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Universal Century (Japanese: 宇宙世紀, Hepburn: Uchū Seiki, literal meaning: "Universe (or 'Space') Century") is the main setting of the Gundam anime metaseries. Universal Century makes up the dominating majority of the entire franchise. While many new Gundam stories are told in their own parallel universe with independent timelines, giving them a greater degree of creative freedom, the original U.C. storyline continues to be extremely popular for a variety of reasons. It established the series, and delivered many of its best moments, as well as setting the standard for realistic hard science fiction in anime; the original Gundam marked the maturing of the Giant Robot genre. Also, nostalgia for the oldest of the Gundam shows (and Gundam's resulting status as a pop-culture icon in Japan) is still a major factor in its continuing success.[1]

Universal Century Gundam Animated/Live-Action Works

Title Type Release Date
Mobile Suit Gundam TV 1979-04-07 - 1980-01-26
Mobile Suit Gundam Movie 1981-03-14
Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow Movie 1981-07-11
Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters in Space Movie 1982-03-13
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam TV 1985-03-02 - 1986-02-22
Zeta Gundam A New Translation: Heirs to the Stars Movie 2005-05-28
Zeta Gundam A New Translation II: Lovers Movie 2005-10-29
Zeta Gundam A New Translation III: Love is the Pulse of the Stars Movie 2006-03-04
Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ TV 1986-03-01 - 1987-01-31
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack Movie 1988-03-12
Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket OVA 1989-03-25 - 1989-08-25
Mobile Suit Gundam F91 Movie 1991-03-16
Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory OVA 1991-05-23 - 1992-09-24
Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: The Last Blitz of Zeon Movie 1992-08-29
Mobile Suit Victory Gundam TV 1993-04-02 - 1994-03-25
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team OVA 1996-01-25 - 1999-04-25
The 08th MS Team: Miller's Report Movie 1999-07-25
Gundam the Ride: A Baoa Qu Movie 2000-07-20
G-Saviour Movie 2000-12-29
Gundam Neo Experience 0087: Green Divers Movie 2001-08-10
Gundam Evolve* OVA 2001-05-17 - 2007-01-26
Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War OVA 2004-07-19 - 2004-11-03
Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO: Apocalypse 0079 OVA 2006-04-27
Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO 2: The Gravity Front OVA 2008-10-24 - 2009-04-24
Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn OVA 2010-03-12 - 2014-05-17

*Except Episodes 3, 6, 7, 8 and 14

Universal Century Manga and Novels

Main article: Gundam Manga and Novels

Manga

Title Author(s) Illustrator Release Date(s)
Advance Of Zeta: The Flag of Titans Bin Konno Tatsu Mizuki 2003–Present
Artificial Newtypes Story: Another Zeta Gundam Story Kaoru Morishita - 1991 - 1992
Artificial Newtypes Story: Mad Wang 1160 Kaoru Morishita - 1994 - 1995
Developers: Mobile Suit Gundam Before One Year War Hosui Yamazak - 2002 - 2003
Go! Go! Our V Gundam Tsukasa Kotobuki - 1992 - 1994
G-Saviour Takuto - 1993
Gundam Sentinel: The Day Before Hajime Katoki - 1989
Jupiter Mirage Hitoshi Niki,
Makoto Kobayashi,
Masato Tanaka 		- 1989
Magical Ensign Blaster Mari Kei Ikeda - 1989 - 1990
Mobile Suit Crossbone Gundam Yoshiyuki Tomino Yuichi Hasegawa 1994 - 1997
Mobile Suit Crossbone Gundam Side Story: Skull Heart Yuichi Hasegawa - 2003 - 2004
Mobile Suit Crossbone Gundam: The Seven of Steel Yuichi Hasegawa - 2006–Present
Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 Kazuhisa Kondo - 1993 – 2005
Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket Shigeto Ikehara - 1989
Mobile Suit Gundam 0080 Visual Comic - - 1989
Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Hero of Stardust Masafumi Matsuura - 2000 - 2001
Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory Mitsuru Kadoya - 1992
Mobile Suit Gundam 0084: Psi-trailing Kenji Mizuhara - 1993
Mobile Suit Gundam Yu Okazaki - 1979 – 1982
Mobile Suit Gundam Almarya Yuji Ushida - 1989
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack Toshiya Murakami - 1987
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack Kōichi Tokita - 1998 - 1999
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Deleted Affair: Portrait Of Young Comet Hiroyuki Kitazume - 2001–Present
Mobile Suit Gundam: Ecole du Ciel Haruhiko Mikimoto - 2002–Present
Mobile Suit Gundam F90 Hiroshi Yamaguchi Rei Nakahara 1990 - 1991
Mobile Suit Gundam F90 Masahiro Kanda - 1990 - 1991
Mobile Suit Gundam F91 Daisuke Inoue - 1991
Mobile Suit Gundam F91: Formula Report 0122 Toshiya Iwamura - 1991
Mobile Suit Gundam F91: Formula Report 0122 Daisuke Inoue - 1991
Mobile Suit Gundam: Lost War Chronicles Masato Natsumot - 2002
Mobile Suit Gundam: Moon Crisis Masafumi Matsuura - 1993 - 1994
Mobile Suit Gundam: MS Generation Rei Nakahara - 1989 - 1990
Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO MEIMU - 2005–Present
Mobile Suit Gundam: Record of MS Wars Masaya Takahashi Kazuhisa Kondo 1984
Mobile Suit Gundam REON Masafumi Matsuura - 1994 - 1995
Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story 0079 (Vol. EFSF) Tomohiro Chiba Hideyuki Matsurioka 1999
Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story 0079 (Vol. Zeon) Tomohiro Chiba Tomotake Kinoshita 2000
Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story: Space, To the End of a Flash Tomohiro Chiba Masahito Natsumoto 2003
Mobile Suit Gundam Silhouette Formula 91 Hiroshi Yasuda - 1992 - 1995
Mobile Suit Gundam Silhouette Formula 91 in U.C. 0123 (Vol. Cluster Gundam) Toshiya Iwamura - 1993
Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story: The Blue Destiny Mizuho Takayama - 1997
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Yoshikazu Yasuhiko - 2001 - 2011
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Revival of Zeon Kazuhisa Kondo - 1988
Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ Toshiya Murakami - 1986 - 1987
Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ: Seaside Panic Kenji Mizuhara - 1993
Mobile Suit Variations: Ace Pilot Story Masahiro Oda Ken-ichi Ishibashi 1984
Mobile Suit Victory Gundam Toshiya Iwamura - 1993 - 1994
Mobile Suit Victory Gundam Side Story Yuichi Hasegawa - 1993
Mobile Suit Vor!! Kazuhisa Kondo - 1988 - 1989
Mobile Suit Vs. Giant God of Legend: Gigantis' Counterattack (Gundam vs Ideon) Yuichi Hasegawa - 1990
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam Kazuhisa Kondo - 1985 - 1986
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam A New Translation: Heirs to the Stars Hisao Tamaki - 2005
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam A New Translation II: Lovers Kotoni Shiraishi - 2005 - 2006
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: Day After Tomorrow - From Kai Shiden's Report Tsukasa Kotobuki - 2005–Present
Night=Hawks! Ayumi Konomichi - 1990 - 1991
Operation Buran Kazuhisa Kondo - 1990
Outer Gundam Masafumi Matsuura - 1990 – 1992
Program Master Masafumi Matsuura - 1989
Record of MS Wars II Kazuhisa Kondo - 1988 – 1994
Stampede: The Story of Professor Minovsky Masaya Takahashi Hajime Oki 1988
Under the Gundam: Double-Fake Yuji Ushida - 1989
War in the Pocket Kenji Mizuhara - 1994
Zeta Gundam: Side Story Kazuhisa Kondo - 1987

Novels

  • Look for Avenir (Avenir wo Sagasite, 1995) - by Yoshiyuki Tomino. Set before the adoption of the Universal Century timeline.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam (Kidou Senshi Gundam, 1979–1980) - by Yoshiyuki Tomino. An alternate version of the original series.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam (Kidou Senshi Gundam, 1980) - by Masaaki Nakane. The novel adaptation of the original series and movies.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Secret Rendezvous (Kidou Senshi Gundam: Mikkai - Amuro to Lalah, 1997) - by Yoshiyuki Tomino.
  • For the Barrel (2000) - by Otsuka Gichi. An alternate version of MSG with different characters and mecha borrowing the story from Yoshiyuki Tomino's novel.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story 0079 (Kidou Senshi Gundam Gaiden: Colony no Ochita Chi de..., 1999–2000) - by Joji Hayashi. The novel adaptation of the TV game.
  • Zeonic Front: Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 (Zeonic Front: Kidou Senshi Gundam 0079, 2001) - by Joji Hayashi. The novel adaptation of the TV game.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Lost War Chronicles (Kidou Senshi Gundam Senki: Last War Chronicles, 2002) - by Joji Hayashi. The novel adaptation of the TV games
  • Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story: Space, To the End of a Flash (Kidou Senshi Gundam: Utyu, Senkou no Hate ni, 2003) - by Ikki Miyamoto.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO (Kidou Senshi Gundam MS IGLOO: Ichinen Sensou Hiroku, 2005) - by Joji Hayashi. The novel adaptation of the CGI series;
  • Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket (Kidou Senshi Gundam 0080: Pocket no Naka no Sensou, 1989) - by Kyosuke Yuki. The novel adaptation of the original OVA series.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story: The Blue Destiny (Kidou Senshi Gundam Gaiden: The Blue Destiny, 1997) - by Yuka Minagawa. The novel adaptation of the TV game.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team (Kidou Senshi Gundam: Dai 08 MS Shoutai, 1999) - by Ichiro Okochi. The novel adaptation of the original series.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (Kidou Senshi Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory, 1992) - by Hiroshi Yamaguchi. The novel adaptation of the original OVA series.
  • Advance Of Zeta: The Flag Of Titans (Advanced of Z: Titans no Hata no Moto ni, 2002—) - by Bin Konno.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Ecole du Ciel (Kidou Senshi Gundam Ecole du Ciel: Tenku no Gakko, 2002—) - by Kenichi Nakahara. The novel adaptation of the original manga.
  • Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: Four Story - And to a soldier… (Kidou Senshi Zeta Gundam: Four Story - Soshite Senshi ni…, 1986) - by Akinori Endo.
  • Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (Kidou Senshi Zeta Gundam, 1985–1986) - by Yoshiyuki Tomino. The novel adaptation of the original series.
  • Gundam Sentinel (Gundam Sentinel: Alice no Zange, 1988–1990) - by Masaya Takahashi.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (Kidou Senshi Gundam ZZ, 1986–1987) - by Akinori Endo. The novel adaptation of the original series.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Hi Streamer (Kidou Senshi Gundam: Hi Streamer, 1987–1988) - by Yoshiyuki Tomino. The novel adaptation of the original movie.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack - Beltorchika's Children (Kidou Senshi Gundam: Gyakushu no Char - Beltorchika's Children, 1988) - by Yoshiyuki Tomino. An original novel about Char's Counterattack, but with alternate events, like the appearance of Beltorchika Irma, and the appearance of a Sazabi upgrade, Nightingale, and the originally intended (in-universe) Nu Gundam, known as Hi-Nu.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn (Kidou Senshi Gundam Yunikōn, 2007) - by Harutoshi Fukui. In U.C. 0096, a student Banagher Links, son of the head of the Vist Foundation, acquires the psycho-frame heavy Gundam Unicorn, and meets Audrey Burne, a girl from a noble family, who is actually Mineva Lao Zabi under a pseudonym. He becomes embroiled in the conflict between the Neo-Zeon group known as "the Sleeves", led by a mysterious Char-like figure under the name of Full Frontal, and the Earth Federation, over a "secret" event which occurred 95 years earlier that plays an important role in the history of the Universal Century and the artefact that holds that secret, known as "Laplace's Box". This novel is now made into an OVA spanning six one-hour episodes.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash (Kidou Senshi Gundam: Senkou no Hathaway, 1989) - by Yoshiyuki Tomino. The story of Hathaway, Bright Noah's son, after the events of Char's Counterattack, that follows the canon of Beltorchika's Children.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam F91 (Kidou Senshi Gundam F91, 1991) - by Yoshiyuki Tomino. The novel adaptation of the original movie.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam Silhouette Formula 91 (Kidou Senshi Gundam Silhouette Formula 91, 1992–1993) - by Sunrise.
  • Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (Kidou Senshi V Gundam, 1993–1994) - by Yoshiyuki Tomino. The novel adaptation of the original series.
  • Gaia Gear (1987–1989) - by Yoshiyuki Tomino. A non-canonical side story, set in the U.C. 0200s, where an anti-Federation group creates a clone of Char to battle Manhunter.
  • G-Saviour (2000–2001) - by Yoshie Kawahara. The novel adaptation of the original movie.
  • The Most Irresponsible Man in Space (1989-1996) - by Hitoshi Yoshioka. A humorous Space Opera set in the year U.C. 6998, where the United Planets Space Force is in War against the Holy Raalgon Empire.

Original design series/variations

Several original design series were published. These series are drawings and precise specifications for additional mobile suit units not found in the original animated material.

  • Mobile Suit Variations (1983) - also known as MSV, the variations from the One Year War, considered to be official and canonical
  • Mobile Suit X (1984) - also known as MSX, new models for a proposed but never produced new animation series, considered to be official and canonical
  • Z-MSV - variations from the Zeta Gundam series
  • ZZ-MSV - variations from the Gundam ZZ series
  • CCA-MSV - variations from the Char's Counterattack movie
  • Kunio Okawara's MS Collection (M-MSV) - Kunio Okawara's personal reinterpretations
  • F91-MSV - variations from the F91 movie
  • V-MSV - variations from the Victory Gundam series
  • UC-MSV - variations from the Gundam Unicorn series, also featured in various spin-off manga and video games

Video games

Main article: List of Gundam video games

Arcade

Microsoft Windows

Nintendo Entertainment System

Super Nintendo Entertainment System

  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Cross Dimension 0079
  • Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: Away to the Newtype
  • Mobile Suit Gundam F91: Formula Wars 0122
  • Mobile Suit Victory Gundam

Nintendo GameCube

Wii

PlayStation

PlayStation 2

PlayStation 3

PlayStation Portable

  • Gundam Battle (series)
    • Gundam Battle Tactics
    • Gundam Battle Royale
    • Gundam Battle Chronicle
    • Gundam Battle Universe
  • Gundam: Senjou no Kizuna

Sega Saturn

  • Mobile Suit Gundam
  • Mobile Suit Z Gundam: Kouhen
  • Mobile Suit Z Gundam: Zenpen
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Gihren's Greed
  • Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story: The Blue Destiny Vol. 1
  • Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story: The Blue Destiny Vol. 2
  • Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story: The Blue Destiny Vol. 3

Dreamcast

Xbox 360

Chronology

In a pre-production memo, Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino wrote that the first series takes place in 2066 AD,[2] which would have the Universal Century calendar starting in 1988 AD. However, a "2079" date stamp in the first Gundam series' episode 26 and a "2087" date stamp in Zeta Gundam's episode 8 indicated a 2001 starting date (but not necessarily AD). The date stamps were not included in the subsequent movie versions of these series, and these dates have since been contradicted by later works.

Based on a dated newspaper shown in the last episode of the Gundam 0080 OVA series written by Gainax's Hiroyuki Yamaga (Monday, January 14, 0080) and in Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, Axis Zeon became Neo Zeon on 29th Feb, 0088, the Universal Century can be pinpointed to begin in several specific years, including 2053, 2081, 2109, and 2149. In the Universal Century chronology, the last dated entry of the AD system was 2045 AD, leading to the common misconception that U.C. 0001 followed immediately afterwards. A few early unofficial sources even listed U.C. 0001 as 2046 AD (or even 2045), but current official materials indicate the presence of a gap of years between the AD and U.C. calendar systems. Therefore the first year of the Universal Century calendar is deduced on the official Gundam website in North America as being 2053, 2081, 2109, or possibly later, meaning U.C. 0079 would correspond to 2131, 2159, 2187, or later. It is still unknown the total duration of the UC era, but in Gundam Reconguista in G, it is revealed that it is eventually succeeded by another calendar era, known as the Regild Century (RC), which extends for at least 1000 years.

Time Period Series Protagonists Antagonists
U.C. 0068 Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (2015 – 2016) E.F.F. (Earth Federation Forces) Zeon
U.C. 0071 Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (2015 – 2016) E.F.F. (Earth Federation Forces) Zeon
U.C. 0078 Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (2015 – 2016) E.F.F. (Earth Federation Forces) Zeon
U.C. 0079 Mobile Suit Gundam (1979 – 1980)
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team (1996 – 1999)
Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO (2004 – 2009)
Mobile Suit Gundam-san (2014)
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (2015 – 2016)		 E.F.F. (Earth Federation Forces) Zeon
U.C. 0080 Mobile Suit Gundam 0080 (1989) E.F.F. (Earth Federation Forces) Zeon
U.C. 0083 Mobile Suit Gundam 0083 (1991 – 1992) E.F.F. (Earth Federation Forces) Zeon Remnants
U.C. 0087–0088 Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (1985 – 1986)
Gundam Neo Experience 0087: Green Divers (2001)
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation (2005 – 2006)		 AEUG & Karaba Titans (Earth Federation Forces)
Axis Zeon
U.C. 0088–0089 Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (1986 – 1987) E.F.F. (Earth Federation Forces)
AEUG & Karaba		 Neo Zeon
U.C. 0093 Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack (1988) E.F.F. (Earth Federation Forces) Neo Zeon
U.C. 0096 Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn (2010 – 2014) E.F.F. (Earth Federation Forces) Neo Zeon Remnants
U.C. 0123 Mobile Suit Gundam F91 (1991) E.F.F. (Earth Federation Forces) Crossbone Vanguard
U.C. 0153 Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (1993 – 1994) League Militaire Zanscare Empire
U.C. 0223 G-Saviour (2000) (Live action) Illuminati CONSENT (Congress of Settlement Nations)

Analysis of Possibility

Although the concept of Space Colonization was not introduced by Gundam shows, the Universal Century series did spark academic research on the possibilities of different colonization methods.[3] Writers also make their own estimations about the realism of human colonization under a united Government like the Earth Federation. Author Ichigaya made a rough estimation of the cost of building a colony that can house 60 million residents and the relative tax requirement for building it, and deemed it to be quite implausible for a single country (Japan as an example) to support the project since it will at least raise the income tax rate up to 50~70%.[4]

References

  1. ^ [1] 機動戦士ガンダムは、同じくバンダイグループの（株）サンライズが制作し、1979年4月～1980年1月にテレビシリーズ第１作が放映されて以来、テレビシリーズ8作品、劇場用映画9作品などが公開され、20年以上にわたり人気を保っています。米国をはじめ、ヨーロッパ、アジアでも作品が放映され、各地で高い人気を得ています。
  2. ^ Quoted in Gundam Century
  3. ^ The Times, 1 November 2008
  4. ^ MS戰略分析 (MS Strategy Analysis), Hajime Ichigaya, 2007, Futabasha, ISBN 978-4-575-29993-9 C0076
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