Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, Vol. 1- Activation

I still remember seeing the original Viz release of the Origin in stores when I was younger. While I appreciate that they tried to bring us The Origin back then, Vertical has brought us the definitive release. This release isn't meant for the younger me who couldn't afford those thin issues back in the day; it's for the adult me who can appreciate a good book. Volume 1 - Activation is a massive release at over 400 pages and great care has been taken to bring Master Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's brilliant artwork to western readers. The glossy pages make the black and white art pop out and even better still the water color pages are a treat in themselves that make this worth owning. There are even short essays from the likes of the artist/author himself and Hideaki Anno. All of this is hard bound with an absolutely gorgeous cover.All of that said, the presentation would be meaningless if the content within wasn't any good, and I can tell you that this is one origin story well worth revisiting. Not only is the artwork beautiful, but I dare say that this is the definitive telling of the Gundam story. The lay out of the panels is clean and imagery is often used to tell the story rather than words. The action is gorgeously drawn and easy to follow, the lines of the fighting mecha always staying distinctive. The characters retain Yas's classic style and really come to life in this medium. The original Gundam has often been lauded for its story that set it apart from other robot cartoons of its day and the strong characters it created. Those looking back on it now will often cite the artwork of the series the only downside. Now, that excuse no longer stands as the manga format allows Yas to fully realize his artistic vision. The story and characters still remain a strong point, but now the complete package is present.This book is well worth the listed cover price, but you'd be a fool not to pick this up at lower price it's going for now. This isn't just a treat for Gundam fans. If you at all consider yourself a connoisseur of comics and graphic novels, then this release is a must buy. I've already pre-ordered and am eagerly awaiting the subsequent releases of Gundam The Origin.

Gundam has returned to the United States in the form of a gorgeous, 456 page, hardcover edition of the Gundam: The Origin tale from the beginning! A young Amuro Ray and his friends and neighbors are caught in the crossfire during the One Year War when a Zeon Zaku squad attacks the neutral space colony Side 7. Amuro desperately tries to find an escape but stumbles upon the Earth Federation's secret weapon; the Gundam. This crew of civilians take charge of the White Base alongside the remaining crew and have to escape the colony and make it to Earth, all while being pursued by the Federation's nemesis Char Aznable; the Red Comet! Amuro must battle the enemy in a war machine and utilize his quick thinking to stop Char from destroying everyone he loves and cares for and bring the prototype weapon to the Jaburo base on Earth!So, the Origin returns in America. Before, it was released by Viz comics in a soft-cover form but here we have a more traditional manga form with a beautiful, sewn-binding hardcover format. It collects the story from the beginning to the Earth entry operation and includes the full color pages as well as all the black and white material. Essays from various writers like Ryusuke Hikawa and Shinichiro Inoue are also at the end. The book basically covers the first two volumes and the writing here is obviously very well done and the translations, although not perfect (and contain a spelling error or two), work well and are fairly easy to read while trying to conform to the original Japanese speech bubbles. The art here is beautiful and especially takes its full form when in the nice, brush-stroked, warm colors. Seeing the Prototype Gundam emerge from a cloud of dust and obliterate a Zaku or seeing the White Base crew freaking out over one of the Zakus going three times the speed of the others just gives goosebumps and brings a feeling that even the original anime didn't quite invoke. This is truly a book to behold and while it'll look nice with your mangas, (just a couple inches bigger in dimensions) it is still above and beyond the rest of the US Gundam manga releases and, if you're a fan, definitely one to own.

Just from the cover of this huge hardback edition you can see the quality. While much modern manga is lazily drawn or maintains a certain style that was boring to begin with and has somehow become the norm. Thankfully, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin is completely different. With rich artistic detail, exciting action, and good dialogue it has the best of every world of manga.What has become a typical plot for a story of this sort is original here, where it all began. A young boy named Amuro finds himself facing off with an evil army when they attack his home. By hopping inside and piloting a giant robot called a Gundam, he takes these baddies on on the ground, in the air, and in space. Along with the love interest Fraw Bow and a spattering of other cool characters, this is the epitome of manly man sci-fi. Lots of explosions, lots of action, lots of testosterone. The volume contains a smaller amount of dialogue than volumes half its size. It doesn't need to have much dialogue though. The atmosphere and action tell all.The most remarkable part of this volume--and I'm sure it will be the same for all future volumes--is the art. While it was done in the 2000's it has a distinctly retro-style to the characters but a very detailed and lovingly drawn world. The Gundam looks amazing, the space ships look sweet. It's not cut-and-paste laziness. This is quite possibly the most well-drawn piece of manga I've ever gotten to read.On top of that, the volume requires multiple sittings to read because of the length giving it's somewhat hefty price enough value for the purchase. Even if you've not seen Gundam before, this is a great place to start and will be a great introduction. For fans of the original Gundam, it's a triumph of a remake and one of the most fun manga releases this year.

I've watched the Original Mobile Suit Gundam TV series. I own the film trilogy. But this surpasses even the films. It isn't my favorite manga, but it is the GREATEST manga I've ever seen.Where do I start?If you are familiar with Mobile Suit Gundam Universal Century you'll appreciate this as a masterful retelling of the Origin story of one of the greatest science fiction sagas of all time. As is mentioned in the introductory essay (there are three), there is a lot of subtle world-building detail to be found in this story, a maturation of the story into what it always had the potential to be. The dialog is crisp and powerful in its delivery, and full of emotion. The artwork is incredible, better than either the TV show or the films. Some of it is in color (the cover image is actually from one of the color panels inside the book), and the color sections are absolutely astounding in their quality. The blacks are deep and fully saturated, and the paper is a brilliant high-quality white semi-gloss. If you're used to manga then you know what to expect as far as details that represent motion, sound, emotion, etc. Words simply cannot convey what an incredible step-up this manga is from "ordinary" manga.Judge a Book by it's CoverFor once you CAN judge a book by its cover. When I saw this book in the store, with it's thick waxy hardcover, I was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. It's GORGEOUS. It's not a cheap glossy cover like you're used to or a cheap paperback. This is archival quality paper inside, not cheap newsprint. That would be great if the content was okay, but...A Giant Among ClassicsThis manga is fantastic. It stands as a work of art alongside the greatest graphic novels and comics of all-time. You'll want to own every one of them and display them on your bookshelf alongside your Complete Calvin and Hobbes and most treasured trade hardbacks of great comic stories. I haven't been so starstruck since the first volume of Queen Emeraldas and Zita the Spacegirl for sheer nostalgic wish-fulfillment that makes me feel like a five-year-old taking his first glimpse at his dad's comics from his locked desk drawer.THIS is the reason why I watch anime. THIS is the reason why I read manga. If you miss out on this, you are missing out on one of the greatest works of art ever created. Yoshikazu Yasuhiko is a grand master and this is one of the greatest graphic novel/comic/manga creations of all time.If you love Gundam, if you love Manga, if you love ART, buy this now and read it immediately. If you've a shred of appreciation for the greatest heights of the Manga Art Form, you will treasure it forever.

I grew up with Gundam Wing and remember the height of Gundam mania. There were TV commercials advertising the animes and toys, Toys R Us sold US versions of HG 1/100 scale kits with choking hazard labels slapped on them. It was an amazing time. But Gundam Wing was only the gateway. While I'm grateful for being introduced to the Gundam genre with that show, my heart grew fond for the original universe and I became a hardcore UC fan.Mobile Suit Gundam is unique in that it strays away from the "super robot" genre that was the staple of so many other cartoons of its day. This is what bothered my with Gundam Wing--Leos and Ares would die left and right but Heero could self destruct the Wing Zero and somehow recover?! The RX-78 2 had thicker than usual armor, but it still would not be able to withstand a point blank shot from the rifle of a Zaku.Its vulnerability showed when an amateur like Sayla took it out on her own, almost totaling the machine, while Amuro made the mid range Guncannon look pretty awesome. People died. Territories were won and lost. Weapons ran out of ammunition. There was a political struggle that went beyond good and evil. Who was to say the Federation was morally superior to the Zeon Duchy?THIS is what made the original series so amazing. But alas, the One Year War did not translate well after twentyish (almost 35 now) years when released to our generation and Bandai's target audience vanished. They could not get past the dated graphics to enjoy the space opera that was Gundam.I wish that the original series had as much fanfare as 00 and Seed got with teenagers of the 2000s. I would snatch up any UC related manga when released, and was saddened when Ecole du Ciel's volumes dwindled and never got to finish.I don't want that to happen with The Origin. This is a retelling of Gundam for a new generation to enjoy, and will even seem new to those who are familiar with the old universe. This is not just a re-hash of the events of the anime--it delves into the background of what happened before the One Year War.Just in the first book alone, we see that mobile suits were in the hands of the Federation before the war--it was not just some miraculous catch up game to build a suit in nine months like in the anime.Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's work from the anime has a new life in it with this manga--it's modern yet doesn't look different from the anime. Think of it as an HD remastering.Even the book itself is well built--its cover feels so nice against the fingers. The glossy pages are a welcome sight compared to the newspaper like texture of softcover manga. It smells like a quality book.Whether or not you're a UC fan, if you like Gundam in the slightest, please buy this book. It is an amazing tale that you may have overlooked just because of the way it looked. But there's no excuses now--the art's crisp and the story's vivid. Give it a try. Support Gundam!!

First and foremost, the quality of this book is extremely nice. I mean, its just superb. I was really taken aback when I laid my hands on it. It's hard to understand here on a simple review, but as others have said, it is very nice. Just in case there is any confusion, this is in fact a manga, in book format. The book itself is 400+ pages, mostly in black and white but there are a few color pages sprinkled throughout which look really nice. There are also a few (3 to be exact) short little essays or praise from other big names in the anime industry at the end of the book. They are pretty short, and aren't really as great as they are implied to be.The plot. This is a retelling of the original series that aired back in 1979. This adaptation doesn't deviate too much from the original show but does have some pretty interesting differences. So if you have seen the original show, not too much will be new here. If not, this is a great place to start as, you might imagine, the shows animation is quite dated. The story revolves around Amuro Ray in his Gundam (the titular mecha featured on the cover), the crew of the Earth Federation military ship White Base, and there enemy, the Principality of Zeon and its dreaded ace pilot, Char, The Red Comet. Gundam is very much a Space Opera, a very good one in my opinion. It can be dark at times, showing the grim reality of war, but that's what lends the series its strength. Gundam launched the "Real Robot" genre, so the mecha featured in this installment are (reasonably) grounded in reality. There are no invincible mechs with planet destroying weaponry here. As for the characters themselves, everyone seems to have there own flaws. Sometimes you'll love them, other times you'll hate them. This goes for the Villains as well as the main characters.This is the first of five volumes currently planned to be released in the US. These five volumes will not cover the entire Origin series that has already been released in Japan. I implore all Gundam fans, as well as any newcomers to the series, to purchase these five volumes to encourage the release of the series in its entirety. I've also heard that this series will have limited release in the US, so purchase while you can. The origin series will also feature an anime release sometime in 2014 or 2015. Gundam: The Origin belongs on every Gundam fans, or fans of Space Opera in general, bookshelves, and makes for a very satisfying purchase.

Love the book, you can see where all the sequels get their ideas from, no literally, they straight up copy and paste from the original, being this one. In fact if you have read the sequels except for G' Gundam (one of the few originals) then you can predict the majority of what happens in this book, except this is the original, who keeps copying and pasting, tell em stop, and then for them. Because the sequels have repeated everything the original had done, it makes the original a bit of a let down.

When I first heard about The Origin, I was ecstatic. It took a few years for it to come to the US, when VIZ released them in magazine format. I collected every single expensive issue. They were well read and some didn't quite hold up after years of reading them.Enter the hardcover collection by Vertical.Probably one of the best presentations this book could have gotten. Activation collects most of the VIZ run (which got to Ramba Ral, I believe). The translation is new, the pages are crisp and glossy, and the colors pop from the pages. There are even interviews and essays in the back of the book which are very interesting.About now you're probably asking about the story and art. Now I'm going to be a bit bias, because I've been a Gundam fan since the early 90s. Yaz did a fantastic job making the interactions with the characters and their world more realistic. (As a matter of fact, one of the essays focuses on this concept.) The story follows the general plot of the original Gundam series, which was very gritty for it's time. I was glad that the kids and their cute expressions were kept in the comic. Also, speaking of expressions, pay particular attention to the subtleties that are drawn in each panel.The artist has a very old school style, which may turn off a lot of newer manga readers. Nothing is drawn completely straight, the characters are sometimes ugly, no fan service, etc. Yaz's comics tend to be very fluid. The art style may not be your cup of tea, but give it a shot and enjoy the composition and story on each page.Overall I'm very pleased with this release. Great job, Vertical! You gals and guys rock. (And while we're releasing Yaz's comics, a rerelease of Joan would be great.)

Una gran lectura sobre la guerra.

Llegó bien, llegó en bolsa pero aún así no llego dañado, pensé que era de esos mangas pequeños pero no, es satisfactoriamente más grande que un manga comun

Lecteur français, je me suis tourné vers cette édition anglaise car Pika n'édite plus les premiers tomes en France.C'est vraiment triste, d'autant plus qu'ils continuent de sortir les tomes suivant, sans même proposer le début !L'anime de l'époque, s'il vaut la peine d'être vu, a extrêmement mal vieilli et c'est avec plaisir qu'on découvre les origines de Gundam dans cette série papier de toute beauté, sur un papier de qualité et en hardcover ! Toutes les informations qui m'ont échappé dans l'anime deviennent ici parfaitement claires et permettra, je l'espère, de faire découvrir les origines de Gundam à plus de gens hors du Japon.

updated version of the beginning of the Gundam saga. Recommended

excellent condition, great coloring. love it.