Kidô senshi Gandamu

After almost ten years of giant toys ruling anime, 1979 was the Year of the Gundam. Although 25 years old by now, and cheaply produced at the time, this anime is still very enjoyable and deep. Many are the reasons of its success... some here below:

• No aliens coming to rule the Earth. This is a war for independence. Men against men. Same blood color;

• No good guys vs bad guys. Here everyone fights to survive, it doesn't matter if they agree with war reasons or not. It's everyman fight.

• No giant samurai robot vs. monsters from outer space. Robots in "Gundam" are conventional mass produced weapons as good as tanks or choppers, for both sides. They need energy, fuel, ammo, maintenance, logistic, recover, repair, spare parts. Al these goods are often unavailable in the middle of the battlefield;

• No heroes. Just ordinary people, youths throwed in the middle of a war they didn't want and still can't understand. And, in some of them, Fear will ignite boys' growth to become men;

• no fairy tales. In Gundam people, lots of main characters, dies. Often in ungloryous ways. Often in second rank battles. But they always die for what they think is right. Sacrifice to protect a friend, not to win a battle;

Even being closer to war movie than to Sci-Fi, Gundam is still known as one of the most important and revolutionary examples of Science Fiction. I often ask myself why a good expansive Hollywood adaptation of first Gundam series hasn't still be made...

AMURO RAY-A socially awkward teenaged boy that's good with machines. His father designed the Gundam, which Amuro pilots for the Federation once he becomes a member of The White Base. Turns out to be a new kind of human known as a Newtype.

CHAR AZNABLE-The masked and enigmatic piloting ace for the Principality/Duchy of Zeon. Known as The Red Comet, his mobile suits are always custom made with a red color. Also a Newtype, he will become Amuro's rival.

BRIGHT NOA-The highest ranking survivor of the remaining crew of the White Base after it is attacked. A strict person, he simply cares about the people serving under him. He shows a natural aptitude for command.

SODO DEGWIN ZABI-Patriarch of the Zabi family who rules over the Zeon forces.

FRAU BOW-Amuro's neighbor and wannabe girlfriend. She takes over as communications officer for the White Base in the later series.

KAI SHIDEN-A cynical pilot for the White Base. Often viewed as a coward.

HAYATO KOBAYASHI-Amuro's wannabe rival, a short and spunky kid. Pilot for the White Base.

MIRAI YASHIMA-Amateur pilot, she serves in this capacity for the White Base.

SAYLA MASS-First communications officer, then pilot searching for her long lost brother believed to be an ace pilot.

RYU JOSE-A large and gregarious man who serves as piloting instructor for the younger pilots onboard White Base.

LALAH SUNE-A Newtype who is used by the Zeon forces for warfare. She begins a relationship with both Char, her commanding officer, and Amuro, whom she meets by chance.

Quite possibly the greatest and most influential Japanese science fiction ever made, Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) has spawned numerous TV and movie sequels, spin-offs, and remakes, as well as a multitude of written media, comics, and video games. Sometimes referred to as Japan's "Star Wars," Mobile Suit Gundam elevated mecha shows from semi-superhero "Super Robots" into the realm of hard Sci-Fi. Set in a realistic future earth-sphere, painted on the backdrop of a war for independence, is a wonderful character drama with plenty of action as well. Mobile Suit Gundam redefined animation in Japan, and it's influence is visible in modern "anime" works; it elevated animation beyond juvenile entertainment into mature stories, and Japan is still one of the only countries that views the animation medium as being capable of such.

Macross, Evangellion, and Patlabor. All of these series pale in comparison to the original mecha piloted by a young man with a competitive spirit.

Young protagonist Amuro Ray is pulled out of his everyday monotonous life and is thrown headfirst into adventure and war just by pushing a button or two. Amuro must pilot the Gundam to save his friends. Rivals are made, obstacles are presented, and battles are fought, and Amuro through it all becomes a man and a great pilot, but that's only half of this war story. The other half is about the man in red, Char Aznable, the mysterious masked man who is an ace pilot for the fascist Zeon army, who always pilots red mechs, his signature color, hence his nickname "the Red Comet". No one knows where he came from or what his true objectives are, and this is what draws you in to him. His rivalry with Amuro takes center stage in much of the series, and it keeps you on your toes. Just when you think you got it figured out the battle situation changes.

If you are thinking this show is the campy "good guy always prevails over bad guy" cliché, you're in for a rude awakening. The plot and character's features are a staple for future Gundam series, such as Gundam Wing and more recently Gundam Seed. The formula is the same, the main character is a young man thrown into war and finds a bitter enemy in an enigmatic blond masked man. The formula is interpreted differently in both these shows, but Amuro and Char set the standard for an enjoyable plot that can be imitated in many different ways. Always imitated but never duplicated.

Old men tell me War and Peace is something everyone should read, and I tell them Mobile Suit Gundam is something everyone should see. Sure it has giant robots killing each other but behind the machines there are elements of war that are all around the world today. The pitfalls and the possibilities, the consequences of battle and the reason to fight. I rank Mobile Suit Gundam up there with Platoon and Full Metal Jacket since it shows how violent and horrid war can really be.

The definitive anime for 20+ years, Mobile Suit Gundam. Who will survive?

In fall of 1979, Kidô Senshi Gandamu (Translated as Mobile Suit Gundam) premiered on japanese television to low ratings and general disinterest among japanese youth. The main problem is that most of the kids who watched Giant Robot animé were used to the thin plots and superheroic meka of the older shows, most of which were little more than thirty minute long toy commercials. They didn't know what to make of the complex plot and deep characters. So the show was canceled, and ended nine episodes early.

However, some months later, something unusual happened. While Gundam toys were gathering dust on the shelves, highly detailed scale model kits based on the show's Mobile Suits were selling incredibly well. And while the japanese networks were offering 'more of the same' in first run broadcast, this little known and seemingly unpopular series was gathering a huge fan following in syndication...

Now, 20 years later, we in the US finally are going to get to see what started it all. I can't believe that such shows as Macross (Robotech: The Macross Saga) and Armor Trooper Votoms, which are the direct line decendants of Gundam in storytelling and portrayal of realistic mecha, would be brought to these shores years ago, while the show that started it all would be left to languish until now.

The way was paved by 1995's visually beautiful, but ultimately empty Gundam Wing. While this was a wise business choice for Bandai, knowing that the spectacular visuals would capture the attention of the 'all important' kids's market, we dedicated fans can't help but wish that the original had been the first one released. Wing, while visually spectacular, is little more than a muddled and overly preachy and pretentious pastiche of the Universal Century saga (Gundam,Zeta Gundam, ZZ Gundam, and Gundam: Char's Counterattack) with out the cohesion of plot that the original shows contain (Although with ZZ, cohesion of plot can be argued.)

Yes, I know that the animation doesn't stand up to Gundam Wing. However, what do you expect? The show was made over 20 years ago. If you want eye candy, go watch Wing. If you want a truly outstanding story and characters, join me to watch the original Gundam, the most influential and important animé of all time, or, if you don't have Cartoon Network, at least watch the compilation movies (Sub only though, as poor Neil Nadelman was for some reason forced to use Star Trek doubletalk in the script for the dub.)