Forum - View topicGundam frachise help
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Perfectsword
 Posts: 527 Location: Somewhere in NY |
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I need some help with the whole gundam franchise...I just bought 8th MS team: complete collection. I thought it was extremely good but I was confused. I didn't know who the zeon were or why the war was going on.
Then i had an epiphany, I came to realize that The whole gundam franchise is intertwined into a huge time-line spaning over decades. so, am I right? If this is true, if there any specific order in which they should be watched? |
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Guilhem
 Posts: 181 |
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The Gundam franchise exploits different universes (called 'alternate universes'...) which IS confusing at first sight
------------------------------------------------------------- The most famous Gundam universe is the original one, called the Universal Century time-line. As for the order of watching: 0/ Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War (2004-...): the very beginning of the One Year War as a six-part, fully-rendered 3D CGI feature initially screened at Bandai Museum in Japan and made for the Gundam's 25th Anniversary Celebration. Currently not available as R1 format 1/ Mobile Suit Gundam TV series (1979): only available as dubbed in english but with remastered sounds 2/ Mobile Suit Gundam movie trilogy (1981-1982): a recap of the TV series with additional footage. Only available as subbed. It's worth of note that this version is 'more' complete concerning the basic concepts of the UC time-line and is the one considered as 'canon' for the sequels therefore it's the one that I recommend you begin with... 2/ MS Gundam: the 08th MS Team (1996-1999): the one you saw and a rather original one btw, original because it presents the One Year War from the point of view of the average soldier instead of the ace's or the newtype's 3/ MS Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket (1989): the very first spin-off UC Gundam show whose storyline involves entirely new characters around a secret Gundam prototype towards the very end of the One Year War 3/ MS Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (1991-1992): this one explores a very important part of the UC time-line because it makes the link between the original Gundam (TV series and/or movie trilogy) and its true sequel, MS Zeta Gundam 4/ Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (1985-1986): like I said above, it's the only true sequel to the original story and it continues it brillantly. It's currently being recaped as a movie trilogy aswell, you should hear about this into the news since a while... 5/ Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (1986-1987): the continuation of the events of Z Gundam and a rather controversial show aswell, for various reasons. Currently not available as R1 format 6/ MS Gundam: Char's Counter-Attack (1988): the 'conclusion' of the UC time-line as far as the main MS Gundam 79 characters are concerned, in a movie-only format 7/ Mobile Suit Gundam F-91 (1991): not exactly a sequel to the previous one, simply the continuation of the UC time-line about 30 years after the event of Char's Counter-Attack whith different characters and factions. It may be seen independantly but I'd recommend to check out Zeta Gundam before this because the cybernewtype concept plays a role into the end, though rather minor 8/ Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (1993-1994): another continuation of the UC time-line, also about 30 years after F-91 and with diferents characters/factions aswell. Can be seen independantly but it's currently not available in R1 format ------------------------------------------------------------- After all this, it's the beginning of the Alternate Universes strictly speaking. I didn't see all of them yet but I can give you their titles nonetheless: - Mobile fighter G Gundam (1994-1995): some sort of cross between the Dragon ball 'super-heroes' theme and the mecha show, rather oriented towards a young audience and definitely not as the level of the UC time-line though you can find some of the most important concepts of the original time-line like the importance of ecology, the fact that Earth doesn't belong to mankind, etc,... but very simplified. Nice 'parody' of Gundam as well as a tribute to the 'super robot' genre nonetheless - Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (1995-1996): still have to see this one - Mobile New Century Gundam X (1996): still have to see this one. Currently not available as R1 format - Turn A Gundam (1999-2000): still have to see this one. Currently not available as R1 format - G-Savior (2000): originally planned as the sequel of Victory Gundam, this live action TV movie is not part of the UC time-line anymore... - Mobile Suit Gundam Seed (2002-2003): still have to see this one - Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny (2004-2005): still have to see this one. Currently not available as R1 format ------------------------------------------------------------- 'Hope it helps! 
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Starwind Amada
Posts: 981 Location: Easton, PA, USA |
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The main Gundam saga takes place in the Universal Century, while a handful of other series, called Alternate Universe series, each take place in their own timeline.
This list only includes licensed material on DVD in the US and Canada. Universal Century Mobile Suit Gundam (42-episode TV series or condensed movie trilogy, your choice)* 08th MS Team (12-episode OVA) 08th MS Team: Miller's Report (TV movie) Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket (6-episode OVA) Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (13-episode OVA) Zeta Gundam (50-episode TV series) Gundam F91 (theatrical movie) There is also a live-action movie called G-Saviour, but it is strongly advised NOT to watch it, and it has been erased from both Sunrise and Bandai's official records. I wouldn't even suggest looking for bootlegs, as the movie is an utter waste of 2 hours. Weak plot, wooden acting, and poor continuity are what ruined it. Avoid at all costs. AU Series G Gundam (49-episode TV series) Gundam Wing (49-episode TV series) Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz (3-episode OVA) Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz - The Movie (extended version) Gundam SEED (50-episode TV series) Gundam SEED Movie 1: The Empty Battlefield (part 1 of trilogy)* Gundam SEED Destiny (50-episode TV series) NOT YET AVAILABLE ON DVD, BUT HAS BEEN LICENSED *Movie trilogies are condensed version of TV series, which may or may not remove and/or add material. They are to be viewed only if one does not want to watch the whole series or wants to see any new material there may be. They are not to be watched in addition to the series. Z Gundam currently has a trilogy in Japan, but this has not been picked up for R1 release, and probably won't be for some time. |
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Nagisa
Moderator
 Posts: 6128 Location: Atlanta-ish, Jawjuh |
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As others have said, the Gundam franchise is really divided up into two main fields: Universal Century and Alternate Universe. UC Gundam all follows one specific timeline, as established by Gundam's original creator, Yoshiyuki Tomino (and then expanded upon by the likes of Takashi Imanishi, Fumihiko Takayama, and select others). AU Gundam is a collection of series almost totally independent of UC Gundam and themselves, taking place in new settings with new characters & premises almost every time (with scant few exceptions, such as Gundam SEED Destiny being a sequel to Gundam SEED, and Turn-A Gundam spoiler[being an attempt to interconnect both UC & AU through a "Dark History"]).
What follows is a quick rundown of the two main fields of the Gundam franchise, with the years in parenthesis being the starting year in which the series or movie takes place, along with the year they premiered. Universal Century Gundam Main Timeline Mobile Suit Gundam (UC0079, 1979) Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (UC0087, 1985) Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (UC0088, 1986) Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack (UC0093, 1988) Mobile Suit Gundam F91 (UC0123, 1991) Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (UC0153, 1993) Sidestories Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War (January UC0079, 2004) Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team (about October UC0079, 1996) Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: The War in the Pocket (about December UC0079, 1989) Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (UC0083, 1991) The sidestories are short OVA series that outline what was happening in the UC timeline outside of the "main" story established by Tomino. They aren't essential to view, but they're still all great in my opinion, and well worth checking out (preferrably after having seen at least Mobile Suit Gundam, or Mobile Suit Gundam & Zeta Gundam in 0083's case). Digests Mobile Suit Gundam (UC0079, 1981) Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation (UC0087, 2004) Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team: Miller's Report (about October UC0079, 1998) Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: The Last Blitz of Zeon (UC0083, 1992) Digests are basically a condensed retelling of the original series, usually coming in the form of a movie or movie trilogy. They usually feature cleaned up animation, new scenes, and even new subplots in some cases (such as the introduction of the character of Alice Miller in 08th MS Team's Miller's Report). They also range in quality, from the fantastic Mobile Suit Gundam movie trilogy to the dodgy Last Blitz of Zeon. Alternate Universe Gundam Future Century Mobile Fighter G Gundam (FC60, 1994) After Colony New MS Report Gundam Wing (AC195, 1995) New MS Report Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz (AC196, 1997) After War After War Gundam X (AW0015, 1996) Correct Century Turn-A Gundam (CC2345, 1999) Cosmic Era Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (CE71, 2002) Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny (CE73, 2004) Digests New MS Report Gundam Wing: Operation Meteor (AC195, 1996) New MS Report Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz Special Edition (AC196, 1998) Turn-A Gundam I: Earth Light (CC2345, 2002) Turn-A Gundam II: Moonlight Butterfly (CC2345, 2002) Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Special Edition (CE71, 2004) Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny -EDITED- (CE73, 2004) A small footnote, Gundam SEED Destiny -EDITED- was a one-shot compilation episode independent of the main series' count, that served as a straight summary of the previous fourteen or so episodes. It's possible that more -EDITED- episodes were planned, but none surfaced after the first. |
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Bruce Lee
 Posts: 715 Location: Seattle, Washington |
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After reading the Turn-A Gundam spoiler, it actually sounds really interesting. Is Turn-A Gundam worth Watching?
I've currently seen a few random eps of the orignal 0079 MS Gundam, but the full 0079 Movie Trilogy. I've also seen 0080 and 0083 side stories as well as Char's Counterattack. As far as alternate timelines go, I've seen Wing and Endless Waltz, and part of G. Now my second question: Would it make more sense to check out 8th MS Team and Zeta first or some other alternate timeline show before jumping into Turn-A? |
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Nagisa
Moderator
Posts: 6128 Location: Atlanta-ish, Jawjuh |
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I've only seen about eight episodes of it myself, but I've certainly found it enjoyable thus far. There's a lot less focus on "hot mech action," but the well-written characters manage to make up for that easily.
It really doesn't matter. The nature of Turn-A is such that you don't really need any sort of in-depth knowledge of any other Gundam series in order to understand spoiler[the Dark History.] |
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Perfectsword
Posts: 527 Location: Somewhere in NY |
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WOW! that is alot more information than I expected. I am EXTREMELY greatfull. Thanks everyone, I'm sure I'll copy this thread into a word document and save it. thanks alot.
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Abarenbo Shogun
 Posts: 1573 |
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You should also have handy: Gundam: The Official Guide which explains the timeline in depth, plus covers the games, merchendise, and most of the Manga series. Plus it also details the existance of Newtypes, shows the science of the Colonies and Lagrange points, and provides some interesting facts. It does not contain info on Gundam SEED or any of it's spin-offs. Also, Tokyopop released a few technical manuals to some of the series that were released stateside. But all are OOP. |
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Guilhem
Posts: 181 |
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Mark Simmons' book is indeed very handy, especially for newcomers to this franchise: it helped me a lot, one year ago, to get the basics and make the difference between the various time-lines. It's worth of note to mention that, being published in 2002, this book doesn't present the very last productions such as Gundam Seed and MS Igloo or the various mangas and video-games released since this period, but the abundance of infos mentioned by Abarenbo Shogun is a very nice complement if you want to dig deeper than the animes... The Tokyopop little books are also very interesting if you want a detailed descriptions of 'historical events' through various chronologies or technical datas about the development of mobile suits (why and what the different factions used at some moments of the conflict varying with the state of the field...) though this last part is more for the mechafreak than the average fan. Some interesting readings nonetheless |
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Randall Miyashiro
 Posts: 2451 Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park |
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Having known Mark back when we were teenagers I remember him being a huge Gundam Sentinal fan back in the 80's. I will say he knows far more about the extended Gundam universe, and am hoping that one day he will write something which goes into detail about Sentinal since I'm missing most of the articles/issues regarding it when it was released. He is also a really talented artisit (he won a Gundam art contest B-Club was holding) and wished the book contained some of his art. Some of his Triple Zeta designs (a RPG that he ran with buddies back in the day) were amazing. |
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