Review: MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM WING: THE GLORY OF LOSERS

It seems like no matter how many of these I do, I keep coming back to Gundam Wing.  This one is the most recent attempt yet, having debuted this year in English.  Can this version improve upon its precedesors?  Can it possibly make Gundam Wing's story any more coherent?

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM WING ENDLESS WALTZ: GLORY OF THE LOSERS (Shin Kido Senki Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz: Haisha-tachi no Eiko), written by Katsuyuki Sumizawa, art by Tomofumi Ogasawara, and based on the franchise by Hajime Yatate and Yoshiyuki Tomino.  First published in 2010 and first published in North America in 2017.

PLOT:

In the year After Colony 195, the United Earth Sphere Alliance is at war with the space colonies orbiting Earth.  To save themselves and fight back against the Alliance, a group of scientists send down five young pilots in powerful mobile suits to strike fear into the forces of OZ.  As we follow the charismatic pilot Duo Maxwell, he learns that not only is he not the only Gundam pilot on earth but that their mission will force them to confront some of OZ's most skilled and dangerous pilots.

Review: MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM: THE LOST WAR CHRONICLES

The majority of Gundam manga out there are spinoffs, be they spinoffs of shows, other Gundam manga, or (in this case) video games.  The vast majority of these go unlicensed, but today's review is one of the rare exceptions.  So what, if anything, makes this one so special?

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM: THE LOST WAR CHRONICLES (Kido Senshi Gundam Senki), with art by Masato Natsumo, based on the game by Tomohiro Chiba and Bandai Games, the franchise by Hajime Yatate and Yoshiyuki Tomino, and character designs by Koji Aisaka and Toshihiro Kawamoto.  First published in 2002 and first published in North America in 2006.

PLOT:

During the height of the One Year War, Zeon forces control much of Western Europe from their base in Odessa, Lithuania.  It is here at this fateful spot that an elite, experimental squad of Federation pilot plan on striking back, led by the dashing Lt. Matt Healy and Corporal Noel Anderson.  Even as failures and infighting amongst the Zeon troops force them to change their strategy, Matt's forces are confident that they can win.

Review: MOBILE FIGHTER G GUNDAM

From UC side stories we move on to one of the more popular (or at least nostalgic) AU properties.  Is it worth our lover, or simply all our hate and our sorrow?

MOBILE FIGHTER G GUNDAM (Kido Butoden Ji Gandamu), by Kouichi Tokita, based on the franchise by Hajime Yadate & Yoshiyuki Tomino.  First published in 1994 and first published in North America in 2003.

PLOT:

In the Future Century, Earth has been ravaged by years of war.  To prevent further disaster, the world governments have agreed to decide which nation rules the world through the Gundam Tournaments, where each nation's champion pilots a powerful mobile suit and fights their way to victory.  As the 13th Gundam Tournament begins, Neo-Japan's champion Domon Kasshu hopes to use his powerful Shining Gundam to clear his father's name and stop his wicked brother from taking over the world with the help of his former mentor.

Review: MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM THUNDERBOLT

For the second year in a row, we'll be looking at the wild world of Gundam manga!  To start things off, let's look at one of the most recent additions to the franchise.

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM THUNDERBOLT (Kido Senshi Gundamu Sandaboruto), written by Yasuo Ohtagaki & based on the series by Hajime Yatate and Yoshiyuki Tomino .  First published in 2012 and first published in North America in 2016.

PLOT:

As the One Year War reaches it peak, two sides face off against one another in the wreckage of the Side 4 colony, now know as the Thunderbolt sector.  One side is the Moore Brotherhood, a faction of the Earth Federation staffed by former residents of the colony and led by the daring pilot Io Fleming.  The other side is the forces of Zeon, who are using amputee pilots to test experimental suits and defend their supply routes at the same time, led by their star sniper Daryl Lorenz.  The two inevitably clash in the wreckage, but only one can survive.

Review: MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM: THE ORIGIN

Let's be honest, everything this month has been building up to this review.  Part of that is because this manga itself is a retelling of the story that started it all.  The other part is that this manga truly is the gold standard for not just Gundam manga, but for mecha manga as a whole.

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM: THE ORIGIN (Kido Senshi Gandamu The Origin), by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, based on the original story by Yoshiyuki Tomino & Hajime Yatate and mechanical designs by Kunio Okawara.  First published in 2001 and first published in North America in 2002.

STORY:

In UC 0079, the Earth Federation forces are locked in battle with the Principality of Zeon, a rogue space colony that yearns for both independence and conquest.  The other colonies are caught in the middle of this conflict, and it is during one of these battles that young Amuro Ray finds himself piloting the Earth's latest mobile suit: the Gundam.  Now he's stuck on a ship full of junior officers and civilians, forced to fight in a war he never volunteered for, and facing down ace mobile suit pilot Char Aznable and the forces of Zeon in an effort to make it back to Earth.

Review: MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM: ECOLE DU CIEL

Of course, there's more to Gundam manga than tossed-off adaptations of the actual shows.  There are loads of manga-exclusive spinoffs, although the vast majority of them have not reached our shores.  Today's review is one of those rare exceptions, and a UC continuity one no less.

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM: ECOLE DU CIEL (Kido Senshi Gundamu: Ekooru dyu Shieru), based on the series by Hajime Yatate & Yoshiyuki Tomino, with art by Haruhiko Mikimoto, mechanic design by Yoshinori Sayama, & produced by OUTASIGHT.  First published in 2002 and first published in North America in 2005.

PLOT:

It is UC Year 0085, and Asuna is starting her first year in pilot training at Ecole du Ciel.  Sadly, Asuna is at the bottom of class.  She struggles with learning the controls as well as social scorn.  That's bound to happen when your father was not only a Zeon sympathizer, but also expects you to be the perfect pilot from the day you were born.  Just as Asuna is finding her place with her peers, they are put into some seriously non-simulated danger by forces outside their control.  It will now take all their skill to survive.

Review: MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM SEED

At least Gundam Wing is fairly beloved, at least as far as Gundam series go.  Today's selection is an adaptation of one of the most divisive entries in the franchise, and like the last review its adaptation doesn't do it any favors.

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM SEED (Kido Senshi Gandamu Shido), based on the story by Hajime Yatate & Yoshiyuki Tomino & art by Masatsugu Iwase.  First published in 2003 and first published in North America in 2004.

PLOT:

In the Cosmic Era, war rages between the genetically enhanced Coordinators and the unmodified Earth forces for control of the space colonies orbiting Earth.  For Kira Yamato, though, it was just a distant conflict until he was shanghaied into service to pilot the Earth's latest secret weapon: the Gundam.  Now he and his friends have been conscripted into battle, but in doing so his darkest secret is brought to light and a former best friend becomes his enemy.

Review: MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM WING

Around this time last year I covered all of the Evangelion manga, which was no small undertaking.  I figured that it would finally be time to cover the only other mecha manga franchise to rival it: Gundam.  While we haven't gotten as nearly as many Gundam manga as Japan has, we've gotten more than enough for a month's worth of reviews (and then some).  So why don't we start where most Gundam fans in the States started?

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM WING (Shin Kido Senki Gandamu Wingu), based on the story by Hajime Yadate & Yoshiyuki Tomino with art by Koichi Tokita.  First published in 1995 and first published in North America in 2000.

PLOT:

In the year After Colony 195, humanity has spread from earth to space, but those in the space colonies are suppressed by the Earth Allied Forces and OZ, the secret society that guides their every move.  To fight them, five young men with powerful mobile suits are separately sent to Earth to fight them...that is, if they can stop fighting amongst themselves and the mysterious Zechs Marquise long enough to do so.