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In the not-too-distant future, there are three big power blocs, each vying for more power over the others, but ostensibly keeping the peace between the blocs. When one of the countries decides to show off their latest mobile suits, a mysterious group known as the Celestial Beings show up in Gundams, declaring that they are going to bring peace to the world.

This title, the “official side story” of Gundam 00, follows Fereshte, a side-group that gives the Celestial Beings support from the shadows.

This title is cut from the same cloth as the Gundam 00 manga, meaning that it's pretty awful, but in new and exciting ways.



Pros

• Competent and clean art, good character designs
• When bitten, flavor is clean and refreshing

Cons

• Story is disjointed, jumps around
• Writer doesn't present a clear tone for the story
• Continues trend of awkward dialogue in a Gundam series

Description

• Original Title:Kido Senshi Gundam Double O F (Japan)
• Artist and Author: Kouichi Tokita
  Scenario: Tomohiro Chiba (Studio Orphee)
  Original Story: Hajime Yatate, Yoshiyuki Tomino
• Publishers:
  • Bandai Entertainment (US)
  • Kadokawa Shoten (Japan)
• ISBN: 978-1604961881
• Cover Price: $10.99 US / $12.99 CANADA
• Age Rating:T – Teens Age 13+ for violent mostly-mecha warfare
  More about content ratings.
• Manga Genres:
  • Shonen (Boys') Manga
  • Action / Adventure
  • Anime Tie-in
  • Mecha / Robots
  • Military / Warfare
  • Science Fiction
• US Publication Date: December 2009
  Japan Publication Date: March 2008
• Book Description: 170 pages, black and white illustrations

Guide Review - Mobile Suit Gundam 00F Volume 1

The Gundam 00 manga follows the group known as Fereshte, whose mission is to support the members of Celestial Being with some older model Gundams. Our hero, if you can call him that, is an insane criminal by the name of Fon Spaak. He's not with the group because of some idyllic notion of justice – he has a bomb strapped to his neck, so there's not much choice in the matter.

Spaak's role generally falls to that of guard or watch over the main members of the Gundam 00 team, where he relishes in the rare chance for combat. He certainly doesn't agree with the mission of Celestial Being, and would rather just see things explode and people die. So, this creates some conflict between him and the other Fereshte members.

This conflict of personalities is actually one of the biggest problems in the Gundam 00F manga. The general tone of just about any Gundam franchise is very serious, and yet the manga quickly falls into many scenes of Spaak and other Fereshte members bickering, complete with deformed character designs and childish taunts, making it look like a comedy manga. By itself, that's not necessarily a bad thing; the Gundam franchise could use a bit more levity. But the manner in which the 00F manga uses it comes across as awkward and out of place.

Adding to the awkwardness of the manga, the story jumps about in order to squeeze events into the Gundam 00 timeline, meaning that unless you've just finished watching the show, you're going to be confused. So, a great majority of the pacing and plot is quickly lost on the average reader, turning the pages into pretty pictures with some speech bubbles that really don't matter too much.

Which brings me to the one good part of the Gundam 00F manga: the art is decent. Tokita's work stands head-and-shoulders above the work done in the Gundam 00 manga. It's not anything particularly deep or unbelievable, but at least it's competently done and proves pleasing to the eyes.

Clearly, the target audience here are the hardcore Gundam fans, of which there are many. They, without a doubt, are going to be the ones buying this. But say you're just the average anime fan who stumbled across the Gundam 00 and liked it? This is probably something to avoid. This is a product solely for the niche market.

Brad Rice is Editor-in-Chief at Japanator, and also writes articles for Destructoid, TomoPop, The Escapist and DannyChoo.com.



Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.