Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin

This year, we're going to be reading through the entirety of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. It's twelve hardcover volumes, so we'll be reading and discussing one volume a month, just as we did for Invincible last year. In this episode, we shed some basic information and historical context about First Gundam (the original 1979 anime TV series) and the Gundam franchise as a whole, and then discuss Activation, volume one of The Origin.

We encourage you to buy yourself a copy, or borrow it from the library, and join us as we embark on this journey to Jaburo. Or if you're on the fence about it, hopefully our enjoyment and enthusiasm for the series will motivate you to at least think about giving this first volume a shot! MSG: The Origin is an ideal entry point into the world of Gundam, even if you know absolutely nothing about the franchise.

Episode 111: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Volume 1: Activation

We're continuing our readthrough of Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin. Things get even more interesting in volume 2 as we start to see even more world building and characterization. We really get to see how Gundam is a story that's about more than giant robots fighting. The human drama is compelling, and that's what makes the story pop. Join us as we discuss and dissect the various plot developments, characters, emotional content, and subtext.

Episode 115: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Volume 2: Garma

It's time for our continuing readthrough of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. In volume 3, we meet Ramba Ral, one of First Gundam's more honorable antagonists. We also get some more layered character development, a look at the rest of the Zabi family, and at least one major plot twist that recontextualizes what we've experienced so far. Yas delivers incredibly exciting and thoughtful storytelling. There's also plenty of sweet, sweet mecha action.

Hang out with us as we inspect the various story elements of this masterfully crafted manga!

Episode 119: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Volume 3: Ramba Ral

Finally, White Base arrives at Jaburo, but at what cost? In this episode, we continue our exploration and analysis of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. We take examine volume four chapter by chapter and discuss the craftsmanship behind the storytelling, and we also talk about the character development and various plot developments. It's another exciting installment of this saga, and in this volume we really see the pain of youth who are forced to grow up fighting a war that their forebears caused.

If you've been reading along with us, or if you're just a First Gundam/Universal Century fan, we'd love to hear your thoughts on this one!

Episode 122: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Volume 4: Jaburo

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin volume 5 is a significant turning point in this epic saga. This volume, titled Char & Sayla, is Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's original material; these stories were not present in the First Gundam anime. There's a lot of political intrigue at play here as we witness the formation of the Principality of Zeon as well as the backstories of Char Aznable and Sayla Mass. It's a longer podcast episode than usual because this particular chapter deserves a close examination. In addition to some general thoughts on the volume as a whole, we also provide a chapter-by-chapter commentary. If you haven't been reading along with us, or if you've never read Gundam: The Origin, try your local library or a local bookseller or comic book store. Volume 5 also contains material that was adapted into the Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin anime OVAs (also directed by Yas himself), so if you've watched those, a lot of what we discuss here will make sense. You can even watch the anime (in its recut, television broadcast form) on Crunchyroll.

In 2022, our plan is to read through the entirety of Gundam: The Origin. Once a month, we will read and discuss one volume of this manga, the same way we did a full readthrough of Invincible last year.

Episode 127: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Volume 5: Char & Sayla

We are now on volume 8 as we continue reading through Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko this year, one volume per month. This month's installment is contains two particularly special storyarcs. One of them is an intensely personal, tragic story about the effect that war has on regular people. The other is the kind of war comic that deals with big picture, chessboard of life stuff that will affect human society moving forward. There's a lot of rich, beautiful storytelling that is rife for thought-provoking discussion, and we invite you to join us. We provide summaries and personal commentaries of each chapter in the volume. If you've got any Gundam or mecha thoughts, feel free to hit us up! And don't forget to check out our previous episodes on The Origin to get all caught up!

We also have a Linktree with just about all our relevant (and some irrelevant) links: https://linktr.ee/betweenthegutters

Episode 138: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Volume 8: Operation Odessa

Trying out the sound of the 80's with guitar improv over it.

80's Synth Rock (Guitar Improvisation)

Naoki Sato - Ihojin No Yaiba (Sword Of The Stranger OST) ストレンヂア無皇刃譚

The Definitive Episode 03 - A-Sides Mid Era 1992-1997

 A few weeks ago, Dres from Black Sheep tweeted that he was digging my song "Flight", from my album "Optimism". I retweeted it and Dres hit me up to let me know he wanted to rhyme over it. Within a week, he sent me the file and here it is..  ft. Robert Glasper on Keys, Lage Lund on Guitar, Joe Martin on Bass, and Johnathan Blake on Drums. Download and enjoy. 

Flight (Energy) ft. Dres of Black Sheep

Liz and the Blue Bird Full OST

Lie to Me

Head Spinning Snippet

Albert and Dru are your hosts for Between the Gutters, a comic book podcast that talks about the stories within the panels. This is a free-flowing podcast by two big comics fans and we just like to shoot the breeze. Feel free to email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com. If we get any fan mail, we may even respond on the show! Thanks for listening!
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Episode 138: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Volume 8: Operation Odessa

Between the Gutters

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