Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory

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Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory/Last Blitz Of Zeon

機動戦士ガンダム0083 STARDUST MEMORY (Mobile Suit Gundam 0083 Stardust Memory)
Genre	Adventure, Drama, Mecha, Military, Science Fiction
OVA
Directed by	Mitsuko Kase, Takashi Imanishi
Studio	Sunrise
No. of episodes	13
Released	May 23, 1991 - September 24, 1992
Movie: Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: The Last Blitz of Zeon
Directed by	Takashi Imanishi
Studio	Sunrise
Released	August 29, 1992
Runtime	120 minutes

Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (機動戦士ガンダム0083 STARDUST MEMORY, Kidō Senshi Gandamu 0083 Stardust Memory^?) 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 23, 1991. Subsequent volumes, containing one 30-minute episode each, followed every one or two months; the final volume went on sale on September 24, 1992. The series was directed by Mitsuko Kase (Episodes 1–7) and Takashi Imanishi (Eps 2–13). The characters were designed by Toshihiro Kawamoto. Gundam 0083 is licensed in North America by Bandai Entertainment and is available on VHS and DVD.

[edit] Synopsis

A scene from 0083 series.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

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 in Australia. Earth Federal Forces test pilot and series protagonist Kou 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.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Episodes

Kou Uraki in the last episode of 0083 Stardust Memory.

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 Zeon!)
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 Zeon) 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.

[edit] Compilation Movie

Theatrical poster

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

To date, Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: The Last Blitz of Zeon has not been released in America (apparently due to the lack of original footage), however it has been released in France, Benelux, Germany, and received a UK DVD release in May 2006 as Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: The Afterglow Of Zeon.

[edit] 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 Chivvay-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 a Side 5 colony using G-3 nerve gas, 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.

Both of these stories appear in the PlayStation 2 game Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space.

[edit] 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.