Mobile Suit Gundam Lost War Chronicles Vol.#01

By: Matthew Alexander
Review Date: Sunday, March 05, 2006
Release Date: Tuesday, February 07, 2006



Creative Talent
Writer/Artist:Writer: Tomohiro Chiba & Bandai Games Inc. / Artist: Masato Natsumoto
Translated by:Ikoi Hiroe
Adapted by:

What They Say
The One Year War between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon has begun--and the newest Mobile Suits are tested for battle!

Captain Matt Healy leads his team into dangerous territory as the leader of a Special Forces Experimental Unit. Ken Bederstadt is a Foreign Legion Lieutenant working in alliance with Zeon. These two heroes are trying to keep everyone alive...for tomorrow!

The Review
Packaging:
TOKYOPOP uses the original Japanese cover for this latest take on the Gundam universe. The front cover shows Matt and Noel (members of the Earth Federation) in front of the older standard issue Mobile Suits and the newer RX-79 Gundam. The Gundam portion of the title is red with the remaining title written over the Gundam in white text. The back cover has more contrasting colors of orange and green shades. It shows the backs of Ken and May (members of the Foreign Legion) as they walk away across the shoulder of a Zaku Mobile Suit of the Principality of Zeon. Both front and back covers are interesting in the way the two opposing forces are facing opposite directions, but Ken’s mini cape on the back cover is so silly looking it kind of makes me laugh.

The only extras included are a contents section and a short preview of volume 2. What would have been really helpful is a character’s page with their names and affiliation.


Artwork:
The artwork is a bit of a mixed bag. The panels of characters have clean lines, female characters more than males, but many of the mecha panels are rough and sketchy. Character design consists of cute females and rough military male characters. The facial expressions aren’t always consistent, for example, sometimes characters look bland or just outright cheesy. Matt, in particular, has a couple of plastic-face Ken and Barbie moments. Another problem I had was the vast number of characters and mecha throughout this volume. During fight scenes there is a lot of jumping between characters and mecha, which becomes difficult to follow at times and many of the secondary characters tend to be indistinguishable.


Text/SFX:
Although the translation reads fine, there were a few problems in the editing. In particular, Matt Healy is referred to as Captain through the whole volume until the end where a character calls him “Lieutenant Matt”. I suppose it’s possible the original Japanese version had this error and TOKYOPOP translated it faithfully, but that’s not necessarily a good excuse. The SFX is not translated but strangely enough some of the noises inside dialogue boxes were, go figure. With as many mechanical noises as there are in mecha manga, this story would have benefited greatly by having the SFX translated. I believe the lack of SFX translations for this particular title prevented me from really being pulled into the story.



Contents: (Oh yes, there may be spoilers)
This volume takes place on Earth and follows the missions of the Earth Federation Forces Special Unit as they battle against the Zeon Principality. The Special Unit is lead by Captain Matt Healy, which contains many battle-hardened soldiers and they often find themselves assigned to the toughest missions. The latest mission finds Matt leading his team across mountainous terrain in an attempt to throw the Zeon forces off the trail of the main unit as they travel to attack Zeon’s Odessa Base. Not only does this mission become heated between the opposing forces but also within the Special Unit with their newly assigned Tactical Advisor named Noel Anderson. While Noel’s tactical advice could provide a decisive win for the Special Unit and heavy casualties for Zeon, Matt doesn’t believe in unnecessary killing. Eventually he somehow finds a way to win and still allow as many soldiers from both sides to leave the battlefield alive.

Getting nearly as much story time as the Special Unit, is Lieutenant Ken Bederstadt of the Foreign Legion. The Foreign Legion acts as a mercenary group employed by the Zeon Principality, even though Zeon treats them like the redheaded stepchild. While working alongside the Zeon forces, Ken befriends May Kauwin, a young talented chief mechanic in the Zeon army. Ken leads his Foreign Legion unit in an attack against Matt’s Special Unit and the Earth Federations Battleship. The battle rages with heavy casualties early on for the Earth Federation, but luckily, Matt’s field experience helps them counterattack and successfully fight off the Zeon/Foreign Legion forces.

On the next mission, the Special Unit runs a decoy mission and gets the chance to unveil some new hardware. Matt surprises the Zeon army with his never-before-seen RX-79 Gundam. It looks similar to the standard issue MS of the Earth Forces, but with more speed, armor and a beam saber. As the Special Unit battles superior odds, Noel finds herself questioning her place with the team when Matt again refuses to heed her advice. Going against Noel’s judgment, Matt is unwilling to leave any of his men behind, which is why the unit believes in him as a leader. Although it takes every bit of firepower the RX-79 Gundam possesses, Matt is successfully able to fight off the Zeon forces and retrieves his comrades.

Things end well for Matt Healy, but at the Battle for Odessa, Ken Bederstadt finds himself fighting a losing battle and questioning his allegiance to Zeon. Will Ken continue to place his men in harms way for battles he doesn’t believe in? What mission will Matt and his team find themselves on next, and will Matt and Noel ever see eye to eye?

Comments
Mobile Suit Gundam Lost War Chronicles takes place during the original Universal Century: MS Gundam world. Although Lost War Chronicles has a new set of characters experiencing new adventures, it mirrors and sometimes overlaps events already seen in the MS Gundam series. The main characters of both sides are copies of each other with male leads and a female second (pretty much summed up by the front and back cover). The Lost War Chronicles could be a happy addition to hardcore Gundam fans, but I felt this volume fell a little flat. There’s an attempt to create some tension between Matt and Noel by having the pair disagree in every battle, but by the end of the story I didn’t feel a connection to any of the characters. The fast pace of the story, which felt like one continuous battle scene, left little room for character development.

The annoying theme in this story was the constant preaching by both Matt and Ken. Yes, this is a repeating storyline in war stories, but how can you have a war when leaders on both sides abhor killing? Both Ken and Matt sound more like soldiers who aren’t very dedicated to their cause, even to the point of sounding like cowards. After this volume, I can’t recommend this manga to anyone other than diehard Gundam fans. Personally I’m hoping for more character development and soldiers with more dedication for their respective causes.