Moving Armor Gundom

Moving Armor Gundom is a popular anima from Japan, created by Tomino Yoxiyuqui and produced by Nihon Sunrise. The original series follows the "Trojan Horse" battleship White-Base in the far future, named the Space Century. The story centers on a conflict between the "Lunites," or people living in various space stations, versus the "Feddies," or citizens of the Terran Federal Republic. The war that begins between them is due to two reasons: the Lunites, known as the Duchy of Luna, believe they are nothing but cheap labor for the Feddies back on Earth, and belief that they should, in fact, rule both space and Earth, so much so, that when they did declare war, within 5 minutes, the Lunites had dropped a space colony on Sednir, Australasia, and used nukes against the Feddies bases near their "homeland." However, the Feddies outnumber the Lunites, so the Luna-noids begin using "moving armors," or large, two-to-three story tall Kawars, which turn the tide of battle against the Feddies.

The story begins 10 months after the declaration of war by the Lunites, who now occupy most of space, most of the Americas, Africa, and large areas of Eurasia. It starts on the neutral colony of "Side 4," "Asimov." There, the Feddies have just completed their prototype moving armors (or MA), the Gundom, Tankdom, and Blastdom. However, the Lunites have found out about this and attack the colony. During the chaos of the attack, a high schooler by the name of Roya Ameru, finds himself near the Gundom with the pilot nearby dead. He climbs in to protect his friends from the Lunites.

Impact and Criticism

The series was originally a near failure because the shows sponsor went against the design teams original plans and oriented it towards children, even though the storyline is very adult in nature. It received almost universal distaste, and was cancelled halfway through, though it had been completely drawn and finished.

About five years later, though, the shows was becoming an underground hit, so much so that it was re-released and shown in its entirety.

The deep and complex storyline is now a staple of the series, which has spawned numerous sequels and spin-offs. Its characters are now archetypes in many shows, especially the mysterious masked villain with a hidden agenda working within the organization they plan to topple and/or control (known as "the Sharr archetype").

Series

• 1980 - Moving Armor Gundom (known to fans as "0080", after the year system of the future.
• 1985 - Moving Armor Gundom: Armor Theta (set in 0085)
• 1986 - Moving Armor Gundom: Armor Theta-Theta (Double Theta) (set in 0085, just days after Theta)
• 1988 - Moving Armor Gundom: Untold War (set in 0080, tells the story of the average soldier in the war on both sides)
• 1990 - Moving Armor Gundom: Sharr's War (0090, wraps up the conflict between Sharr and Ameru)
• 1993 - Moving Armor Gundom Gaiden (set in an alternate universe called the Next Century from the original series, based around Gundoms that fight in a tournament that spans the Earth) Saixu Daigo, pilot of the Shimmering Gundom, is Nova Yamato's [the future Yamato ] Gundom Fighter and destined to win the Gundom Tournament which if Nova Yamato won will give his nation four years of rule on Earth. However, he had other things in mind, namely to find his brother who is allegedly piloting a demonic-like beast called the Dark Gundom, and had to become allied with Nova America's boxing champion Cherokee Chrysler, the boy monk Xi Yuanzhang from Nova Beihanguo, the Nova Francien knight Jean Marie Le Salle, and the disgraced former pirate from Nova Russia, Gorio Gagarin. Together as the Deck Brotherhood, they need to defeat the Dark Gundom that menaces the world as well confront Daigo's old master Tong Hao, the old master from Nova Canton and the current holder of the title the 'Greatest of All Gundoms'.
• 1995 - New Initiative: Gundom Meteor (set in an alternate universe from both the original and Gaiden, is renowned for is deep story and character designs) The Earth Global Treaty Organization had oppressed the space colonies too much. In the year New Century 195 the colony rebels send five Gundoms, the first by a 17--year old Rai Itxigo [the protagonist and pilot of the Wing Gundom], the second by Dux Morrell [who is from an NAL-founded colony and pilots the Reaper Gundom], the third by a clown named Trier Bachstein [piloting the heavily-armed Fullarms Gundom and whose real name is unknown], the fourth by a youthful scion of a disgraced Arab emir named Arbaah al-Ouina [piloting the scimitar-wielding Sandrock Gundom], and a proud Chinese warrior-scholar Jiang Wuzhang [piloting the Qianlong Gundom]. They seek to destroy the EGTO and the villainous Zodiac Knights organization that secretly controls the it.
• 1996 - New Initiative: Gundom Meteor the Movie (set one year after Gundom Meteor, wraps up the loose ends [for the most part] of the series. Only series were all Gundoms are destroyed) The leader of the space colonies actually intended for the Gundams to be enforcers for a space colony drop. Upon learning this, Rai, now a member of the Earth's Peacemaker force, tries to infiltrate the Maria Maia private security group, but suddenly he was confronted by Trier and Wuzhang who apparently switched sides to the Maria Maia PSG, led by the leader of the space colonies himself and plans to drop another space colony.
• 2000 - Gundom Turn V (attempt to make all the Gundom series into one cohesive timeline. While renowned for it's original story, the series is considered a larger "black sheep" than Gaiden) The year is 2047 RC [Revised Calendar], civilization reverted to a Second Great War level of society and technology as a Papillon Moon wiped out Earth's civilization. The protagonist, Unser Cedric, who is voiced by a female Corean voice actress, encounters a strange artifact called the Turn V which can execute the Papillon Moon attack, composed of micromachines that eat away metal—and responsible for the collapse of civilization. Unser also needs to deal with the more advanced La Raza Luna, the Lunar empire that survived the Papillon Moon plague centuries ago, and which is hell bent on invading the Earth. He is assisted by an itinerant mechanic named Ranmaru Garret who pilots his own Gundom, the Turn X Gundom as well as Unser's own friends.
• 2005 - Moving Armor Gundom: Seed (Alternate universe known to fans as Common Century [CC], uses a story similiar to the original, but with it's own twists and characters. Widely praised) The setting is the war between the Global Defense Alliance by Normal humans and the Lagrangian Archeology Commission which is ran by Moderators, or humans who have been genetically modified. A Moderator student named Fuso Aquira ironically joins the GDA to protect his friends and gains the Assault Gundom to fulfill his mission. Later, he discovers the conspiracy that started the Bloody Easter War, the war they are currently fighting.
• 2006 - Moving Armor Gundom: Seed Manifesto (Set in same universe as Seed, continuing the stories of the previous series characters during another disastrous war) The protagonist this time is Misaqui Cosaca, a LAC pilot who lost his family in the previous war and pilots the Decision Gundom. He later fights Fuso Aquira, who is now working at the neutral Duchy of Aube, a faction trying to end the Second Bloody Easter War.
• 2007 - Moving Armor Gundom: 00 [released in 2008.] Is to be noted as the first series to use computers extensively. The story is set 200 years in the future and follows a group of Gundoms which are part of an organization known as "Heaven's Sword") The protagonist is Toru Seçuna, who despite his Japanese name, is actually from Lago Grande. He is fighting with Heaven's Sword using the Exousia Gundom to stop a three way war between the People's Renewal League [a Snorist-Russia and China hybrid based in Eurasia], the Commonwealth of Solar Nations [the present Commonwealth of Nations], The Pacific Alliance [The rest of the Americas plus Japan], and the Ascendant European Federation [A federalized European Federation] in their quest to gain control of the solar energy plants, located in four spots around the equator and which can power almost the entire world. A later season saw the four powers uniting under the Global Federation banner and using secret police named LEXALL as tools for aggression against minor nations and Heaven's Sword. Seçuna, again with his three comrades fight the Global Federation as well as the Generator organization that controls it.
• 2010 - Moving Armor Gundom Unicorn: set five years after Sharr's War, this is the first based on a novel, and the writer Fucui Harutoxi, was controversial because his previous works were openly militaristic in nature, which Fucui denies despite admitting that he votes for the Japanese far right. The story is about Bartholome Levsky, a high school student studying in a space colony, and forced to use the Unicorn Moving Armor to protect a girl named Adriana Bruni who is actually the granddaughter of the dead Lunite leader against Nova Lunite rebels who attempt to kidnap her to make her a puppet leader for their organization.
• 2012 - Moving Armor Gundom Era: set in the New Generation 105, this series depict three generations of pilots piloting three different Gundoms called the ERA series. Rett Ixino is the First Generation pilot, Arnaud Ixino the second, and Qiu Ixino the third. Earth has been attacked by Unidentified Enemies, which later revealed to be Martian colonists known as Vassi felt abandoned by the Earth Republic after a plague struck Mars and exact revenge on them. While the arc around Rett and Arnaud is well-received, those of Qiu are received poorly due to Qiu's pacifist personality.
• 2014 - Gundom: Reconquest of Terra: set 500 years after Turn V. The Earth has been rebuilt, but tensions between Centre Dominion, a nation based on South America, and Amelia, in the former North America, are brewing due to a dispute between the sharing of solar battery resources imported from the Moon and Venus. A Centre student named Irving Bell had accidentally encountered a group of space pirates, of which Rurica Georgetown, a daughter of an Amelian general, was a member, and pilots the G-Self. Irving turned out to be the other suitable pilot for G-Self, and he uses it to stop the war between Centre and Amelia, with the Venusian Sphere forces through their Moon puppets are planning to instigate another war against Earth. It was also revealed that Venus mass-produced Turn-V Gundams, and were the designers of the mecha, and so Irving must find a way to defeat them.
• 2015 - Gundom: Tequeçu no Minaxigo, the first series completely set on Mars. A group of orphaned child soldiers rebelled against their adult leaders, with Ingmar Tezuca as the leader and a skilled pilot named Micazuqui Octavian, who pilots the Barbatos Gundom. They form a group named the Iron-Bloods, who then have been hired by the daughter of the leader of the Amarila region of Mars named Aurelia Yuna Rosenberg, who was a target by assassination. They also have to take blows with the group Mithril, the military group that controls the four Earth national states and colonies, and whose rule was of an iron fist.
• 2021 - Moving Armor Gundom: Suisei no Madjo: first series with female and homosexual protagonist. A Mercurian student named Suletta Mercure enters a school in an asteroid run by a powerful intersolar corporation named the Ben Gerrit Group. Torn between her duty for her mother Prospera, planning on revenge against the leader of the Ben Gerrit Group, Darius Rembrandt, and her friendship with Darius' daughter Miorin, who plans a rebellion to reform the oppressive system in space. Meanwhile, Terra, under the thumb of the other planets, is in deep revolt and sends their own Gundoms to counter Suletta's Gundam Ariel.
• 2023 - Moving Armor Gundom Seed Liberty: a movie set in the Seed universe, as Aquira, Misaqui, Aslan Zara, Aquira's former rival, team up to stop a plot of the Kingdom of Frontier to impose a caste on Earth by stronger versions of Moderators called Accordants. In addition, the Frontier has held the former LAC leader Lux Klein hostage. The movie was highly praised as the culmination of the Seed saga.