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

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Volume 6: To War continues the flashback/prequel material unique to this version of the First Gundam story. Yoshikazu Yasuhiko adds his thoughtful personal flourishes to the lore and legend of the Universal Century, and he spends an extensive amount of time in this volume covering key formative years of Char Aznable and the Zabi family. This political potboiler makes for a fascinating stew, and there's quite a bit of story here to digest, both in terms of plot and themes. Join our conversation as we provide our commentary on volume six!

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 masterpiece, the same way we did a full readthrough of Invincible last year.

Episode 130: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Volume 6: To War

In this month's installment of our readthrough of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, we're covering more flashback material. This volume encompasses Operation British, the Battle of Loum, and the early portion of the One Year War. It's packed with action, spectacle, and emotionally resonant human drama. Most of all, it's also a masterpiece of political theater. Join us as we provide our usual chapter-by-chapter commentary, packed with varied and sundry references and historical tidbits!

Also, please note that we'll be taking a bye week next week. Albert will be at San Diego Comic-Con. Find him at the Beefypoo booth!

Episode 134: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Volume 7: Battle of Loum

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

Volume nine of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko features a couple of major first encounters between key characters, and at least one major revelation. Join us as we continue our monthly deep dive into this timeless mecha classic!

If you have any thoughts, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We also have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters

Episode 141: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Volume 9: Lalah

The chess pieces are moving into position for the final act of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. We've also got some notable emotional beats as well as some political theater. Also of note, before we dive into the book discussion, we spend some time discussing the recent Yasuhiko-directed film Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan's Island. Finally, we apologize for the sound quality in this episode. Due to a technical issue, Albert's audio is much softer than usual.

Time stamps:

General nonsense, banter, and spoiler-free Cucuruz Doan's Island discussion begin at the start.

31:40 - Cucuruz Doan's Island spoilers begin

56:35 - Our book discussion and commentary for The Origin volume 10 begins.

If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters

Episode 145: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Volume 10: Solomon [And Cucuruz Doan's Island]

Major events happen one after another in the penultimate volume of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko! It's not just plot developments that we see, but also some truly meaningful character work, including the culmination of several character arcs. There's always so much to discuss when we cover a volume of this book and, as usual, we provide our chapter-by-chapter commentary.

Even as we near the climax of the series, we're blessed with some gorgeous Yas art. There are some beautiful color pages that are truly befitting of this volume's title, A Cosmic Glow.

If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters

Episode 149: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Volume 11: A Cosmic Glow

This is it. It's the culmination of all things as we complete our yearlong readthrough and discussion of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko! In this White Base-sized episode, we not only provide our commentary of volume 12, but we also take the time to discuss the intriguing bonus features in the book. Plus, because this is the final episode of our coverage of the series, we also share some reflections on the series as a whole. At the end of the episode, we even have a few recommendations for you all. 

Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our new music. Check out all of his music on Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, etc.

linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats?fbclid=P…wB8nO66vFoKtc6NAF-0c

If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters

Episode 153: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Volume 12: Encounters

The Men Who Created Gundam by Hideki Ohwada is a fictionalized version of the real story around the creation of Mobile Suit Gundam, the 1979 anime series that spawned a multi-billion dollar franchise that endures to this day. It's a gag manga that takes numerous creative liberties with real stories of the production history and key creatives (specifically, Yoshiyuki Tomino, Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, and Kunio Okawara), and exaggerates things for comedic effect. Of course, depending on your sense of humor, your mileage may vary. There are definitely some things in this book that are a bit questionable. 

We thought it would be worthwhile to cover this book, seeing as how we read the entirety of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko last year. Think of this as a sort of postscript to our Origin coverage!

If you want to check out our coverage of The Origin manga, we have a Spotify playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3IEJYdVyNUan4qtqiDrLgv

Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats

If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters

Episode 161: The Men Who Created Gundam by Hideki Ohwada (Denpa)

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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