Gundam’s Original Animation Director Creates All-New Amuro and Char Artwork

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The Mobile Suit Gundam series has numerous iterations and entries, but it’s still mostly defined by the continuity spawned by the 1979 original. Now, the official Gundam magazine features new art by the series’ original designer.

Via Mantan Web, along with a new drawing by legendary artist Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, there’s also a celebration of another creator who’s vitally important to Gundam. This comes along with the one-shots and other story material included in the book, building more and more on top of the foundation of the classic Universal Century timeline — and given that 2024 marks the 45th anniversary of the brand, it couldn’t come at a better time.

Char Aznable from the first Mobile Suit Gundam anime and his horse-riding figure

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The Latest Monthly Gundam Ace Issue Features Art From Gundam’s First Designer

The cover and inside art for the June 26th edition of the magazine Monthly Gundam Ace showcases artwork and designs that fans of the Universal Century continuity will certainly enjoy. These works were drawn by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, who was the character designer and animation director for the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime from 1979. Having a history with mecha anime, he also worked on Brave Raideen and Zambot 3, along with the Gundam sequel series Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. The art featured in the manga includes new pieces based on original series protagonist Amuro Ray and his fated rival, the “Red Comet” Char Aznable.

In particular, the story ties into the series Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, which expounds upon the events of the 1979 anime. Another feature within the magazine is a tribute of sorts to Kondo Kazuhisa, who is seen as the first name in art for various Gundam manga. There is also a featured story set within this timeline titled Mobile Suit Crossbone Gundam: The Truth Behind the Divine Lightning Plan, plus the new series Mobile Suit Gundam F90 Cluster. This is all happening as the venerable Real Robot brand turns 45 years old.

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Char Aznable and Amuro Ray Defined Gundam – And Anime

Char Aznable and Amuro Ray are two of the most recognizable Gundam characters of the entire franchise, if not the most. Amuro introduced the concept of the reluctant mecha pilot, helping to set the series apart from the more childish Super Robot anime of the time. Likewise, Char was a noble and regal antagonist who, despite his villainy, ended up becoming far more popular than his corresponding hero. Since his introduction, there have been numerous “Char clones” in new Gundam anime that wear similar masks or helmets. The fact that many of these shows have such characters proves how much the brand’s structure is still largely based on the classic anime series.

Amuro and Char piloted the RX-78-2 and the red Zaku-II mobile suits, respectively. These mecha are also widely popular and recognizable, with almost all “main” Gundam in the Gundam anime having stylistic similarities to the RX-78-2. Now, fans can enjoy brand-new images of these classic characters done in the style of Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, creating a sense of nostalgia that still moves things forward. The many Gundam manga entries over the years have done the same thing by expanding beyond Amuro and Char while remaining in the Universal Century timeline.

Mobile Suit Gundam

Original title: Kidô senshi Gandamu.
In the war between the Earth Federation and Zeon, a young and inexperienced crew find themselves on a new spaceship. Their best hope of making it through the conflict is the Gundam, a giant humanoid robot, and its gifted teenage pilot.

Release Date: April 7, 1979
Creator(s): Yoshiyuki Tomino , Hajime Yatate
Cast: Hirotaka Suzuoki , Tôru Furuya , Toshio Furukawa , Kiyonobu Suzuki , Michael Kopsa , Brad Swaile , Cathy Weseluck , Chris Kalhoon
Seasons: 1
Creator: Yoshiyuki Tomino, Hajime Yatate
Production Company: Nagoya Broadcasting Network (Nagoya TV), Sotsu Agency, Sunrise
Number of Episodes: 43
Main Cast: Tôru Furuya, Shûichi Ikeda, Hirotaka Suzuoki, Yô Inoue, Brad Swaile, Michael Kopsa, Chris Calhoon and Alaina Burnett