ANI-MOVIES, *Mobile Suit Gundam: The Movie Trilogy

The 1970s were the age of "Super Robots" with shows such as Mazinger Z, Getter Robo, and Gaiking that dip more into the superhero genre instead of science-fiction. In 1979, a new type of mecha anime premiered created by former Astro Boy animator Yoshiyuki Tomino and the crew at Sunrise titled Mobile Suit Gundam which uses mecha as literal tools of war. Set in a far-off future, this was the original Gundam anime that all others come from, that includes sequels, prequels, midquels, spinoffs, remakes, and any alternative universe story of which there are several. Gundam takes the mecha genre and brings on elements of space opera, love triangles, war drama, and pointless running around of annoying orphans. The anime TV series went on for 43 episodes and even though it was cancelled due to low ratings, but the Gundam merchandise sold so well that the show was re-edited into a trilogy of three theatrically released, making them the very first compilation movies of an anime series. There weren't too many other compilation films of anime series again until the 90s because of the budding VHS market. The three motion pictures managed to contain most of the highlights of the series without sacrificing much of the basic story as numerous anime compilation movies had a habit of doing after the trilogy. The third movie turned out to be one of the highest grossing movies in Japanese history, largely because some of the animation was redone specifically for the theatrical release. Most American's first exposure to the entire Gundam franchise was the VHS and DVD releases of the trilogy in the late 90s when Bandai Entertainment set up their American branch called Anime Village. It's strange that there two separate dubs of the movies and the original Mobile Suit Gundam TV series which got an English release sometime later. As an abbreviated version of the anime series, the trilogy works out better than most compilations, even though some of the bizarre soundtrack additions are questionable.

Taking place in a future known as the Universal Century, humans have spread out to the rest of the galaxy and live in space colonies with their own artificial ecosystem. In the year of 0079, a rebellious military nation called Zeon has risen and is fighting the Earth Federation for control. Zeon is conquering sections of space, including their assault on Federation base, Side 7, the inhabitants of which are housing the latest warship labeled White Base and its new brand of military mecha robot called a Mobile Suit, their experimental model is called a Gundam. The Gundam is decked out with machine guns, a laser rifle, a giant battle shield, and a pair of lightsabers that here are labeled Beam Sabers. The son of one of the Gundam's designers, Amuro Ray gets in the robot to help the surviving Side 7 refugees, and they lead an exodus away from Zeon. White Base eventually makes its way to Earth, even though they have to fight their way to Zeon occupied areas until they make contact with the Federation. Zeon is led by the Zabi family who usurped the throne from the founding family which has only two remaining outcast, Char Aznable who has joined Zeon as a masked commander, and Sayla Mass who is secretly part of the White Base crew. The crew of this experimental ship are all branded as Newtypes which is a space traveler with slightly psychic awareness, similar to extra sensory perception. Amuro's powers seem to blossom before anyone else's on his ship because he's the regular pilot for the Gundam and sees more combat than the others. White Base is eventually sent with the Federation forces to an astounding amount of space battles in their final push against Zeon. An estranged rivalry and comradery forms between Amuro, Char, and another Newtype, Lahla who is Char's subordinate and they all gain a psychic connection through their duels. Ultimately, the Federation forms a peace treaty with Zeon in what in Gundam history becomes known as the One Year War which sets the stage for an entire timeline that is still going on to this day.

Mobile Suit Gundam is the quintessential mecha anime, which is slightly odd as most American's exposure to the franchise is when Gundam Wing was first broadcast on Toonami. The original TV series and its movie compilations is hard to translate to Western audiences as their just not accustomed to war anime, even in the depts of space, or at least one where there are clearly sides of good and evil whereas in Gundam it can be largely ambiguous regardless of which continuity it takes place in. Few shows have captured such iconic scenes like the "Sieg Zeon" speech, Amuro saying goodbye to his mother, the first time Char meets up with Amuro outside of the cockpit, the ironic deaths of each of the Zabi family, and the final battle for White Base with the entire crew activating their Newtype abilities at the last minute which finally validates those damned orphans who usually just get into hijinks in the background. If you're looking to get into the eternal Gundam multiverse, then the movie trilogy is the best starting point.