Is Gundam the Orgin Getting Continued
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I do still think the battle scenes suffer due to the use of grey scale, but they were a lot clearer than last time, but that might just be me getting more used to the style.
I was dis
The story definitely picked up in volume 2 which I'm glad of as I found it a whole lot more enjoyable. I continued my love of Char/Red Comet and I was even treated to a shower scene with him! First time I've come across nudity (rear not frontal if you want to know) in a male in a manga (that I can remember anyway).I do still think the battle scenes suffer due to the use of grey scale, but they were a lot clearer than last time, but that might just be me getting more used to the style.
I was disappointed that we saw no more than a line from Sayla as I was really looking forward to seeing more from her, but I know how manga arcs work and I'm sure we'll come back to her again in the future.
Amuro...oh Amuro...I am really not a fan of his so far and I think the relationship between him and his friend (I can't remember her name sorry) is so childish and silly - mainly on her side - that it takes away from the main story. What happens between Amuro and his mum is heartbreaking and as a mother, she is despicable; however I still didn't feel any sympathy towards Amuro, just disgust towards his mother.
Characters have started to stand out more now there has been a bit more development, but there are still quite a few that are basically interchangeable for me.
Overall though I really enjoyed this volume and I'm looking forward to volume 3 - which I already have - yay!
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Oh, and Amuro gets some reality slapped into him a bit harshly by both Lt. Bright and his mother. Lots of awesome Gundam action and deeper p
Volume 2 picks up almost immediately after the crash re-entry of White Base onto Earth. If you enjoyed volume 1 then you are going to like volume 2. It has the same great giant mech battles, just this time on Earth. Plus even more tricky political maneuvering from Char, more history of the Federation and Zeon sides, and a short introduction of Prince Garma.Oh, and Amuro gets some reality slapped into him a bit harshly by both Lt. Bright and his mother. Lots of awesome Gundam action and deeper plot make this a great sequel and bridge to volume 3.
The art is fantastic as usual. Thank you Yoshikazu Yasuhiko! And we even get a couple of colored sections. This entire manga is going to be incredibly difficult to talk myself out of purchasing.
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Most of all I wanted a developing and nuanced arc from each of the characters in this book as we see them having to reassess and reevaluate who they are in the midst of this intergalactic conflict. I got it.
Mobile Suit Gundam keeps giving me what I want. And I'll keep taking it.
I wanted giant robot battles. I got it. I wanted a science-fiction political war drama. I got it. I wanted to see at least one of these military studs have a shower scene. I got that to.Most of all I wanted a developing and nuanced arc from each of the characters in this book as we see them having to reassess and reevaluate who they are in the midst of this intergalactic conflict. I got it.
Mobile Suit Gundam keeps giving me what I want. And I'll keep taking it.
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I really like the characterization of Garma in this volume, it comes off a lot stronger than the tv series.
Art continues to be absolutely astounding. Yaz is the king. is there some way for me to wallpaper my house with the colour pages in this thing?
also the fangirliness of the clamp interview had me laughing so much.
I would love to see this as a anime series, given how each time I watched/read a match, battle, attack, etc. I could easily see the actio
Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's "Mobile Suit Gundam: THE ORIGIN" series continues to keep my attention, and help me ease into the science fiction, robot, space wars sub themes and genres of manga. Yes, I gave both of the first books a 3-star rating, which looks iffy at best, but I can say that despite the 3 stars I am not slowing down from continuing onward into Volume 3!I would love to see this as a anime series, given how each time I watched/read a match, battle, attack, etc. I could easily see the action playing out on a screen. I could also hear the score as Amuro journeys back to his Mother's land, as Garma faces his foes, and as the refugees reclaim their land. It is a full sensory experience manga, if you have a full(er) experience with anime.
Hopefully Volume 3 will arrive at the library soon, because one must find out what happens next to Amuro, Fraw, and the others.
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Especially in color. Gotta` love the colored pages in Origin. As for a review, if you get your hands on the book itself just read the quote on the back by Joe McCulloch. He hits the nail on the head.
*sigh* Fine. Here it is.
"It's a good book. Very good, actually. Very good war comics, requiring no prior experience with anime or mecha or Gundam - just a well-made, old-fashioned war comic, full of thrills and
Char, the red comet, is an asshole. A lovely, sexy, suave, charismatic, debonair asshole.Especially in color. Gotta` love the colored pages in Origin. As for a review, if you get your hands on the book itself just read the quote on the back by Joe McCulloch. He hits the nail on the head.
*sigh* Fine. Here it is.
"It's a good book. Very good, actually. Very good war comics, requiring no prior experience with anime or mecha or Gundam - just a well-made, old-fashioned war comic, full of thrills and spills and lucky breaks and narrow escapes and preening villains you'll love to hate and pigheaded heroes you may hate to love, and expert drawings by a master craftsman, and hard, sturdy violence." ~Joe McCulloch, The Comics Journal
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Reflecting on this connection to Earth, the idea that Zeon would have strongholds made much more sense. This also made the quotes of half of humanity being wiped out by war in less than a year make far more sense as well--if it were just 1 rogue colony as I had misunderstood, it didn't make sense. But if it were an overall movement to overthrow an established government all of it made much more sense to me. This, along with some of Char's facial expressions and actions, had me wondering if my first assumption that this series might work for a Gundam neophyte was misplaced. It's hard to tell if these were elements that were supposed to make sense over time or if I was already assumed to know this. It works either way for the most part, so I think it will be okay. It could also simply be my lack of familiarity with sci-fi and mecha that has me a little unstable--I'm not used to how the storytelling should be in stories like this.
Even with less assured footing in my understanding of the world in which the story is set, it's still an interesting read. Mirai Yashima and Sayla Mass in particular have drawn me in. They're capable and ambitious young women, both who seem to have some interesting backstories (that I hope we'll eventually be privy to) and a sense of calm in danger that most of the other crew members (no matter how senior) seem to lack. They serve as a nice counter balance to Amuro Ray who has become a bit of a nuisance for me. From the art, it seems like the story is trying to express a mental and emotional fatigue (possibly even PTSD) from what he is experiencing, but the text is not getting the point across effectively and so the execution of making him an identifiable character is not working for me. It's not clear if the problem is with the writing or with the translation. Regardless, the lack of connection with Amuro is easily enough made up for by other interesting characters. The political intrigue, affinity to Earth (as well as perception of Earth-born as "elites"), and the unexpected actions of Char allow the second volume to build on the base that the first entry in the series provided.
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Overall, Gundam is as thoroughly messy and convoluted as it is brilliantly complex. And oftentimes, where there is clarity therein also lays, in some measure, a sense of chaos. The story of Amuro Ray and his fellow laypersons cum crewmembers aboard White Base is chaos before clarity. The signal for change, as evident in this second volume, Garma, rests in articulating the real, emotional
MS Gundam: THE ORIGIN remains a dramatic and intelligent venture into the birthplace of modern mecha warfare.Overall, Gundam is as thoroughly messy and convoluted as it is brilliantly complex. And oftentimes, where there is clarity therein also lays, in some measure, a sense of chaos. The story of Amuro Ray and his fellow laypersons cum crewmembers aboard White Base is chaos before clarity. The signal for change, as evident in this second volume, Garma, rests in articulating the real, emotional response Amuro has to becoming a dog of war under the sharp eye of his commanding officer, Lieutenant Junior Grade Bright Noa.
This shift toward more manageable character dynamics and away from the familiar but improbable, do-what-feels-natural roots of mecha and sci-fi manga/anime certainly bodes well for this property. All the more so with Yasuhiko's integration of Char's military aspirations into the tenuous bouts of success (or failure) the folks on White Base muster almost daily. Taking this another step further, readers are given Garma Zabi -- commander of Zeon's North American forces -- whose quest for glory is as blinding as one might imagine it to be for the youngest son of a tyrant.
And so the layers begin to pile up. But in MS Gundam: THE ORIGIN, that's a good thing. While the Federation is merely limping by, searching and hoping for a better angle (or a better weapon) with which they might repel Zeon militia; Zeke forces are prone to bitter infighting and jealousy; all of which, in the end, merely proves that the enemy within is the most dangerous of them all. The Fed's biggest problems are a lack of resources, a lack of planning, and ineptitude. The Zekes are too prideful, and although prone to discerning their mistakes, loathe disclosing those mistakes to others in order to save face. It's a delicate dance that often gets more people killed than otherwise necessary.
In Garma, the conflict between Char Aznable and Garma Zabi embodies the militaristic zealotry and interpersonal subterfuge likely to tear apart the Zeon leagues. And it's awesome to watch. Is Char too slick for his own good? Is the Zabi family's incestuous fascination with power too obvious for its own good? Indeed, the presence of White Base and RX78-02 have only exasperated matters.
Yasuhiko's art finds stronger continuity in this volume than in the first. Previously, one-on-one mecha action was messy and hard to follow. In this book, the action is a lot clearer and more entertaining as a result. Additionally, select interludes with secondary characters like Sayla and Masaki prove informative, ensuring this doesn't become the All Amuro Show all too soon.
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So I was pleasantly surprised to find what an awesome job Yasuhiko
The earthbound section of Gundam 0079 was always my least favorite part of the series, a bunch of filler meant to pad the series to 50 episodes (ironic since it ended up being cut short). When Tomino wrote the Gundam novels, showing how he would've told the story if not for studio interference, one of the biggest changes was getting rid of this whole part, and it worked quite well, streamlining the story into a nice, concise epic.So I was pleasantly surprised to find what an awesome job Yasuhiko does here. He follows the basic outline of 0079, but the result is completely different. First he makes the setting more concrete, doing away with the vague somewhere-on-Earth of the anime. We get maps showing which areas Zeon and the Federation control, where the White Base is, what path they have to take for Jaburo (which is located in Brazil). I especially like the detail that Garma is using the Chateau Marmont for his HQ -- now there's a guy with style.
Garma gets a big boost in this telling of the One Year War, becoming a cool, sympathetic character instead of a mere level boss like the anime, which makes Char's actions at the end so much more Shakespearian.
Oh, and best part of this volume -- Bright Slap!
"Not even my own father ever hit me before!"
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While I think the show itself did a good job of developing its villains, the manga goes even further. The extra characterization just adds more depth to the story, and Garma's romance with Icelina feels more meaningful here. So does his relationship with Char, which then adds even more punch to the inevitable betrayal. Amuro is also better handled, which helps to make his attitude more sympathetic than annoying. That, and there's grea
I wrote a more comprehensive review of the first volume here.While I think the show itself did a good job of developing its villains, the manga goes even further. The extra characterization just adds more depth to the story, and Garma's romance with Icelina feels more meaningful here. So does his relationship with Char, which then adds even more punch to the inevitable betrayal. Amuro is also better handled, which helps to make his attitude more sympathetic than annoying. That, and there's great smaller character-building scenes sprinkled in among the action, including the scene with Bright and Masaki on the ship, and Sayla and Mirai on the beach, that are very endearing. In addition to the characterization, the plot itself is much more grounded - the ship isn't just jumping around from place to place on Earth, it's following a set course that makes sense given the difficulties faced by the White Base crew. It also does a better job of clarifying the political situation, so it's clear why Zeon has such a presence on Earth in the first place.
As always, the art is beautiful, and the presentation by Vertical is fantastic.
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[spoilers]
Of course, by making Garma less of a one dimensional character, it makes Char look worse when he does what he does to Garma. In the anime, his vengeance could arguably be said to be makin
Continuing his retelling of the First Gundam story, Yoshikazu continues to follow the plot of the original while changing and fleshing out details here and there. This time we get a more concrete look a the locations where the events are happening, and the character of Garma Zabi is better developed.[spoilers]
Of course, by making Garma less of a one dimensional character, it makes Char look worse when he does what he does to Garma. In the anime, his vengeance could arguably be said to be making Zeon stronger, as the Zabis are presented as being largely incompetent. Here, Garma looks like he could easily develop into a skilled commander if his career wasn't cut short.
It will be interesting to see how Char's character continues to develop as this telling of the story continues.
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Amuro's return to his hometown is cranked up with a car chase and battle with a Zeon patrol, but it is also very similar to the TV version. (This is not a complaint on my par This volume continues in the same vein as the first, expanding and refining the story from the original anime series. The story focuses largely on Garma and Char, and we see first see how cold and calculating Char really is. Their interactions, and the Icelina subplot is expanded a bit, but doesn't stray far from the series.
Amuro's return to his hometown is cranked up with a car chase and battle with a Zeon patrol, but it is also very similar to the TV version. (This is not a complaint on my part. I think the changes improve the story, but they are limited in scope). Most of the differences are subtle touches to make the characters more three dimensional or shore up weak spots in the plot. ...more
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