Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (機動戦士Ζガンダム) is a 50 episode continuation of the original Mobile Suit Gundam series. It originally aired on TV in 1985 and 1986.
A strange set of circumstances brings some of the members of the legendary White Base to work hand in hand with their greatest rival during the One Year War. Char Aznabel fled into the depths of space after his defeat, along with the remnants of the Zeon army. With all of the Zavi adults dead, the last hope of their lineage rule is thrust upon the infant Mineva. Loyalists to the Zavi family and the ideology of Zeon bide their time in the shadows. For unknown reasons Char has assumed an alias and has been working as a member of AEUG, intent on righting the wrongs of the tyrannical Titans and carve out a place of people who live in space to have their freedoms. The Titan's seize overwhelming power in the Federation an begina brutal campaign of repression, all while trying to destroy AEUG, with Kamille and his unnatural piloting skills a main target. He, Char and the rest of the crew aboard the Argama find themselves at the center of the conflict and shifting alliances. When things seem to be going there way the remnants of Zeon make their presence known and through the chaotic battlefront into a dangerous direction.
The direct sequel to the original Mobile Sit Gundam, Zeta Gundam is a drastically better product in every way. Sure it has 6 years of financing and residuals to lean into from the original and its theatrical remakes and the growing Gunpla market. But its also devoid of a lot of the meddling of the originals toy sponsor Clover...which went out of business in 1983. Unfortunately Zeta, like so many Gundam stories are trapped in regurgitating the outline of the original series. Kamille is a wholly unlikable protagonist. Though he does mature over the course of his struggle and is a more rational Newtype than Amuro was. The story over all is much darker than the original, or even many other later Gundams. This is a story aimed at the massive adult/teenage fan base that sprung up around the originals repeats and movies. Zeta is bleak at almost every turn. Almost all of the characters are deeply broken individuals who grimly go along with the business of murder for ideals.
Its taken me 30+ years of anime fandom to really crack into the original Gundam story and for a while now my favorite Gundam has been Thunderbolt, but Zeta really made an impression on me. I will get back to finishing/re-watching Thunderbolt as I make my way through the timeline. I have focused on the main story lines for the most part and while swing back to the side stories once I watch Hathaway. But Zeta really struck a chord with me, especially the back half of the story. Bright Noah may be anime's most patient character... I write this as I crack into Gundam ZZ...and boy howdy, Bright is a saint. After this bonanza of Gundam consumption I will have to put together an over all through and tier list of the shows. But something tells me Zeta is going to be high on the list. If thats the case, the franchise might have blown most of its load with this story early on. The plot is dense and intense and just keeps going, I got annoyed with how long it was, but I can't think of a way to shorten the story up and be as impactful., At some point I'll have to watch the 3 compilation movies to see if they did it justice.
The series is currently available on Crunchyroll.
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