For a franchise that has had a much larger cultural impact on the space opera scene compared to either Star Wars or Star Trek and has spawned dozens of anime, movies, and varied media adaptations through five decades of its existence, the Gundam series was long overdue a proper mainstream release. Finally, with Bandai Namco Filmwork’s recent anime entry, Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance, streaming on Netflix, the legendary mecha franchise finds a way to connect with a broader audience worldwide.
The prospect of space wars featuring piloted giant robots might seem goofy and lighthearted, but we can assure you Gundam is anything but, as it handles heavy themes, philosophical musings, and darker undertones underneath. While the six-episode anime series manages to keep things fairly simple by chronicling a vital part of the series’ central conflict and adhering to the tenets and themes of the franchise, there is much history and context behind the entirety of it that isn’t fully explained, and this can make getting into the groove a daunting task for viewers who are willing to make this anime their entry point to the Gundam lore. Another issue with the series’ Unreal Engine 5-generated computer animation is that, while the action sequences involving Mobile Suits look brilliant, it veers towards the uncanny valley when human characters are in focus.
Spoilers Ahead
The Universal Century and the One Year War
Before diving into the plot of the series, an introduction to the Universal Century timeline—the mainstay, core period of the Gundam saga—is needed. In the world of the Gundam series, following the success of space exploration in the late 1960s, a third world war and man-made nuclear catastrophe ravaged the world. After the dissolution of the UN, surviving nations banded together to form a coalition, the Earth Federation. With resources on Earth depleting, in order to sustain an increasing human population, humanity turned into a spacefaring colonizing civilization, and millions of people began residing in far-flung space colonies in satellites resembling O’Neill cylinders. As Spacenoids grew in population and the Federation’s grip on the colonies tightened, under the leadership of Zeon Zum Daikun, chairman of the Republic of Munzo, the colonies began to demand independent governanc. Following Daikun’s assassination, the powerful Zabi family assumes control over Munzo and rechristens the colony as the dictatorial Principality of Zeon. It should be mentioned that, by now, the human population in the colonies far exceeds that of Earth, and thanks to deep space exploration being easier through the colonies, valuable resources are abundant there as well. With revolutionary Minovsky particle technology, Zeon was able to create the first humanoid mobile battlesuit, the Zaku, which went to mass production following tremendous success on the battlefield. Soon enough, the Principality of Zeon declared independence from the Federation and invaded the Earth, and the Revolutionary War, or the One Year War, officially started. Zaku units proved to be the ultimate game changers on the battlefield, bringing the Federation to its knees in no time. It should be mentioned that the Gundam series makes it a point that there is no good or evil side in a war; perspective makes the difference while ultimately both sides lose irrespective of the final victor. In established canon, Zeon might seem to be on the wrong side of history, but the present series shows events from the invader’s point of view, presenting the Federation as an oppressive force.
The White Demon Emerges
As Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance begins in the final leg of the One Year War on the European front, viewers are introduced to the Zaku II Red Wolf Unit and their captain, Iria Solari, who have successfully defended the Zeon forces from a Federation ambush in Romania and captured the Cluj-Napoca base by forcing the remaining Federation combatants to retreat. Iria is a brave, pragmatic, and noble captain who has lost her husband in the ongoing war and has dedicated her life to the service of Zeon, abandoning her passion for music, which she shared with her husband. Iria is waiting to return to her young son back in the colony, and with the way the Federation has been dominated by the Zaku-led Zeon forces, it seems Iria will reunite with him soon enough. However, the tides of war change in an instant as the Federation’s first major battle suit, Gundam, makes its appearance and, like a wraith in the darkness, cuts through Zeon’s forces in no time. Iria loses two of her Red Wolf comrades, all of the Zaku units, and somehow manages to survive the onslaught of the Gundam along with her second-in-command, Lesean. The duo, accompanied by wounded soldiers, the surviving Zeon Force lieutenants Heaton and Arhun, and UMRC Doctor Ony Kasuga, manage to escape the carnage and make their way to a Zeon military recycling base.
Chief of the base, Major Ronnet, refuses to provide shelter to anyone except the wounded, but with the interference of Solari’s former associate, the gearhead Captain Zydos, Ronnet begrudgingly agrees to let Solari and her company stay at the base.
Newtype Ability and the Gundam Pilot
Solari was able to almost psychically sense the Gundam’s emergence during its first appearance, and once again she senses its presence in a warzone twenty clicks away, which prompts her to ask Captain Zydos to put together two Zaku units from the scraps at the recycling zone to defend the base. Solari’s unique skill is part of a trait known as Newtype Ability, which is an evolutionary advantage Spacenoids have over earth-dwelling humans. The ones possessing Newtype Ability gain extrasensory perception skills and clairvoyance, allowing them a better understanding of the causality of events. However, as Zydos and his crew of mechanics complete building two Zakus, Major Ronnet decides to lock horns with Solari as he fears her action will draw Federation forces to the base and put lives in jeopardy. Solari argues that the Gundam will find them eventually; at least with Zaku units, they will have a fighting chance. Their argument is interrupted by the arrival of the Gundam, which is now accompanied by one of the Federation’s mass-produced mobile suits, GM. Lesean and Solari get into their reinforced Zakus to keep the Federation Mobile Suits engaged while the rest of the crew evacuates the base, and Major Ronnet shows his true colors by saving Solari’s life in the nick of time by operating a Zaku tank. Ronnet’s concerns for the safety of the survivors of the base made him oppose Solari’s stance; his true intention was grounded in saving lives instead of courting war. However, Lesean manages to pin down the GM, putting the Gundam in a defensive position as a result, but Solari chooses to spare the Federation units at the end. The devastated recycling base breaks Ronnet’s morale, but Captain Zydos is able to motivate him to fight for another day, and Ronnet once again decides to challenge Solari’s judgment. However, this time he is interrupted by Major General Kellerne, who backs up Solari and assigns her the task of stealing the Federation’s Mobile Suit GM units. It is unknown whether Kellerne is somehow connected with Yuri Kellerne from the OVA “Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team” or if she is a genderbent version of the same character.
While infiltrating a Federation outpost, Solari comes across a young kid, no older than her own son, who turns out to be the pilot of the Gundam who has been indiscriminately butchering Zeon forces. Solari is touched by the tragedy of the revelation; the fact that an innocent soul has been forced into the horrors of war against his will makes her feel conflicted when it comes to confronting him in battle. For the kid, the Zeon forces are invading terrorists, and he has been indoctrinated in a way that he considers it to be his purpose to eliminate the enemy forces without considering the fact that they, too, are humans. Solari and her unit fail to steal GM suits as the Gundam proves to be a major hurdle, and Lesean sacrifices his life while saving Solari. It should be mentioned at this point that the kid seems to have Newtype Ability as well.
Who Won the One-Year War?
Following Gundam’s assault, Zeon forces on earth are nearly exterminated, and the surviving bunch are escaping back to their base in space. After sustaining injuries during the Federation base infiltration, Solari lost consciousness, and as she wakes up, she finds herself in the Zeon Force convoy heading towards the spaceport. In the light of her recent experiences, Solari feels dejected and considers herself a failure, but Zydos is able to uplift her spirit by acknowledging her contribution. However, Zydos is bewildered after learning about Solari’s conflicted perspective about the Gundam, despite the White Demon being the reason for the annihilation of Zeon forces and the deaths of many of her comrades.
As Federation forces launch an assault on an escaping Zeon convoy, Solari decides to make one last stand, and turning her back on her chance to reunite with her son, she decides to get into her Zaku unit to take on the Federation forces in order to let the Zeon forces safely escape Earth. Solari entrusts a pocketwatch—a memorabilia of her family—to Zydos, requesting him to give it to her son in case she isn’t able to make it at the end. As Zydos and the surviving Zeon forces reach the safety of the space, Solari engages in a final conflict with the Gundam, and this time, she directly speaks with the kid pilot, not as a soldier following her duties but as a mother willing to protect her child. The kid grows sympathetic towards Solari after realizing that she can relate to his plight and saves her life from falling space debris. However, as the Gundam lowers its guard, one of the Midnighter Zakus ends up neutralizing it by stabbing it from the back, much to Solari’s dismay and horror. The kid is presumably dead, although his fate remains a mystery till the end—and we have reasons to believe that he is Amuro Ray, the first Gundam pilot himself. Solari chooses to stay on Earth and help Zeon forces in Africa; she no longer believes in the rivalling binaries of the warring factions; as a mother, she knows how no one truly wins at the end, and war takes everything from both sides. Aggrieved after witnessing the Gundam pilot seemingly meet his end, Solari makes it her goal to make the world a better place, where children won’t have to be dragged into the violence of war.
Although in the main Universal Century timeline, the Federation won the war, and here too it seems they have driven away Zeon Forces from the Earth, there might still be a chance of an uprising in the future. Hopefully, in the upcoming season, the kid’s identity will come into focus, along with his and Solari’s Newtype ability, which could be a foundation for exploring the nooks and crannies of the world of Gundam.
