Char, an ace pilot of the Principality of Zeon forces, captures the Earth Federation's latest mobile suit Gundam, a key component to their "Operation V," at Side7. From that moment, the tide of war shifts dramatically, ultimately leading to Principality of Zeon’s victory in the One Year War. However, just before the end of the war, Gundam and Char... [1]
Plot[]
This section was compiled by watching the primary source available at [1].
In U.C. 0079, the Principality of Zeon's ace pilot Char Azanable leads a recon team into the space colony of Side 7 after rookie pilot Gene is forced to standby due to damage to his Zaku. Denim scopes out a Federation military base, upon which Char demands that the base and its vehicles be eliminated, breaking from the intended reconnaissance mission. While demolishing the base, Char notices a strange mobile suit sitting out in the open and disembarks from his Zaku to investigate, discovering that he has stumbled upon the Federation's next-generation mobile suit, the RX-78-02 Gundam. Char boards the Gundam and finishes the destruction of the military base after fighting and defeating an RGM-79 Light-Type Guncannon, marking the first ever combat between mobile suits. Char then invades the hangar and fires the Gundam's beam saber into the docked ship's bridge, killing everyone inside.
Some time later, Zeon has officially acquired the Gundam and the Federation's mobile hangar ship. When Zeon detects Federation activity in nearby space, Char sorties in the Gundam and discovers an 01 Gundam and a test dummy Zaku being used for training. Char attacks, obliterating the Zaku in a single shot from the Gundam's beam rifle, before turning his sights on the 01 Gundam. The 01 Gundam puts up resistance using its similar specifications to the RX-78-02, but Char, using his superior piloting skills, outmaneuvers the 01 Gundam and destroys it.
At Solomon, Char is informed by Mallygan that Zeon intends to reverse engineer the Gundam and produce mass production models at Char's suggestion, as well as repainting the captured hangar ship, naming it "Sodon". Mallygan then shows off the upgraded Gundam, which has now been painted red and outfitted with a state-of-the-art Alpha Psycommu system and a set of six Bits to be remotely controlled by the Gundam's pilot. At Granada, Char learns from Dr. Flanagan that he is a Newtype, a human with unprecedented psychic ability, through which the Alpha Psycommu system will be controlled. Char meets and befriends Lieutenant Challia Bull and makes an offer of partnership with Challia, which the latter accepts. Char and Challia are deployed on a mission to attack a large Federation space fleet; using the Alpha Psycommu system and the Bits, Char and the newly-christened Red Gundam decimate the fleet with ease.
Near the end of the war, Zeon makes a move to capture Luna II, leaving Char and his team to defend Solomon when the Federation attempts to push the base into Granada. During the Second Battle of Solomon, Char and the Red Gundam are suddenly swallowed by a massive explosion induced by an overload of the Alpha Psycommu system, destroying a third of Solomon and averting Granada's destruction but causing Char and the Red Gundam to mysteriously vanish. This loss forces the Federation to call a truce, ending the One Year War, but Challia continues to seek Char's whereabouts five years later.
Appearances[]
This section was compiled by watching the primary source available at [1].
This episode takes place before the pilot episode both chronologically and in the movie cut.
The title card and eye catches are accompanied by the same background music from Mobile Suit Gundam.
Many of the scenes in the episode are recreations of iconic scenes from the original series, from the Zakus' infiltration of Side 7, to the Gundam standing up for the first time, up to Char's signature kick. It is also the first on-screen retelling of the events of the original Gundam during the Reiwa Era, 10 years after the premiere of Gundam Origin in 2015.
