Gundam School Part 22

"What is 'Gundam', anyway?" This simple (?) question is answered in our twenty-second casual weekly column just for new fans!


　Our 22nd super-simple column for new Gundam fans is here! (If it didn't get destroyed by an asphalt processing plant.)

　 You can see our previous coverage of what makes Gundam Gundam here, and this week we're back with another Gundam standard!

　While Gundam likes to cover deep, complex themes, that doesn't mean there's a lack room for entertaining troublemakers—characters in every sense of the word—to do their thing in each series.

　In part 22, "Gundam series troublemakers, part 1 (Universal Century)", we introduce a few!


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[Part 1]
What makes a Gundam troublemaker? Self-assured but completely unjustified cockiness!


　First, let's introduce Garma Zabi ( Mobile Suit Gundam.) He's the fourth son of Principality of Zeon leader Degwin Sodo Zabi. Compared to his craggy father, the boy is Prince (literally!) Charming. Tasked with command of Zeon's Earth Attack Force on the North American front, he holds the rank of Captain. Having graduated military academy at the head of his class, his combination of brains and beauty (complete with the coquettish habit of curling his hair around a finger) endears him to the people of Zeon (especially the swooning women), and a promising future even compared to his siblings seems assured. Kind and dainty, his gentle upbringing leaves him incredibly naïve, to the point that his father Degwin initially resists his choice of a military career.

　Garma hates the impression that his command and rank are products of his father's favor and often takes to the front lines in a Dopp painted his signature ochre color, a trait that will eventually combine with his inexperience and lack of caution to cost him his life.

　 He meets Icelina Esconbach, daughter of the pre-occupation mayor of New Yark, and the two fall in love; however, her father, fervently anti-Zeon, objects to marriage. When Garma throws a high-society party in occupied New York (for Icelina's sake!?) he plays the part of the romantic young nobleman, while Char is left muttering "Romance on the front lines? Same spoiled rich kid." before using that naïvete to his own ends.

　Char, a classmate and friend (only friend?) of Garma's, has been playing the role of close ally while using Garma, a man he considers a "spoiled brat", to pursue his vendetta against the Zabis.

　Garma, so entranced with Icelina that he's willing to abandon his country, becomes careless in his attempts to impress his family, underlings, and Icelina's father.

　 Convinced that sinking the Federation's "Trojan Horse" and capturing its new weapon (the Gundam) will earn him the Zeon Cross, (apparently prestigious?) Garma recruits Char's "aid" and sorties in a Gaw-class atmospheric attack carrier... Garma died every inch a prince, and his life echoed through the nation of Zeon long after it was snuffed out.

　 Perhaps Garma's most fatal recklessness was his absolute, 110% trust in his only friend Char, a man who most people would find shifty even before the mask?




　Our next troublemaker is Jerid Messa ( Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam.) Born into a storied military family, his ambition and pride lead him to become a lieutenant in the Federation's elite Titans unit. Passing by Kamille Bidan (the protagonist) in a spaceport, the (oh-so!) unnecessary snide comment "Thought I heard a girl's name, but that kid looks like a boy" sparks a fistfight. The grudge that develops, and continues to grown through countless failed attempts to take down Kamille, changes Jerid's destiny.

　His crash of the Gundam Mk-II during flight training into the building where Kamille is imprisoned leads to its capture by the anti-Federation AEUG and its use by Kamille himself. After taking the life of Kamille's mother during his pursuit of Kamille and the space cruiser Argama, Jerid begins to lose his own friends and comrades in battles with Kamille.

　 After his miraculous survival of the battle at Jaburo, he's issued the new transforming mobile suit Gabthley. Fighting alongside his lover Mouar Pharaoh, he attempts to regain his honor in battle against Kamille, but fails again. The death of Mouar in this battle only deepens their grudge. From gas attacks to kamikaze raids on the Argama, to being kicked (literally!) off Mt. Kilimanjaro by Kamille, and even taking down the Psyco Gundam with a prototype Byarlant, his abject, lunatic determination amazes even Kamille. (He manages to wreck a total of SEVEN mobile suits over the course of the series, a Gundam record!)

　No matter how many times he fails, he manages to cling to life and deepen his grudge, until finally he climbs into the Newtype-use mobile suit Bound Doc to grapple with Kamille's Zeta Gundam one last time...

　 Propped up by his own egotistical elitism, he constantly tries (occasionally with help) to avenge his disgrace upon Kamille. His failures make Kamille consider him nothing but a bloodthirsty fool, but his determination in a way makes him, even as a villain, a tragic figure (at least?) on a level with Kamille.


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[Part 2]
What makes a Gundam troublemaker? Selfish whims taken to extremes!


　Next is Ginias Sahalin of Mobile Suit Gundam 08th MS Team. The head of the famous Sahalin family, he's an science officer (Rear Admiral) in Zeon's forces. As brother of heroine Aina Sahalin, he lives a life of luxury that occasionally reflects the Sahalins' far greater fortunes of the past. Ginias, already deeply ill when the Sahalin family's fortunes began to fade, pours his life's blood into its restoration with an eerie intensity.

　Developer of the Apsalus mobile armor intended for an assault on the Federation's Jaburo HQ, he sees this mission directly from Prince Degwin Sodo Zabi as a way to reverse his family's fall, and will stop at nothing to eliminate any foe or ally who may interfere.

　While many see him as using his position to promote his sister, in fact his choice of her as test pilot for the MS-06RD-4 Zaku II and Apsalus is purely to advance his own goals. In the end, when his old friend Yuri Keller is sent with an order from Supreme Commander Gihren to cancel the Apsalus project, he murders Yuri and his aides, then proceeds to hold a "project completion party" for the engineering staff where he poisons them all, self-destructs the base (!), and makes a complete transition from "mad scientist" to "just plain mad".

　Gineas, whose devotion to Sahalin's restoration led him to sacrifice both his body and his soul, is definitely a (dangerous!) troublemaker in a lot of ways.




　Last is Quess Paraya ( Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack). Born and raised on Earth, and most recognizable by her blue twin tails, she's the daughter of Federation vice-minister Adenauer Paraya. "Daddy's little girl", her family life becomes complicated after her parents separate and she clashes with her father's mistress. This upbringing leaves her haughty, rebellious, and innocent (if you like her) or egotistical (if you don't.) A pampered young lady who's never had to watch her mouth, she causes trouble wherever she goes until finally her father's decision to drag her along on a trip to space changes her destiny.

　Already fervently interested in the concept of Newtypes, the episode which finally forced her father to lay down the law was a runaway trip to a Newtype monastery (!?) in India, led by a woman named Christina, who taught that the solution to humanity's problems was a mass awakening as Newtypes. Now in space, meeting Newtypes Amuro Ray and Char Aznable, her obsession deepens. At first, traveling with the Federation's "Londo Bell" unit and accompanying Captain Bright Noa's son Hathaway Noa, she has a crush on Amuro. However, heartbroken at Amuro's romance with Chan Agi, (a Londo Bell engineer) she interferes in Char's favor when Char and Amuro fight on Londenion. (A Side 1 colony, and the home port of Londo Bell) Charmed by Char, and still holding a fully-acknowledged (!?) jealousy of Amuro, she takes the name of Quess Air and joins Neo Zeon's forces.

　Tragically, while Quess is besotted with Char as the reliable father figure she never had, Char sees her as just another tool for war.

　 Training in Neo Zeon's Newtype Labs quickly polished her considerable Newtype potential to unheard-of levels, allowing her to make full use of both a customized Jagd Doga and the α Azieru mobile armor. Ordered into battle by Char during the fight at the Federation's Luna Two base, she instantly breaks formation to attack the ship carrying her father, before losing herself in the experience of piloting. However, she maintains Char's trust, and continues to fight by his side...

　Quess, the selfish troublemaker, may (?) not have been a bad girl at heart. Had she had more time on screen, perhaps we'd have found out?


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　And there we have "Gundam series troublemakers, part 1 (Universal Century)"!

　Oh, isn't Gundam just so fascinating?

　Well, well, well, well well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, that's it for this week. Next week we'll be taking another laid-back look at what makes Gundam Gundam!