Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam - The 1985 anime series
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (Japanese original: 機動 戦 士 Ζ ガ ン ダ ム, Hepburn: Kidō Senshi Zēta Gandamu) is a Japanese animated series (anime) of science fiction, 1985 mecha, the second installment of the Gundam series and a sequel to the original Mobile Suit Gundam. The show was created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, with character designs by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, while the mechanical designs of the series are split between Kunio Okawara, Mamoru Nagano and Kazumi Fujita. The series originally aired on Nagoya Broadcasting Network and its ANN sister stations between 1985 and 1986.
In Italy it was broadcast on Hiro in 2009 and Italia 2 from 29 November 2011
The storyline is set in the futuristic “Universal Century” timeline and takes place eight years after the events of the original series. Zeta focuses on a new conflict forming 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 seeking to end the Titans. The show is told through the perspective of Kamille Bidan, a teenage AEUG member and pilot of the RX-178 Gundam Mk-II, and later of 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 whom returns as a pilot for the AEUG under the new identity of Quattro Bajeena.
Often considered one of the best Gundam series it is praised for its dark themes, characters and improvements over its predecessor. Between 2005 and 2006, the series was reproduced and compiled into a film trilogy, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation. Although it is still directed by Tomino, it involved many changes in the original storyline. The films were considered a hit in Japan.
History
Set in 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 Earth Federation task force designed to hunt down the remains of Zeon but mercilessly killing anyone who demands equal rights for space citizens to cold blood.
The story of Zeta Gundam is told through the point of view of Kamille Bidan, a teenage civilian 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 and hits a Titan officer named Jerid Messa. Following an AEUG attack led by Quattro Bajeena on the colony to capture a trio of field-tested Gundam Mk-II mobile suits, Kamille takes the opportunity to steal Mass's MK-II to repel the attack. and follows Quattro to the mother ship AEUG 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, accidentally kills Kamille's mother. For this, and for many other reasons, Kamille eventually joins AEUG.
As the war escalates, Kamille meets 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 launches a full-scale attack on the Earth Federation assembly in Dakar, leading to a civil war of the Earth Sphere. Quattro is revealed to be Char Aznable and presents evidence of Titan tyranny including the use of G3 nerve gas on a defenseless colony. The court of the Earth Federation soon decides that the Titans' actions are illegal and supports the AEUG in hunting down Titan leader Jamitov Hymem.
After losing support from the Earth Federation, the Titans turn to their original enemy, the remnants of the Principality of Zeon now known as Axis Zeon, to form an alliance to regain control of the Earth Sphere. Axis Zeon leader Haman Karn contacts the AEUG, using the ongoing Earth Federation civil war to politically demand control of Side 3, the former Zeon colony.
Axis involvement and the assassination of Jamitov by Fleet commander Jupiter Paptimus Scirocco soon lead to a battle over the Titan colony headquarters, Gryps, which has been modified to be a colony laser. The war ends when Kamille, piloting the Z Gundam mobile suit, kills Scirocco in battle and the AEUG sinks Scirocco's flagship and most of the Titan fleet. However, Kamille himself is psychologically broken and although he survives without any physical harm to him or the Zeta Gundam, he becomes mentally unstable with signs of memory loss and / or insanity.
The series ends with both the AEUG and the Earth Federation, after suffering considerable losses over the course of the war, facing the entire force of Axis Zeon, leading to the Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ.
Production
Yoshiyuki Tomino crammed his frustrations into Zeta Gundam. He created the anime with the idea of telling viewers “Hey, check out my new Gundam, guys. Why aren't you as lively as them in Z? " Tomino has mixed feelings about Zeta Gundam. Tomino did not like the series and believes it should have ended the story in the first TV series. However, at the same time, he noticed that thanks to Zeta the franchise has become more popular.
The show was rerun on the anime satellite television network, Animax, across Japan and later on its respective networks around the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and others. regions.
In 2004, after nearly 2 years of delays and failed television and merchandising deals, Bandai released a limited edition Zeta Gundam box set featuring original English and Japanese dubbed audio tracks. The box set includes pencil sharpeners collectibles and a 48-page booklet and poster. The English dub was made by Ocean Production's Blue Water Studio based in Calgary, Canada. Due to the fact that Bandai did not have the rights to the acronyms outside of Asia, the opening and closing sequences were changed.
The English subtitles were criticized as inaccurate and appeared to be based on the script of the English dub, rather than a direct translation of the original Japanese script. Bandai corrected the subtitles in a correctly translated version for later DVD releases in 5 cases with 2 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 scheduled for June 22, 2010, but later revised on July 6. The series and films were sold out, following the closure of Bandai Entertainment.
On October 11, 2014, during their panel at New York Comic-Con 2014, Sunrise announced that it will release the entire Gundam franchise, including the Zeta Gundam TV series and films in North America through distribution by Right Stuf Inc., starting from spring 2015.
Characters
Camille Bidan
Char Aznable / Quattro Bajeena
Bright Noah
Mirai Yashima
Does Yuiry
Emma Sheen
Reccoa Londe
Kai Shiden
Hayato Kobayashi
Amuro Ray
Haman Karn
Paptimus Scirocco
Jerid Mass
Bask Om
Jamitov Hyman
Four Murasame
Rosamia Badam
Haro You
Technical data
Anime TV series
Author Yoshiyuki Tomino, Hajime Yatate
Regia Yoshiyuki Tomino (general director)
Film script Hiroshi Ohonogi, Yumiko Suzuki, Yoshiyuki Tomino, Akinori Endoh
Char. design Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
Mechanical design Kunio Okawara, Mamoru Nagano, Kazumi Fujita
Music Shigeaki Saegusa
STUDIO Sunrise
Network Nagoya Broadcasting Network
1st TV March 2, 1985 - February 22, 1986
Episodes 50 (complete)
Episode duration 25 minutes
Italian network Hiro (premiere), Italy 2 (free-to-air premiere ep. 1-14, from 29 November 2011)
1st Italian TV February 2 - April 10, 2009
Italian episodes 50 (complete)
Preceded by Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory
Following from Gundam ZZ
Manga
Mobile Suit Z Gundam
Author Kazuhisa Kondo
Editor Kodansha
Magazine Comic Bom Bom
Target kodomo
1 edition March 1985 - February 1986
Tankōbon 3 (complete)
Italian publisher Panini Comics - Planet Manga
1st Italian edition 8 May - 3 October 2002
Italian periodicity monthly
Italian volumes 6 (complete)
Manga
Mobile Suit Z Gundam Define
Author Hiroyuki Kitazume
Mechanical design Kyoshi Takigawa
Editor Kadokawa Shoten
Magazine Gundam ace
Target shonen
1 edition June 25, 2011 - ongoing
Tankōbon 11 (in progress)
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org
