First published in the United States in 2002
Based on the anime TV series Mobile Suit Gundam Wing
Story by Katsuyuki Sumisawa
For the purpose of publication in English, the artwork in this publication
is printed in reverse from the original Japanese version.
[summary]
Gundam Wing: Episode Zero reveals the events that shaped the lives of Heero,
Duo, Trowa, Quatre, Wufei, and Relena, as well as where Zechs, Treize, Lady
Une, Noin, and Sally were in the years leading up to A.C. 195. In addition,
there is a chapter showing April 6, A.C. 195- the day the Gundams set off
on their descent to Earth- and a short story called Preventer 5, which takes
place in A.C. 197. There is also a complete chronology of the A.C.
era in the back.
For information on individual characters' Episode Zero stories, check out
the individual character pages.
In Preventer 5, a group of violent guerillas take Relena Darlian and a group
of people in the Sanc Kingdom castle hostage, and they threaten to detonate
a nuclear warhead if their demands are not met. As a result, Sally
Po and Wufei gather up the other former gundam pilots to rescue Relena and
the others.
[review]
All I can say is that, at long last, I have this book in my hot little hands!
After hearing about it and reading about it for so long, it pleases
me greatly to be holding it, in the flesh- er, uh.. paper.
There's some debate over how official Episode Zero actually is, but many
people accept most of the possibilities presented. In the writer's
note in the back of the book, Katsuyuki Sumisawa says that "This series of
stories of the past was requested of my by Director [Masashi] Ikeda, and
it was suppoed to appear in the TV series after episode 27. However,
it was pigeonholed due to the production schedule being the worst ever, and
the fact that I withdrew as scenarist. When I returned to the show, there
was no chance to fit in the past, and we had no choice but to table it
indefinitely (though we did try in episode 31, "The Glass Kingdom"). It
was able to become a graphic novel through the kindness of the editors at
Anime V [magazine] and Mr. Kanbe's cooperation." Think of it how you
will.
Also, as with all my manga, I have the English langauge versions. I
like to know what I'm reading. The downsides to the English version
are some strange dialogue/narrations that obviously didn't quite survive
the translation and the fact that the art has been flipped- Japanese books,
along with other Oriental books, read from right to left- but how much do
I really care that Heero is using his left hand to punch in the entry code
rather then his right, etc.? (And as a side note, all credits are given
as they appear in the book, presumably the Western way, with given name first,
followed by the surname.)
First of all, the best part of Episode Zero is the fact that you finally
find out what all of this business of the Maxwell Church, Odin Lowe, Middi
Une, etc. is about! The stories provided for the six main characters-
and the others- provide much insight as to how they got to be who they are.
Writer Katsuyuki Sumisawa does an admirable job of portraying our young
heroes. It is easy to see how they developed into the characters we
know and (at least some of us) love.
The only thing that struck a wrong chord with me was Middi Une.
Sumisawa-san, in my eyes, became a bit too melodramatic and romantic
with Middi Une's feelings for The Boy Who Will Become Trowa. At that
point in time, T.B.W.W.B.T. is ten-years old; Middi appears to be about the
same age. Not many ten-yeard olds that I know are falling in love all
over the place, but hey.... (And there's always the possibility that
something got lost in the translation.)
Concerning Preventer 5.... It comes across rather as a snippet of something
larger. Overall there's nothing wrong with it- there's a tense situation,
Wufei has a sense of humour, the pilots group back together, Quatre does
what he does best and makes a fool-proof plan- but all that is shown is the
guerillas taking people hostage and making demands, the gathering of the
pilots, the making of the plan, and, presumably, the carrying out of the
plan. The reader is left with "To Be Continued... Or The End?"
Perhaps, though, that is how Gundam Wing is best left. After
all, when it comes to keeping the peace, there is no certainty is there?
Artist Akira Kanbe did quite nicely. Everyone looked so cute when they
were little. ^_^ And it's interesting seeing Zechs and Noin when
they were the gundam pilots' age, as well as a younger Treize. Not
to mention Septem, Quinze, and Dekim Barton, who, if not exceedingly pretty,
are not as ugly as they eventually become. (Okay, so maybe Quinze is.
And it's just nice not having to hear Septem's voice... ::can't
rid her memory of Septem's rat-fink dub voice::) Kanbe-san also portrays
the characters nicely from A.C. 194-197, closer to the ages at which we know
them.
Overall, I highly recommend Episode Zero! It's great for figuring out
what makes our favorite characters tick. And seeing them as cute little
eight-year olds. ^_~
[8.5 out of 10.0]
[basic info]
[summary]
[review]
Mobile Suit Gundam created by Yoshiuki Tomino & Hajime Yatate
Art by Akira Kanbe
English Adaption by Mark Simmons
Translation by Lillian Olsen