Manga Review: Mobile Fighter G Gundam

The Gundam series is known for being a truly epic series, spanning the length of many, many anime series. So, would this historic mecha brand do as well in manga form? I think it’s very possible, but unfortunately Mobile Fighter G Gundam slightly misses the mark with one potentially fatal flaw.

In the universe of G Gundam, Earth has become an almost uninhabitable battlefield and people now mostly live in space colonies. In order to keep peace, every four years there is a tournament held, where each country picks one Gundam fighter to represent them and fight. The winning country then gets to rule over the other space colonies and Earth until the next tournament comes around.

The main character, Domon, is the fighter for Neo-Japan. He isn’t fighting for the pride of his country, however; the government is holding his father in a cryogenic sleep for a crime he didn’t commit, and so Domon is using the Gundam fights to hunt down the man truly responsible while fighting to win the tournament and his father’s freedom. The story is about his quest for the truth and the government conspiracies that are uncovered along the way.

If you have heard of G Gundam before reading this review, you probably know it best for being a very eccentric story, to say the least. Each Gundam is based off a fairly blatant stereotype of its home country, which can make it hard to take the story seriously at times (Don’t believe me? Go check out Neo-Holland’s Windmill Gundam or Neo-Mexico’s Tequila Gundam!). It doesn’t help that the ending is pretty cheesy for a Gundam story (It’s still very satisfying, though!).

The characters themselves are fairly stereotypical of their homelands as well. For instance, Neo-America’s fighter Chibodee Crockett is a reigning boxing champ and Neo-France’s warrior George de Sand is a chivalrous charmer who uses rose-themed attacks. There isn’t too much more to say about them however, because this is where G Gundam stumbles.

This sprawling, epic story to find truth and save humanity is jammed into a measly 3 manga volumes, cutting out endless opportunities to develop characterization and more of each Gundam’s powers. Usually you will get more detail out of a manga than an anime, however, G Gundam’s 50+ episode anime gives us far more than the manga does. I watched the entire series before picking up the manga, and if I hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed this manga nearly as much as I did.

This also annoyed me because in the last two volumes, they inserted quite a good chunk of pages full of four-panel gag strips, which are hilarious to read and add a definite charm to the manga, but I think that space could have been better executed if they were used to deepen the story and the characters.

Besides the cramped storyline, everything else is fantastic. The art is great and the battles are exciting and a pleasure to watch unfold on the pages. Each volume begins with a small review of what has happened and short blurbs about whom each character is, which is good; since the story is a bit rushed, it’s handy to be able to read it over in case you missed any details.

In the end, Mobile Fighter G Gundam is a great story that could have been even greater if it were given the breathing room to develop as it should have. On the bright side, however, the fact that this series is only three volumes long makes it easily affordable and good for a quick read. If you’re a Gundam fan, it’s definitely worth a look.

ENJOYMENT
It’s a fun read, but it could have been a lot more fun.

RECOMMENDATION VALUE
If you’re a Gundam fan, read it. If you’re not, go become one and then read it!

REREAD VALUE
It’s quick and affordable, making it easy to pick up and keep reading over and over.