FIF#27-Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin

UC0068.  Zeon Zum Diekun is assassinated during a speech.  In the wake of this tragedy, fingers are pointed in all directions and the children of Zeon, Casval and Artesia, are caught in the middle of it all.  It’s 11 years before the One Year War that will change the course of history.  But here in the past, the legend of one young man begins.  Casval will take a stand against the Zabi’s, the family that supposedly murder his father, and escape from the colonies with the help of Ramba Ral and his contact Hamon Crowley.  The young man heads towards a destiny unknown to him.  Little does Casval know, he will exact his revenge years later and become a man with another name that the Universal Century will never forget.  The origin of Char Aznable begins here.

First Impression Friday returns after a month long hiatus.  And boy am I glad I chose this one to be the subject of a first impression.  I was never sure what to think when I heard that “Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin” had been announced.  I felt a bit indifferent I guess, wasn’t excited but also wasn’t worried about it.  Most importantly I was wondering when or if I was ever going to see it.  Well to promote the arrival of Episode 4, the GundamInfo.com Youtube page hosted the first three episodes for free.  So I got to enjoy the beginnings of the rise of Char…and so far it’s making it’s way quickly into my Top 5 most favorite Gundam stories ever.

Most Gundam fans have wanted this story for years and im not about to argue with that.  For me, Char Aznable was a character whose backstory could be told in so little detail it never mattered.  He’s a bad ass and a complicated one in everything he does.  But he was always so cool, confident and…just freaking awesome that I never cared we got more than a surface scratch of detail from his past…well more than that but never as deep as The Origin is giving us.  From the very beginning, we see Char is already kind of a smaller version of his future self.  He’s quiet, calculating and knows how to play the game of politics, or at least comprehend them better than most.  The older he gets, the more he’s molded by feelings of vengeance, a desire to protect what family he has left, and the will to change the world.  He’s even willing to sacrifice a man who knows his darkest secret just to win a battle, two birds, one cannon blast…cold blooded but that’s Char.  Char may hold the record of best villain in the Gundam mythos.  But he’s every bit one of my all time favorite characters, one of the best this series has ever had as well and it all starts here.  Oh and not once did I ever think of his as Casval Deikun, he is Char pure and simple…nothing against his younger age or his real name…he’s just always been Char since he was a kid.

This isn’t just Char’s history, however, it’s pretty much the complete build up to the One Year War.  And we hit all the big moments that set it in motion: the death of Char’s father, Zeon Zum Deikun; the birth of the Mobile Suit development project that would propel Zeon’s war advantage; the rise of the Zabi family, the first baddies of the Gundam Saga next to Char.  We even get the return of many old faces from the original series: Ramba Ral, Hamon Crowley (so much hotter than in the original Anime), the entire Zabi clan.  We even get some very surprising cameos from the younger White Base Crew like Mirai Yashima and Gundam’s first hero, Amuro Ray himself.  Seeing all of these legendary characters return ties it all together and makes the Universal Century feel like home again

Before the story gets going proper with tons of political intrigue and backstabbing, we open with the Battle of Loum before jumping back eleven years.  The CG animation in the action is unbelievabley good.  The sight of a single, big bullet breach a Federation bridge before shredding it to pieces grabbed my attention even before I saw that was fired by Char.  Much like Gundam Unicorn, The Origin is animating showing the Universal Century the way it was always meant to be seen: high def and borderline perfect.

If I did have one complaint about the first three episodes, it’s the unexpected dose of humor thrown into the mix.  The original series never had a serious comedic element to it, in fact it was almost totally serious from beginning to end.  Seeing Dozel Zabi used as a constant joke and a couple of cute moments from little Sayla’s naievety and her tiny cat, Lucifer, didn’t gel well with the Gundam I know and enjoy.  Thankfully, these moments are few and far between and don’t hurt the overall quality of this new series.

So three episodes in, I want more, more than I want more of the kind of confusing and slower paced Iron Blooded Orphans.  The fourth episode is out (and I need to see it) and it’s been confirmed that two additional episodes are on the way in 2017 that will focus on the game changing Battle of Loum.  All in all, this is one of the most enjoyable Gundam rides I’ve ever been on.  I never thought I missed the earlier Universal Century tales so much.  I may not have wanted to know “The Origin” but I loved it regardless.  Char, you rock buddy.