Post by Ryan Pensler on Apr 24, 2012 5:25:06 GMT -5
What is Mobile Suit Gundam?
The original Mobile Suit Gundam was an animated science-fiction series which debuted on Japanese television in 1979. In this groundbreaking series, the traditional giant robots of Japanese anime were for the first time portrayed as realistic war machines instead of invincible superheroes. The people who used these machines to fight in a futuristic space war were complex characters whose motivations and beliefs didn't break down into simple good and evil, and the story encompassed human drama and social commentary as well as thrilling robot battles.
Mobile Suit Gundam's popularity led to a series of sequels and followups - first a three-part movie compilation, then a succession of new television serials, original videos, and theatrical films. After more than two decades, this Gundam saga has expanded to include nine television series, four video series, ten movies, and countless novels, comics, and original video game adventures. This saga encompasses six different worlds, each with its own unique history and society, and showcases the work of the most celebrated talents of the anime industry.
Although this saga's stories encompass centuries of future history and span several alternate worlds, they all share a single unifying element - the legendary line of fighting machines which bear the name of Gundam. From the prototype RX-78 Gundam featured in the original series, to the unique and colorful machines which star in later stories like G Gundam and Gundam Wing, all these stories recount the adventures of heroic Gundams and their brave pilots.
The Gundam saga made its North American debut in 1998, and in the following years Bandai Entertainment has continued to release new chapters of this epic saga. Meanwhile, Bandai America has produced a wide range of merchandise for Gundam fans young and old, including fully poseable action figures and a selection of the astonishing model kits for which Gundam is justly famous. As you explore this Web site, we hope you'll enjoy learning about this fascinating and ever-evolving saga.
What are space colonies
The Universal Century setting of the original Mobile Suit Gundam series appears to lie in the relatively near future. In many of the U.C. timelines published over the years, it's claimed that the construction of the first orbital space colonies begins in the year A.D. 2045. (This claim is echoed in the opening narration of the G-Saviour television special.) However, this is a distinct date from U.C. 0001, the year in which actual migration to the space colonies begins. By most estimates, decades of construction work would be required before these colonies were ready for habitation.
The correspondence between A.D. and U.C. calendars is further constrained by evidence from the official timelines (which establish that U.C. 0088 is a leap year) and the animated series (in Gundam 0080, we see a newspaper dated "Monday, January 14, 0080"). Of the years following A.D. 2045 which might correspond to U.C. 0001, only a handful produce the correct combination of leap years and weekdays, among them the A.D. years 2053, 2081, 2109, and 2149. Thus, depending on the time elapsed between colony construction and actual migration, the U.C. 0079 setting of the original Mobile Suit Gundam might correspond to A.D. 2131, 2159, 2187, or even later. The safest conclusion might be that the original series is set sometime in what we would call the 22nd Century.
The scope of the Gundam series is largely limited to Earth, the moon, and the hundreds of artificial space colonies that orbit the planet - a system collectively described as the "Earth sphere." Some side stories range further out into the solar system to depict events at the asteroid belt, Mars, and Jupiter, but all the animated features to date have taken place within the confines of the Earth sphere.
Space colonies are one of the Gundam saga's trademark elements, appearing in every series except Turn A Gundam. These are descendants of modern-day space stations, designed for permanent habitation by thousands or even millions of people. Most Gundam series deal, at least in part, with the social tensions created by the separation of the human race into Earth-dwellers and space colonists.
The space colonies used in the Universal Century world are based on the Island Three design proposed by Princeton professor Gerard K. O'Neill in the 1970s. This type of colony is an immense metal cylinder, 20 miles long and four miles in diameter, which generates artificial gravity by rotating about its lengthwise axis. The artificial terrain inside the cylinder can house millions of people in an Earth-like environment.
In the Universal Century series, we see two variants of this Island Three design - an "open" type which reflects sunlight into the cylinder interior via giant mirror panels, and a "closed" type which uses an internal lighting system. We also see a handful of Island One colonies, smaller spherical models which house roughly ten thousand people and are used as movable construction shacks.
The After Colony world of Gundam Wing uses wheel-shaped space colonies, 11 miles in diameter and 2.5 miles wide, each of which houses roughly 1.5 million people. In the Future Century world of G Gundam, advanced technology has enabled humanity to create whimsical space islands of all shapes and sizes, which reflect the national heritage of their inhabitants. And in the Cosmic Era setting of the new Gundam Seed series, the genetically-engineered space settlers known as Coordinators live in hourglass-shaped constructs called PLANTs.
Where are the space colonies located?
Although the various Gundam worlds use different styles for their space colonies, their locations are the same in each case. The space colonies are organized into clusters at the five Lagrange points, which are regions in Earth orbit where the gravitational forces of Earth and the moon combine to create a stable balance.
Since these regions are created by the interactions of Earth and its satellite, their positions are fixed relative to the moon. Lagrange point 1, or L1, is in front of the moon, and L2 is behind it. L3 is on the other side of Earth, 180 degrees opposite the moon. L4 and L5 are likewise located along the moon's orbital track, 60 degrees to either side of the moon. In some Gundam worlds, the colony clusters are identified by their respective Lagrange points. In the Universal Century, L4 and L5 each contain two separate colony clusters, so there are a total of seven of these clusters, or "Sides."
In addition to space colonies, all the Gundam worlds also feature lunar cities or bases. The moon's low gravity makes it unsuitable for long-term habitation, but it's a convenient site for resource mining and military operations. In the Universal Century world, the moon's population of "Lunarians" are considered a third social category in addition to the planet-dwelling "earthnoids" and the "spacenoids" who live in the orbital colonies.
What are Mobile Suits
Mobile suits are the humanoid fighting vehicles - in other words, giant robots - which are the standard weapon of war in the Gundam saga. Mobile suits typically range in size from 15 to 25 meters (50 to 80 feet), and are usually operated by a single human pilot. Their versatility and high maneuverability make them superior to any conventional tank or space fighter.
The technologies used in these mobile suits, and the history of their development, are different in each of the Gundam worlds. In most cases, they are said to be military versions of worker machines which were previously used for space construction. These worker machines are in turn descended from the space suits and maneuvering gear used by modern-day astronauts, and it's from these that the "suit" nickname is derived. In the Gundam series, the space suits worn by human characters are often referred to as "normal suits" (or "astro suits," in Gundam Wing) to distinguish them from their robotic descendants.
Mobile Armors
Mobile armors are non-humanoid vehicles based on mobile suit technology. In the Universal Century series, these machines are larger and more powerful than mobile suits, and their greater size allows them to carry exotic weapons and gadgetry. Later on, transformable mobile suits are introduced, which can change into a "mobile armor form" capable of high-speed flight.
The mobile armor term is also used to describe non-humanoid vehicles, and transformed mobile suits, in other Gundam worlds. However, the mobile armors featured in such recent series as Gundam X and Gundam Seed are often no more powerful than an average mobile suit - in fact, in the latter case, the mobile armors used by the Earth forces are just glorified space fighters which are no match for the enemy's mobile suits.
Mobile Suit Weapons
Mobile suit weapons include conventional shell-firing cannons and missile launchers, science-fiction standbys such as lasers and electromagnetic railguns, and scaled-up versions of human weapons like machine guns, swords, and axes. However, the most effective of all are beam weapons, which emit high-energy particles of immense destructive power. In the Universal Century, these weapons use exotic "mega particles," while most other Gundam worlds employ charged particles of an unspecified type.
Beam weapons come in two major varieties - long-range weapons such as beam rifles and beam cannons, and melee weapons like the traditional beam saber. In the later Universal Century series, beam saber technology is also adapted to create defensive devices like the beam shield and propulsion systems like the beam rotor.
Despite their immense power, there are some defenses against beam weapons. They can be blocked by other beam weapons of similar power (this is the concept behind the beam shield), and their effectiveness can be reduced by ablative anti-beam coating. It's also possible to deflect beam attacks using powerful force fields, though the power requirements of such barriers make them impractical for most mobile suits.
What are Gundams
That depends on the world in question. In the original Mobile Suit Gundam, the prototype RX-78 Gundam was armored with a special alloy known as Luna Titanium, which was subsequently renamed Gundarium in honor of this famous machine. However, this Gundarium alloy was then used by a wide variety of mobile suits, while some later Gundam models employed different armor materials. As a result, in the Universal Century world, there's no real connection between the Gundam mobile suits and Gundarium alloy.
The situation is different in G Gundam's Future Century and Gundam Wing's After Colony era. Here, the Gundam mobile suits derive their name from the super-tough alloys used in their construction - Gundarium in the former case, and Gundanium in the latter. Even in Gundam Wing, though, there are some mobile suits which are made from Gundanium alloy but don't bear the Gundam name.
In Gundam Seed, rather than being made from ultra-strong alloy, the Gundam mobile suits are instead equipped with a technology called Phase Shift Armor. This feature allows the Gundams to harmlessly absorb the impact of conventional missiles and projectile weapons, rendering them invulnerable to anything except beam weapons... at least until their energy batteries run out.
The original Mobile Suit Gundam was an animated science-fiction series which debuted on Japanese television in 1979. In this groundbreaking series, the traditional giant robots of Japanese anime were for the first time portrayed as realistic war machines instead of invincible superheroes. The people who used these machines to fight in a futuristic space war were complex characters whose motivations and beliefs didn't break down into simple good and evil, and the story encompassed human drama and social commentary as well as thrilling robot battles.
Mobile Suit Gundam's popularity led to a series of sequels and followups - first a three-part movie compilation, then a succession of new television serials, original videos, and theatrical films. After more than two decades, this Gundam saga has expanded to include nine television series, four video series, ten movies, and countless novels, comics, and original video game adventures. This saga encompasses six different worlds, each with its own unique history and society, and showcases the work of the most celebrated talents of the anime industry.
Although this saga's stories encompass centuries of future history and span several alternate worlds, they all share a single unifying element - the legendary line of fighting machines which bear the name of Gundam. From the prototype RX-78 Gundam featured in the original series, to the unique and colorful machines which star in later stories like G Gundam and Gundam Wing, all these stories recount the adventures of heroic Gundams and their brave pilots.
The Gundam saga made its North American debut in 1998, and in the following years Bandai Entertainment has continued to release new chapters of this epic saga. Meanwhile, Bandai America has produced a wide range of merchandise for Gundam fans young and old, including fully poseable action figures and a selection of the astonishing model kits for which Gundam is justly famous. As you explore this Web site, we hope you'll enjoy learning about this fascinating and ever-evolving saga.
What are space colonies
The Universal Century setting of the original Mobile Suit Gundam series appears to lie in the relatively near future. In many of the U.C. timelines published over the years, it's claimed that the construction of the first orbital space colonies begins in the year A.D. 2045. (This claim is echoed in the opening narration of the G-Saviour television special.) However, this is a distinct date from U.C. 0001, the year in which actual migration to the space colonies begins. By most estimates, decades of construction work would be required before these colonies were ready for habitation.
The correspondence between A.D. and U.C. calendars is further constrained by evidence from the official timelines (which establish that U.C. 0088 is a leap year) and the animated series (in Gundam 0080, we see a newspaper dated "Monday, January 14, 0080"). Of the years following A.D. 2045 which might correspond to U.C. 0001, only a handful produce the correct combination of leap years and weekdays, among them the A.D. years 2053, 2081, 2109, and 2149. Thus, depending on the time elapsed between colony construction and actual migration, the U.C. 0079 setting of the original Mobile Suit Gundam might correspond to A.D. 2131, 2159, 2187, or even later. The safest conclusion might be that the original series is set sometime in what we would call the 22nd Century.
The scope of the Gundam series is largely limited to Earth, the moon, and the hundreds of artificial space colonies that orbit the planet - a system collectively described as the "Earth sphere." Some side stories range further out into the solar system to depict events at the asteroid belt, Mars, and Jupiter, but all the animated features to date have taken place within the confines of the Earth sphere.
Space colonies are one of the Gundam saga's trademark elements, appearing in every series except Turn A Gundam. These are descendants of modern-day space stations, designed for permanent habitation by thousands or even millions of people. Most Gundam series deal, at least in part, with the social tensions created by the separation of the human race into Earth-dwellers and space colonists.
The space colonies used in the Universal Century world are based on the Island Three design proposed by Princeton professor Gerard K. O'Neill in the 1970s. This type of colony is an immense metal cylinder, 20 miles long and four miles in diameter, which generates artificial gravity by rotating about its lengthwise axis. The artificial terrain inside the cylinder can house millions of people in an Earth-like environment.
In the Universal Century series, we see two variants of this Island Three design - an "open" type which reflects sunlight into the cylinder interior via giant mirror panels, and a "closed" type which uses an internal lighting system. We also see a handful of Island One colonies, smaller spherical models which house roughly ten thousand people and are used as movable construction shacks.
The After Colony world of Gundam Wing uses wheel-shaped space colonies, 11 miles in diameter and 2.5 miles wide, each of which houses roughly 1.5 million people. In the Future Century world of G Gundam, advanced technology has enabled humanity to create whimsical space islands of all shapes and sizes, which reflect the national heritage of their inhabitants. And in the Cosmic Era setting of the new Gundam Seed series, the genetically-engineered space settlers known as Coordinators live in hourglass-shaped constructs called PLANTs.
Where are the space colonies located?
Although the various Gundam worlds use different styles for their space colonies, their locations are the same in each case. The space colonies are organized into clusters at the five Lagrange points, which are regions in Earth orbit where the gravitational forces of Earth and the moon combine to create a stable balance.
Since these regions are created by the interactions of Earth and its satellite, their positions are fixed relative to the moon. Lagrange point 1, or L1, is in front of the moon, and L2 is behind it. L3 is on the other side of Earth, 180 degrees opposite the moon. L4 and L5 are likewise located along the moon's orbital track, 60 degrees to either side of the moon. In some Gundam worlds, the colony clusters are identified by their respective Lagrange points. In the Universal Century, L4 and L5 each contain two separate colony clusters, so there are a total of seven of these clusters, or "Sides."
In addition to space colonies, all the Gundam worlds also feature lunar cities or bases. The moon's low gravity makes it unsuitable for long-term habitation, but it's a convenient site for resource mining and military operations. In the Universal Century world, the moon's population of "Lunarians" are considered a third social category in addition to the planet-dwelling "earthnoids" and the "spacenoids" who live in the orbital colonies.
What are Mobile Suits
Mobile suits are the humanoid fighting vehicles - in other words, giant robots - which are the standard weapon of war in the Gundam saga. Mobile suits typically range in size from 15 to 25 meters (50 to 80 feet), and are usually operated by a single human pilot. Their versatility and high maneuverability make them superior to any conventional tank or space fighter.
The technologies used in these mobile suits, and the history of their development, are different in each of the Gundam worlds. In most cases, they are said to be military versions of worker machines which were previously used for space construction. These worker machines are in turn descended from the space suits and maneuvering gear used by modern-day astronauts, and it's from these that the "suit" nickname is derived. In the Gundam series, the space suits worn by human characters are often referred to as "normal suits" (or "astro suits," in Gundam Wing) to distinguish them from their robotic descendants.
Mobile Armors
Mobile armors are non-humanoid vehicles based on mobile suit technology. In the Universal Century series, these machines are larger and more powerful than mobile suits, and their greater size allows them to carry exotic weapons and gadgetry. Later on, transformable mobile suits are introduced, which can change into a "mobile armor form" capable of high-speed flight.
The mobile armor term is also used to describe non-humanoid vehicles, and transformed mobile suits, in other Gundam worlds. However, the mobile armors featured in such recent series as Gundam X and Gundam Seed are often no more powerful than an average mobile suit - in fact, in the latter case, the mobile armors used by the Earth forces are just glorified space fighters which are no match for the enemy's mobile suits.
Mobile Suit Weapons
Mobile suit weapons include conventional shell-firing cannons and missile launchers, science-fiction standbys such as lasers and electromagnetic railguns, and scaled-up versions of human weapons like machine guns, swords, and axes. However, the most effective of all are beam weapons, which emit high-energy particles of immense destructive power. In the Universal Century, these weapons use exotic "mega particles," while most other Gundam worlds employ charged particles of an unspecified type.
Beam weapons come in two major varieties - long-range weapons such as beam rifles and beam cannons, and melee weapons like the traditional beam saber. In the later Universal Century series, beam saber technology is also adapted to create defensive devices like the beam shield and propulsion systems like the beam rotor.
Despite their immense power, there are some defenses against beam weapons. They can be blocked by other beam weapons of similar power (this is the concept behind the beam shield), and their effectiveness can be reduced by ablative anti-beam coating. It's also possible to deflect beam attacks using powerful force fields, though the power requirements of such barriers make them impractical for most mobile suits.
What are Gundams
That depends on the world in question. In the original Mobile Suit Gundam, the prototype RX-78 Gundam was armored with a special alloy known as Luna Titanium, which was subsequently renamed Gundarium in honor of this famous machine. However, this Gundarium alloy was then used by a wide variety of mobile suits, while some later Gundam models employed different armor materials. As a result, in the Universal Century world, there's no real connection between the Gundam mobile suits and Gundarium alloy.
The situation is different in G Gundam's Future Century and Gundam Wing's After Colony era. Here, the Gundam mobile suits derive their name from the super-tough alloys used in their construction - Gundarium in the former case, and Gundanium in the latter. Even in Gundam Wing, though, there are some mobile suits which are made from Gundanium alloy but don't bear the Gundam name.
In Gundam Seed, rather than being made from ultra-strong alloy, the Gundam mobile suits are instead equipped with a technology called Phase Shift Armor. This feature allows the Gundams to harmlessly absorb the impact of conventional missiles and projectile weapons, rendering them invulnerable to anything except beam weapons... at least until their energy batteries run out.