Title: Mobile Suit Gundam Seed
Volume(s): 5+
Creator(s): Masatsugu Iwase/Hajime Yatate/Yoshiyuki Tomia
Format: Unflipped; Right-to-Left
Publisher: Del Rey
MSRP: $10.95
Genre(s): Comedy
Rated: Teen (13+)

As the most celebrated mecha series to ever come from Japan, the Gundam franchise has had it's highs ("Mobile Suit Gundam," "Gundam Wing"), and it's had it's lows ("G Gundam," "Gundam X"), but love it or hate it, Gundam has been around for many years and it will continue for many years to come (like Star Wars). "Gundam Seed" is the newest Gundam series, and some are clamoring Seed as one of the best Gundam series in a long time, and it's not hard to see why many people feel that way, as "Gundam Seed" turns out to be surprisingly good. The story takes place in the world of the Cosmic Era. As in pretty much every Gundam series that has been made, the Earth is at war with each other. However it is not for land this time around, it's about race. See, there are two kinds of people in this series: The Coordinators and the Naturals. What are the Coordinators and the Naturals you ask? The Coordinators are genetically enhanced humans, who have been modified so that they excel in computers and technology. The Naturals have not had their gene's modified though, and so they are trying to catch up with the Coordinators knowledge and technology.

With a situation like this, war is unavoidable. It's unavoidable because things like this not only cause a conflict of power, but also because this technically can't be a Gundam series without a war! After we learn of the war we are introduced to the protagonist of the series Kira Yamato, who is a Coordinator living with the Naturals. The Naturals don't know that Kira is a Coordinator, however most people don't know who he is period, and that's just the way he likes it since he wants nothing to do with the war. One of the reasons he doesn't like the war is because a childhood friend of his named Athrun went to train for the military, not thinking there would be a war, and since the war started Kira doesn't know if his friend is alive or dead. Kira's friends also have mixed opinions on the war. And then one day, their colony is attacked. Kira's friends all find shelters to go to, however Kira gets stuck on the battlefield. When a soldier points a gun to him, Kira thinks he's about to die, until the soldier suddenly stops. There, standing in front of Kira, is his childhood friend Athrun, who turns out to have been fighting the Naturals since the war started. However there is no time for a reunion, hell breaks lose in the shelter, and a female commander pulls Kira into the cockpit of the newest Gundam suit, and prepares to escape.

However the commander is not very good at controlling the giant Gundam, and all looks hopeless, when (surprise, surprise) Kira takes over the controls and gets them both to safety using his Coordinator skills! When they both make it to the shelter, Kira is immediately asked to be the Gundam piolet since he's the only person on the ship that can properly control the giant mobile suit (man I hate it when that happens, don't you). Faced with the choice of fighting a war he doesn't believe in, to doing nothing and possibly letting those close to him die, will Kira make the right choice? I think we all know the answer to that one. At first glance "Gundam Seed" sounds like a typical Gundam series, without an original bone in its body. But it is not a typical Gundam series. What sets "Gundam Seed" apart from other Gundam series is that Seed focus's more on discrimination, beliefs, fighting not because you want to, but to protect those you love, and other things. If anything, this is probably the first Gundam series made that really has very little to do with the Gundam's. Oh sure you've got your war, your mecha battles, and the other standards for a Gundam series, but this series focus's mainly on what the characters feel about the war, and their feelings are usually very complex.

Kira for example does decide to fight with the Gundam suit (don't act like I'm spoiling anything, you KNEW it was going to happen), however he does not do it because he wants to. He does it to protect his friends and because he has no other choice but to fight (otherwise he'll die). But we all know that when the first chance comes along, Kira is going to ditch the Gundam suit and not look back. Not only that, but the story ends up mimicking real life topics such as racism, a war that some people do not believe in, and because it takes on these very hard topics, it makes the characters that much more believable! The art in this series is excellent, and even if the character designs aren't very original or memorable the artwork is still excellent. I guess there are only two things here that could be considered a downfall. The first thing that gets in the way of this release is that it IS just an adaptation of the TV series, and that means that if you are already watching "Gundam Seed" on TV, then there is practically no reason to read this manga adaptation, as there is nothing here that you can't watch on TV for free! Another problem could be that if you are not a huge fan of Gundam in the first place, then the chances of you liking this series is pretty slim.

Because despite the bold new things this series does over some of the other Gundam series out there, it's still cliched enough that people who hate Gundam won't notice much of a difference between this Gundam series and the other Gundam series out there now. So who is this series for then? I think this series was made for three groups of people, and those people are:

1. Hard core Gundam fans who must have EVERYTHING!
2. People who are fans of Gundam, but don't have cable.
3. People who love Gundam, but buy the books over the DVD's because the books are cheaper.

So what's my final verdict? Well if you don't fall into one of the above categories then this series might not be for you, as there are alternative ways to check out "Gundam Seed" without having to actually buy these books. Keep in mind this does not mean that "Gundam Seed" is a bad manga by any means, it's just that this manga adaptation was made for a particular group of people, and you might not be in one of them. It's true that you could do much worse then this, but if you've got Cartoon Network then I don't see much of a reason for you to get these books. If you feel the same way and would like an alternative series to check out, just browse my reviews for other suggestions.

- -Review By Kevin T. Rodriguez- -