Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (機動戦士Ζガンダム) is a 1985 Japanese anime television series, the second installment in the Gundam franchise, and a sequel to the 1979 anime series Mobile Suit Gundam. The show was created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, with character designs by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, while the series' mechanical designs are 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 that seeks 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.
Often regarded as one of the best shows in the franchise, the series is praised for its dark themes, characters, and its improvements over its predecessor.[1][2][3][4] Between 2005 and 2006, the series was reproduced and compiled into a film trilogy, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation. Though still directed by Tomino, it involved many changes in the original storyline. The films were considered to be a success in Japan.[5]
Plot
Set in the year Universal Century (UC) 0087, eight years after the events of Mobile Suit Gundam (0079), and four years after the events of Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (0083 to 0084) the series follows a rebel group called the Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG) as they try to defeat the Titans, an elite task force of the Earth Federation designed to hunt down Zeon remnants but which ruthlessly kills anyone demanding equal rights for the space citizens in cold blood.
The story of Zeta Gundam is told through the viewpoint of Kamille Bidan, a civilian teenager and amateur mobile suit pilot whose parents are engineers working for the Earth Federation and the Titans. While traveling to the Green Noa colony to meet his parents, Kamille is insulted by and strikes a Titans officer named Jerid Messa. Following an AEUG attack led by Quattro Bajeena on the colony to capture a trio of Gundam Mk-II mobile suits undergoing field tests, Kamille takes the opportunity to steal Messa's Mk-II to repel the attack and follows Quattro back to the AEUG mothership Argama. The Titans, under the order of Bask Om, take Kamille's parents in an attempt to force the return of the stolen Gundam Mk-IIs. Jerid, unaware of the hostage plot, mistakenly kills Kamille's mother. Because of this, and many other reasons, Kamille eventually joins the AEUG.
As the war escalates, Kamille encounters people from all sides of the conflict, including brainwashed Titans, artificial Newtypes, and the leaders of Anaheim Electronics, who are secretly funding the AEUG. The AEUG eventually launch a full-scale attack on the Earth Federation's assembly at Dakar, leading to an Earth Sphere civil war. Quattro reveals himself to be Char Aznable and presents evidence of the Titans' tyranny including using G3 nerve gas on a defenseless colony.
Production
Director Tomino actually started planning for a Gundam sequel in February 1984. The first memo dated February 20 included themes related to staff work, such as "What is missing?/What do you really want to do?". From February to May is a period of trial and error, with the "Zeta Gundam" proposal set in the future U.C.0111 (Triple One) and the "Mobile Suit His Alpha Gundam" proposal set in the past U.C.0045. is written. In the "Zeta Gundam" proposal, there is an idea that goes beyond the Newtype, "Gather Stime," which allows one to gain the mental identity of others. Around the beginning of June, a story line close to its current form began to come together, and since then, it has been refined repeatedly based on it. On August 20, the basic background titled "Situation 7 years later..." and a plot memo for one course will be completed. In November 1984, it was officially announced.
Despite the considerable preparation period for a TV anime, the design decision and commercialization of the main character Z Gundam were delayed due to its complicated design and deformation mechanism. Due to the participation of multiple designers, the actual design work took an unexpectedly long time, and the appearance on the show was delayed until the third cour in the second half. For this reason, the need for a Gundam to play the leading role in the first two courses until the appearance of the Zeta Gundam arose, and the appearance of the Gundam Mk-II was decided. Under the order from Bandai that "Mk-II is a descendant of MSV", from RX-78 Full Armor Gundam and Heavy Gundam. which is downstream of the flow to and was designed with consideration for "movability".
Also, with an offer from Bandai saying, "Since the main Zeta Gundam won't appear until after episode 20, we'd like you to put out an MSV as a bridge between them," it was decided that the MSV, which until then had only been developed as a plastic model, would appear in the main story. In the first place, MSV was originally developed by Bandai because Sunrise was reluctant to make a sequel to Gundam.
In order to train the younger generation, which was one of Director Tomino's requests to "break Gundam's shell" and one of the challenges, the staff ended up with [Yasuhiko Yoshikazu], the character who was responsible for the world view of the previous work.
International release
The show has been placed on rerun on the anime satellite television network, Animax, across Japan and later its respective networks worldwide, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and other regions.
In 2004, after almost two years of delays and failed television and merchandising deals, Bandai released a limited edition Zeta Gundam boxset with dubbed English and original Japanese audio tracks. The box-set includes pencil sharpener collectibles and a 48-page booklet and poster. The English dub was done by Ocean Production's Blue Water Studio based in Calgary in Canada. Due to Bandai not having rights to the theme songs outside of Asia, the opening and closing sequences were altered.
The English subtitles were criticized as inaccurate and appeared to be based on the script for the English dub, rather than a direct translation of the original Japanese script. Bandai corrected the subtitles to a properly translated version for later DVD releases in 5 cases with two discs each. Each disc contained five episodes.
In 2006, Bandai Entertainment acquired the rights to the US release of the "A New Translation" film trilogy, originally slated for release on June 22, 2010, but was later changed to July 6. The series and films have been out of print, following the closure of Bandai Entertainment.
On October 11, 2014, at their 2014
Related media
Novels
Manga
A manga adaptation of the series by Kazuhisa Kondo was released by Kodansha in Comic BomBom from March 1985 to February 1986 issues, and compiled into three volumes.[10] A manga remake was also made entitled Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam Define (機動戦士Ζガンダム Define). This remake was written and illustrated by Hiroyuki Kitazume and began serialiation in Gundam Ace on June 25, 2011.[11]
Compilation films
In celebration of Gundam's 25th anniversary (and also the 20th anniversary of Zeta Gundam), the 50-episode series was compiled into a film trilogy called Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation.
Reception
Critical reception
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.[14] Even the series' director, Yoshiyuki Tomino, has expressed not liking the show.[8]
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 film trilogy" first before watching Zeta Gundam.[15] 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."
See also
- Mobile Suit Gundam
- Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ
- Kidou Senshi Z-Gundam: Hot Scramble
- Space Runaway Ideon
- Super Dimension Fortress Macross
External links
- Official Websites: Anime, A New Translation I, II, III
References
- NHK Reveals Full Results of Ultimate Gundam Poll Anime News Network, 11 May 2018, retrieved August 8, 2020^
- 'Zeta Gundam' Blu-Ray Review: Possibly The Greatest 'Gundam' Series Ever Made Forbes, 31 August 2016, retrieved August 8, 2020^
- The 15 Best Gundam Series According To IMDb