BLOOD WORK: SUSPENDED ANIMATION: MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM 0079 (1979)

If you're like me and you were raised on such films as Godzilla Vs Mechagodzilla (1974), Aliens (1986), and cartoons like Robotech and Inhumanoids you probably have a disposition for liking giant robots and exo-suits. When I was in high school Cartoon Network started airing a show called MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM WING for the first time. It didn't take me long to fall in love with this exciting space opera and become a life long fan of these particular mobile suits. Then I watched the show MOBILE SUIT GUNDMAN 08TH MS TEAM (probably the best Gundam series of them all), then MOBILE FIGHTER G GUNDAM and so on. Yeah, I like me some Gundam.

When the original MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM 0079 made its way over to the states I started collecting it on DVD as I had with the others. I stopped collecting it after the second disc. I wasn't mature enough at the time to appreciate this series nor did I have the mindset for the context. Forgive me for saying this, but I couldn't get past the dated animation of 1979, not when I had already been exposed to Gundam series from the 1990's on up (not to mention I couldn't afford $20 a pop for the DVD's).

Fast-forward 15 years later in my life from 2001 to 2015. I'm a little older. I'm a little wiser. I'm a little more focused with a historical and contextual mindset. My imagination can now fill in the technical and special effect failings of older films and enjoy them all the more. Then I discovered that the old Gundam DVD's were going out of print. My interest in Gundam was rekindled and I decided to finally finish a collection I had started a decade and a half ago. I went back to used DVD stores and tracked down all the volumes of the original Gundam series that I was missing. It only took 15 years, but at last I had the complete original series. Time to watch.

SPOILERS AHEAD
The basic premise of the show is that humankind has now built giant space stations called Sides, colonies of people living in space, self-sufficient and self-sustaining. 79 years after the first Side was created the Principality of Zeon led by the Zabi Family declared independence from the Earth Federation. This secession ignites a war between the Earth Federation and the Zeon with many Sides caught in the middle. The war is fought on Earth, in Space, and within the giant space stations themselves. Millions of lives are lost including entire Sides themselves.

The war is fought with giant humanoid mechs called Mobile Suits as well as conventional tanks, warships, air-crafts and missiles. The Mobile Suits run on nuclear engines, the destruction of which results in a massive nuclear explosion. The Earth Federation is behind the Zeon in production of mobile suits, the Zeon and their Zakus taking the war by storm. The war seems almost won when the Zeon invade Side 7. There they discover the Federation's new secret weapon, a mobile suit far more advanced than any before, its code name: GUNDAM.

15 year old Amuro Ray, brilliant son of the Gundam's inventor, is forced into the mobile suit, manages to get it to move, and by some miracle defeats the invading Zaku troops. The word is out and traveling fast among the stars that the Federation now have a weapon that could turn the tide of war. The Zeon decide to send their best pilot, Char Aznable "the Red Comet," to seek and destroy this new Feddy weapon. Amuro learns better how to pilot Gundam and the war heats up.

Just to give you some perspective, Gundam is the Star Wars of Japan. I never realized before just how much all the other Gundam series borrow from the original until now. From characters to plotlines, the original series has fueled all that followed, not just as the predecessor, but also as the source of inspiration and emulation. Even the arcs that the story follows are repeated almost exactly in other series. Characters wear the same clothes despite being in completely different universes and follow the same paths. Gundam Wing and Gundam Seed are the most glaring offenders of this.

Looking at Gundam 0079 now is almost like watching the original Star Wars from 1977 (the original untouched by George Lucas version). Special effects wise it is the worst of the 7 films. Story wise it is perhaps the least engaging and least fun of them all (the original trilogy at least). But without it we wouldn't have the others and the face of cinema would not be changed like it has. We owe a lot to Star Wars: A New Hope and likewise we owe a lot to Gundam 0079.

It's slow in parts and takes a while to pick up steam here and there. Amuro's character goes through changes during the show, as to be expected from a 15 year old boy experiencing the horrors of war first hand. His progression from volatile adolescent to skilled soldier is thoroughly explored resulting in some really exciting set pieces and moments of deep introspection. His battles with Char, Ramba Ral, and Admiral Dozle and encountering greater and greater enemy mobile suits is executed very well. By the end the series the story really picks up the pace and becomes something truly magnificent. There's lots of excitement and action throughout.

It's not the first giant robot series to be sure. But Mobile Suit Gundam was the first giant robot series to take the concept seriously and realistically. The human violence in this show is quite shocking too at times, from people being blown apart to straight up point blank head shots. I'm well aware of how extreme anime can get, but even this was a surprise to me. The genre would be forever changed after this series. Now that I'm older and can appreciate context and have a sense of time I can more clearly see how this series changed the landscape of science fiction and film.

Mobile Suit Gundam has endured and continued for nearly 40 years. It has transcended from being a simple piece of genre fair to a moment in time where the world of sci-fi changed forever. If you're like me, and I'm guessing you are if you're reading this, and you love tracing the origins of your favorite subjects or simply are curious to see how far we've come, Mobile Suit Gundam is still a powerful and potent story even with the dated animation. If you consider yourself a sci-fi buff this series is essential viewing.