Last Revision: April 19, 2004


What is Mobile Suit Gundam?

The original Mobile Suit Gundam was an animated science-fiction series which debuted on Japanese television in 1979. Its popularity led to a series of sequels, including nine television series, four video series, ten movies, and countless novels, comics, and original video game adventures which together comprise the epic Gundam saga. Among Japanese fans, the original TV series and its three-part movie adaptation are now fondly referred to as "First Gundam."

The name Gundam also applies to the mobile suit RX-78 Gundam, the humanoid fighting vehicle which starred in the original TV series. This heroic giant robot, with its distinctive blue-and-white color scheme and V-shaped antennas, has been reincarnated in almost every one of the Gundam saga's sequels and spinoffs. Often, the title of a Gundam story and the name of the featured Gundam mobile suit are similar or identical, which makes it a little easier to recall which mobile suit stars in which story.

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Who makes Gundam?

The original Gundam series was produced in 1979 by Japan's Sunrise, Inc. animation studio, then known as Nippon Sunrise. In 1994 Sunrise officially became part of Bandai Co., whose Bandai Entertainment division is now releasing Gundam in North America. The original creators of Gundam were director Yoshiyuki Tomino and the mysterious "Hajime Yatate" (a pen name reflecting the collective contributions of the Sunrise staff). Character designer Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and mechanical designer Kunio Okawara also played a large role in the original series's success, and their participation in subsequent sequels is always cause for celebration among longtime fans.

The first few Gundam sequels were all written and directed by Tomino, but in the saga's second decade, Sunrise began inviting other creators to contribute their artistic visions to the Gundam saga. Among the Japanese animation legends who've contributed to the Gundam ethos are top directors like Yasuhiro Imagawa (Giant Robo), Masashi Ikeda (Ronin Warriors), and Takeyuki Kanda (Round Vernian Vifam); writers Ryosuke Takahashi (Armored Trooper Votoms) and Hiroyuki Yamaga (Wings of Honneamise); and character designers such as Haruhiko Mikimoto (Macross), Toshihiro Kawamoto (Cowboy Bebop), Shuko Murase (Gasaraki), and Capcom's Akira Yasuda.

The roster of Gundam mechanical designers reads like a virtual who's who of the industry. Past and present mobile suit creators include Shoji Kawamori (Macross, Vision of Escaflowne), Hajime Katoki (Virtual On), Kimitoshi Yamane (Vision of Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop), Yutaka Izubuchi (Mobile Police Patlabor), Makoto Kobayashi (Giant Robo), Mika Akitaka (Martian Successor Nadesico), Mamoru Nagano (Five Star Stories), and even Syd Mead (Blade Runner, Aliens).

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Is there more than one Gundam world?

Yes. At first, every sequel to the original Mobile Suit Gundam story took place in the same setting, a futuristic space age called the Universal Century. However, with the release of Mobile Fighter G Gundam in 1994, the creators began introducing new worlds - parallel universes, one might say - with their own characters, histories, technologies, and calendar systems. Each of these new worlds is a self-contained setting with no real ties to the Universal Century history, linked only by certain common themes and the recurring motif of the heroic Gundam mobile suit.

At present, six Gundam worlds have been featured in the animated stories, which we can classify according to the calendar systems they use. In addition to the original Universal Century, we have G Gundam's Future Century and the After Colony setting used in Gundam Wing and Endless Waltz. Gundam X uses the After War calendar, while Gundam Seed, the latest Gundam show, introduces a new world based on the Cosmic Era calendars.

The sixth of these worlds is the distant future of Turn A Gundam, a recent sequel which complicates the picture by suggesting that all these Gundam worlds are just different eras in a future history which spans thousands of years. But for all practical purposes, we can regard these worlds as parallel universes, whose inhabitants know nothing of the events of the other stories - which means the viewer doesn't have to know anything about them either.

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How many Gundam animated features are there?

Here's a listing of the animated features released in Japan, in order of production, with North American video release dates listed where available.

Note: Most of the movies listed here are in fact compilations of television or video series. Mobile Suit Gundam I, II and III retell the story of the first television series, Last Blitz of Zeon recaps the Stardust Memory video series, Endless Waltz Special Edition is an expanded version of its namesake video series, Miller's Report is based on the first portion of the 08th MS Team video series, and Earth Light and Moonbeam Butterfly retell the story of the Turn A Gundam television series. Of the ten Gundam theatrical features, only two - Char's Counterattack and Gundam F91 - are completely original stories.

Mobile Suit Gundam
43-episode television series*
Aired April 1979 to January 1980
Released in North America in 2001

Mobile Suit Gundam
Theatrical motion picture
Premiered March 1981
Released in North America in 1998

Mobile Suit Gundam II
Theatrical motion picture
Premiered July 1981
Released in North America in 1998

Mobile Suit Gundam III
Theatrical motion picture
Premiered March 1982
Released in North America in 1998

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
50-episode television series
Aired March 1985 to February 1986

Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ
47-episode television series
Aired March 1986 to January 1987

Mobile Suit Gundam:
Char's Counterattack
Theatrical motion picture
Premiered March 1988
Released in North America in 2002

Mobile Suit Gundam 0080:
War in the Pocket
6-episode video series
Released March 1989 to August 1989
Released in North America in 1998

Mobile Suit Gundam F91
Theatrical motion picture
Premiered March 1991

Mobile Suit Gundam 0083:
Stardust Memory
13-episode video series
Released May 1991 to September 1992
Released in North America in 1998

Mobile Suit Gundam 0083:
Last Blitz of Zeon
Theatrical motion picture
Premiered August 1992

Mobile Suit Victory Gundam
51-episode television series
Aired April 1993 to March 1994

   Mobile Fighter G Gundam
49-episode television series
Aired April 1994 to March 1995
Released in North America in 2002

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing**
49-episode television series
Aired April 1995 to March 1996
Released in North America in 2000

Mobile Suit Gundam:
The 08th MS Team
12-episode video series
Released January 1996 to July 1999
Released in North America in 2001

After War Gundam X
39-episode television series
Aired April 1996 to December 1996

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing:
Endless Waltz
3-episode video series
Released January 1997 to July 1997
Released in North America in 2000

Mobile Suit Gundam:
The 08th MS Team - Miller's Report
Theatrical motion picture
Premiered August 1998
Released in North America in 2002

New Mobile War Chronicle Gundam Wing:
Endless Waltz Special Edition
Theatrical motion picture
Premiered August 1998
Released in North America in 2000

Turn A Gundam
50-episode television series
Aired April 1999 to March 2000

G-Saviour
Live-action television special
Premiered December 2000
Released in North America in 2002

Turn A Gundam I: Earth Light
Theatrical motion picture
Premiered October 2001

Turn A Gundam II: Moonbeam Butterfly
Theatrical motion picture
Premiered March 2002

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed
50-episode television series
Aired October 2002 to September 2003
*   Only 42 episodes of the original Mobile Suit Gundam TV series were released in North America.
**   Released in Japan under the title "New Mobile Report Gundam Wing."

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What are "side stories"?

This term, a loose translation of the Japanese word "gaiden," refers to apocrypha, tie-ins, spin-offs, and unofficial stories - basically, anything that hasn't been animated. Some may have received more official recognition, but none are canonical in the sense that the animated features are. Such tales span a variety of formats, including video games, comics, novels, illustrated "photo-novels," and even theme-park rides!

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Could you put all these stories in chronological order?

Sure. Here are the animated stories and some notable side stories, with their U.C. (Universal Century) calendar dates. Official animated stories are marked below in bold.

U.C. 0079      Zeonic Front (video game, novel)
Mobile Suit Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam I, II, III
The 08th MS Team
The 08th MS Team: Miller's Report
Cross Dimension 0079 (video game)
Lost War Chronicles (video game, comic, novel)
The Blue Destiny (video game, comic, novel)
Side Story 0079: Rise From The Ashes (video game, novel)
Encounters in Space (video game, comic)
Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket
Gundam The Ride: A Baoa Qu (theme-park ride)
U.C. 0083 Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory
Gundam 0083: Last Blitz of Zeon
U.C. 0087 Zeta Gundam
Green Divers (theatrical presentation)
U.C. 0088 Gundam Sentinel (novel, photo-novel)
Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ
U.C. 0090 Double Fake (comic)
U.C. 0093 Char's Counterattack
U.C. 0105 Hathaway's Flash (novel)
U.C. 0120 Mobile Suit Gundam F90 (comic)
U.C. 0122 Formula Wars 0122 (video game)
U.C. 0123 Silhouette Formula 91 (comic)
Mobile Suit Gundam F91
U.C. 0133 Crossbone Gundam (comic)
U.C. 0153 Victory Gundam
U.C. 0203 Gaia Gear (novel, radio drama)
U.C. 0223 G-Saviour

Most of the recent Gundam television series take place in alternate worlds, each with their own calendars. G Gundam uses the F.C. (Future Century) calendar, Gundam Wing uses the A.C. (After Colony) calendar, Gundam X uses the A.W. (After War) calendar, Gundam Seed uses the C.E. (Cosmic Era) calendar, and Turn A Gundam uses a new calendar known by the initials C.C.. Again, official animated stories are marked below in bold.

F.C. 60     G Gundam
A.C. 187~ Gundam Wing: Episode Zero (comic)
A.C. 195 Gundam Wing
Gundam Wing: The Last Outpost (comic)*
A.C. 196 Gundam Wing: Blind Target (comic, radio drama)
Gundam Wing: Battlefield of Pacifists (comic)
Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz
Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz Special Edition
A.W. 0015 Gundam X
C.E. 71 Gundam Seed
Gundam Seed Astray
C.C. 2345 Turn A Gundam

 * Released in Japan as "Gundam Wing Dual Story: G-UNIT."

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