Novel
Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn originated as a serialized novel in Gundam Ace magazine between 2007 and 2009, conceived as a direct sequel to Char’s Counterattack and one of the few Universal Century installments to debut in prose form. Author Harutoshi Fukui was invited by Sunrise and Kadokawa to create a work that would both deepen the UC setting and attract veteran fans of the franchise while remaining accessible to newer readers.[17] Fukui has described structuring the narrative around “Laplace’s Box,” a mystery tied to the Federation's founding charter, as a device to survey “one hundred years of the Universal Century.”[18] Two pivotal creative choices, naming the story “Unicorn” to emphasize both the UC acronym and a mythical symbol, and designing the RX-0 Gundam to transform from a non-Gundam form into a psycho-frame-driven unit, were cited by Fukui as helping the project “click” with Sunrise and Bandai's producers.[19][20]
In production interviews, Fukui explained that he worked closely with Sunrise producer Naohiro Ogata and later OVA director Kazuhiro Furuhashi to align the novels and animation, ensuring consistency of themes and plot architecture across media.[21][22]
Fukui also authored two side stories: Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn – The Postwar War (機動戦士ガンダムUC(ユニコーン) 戦後の戦争) (bundled with the PlayStation 3 game's Special Edition on March 8, 2012) and Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn – Phoenix Hunting (機動戦士ガンダムUC(ユニコーン) 不死鳥狩り) (first published with Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn GREAT WORKS III episode 7 on June 23, 2015). The former is set two years before Episode 1 and recounts Full Frontal's origins and the Sinanju theft; the latter depicts “Operation Phoenix Hunting,” a classified mission preceding the OVA's final battle.[23][24] Both stories were later compiled as the eleventh volume of the series on March 26, 2016, with the latter also being loosely adapted into the Gundam Narrative animated film in 2018.[25]
Manga
A manga adaptation titled Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn Bande Dessinée (機動戦士ガンダムUC(ユニコーン)バンデシネ) was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Gundam Ace from January 2010 to December 2016. The manga was written by Harutoshi Fukui and illustrated by Kouzou Oomori. Its first tankōbon volume was released on July 26, 2010, and the seventeenth and last was released on February 25, 2017.[40] A three-volume prequel manga by Fukui and Oomori based on The Postwar War novel, Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn Bande Dessinée Episode: 0 was serialized in Gundam Ace from September 2017 to September 2018 and compiled into three tankōbon volumes.
Anime
In the June 2009 issue of Gundam Ace (published April 2009), Sunrise confirmed an anime adaptation of Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn (機動戦士ガンダムUC) for late 2009; production shifted to spring 2010. The OVA was directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi with series scripts by Yasuyuki Muto. Mechanical design was led by Hajime Katoki, joined by Junya Ishigaki, Mika Akitaka, and Nobuhiko Genba. Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's character designs were adapted for animation by Kumiko Takahashi, and the score was composed by Hiroyuki Sawano.[41] Behind the scenes, Furuhashi and producer Naohiro Ogata described aiming for a work that would satisfy long-time UC fans yet remain legible to newcomers, with a tone closer to the original Mobile Suit Gundam and a focus on political and military drama anchored by Banagher's coming-of-age.[42][43]
Originally planned as six 50-minute episodes with a near-simultaneous worldwide rollout, the project was expanded in 2012 to seven episodes to properly conclude the story.[44][45]
Video games
The RX-0 Unicorn Gundam is one of the playable secret mobile suits in Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam Next. For the PlayStation Portable port Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam Next Plus, the Unicorn is joined by the NZ-666 Kshatriya. The Unicorn is part of Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3,[55] along with the Sinanju and Kshatriya (DLC only). The Gundam UC is a playable story mode in Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Reborn, where one can play as Unicorn Gundam, Sinanju, Banshee, Kshatriya, Delta Plus, Geara Zulu (Angelo), Geara Zulu and the Unicorn Gundam Full Armor is playable as DLC. The Unicorn, Kshatriya, Sinanju, and the Delta Plus are the initial UC units included in the arcade game Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs.,[56] and were later supplemented by the Banshee and Rozen Zulu, then again by the Full Armor Unicorn and the Banshee Norn. In Extreme Vs. Force, the Neo Zeong appears as a boss unit. In the Wii and PlayStation Portable game SD Gundam G Generation World, the Unicorn Gundam, Kshatriya, Sinanju, Delta Plus, Loto, Rezel, the Jegan units and Geara Zulu (including Angelo Sauper's custom) are playable units. In SD Overworld, units from episode 4 and 5 are now included with some units from the PS3 game, such as Gundam Delta Kai, Delta Gundam and the Sinanju Stein. This suit is also in SD Gundam Online.
An action game based on the first three episodes of the anime adaptation was developed by From Software and was published by Namco Bandai on March 8, 2012, in Japan.
Toys/models
The first models to come from the series were the 1/100 Master Grade "Ver. Ka" (Ka stands for series mecha designer Hajime Katoki) kits of the Sinanju and the Unicorn in 2009, which were followed up with the Full Armor Unicorn in December 2011, the online exclusive Unicorn Banshee "Final Battle" version in March 2012, and the Sinanju Stein in February 2013. All four kits appear as depicted in the novels, while recolored versions based on the OVA were released. A 1/100 Sinanju rocket bazooka is packaged with the eighth issue in the novel series while a 1/100 Armed Armor DE is a free item for the eighth Bande Dessinee volume. The company also produced all of the OVA series' mobile suits (plus the UC MS Variations and Bande Dessinee manga series) in its HGUC line of 1/144 model kits (including the Base Jabber transports); some are special glitterized or colored transparent-plastic kits marketed as online exclusives or as "Theater Limited" items (sold at select moviehouses on the day of an episode screening). The prizes for Bandai's Gunpla mid-year 2014 campaign include clear-plastic HGUC versions of the Unicorn and Banshee (both in Destroy Mode), the Full-Armor Unicorn, Sinanju, Delta Plus, and the Kshatriya. The line also includes the biggest HGUC kit yet - the Neo-Zeong, which stands 86 centimeters high and 50 cm wide, and includes the Sinaju itself.[59] A Real Grade version of the Sinanju was later revealed in 2016 Shizuoka Hobby Show and be fully released in August 2016.
A number of the kits are also available as Master Grade and B-Club models, with the MG 1/100 Unicorn Gundam also sold in a "HD" version featuring its hangar cage. Several UC kits in the two lines have Titanium Finish (metallic) versions. The Phenex was first sold at Gundam Front Tokyo in 1/144 scale as part of the promotions for One of Seventy-Two; the initial casting was criticized, but a Master Grade version of the unit was released in February 2014 as a gold cast model. A proper gold-coat and crystal-cast version of the 1/144 Phenex was sold at the store. A 1/144 Destroy Mode Unicorn was also released in limited numbers as part of the ANA
Sunrise produced a number of original shorts and promotional videos beyond the standard trailers:
In summer 2016, Sunrise partnered with 20th Century Fox on a cross-promotion between Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn and Independence Day: Resurgence. One theatrical poster replaced the Statue of Liberty with the Unicorn Gundam firing on a Harvester mothership, while a tie-in trailer featured Banagher and Full Frontal alongside Independence Day characters.[68][69]
As part of the franchise's long-term promotion, a life-sized transforming RX-0 Unicorn Gundam statue was installed at Odaiba's DiverCity Tokyo Plaza in September 2017, replacing the previous RX-78-2 statue. The Unicorn statue became a popular attraction and was tied to additional promotional shorts such as Mobile Suit Gundam UC: A Phantom World, screened on the site's outdoor WALL-G projection system.[70][71][72]
