Summary
TheMobile Suit Gundamfranchise is almost 50 years old. With dozens of anime series and movies, manga, video games, and Gunpla model kits, it’s one of Japan’s biggest IPs. Among all the different series in the franchise, only one gets the benefit of continuing since the start of the anime with dozens of different stories taking place in one timeline: the Universal Century. This is Gundam’s main timeline and byfar the most famous and iconic.
Taking a look at the list of series that are included in it may seem intimidating, but if given the chance, the story of the battle between the Federation and Zeon will surely captivate everyone. If you’ve ever wanted to take a look at the Universal Century ofMobile Suit Gundam, here’s all you need to know before diving in and believing in the possibility of a better future.
The Universal Century, Gundam’s Icon
There’s no Good vs. evil, Only Ideologies
The Universal Century begins at 0001 UC. After the human population has surpassed 9 billion,humanity has finally colonized space and left Earth. A new dawn for the species lies among the stars. The Universal Century is declared with a change in the calendar, signifying a new stage of human history. A new space station called Laplace is built and in it, Prime Minister of the Earth Federation, Ricardo Marcenas, conducts a ceremony to celebrate the calendar change and the new era. A group of terrorists uses solar-powered explosives and destroys the station during Marcenas' speech, leaving no survivors except for one of the terrorists, a young man named Syam Vist. Syam stumbles upon the Universal Century Charter, a signed statement from all the current world leaders. He takes it with him and goes into hiding.
Humanity builds 7 space colonies called “Sides”, and people progressively migrate to these. At some point, the people living in these colonies are known as “Spacenoids” and eventually, they find a leader in the politician and philosopher Zeon Zum Deikun.Zeon comes up with the “Newtype Theory”, in which he speaks of how living in space will eventually unlock humanity’s full potential, allowing them psychic abilities that will create a new era of understanding. During an important speech, he suffers a heart attack and dies. It is believed he was poisoned by his allies, the Zabi Family. He leaves behind a wife and two children: Casval Rem Deikun and Artesia Som Deikun.
After his death, the blame is set on the Earth Federation, who the Spacenoids have conflicted with for years. The Spacenoids found a new space nation, seeking independence from the rule of the Federation: The Principality of Zeon. Degwin Zabi is appointed as the new ruler of the nation and continues Zeon’s efforts towards independence. With the help of Dr. Minovsky, Zeon develops a new weapon of war,a humanoid giant mechanized suit: the mobile suit. And they have developed the first-ever mobile suit: the YMS-05 “Zaku”.
Zeon produces the Zaku in preparation for a war against the Federation. Eventually, Degwin’s son, Gihren Zabi, launches one of the space colonies out of its orbit and sends it onto Earth, landing on Australia, completely destroying the country and changing the planet’s climate. This is known as the Colony Drop. And with this, the One-Year War begins. Zeon Deikun’s son enlists in the Zeon army and climbs the ranks, adopting the name of Char Aznable. Because of his extremely fast and powerful red Zaku,he’s given the name “The Red Comet”.
The Federation takes Dr Minovsky’s research and with Dr Tem Ray begins the RX Project, a secret operation to develop a new mobile suit to defeat Zeon. During the war, the project produced a new state-of-the-art mobile suit, beyond anything Zeon ever created: The Gundam. During a Zeon attack on Side 7, a 14-year-old boy namedAmuro Ray finds the Gundam and pilots it to defeat the invading Zaku. And with this, the events of the first Mobile Suit Gundam series begin.
Anime in the Universal Century
Here’s Your Watch List
The Universal Century includes dozens of different anime series, OVAs, and movies. As well as manga, novels, and even games. Here’s the animated media in chronological order in-universe:
While the Universal Century may seem daunting to even start, it has some of the best the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise has to offer. Clash of ideologies, political warfare, sci-fi action, and enthralling characters that stand the test of time. The Universal Century tells the legend of the Gundam and the unending quest for understanding.
