Gundam SEED Vol. 1 : Mobile Suit Gundam

Rating:
Summary: ENEMY OR FRIENDLY FIRE, I GIVE UP
Review: I tried to read this manga before I saw the anime and promptly put it down again. It was set up too much like an anime to work as a manga. After I watched the first volume of the anime and enjoyed it, I decided to give the manga another try. I was not impressed even then.

In the future, mankind has split into two distinct factions. In order to colonize space, humans genetically modified some of its members, making them smarter and stronger than normal humans. Along the way, the genetically enhanced became known as "Coordinators" and spent most of its time constructing space station colonies. Those left on Earth and others who didn't mess with their DNA became known as "Naturals". Over time, the Naturals became envious and suspicious of the Coordinators and in the event called the Bloody Valentine war broke out between the two forces of the Naturals' Earth Alliance and the Coodinators' forces, called ZAFT. While Earth has more resources and manpower, the war has continued for eleven months due to the enhanced abilities and superior technology of the Coordinators.

The Earth Alliance wants to bring about a change in this stalemate by manufacturing Mobile Gundam Suits which are superior even to the Coordinators technology. ZAFT has found out about their existence and is determined to either capture the suits or destroy them. So they send a strike team to the satellite colony of Heliopolis. The problem is that the colony is officially neutral and has no knowledge of the suits being made. So they are in for a rude awakening as to the realities of war.

Kira Yamato is a young industrial college student who wants no part of the war but finds himself the only person able to pilot the new mobile suit for the Earth Alliance. He isn't fighting on any side but simply to protect his friends and the people of Heliopolis, his home. Unfortunately, his best friend, Arthrun, is fighting for ZAFT and they just might have to meet again in battle.

While I enjoyed the anime, I did not enjoy this manga. Without color, it is hard to tell which Gundam is which because they all look basically the same. The humans themselves are pretty indistiguishable too and it makes for a lot of confusion. How can there be suspense or excitement during a battle when you can't even tell who is who? Also, the manga jumps around a lot from setting to setting between panels so you feel disoriented. While this may work in anime, it doesn't work in manga where flow is more important than cuts. If I had not seen the anime first I would not have been able to tell the boys from the girls in the manga. I would recommend not even picking up this manga. Check out the anime!

Rating:
Summary: Some Surprising Differences from the Anime, But Still Good
Review: Most people who would be inclined to read the Gundam Seed manga have probably already watched at least some of the anime series that it's based on. If not, I highly advise that you DO watch some of the anime first, otherwise you might get a little confused. Events move quite a bit faster and with less explanation in the manga, kind of like a compressed version of the anime - almost more like a summary of the events of the anime in some areas.

That's not to say that the storytelling is bad, because it isn't. I really enjoyed reading the first volume of the manga, but I think the way the story is told, it doesn't stand up real well on its own. It looks much better if you view it as a complement to the anime rather than a standalone work.

There are some differences in the manga that I was a bit surprised by. The look of the characters is quite different from in the anime. They are drawn in a more stylized way, and some of the characters actually look significantly different from their anime counterparts, though they're all still recognizable. There's nothing at all wrong with the art, though; in fact, in some cases, I liked the way the characters were drawn in the manga better than the anime.

Another difference that surprised me slightly is some of the plot changes that were made to the manga version - the Artemis segment was cut out completely, for instance, Miguel was killed much earlier than in the anime, and numerous minor scenes were either cut out or switched around. But of course, some revision is necessary to make an anime story work well as a manga, so changes are to be expected, and none of them are terrible. Some of them did seem a bit awkward, though.

But with all that said, the important thing is that it's still the same Gundam Seed story and characters, and it's still being done very well. The artwork seems a little spare in some parts, but it's still drawn very well. The highly stylized character art might not be to everyone's taste, but I certainly warmed up to it nicely once I got used to it. And most importantly, it's an exciting, interesting story that keeps you turning the pages and wanting more. And there are enough changes from the anime that even if you've seen it, you can't always predict exactly what's going to happen next (though all the real important events are still kept intact).

Also worth mentioning are the extras at the end, including an explanation of the Gundam franchise and a surprisingly meaty amount of information on all the characters, including design notes from the artist. Seems that the publisher went to a fair bit of trouble to spruce the volume up, and the effort shows.

Although it's not perfect, and I thought some of the story changes were a bit awkward and the pace seemed rather rushed at times, it's still a very enjoyable read with more than enough good points to counteract the bad. Certainly a winner in my book, and I would think most fans of the anime and manga fans in general would probably enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: IT IS AWESOME!!
Review: This manga is awsome, the storyline is great, the pics are great, and it's Gundam!!!

Rating:
Summary: REMAKE OF GUNDAM 0079
Review: very good book pretty much like the anime exept a little more story and you cool extras like battleship diagrams and character discriptions. ITs just like the origanl exept with a modern touch.a must have for any gundam fan.