So a rather tongue-in-cheek mook was just released in Japan called [Testimony] Mobile Suit Gundam: 100 Years of the Universal Century as seen by Bungei Shunju. Articles published in the book follow the format of the investigative reporting that the weekly news magazine Shukan Bunshun follows. I’m chuckling over some of the entries in the book and had to share one of them:

Was it the Flames of Love that Scorched Hong Kong City?
Capturing a secret meeting between Karaba and Titans MS pilots!!

► 0087.06.29. An absurd war struck Hong Kong City. Following the arrival of Karaba’s Auduhmla, the Titans Sudori (both are Garuda-class super-large transport craft) launched an attack in pursuit of it. Mobile suits from both sides went to battle against one another. We interviewed a citizen of Hong Kong city who witnessed the entire event.

“Hong Kong City, it’s all gone to hell,” said Mr. Y, a dockworker, and veteran who has worked here for over a quarter of a century.

“When I heard that Karaba’s Audhumla arrived, I had a hunch that shit had hit the fan. I knew the Titans would be after ’em. There’s an airport in Hong Kong City, but it’s way too small for a giant plane over 500 meters wide. The best place for them to land would be at sea, but then the port facilities would be targeted for attack. I thought to myself, ‘I better get the hell out of here.’ My sister lives in Von Braun on Luna, so I paid a visit to Luio & Co. to buy a blackout ticket for the shuttle.”

Hong Kong City can be roughly divided into Old Town and New Hong Kong. The former has always been smack in the middle of historical upheavals and is not very safe, but recently the latter has been on the decline as well, Mr. Y said.

EVEN THE FEDERATION LEASED LAND IS A BATTLEFIELD!

“In the end, you couldn’t even step foot inside Luio & Co. There was a big fight going on inside with a bunch of ’em. We had to high-tail it out of there. I heard it was some of those famous people from the One Year War, but that’s probably just a rumor. Then right after that, this huge black mobile suit, maybe forty meters long, comes rushing into the city, firing beams from all over its body. It was one of the Titans’ new models, but it was just an indiscriminate attack.

It started fighting with a white mobile suit that launched from the Audhumla, but the battle ended in a painful draw. We, as citizens, lost. Distribution became paralyzed, and robberies ran rampant.”

Seen on the shoulder of the black mobile armor that attacked the city is the figure of the young man who stole Mr. Y’s bike. (Courtesy of the eyewitness)

A few days later, Mr. Y says he was robbed of some of his property.

“I had my motorcycle stolen by some juvenile delinquent. I chased after him with my car and found him on the rooftop of some building. He was having one of those lover’s quarrels with some pretty chick with purple lips. I managed to snap a pic of them from below. The two of them ran away into a crowd of people, but I found the girl and followed her. That’s when I saw her there. I saw her get into that black suit that had just rammed into the building. Then the indiscriminate attacks started up again, and the whole city was in flames.

I fought like hell to get back to the port, and I saw that white Gundam getting closer to a Gundam that was submerged in the water. Then, it blew my mind. Coming out of the cockpit was that young motorcycle thief! I don’t think it’s possible, but maybe it was a sordid love affair that caused Hong Kong City to go up in flames.”

Is the girl who was meeting the boy the pilot of the mysterious giant mobile armor?

We certainly hope that Mr. Y’s imagination has got the best of him. Otherwise, the citizens of Hong Kong City who burned to death won’t be resting in peace.

(“Shukan Bunshun” July U.C.0087)

Since I’ve apparently been bit by the random Gundam ZZ info bug, here’s some more fabulous information from B-CLUB 15! Let’s just say that some of the bombshell info dump may come as a shock to some fans. Say hello to Dozle’s 12-year-old mistress? As if we didn’t have issues with the previous post! As always, more great content is coming your way soon, so if you’ve got a few spare bucks, please toss a few my way via the donate link to the right. Your patronage keeps more random goodness like this coming (like the original ZZ setting proposal)!

Mobile Suit Z Gundam and Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, which spanned for two years, will end with Episode.47 “Farewell, Warrior*” to be aired on January 31st. But, this does not spell the end of the Gundam saga… We’re on the verge of new developments!

▼ THE ENDING OF ZZG’S FINAL STORY

Translation has been omitted due to it being a summary of Episode.47 with no new or relevant information.

▼ HAMAN & GLEMY: JUST WHO ARE THEY?!

We have covered the final episode at a glance, but many things are still shrouded in mystery… Many of you must have thought the same. Yes, for example, “Mineva (in ZZ) was just an ordinary girl,” her saying “I will not become like my sister,” and the “bloodline” mentioned by Glemy that meant Glemy and Ple are related? All of these mysteries were not made clear in the main story of ZZG, it seems. According to Director Tomino’s “Tomino Memo,” all of these settings had already been fleshed out. It is unclear why it was not depicted in the main story, but let us unravel the mystery once and for all.

First of all, Haman’s identity. She is the younger sister of Zena (Mineva’s mother and) the wife of Dozle, the 3rd son of the Zabi family, and was Dozle’s lover. After losing Dozle to her sister, Haman swore to take revenge on the Zabi family. She became the guardian of Mineva only to use the restoration of the Zabi family as a cover to advance her own agenda.

On the other hand, Glemy actually has no father or mother. He is a clone created from the sperm left behind by Gihren Zabi, the dictator, in the same way as Ple and Ple Two. This is why Glemy clung on to their blood relations and was convinced that he could mentally control Ple Two.

Now, about Mineva. In the final episode, she confessed that she is only a body double. It appears that the real Mineva was taken away by Char during the time in between Z and ZZ. Is he also trying to revive the Zabi Family…? Now, we have an even deeper mystery on our hands.

(Note: Here’s the old backstory about the origin of Glemy here.)

▼ WHERE IS TOMINO’S ANIME HEADED?

So, Zeta Gundam was depicted as an acknowledgment of reality. That is to say, in the first series of “Gundam,” the catchphrase was “One day, it will be possible for people to become Newtypes and connect their hearts and minds.” Still, the theme in Zeta was “However, mankind is still unable to achieve this ascension because their souls are weighed down by gravity…“, presenting the vision of today’s social circumstances. That led to the portrayal of the tragic final scene in Zeta.

In contrast, ZZ depicted a dream for the future, suggesting “Someday, somehow…” Judau, who couldn’t be further from a perfect Newtype, took the opportunity to reflect on himself and went to Jupiter, and in the end, his consciousness was completely connected to Kamille’s, successfully opening up his confined heart. Humans will someday be able to connect with one another… The grand scheme of the Gundam saga earned the opportunity to explore new horizons thanks to the two years depicted in Zeta and ZZ.

Will humans truly be able to connect our hearts and minds? It set the stage for the next Gundam series to explore the roles that true Newtypes will play, fighting for either Char or Amuro’s ideals.

The previous Gundam series and its novel, three movies, MSV, MS Wars, Z Gundam and its novel, and ZZ Gundam concluded the Gundam Saga in a way. However, this appeared to be just a prelude, and Yoshiyuki Tomino seems to be set on continuing with the Gundam Saga as he did with the “Tales of Bystone Well.” It is still up in the clouds whether it will be the rumored movie or a new TV anime series…

So, what significance did Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ have? In short, it was probably an attempt to depict a refined version of the theme that was not fully illustrated in Zeta Gundam. Tomino’s animes always revolve around the central theme of the salvation of people’s souls and the soul’s struggles connected subconsciously in the fight against evil. This series was also packed full of these themes. However, in “Gundam,” this theme was sort of concluded through Amuro’s exclamation of “Nothing feels as good as this!“, so it may be a complicated theme to explore again in a Gundam Saga.

* Note: While the previous issue of the magazine lists the correct final title, this is a translation of the title listed in this particular issue.

ビークラブ15雑誌

B-CLUB Issue No.15

PUBLICATION INFORMATION

Publisher: Bandai
Released: 1987.01.31
Price: 650
Size: —

Issue 15 includes the fourth installment of Kazuhisa Kondo’s Mechanic Linguistics (odd takes on Gundam-related things), a small sampling of Gunpla models, Gundam fan art, and a pullout poster with two Gundam-related mecha artwork images.

An interesting discussion cropped up following the release of Mobile Suit Breakdown: the Gundam Anime Podcast‘s analysis of the disastrous origin of Elpeo Ple’s name. The widely accepted explanation is that the staff named her after a famous lolicon fanzine titled Lemon People, which only served to bastardize the “big brother” theme in the series with pedophilia. When you compare the series to the original plan, there is no mention of either Ple or Judau’s sister Leina. Instead, Judau was doomed to be another one of Tomino’s heroes with a mommy complex and bizarre fascination with older women. But, that’s a discussion and presentation for another day (which I’m currently working on).

Until I receive another magazine with an interview regarding Ple’s character, there are other theories surrounding the naming (LP Button, Elle People, Elf People, Eldorado People, etc). Nonetheless, here’s a little tidbit that was presented in Bandai’s B-CLUB 12.

Adieu, Elpeo Ple… and you, too, Ple Two

“She’s a very pretty girl, a nice girl. It may have been her fate to die, but I still felt bad for her.“

These are the words of Mr. Meigo Endoh (Note: the pen name for Akinori Endo), the main writer of Gundam ZZ. He reminisces about Elpeo Ple, the Newtype warrior who died all too soon with the following comments.

“I originally wanted to create a girl with her personality. When I was meeting with Director Tomino, he told me that there was going to be a girl named Ple, and I was thrilled because she was a character with exactly the type of personality I wanted to have in the series. I was also delighted to see that the childish, energetic personality she showed when she was first introduced remained relatively consistent until the end.“

Ple’s free-spirited personality created some problems for Judau from the beginning. Still, from the time she went down to Earth, she also had her bittersweet moments, like when she began getting physically abusive with Leina out of her brotherly admiration for Judau. She was able to move Judau to say, “that’s my sister,” even though she was a Cyber-Newtype because Judau understood her sadness.

On the other hand, after she landed on Earth, Ple would end up watching too many people die. Even after being physically and emotionally scarred by the colony drop on Dublin, she still takes off to save Judau and the Argama when she senses that they’re under threat. This threat is none other than Ple Two, the girl who has the same face as Ple. Having learned kindness, Ple is inevitably defeated by the overwhelming power of Ple Two.

Then, Judau’s anger explodes when Ple dies!

“Ple died, but it’s also possible to say that ‘Ple died, but she didn’t actually die yet.’ This is because Ple’s character is essential to Judau’s character until close to the very end of the series. Of course, Ple’s character is by no means essential in terms of the Gundam series or the theme of ZZ, but on the other hand, she was critical to the story of ZZ.”

In terms of newly revealed character backstories like the fact that Ple was actually a Cyber-Newtype, Mr. Endo writes that “I wrote extensively about these kinds of character settings that I couldn’t put into the TV series in the “ZZ” novels (2 books). Fans of the series will definitely not want to miss them.

Elpeo Ple brings out the melancholy in the character of Judau, and even though the story in the Earth arc tends to be dark, Elpeo Ple stirred things up with her trademark cheerfulness. She ends her fleeting life as “Ple Two Under Gravity.” And with her rests yet another tragedy…

ビークラブ１２雑誌

B-CLUB Issue No.12

PUBLICATION INFORMATION

Publisher: Bandai
Released: 1986.10.30
Price: 650
Size: —

Issue 12 includes the forth installment of Gundam Club (a mini look and commentary of Gundam ZZ), a mechanical essay by Kunio Okawara, the first serialization of Kazuhisa Kondo’s Mechanic Linguistics (odd takes on Gundam-related things), and a special collection of original mobile suits (custom Gunpla and whatnot).