Gundam Has a New Series Coming From All-Star Team of the Franchise’s Best

Japanese publisher Kadokawa has finally given Gundam fans their first look at a new Gundam manga for the Gundam Ace Magazine. The manga is called Mobile Suit Gundam Eight, written by Hajime Kamoshida and drawn by Shuei Takagi. The magazine shows off the first look of the new Gundam and the lead protagonist. Kamoshida is a veteran Gundam scripter, having written for Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans and the manga spin-off title, Gekko. He also wrote the popular Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai series. Takagi is an artist best known for working on the Mobile Suit Gundam
Battle Operation Code Fairy manga series.

Mobile Suit Gundam Eight was originally announced in 2021 as part of Gundam Ace’s 20th Anniversary project. The series takes place in an alternate Earth separate from the other Gundam timelines. Gundam Eight stars the final remnants of humanity in the year 2030, with only 258 humans left. There’s only one Gundam in existence. The manga will begin publication on Gundam Ace on June 26th, 2025, with plans to release a new High-Grade model kit based on the main Gundam. Kadokawa hasn’t revealed much about the plot besides the basic premise and the promo image.

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Gundam’s Relationship with Manga

While many anime are traditionally manga adaptations, Gundam shows typically have anime-original storylines. Occasionally, Bandai would produce a manga adaptation of the Gundam anime, like with Gundam: The Origin, a manga based on the original Mobile Suit Gundam series. The franchise would also release spin-off titles of the anime as manga, including Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans – Gekko. Sometimes, the series will release manga to tie into another Gundam product, like Takagi’s Mobile Suit Gundam
Battle Operation Code Fairy, a manga cross-promotion for the video game of the same name from 2021.

Entire Gundam sub-stories exist in the manga media, most notably the Crossbone Gundam manga. Crossbone was a manga follow-up to the Gundam F91 film, continuing plot beats and storylines set up in the movie. The manga existed in the semi-distant future of the Universal Century timeline and introduced the popular Crossbone Gundam X-1 and Crossbone Gundam X-1 Full Cloth mechas. Crossbone Gundam proved so popular that it led to multiple sequels, including Skull Heart, The Steel Seven, Ghost, Dust, X-11, and Love & Piece. The Crossbone Gundam X-1 remains one of the most popular robots in the franchise in terms of model kits and design.

Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt is another notable storyline that began exclusively as a manga before being adapted into an anime. Thunderbolt took place in an alternate reality of the classic Mobile Suit Gundam series, where the technology is slightly different. The manga originally focused on the rivalry between two opposing ace pilots during the One Year War before moving on to post-war conflicts with a mysterious cult. The anime adaptation of Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt earned raves for its jazz-inspired soundtrack and haunting animation. The manga has suffered from multiple hiatuses, pausing efforts on the anime adaptation, but the series has finally entered its final arc.

H/T: Anime News Network