Mobile Suit Gundam			Gundam Story Synopsis Characters Mechanics Next: The 08th MS Team

Story Date: Universal Century 0079
More Info: Story Synopsis, Characters, Mechanics

This space-war epic was the first Gundam story, both in real life and in the Gundam universe's internal chronology. It was initially produced as a television series, which debuted in 1979. The series fared poorly in its first broadcast run and was terminated early. At first the series was to be cut from the planned 52 episodes to a mere 39, but the creators wrangled a one-month extension so they could wrap up the story. Subsequent reruns drew ever-larger audiences, and two years later the story was retooled and reprised as a motion picture trilogy.

These movies are made up mostly of recycled TV episode footage, and partly of new animation directed by character designer Yoshikazu "Yas" Yasuhiko - about 30% of the animation in the second movie, and 70% of the third, is new. The first Mobile Suit Gundam movie covers episodes 1 to 13 of the television series; Mobile Suit Gundam II, "Soldiers of Sorrow", covers episodes 16 to 30; and Mobile Suit Gundam III, "Encounters in Space", covers episodes 31 to 43. The movies for the most part follow the story of the television series, occasionally juggling the order of events for dramatic effect.

Like every other Gundam story, the original series is credited to co-creators Yoshiyuki Tomino and "Hajime Yadate." The latter is actually a collective pseudonym used by the Sunrise animation studio.

Mobile Suit Gundam Format: Television series, 43 episodes Aired: April 7, 1979 to January 26, 1980 Director: Yoshiyuki Tomino Character design: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko Mecha design: Kunio Okawara Art direction: Mitsuki Nakamura Cast: Amuro Ray Toru Furuya Char Aznable Shuichi Ikeda Bright Noah Hirotaka Suzuoki Mirai Yashima Fuyumi Shiraishi Lalah Sun Keiko Han Mobile Suit Gundam Format: Theatrical motion picture Premiered: March 14, 1981 Director: Ryoji Fujiwara Screenplay: Hiroyuki Hoshiyama Yoshihisa Araki Character design: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko Mecha design: Kunio Okawara Animation supervisor: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko Art direction: Mitsuki Nakamura Cast: Amuro Ray Toru Furuya Char Aznable Shuichi Ikeda Bright Noah Hirotaka Suzuoki Mirai Yashima Fuyumi Shiraishi Mobile Suit Gundam II, "Soldiers of Sorrow" Format: Theatrical motion picture Premiered: July 11, 1981 Director: Yoshiyuki Tomino Screenplay: Hiroyuki Hoshiyama Yoshihisa Araki Masaru Yamamoto Ken'ichi Matsuzaki Character design: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko Mecha design: Kunio Okawara Animation supervisor: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko Art direction: Mitsuki Nakamura Cast: Amuro Ray Toru Furuya Char Aznable Shuichi Ikeda Bright Noah Hirotaka Suzuoki Mirai Yashima Fuyumi Shiraishi Mobile Suit Gundam III, "Encounters in Space" Format: Theatrical motion picture Premiered: March 13, 1982 Director: Yoshiyuki Tomino Screenplay: Hiroyuki Hoshiyama Yoshihisa Araki Masaru Yamamoto Ken'ichi Matsuzaki Character design: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko Mecha design: Kunio Okawara Animation supervisor: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko Art direction: Mitsuki Nakamura Cast: Amuro Ray Toru Furuya Char Aznable Shuichi Ikeda Bright Noah Hirotaka Suzuoki Mirai Yashima Fuyumi Shiraishi Lalah Sun Keiko Han

Mobile Suit Gundam, Z Gundam, Gundam ZZ, Char's Counterattack, Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, Gundam F91, Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory, Gundam 0083: Last Blitz of Zeon, Gundam: The 08th MS Team, and Gundam W: Endless Waltz are copyright Sotsu Agency and Sunrise. V Gundam, G Gundam, Gundam W, and Gundam X are copyright Sotsu Agency, Sunrise and TV Asahi. Turn A Gundam is copyright Sotsu Agency, Sunrise and Fuji TV.