Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ
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| Please note that this is the Gundam Wiki's article on the TV series, Mobile Suit ZZ Gundam; if you are looking for the article on the titular mobile suit of this series then you should head to MSZ-010 ΖΖ Gundam. |
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Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ | |
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Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (機動戦士ガンダムΖΖ, Kidō Senshi Gandamu Daburu Zēta) | |
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Production | |
| Producer | Sunrise 
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| Director | Yoshiyuki Tomino
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| Story & Script | Yoshiyuki Tomino
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| Character Design | Hiroyuki Kitazume
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| Mechanical Designer | Masahiro Oda ((Zaku III Desert Zaku Dowadge))
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| Art Director | Shigemi Ikeda
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| Music | Shigeaki Saegusa
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Release | |
| Japanese | March 1, 1986 - March 31, 1987 |
| Number of Episodes | 47 |
Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ or Mobile Suit Gundam Double Zeta (aired 1986–1987) was a forty-seven-episode anime series, and a direct followup to Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. Gundam ZZ was also the third series in the Gundam franchise, yet another work in the Universal Century timeline.
Contents |
Overview
Gundam ZZ was originally conceived of as a second season of Zeta Gundam, but it was ultimately decided that the show should feature an all-new cast, Tomino originally wanted Char as the main character, but he received the "okay" on Char's Counterattack. Nevertheless, its broadcast immediately followed that of Zeta Gundam and manages to tie up a major plotline from Zeta that was left unfinished.
As part of Tomino's tendencies to follow up a tragedy with a comedy, this nominal sequel to Zeta Gundam struck a much lighter, often comical, tone, in contrast to its predecessor's brooding melodrama. For example, in the first episode, Captain Bright is reduced to defending the Argama from thrown oranges. Judau Ashta's first battle clearly lampoons the previous Gundam pilot's instant piloting ability by having Judau be incredibly poor at combat in his first battle, however his opponent is still quite afraid of him. The whimsical opening theme song Anime Ja Nai (It's Not Anime) reflected the campiness of the first half of the series. The second half of the series does return to a more serious tone while sporting a more somber opening theme song. Because of its lighter tone and its slapstick humour, the series suffers a poor reputation among the serious-minded ranks of Gundam fandom, some of which even accuse Tomino of deliberately trying to sabotage the Gundam franchise. Despite this, it scored high ratings with the younger, more casual audiences, and the show's first opening theme Anime Ja Nai became extremely popular with anime fans and is sometimes mentioned as one of the most memorable anime songs of all time.
Story
As the continuation of Zeta Gundam, this series once again follows the story of the Anti Earth Union Group (AEUG) battleship Argama after Zeta's final episode. To fight off the Axis Zeon, now called the Neo Zeon, Captain Bright Noa recruits a group of teenage junk collectors led by the loudmouthed but powerful Newtype Judau Ashta to pilot the Argama's mobile suits. Now sporting a line up of the behemoth MSZ-010 Double Zeta Gundam and the returning MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam, RX-178 Gundam Mk-II and Gundam-like MSN-00100 Hyaku Shiki, the group is nicknamed the Gundam Team. As such, this became the first of a number of Gundam series where a team of Gundam mobile suits fight alongside each other regularly. The climax takes place at Side 3 in the Battle of Axis.
Out of the major Zeta Gundam characters, only recurring captain Bright Noa and Axis leader Haman Karn make more than cameo appearances in ZZ; Char Aznable's planned appearance was canceled when Tomino was given the go-ahead to do the Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack movie. Yoshiyuki Tomino's original plan for the show which involved Char's return was neither revealed [though Glemy's sudden change in motivation seems to give a hint that he fills in for him at the end], nor does Tomino himself remember it and aside from the openings, Amuro Ray does not make an appearance in the series either.
Notes and Trivia
- Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ won the second place in Animage's Anime Grand Prix Award in 1986. In the same year, one of its character, Elpeo Ple was selected as the favorite female anime character of the year.
Openings, Endings And Insert Songs
Openings:
- Anime Ja Nai (It's Not Anime) by Masato Arai (eps 1-25)
- Silent Voice by Jun Hiroe (eps 26-47)
Insert:
- Hoshizora no Believe (Believe; Believe in the Starry Sky) by Mami Ayukawa (episode 20)
Endings:
- Jidai ga Naiteiru (The Era is Crying) by Masato Arai (eps 1-25)
- Issenman-Nen Ginga (Ten Million Years Galaxy) by Jun Hiroe (eps 26-47)
Episodes
| # | Episode Title | Japanese Airdate | English Airdate |
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| 1 | Prelude of ZZ | 1 March 1986 | |
| 2 | The Boy from Shangri-la | 8 March 1986 | |
| 3 | The Soldiers of the Endra | 15 March 1986 | |
| 6 | The Zssa Menace | 5 April 1986 | |
| 7 | The Gaza Storm | 12 April 1986 | |
| 8 | The Funeral Bells Toll Twice | 19 April 1986 | |
| 9 | Judau in Space | 26 April 1986 | |
| 10 | Goodbye, Fa | 3 May 1986 | |
| 11 | Start, Double Zeta! | 10 May 1986 | |
| 13 | Sister! | 24 May 1986 | |
| 14 | Colony of Illusion, Part 1 | 31 May 1986 | |
| 15 | Colony of Illusion, Part 2 | 7 June 1986 | |
| 16 | The Argama's Close Quarters Battle | 14 June 1986 | |
| 17 | Recapture! The Core-Top | 21 June 1986 | |
| 18 | Haman's Dark Shadow | 28 June 1986 | |
| 19 | Ple & Axis | 12 July 1986 | |
| 20 | Tearful Cecilia, Part 1 | 19 July 1986 | |
| 21 | Tearful Cecilia, Part 2 | 26 July 1986 | |
| 22 | Judau's Sortie | 2 August 1986 |
Main article: List of Universal Century episodes
Characters and Voice Actors
| Character | Voice Actor |
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| Judau Ashta | Kazuki Yao |
| Glemy Toto | Tsutomu Kashiwakura |
| Haman Karn | Yoshiko Sakakibara |
| Elpeo Ple, Ple Two | Chieko Honda |
| Elle Vianno | Eriko Hara |
| Chara Soon | Hazuki Monma |
| Bright Noa | Hirotaka Suzuoki |
| Mashymre Cello | Kenyuu Horiuchi |
| Mondo Agake | Kôzô Shioya |
| Iino Abbav | Masami Kikuchi |
| Leina Ashta | Maya Okamoto |
| Mineva Lao Zabi | Miki Itou |
| Roux Louka | Naoko Matsui |
| Beecha Oleg | Shingo Hiromori |
| Nie Gihren, Niki | Bin Shimada |
| Shinta | Chika Sakamoto |
| Panpa Rida | Fumihiko Tachiki |
| Nelmarsen | Hideyuki Umezu |
| Creyue Oye, Torres | Hiroyuki Shibamoto (Kenta Abe) |
| Yazan Gable | Houchu Ohtsuka |
| Chimatter | Jun'ichi Kanemaru |
| Emary Ounce | Kayoko Fujii |
| Anma Damar | Kazuyo Aoki |
| Dido Kaltoha | Kenichi Ogata |
| Ein | Kenichi Ono |
| August Guidan, Gottn Goh | Koujin Totain |
| Anna Hanna | Masako Irie |
| Haro, Qum | Mayumi Shou |
| Dune, Magany | Minoru Inaba |
| Fa Yuiry | Miyuki Matsuoka |
| Kamille Bidan | Nobuo Tobita |
| Desert Rommel | Tesshô Genda |
| Milly Childer | Yuko Mizutani |
Gallery
See also
- Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (Manga)
- Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (Novel)
- Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ Side Story: Mirage of Zeon
- Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ: Gundam Frag
Chronology
| Preceded by: Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam | Chronological order 0088 U.C. – 0089 U.C. | Succeeded by: Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack |
External Links
- Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ Official Website (Japanese)
- Gundam Official Other Gundam Series List
- Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ on Sunrise Inc International Section
- Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ on Sunrise Inc List of Works by Year (Japanese)
- Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ on MAHQ
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