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

Arrived on time and in great condition!!!!I've never been into the series Gundam but I'm loving the story!! Highly Recommend!!!

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!!

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.

Cuando llegó jamás me imagine que el manga tendría esta calidad! Es hermoso, grande, con páginas a color y comentarios de figuras importantes en el mundo del anime como Hideaki Anno. Si te gusta el universo de Gundam y profundizar en la saga original, definitivamente es un must para coleccionar!