Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin 1: Activation: 01

Mobile Suit Gundam was an animated TV series which aired in Japan 1979-1980. It was not initially considered a success and was cancelled, finishing before the end of its planned run. However, in the years after its initial broadcast a successful trilogy of compilation films and the sale of newly detailed model kits retroactively made it a hit, stimulating the production of a sequel and eventually the establishment of a wildly successful running franchise. New iterations have been coming out ever since; two are airing as I write this in 2014.In 2001 the character designer for the original TV series, Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, began revisiting the story with a comprehensive manga retelling, which is what you're looking at here: The Origin. Yasuhiko is an accomplished veteran manga artist in his own right and by 2001 Gundam was an established property. A new magazine specifically for various Gundam manga, Gundam Ace, was launched with The Origin as its centrepiece. We can imagine that The Origin as a project was given all the time and assistance merited by a blue-chip title. The result is a careful, considered and thorough piece of work. The original story is tweaked sensitively here and there, and a substantial new arc detailing the history of Gundam's charismatic, scheming half-villain Char Aznable keeps things interesting for existing fans who know the show back to front and inside out. I dare say that The Origin is a more coherent, more accessible and more consistently exciting version of the story than the original TV series. If you want a review of the content accessible to people who aren't Gundam aficionados, written by someone with far more experience tackling comics/manga than I have, I suggest you Google up Joe McCulloch's review of the first volume for The Comics Journal.The Origin has been partly released in English once before by Viz, and you can still find some of their volumes kicking around on Amazon. Don't buy those. Vertical have rescued the title and given it a release it deserves, a definitive release. These are big, chunky books, printed on thick paper, including extensive colour sections, and bound well. These may be physically the nicest books that Vertical have ever put out. I deal with expensive, bespoke books in my day job and I still enjoy handling these. Vertical have also committed to releasing the whole thing, beginning to end, so there should be no concern about having an unfinished collection.It's a definitive release but not quite a perfect one. Some of the covers (apparently chosen by the powers that be at Sunrise rather than by Vertical) are a little underwhelming. The translation is in general very solid, offering natural, readable English that doesn't intrude on the power of the glorious images, but there are (in the seven volumes I have read) a few infelicities and one or two homophone errors which must've slipped past proofreading. Some volumes include short essays and sketches from Yasuhiko or other significant anime or manga creators, which are interesting windows on the place of Gundam in their collective memory. This material is, however, relatively thin and isn't much of an extra reason to purchase.But you don't need an extra reason to purchase. If you're already a Gundam fan, buy these books and enjoy rediscovering the story in the hands of one of the people closely involved in its original production. If you're simply curious comics reader and you reckon you'd enjoy a great space war yarn, give the first volume a read and see what you think.

Most reviews appear to be by people extremely familiar with the anime, or other manga products of Gundam, so this is for first time readers.I know of Gundam, of course - but the closest I got to this was probably Full Metal Panic, Zone of Enders or the constant references in Keroro Gunsou (Sgt Frog). But being a sucker for a beautiful hard back manga (here's looking at you Beserk), I thought I would give this a shot.Firstly, this is a lovely hardback volume, it's solid with a lovely washed out colour to it. There is a large afterword section which I think fans will particularly enjoy.The art itself is great, there are a couple of colour pictures throughout but the rest is your traditional black and white and the level of detail (particularly in action moments) is excellent.The story itself is readily approachable for new timers like me - a cold war between Earth and a far flung orbital colony (Zeon) erupts as Zeon forces infiltrate and discover Earth is building a top secret weapon - the Gundam. Hi-jinks and lots of explosions follow with a compelling cast quickly built up - particularly with the mysterious Char, ace pilot of the Zeon forces, who is easily one of the most interesting characters.Is it as spectacular a collectors item as the new Beserk books, no (but then, its a good bit cheaper). Do i find the battles sometimes a bit confusing (still not quite sure what happened to the first Gundam in chapter 1), yes. But am I doomed to now purchase all of the books to have this beautiful, interesting collection of stories - absolutely.Don't be afraid if you are new to Gundam. If you like sci-fi, collector items or just beautiful books - this is a win.

I never thought this would actually happen because it seemed like Japan has given up on the idea of bringing Gundam to the west. But Vertical picks up the ball and runs with it all the way to the touchdown zone.Where do I even start?This release is comparable to the Japanese aizoban (collector's edition) releases of the manga, the only difference is the fact that this release isn't leather bound like the Japanese release but I don't think I actually want that, but that's up to taste.The volume is hardcover, with a glorious cover depicting the RX78-2 activating for the first time and is of great quality. The paper is glossy like that of American comics, which isn't common for manga but does a much better job at highlighting the art details than regular paper. The volume is nearly 500 pages long and combines two volumes of the Japanese tankobon releases in to one. There are also several color pages with fantastic art. The only complaint I have is that the essays at the end aren't that special, you just get the standard summary of the Gundam franchise and it's cultural legacy that I'm sure most of the people buying this already know. The essay by Hideaki Anno (founder of Gainax, creator of Evangelion and Gunbuster) is really short and was taken from a Gundam Ace magazine from 2005 so I was kind of disappointed.As for the story and art, it's fantastic. Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's art is amazing and it flows insanely well and adds new details to familiar, classic images. If you wonder how much of the story this volume covers, it's from the attack on Side 7 to White Base landing on earth.

I am a Gundam fan so obviously, I enjoyed the series. However, what has been a joy is seeing other's who haven't gotten into the series read and enjoy. I've lent this to my partner who hasn't seen any Gundam, show or hardly any anime and they liked it a lot. I've purchased the rest of the books in the series now.

Very nice , great art on all pages and a surprisingly long book for the price

Perfect quality

i loved it so much, quality is good too