Manga Review – Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, Volume 2

The White Base has survived the trip from Side 7 to Earth. Now, can it reach the Earth Federation command base in Jaburo intact? 

Title: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, Volume 2
Story and Art by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
Mechanical Design by Kunio Okawara
Based on the television series created by Sunrise and Yoshiyuki Tomino
Translated by Melissa Tanaka

Available from Amazon.com and RightStuf.com

The Premise

The White Base has arrived on Earth. However, Char Aznable’s attack at the end of the last volume has forced the ship off course, and into Zeon-occupied territory in the American Southwest, specifically Southern California. Now the White Base must find a way to safely discharge their civilian refugee passangers, and make their way through enemy lines while also avoiding attacks by the commander of Zeon’s troops in this area, Garma Zabi, the youngest child of Degwin Zabi, military dictator of the Duchy of Zeon.

High Points

The Battle of Los Angeles is incredibly well drawn and well laid out, making for a really exciting read.

Low Points

The White Base’s first engagement with Garma’s troops is incredibly chaotic and hard to follow. I had to re-read the sequence several times before I finally figured out what was happening. This could be intentional, as this is the crew of the White Base’s first fight in one gravity, but I still wish it was handled better.

Scores

Originality: This is an adaptation of an arc from the anime, but with some significant geographical shifts. 4/6

Artwork: As before, the art is incredibly good. 6/6

Story: The story in this volume is very well written, with an interesting twist (part of which can be credited to Tomino, with some adjustments for the better by Yasuhiko). 4/6

Characterization: Garma is very well fleshed out. I also think the wear and tear of days of constant combat and combat alerts have shown on Amuro’s psyche are shown very well, possibly better here than they are shown in the series (where Amuro comes across more as grating and obnoxious than anything else. 4/6

Emotional Response: This volume is very tense and fast paced. 4/6

Flow: See the low point. 4/6

Overall: A really great second volume. 5/6

In total, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, Volume 2 gets 32/42.