GM types used in "0080 War In The Pocket"

[gm_grunt]

Hi all, just signed up for the forum as I wanted to post a question that I've been wondering about.

I read the info/posts/threads on the RGM production tree and know that the official "history" is that the GM units used in the 0080 WitP OVA are known as the type 79D,G,GS, and SP. What I'm wondering is if this official history was written/created after the OVA itself was created, in other words is this a case of "revisionist history"?

What I mean is: when the OVA was first created, did the writers/animators intend to simply use GM types which are the same as the units used in the original 1979 MSG TV series except they just updated the look of the suits to give them a more modern look. Hence was it originally intended that the GMs in the WitP OVA are just the same GMs as used in the 1979 series, and the creators did not intend for the GMs they used to be different models from the original series GMs.

In other words was the designation that the GMs in 0080 WitP are D,G,GS models while the ones in the original TV series are A,B models a designation which was applied only after the OVA was created as a way to correct the "history" and account for why the suits look different?

Somehow I've always been under the impression (probably incorrect) that the suits look different only because the animators wanted to update the looks rather than create a new type/model of the suit.

[Cardi Doorl]

The idea that the 0080 suits were originally meant to be new artistic interpretations later retconned to be new MS variants is an old fan myth. Don't feel too bad for assuming it to be true - I think we've all absorbed it unquestioningly at some point

In the case of the GM units, they can't really be visual updates of the standard GM because the GM Command and GM Cold Climate Type are very clearly distinct from on another in terms of role and aesthetic. At least one of the two would have to be a new model overall.

But more to the point, I direct you to this old thread. I linked to a specific post in which Mark provides document evidence that the suits in 0080 were designated as new designs since half a year before 0080 was released.

It's a great read, considering you're clearly interested in the topic, so take a look. There's some evidence that the Zaku II Kai was meant to be a standard Zaku II at first, but it was revised to be a new variant before 0080 debuted. The other MS were clearly always intended to be new variants. The idea of a post-release retcon is baseless, and I'm curious about how it even got started.

[gm_grunt]

Thank you very much Cardi for answering my question and pointing me to that old post. That is exactly the sort of info I was hunting for: definitive proof pre-dating the OVA release and in published form no less Much obliged for the help!

[Ceiling_Squid]

The idea of a post-release retcon is baseless, and I'm curious about how it even got started.

Not sure, but personally I think a lot of that myth can be attributed to MS Era. That (admittedly, damn cool) collection of images almost exclusively relied on 0080's mechanical designs. The fact that MS Era placed said designs in areas and times where they should not have existed (all early war Zakus are depicted as Zaku Kai units, for example) I think did a lot to lend some credence to that myth.

What was the deal with MS Era, anyway? Did someone not get the memo about the designs being different models? Or was it, as I suspect, just a stylistic choice??

[J-Lead]

What was the deal with MS Era, anyway? Did someone not get the memo about the designs being different models? Or was it, as I suspect, just a stylistic choice??

I think it's the latter; just a case of the artist behind MS Era having a big stiffy for Izubuchi's work.

Completely understandable.

[Cardi Doorl]

That's the impression I got; the guys doing MS Era weren't all that worried about continuity or whatever and just gave us cool-looking artwork.

I could see how it could give rise to the 0080 revision myth among confused latter-day fans with no access to any publications or promotional materials except MS Era, maybe.

[JEFFPIATT]

If i remember right M.S. Era was another piece of anniversary merchandise along side gundam 0080. someone decided to use the newer line art for the "photos" in the book rather than digging up older art and help bandai sell the new kits by giving them more action we also see additional units revised in the 0080 style. we have to remember that they reused resources from CCA to produce the ova the first we see of side 6 is the CGI colony rendered for CCA.

[Cardi Doorl]

It's really a minor point, but the first we see of Side 6 is in the original series, and the CGI colony we see in CCA is Sweetwater, which isn't located inside any of the designated Sides

Overall, though, mecha design in 0080 tended to draw from both CCA and Zeta, with an apparent effort to create bridges to the latter.