Interest Stacks

Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's "Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin" is the gold standard for Gundam manga. Not only does it remake Mobile Suit Gundam but adds new chapters to serve as a prequel as well. New characters are added and some filler and content from that original series is removed. Other manga usually follow the compilation films' canon rather than the show's canon, the latter of which being what this manga is based on. That and some filler removed presenting the only major issues with it on this list makes it a pretty easy fit.

Ixtab is a story set during Operation British, following the story of a group of Federation soldiers who learn the truth of the operation, and a team of Zaku pilots, chiefly Zaku pilot Eliza Heaven, trying to stop them. The manga makes strange connections and analogies to Mayan and Mesoamerican mythology, which is weird, but unique and welcome. Eliza is a great character, and we get some great backstory for other events and characters in the UC.

Currently being translated by me.

While the name implies a reboot of Kondo's MS Wars manga and its sequel, it's actually an original series with no connection. The story focuses on the months of the war between Zeon's first drop operation to earth, and the completion of the RX-78-2. It's not a super fascinating story, as much as it is just pretty impersonal gritty military stuff showing this previously not very explored span of time in the Universal Century.

Currently being translated by me.

A side story following the fan favorite character Cucuruz Doan, star of the lost episode of Mobile Suit Gundam. Our story focusing on him training a Zeon experimental mobile suit testing corps before deciding he would leave after facing some hard truths during the war. It is a great side story to the Origin made to celebrate that manga's fifteenth anniversary and makes great stories around the Origin MSD designs through the lense of Doan and former members of a team he trained.


This is also neat because it was the start of writer/illustrator Junji Ohno seriously copying Yasuhiko's art style shockingly well, to the point where his stuff now just feels like an extension of Origin pretty seamlessly. Though it's not all Ohno's work, as the Origin OVA's character designer Tsukasa Kotobuki did the character designs here to ensure they lined up with the kind of people we saw in Origin.

The first of many Masato Natsumoto manga here, this one written by him. Hard Graph Iron Mustang, despite the name implying it is made to sell you toys in Bandai's UC Hard Graph toyline, is actually pretty good. It's a surprisingly engaging prequel to a filler episode of the original Mobile Suit Gundam TV series, from the perspective of a bunch of Zeon soldiers. It aims to tell a more grounded story focused on a squad of grunts without the luxury of a bunch mobile suits at their disposal. It doesn't show you the events of the episode itself, so it can be seen as a fun standalone too.

Operation Troy is an adaptation of the Xbox game of the same name. However, it is basically just another Kazuhisa Kondo One Year War story collection, which is something he has done a lot of. Not much to say, it's a mostly inessential, yet solid read, as are most of Kondo's works.

I plan to translate this one, but since it is as of now untranslated, feel free to skip it.

Rather than adapting MS Igloo straight forward, we have an expanded and more interesting approach and framing for adapting it. It's an interesting way of experiencing MS Igloo 1, though in fairness, I haven't read it in a long time and my memory is a bit fuzzy.

It's currently untranslated, so feel free to skip this one.

Out of all the long running Gundam manga put here, the most surprising is probably Aggressor. The manga centers on two members of an elite Zeon mobile suit corps who were exiled from their homeland and defected to the Federation. They are moved to the Aggressor corps, made of Zeon asylum seekers who are put on suicide missions, as well as missions against their former allies. This has some of the best action of any Gundam manga, and some truly incredible emotional beats. It also connects to other Gundam media like Missing Link, and even Banjo's single volume "Hunter of Black Clothes" mini series. This one is a top level recommendation.

MS Wars is one of the first Gundam manga, not based on an anime, made during the hype building up to Zeta Gundam, and marking Kazuhisa Kondo's Gundam manga debut. While some aspects of this are a little dubious given that at the time the lore to Gundam known to those who didn't work on that original TV series was very little. However it holds up mostly well all things considered. The series focuses on Fredrick F Brown during the One Year War, following his time in Zeon pilot training school up until his return to space following the assault on Jaburo. It's a fun single volume story that's fun to read if only to see where Kondo got his start.

A manga adaptation of the Rise From the Ashes video game. The story is very similar, with it focusing on the Federation's White Dingo squad, who are stationed in Australia in the later phase of the war. It shows us some interesting concepts, some new, but most being ripped from the game it's based on. But it is a very solid in universe stand alone story that showcases Australia in the aftermath of Operation British, something we never saw to much in this era.

Rust Horizon is a very unique manga considering it is yet another One Year War side story.

A new commander is transferred to a Federation base in North America and is immediately faced with strong opposition from his superiors and people from Zeon. On top of this there is a conspiracy bubbling under regarding an item known as the ark and a new Zeon weapon created from captured Federation technology. The timeline of this one is noticeable for taking place before the big retreat to California most Zeon soldiers undertook during the war, but after The destabilization of the leadership in North America due to the actions of White Base. The ark is an interesting idea, however its existence is strictly tied to the death of a character from the original "Mobile Suit Gundam" TV series, one who's fate was left ambiguous in The Origin. but this manga is really good and very much warrants a spot here.

Translation for this one is on hold after completing the first chapter in volume 4, and it is unknown when translations will resume.

The Battle Tales of Flanagan Boone focuses on a minor character from one episode of Gundam/one chapter of Origin, and then it turns him into a very tragic character fighting to survive the nightmare of war and bring his soldiers to survival from the impossible odds they face. The manga presents a mix of psychological horror and the typical dark and brutal story telling we can expect from a Gundam story, dialed just that little bit further. It takes a character with a story we know the ending of, and recontextualizes that ending brilliantly, while crafting an original story around him.

"Mobile Suit Gundam We're Federation Hooligans" is one of the most bizarre Gundam manga. It uses many previous MSV exclusive designs and focuses on the Nemesis corps, who's job is to train pilots and field test experimental units such as the GM Dominance. It has a biting political drama underneath the surface that takes more prominence as the manga progresses that provides for some interesting lore additions. We also see Zeon's massive California retreat in this manga, something later referenced in other One Year War era manga. However the manga has lots of comedy and frequently adopts an over the top battle shonen style, especially with its art style and humor, which can be off-putting at first. It gets better and better as it progresses though, and makes for one of the most unique manga in the entire Gundam franchise. Who knows maybe the humor will even grow on you like it did me.

Acguy is a side story to Federation Holligans. The story runs concurrently to it, and explains another side of it, but the story itself is mostly standalone. It focuses on two brothers piloting Acguys who get separated from the retreating Jaburo assault team, and now they're alone and need to make a journey of 2250 miles to the California base to get back into space. It's written in the same style as Hooligans, and is rahter bitter sweet, though the story itself is kind of inessential. The manga's lone volume also ends with an exclusive Hooligans bonus chapter set in between volumes 1 and 2 of that series.

A manga adaptation of the video game of the same name. The general plot revolves around an all female covert black ops team known as Noisy Fairy, assembled by Kycillia Zabi to subvert the Federation's activities on earth. It's a mix of cute girls and the same kind of drama and action you'd expect from Gundam, so war crimes aplenty ahead. Out of all our characters, Killy surprisingly has the most interesting story going on in this series, and it's fun to learn about her past and what happened with her.

Updates to this one's translation are very sporadic.

Gundam Bandiera is a unique series, focusing on a famous soccer player who has now become a pilot in the Zeon military during the One Year War. The world building and story is unique for Gundam, and it sheds even more light on how life is like for the bystanders in the war in some pretty interesting ways. I also quite liked the art in this one.

I plan to translate this one soon, but since it is as of now untranslated, you can skip it.

Part of a multimedia campaign by Bandai to create new characters and mobile suits in the One Year War era for use in manga, games, gunpla and other stuff. Unlike most other manga this one was actually made specifically to sell gunpla and market stuff to the reader. Despite that it is a decent story with a fun cast and a very entertaining concept at its core driving it. With a story centered around an autonomous corps trying to make a name as legendary aces using heavily customized units, and their mission to hunt down fleeing Zeon soldiers going awry.

A remake of the original manga tie in to the Blue Destiny video game. It makes many changes and has much better pacing, however it removes many elements from the manga that really worked well in the story of the original manga, such as the Odessa Eagle. However unlike that manga it is adapting the entire game trilogy's story. Many updates have been made to make it more lore compliant knowing what we know now about the UC. In addition, it also features characters from other Gundam manga such as "Space to the End of a Flash".

The story focuses on Yuu, a Federation pilot who manages to stand toe to toe with the Blue Destiny after it went haywire. Eventually he is made its pilot, and the voice a woman named Marion reaches out to him and asks him to put the dark history of the Blue Destiny and the EXAM system to rest. It really is the definitive way to experience the story and it made me fall in love with the characters and story all over again. However the mangaka fell ill and has been awfully silent about this series, with very little word from him about it since 2021, though Gundam Ace marketed the series as late as 2024, so who knows just what's going on with it right now.

A great late UC story about a side character from the flashback arc in Aggressor. It's well done short story showcasing Daichi Banjo's writing debut. Its focus on a disgraced Zeon Ace is great, with a wonderfully bitter sweet ending. the focus on an obscure mobile suit like the Zudah is also great. A fun story to read before or after Aggressor. It takes place after that series, but it doesn't change anything if you read it before instead.

Another Manga adaptation of a video game with art by Masato Natsuomto and a story by Tomohiro Chiba, unlike some other entries this one follows the respective game's story more closely and has more direct involvement from Chiba. The game let you pick whether you played as a Federation squad leader Matt Healy or Zeon squad leader Ken Benderstadt. The manga expands on both characters greatly, which is much appreciated, and the idea of giving you the same story from both sides and seeing the two stories clash at the end is great. It is such a neat way to show you the story of both campaigns from the game. However it does feel generic at times despite some strong characters. Despite me thinking the game is better, this is a solid enough read that strongly ties in to numerous other manga.

"Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story: Space to the End of a Flash" is a manga adaptation of a then recently released video game "Mobile Suit Gundam" Encounters in Space. Illustrated by Masato Natsumoto, and with a story by Tomohiro Chiba, who has written stories for many Gundam video games and more famously the long running Gundam Seed Astray manga series.

The story focuses on Ford Romfellow and Luce Cassel, two Gundam pilots assigned to the battleship Thoroughbred in a mission to cut off Zeon supply lines in preparation for Operation Star One. Its a solid One Year War story, but with a weird choose your own adventure type twist. Volume 2 portrays the story as normal and is generally regarded by other media as the canon version, and it is thusly treated as such here on my list. Volume 3 sees Ford doing something that changes the course of the story and gives it a more conclusively happy ending featuring a cameo from Johnny Ridden. I recommend reading the first two volumes and then checking out Volume 3 if you want to as a fun kind of "what if?" scenario.

Volume 3 also features a remake of the "Nightmare of Solomon" one shot manga from the 90s that Matusmoto did as a fun little bonus.

One of the manga to come out of the MSV-R project, this one focusing on the white wolf himself Shin Matsunaga. It details a lot of his activities throughout the war and gives us great development for him and other characters as we explore things such as as his friendship with Dozle Zabi. We also get further development for other people such as the Karn family, specifically eldest daughter Marlene, whom had just been mostly overlooked barring a mention or two before this manga really fleshed her out. We also have connections to other works like 0083, The Return of Johnny Ridden, and C.D.A.

Yes there are numerous discrepancies between this and Origin, due to most manga following the anime rather than Origin, but these are mostly minor and can be mostly overlooked.

Origin really started a trend of manga remakes of animated Gundam works. "War in the Pocket" is one of the most emotional and poignant works in the franchise, and this manga remake delivers on some of it while expanding the original story. As of writing this we're on volume 4 and it is still just a prequel to the stuff we saw in the animated version, but we were promised the entire thing expanded and reworked in manga form. Written and drawn by Hiroyuki Tamakoshi, most famous as artist for the legendary romance series "Boys Be...", who is only working on the manga scarcely, due to his cancer battle occupying most of his free time. It is an adaptation that has changed a lot of the OVA so far, but has done a good job keeping the heart of the original intact. Pray for Tamakoshi to overcome his cancer and finish this excellent adaptation.

The debut Gundam manga from Junji Oono, before his style became so similar to Yasuhiko's, albeit you can very clearly tell some influence here too. Missing Link is yet another manga adaptation of a video game, one that came a suspiciously long time after the game's release. Some story beats are changed, and so the story is a bit different in many regards, however it is very much at its core the same story as the game. Missing Link is most notable for introducing Grave, an organization featured in Aggressor along side a prototype for the main unit from this entry: Pale Rider.

The first half of the story is One Year War and a little post One Year War, with the second half taking place in the second Neo Zeon War, around the time of Char's Counterattack. Whether you want to read it all in one go, or wait till you get to the second Neo Zeon War on the timeline before you read the last half of the story will be completely up to your own preference.

Updates for the translation of this one are really slow and inconsistent.

No manga series from the One Year War (barring Origin) has as much world building or drops as many lore bombshells as this one. This manga actually gets better if you've already read Origin. It details a plot by an illuminati like group of Zeon Deikun supporters to assassinate Gihren Zabi, and we follow a detective working in Zeon's department of homeland security ordered to find those responsible. This sets him on a journey that leads him to answers regarding the founding of Zeon, corruption within the government and more. With an engaging cast of original characters, greatly fleshing out some minor characters from the animated shows such as Zeon's prime minister and showing us many surprisingly great political scenes.

On top of that some of these characters would return in Ark Performance's next major Gundam manga, one that while not a sequel would carry this manga's torch and become one of the most legendary manga in the franchise. Just a fascinating read from start to finish that makes this a perfect capstone for reading through the One Year War era.

My only issue is the framing device of this story makes the entire thing essentially a glorified flashback being told around UC 100, thusly why I recommend making this the last One Year War era manga you read.

Another Masato Natsumoto manga adapting a video game's story into manga. It is a neat story set in 0081 focusing on the Phantom Sweep, an autonomous corps dedicated to fighting Zeon remnants. They are trying to stop the Zeon remnant group known as the Invisible Knights. The Invisible Knights fight the Federation using guerilla tactics in order to gain the needed resources to enact their big plan the "Wrath of Varuna", a devastating operation that was conceived too late into the war to be put into action. This is neat because Zeon remnants fighting the federation with guerilla tactics in 0081 was something we see a little of in the early chapters of CDA, and seeing the Federation take a hands off approach to sweeping up Zeon remnants early into the post war era is neat.

The character of Bob Rock is also here after previously appearing (chronologically) in Ground Zero Rise From the Ashes.

Translation was dropped after volume 2, though if I could get ahold of the raws for volumes 3 and 4 I'd like to take a stab it. For now, feel free to skip it.

A brief one shot serving as a prequel to Char's Deleted Affair. It's short and just shows Haman's life on Axis, with introductions to Serrana Karn and Mashymre Chello. Inessential, but a fun prelude to read first.

Char's Deleted Affair was the manga that helped launch Gundam Ace alongside Origin. Character designer and key animator for 80s many Gundam projects Hiroyuki Kitazume was asked to write a Zeta remake, but didn't see the need for one, however interest in a prequel led him to make CDA, a comic showing Char's life after the One Year War and his new quest for purpose.

It is controversial for many things such as the portrayal of Haman Karn and how she become the person we know, the focus on slow political drama, Kitazume not being used to drawing manga being a reason for the art looking a bit weird early on, some weird story beats and more unexpected story decisions, the appearance of many characters from other shows and some MSV mobile suit designs being considered by some as a carrot on a stick, the copious number of new characters introduced here and given attention, "fan service" (Kitazume has been drawing Gundam characters bathing and in the nude since the 80s this is just how he has always operated, deal with it), and what I can only describe as "Char Aznabale rizz".

Despite that CDA is a stunning prequel to Zeta that serves not only as a great piece of connective tissue between Zeta and the original Mobile Suit Gundam, but brilliantly connects both works even better to ZZ and Char's Counterattack as well. If you are an extremely hardcore fan who has explored every inch of this franchise like me than this manga appreciates even more with all the deep cut references thrown in there specifically for hardcore fans who will catch things most readers won't. So you could call it fan service, but to see things like characters pulled from all manors of media including a niche PC game with characters designed by Haruhiko Mikimoto is the kind of thing that makes me lose my mind and praise Kitazume for undoubtedly doing his research. It can be an acquire taste with its mix of slice of life, political drama and only the occasional big mobile suit battle. However it is an essential read here due to how deeply connected it is to other things here including other manga, and Kitazume's art does get better as the series progresses.


M'Quve is in the first chapter, as what happened to him differed between Origin and the compilation films, but he is only in about 3 or 4 pages before being forgotten completely, so you can easily overlook that. The first chapter is just preamble anyways and is mostly unimportant to the rest of the manga.

Also of note is that Kitazume made two one shots related to this manga bundled with the final volume. One being around 0085 or 0086 focusing on the early goings on of the Titans' newtype labs, the second being Emma Sheen early into the events of Zeta flashing back to her early days as a pilot in the Federation, both of which were featured as bonus chapters in the tankoban release as sort of preambles to the Zeta stuff.

After the first chapter of the final volume the rest of the manga jumps around from during the events of Operation Stardust to literally minutes before the first episode Zeta Gundam. So if you want to wait until you read 0083 Rebellion before finishing the final volume in the series, I can understand that.

Not counting game adaptations (Ground Zero doesn't count despite coming out some 15 or 16 years after the game it is based on) this is the third manga remake of an existing animated Gundam work. This one is once again drawn by Natsuo Matsumoto, but this time written by Takashi Imanishi. Our story for those unfamiliar is set in UC 0083, and centers on a group of Zeon remnants who have decided to splinter off from the main remnant forces and spend years amassing resources, support and crafting a perfect plan to cripple the Federation for good.

Imanishi previously served as the Director and story board artist of the Stardust Memory OVA the manga was adapted from as well as directing the MS Igloo OVAs, the Mayflay of Space prequel OVAs and the Origin OVA series. Serving as a Origin style definitive edition to Stardust Memory, improving elements of it, adding background to it that further improves the story and characters. Think of it as like, what if Stardust Memory wasn't an OVA, but a full series. In addition to that it features characters from other Gundam works that didn't exist when Stardust Memory was made, including characters from MS Igloo, Space to the End of a Flash, 08th MS Team and Lost War Chronicles. The first volume of the manga is entirely a prequel to the events of the OVA featuring original ideas in addition stuff taken from the Mayflay of Space OVAs and games like Gihren's Greed, while the last couple volumes continues the story beyond the point where the OVA ended making this manga simultaneously a prequel, remake and sequel. Over the course of its decade of serialization this became a very impressive manga that is well worth the attention and makes for an essential entry here on this reading list.

Katana is constantly referred to as a sequel to Federation Hooligans when it is not. It is by the same mangaka, like Federation Hooligans it is an excuse to use many MSV exclusive designs in a story, and the events of Federation Hooligans directly tie in to this comic, so while closely related it is a separate and stand alone story barring some of the characters showing up for a few chapters. The comic shares a lot in common with Federation Hooligans in terms of writing and style, and while I don't find it quite as endearing, it is a neat story set one year after Operation Stardust. Our main character is part of a Federation team in the wake of the formation of the Titans who are tasked with mopping up Zeon remnants, however this group is a rival to the Titans due to being formed first and having less prestige. It is interesting to see a post Operation Stardust, and pre Gryps War era UC, and it was rather impressive that the comic lasted longer than Hooligans, even if it is kind of off the wall and crazy.

Most famous now for being in unending hiatus and development hell, this manga was an early seires that helped launch Gundam Ace. Written and illustrated by Haruhiko Mikimoto, character designer for Gundam War in the Pocket and various other franchises like Macross. It lasted a while before Mikimoto was offered to do a "Gundam the Origin" style remake of the original Macross series for the Macross Ace magazine. That being the leading factor in the indefinite hiatus of this series and Mikimoto's constant teasing of fans with messages of "I'll continue it, I just need to figure how to make it accessible for new readers of Gundam Ace too", has given this an infamous reputation.

Ranting aside this is a very good comic about the lead in and early stages of Gryps War, one spacenoid's experience in a mobile suit pilot training school and where her discovery of the horrors of the school's real purpose lead her. The manga is split into three arcs, the first being before Zeta, the second being during the beginning of the gryps war, and the third being during Zeta. It's a great story and one that has been criminally overlooked in recent years. On top of that this is also the first major long form Gundam project to feature a female main protagonist.

Tokyopop issued 9 of the 12 volumes of this series in a not great English translation a long time ago. While I wouldn't hold my breath on the managaka finishing this one, what we have is a very worthwhile read.

Probably the most famous Zeta era Gundam manga. The first of Dengeki Hobby's Advance of Zeta series, which is a series of comics and light novels related to Zeta and expanding that part of the timeline. While the novel is from the perspective of a trial and court case looking back on things, this manga is just the general story in the lead in to the Gryps war and the early days of the Titans. Our main focus being on a Titans group who tests a new prototype in addition to their duties in hunting spacennoids, and the conflicts that arise from this.

The translation for this one is inexcusably bad MTL, and dropped early into volume 2. I plan on picking this one up and translating it.

After the controversial yet generally successful Char's Deleted Affair, Kitazume then saw the potential in an Origin style remake of Zeta, which had rejected doing a decade earlier.

Now with the original "Mobile Suit Gundam" series' sci-fi researcher and scriptwriter Kenichi Matsuzaki making the force behind this manga a creative duo, with Matsuzaki serving as editor and supervisor (smart move getting someone to not only to reign in some of Kitazume's out there ideas that made CDA controversial, but also someone who is intimiately familiar with the setting and style of classic Gundam.) Starting directly where CDA left off, and I mean literally minutes later, we see Char's newfound sense of purpose in the wake of losing so much in CDA leading him to spearhead the AEUG. This is a great progression and it is done excellently when you read both back to back, which is expected considering CDA is the only reason Kitazume found the inspiration to make this manga in the first place. Also a felt impact of the events of 0083 in this manga is another great piece of continuity.

Like Origin, Zeta Define changes and adds things, perhaps to just as great if not a greater degree than Origin (that is if you count CDA on a similar level as the prequel chapters of Origin) did. Among these controversial changes were removing most of the meme moments and sillier moments, the addition of characters previously created for Char's Deleted Affair and a few new characters created for this manga (I will die on a hill defending the creation and inclusion of Shelly Page), the even greater connection to ZZ and more prominent featuring of its characters, the greater focus on politics, changes in the design of many mobile suits like the Hyaku Shiki. While many of these changes being good or bad depend on the reader, I'd say many improve it.

A Majority of scenes from the anime have subtle changes that improve them or make them work better narratively and/or logically. Just look at Kamille's first confrontation with Jerrid and the natural progression to the Gundam jacking. You may not think it but Matsuzaki's influence is felt in many small ways and that's for the best. Unlike Origin and Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta was already a great work without much of any flaws that needed to be worked on, no big filler that needed to be axed and no real major changes needed, so this manga is naturally bigger and more expansive than that one is. Unlike Origin, I don't think you should read Zeta Define over the series it remakes, as this manga is not a replacement like Origin is, but rather a modern more mature take with a big focus on connecting it to other works, all by one of the big creatives from that time in the franchise's history. Zeta Define and CDA come together to make one large cohesive work that will become the most expansive Gundam literature experience one can possibly have. Do not skip this one.

A fun Zeta side story by the mangaka behind Crossbone Gundam, focusing on one soldier's wavering loyalties to the Titans after learning some hard truths. Chapter one is set before Zeta, but the others are set during it. The name being taken from the 1/2 Gundam, which is used as a test machine for gathering data in the creation of the Gundam mark II, and the main character later piloting a Zeta prototype called the half Zeta. It's a simple read at one volume and just a few chapters, and it's a fine little personal story.

Day After Tomorrow - Kai Shiden's Report is a manga about the events of Zeta Gundam from Kai Shiden's pov. It starts shortly before the events of Zeta and ends shortly after the events of Zeta. It has a story focusing on Kai Shiden as he goes around making reports on various goings on during the Gryps War, as he collects information for his own journalism work, while also secretly helping the A.E.U.G. and Karaba. It sheds light on some things and gives a unique perspective on things, shows us other sides to events, and gives us another look at previously overlooked characters like Gates Kappa and Namicar Cornell.

This is notably the first chronological serialized series by Tsukasa Kotobuki, who would do multiple Gundam manga projects starting in the early 90s and later jump to animation in becoming character designer on the Origin OVA, and later doing that same job on the Origin MSD Doan manga series

It's untranslated, so feel free to skip it. If you do decide to read it, I must warn you that Kotobuki loves drawing milfs.

Not a sequel to Flag of Titans, just part of Dengeki Hobby's "Advance of Zeta" project. Here we focus on Van, the son of a battle photographer. Van's given by a friend of his father a video of a classified incident from the One Year War his father recorded. Van is then targeted by the Titans who arrest and interrogate him. So a childhood friend of his conspires to break him out, leading him to him getting caught up in the Gryps war. Not quite as out there and unique as some of the other Advance of Zeta stuff, but a very good story itself that helps expand the woefully underutilized Gryps War era of the UC. This one is also not fully scanlated, and its sequel is only available as a light novel.

Translation for this one was dropped after the first chapter, so feel free to skip it.

Surprisingly Gryps War era manga is a rare thing, so the fairly recent Gundam Wearwolf was a pleasant surprise. The story centers around a Titans battleship crew late into the Gryps war and their fight for survival as they are picked off one by one by someone hiding in their ranks, while adrift in space with their propulsion systems damaged. Its unimportant, but new stuff and world building in this era of the timeline is welcome. The direction and tone of this manga are also pretty distinct from the rest of the works in this franchise, leaning fully into the seinen murder mystery concept.

After the Gryps War yet before the first Neo Zeon War really started in earnest. The story centers on a high ranking member of Neo Zeon who makes allies with people Titans remnants and members of the AEUG, with his gathering of allies furthering his influence and prestige. All this to build towards his goal of becoming one of Neo Zeon's top men, a goal to which he would do a great many underhanded things to accomplish. I find this manga awesome because not only does it delve into the politics of Axis, but ZZ itself and the first Neo Zeon War is another criminally unexplored part of the Universal Century that warrant reading this one.

It remains untranslated so you're free to skip it if it is inaccessible to you. While I would love to translate this one, it currently is not availible online, so it will likely remain untranslated for the foreseeable future.

Another Advance of Zeta manga, this one set during the Neo Zeon War. There are connections to Zeta Gundam, but this story is mostly just an A.E.U.G. group versus a Neo Zeon group. Not much I can say without spoiling it, though contrary to popular belief, it is isn't really connected to other Advance of Zeta stuff.

This is just here because I need ZZ here and there is no manga remake of it or alternate manga version. Maybe Kitazume and Matsuzaki will get to it after Zeta Define wraps up in 2029 or 2030. As far as I know this has not been scanlated because it is a nearly 40 year old manga, and I haven't read this in about a decade, again, this is just a placeholder for until something better for this spot comes along.

While part of the fun of Walpurgis is a lot of the mysteries in it and a prequel answering them kind of kills a lot of the mystery when you read it first, it is a prequel so it goes first on this timeline. Taking place directly after ZZ and focusing on Seranna Karn from CDA and Zeta Define. After the end of the Neo Zeon war she stands up for the remaining Axis Neo Zeon forces and begins the first stages of their plan to counterattack in the aftermath of the first Neo Zeon War. Really neat story, and it is great to see a story with a focus on Saranna Karn again after she previously only appeared in and was characterized in Kitazume's manga works and that one Gundam video game most Gundam fans have never even heard of.

Aside from being one of the most well received Gundam manga in recent memory, Walpurgis is a very fascinating and unique story. We focus on a boy named Mashiro Oaks with some strange and unknown connection to Paptimus Scirocco. After getting a high score on a video game his life takes on a new direction as he tries to change his destiny and defy his cursed fate just like the game told him. The comic is not only very well done, but it also yet another unique entry when it comes to Gundam manga. It serves as a great bit of closure for some of Gundam's most iconic villains, and the scars of the Grpys War and Neo Zeon War. Great to see a well done story set in that elusive time frame between ZZ and Char's Counter Attack.

Another interesting series by Ark Performance, this one made to fill space in Gundam Ace Magazine Special Edition after their existing work was transferred to the main Gundam Ace magazine. Made as a side project published sporadically.

This one follows the similar video presentation style of "Plot to Assassinate Gihren", but rather than being a dramatization, it's a documentary. The series is presented as a documentary about the battle of A Baoa Qu, featuring interviews with a lot of people who were there and their perspectives on the conflict. The interviews were recorded over several years and finally in 0090 presented into one documentary about the battle. The series also has multiple connections to MSV-R the Return of Johnny Ridden and Plot to Assassinate Gihren.

I plan to translate this one eventually, but for now you can feel free to skip it.

The big manga Ark Performance has dedicated so much time to. This manga not only follows up on the ending of "The Plot to Assassinate Gihren", but it erased all previous conflicting stories of Johnny and presented the definitively canon and complete story of the man, myth and legend who had been so often confused for Char, all while telling a fascinating original story.

UC 0090 we focus on a Federation survey corps and one man in particular named Led Wayline with a hazy memory of his past decides to research Johnny Ridden in relation to a MS they discovered, and then discover dozens of people claiming they were Johnny Ridden. This leads him down a rabbit hole that drags him into confronting his past that he has little memory of, the newly reborn Neo Zeon and a young girl calling herself Johnny Ridden with real evidence of some ties to Johnny's past.

Aside from being one of the longest and most complete literary works in the Gundam franchise, it adds so much world building just like the manga preceding it did. This manga has ties to some other manga projects like Rise From the Ashes, MSV-R Shin Matsunaga and Twilight Axis. It also giving us greater context to the lead in to Char's Counterattack. As you'd expect with an Ark Performance Gundam manga, the lore revealed and the connections to other things are just incredible, and they make the politics of the Universal Century extremely engaging.

It also definitively shows us why Johnny is one of the coolest cats to come out of the UC, and it gives us appearances from characters we previously saw very little of, like Arlette Almage, Childer Milly and Yazan Gable, (Yazan absolutely steals the show in every scene he is in). This is all without mention some of the epic fight scenes, and a refreshingly small scale conflict, but one that truly does feel important.

Translations for this one have been on hold since volume 22 for no clear reason, leaving the last 4 volumes untranslated.

Another early Gundam manga, and one that is dubiously canon, but Sunrise doesn't go by canon they go by approximate history and in theory anything can fit in that history. So I see no problem with including it.

The general story follows a colony corporation member idolizing Gundams and Gundam pilots. So he makes his mobile worker look like a Gundam so he can live out his fantasy while he works. Then when Reborn Neo Zeon attacks, they think his mobile worker is a Federation Gundam, and its up to this fake Gundam and its pilot to stop the attack.

A fun inessential story, and one of the first Gundam manga I ever read. It's very amusing, and a simple yet well told story.

Translation progress on this one is slow, and unlikely to be finished soon, so feel free to skip it.

Most recent entry in Dengeki Hobby's Advance of Zeta series, and the weirdest

The story focuses on a new grew up of Neo Zeon remnants who refused to join Char's Reborn Neo Zeon, and instead fled to mars in 0091 with some Titans remnants. Their supreme leader Alicia Zabi then faces resistance from a group of Zeon remnants already on Mars since the end of the One Year War, and the Titans remnants initiate a secret plan behind her back called "Inle's Wings". I have heard from some people they don't like the art, but I think its fine. As expected from a work from Dengeki Hobby the mechanical works are excellent. On top of this it loosely ties in to F90 Fastest Formula, F90 Cluster, and F90, showing us some history of Mars Zeon. Though the manga is kind of strange and weird, so fair warning.

The manga is on hiatus due to the author's illness, so it is unknown when it will be completed.

Translation was dropped after volume 1.

Moon Gundam is a fascinating reworking of the original pitch for the Gundam Unicorn light novel that later became the basis for the Unicorn OVA, now as a manga and most of the elements recycled for the Unicorn novel have been removed completely. Moon Gundam is a collaboration between the Unicorn Novel's author Harutoshi Fukui, and the artist behind the Shin Matsunaga manga Takayuki Kosai. It connects to ZZ, Char's Counterattack, Unicorn and Narrative, featuring characters from all four works, serving as a great piece of connective tissue between them. It's a rather unique entry, with Fukui himself saying its like "what if Studio Ghibli made a Gundam series?" Our story is centered on Juta, a boy from the colony of Moon Moon, which previously appeared ZZ Gundam. Moon Moon needing repairs after a battle between Londo Bell and Titans remnants leads Juta and his grandfather to seek help in repairing it, leading to an offer that forces Moon Moon to open up to visitors again and later being dragged into conflict. It's a neat story and a very interesting idea exploring an area of the timeline not explored too much and connecting many works together in this way, making it a great read a fantastic read for anybody who loves Unicorn and stuff like ZZ.

Another really old Gundam manga by Kondo, this being his next original series following his work on the Zeta Gundam manga adaptation that ran concurrently to the anime's airing.

The general story follows a squad of Neo Zeon soldiers in the wake of the Neo Zeon War, who are now initiating in gorilla warfare against the Federation, reinvigorated thanks to the formation of the Reborn Neo Zeon and their declaration of war. One of our central characters here is also Fredrick F Brown, though Kondo himself has said he never actually settled on if the Frederick F. Brown featured here is the same one from MS Wars or a completely different character with the same name

It's a fun early manga series, showing Kazuhisa Kondo's chops as a writer. Though with CCA being new, Kondo mostly tried to focus on making this a follow up to ZZ, rather than a prelude to CCA.

22 years after revival of Zeon, Kondo made a sequel. This series follows the Zeon remnants on earth, and focuses on the largescale efforts to go back to space in preparation for the plans in the endgame of the Second Neo Zeon War. It continues the weirdness of Revival of Zeon, but grounds it a little bit.

10 years after New Revival of Zeon we get a final sequel. Remnant One follows the same group from the first two, now doing mission in preparation for Reborn Neo Zeon's endgame and leading into the events of "Char's Counterattack". It's 3 volumes, and a little weird in a lot of the new ideas introduced, but I quite like it.