to lose.
The series ends with Char chiding himself for not finishing off the
Zabi's when he had the chance.
Classic Animé is art.
See?
Obviously there's some contrasting opinions on this series and its
status concerning its rating. However, I truly feel it is worth a shot
from any anime fan, just because it is a classic title that has had such
influence on anime and the mecha genre especially.
Here's the original opening in astonishing HD:
Here's the ending, also in mesmerizing HD:
Amuro & Char's first encounter in English language for the untrained:
Amuro's first time piloting the Gundam while quickly reading the instructions manual to get into action ASAP:
The official (old) Mobile Suit Gundam trailer: Bandai's international DVD/Blu ray box trailer: Tobe! Gundam (opening theme) live! Mobile Suit Gundam: Last Shooting, the very first Gundam videogame from 1984:
