Mobile Suit Gundam

Mobile Suit Gundam is a Japanese anime series created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino and produced by Nagoya Broadcasting Network, Sotsu Agency, and Sunrise. The anime is licensed in North America by Bandai Entertainment which produced an English adaptation. The anime was not popular when it first aired in Japan, and in fact came close to being cancelled. It was originally set to run for 52 episodes but was cut down to 39 by the series' sponsors. However, the staff was able to negotiate a one month extension to end the series with 43 episodes. The series was broadcast in Japan on Nagoya Broadcasting Network between April 7, 1979 and January 26, 1980.

The English adaptation aired in the United States on Cartoon Network's Toonami programing block from July 23, 2001 to September 12, 2001. It was abruptly pulled from the block before it could complete its run. However, the final episode of the series eventually aired on Toonami's "A Night of New Years Eve-il" special on January 1, 2002.

Plot
Set in a fictional universe in the Universal Century year 0079, the Principality of Zeon has declared independence from the Earth Federation, and subsequently launched a One Year War. The conflict has directly affected every continent on earth, also nearly every space colony and lunar settlement. Zeon, though smaller, has the tactical upper hand through their use of a new type of humanoid weapons called mobile suits. After half of all humanity perishes in the conflict, the war settled into a bitter stalemate lasting over 8 months.

The series begins with a newly deployed Federation warship, the White Base, arriving at a secret research facility located at the Side 7 colony to pick up the Federation's newest weapon. However, they are closely followed by Zeon forces. A Zeon reconnaissance team member disobeys mission orders and attacks the colony, killing most of the Federation crew and civilians in the process. Out of desperation, teenage boy Amuro Ray accidentally finds the Federation's new weapon—the RX-78 Gundam, and neutralizes the situation. Scrambling everything they can, the White Base sets out with her newly formed crew of civilian recruits and refugees in her journey to survive, and unknowingly, change the course of the war.

Characters
Amuro Ray — The hero of the series, Amuro is the son of Tem Ray, the project leader for the Earth Federation's Project V, which produces the prototype mobile suits Gundam, Guncannon, and Guntank to combat the Principality of Zeon's Zaku. At the beginning of the Mobile Suit Gundam TV series, Amuro is merely a 15-year-old civilian, along with his friends Fraw Bow and Hayato Kobayashi, living in Side 7, one of the few space colonies untouched by the One Year War at the time. Amuro is a talented amateur mechanic, who spends a lot of time in building different mechanical parts with little social interactions with other people.

Born on Earth in Prince Rupert, Canada, Amuro's early childhood was spent on the planet with his parents, Tem and Kamaria Ray, until Amuro's father was called up by the EFSF to do weapon research under the guise of colony construction. Though Amuro's father wanted his mother to come with them, she declined (it was implied that she was having an affair at the time). When Amuro reunites with his mother during the One Year War there is some animosity between them, as Kamaria could not tolerate her son taking part in the violence of a military life.

Once Amuro and his father made it to space, Tem was often not home for long periods of time. Amuro became a social misfit and kept to himself, spending most of his time at home building and repairing gadgets. His neighbor Fraw Bow took it upon herself to take care of him. This trend continued into the One Year War period.

When Char Aznable sent a group of Zeon mobile suits in a reconnaissance mission on Side 7 (with the purpose of gathering information on the Project V), one of the new recruits from the squad decided to attack the colony. In sheer desperation, Amuro ended up piloting the RX-78-2 Gundam to defend his home. Using his intuition and reading the manual, Amuro manages to start up the Gundam and defeat the two attacking Zaku mobile suits. Unfortunately, due to his lack of experience, Amuro also blew a huge hole in the colony cylinder, nearly destroying Side 7 in the process. Seeing his potential, Bright Noa assigned the reluctant Amuro to the Gundam and repeatedly sent the boy out against Zeon forces.

Bright Noa — Bright is a loyal and dedicated soldier both in war and peace. He enforces strict military discipline and regulations, yet he never hesitates to make the morally right decision for the better of all, even if he has to disobey orders from his superiors. As the most experienced officer on board the White Base, whose crew consisted mostly of teenagers no older than 17, during the majority of Mobile Suit Gundam, he was often placed in the role of father figure toward the crew. A prime example of ability to maintain discipline and make tough decisions for one's own good is throwing the protagonist Amuro Ray into the brig for insubordination and for going AWOL.

During the One Year War, Bright Noa serves on the White Base as the commanding officer. When Char Aznable attacks the colony, Side 7, all the officers on the White Base are incapacitated, leaving Bright, who is then an ensign, with the highest seniority on the ship, and he assumes command from the wounded Captain Paolo Cassius.

The Federation's major perceived value for the White Base turns out to be the Zeon's obsessive attraction to it. The ship becomes a major decoy in Federation operations. Bright remains captain of the White Base throughout these events in Mobile Suit Gundam, participating in the major operations in The One Year War, including the last stand of Zeon at asteroid A Baoa Qu, where the White Base is destroyed.

Fraw Bow — Amuro's close friend and confidante, and devoted to his welfare. With Amuro's parents separated and his father Dr. Tem Ray frequently away on business for the Earth Federation's Project V, Fraw takes it upon herself to make sure that the perhaps charitably-described "engineering nerd" or "mecha otaku" eats, sleeps, bathes, lives in some degree of cleanliness, and—in her initial appearance—follows military evacuation orders.

Fraw and Amuro become crew members of White Base, along other Side 7 civilians. Becoming the primary caretaker of three young children, Katz Hawin, Letz Cofan, and Kikka Kitamoto, in addition to Amuro. Fraw joins the medical staff to help distract herself. Fraw finishes the war serving on the ship's bridge as White Base's communications officer.

Hayato Kobayashi — One of Amuro Ray's neighbors on Side 7. Short and stocky and with a tendency towards insecurity, Hayato often measures himself against his friend Amuro's accomplishments. After surviving the attack on his Side 7 home, Hayato becomes the co-pilot for the RX-75 Guntank alongside Ryu Jose, largely out of a sense of rivalry with Amuro. After Ryu sacrifices his life to save Amuro from Hamon Crowley, Hayato continues to pilot the Guntank after it is modified for use by a single person.

Kai Shiden — At the onset of the One Year War in UC 0079, Kai Shiden lived in the space colony Green Oasis in Bunch 1 of Side 7. Kai Shiden is tall and lanky in stature with a mop of gray hair, and his snarky and sarcastic personality often gets him scolded or slapped around. After surviving the Zeon attack on Side 7, Kai evacuated to the Pegasus class assault carrier SCV-70 White Base to make his escape. However, due to a shortage of crew and soldiers to staff the warship, Kai was asked to become a pilot to help defend the White Base from the frequent Zeon attacks. Kai was assigned to pilot the RX-77 Guncannon mobile suit, the unit he would remain in charge of for the rest of the One Year War.

A natural coward, cynic, and pessimist, Kai could often be found hiding on the sidelines making smart-alecky comments. His fighting style leaned towards bombarding foes with the Guncannon's long-range armaments, but when he got in a fix he had shown that he was able to pull off hand-to-hand attacks with the Guncannon. He dislikes it when things move slowly. However, Kai quickly became disenchanted with war and he decided to desert the White Base when it was docked for repairs in Belfast, Ireland. Outside of Belfast, Kai met a young girl named Miharu Ratokie, and agreed to sneak her onto the White Base and took her to the Earth Federation headquarters in Jaburo, located along the Amazon River in South America.

Ryu Jose — A large, stocky Latino man with a dusky complexion, Ryu was a test pilot-in-training for the Earth Federation on Side 7. When the colony was attacked by Char Aznable, Ryu took control of the Core Fighter jet to protect the White Base. Being a gentle, caring, considerate comrade, Ryu was the best mediator to ease the tension between the uptight Bright Noa and the young civilian recruits.

Mirai Yashima — A civilian who joins the White Base crew after the attack on Side 7. Her training as a space glider pilot makes her the best choice to take the White Base's helm, and Mirai soon becomes both Bright Noa's trusted deputy and a surrogate mother to the ship's young crew. She is also the daughter of a powerful and well-connected family, which causes complications later in the series when she is reunited with her fiancée Side 6's district attorney Cameron Bloom, whom she disliked as all he cared about was avoiding the war by fleeing to Side 6.

Sayla Mass — Born Artesia Som Deikum, she is the younger sister of Casval Rem Deikun and the only daughter of Zeon Zum Deikun, the founder of the Republic of Zeon. Originally a medical student on Side 7, Sayla is almost immediately recruited as a soldier, and set to the task of watching over the civilian refugees. With the near total lack of experienced personnel to defend White Base (most original crew members were killed in the Principality of Zeon's attack on Side 7), Sayla first serves as acting captain Bright Noa's communications officer and later as a combat pilot.

Soon after joining the ship, she repeatedly looks for her "older brother Casval" (better known as Char Aznable, a Zeon ace pilot flamboyantly known as the "Red Comet"), and takes every opportunity to learn information about him and make contact. When Bright picks up a suspicious briefcase (later revealed to be full of gold bars) intended for Sayla late in the series, he confronts her and she admits her true identity as Artesia, asking Bright to distribute the gold to the ship's crew. Bright shows great sympathy for the amount of emotional distress she has secretly borne alone throughout the show.

Char Aznable — During the One Year War, Char shows great ability not only as mobile suit pilot, but also as tactician and commanding officer. Late in the war, Char begins a bitter rivalry with Federation pilot Amuro Ray, and he develops a relationship with Lalah Sune, a Newtype girl he saved from an Indian brothel. Char also develops into a Newtype himself, and forms psychic bonds with both Amuro and Lalah. Char's abilities and natural charisma allow him to inspire and manipulate. Lalah is killed in battle, taking a blow meant for Char; this results in a bitter hatred between Char and Amuro.

During the war, Char draws on Zeon's philosophy to form his identity. The Zeon Principality is largely an authoritarian state that values independence from the Earth and later the destruction of Earth's inhabitants. With his devotion to free all of those who are "trapped by gravity's pull" he is able to face the most deadly outcomes with dignity and leadership.

Episodes
On May 30, 2006, Bandai Entertainment re-released the English dub of the TV series in a 10 volume DVD set. In 2011, Bandai again released the series in two sets.

Broadcast History
The series was broadcast in Japan on Nagoya Broadcasting Network between April 7, 1979 and January 26, 1980. The English adaptation of the series first aired in the United States on Cartoon Network's Toonami programing block from July 23, 2001 to September 12, 2001, when it was abruptly removed from the block due to events in the series resembling the September 11th attacks. Episode 38 was skipped due to the attacks, and the show was removed altogether from the block after Episode 39. The final episode of the series eventually aired on Toonami's "A Night of New Years Eve-il" special on January 1, 2002. The 15th episode - "Cucuruz Doan's Island" never aired on Cartoon Network. From June 8, 2002 to December 28, 2002, the series returned to Cartoon Network, as part of their late-night Adult Swim block.
 * Japan (Nagoya Broadcasting Network) — April 7, 1979 - January 26, 1980
 * Italy (TMC) — February 1980
 * Italy (Italia 1) — August 24, 2004
 * United States (Cartoon Network) — July 23, 2001 - September 12, 2001; January 1, 2002 ; June 8, 2002 - December 28, 2002

Toonami Broadcast History

 * Toonami (United States) — July 23, 2001 - September 12, 2001; January 1, 2002

Toonami Marathons
Mobile Suit Gundam only had one marathon appearance during its run on Toonami, A Night of New Year's Eve-il.