New Blue Destiny manga to run in Gundam Ace

[Deacon Blues]

So the story is rather interesting...

Stage 1 starts out with Yuu participating in the Battle of Loum. A comrade of his named Frank has the unfortunate luck of getting his Saberfish whacked by a Zaku and he's ejected into space. Yuu wakes up from the nightmare and is informed by his superior that his entire squad, including his mothership was wiped out. As he sits up from the hospital bed, he's shown blueprints of the prototype Gundam. He's also informed about the formation of the experimental unit (not sure if モルモット is to be taken as Marmot or experimental). As Yuu falls out of bed, he begs his commanding officer to be given the chance to participate in this unit.

Time passes, Odessa is showcased briefly, etc. The chapter ends with the formation of the unit:

11th Autonomous Mechanized Composite Corps

Mobile Suit Team

RGM-79[G] GM Ground Type Airborne Use Jet Pack loadout x 3
RGM-79 GM Parachute Pack loadout x 6

Tactical Transport

Medea x 9

I'll summarize Stage 2 a little later.

[balofo]

Another good Gundam manga incoming, Gundam Ace has never been better.

I wonder if they will add the scrapped idea of Marion piloting a MS/MA.

[Deacon Blues]

I'm wondering about the A.M.M.C that appears on the shoulder of the units... we had Autonomous Mechanized Composite Corps as the translation, but i'm wondering if they went and muddied the water with "Mixed Corps" -_-

IGLOO had Mechanized Composite Regiment... so much for consistency.

[AmuroNT1]

I kind of like the retro-Destroy System idea. After all, this seems to have been where Gundam Unicorn stole the idea in the first place. Might need to retcon the Pale Rider accordingly, though.

-- Mark

As an amusing aside, in Gundam Extreme Vs. Full Boost, the Blue Destiny and Unicorn characters get special crossover dialog referencing the similarities.

Yuu (allied with Unicorn): "It can't be...does that machine have EXAM too?!"
Yuu (fighting Unicorn): "Neither you nor I have the right to pass judgement on Newtypes!"

Nimbus (allied with Unicorn): "The Federation made another EXAM unit?"
Nimbus (allied with Banshee): "That red light...is it an EXAM I didn't know about?"
Nimbus (fighting Unicorn or Banshee): "I won't let you have Marion!"

Barnarge (fighting BD1): "Don't let yourself lose to something like the Newtype Destroyer!" "No way...the machines of that era had NT-D too?!"

Marida (allied with BD1): "EXAM System...did such a thing truly exist?"

[Zeis]

not sure if モルモット is to be taken as Marmot or experimental

I can help!

'Morumotto' is Japanese for 'guinea pig.' So, I guess you could call it the 'Guinea Pig,' i.e. 'experimental unit.'

[LightningCount]

Thank you, Deacon Blues! I hope the Blue Destiny's introduction is still done as an enemy like in the original manga. I don't want to find out they just hand it to Yuu in a hangar before he actually has a chance to experience its power on the receiving end.

Oh, and given the flashbacks, did they show "Odessa Eagle" Amy Bauer-Meister? "Frank" was the name of her husband, and given what you said, this explains how he died. Nice writing! Both Frank and Amy knew Yuu according to the original manga. It was one of the most interesting side-stories within Blue Destiny, in my opinion. The fact that they showed Frank this time tells me that Amy will eventually show up. Here's hoping, anyway.

[Deacon Blues]

I'm not all that familiar with Blue Destiny so this particular manga will be a bit of a challenge haha

[toysdream]

'Morumotto' is Japanese for 'guinea pig.' So, I guess you could call it the 'Guinea Pig,' i.e. 'experimental unit.'

Yep. It's different from "Marmot" (マーモット) - that's a whole other animal. In Japanese, モルモット also has the same connotation of "unwilling test subject" that "Guinea pig" has in English. So the proper English translation would be "Guinea pig team", which is obviously just a nickname.

-- Mark

[Deathzealot]

Which was used a couple times I do believe in the original English Translated Manga if I recall. I only heard Marmot Team used in other sources for it was never used in the Manga as far I as I am aware.

[Deacon Blues]

At least I translated something right

[AmuroNT1]

Well, if you want to be really precise, the Mixx translation (which just shows you how old it is!) doesn't use the term "Guinea Pig Team" or anything like that. The rank-and-file just refer to Yuu and his team as "guinea pigs", with one soldier acting like it's just fun and games and you get new mecha for doing nothing, which prompts Yuu to snap at him that he lost over half his people in just the last battle and remark "If that sounds like fun, you can have my spot on the team!"

[balofo]

New MS:

BD-0 by Okawara
http://ww3.sinaimg.cn/large/a081fa4egw1 ... 15onek.jpg
http://ww4.sinaimg.cn/large/a081fa4egw1 ... 15o1ck.jpg

GM Dominance by NAOKI
http://ww1.sinaimg.cn/large/a081fa4egw1 ... 15otru.jpg

Also the original BD-1 pilot was a woman. A MP version of the EXAM System has been mentioned: オルタ.

[Dark Duel]

Not a fan of the BD-0, though that GM Dominance looks interesting. Kinda reminds me of a souped-up Sniper II.

[J-Lead]

New MS:

BD-0 by Okawara
http://ww3.sinaimg.cn/large/a081fa4egw1 ... 15onek.jpg
http://ww4.sinaimg.cn/large/a081fa4egw1 ... 15o1ck.jpg

GM Dominance by NAOKI
http://ww1.sinaimg.cn/large/a081fa4egw1 ... 15otru.jpg

Also the original BD-1 pilot was a woman. A MP version of the EXAM System has been mentioned: オルタ.

Every time I look at Okawara's lineart, my kneecaps start to ache...

So is that GM Dominance taking the place of the RGM-79D in the story? IIRC, they first encounter the Efreet Custom while using them...

[Xenosynth]

Does... the GM Dominance also have a suspicious resemblance to the Pale Rider to anyone else?

[J-Lead]

Does... the GM Dominance also have a suspicious resemblance to the Pale Rider to anyone else?

Pale Rider Cavalry, maybe, and even then, it's mostly similar to the vanilla version rather than the special snowflake configuration we see in Battle Operation.

Speaking of, is there any half decent lineart scans for that thing, yet?

On a more related note, it seems more like the middleground between the GM Sniper Custom and the GM Sniper II with a hint of RGM-79E here and there.

EDIT: As an afterthought to my previous post, in the manga, the RGM-79D was mentioned to be the Federation's answer to the deployment of the Dom, so if the GM Dominance is replacing it in the story, I actually think it makes more sense as the Federation's "Dom Killer" (hence "DOMinance,", I guess.) The addition of what looks like maneuvering/hover thrusters in the legs (pivoting ones, at that) would definitely make it more suited for evading/retaliating against the Dom's heavy weaponry and hovering tactics, respectively.

The first deployment of the GM Sniper II was at the defense of Jaburo in Matt Healy's team, and the Marmot team got their RGM-79Ds around that time, I think, so the deployment time frame of the GM Dominance seems lore-friendly enough.

[Deathzealot]

You know I actually like the BD-0. It looks interesting.

[AmuroNT1]

I've always wondered about that whole "GM Cold Districts was meant to compete with the Dom" thing, since obviously its main purpose is to function in cold weather.

[E08]

For those interested in the BD-0 profile, here's what the scan roughly says:

Based on the Ground GM, it is the EF's initial test machine and the Exam System is located in its head. The output for various parts of the machine have been increased. Cooling and data gathering devices are also installed at these parts. As the machine is only for movement test, its only armament is the head mounted vulcan guns. Satisfied with the test outcomes, the testing of a hi-spec machine is approved. Unit 1 which is based on the Ground Gundam is then created for live combat testing. Prof. Chlust requested for the development time to be shortened, and because of this, the head unit of Unit 0 is transferred and used by unit 1.

[Gelgoog Jager]

-Efreet Kai: larger head because of the old EXAM cooling system.
-Nimbus: came to Earth to get Dr. Klutz. Ruthless and confident.
-BD-1: EXAM was originally built on a Ground GM but since it couldn't keep up with the system's

I have some concerns regarding these lines:

-Both the MS-08TX/N and MS-08TX/S have large heads like the Efreet Custom, which raises the question of why would they need such heads if they don't have the EXAM system. Personally I think the protruded section on the Efreet Custom's backpack seems like a better candidate, since no other Efreet unit has it.
-If Nimbus came to Earth to find Dr. Klutz, wouldn't that mean that he brought the Efreet Custom from space with him? Why would Klutz use a ground combat unit in space for testing the EXAM system?

I'm still suspicious of whether or not the Efreet series might have been designed as general use MS (rather than a ground combat unit) meant to fulfill a similar role to the MS-06F which could be used on both Earth and space. I had previously suggested this based on the fact that the the standard Efreet lacks leg jet thrusters, which was one of the key improvements over most of the MS-06 series which the MS-07 series included as a staple. More recently I have a different theory based on the differences between the Efreet Custom and its fellow MS-08TX units:

-MS-08TX/S: it shares many of the some of the same parts/attachments as the Efreet Custom, namely the head and a spineless version of the later's shoulder armors, a change made in order to store more heat darts instead. It also has a forearm armor on its left arm for storing more heat darts, which ultimately show use that even the spiked armor on the standard Efreet is more likely an attachment, which is can be replaced by other options such as this mount for heat darts or grenade launchers.

-MS-08TX/N: though the more stylized Efreet variant, overall it is also the more similar to the Efreet Custom, having larger shoulders and head than the base model, a different backpack, other forearm options and even leg thrusters armor attachments.

Now, one thing I wondered after playing 0081 was whether or not the Invisible Knights intended to take the Efreet Nacht to space with them. It does seem much of a hassle to reclaim it if they intended to leave it on Earth from the beginning. If that were the case, perhaps we could assume that the leg armor thrusters of the Efreet Custom and Efreet Nacht might also be meant to allow these units to properly operate in space as well, which would also explain why the MS-08TX/S, a unit only used on Earth, lacks them.

Back on topic, I'm not convinced on why they decided to create the GM Dominance when the Armored GM from Zeonic Front might have been a more suitable (and already existant) alternative for such role. There are also the RGM-79L (and later the RGM-79LV), which supposedly has lesser armor precisely to have higher mobility.

As for the RGM-79D, I personally still think that it does seem more like a higher spec GM than a cold climate unit. Essentially it would be a ground-based version of the RGM-79C, the later considered a slightly better than the regular GM. I do have to agree that considering it an "anti-Dom" type might have been going a bit too far.

Finally, anyone else hoping for a new EXAM unit, perhaps a proper MS-15(EXAM) Gyan (from Gundam Network Operation)?