Moon Gundam is a series which operates similarly to "Char's Deleted Affair", in that it bridges the gap between two mainline-UC Gundam series: ZZ Gundam and Char's Counterattack. While there is a very unique plot and many new characters, important returning characters are very much central to the plot of Moon Gundam. The pacing, story, and plot beats of Moon are the most reminiscent of Unicorn Gundam and ZZ, and if you wanted to know more about Mineva Zabi's journey from a child to her older teenage in Unicorn Gundam, this is definitely the best manga we have for that era. While the "Moon Moon" subplot of ZZ (and even ZZ as a series itself) may not be the most popular, I think Moon Gundam does a fantastic job of making itself an interesting series that does its job in filling out the lore and timeline of yet another unventured and mysterious span of years within the UC Gundam era. Strongly recommended for fans of Unicorn, Char's Counterattack and the second half of ZZ.
FULL REVIEW:
Firstly, a big thanks to the Zeonic team for lovingly translating this series for western readers. The unfortunate reality of being a Gundam fan is that a great majority of Gundam manga is never officially released in the west, leaving many years of the Universal Century timeline unaccounted for, even when those years are known as cannon to Japanese readers. Having this series translated means a heck of a lot to UC Gundam fans such as myself.
The years between the mainline UC series are always interesting, because as most UC Gundam fans are aware, many reoccurring characters and conflicts tend to pop back up in a relatively mysterious fashion between shows. For instance, Char returns in Zeta under a pseudonym and fights against the Zeon remnants and the Titans under the banner of the AEUG, but there is generally little explanation for how that even occurred...that is, until you read a manga like "Char's Deleted Affair", which bridges the years between 0079 and Zeta.
Moon Gundam, then, is the most recent attempt at bridging the gaps between classic Universal Century Gundam series. Moon Gundam itself fills in the years occurring between ZZ and Char's Counterattack, occurring between the years of UC 0091-0093. These were years where the Zeon/Neo-Zeon remnants were largely on the run and being hunted down, and where Mineva Zabi was still being clandestinely protected with the hope that she could one day carry out her fateful role as the head of a reestablished Zeonic Republic. It is also a period of relatively little-known information about the whereabouts of Char Aznable, who would later make his triumphant return as Zeon's leader in Char's Counterattack in UC 0093. So, its quite obvious that this era is absolutely bursting with interesting story possibilities and lore.
While Moon Gundam focuses mainly on a new cast of characters who live on "Moon Moon" (which was the location of a main plot point in ZZ Gundam), it also features very important returning characters like Mineva Zabi, who is one of the most consistently re-returning characters in the entire UC era. This is really the first series in the timeline where she is old enough to really have a fleshed-out personality and character, given that prior to Moon Gundam, she was a very small child.
In Moon Gundam, we get an older version of Mineva Zabi- one that is striking similar to the Mineva Zabi present in Unicorn Gundam which occurs around 4 years later, in UC 0096. I like the fact that her personality and general demeanor is very close to the Mineva in Unicorn, giving Moon a feeling of importance in its continuity with Unicorn. In Moon Gundam, we see the first real growth of Mineva into her own person, and see her begin to develop her own sense of self outside of the expectations that her Zeon Handlers have attached to her. Her personality and the way she is presented visually are not the only similarities to Gundam Unciron, however. Moon Gundam also features a sort of "will-they-wont-they" romantic and spiritual connection between Mineva and the main protagonist from Moon Moon (Jutta Qasim), and I noticed immediately howw similar it feels to the fateful romantic pairing of Mineva and Banagher Links, the main protagonist of Unicorn Gundam.
If you are someone who dislikes a heavy emphasis on the spiritual, supernatural, or otherwise strange aspects surrounding the Newtype phenomenon, you may find yourself annoyed with some aspects of Moon Gundam, as it continues the trend of including those elements in a way that is similar to Unicorn, NT, or even the end of Char's Counterattack. "The magic" of Newtypes is really the possibilities that they hold, so unless you can suspend your disbelief and embrace the more zany aspects of Newtypes and the spirituality surrounding them, you already probably dislike series like Unicorn and NT anyway, so this series may not be for you.
Aside from all that, I don't want to spoil any of your enjoyment of the manga, so I will refrain from providing any spoilers or story elements that are not present in summary writeups or in the first few pages, so I will move on to the artwork and pacing of the story.
The artwork itself is quite good, with very clean lines and organized paneling, leading to a very pleasant and more relaxed reading experience than the often extremely busy paneling work of other artists. Even during battle scenes (which can become a messy, confusing mess in some Gundam manga) stay very, very clean, and its always easy to tell who is battling who.
While the artwork and the art style itself is very clean, organized and has a very modern sleek look to it, it isn't as special or awe inspiring as other Manga in the franchise, especially when compared against a masterpieces like Gundam Origin. To be fair, that is an extremely high bar to reach, and I would still put the art and paneling itself squarely in the 7.5 to 8/10 category for being consistent, clean, and extremely easy to engage with and follow.
I've said enough already, so I will end the review here. If you are anything like myself, and love to read new series that fill in the gaps, lore, and timeline of the existing Universal Century chronological timeline, than you will find Moon Gundam to be fascinating and definitely worth the read. I would strongly recommend this series to those UC Gundam fans who particularly enjoyed Unicorn Gundam, as it is definitely the most similar to Unicorn thematically, within its art direction and mech design, with its character relationships, and with the amount of the more supernatural and newtype-heavy elements present.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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