Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory

Gundam 0083 is a 13-episode anime OVA series set in the Gundam universe. The first volume containing two 30-minute episodes was released in Japan on May 1991. Subsequent volumes, containing one 30-minute episode each, followed every one or two months; the final volume went on sale on September 1992. The series was directed by Mitsuko Kase (Episodes 1–7) and Imanishi Takashi (8—13). The characters were designed by Toshihiro Kawamoto.

The series is set in Universal Century 0083, three years after the end of the One Year War chronicled in Mobile Suit Gundam. Remnants of Zeon led by Aiguille Delaz and Anavel Gato steal a prototype Gundam mobile suit armed with a nuclear warhead from an Earth Federation base. Earth Federal Forces test pilot and series protagonist Kō Uraki commandeers the other prototype Gundam in an attempt to prevent the theft. Unable to stop Gato in Australia, the EFF carrier Albion captained by Eiphar Synapse is ordered to pursue Gato and recover the stolen Gundam. With Uraki's squadron and Anaheim Electronics engineer Nina Purpleton onboard, the ship tracks Gato to Africa, then to outer space, encountering resistance from surviving Zeon forces along the way. The true objective of Delaz and his Operation Stardust is revealed in the series' climax. The series ends with the creation of the Titans, an elite Zeon-hunting division of the Federal Forces, the main antagonists in Zeta Gundam.

Contents

5.1 Earth Federation
5.2 Delaz Fleet
5.3 Axis Zeon
5.4 Civilians

6 Weapons and Support Units

6.1 Earth Federation Forces
6.2 Principality of Zeon
6.3 Delaz Fleet
6.4 Axis Zeon
6.5 Anaheim Electronics
6.6 Titans

7 References

8 External Links

Episodes

The Japanese laserdisc release of Gundam 0083 featured English episode titles on the cover that often differed from the Japanese titles shown at the beginning of each episode. For each episode in the list below, the official English translation of the Japanese title is given, followed by the alternative English title from the laserdisc cover in parentheses.

Gundamjack (Stardust Rising)
Endless Pursuit (War is Not Over, Yet)
Into Battle, Albion (Irregulars in Albion)
Attack and Retreat on the Burning Sand (The Lost Troopers)
Gundam, to the Sea of Star (Sieg Zion!)
The Warrior of Von Braun (Mind of the Moon)
With Shining Blue Fire (Burning Heart)
Conspiracy Sector (Conspiracy of Silence)
The Nightmare of Solomon (Nightmare of Solomon)
Colliding War Zones (The Hot Area)
La Vie En Rose (La Vie En Rose)
Assault on the Point of No Return (Assault Waves)
A Storm Raging Through (Men of Destiny)

A special VHS sneak peak of the first episode titled GxG Unit was given to advance ticket purchasers of Gundam F91.

A compilation movie, JION no zankou (Last Blitz of Zion) opened in Japanese theaters on August 29, 1992. The series was reissued in DVD format in Japan on four volumes; the first R2 disc went on sale on January 25, 2000.

Bandai Entertainment licensed the series for the US market. Volume 1 of the R1 DVD went on sale in January of 2002. Cartoon Network premiered the series on US television a month later.

Compilation Movie

After the completion of the Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory OVA in 1992 the series was reformated into a compilation movie and re-released under the title Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: The Last Blitz of Zeon.

The Last Blitz of Zeon is not held in a good light by much of the fandom. By cramming the story of a 13 episode series into such a short movie a lot is lost and the editing is dubiously bad. Cruical scenes are quickly re-hashed only in narration and flashbacks and there is very poor transition between scenes. Several important parts are left out completely, and some charcters dissapear entirely from the movie because their death scenes have been removed. A few very short new animated scenes were added to the beginning and end of the movie, but they contain nothing important or worthwhile.

To date, Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: The Last Blitz of Zeon has not been released in America.

Radio Drama

Gundam 0083's canon includes two radio dramas on CD format billed as Cinema CDs. Both drama CDs were directed by series director Takashi with dialogue by Asahide Ōkuma (writer for 5 of the 0083 episodes).

Runga Offing Cannonade Battle: Runga Offing narrates events between Episodes 7 and 8, when the Albion engages a Tiba-class Zeon warship. It introduces a new character, Aristide Hughes, the Albion's Gunnery Lieutenant.
Mayfly of Space: Mayfly reveals Cima's backstory in flashbacks as she reflects on her past prior to the events of Episode 13. It reveals that Cima and her unit poisoned the G-3 colony under orders, but were treated as pariahs afterwards by their own countrymen for committing such an atrocity. At the end of the war her superior refused to let her retreat to Axis. Because their home colony Mahal had been converted into a weapon, Cima and her men were left stranded and homeless.

Novelization

The story of 0083 was retold in prose form by Hiroshi Yamaguchi in three volumes. The books were published by Kadokawa Shoten and contain illustrations by Toshihiro Kawamoto, Hirotoshi Sano and Hajime Katoki.