Gundam School Part 33

"What is 'Gundam', anyway?" This simple (?) question is answered in our thirty-third casual weekly column just for new fans!


　What's that tingling feeling? Just a super-simple intro column for new Gundam fans! We're back with Part 33 of what makes Gundam Gundam.

　All the way to 33! 　That's doubles! (← Not that it means anything here)
　 Anyway, you can see our previous coverage of what makes Gundam Gundam here, and this week we're back with another Gundam standard!

　One of the things which makes Gundam Gundam is child characters who do their own thing.
　Our 33rd column, "Children of Gundam", covers a few select child characters from Mobile Suit Gundam and beyond!


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[Part 1]
Gundam's child characters act on uniquely childish impulses!


　Our first look with be at the "Three Musketeers" of Gundam children, Katz, Letz, and Kikka. ( Mobile Suit Gundam)
The trio Katz Hawin (8), Letz Cofan (6), and Kikka Kitamoto (4) are faces familiar to any Gundam fan. 　These three took a major role in the original Mobile Suit Gundam.

　 While they're constantly together, this group of orphaned refugees from Side 7 aren't blood siblings. Katz's quiet, meek personality matches his looks. Letz's vacant gaze betrays his energy, and Kikka, the lone flower (!?) of the group, swings between rambunctious glee and and unexpected crybaby side. Each of the three really has their own personality and gets their own chance to shine.

　Aboard White Base, they're looked after by the kindhearted Fraw Bow. (← Perhaps this is one of her official duties?)
　 Of course, they don't want to just be treated like little kids! 　From cleaning to painting, they take on odd jobs around the ship and beyond — even finding a bomb hidden in a GM hangar by Char! (Char status: still a dick)

　While almost forcibly disembarked at Jaburo, the three made it very clear that they'd prefer to stay aboard White Base, and saw the close of the One Year War alongside their comrades.

　Thrust into a war beyond their understanding, Katz, Letz, and Kikka (and perhaps Haro could also be considered a member of this group) were invaluable members of the White Base crew, helping to keep spirits high.


　Next is Gundam's youngest protagonist, Alfred Izuruha (11). ( Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket)
Alfred, or Al, has a direct and honest personality that's obvious at first glance, and his "Say it ain't so, Bernie!" is iconic.

　 Al, who lives in the neutral Side 6, is detached and innocent of the horrors of the war engulfing the rest of the Earth Sphere; instead, he has only a boyish awe of soldiers. By chance he meets Bernard Wiseman, or Bernie, a member of Zeon's "Cyclops" special forces team.

　As a result of this encounter, the young boy with a mobile suit fascination will see war firsthand.
　 Al latches onto Bernie as if he's an older brother, and the closer he gets the closer he's drawn into Bernie's mission. But with their sabotage mission to capture the Gundam failed, the Cyclops team is backed into a corner. (Oh my.) Bernie, the only surviving member, makes a desperate one-man attempt to take down the Gundam and protect Al by preempting Zeon's planned nuclear attack on the colony, but...

　Bernie's unknown foe in the Newtype-specialized Gundam (Alex) is Federation Lt. Christina MacKenzie, or Chris, a test pilot assigned to the G-4 squadron who had lived next door to, and acted as a surrogate sister, to Al, and is as just as dear to him as Bernie. Bernie and Chris share their own relationship, and as Chris defends against his Zaku she doesn't know he's piloting.

　Al sees the pair risk their lives in battle, each not knowing that someone they love is at the controls of the other machine.
　This is surely too much for an 11-year-old to bear. Without ever laying hands on the Gundam's controls, without ever having a chance to change what happens, unable to do anything but watch, Al is still deeply scarred by his involvement in the war.

　Say it ain't so. Please...

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[Part 2]
Gundam's child characters stay significant as they grow up!


　Last up today is the lost scion of Zeon, Mineva Lao Zabi. ( Mobile Suit Gundam, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn)

　 After escaping Solomon alongside her mother Zenna Zabi, a short respite aboard the ship of noted vase connoisseur and Zeon Captain M'quve is followed by a period cast adrift, before her status as the only surviving Zabi after a series (!) of successful assassinations by Char (← Who's still a dick) and her Newtype potential are recognized by Haman Karn. This attention from Haman, remarkable for her pink hair, sharp wit, and control over Axis (and later Neo Zeon), proves a one-way ticket out of the frying pan. 　ΖWith Haman as her regent, Mineva is at age 8 enthroned as the puppet Queen of Axis.

　All together, Mineva appears in Mobile Suit Gundam (still an infant), Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (age 8), and Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn (age 16), though in Unicorn under the no-less-regal (!?) pseudonym of Audrey Burne.

　Here, she's paired with protagonist Banagher Links, heir to the Vist Foundation which has protected the Federation's darkest secrets for generations...... I can't wait to see what happens.

　 I mean, come on! She's the daughter of Dozle Zabi! You've seen how he gets when he thinks you're coming after his family! 　His only daughter. Just seeing her would probably distract him from someone poking at his facial scars (?) You know that whenever she's in any trouble, somewhere out there in the inky depths of space, a chunk of wreckage somewhere near Solomon is getting haunted with a vengeance. (← Okay, think I scared myself there)

　 Anyway, you can see what happens to Mineva, whose uncertain childhood certainly didn't prevent her from growing into a beautiful young lady, in this Spring's [ at the time of writing - ed.] Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn episode 6.

Anyway, what did you think of the "Children of Gundam"? 　There have been so many in Gundam. Hopefully I'll be able to introduce others in the future.

Oh, isn't Gundam just so fascinating?

Well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, that's it for this week. Next week we'll be taking another laid-back look at what makes Gundam Gundam!