Kidou Senshi Gundam: The Origin

In my opinion, a true masterpiece. I just can't find excuses to not rate it 10. The story is extremely rich, the art (characters, the coloring, the angles, the action moments, the dialogues), the characters' development, everything is 10 to me. I wanted so many animes to get a manga like this. I don't have words to describe how immersive reading this was. The complex story, the political drama, the battles, the context, everything is so well explained and in such an epic way!
Even support characters like Garma got more background, we got a little bit of some slice of life of Char and how did he become the Red Comet, what motivated him, his backstory and so much more. I love how this mange made Gundam 0079 even richer. The way the characters are so human and realistic is incredible, they way we get to see people with their own interests, dreams, battles and ambitions is wow. A great way to get to know the franchise, I love every volume.

First of all, sorry for my bad english.
Rarely I was tempted to do a review as much as with this manga, mostly seeing that nobody has yet made one so far, so I thought it would be opportune to do it.
Leaving aside that I consider myself a big fan of the works of Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and several of the Gundam series, this particular work seems to me a remarkable point for the entire franchise: a reimagining of the old Gundam series of 1979, correcting possible plot errors, eliminating the filler and giving a very interesting background to the main villains (who were the weakest part of the original series). Char Aznabel's flashback, telling us about his ascension in Zeon's army, easily positioned him among my favorite characters.
Give a summary of the plot at this point would be like trying to offer a synopsis of Star Wars, but in case you've never seen anything about this franchise, it could be summarized as "In the year 0079 of the Universal Century is waging a war between the Federation of the Earth Government and the space colonies that seek their independence. In the middle of this conflict that is taking a countless number of victims, our apathetic protagonist (and amateur robotics) Amuro Ray will see his daily life affected when a group of soldiers of the Principality of Zeon (the main antagonistic force of the series) infiltrates in the spacial colony which he lives and begins a battle against the Federation forces. At the same time, Amuro accidentally discovers the Federation's new definitive weapon: the Gundam, using it to take down Zeon's soldiers and win the attention of Char Aznable, a Zeon ace pilot who will be a recurring character in the entire series". From this point, Amuro will be forced by circumstances to fight in a war in which he didn't want to participate, being forced to kill other soldiers and watch several people die. This trip also has an attractive for the side of the adventure, with the protagonist traveling through different parts of a planet devastated by the war, but also becomes progressively more pessimistic and may not be liked by those who only come looking for giant robots and explosions. Amuro and his nemesis, Char, will have numerous encounters and battles until they can end this war (each one having different motivations to participate in this).
It is the best you can find in this medium with respect to war dramas, beautifully narrated and putting heroes and villains at the same height, giving a range of grays in the morality of the characters (which received notorious improvements in their characterization). As a plus, the art of Yoshikazu Yasuhiko is really beautiful and distinctive, with each panel being a visual spectacle (mainly in the action scenes), having realistic features but also that caricature-like charm of the comic.
This has nothing to envy to classics like Area 88, Gundam the 8th MS Team, The Cockpit or Space Battleship Yamato. In fact, this is a prefect balance between the cool action of Code Geass and the "philosophical reflections" of Legend Of the Galactic Heroes.
Taking into account the new content offered and that is the beginning of the chronology of Gundam, I consider it an excellent starting point to begin to see the different series of this universe, offering a new vision on some of the most iconic moments of the anime history. If you saw the Sunrise OVAs and got your attention, please do yourself a favor and give the full story a chance!
Even if you've already seen the original TV series or his compilation movies, this is a worth looking.

Mobile Suit Gundam:The Origin is best way to get into Gundam. I fell in love with each and every aspect of this masterpiece done by one of the Gods of the anime and manga industry: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. It's a retelling of the original Anime that aired in the late 70s. Nevertheless Yasuhiko-Sensei adds a lot of backstory about the origin (as the title suggests) of the conflict as well as the individual stories and motives of some of the main characters. Now let's get started with the actual review.

～ STORY = 9 ～
The story is simple but very well executed. It starts and we're already in the middle of the war between Zeon and the Earth Federation. The Zakus, Zeon's Mobile Suits used for military operations, enter Side 7, one of Earth's colonies, for an espionage mission as the "Feds" are suspected to develop a secret operation in that colony still under construction. Turns out they were right as the Feds' new Mobile Suit shows up: the Gundam. But why does all of this happen in the first place? Well several months prior to those events, the Principality of Zeon (former Side 3) had self-declared its independence from the Earth Federation, so conflict became inevitable. You'll find out more about it later on in the manga as all the pieces, one by one, complete the puzzle.



～ ART = 10 ～
The artwork is stunning, it was clearly made at its author's prime as it also stays consistent from beginning to end . I've spent I don't know how much time just staring at Yasuhiko-Sensei's panels, whether he portrayed the different types of Mobile Suits and aircrafts; the characters, carefully conveying their emotions and personalities; the marvelous landscapes and cities. The amount of details is impressive too.


～ CHARACTERS = 10 ～
The cast of characters is amazing. Even the ones that appear for a small amount of chapters are fundamental to the story. I grew attached to the White Base crew (also Ramba Ral and Hamon) and I loved to hate the Zabi family. I will only spend a few words for the 2 protagonists: Amuro Ray and Char Aznable.

Amuro is just 15 when he finds himself piloting the Gundam, fighting against Zeon trained soldiers in their Zakus. He manages not only to survive, but also to prove that he is able to control the Gundam. Therefore he is forced to join White Base's crew. The weight on his shoulders oppresses him and he often acts- and reacts - impulsively . Nevertheless I think his character development is great.

My favorite character is Char , the Red Comet. He fights for Zeon but he actually is hostile to Zabi families for reasons you get to know as the story progresses. To me he is the real protagonist of the whole manga and I actually sympathized with him several times, although most of his actions aren't pure at all.


～ ENJOYMENT = 10 ～
You can't get bored with this manga. Spectacular battles, conspiracies and secret missions are always around the corner. The pace is great. It makes you always wonder what will come next.


～ OVERALL =10 ～
I recommend this manga to everyone. It doesn't matter if you're a kid or an adult , go give this a shot and see for yourself. I was very sad when I reached the last page, for me it was one of those cases where I wish I could erase the story from my memory so that I can experience it again for the first time.