Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation Review

Please click here for my review of the complete 1985 Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam TV series. Below I discuss the 2005 compilations films, collectively titled Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation. 


In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Gundam franchise in 2005 (as well as the 20-year anniversary of Zeta), Sunrise created a trilogy of compilation films encompassing the events of the 50-episode Zeta series. Unlike the compilation films for the original Mobile Suit Gundam, which were released shortly after the TV series concluded, Zeta's were remastered and, in many scenes, completely reanimated. 

Leah and I haven't previously chosen to rewatch any Gundam material in compilation form, but given that these films contained a large quantity of brand-new animation, we wanted to see what they were all about. Not only that, but a few significant changes were made to the story, most famously the series ending.

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation - Heir to the Stars

Starting with the remastered portions of animation - the old bits still feel old. They're brighter and crisper due to the remastering process, but ultimately still very dated. Which is fine. The new animation, on the other hand, is gorgeous - detailed, colorful, and fluid. It feels like something that could have been produced this year. And it's not just that the old scenes were re-drawn - in most cases they're completely re-scripted and reimagined. Many sequences play out differently or show events that didn't occur in the original series. It was a joy to watch these old scenes given new life, however their frequent juxtaposition against the dated animation (not just between scenes but also within them) was extremely jarring. Given how much of the art they reanimated, it was surprising to me that they didn't just redo the whole thing (though I'm sure that was due to budget limitations). 

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation - Lovers

In terms of the story, there are several notable changes (warning - full spoilers incoming). One of the first ones we noticed was that Rosamia only appears during the NRX-044 Asshimar encounter which serves as the climax of the first film. Beyond that, her entire subplot later in the series is cut out. In the second film, Kamille's relationship with Four is still present, but trims a lot around the edges, making their connection feel a lot flimsier than in the original series. Speaking of flimsy, Reccoa's decision to betray the crew of the Argama and serve under Scirocco is even less well-explained - I can't imagine that somebody who hasn't viewed the original series would understand the context here. 

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation - Love is the Pulse of the Stars

There are many other changes throughout, but the biggest one is of course the ending. In the original Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam series, Kamille is left in a sort of catatonic trance after his climactic showdown with Scirocco. In A New Translation, the audience is instead given a happy ending - Kamille is okay and tearfully reunites with Fa. In addition, we get an epilogue sequence showing what most of the characters are up to following the successful defeat of Scirocco and the Titans.

While we didn't have a problem with Kamille's fate in the original "dark" ending, the abruptness of the entire series concluding on that scene without any explanation of what happened to the other other characters or factions was very puzzling. This is thankfully fixed due to the epilogue scenes in A New Translation, though the cost there is the new "happy" ending for Kamille, which is incongruous to his still-catatonic status in the direct sequel, Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ. 

All in all, the Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation films are an absolutely worthwhile watch for anyone who has seen the original Zeta TV series. Newer viewers, however, may find the compacted films confusing in places and are advised to consider them a supplement to the original series, not a replacement.