Did you enjoy the Gundam 0079 Manga adapation?

[manwiththemachinegun]

Granted, it never finished to my knowledge (ended at Volume 9), but it very nearly displaces the original story in my mind.

Firstly, until very recently, I thought many of the Federation/Zeon designs just plain sucked. Wayyy too much wacky 70s logic.

However, the one thing this manga does is absolutely GROUND the series in a sort of awesome quasi realism.

M-1 Battle Tanks slugging it out with Zakus in the desert along with Harriers and Apache gunships, the Federation actually having fighter and bomber wings used in squadron attacks, not just a Core Booster here or there, snazzed up land battleships hovering across the Earth, the Gundam actually having useful upgrades like the full armor system, Magellans actually HITTING their targets, the list goes on and on. When Zeon starts dropping fuel air explosives everywhere, it makes you go, HOLY CRAP! Or when Federation beam towers spring out of the ground they look genuinely intimidating. It combines the best elements of the films, and manages to include material cut from the TV show like M'Qeve's return. The characters don't suffer too badly in my view, things are just condensed due to the written word being different from TV.

Recently with the IGLOO series, I'm started to see SOME of the previously stupid designs rendered a better in CG, but it's damn close. I only wish this series got the end it deserved. The end puttered out in English release anyway with the Battle of Solomon.

[J-Lead]

I enjoyed it thoroghly, or at least what was released. Although, it always drove me fucking crazy to see a different Gundam (or at least a different interpretation of the Gundam) on each cover page, only to find out that interpretation never shows up anywhere. God, I was pissed that Full Armor Gundam only made it to the Vol. 7 Cover art.

[krullnar]

No I think they actually use it in one of the vols.

[abaoaqu]

I only read three volumes: 1, 2, and 6 (Don't ask why I went out of order)... but I enjoyed them thoroughly!

[MechaGear]

Read the first two volumes and wasn't terribly impressed. Mostly it was the character art that bugged me, everybody was really poorly drawn.

The added "realism" didn't really do it for me either, since, as you've probably noticed, it just makes the unchanged robot designs stand out more.

Anyway, what's wrong with 70's funk? You're talking about designs that have been capturing people's imaginations for close to thirty years. As far as I'm concerned, the Zaku II is timeless.

[Koshernova]

I enjoyed the added realism, though not always the character art. I e-mailed the publisher last year to ask why they had stopped it, but got no reply.

[mcred23]

I bought a few volumes (4, 5, 7, and and enjoyed them a great deal, particularly the parts with Odessa and the attack on Jaburo, since I love the grunt, regular combat stuff. It was good as (yet) another take on MSG, particularly with the way they handled the Core Booster/G-Fighter thing, and all the other designs they added (Those MP Guncannons being a particular favorite of mine). I only wish I could have read the entire series, as the only copies I ever found in stores around me are the ones I purchased...

[Dean_the_Young]

I bought a few volumes (4, 5, 7, and and enjoyed them a great deal, particularly the parts with Odessa and the attack on Jaburo, since I love the grunt, regular combat stuff. It was good as (yet) another take on MSG, particularly with the way they handled the Core Booster/G-Fighter thing, and all the other designs they added (Those MP Guncannons being a particular favorite of mine). I only wish I could have read the entire series, as the only copies I ever found in stores around me are the ones I purchased...

I've had a similar history; few stores carry any Gundam manga, in my experience. But yes, I loved the grunt-combat parts, especially Odessa (where aircraft carrier mechanics are key to getting the Gundam back to White Base).

[bluemax151]

I would say reading 1-9 was a fairly enjoyable way to pass some time. Not great by any means but not some huge disappointment. Nice to see Kai and Hayato get some action in something other than the units they used in the show.