Mobile Fighter G Gundam
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After Mobile Suit Victory Gundam finished airing in Japan in early 1994, Bandai celebrated Gundam's 15th anniversary by trying something new: free the franchise from the continuity of the Universal Century (and sell more model kits). Thus, the alternate universes were born that are the settings for every TV series following Victory Gundam.
Premiering in 1994, Mobile Fighter G Gundam was the first alternate universe series, and perhaps one of the most controversial. Directed by Giant Robo's Yasuhiro Imagawa, this series takes a vastly different approach to the Gundam saga. Instead of having wars between the colonies and the Earth, a fighting tournament is held to determine the ruler of the colonies. Called the Gundam Fight, it is held once every four years by the United Colonies Federation. Each country has its own representative Gundam (some of which are really ridiculous looking), and the Gundams fight on Earth until only one is left. Set in Future Century (FC) 60, this series chronicles the 13th Gundam Fight and stars Neo Japanese Gundam Fighter Domon Kasshu, who is in the fight as much to win as to fulfill a personal quest.
'Traditionalists' scoff at G Gundam as either an ugly parody of the Gundam world or a thinly disguised take on the Street Fighter/Dragon Ball Z trend with the Gundam name. There is a cult of G Gundam followers who liked its out of worldliness.
G Gundam manga is published in English by TokyoPop.
Name changes
When this series was aired on Cartoon Network starting in August 2002, however many of the Gundams actual names were changed for different reasons. Three of them were changed for religous references (partly due to the fact that Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the United States, refused to stock toys of the XXXG-01D2 Deathscythe Gundam Hell during the run of Gundam Wing), one was changed for an alcohol reference, and the rest for unknown reasons (Though some speculations for the other name changes is some names are too difficult for children to understand or to make the Gundams sound cooler). This show is currently available on DVD although the original Gundam names can only be seen through English subtitles because the dubbed actors' lines are the same as the Cartoon Network Version. The English manga also uses the new names.
Original names go first followed by English adaptation names.
- God Gundam = Burning Gundam (Includes all the attacks that have the word God in them)
- Devil Gundam = Dark Gundam (Also the Death Army was changed to Dark Army and DG cells are referred as Dark Gundam Cells rather than Devil Gundam Cells)
- Scud Gundam = Desert Gundam (Only appears in a flashback at the beginning of Episode 2)
- Tequila Gundam = Spike Gundam
- Lumber Gundam = Grizzly Gundam
- John Bull Gundam = Royal Gundam
- Pharaoh Gundam IV = Mummy Gundam
- Minaret Gundam = Scythe Gundam
- Kowloon Gundam = Howl Gundam
- Gundam Spiegel = Shadow Gundam
- Nether Gundam = Hurricane Gundam
- Matador Gundam = Taro Gundam
- Mandala Gundam = Mandor Gundam
- Gundam Heaven's Sword = Soaring Raven Gundam
See also
Preceded by: Mobile Suit Victory Gundam
Followed by: New Mobile Report Gundam W