Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam facts for kids
| Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam | |
Cover for the 2nd Original Remastered Blu-ray Box Set, depicting the MSZ-006 Z Gundam.
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Quick facts for kids 機動戦士Ζガンダム(Kidō Senshi Zēta Gandamu) |
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| Genre | Mecha, Military science fiction, space opera |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Yoshiyuki Tomino |
| Produced by | Kenji Uchida Kuniaki Ohnishi Toru Moriyama |
| Written by | Yoshiyuki Tomino |
| Music by | Shigeaki Saegusa |
| Studio | Nippon Sunrise |
| Licensed by | {{English anime Limited]]}} |
| Network | Nagoya TV, TV Asahi, Animax |
| Original run | March 2, 1985 – February 22, 1986 |
| Episodes | 50 |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Kazuhisa Kondo |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| Demographic | Children, Shōnen |
| Magazine | Comic Bon Bon |
| Original run | March 1985 – February 1986 |
| Volumes | 3 |
| Anime film series | |
| Zeta Gundam: A New Translation | |
| Directed by | Yoshiyuki Tomino |
| Produced by | Keiichi Matsumura Satoshi Kubo |
| Written by | Yoshiyuki Tomino |
| Music by | Shigeaki Saegusa Gackt |
| Studio | Sunrise |
| Licensed by | |
| Released | May 28, 2005 – March 4, 2006 |
| Runtime | 95 minutes (each) |
| Films | 3 |
| Manga | |
| Mobile Suit Z Gundam Define | |
| Written by | Hiroyuki Kitazume |
| Published by | Kadokawa Shoten |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Magazine | Gundam Ace |
| Original run | June 25, 2011 – ongoing |
| Volumes | 8 |
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (Japanese: 機動戦士Ζガンダム, Hepburn: Kidō Senshi Zēta Gandamu) is a Japanese anime TV series from 1985. It is the second part of the popular Gundam story. This show is a sequel to the first Mobile Suit Gundam series.
The story was created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino. Yoshikazu Yasuhiko designed the characters. The cool robot designs were made by Kunio Okawara, Mamoru Nagano, and Kazumi Fujita. The series first aired in Japan between 1985 and 1986.
Zeta Gundam takes place in the future, eight years after the first series. It shows a new fight between two groups. The first group is the Titans, a strong but unfair task force from the Earth Federation. The second group is the Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG), a rebel group fighting against the Titans.
The story is seen through the eyes of Kamille Bidan. He is a teenage member of the AEUG. Kamille pilots the RX-178 Gundam Mk-II and later the MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam. Some characters from the first Gundam series also return. These include Amuro Ray and his rival Char Aznable. Char comes back as a pilot for the AEUG, using the new name Quattro Bajeena.
Many people think Zeta Gundam is one of the best shows in the Gundam series. It is liked for its serious themes, interesting characters, and how it improved on the first show. From 2005 to 2006, the series was made into three movies. These movies are called Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation. Yoshiyuki Tomino also directed the movies. They changed some parts of the original story. The movies were very popular in Japan.
Contents
Story of Zeta Gundam
The story is set in the year Universal Century (UC) 0087. This is eight years after the first Mobile Suit Gundam series. It is also four years after "Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory". The show follows a rebel group called the Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG). They are trying to defeat the Titans. The Titans are a special force of the Earth Federation. They were made to hunt down old enemies called Zeon remnants. But the Titans also hurt people who wanted fair treatment for space citizens.
The story of Zeta Gundam is told from the view of Kamille Bidan. He is a normal teenager who is also a mobile suit pilot. His parents are engineers who work for the Earth Federation and the Titans.
Kamille Joins the Fight
While going to the Green Noa space colony, Kamille meets a Titans officer named Jerid Messa. Jerid insults Kamille, and Kamille hits him. Later, the AEUG attacks the colony. Their leader, Quattro Bajeena, wants to capture three new Gundam Mk-II mobile suits. Kamille uses this chance to steal Jerid's Mk-II. He then follows Quattro to the AEUG's main ship, the Argama.
The Titans, led by Bask Om, take Kamille's parents hostage. They want to force the AEUG to return the stolen Gundam Mk-IIs. Jerid, not knowing about the hostage plan, accidentally kills Kamille's mother. Because of this sad event and other reasons, Kamille decides to join the AEUG.
War Gets Bigger
As the war grows, Kamille meets many different people. Some are Titans who have been brainwashed. Others are special pilots called artificial Newtypes. He also meets the leaders of Anaheim Electronics, a company secretly helping the AEUG.
The AEUG eventually attacks the Earth Federation's meeting in Dakar. This starts a big civil war in space. Quattro reveals that he is actually Char Aznable. He shows proof of the Titans' cruel actions. This includes using a dangerous gas on a colony. The Earth Federation then decides the Titans' actions are wrong. They support the AEUG in hunting down the Titans' leader, Jamitov Hymem.
End of the War
After losing the Earth Federation's support, the Titans turn to their old enemies. These are the remaining forces of the Principality of Zeon, now called Axis Zeon. They form an alliance to get back control of space. Axis Zeon's leader, Haman Karn, talks to the AEUG. She uses the civil war to ask for control of Side 3, an old Zeon colony.
Axis Zeon gets involved, and Jamitov is killed by Paptimus Scirocco. This leads to a big battle over the Titans' headquarters, Gryps. Gryps is a colony that has been turned into a powerful laser weapon. The war ends when Kamille, piloting the main robot Z Gundam, defeats Scirocco. The AEUG destroys Scirocco's ship and most of the Titans' fleet.
However, Kamille is deeply affected by the war. He survives without physical harm, but his mind is hurt. He shows signs of memory loss and mental instability. The series ends with the AEUG and Earth Federation weakened by the war. They now face the full power of Axis Zeon. This leads into the next series, Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ.
Music of Zeta Gundam
The background music for the series was mostly written by Japanese composer Shigeaki Saegusa. The main melodies for the two opening songs and the ending song were created by American singer Neil Sedaka.
Opening and Ending Songs
The first opening song is called Zeta - Toki wo Koete (Z・刻をこえて, Zeta - Transcending Times). It was sung by Mami Ayukawa and used for the first 23 episodes. This song was based on "Better Days are Coming" by Neil Sedaka.
The second opening song is Mizu no Hoshi e Ai wo Komete (水の星へ愛をこめて, From the Aqueous Star with Love). Hiroko Moriguchi sang this song, which was used from episode 24 to 50. It came from an unreleased song called "For Us to Decide."
The only ending song for the series is Hoshizora no Believe (星空のBelieve, Believe in the Starry Sky). Mami Ayukawa also sang this. It was based on "Bad and Beautiful" by Neil Sedaka. There was also an extra song called Gin'iro Doresu (銀色ドレス, Silver Dress). Hiroko Moriguchi sang it in episode 20.
International Music
For the international release and Japanese streaming versions, the opening and ending songs were different. The opening song was Zeta no Kodō ~ Zeta Gundam (Ζの鼓動～Ζガンダム, Zeta's Pulse~Zeta Gundam), composed by Saegusa. The ending song was Gurīn Noa no Shōnen ~ Arata na Sekai (グリーン・ノアの少年～新たな世界, Boy from Green Noa ~ A New World), also by Saegusa.
Movie Songs
The songs for the three Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam movies were all performed by Gackt. These songs were put together on his album 0079-0088.
- The first movie, Heirs To The Stars, uses Metamorphoze as its opening song. The ending song is Kimi ga Matteiru Kara (君が待っているから, Because you're Waiting).
- The second movie, Lovers, uses one new song called Mind Forest for its ending.
- The last movie, Love is the Pulse of the Stars, uses two new songs. Love Letter is an extra song, and Dybbuk is the ending song.
International Release
The show has been shown again on the anime satellite television network, Animax. This happened across Japan and in other parts of the world, like East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia.
In 2004, Bandai released a special Zeta Gundam box set. It had both English dubbed audio and the original Japanese audio. This set also included small collectibles and a booklet. The English voices were done by Ocean Production's Blue Water Studio in Calgary, Canada. The opening and closing songs were changed for this release because Bandai did not have the rights to use them outside of Asia.
The first English subtitles were not very accurate. They seemed to be based on the English voice script, not a direct translation from Japanese. Bandai fixed the subtitles for later DVD releases. These DVDs came in 5 cases, with 2 discs each, and each disc had five episodes.
In 2006, Bandai Entertainment got the rights to release the "A New Translation" movie trilogy in the US. It was first planned for June 22, 2010, but was released on July 6. The series and movies are no longer being sold since Bandai Entertainment closed down.
On October 11, 2014, at New York Comic-Con, Sunrise announced something exciting. They said they would release all of the Gundam series, including Zeta Gundam TV show and movies, in North America. This started in Spring 2015 through Right Stuf Inc..
Related Media
Manga Comics
A manga (Japanese comic) version of the series was released by Kodansha in 1994. It was published under the Comic Bon Bon label and had three volumes.
A new manga version was also made. It is called Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam Define (機動戦士Ζガンダム Define, Kidō Senshi Zēta Gandamu Define). This remake was written and drawn by Hiroyuki Kitazume. It started being published in Gundam Ace on June 25, 2011.
Compilation Movies
To celebrate Gundams 25th anniversary (and Zeta Gundams 20th), the 50-episode series was made into three movies. They are called Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation. Director Tomino said the movies were made to fix some issues from the TV series. They also aimed to make the story fit better for a new generation of viewers.
The first movie, Heirs to the Stars, opened on May 28, 2005. The second, Lovers, opened on October 29, 2005. The final movie, Love is the Pulse of the Stars, opened on March 6, 2006.
These movies used digitally improved parts of the old TV series. They also added new animation. About 33% of the first movie had new animation. For the second movie, it was 70%, and for the third, almost 80%. Some major plot events from the TV series were changed or removed to make the movies flow better. The fate of some characters was also changed. For example, Kamille was in a very bad mental state at the end of the TV series. But in the movies, he is fine. Also, some new mobile suits that were designed after the TV show aired were added to the movies.
Shigeaki Saegusa's music from the TV series was used again for the movies. New songs by Japanese singer-songwriter Gackt were also added. A music video for the first movie's opening song, "Metamorphoze", showed Gackt singing inside a mobile suit during a battle.
Most of the original voice actors came back to play their characters. Yō Inoue, who passed away in 2003, was still credited. An old recording of her voice was used for a small appearance of Sayla Mass in the third movie. Some voice actors were changed, like Yukana replacing Saeko Shimazu as Four Murasame. These changes caused some discussion among fans. The movies were very successful in Japan.
Games
In 1985, Bandai released a board game based on the series. It was for two to four players. The game, Mobile Suit Gundam: Take Off MKII, had a map and 12 small models of mobile suits.
Kidō Senshi Z-Gundam: Hot Scramble came out in 1986. It was the first Gundam video game for home game systems. It had both first-person and side-scrolling parts. Later, a 3D fighting game called Mobile Suit Z Gundam was made for the Sony PlayStation in 1997. This game had improved scenes from the series. It came on two discs, letting players see the story from Kamille's or Char's point of view. Bandai later added the series' mobile suits to the game Gundam Vs. Zeta Gundam in 2004.
Also, Tecmo Koei and Namco Bandai have worked together on the Dynasty Warriors: Gundam game series since 2007.
See also
In Spanish: Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam para niños
