Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Vol. 12 (Hardcover)

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Vol. 12 (Hardcover)

The biggest name in Japanese science fiction—Gundam—returns with one of its creators retelling its origins 25 years after the series debuted. Caught in the crossfire of a space civil war, teenager Amuro Ray accidentally finds a new mobile weapon—the RX-78 Gundam. In the twelveth and final volume of Gundam: THE ORIGIN, the space opera comes to a dramatic conclusion. The book also includes three short stories, each revolving around a main character from the series.

Biographical Notes:

Hokkaido native Yoshikazu Yasuhiko (1947-) is a Japanese animator and manga artist. His career as a character designer has spanned over four decades, creating famed characters for such anime as Super Atragon, Brace Raideen, and the widely known Mobile Suit Gundam. Considered a pivotal player in mecha and sci-fi anime, Yasuhiko’s characters, stories and illustrations are unmistakable in their style and serve as timeless examples as pioneers of manga and animation in Japan.

Yasuhiko began his career as an animator in Osama Tezuka’s Mushi Productions, and later on decided to go freelance to work for a number of animation productions for both film and television. In the late 70’s, Yasuhiko would turn his attention to the world of comics, as he has since penned nearly two dozen titles since.

Hajime Yatate is a pseudonym for the collective contributions of the Sunrise animation staff. It is considered to be named after a quote of Matsuo Bashō’s Oku no Hosomichi: “This was the first time I used my travel writing implements, and I was still reluctant to venture farther.”

Yoshiyuki Tomino is a Japanese mecha anime creator, director, screenwriter and novelist. He was born in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and studied at Nihon University’s College of Art. He is best known for creating the Gundam franchise. The first anime of Tetsuwan Atom was written by him.

Title Notes:

Collectors’ format: To honor this modern classic, Gundam: The Origin will be published as a set of 450+ page hardcovers featuring dozens of color pages and essays from the biggest names of Japanese animation and manga. Interviews include CLAMP, Kio Shimoku (Genshiken), Hideaki Anno (Evangelion) and Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino. The last two volumes feature interviews with the original staff of the animated TV series and comes with three new short stories that were not previously collected in the series.

The Genesis of one of Sci-fi’s Biggest Brand Names: A multiple NY Times Best Seller the long-running Gundam: The Origin series has inspired TV series, DVDs, CDs, trading cards, action figures and models, video games, and more.

Heavy Cross Promotion: Mobile Suit Gundam has historically been a regular on the Cartoon Network and in 2015 the first of 4 new animated movies will debut globally.

More details on Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, Yoshiyuki Tomino & Hajime Yatate:

Hajime Yatate’s Twitter Page

More works by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko

More works by Hajime Yatate

More works by Yoshiyuki Tomino