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Following the release of director Yoshiyuki Tomino's Mobile Suit Gundam novels, which departed dramatically from the plot of the animated series, most subsequent Gundam works were accompanied by tie-in novelizations. Usually these were released simultaneously with the anime, and followed its general storyline.
One example is Tomino's five-volume Mobile Suit Z Gundam novelization. The first volume was published in February 1985, about ten days before the debut of the TV series, and the final one was released a year later, just as the series ended. There are some deviations from the animated story, with events omitted or rearranged, and the ending is somewhat different. Nonetheless, in many places the novels follow the anime quite closely, with extra back story and explanation that may interest Z Gundam viewers. These novels were originally published by Kodansha with striking cover art by Mamoru Nagano. They were reprinted by Kadokawa Shoten in 1987, with new covers and illustrations by Haruhiko Mikimoto, plus mecha illustrations by Kazumi Fujita. On this page I'll share excerpts from the novels that seem particularly noteworthy, along with some general notes on the story. The following text is copyright © Sotsu • Sunrise. |
Translator's Note: Released in February 1985, this first volume covers the events of TV episodes 1 through 5, with some additional prologue material. The story begins seven years after the end of the original Mobile Suit Gundam, and follows the anime continuity rather than Tomino's previous novels. One notable character omission is Federation Forces pilot Lila Milla Rira, who doesn't appear in the novels.
The shuttle Temptation, commanded by Bright Noa and carrying newly trained Titans pilots from Jaburo, launches into space from a Garuda-class carrier. During preparations for takeoff, Bright considers the current political situation.
Atmospheric layers, the horizon... and between them, a band of mist. This was a symbol of the polluted atmosphere. Commander Bright Noa was staring at this hazy line.
("How long until that mist goes away...?")
It had been seven years since the great war between the Earth Federation government and the Principality of Zeon. Soon it would be eight years. But the dust scattered in the atmosphere had yet to completely disappear.
Though the aftereffects of large-scale destructive activities such as colony drops weren't greater than the damage caused by nuclear weapons, they had nonetheless polluted the atmosphere. The only saving grace was that there was no radioactive contamination.
Afterwards, the people living in space, or Spacenoids, had continued pushing for the conservation of the one and only Earth. But the Earth Federation government embarked on a frenzy of reconstruction in a bid to restore the planet.
Before the Universal Century, this might have seemed like a sensible plan. But in an age where space colonies had been created, and countless millions of people lived in them, the only imaginable reason for reconstructing Earth was that they were habituated to deliberately polluting it.
Bright felt it would be better for everyone to live in space, and for people to merely lend a hand so that Earth could benefit from the regenerative powers of nature, just as the Spacenoids said. But to the Titans pilots that Bright was now transporting, the Spacenoids who advocated such things were rebel elements, which it was their job to eradicate.
("It seems I'm working to send a bunch of troublemakers into space...")
Char Aznable departs the lunar city of Granada, heading for the AEUG's Sweetwater colony at Lagrange point 2. The following passage goes on to summarize the entire history of the Universal Century, including Char's own career and the origins of the AEUG and Titans.
This was the Earth Federation city of Granada, on the far side of the moon. This had once been a frontline base for the Principality of Zeon and, as civilian facilities expanded around it, it had turned into a city. Its commercial growth had not lived up to pre-war expectations, and its population was less than 200 thousand. But it still functioned as a frontline base for the Earth Federation, and Char was stationed there as a regular soldier of the Earth Federation government.
The man previously known as Char, as Petty Officer Kignan Ramsa had called him, now went by the name of Lieutenant Quattro Bajeena. However, this was merely an alias that Char had used to infiltrate the Earth Federation Forces. Char Aznable most assuredly remained Char Aznable.
If Char could be called by any other name, it would be his real name of Casval Rem Deikun. The name of Char was itself an alias he had assumed because he hated to be burdened with the name of his father Zeon Deikun. Moreover, he had needed to disguise himself in order to infiltrate the Principality of Zeon that had stolen his father's name.
During the A.D. era, the increase in humanity's population had exhausted the Earth. Nature was being destroyed, and Earth was being crushed beneath the garbage of civilization. As a countermeasure, humanity constructed space colonies to deal with population growth and the food situation.
However, as this policy progressed, the people of the privileged classes began refusing to emigrate to the space colonies. With the population once again at the level of the first half of the twentieth century, Earth's environment began to show signs of recovery, and the planet was becoming more livable.
As this was happening, a movement emerged among the people living in space which opposed the use of Earth, the sole planet of water, by a handful of privileged people.
Char's father, Zeon Deikun, became a leading advocate of this cause. He proposed that everyone should emigrate to the space colonies so they wouldn't pollute the Earth, while also demanding autonomy for the people living in the space colonies.
These claims captured the sympathies of the Spacenoids (the people living in the space colonies), but Degwin Sodo Zabi used them to establish a dictatorship. After assassinating Zeon Deikun, Degwin used his name to found the Principality of Zeon, establishing a power base in the colonies of Side 3 on the far side of the moon.
Of course, the Earth Federation government didn't recognize the Principality, and it seemed increasingly likely that a war would break out. The Principality of Zeon took the initiative and launched the "One Year War," injecting the colonies of the Earth Federation's Sides with poison gas and killing five billion people, and then dropping several of these colonies onto Earth's major cities.
At this point, Char had already infiltrated the Principality of Zeon and become an officer of the Zeon forces, waiting for a chance to get close to his father's enemy Degwin. But Char was sympathetic to the idea of Spacenoid autonomy on which the Principality of Zeon's ideology was based, and this conviction kept him serving as an officer of the Zeon forces up until the end of the war.
Char then reflects on his feelings about Amuro Ray, his escape to the asteroid belt, and his return to the Earth Sphere. We're told that he infiltrated the Earth Federation Forces by accessing their military register, and posing as a crew member from a warship that had been lost in space since the end of the One Year War.
The fact that Spacenoids could do this so easily was partly due to the indifference of the Earth Federation government's high officials towards them. The officials on Earth were consumed with restoring the planet to the state it had been in before the U.C. era. They also distinguished only between Earth people and Spacenoids, rather than between former Zeons and other Spacenoids. This attitude would lead to a new crisis.
Under the Earth Federation government, this kind of chaos and confusion ruled the Earth Sphere. It was because Char had perceived this that he decided to live the life of an Earth Federation Forces soldier. He then came to realize that a difference in consciousness between Spacenoids and Earthmen was becoming inevitable. (1)
"I can't just sit and watch. I need to make preparations."
This decision materialized three years after the end of the One Year War. This was the beginning of his contacts with Commodore Blex Forer and other members of the anti-Earth Federation government faction.
During the nearly four years that followed, the anti-Earth Federation government faction within the Earth Federation Space Force began taking concrete action. This action was carried out by an anti-Earth Federation government organization known from its initials as the AEUG. The colonies of Side 1 and Side 2 became AEUG strongholds, its influence spread among the Spacenoids, and it was also gaining more sympathizers among the soldiers of the Earth Federation Forces.
Two years ago, the Earth Federation government had employed brutal measures in an attempt to suppress this movement. The same poison gas once employed by Zeon was used to attack a colony. The target was Side 1's Banchi 30, where a large-scale AEUG rally was taking place, and 15 million Spacenoids were killed in one stroke. As the colony was a perfectly sealed space, the operation went flawlessly.
The AEUG's resolve was hardened, and a series of skirmishes took place throughout the moon and colonies. But this was part of the Earth Federation government's plan. It was meant to lance the boil of the anti-Earth Federation movement, so that it could be wiped out.
For this purpose, part of the Earth Federation Forces were used to form a special forces unit called the Titans. A base was constructed for them at the former Side 7, now known as Green Oasis.
We see Kamille at home with his parents. He then skips out of his school's karate club, and rushes to Green Noa 1's bay block to watch the Temptation's arrival. Just as in TV episode 1, Kamille then gets into a fight with Jerid Messa and his fellow Titans members.
Char's transport module reaches Sweetwater, an older donut-shaped model of colony that serves as the AEUG's secret base.
"Sweetwater..."
Char remembered the face of a man he had met many times at Granada, Commodore Blex Forer.
"It looks like he's really not getting along with Earth Federation Forces General Staff Headquarters."
The man had a broad face, with grizzled blond hair and beard, and looked like the very model of a thoroughly sincere soldier. Char had a favorable impression of this Commodore, and had gambled on the anti-Earth Federation government movement he was plotting. This had been three years ago.
The colony's toroidal section loomed large in Char's porthole. To the people within it, the inner rim of the torus was "up." Here, glass windows made from reinforced plastic, designed to admit sunlight, were shining brightly.
"Oh my..."
Char was at a loss for words. The colony looked even older than when he had visited a year earlier. Char, aware of Commodore Blex Forer's complaints, had the impression that Sweetwater was an extremely worn-out old colony. It was just because of that prejudice, but it reminded him of an ele-car that had reached the end of its service life.
"Eh...?!"
Just as the wall of the docking port was about to block his porthole, Char saw something curious behind the colony. At a distance of less than ten kilometers, he could see a floating dock, and near it a single warship.
"Impossible..."
Char laughed as the approach lights hid the scene from his eyes.
"The Trojan Horse...? Did I just see the Trojan Horse...?" (2)
Char is greeted by Abu Dabia, an AEUG member who was designed for the anime but ultimately never appeared. They discuss the newly constructed warship Argama, which Blex originally wanted to call "White Base II" (before his sponsors overruled him). This inspires Char to muse about his sister and the present situation of the original White Base crew.
Accompanied by Blex Forer and Abu Dabia, Char heads for the Argama aboard a launch craft.
The Argama didn't resemble the White Base as much as Commodore Blex Forer said it did.
As the launch approaches the Argama, Char makes a closer observation of the ship's exterior.
"I understand why you'd want to call it the White Base Junior. That ship was always an outsider among the regular military."
Char spoke gently, mindful of the Commodore's feelings. Then, from within the launch that had carried them from Sweetwater, he began studying the ship's hull. This might become his own mothership, and the desire to know everything about it sparked the battle instinct that had been slumbering inside him.
Compared to the original White Base, the Argama had been reborn as a more aggressive warship, which wasn't a bad thing. To Char, it was a comfortable feeling.
("Perhaps I'm a man with dangerous sensibilities...")
Char truly thought so. He loved the feeling of tension that came with making war.
"White Base Junior? Heh. Spiritually, you could say that, but an investor wanted to call it Argama, so we had no choice."
"That would be Melanie Carbine...?"
"The request came directly from the man himself. There was no way we could refuse."
"Argama... it's an ugly name."
"It's a name for Hindu scriptures and early Buddhist texts. There are various explanations. Make of it what you will."
"I see. Perhaps I should interpret it as Melanie Carbine's romanticism."
"It's because of that very romanticism that he decided to collaborate with us. You should be thankful for it."
"Indeed. But won't he bankrupt his company doing things like that?"
"He's willing to, but he seems to think it'll be fine. He has an aptitude for squeezing money from the Earth Federation government and redirecting it to us. He's a philanthropist."
"That still doesn't change the fact that he's an arms merchant."
"The man built a company with the intention of giving back. And if it weren't for the cooperation of his company, we wouldn't have been able to implement your ideas."
"I acknowledge that."
"We'd be lost without your Gundarium improvement plan. And we'd be lost without Melanie Hue Carbine's production power."
"Yes..."
"The Titans still aren't used to their new Gundam. If we attack them, we can capture all of its know-how. And if we do that, then the Earth Federation government will turn its eyes to space."
"Maybe so. But we may also be walking the path to war."
"We won't let that happen. Right now, we'll merely be striking at a prominent portion of the military. If we sit and wait a little longer, they'll become more troublesome. There's a possibility Hymem Jamitov could become a second Gihren Zabi."
"He's that kind of person...?"
"He's a cunning man. The fact that he's already subverted the bureaucrats of the Earth Federation government's finance ministry, without his name becoming public, is proof of his ability."
Commodore Blex called up the launch's cockpit on the monitor in front of his seat.
"You have your own allies in the Earth Federation's General Staff Headquarters, right, Commodore?"
"Yes, some, but... In the case of the Argama, there was some budget left over from the construction of a ship bound for Jupiter. By diverting that, we were able to lighten Melanie's burden."
"What if there's an audit?"
"I'll be court-martialed before that happens. They won't bother calling the Federation Assembly's budget committee."
Speaking these bold words, Commodore Blex Forer looked like nothing more than a general in late middle age, with a kindly expression. He certainly didn't seem like the kind of person who would launch a rebellion against the Earth Federation government. In fact, if one wanted a template for a general who meekly submitted to his government, surely it would be a man like this.
"A person like you..."
Char said with a wry smile.
"I have no family or relations. Can't you imagine that, just once before I die, I'd like to try living by my principles?"
"Of course..."
"Melanie's name doesn't leave here. Those who are joining us from the regular Earth Federation Forces aren't to know."
"Aren't I also a soldier of the regular military?"
"I don't think someone like you, who presents us with new refining techniques for Gundarium metal, could be considered a regular soldier."
With a laugh, Commodore Blex stood up and headed for the suit room.
Char, Blex, and Abu Dabia put on normal suits, then board the Argama and head straight for the mobile suit hangar.
Char descended to the open deck, and then entered the hangar via the mobile suit air lock. There were four mobile suits within.
"Oho..."
The mobile suits Char saw resembled the familiar Dom type used by the former Zeon forces. Of course, these weren't the same as the Zeon ones. They were a mixture of the Dom type and the features of the Earth Federation Forces' Gundam series. And just as Commodore Blex Forer had previously said, Char had been indirectly involved in the construction of these mobile suits.
The biggest factor contributing to the light weight of the original Gundam had been the adoption of a magnetic metal called Gundarium, which served as radiation shielding. Together with a hyper nuclear fusion reaction, this reduced the weight of the machine itself, as well as increasing its rigidity. After the war, it came to be said that this was responsible for the Gundam's high performance.
However, it had its flaws. Mass production was impossible. Moreover, there was always a concern that it would be damaged because, as a metal, it was overly rigid.
After the war, a former Zeon engineer who knew of the Gundam's secret improved this metal, giving it greater elasticity and developing techniques for mass production. This wasn't the end point of improvement, but since it was the third version counting from the earliest Gundarium, this engineer gave it the name "Gundarium Gamma." It was Char who had sold this technological know-how to Commodore Blex Forer.
During the war, Zeon had compelled its engineers to share their technology without regard for territorial competition, and encouraged them to experiment indiscriminately. As a result, any technology with the slightest potential was tested in actual combat. The problem was that this led to the mass production of incompatible weapons, decreasing supply efficiency, and this became a handicap in terms of fighting the war. To the engineers, however, this was an unique opportunity to test their own potential.
After the war, these engineers still survived under the Earth Federation government. The value of these surviving Zeon engineers, who still persevered with their work, was tacitly recognized. Char, who had allies such as these, spoke with an authority that carried a great deal of weight with Commodore Blex.
This also meant that Blex and his comrades had suspicions about the origins of this "Lieutenant Quattro Bajeena." Fortunately, in the postwar Earth Sphere, being a former Zeon did not present a problem. This was because the issue had been supplanted by the problems between Spacenoids and Earthmen. Thus, if Char were offering new information on mobile suit development that was useful to the AEUG, then there was no reason to launch an investigation into his background.
As for the Earth Federation government, after the war it began frantically redeveloping the Earth, whose climate had cooled. Its former military engineers were also reassigned to peacetime industries. But when the AEUG's activities finally became obvious, forces arose to counter the anti-Earth Federation movement.
One example of such action was the reconstruction of "Green Oasis," the former Side 7, as a space arsenal, turning it into a military base. The engineers who had inherited the Gundam's technology were gathered, and began cultivating a minimal amount of military technology. But this was swiftly radicalized when Captain Bask Om took command of the Titans' organization.
From the point when Bask took command of the Titans, the idea of punishment based on suspicion was also strongly advocated in Earth Federation cabinet meetings. The Earth Federation government didn't see this radicalization as dangerous. Dedicated to the great cause of Earth's reconstruction, they had forgotten how to understand what the Spacenoids were thinking.
Commodore Blex and his anti-Earth Federation faction, distressed by the political climate on Earth, secretly made preparations for an unlikely worst-case scenario. But this had become an era in which those preparations were completely warranted.
As the Titans' activities were becoming concrete, Blex and his comrades had the AEUG organization develop new mobile suits at Anaheim Electronics, based on the technology provided by Char. The person in charge was Melanie Hue Carbine, chairman of the company. By appropriating parts such as the movable frame from Earth Federation Forces mobile suits, Melanie aimed to cut expenses and reduce construction time, concentrating his energy on preparing a battle-ready force.
Thanks to the power of Gundarium Gamma, the newly constructed mobile suit had decisively high performance. But Char, who was serving in the Earth Federation Forces at the same Granada location where Anaheim Electronics was based, was not directly involved in the mobile suit's development. From beginning to end, Char's goal had been self-preservation.
Blex suggests that they call this new mobile suit the Gamma Gundam, but Char proposes the name "Rick Dias" instead. Char is introduced to Argama captain Henken Bekkener and AEUG operative Reccoa Londe, and then the Argama departs Sweetwater to begin its first mission.
As in TV episode 1, Kamille is interrogated by military police and then escapes when one of the Titans' new Gundam Mk-II mobile suits crashes into the building.
Char and his wingmen, piloting their new mobile suits, approach Green Oasis.
The fugitive Kamille briefly takes refuge with his neighbor Fa Yuiri.
Char infiltrates Green Noa 2, also known as Gryps, and encounters a Gundam Mk-II inside the colony.
As in TV episode 2, Kamille enters a maintenance facility and boards a Gundam Mk-II, while Bright Noa and Emma Sheen look on. Char's Rick Dias enters Green Noa 1, and a mobile suit battle begins inside the colony.
Kamille joins up with Char, clashes with a second Gundam Mk-II piloted by Jerid Messa, and then escapes from Green Noa 1 with the retreating AEUG pilots. As the fighting continues, Bright ponders the AEUG's goals and their grievances against the Earth Federation.
Bright, traveling back and forth between Earth and space, was in a unique position. Thus he understood the situation that had brought the Spacenoids to the point of forming the AEUG.
The faction of people living on Earth, the ones called Earthmen, were investing huge sums in rebuilding old cities in the name of reconstructing the Earth. This merely meant that humanity was laying the groundwork to pollute Earth's surface all over again.
On the other hand, matters such as the reconstruction of colonies damaged in the war were left entirely to the Spacenoids who lived in them. At first glance, this might seem like a recognition of Spacenoid independence, but instead it was merely neglect. Absolutely no economic assistance was provided.
On the political front, a postwar family register system was announced that would bring all the Spacenoids living in the colonies under the supervision of the Earth Federation government. All of humanity would be numbered, and measures could be taken in advance to control independence movements like the Principality of Zeon. This was a phenomenon of a regressive era.
A movement to reject the family register system arose in the colonies of Side 1, and the Earth Federation government regarded this as an act of rebellion. This was where the activities of the anti-Earth Federation government organization known as the AEUG began.
"If Earth has been destroyed at the hands of humanity, then isn't it only fair to the Earth that gave us life for us to assist the regenerative powers of nature?
"Human intelligence has brought us to the point of creating space colonies. This is an age in which, from now on, all humanity should live in the colonies and carefully preserve Earth as the sacred cradle of life.
"While humanity lived on Earth, we used only forty percent of our brains' abilities. The rest were retained to enable us to live our lives here in space. We've already achieved the feat of living in space. In that case, shouldn't we realize this undeveloped mental capacity by striving to adapt to this new environment?
"In the era when humanity lived on Earth, they thought that religious conflict, provincialism, racial discrimination, and other traditional prejudices were all hurdles set by God to increase human wisdom. In fact, humans should never have had these problems, and they were merely tools to create prejudice.
"By overcoming these hurdles of prejudice, humanity was able to acquire the endurance to survive in space. Humanity's new task is to fight to transcend the Earth, and ensure the human species continues rather than being destroyed.
"But why is it necessary to create new distinctions between Earthmen and Spacenoids, just like the racial discrimination of the past? This can only be called a deliberate act of wickedness..."
This was the AEUG's argument, and Bright found it understandable. However, Bright was still a soldier of the Earth Federation Forces, and his wife and two children were living on Earth. It was as if they were being held hostage by the Earth Federation government.
Kamille follows Char's team into space, while Bright confronts Titans commander Bask Om.
Still following Char's team, Kamille lands his stolen Gundam Mk-II aboard the Argama.
As in TV episode 3, Kamille is interviewed by Char and Henken. The AEUG leaders wonder whether Kamille may be a Newtype, and we're given a sample of the public comments that Amuro Ray made after the One Year War regarding his Newtype experiences. With the Argama heading into a combat situation, Reccoa helps Kamille put on a normal suit.
The Argama and its escort ship have been brought to a stop by forces deployed from Luna II, and Bask sends Emma Sheen as an envoy to the Argama. This follows the events of TV episode 3, but from Emma's perspective, and we learn a bit about her beliefs and experiences as a Titans member...
Lieutenant JG Emma Sheen took pride in the idea that she had "the right stuff." And she remembered with anger how, in the previous incident, the AEUG forces had launched combat operations inside a colony without a word of discussion. Thus she had actively volunteered for this punitive mission.
She had performed endless simulations at terrestrial bases. Thanks to that, she found that she had become familiar with operating the Gundam Mk-II after a single practice flight at Green Oasis.
If necessary, she had also demonstrated that she could navigate perfectly by astronomical observation. If there was any difference, it was only the presence or absence of gravity. Physically speaking, Emma Sheen was proud that her body could resist G-forces, but she knew she also had the same ability to adapt to weightlessness.
Why this was, she didn't know. But Emma's father, a devoutly religious soldier, was a man who had refused to use birth control to choose the sex of his child. Perhaps that was the reason? As a result, his family had not been blessed with a son. Her father, who had lamented that he couldn't raise a soldier, had died in the One Year War. Emma Sheen had followed the path of a pilot in order to follow her father's last wishes.
With one-third of the total population of Earth and space killed in the war, there were very few elderly and middle-aged people left in the social structure. The surviving youth burned with zeal to build a new era, while the surviving middle-aged and elderly people were desperate to leave a legacy of past accomplishments. This ws the backdrop to the times.
This new era was one which must be created in a new form, for which there was no precedent in past history, and Emma Sheen wanted to be at the forefront of this era. Thus, when she was nominated by the Titans, she took the initiative and joined them.
During her training on Earth, however, she had never been told that it was for the specific objective of crushing anti-Earth Federation organizations. "Mopping up Zeon remnants" was all she heard, and all she believed. In particular, she had been taught that carrying out operations with small elite units like the Titans would make it possible to advance as far as the asteroid belt and conduct mopping-up operations there.
When the anti-Earth Federation element known as the AEUG raided Green Oasis, Emma Sheen had assumed they were an antisocial organization of Zeon remnants.
"But what I heard at Green Oasis was quite different..."
Emma wanted to know what all of this meant. The mobile suits that had invaded the colony interior said that the Titans were a radical faction of the Earth Federation Forces, which they were trying to stop.
"They're not enemies, they're allies!"
This is what she had heard from the citizens of Green Oasis. It was amazing that this kind of information was circulating at Green Oasis.
"But aren't the Titans a unit for hunting Zeons...?"
Still, starting a mobile suit battle inside a colony was unforgivable, no matter the reason. To Emma Sheen, it was vital to confront such an enemy.
("What kind of outfit are you?! Damn Zeons...")
In her heart, Emma cursed them as yakuza. (3) And then Captain Bask Om had given her the mission she most wanted.
To Captain Bask Om, it was necessary to play for time. He had not expected the AEUG to take this kind of swift action. Once the initial organization of the Titans was completed, their plan had been to advance on the Moon, seen as a Titans stronghold, (4) using a force centered on the Gundam Mk-II. However, this preemptive attack had come sooner than anticipated.
As a result, pilots trained according to the standard manual would be unable to adapt. There was no choice but to increase the Titans' fighting strength by throwing them into battle. Thus Captain Bask Om had reluctantly assigned Emma and her fellow Titans members to combat operations.
Lieutenant JG Emma Sheen was perfectly qualified for this.
("If actual combat becomes training for us, it'll display the Titans' true abilities...")
And so Captain Bask had entrusted Emma Sheen with negotiating the recovery of the Gundam Mk-II.
Learning that his parents have been taken hostage, Kamille launches in a Gundam Mk-II. Jerid blows up the capsule containing Kamille's mother before his eyes.
As in TV episode 4, the combatants return to their respective ships, and Emma takes Kamille and his Gundam Mk-II back to the Titans warship Alexandria. Aboard the Argama, Char, Blex, and Henken discuss Emma and wonder whether she may also be a Newtype, despite having been born on Earth.
Aboard the Alexandria, Kamille reports his mother's death to his father Franklin. Emma rescues Kamille and Franklin, and they escape to the Argama in stolen Gundam Mk-II units. In the process they beat up Titans pilot Kacricon Cacooler, who doesn't get to do anything else in this volume.
A highly abbreviated version of TV episode 5. While Emma meets with the AEUG leaders, Franklin makes an offscreen attempt to escape in a stolen Rick Dias, and we are told that Reccoa has killed him.
(1) While "Earthnoid" is used in some later works, the novels generally call the residents of Earth "chikyujin" (Earth people). The Japanese term is gender-neutral, but I've translated this as "Earthmen" for the sake of compactness.
(2) The White Base's nickname, literally "wooden horse" or "rocking horse," is generally translated as "Trojan Horse" in the animation.
(3) Usually you'd interpret this as "gangsters." Terms like "yakuza" and "Mafia" come up fairly often in the Japanese text.
(4) It would seem more logical if the Moon were seen as an AEUG stronghold, but this is what it says in the original.
Translator's Note: Released in June 1985, this volume corresponds to TV episodes 6 through 15. Notes on this volume are still pending.
Translator's Note: Released in September 1985, this volume covers some of the events of TV episodes 16 through 25 in a somewhat rearranged order, then jumps ahead to TV episode 35. Notes on this volume are still pending.
Translator's Note: Released in January 1986, this volume covers the events of TV episodes 36 through 38, then goes back to episodes 32 through 34 to describe the encounter with Axis, and ends with the events of episode 39. Notes on this volume are still pending.
Translator's Note: Released in February 1986, this volume corresponds to TV episodes 40 through 50. Notes on this volume are still pending.
Mobile Suit Gundam is copyright © Sotsu • Sunrise. Everything else on this site, and all original text and pictures, are copyright Mark Simmons.
