Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin 3: Ramba Ral: 03

The third volume is the best yet. Once again, it's a beautiful hardcover volume with high quality paper and several color pages. It retells the part of the story where Ramba Ral chases White Base. The story and art is still great. Also I thought the first two volumes had some disappointing extra material but this one is way better because it has a special comic and colored artwork at the end as well as an interview by Kio Shimoku, creator of Genshiken. So yeah, Gundam fans, buy this thing. For the love of god, buy this thing. Buy all of them.

i love the quality!

Amazing print and edition!

Just writing this to raise the rating, because of an undeserved 1 star by a poor reviewer.

And I tell that precisely because that is all that I've read so far, but I fully intend to finish that wonderful Manga and keep it in my collection. The first thing that will mark you about "Gundam : The Origin", even if you don't know or like Gundam : Is that these books are a work of ART. Not only because they are drawn masterfully with loving attention by a master, mostly without assistants and on the first strike of the plume, not only because of the wonderful water colours used to paint the colour sections; but because these books were edited and printed with the same level of skill and attention! I'm not joking there. Simply holding this book in your hands, you already know it is quality. The hardcover is done using a superb mat finish. The paper is glossed and pretty thick. The format is perfect. So if like me you are inclined toward the hot spectrum of the colour palette... even before opening it, this book is a treat. This is what brought me to take one from the store at first. Because I didn't knew Gundam. I only recently learn to accept that I am monstrously partial to Mecha anime and manga. And when I got to the comic con for the first time, I was surprised to discover that most of what I had known until then was no longer sold... but Gundam was everywhere. So what was that buzz all about? It was time for me to know. And something called "The Origin" seemed like a rather good place to start. It was the right call. Sure. It is kind of classical. If you have ever plunged into any military sci-fi done in the Japanese style since 1970, then you will recognize some tropes here and there. But none of that crap of the recent years. Only the fine point of stories told so many times that they were turned in their own kind of mythos. But Gundam... even if you aren't here for the design of the titular mecha, is a special breed in its own genre. It was written and drawn by a master who begun its career in animation. And it does show. The pages are cut and done a lot like early works from Tsutomu Nihei, meaning with only a few dialogue, no voice over for thoughts, and a lot of pictures that leave you play the silences of the story for yourself. It breathes. It leaves you to piece some of the things by yourself as the history unfolds, in front of you, as a witness more than a reader. But that could be said of "The Origin" as a whole. What makes this volume so special is the introduction of the titular Ramba Ral himself. For the first time (or not), you'll get introduced to the world of Zeon. You'll get to see the honor of men pitted against the political motives of not so much Honorable circumstances. You'll see wills and wits getting tested, the fugue of youth against the wisdom of veterans, love like only the honesty of wartime can solidify... it is epic, romantic, and very human. Fully taking advantage of the mecha a a narrative tool, to build a story so disproportionate as to sound instantly mythological while keeping alive a narrative of any good film noir. You'll also have the chance to discover the world of Gundam's Earth outside of federation ships and the military. A much awaited confrontation between the reality of war and the bravado of inexperienced soldiers of fortune. My only complaint would probably be the enormous number of exterior shots from White Base. Sure, they serve the story. But after four volumes... It kinda gets old to see that bulky ships flying above plains and deserts. XD Though this amount of empty spaces also serves the narrative... since the war has already killed and destroyed much of whom and what it could have. Do yourself a favour. Pick theses books and learn for yourself why there is a giant statue of a Gundam as a national treasure in Japan.

Nous sommes toujours au coeur du flashback. Le scenario est tout simplement epique à suivre. Gundam Origin laisse de coté les mecha pour nous laisser découvrir richesse narrative et de l'univers. Un must have. L'edition est en anglais. (assez facile à comprendre) La qualité de reliire est vraiment excellente avec qq pages en couleurs.

The third volume of Gundam: The Origin has arrived from Vertical in the same hardcover, manga-style format as the other two books that precede it. This time covering the story arc revolving around the Great Blue Star himself; Ramba Ral. As White Base makes its way toward Jaburo, they are attacked by Kycilia's own Ramba Ral and his deadly fighting unit. Flanked by Zaku IIs, Ramba Ral uses his new model Gouf Mobile Suit to wear down the Trojan Horse and draw out Amuro and the Gundam as well as crippling his enemy. However, Amuro and the crew of the White Base must take charge and fight Ramba Ral as the old soldier he is; even if it means hand-to-hand combat! We're treated to a younger-looking, more lean Ramba Ral than what was in the anime. Aside from that, this volume goes toe-to-toe with the events in the anime pretty well. We are introduced to some new Federation Mobile Suit models as well as some amphibious Zeon prototypes in two very brief scenes as the story leads into Jaburo but ultimately, this covers everything about Ramba Ral and at nearly 500 pages, it darn well should. We're still treated to the beautiful color pages that adorn the beginning and end to each act as well as the breathtaking art on each and every page. Like the other volumes, this one really makes you feel like you're watching a movie instead of reading a book and, despite the lengthy page count, makes you not want to put it down until you reach the very last page. The Gouf MS itself really steals the show at times as it's portrayed as a really scary, menacing Mobile Suit in all its appearances. The interactions between Amuro and Bright also play a part at showing how the crew are still a bunch of civilian children drawn into the horrors of war and that they can still be childish at times and have some growing up to do amidst the death and destruction of battle. The entire book's just one fight after another as the crew is exhausted of supplies and energy as well. It's a really compelling read and one that is shown to be a bit more vulgar and violent to go along with the theme of death and war that's really setting in at this point. Some more harsh four-letter words are used as well as many execution-style deaths and people getting riddled by machine gun bullets on many occasions. Char takes a back seat in this volume but he'll be in the next one more for sure. Overall, a wonderful presentation (as expected) and another classic, timeless story collected in this hardcover edition. If you're a fan of Gundam (or good manga in general) and you haven't purchased this yet, do yourself a favor and buy it now!

Edizione semplicemente perfetta, che vale davvero il prezzo di copertina. Un vero gioiellino per tutti gli appassionati di manga e non solo di Gundam.

Gundam was a more grown-up story than I imagined. It is not just a war of robots. It digs deeper. It leaves nothing to be desired. There are poignant moments and exciting moments.