SD Gundam Mushamaruden

SD Gundam Mushamaruden (SD頑駄無 武者○伝) is a multi-part SD Gundam manga, a spinoff from the popular Gundam anime. It is authored by Masato Ichishiki. It is among a yearly run of SD Gundam stories, being the title for 2001-2003.

Mushamaruden
The first installment, lasting two volumes.

Story
The Musha Gundam of ancient time travelled to the Pegasus nation (天馬の国), which is Japan in year 2001. 48 Musha Gundams were scattered across 47 Prefectures of Japan.

Whereas the majority of the main cast of Gundams are brand new, the majority of overall Gundams seen are from previous SD Gundam series. Older characters featured usually receive a minor upgrade. For example, the character of Goddumaru loses his God Gundam inspired armour and eventually gains a new set which makes him more resemble the Gundam Double X.

In contrast to previous Musha Gundam series that based designs more on samurai/feudal Japanese history, Ichishiki's designs instead bare more resemblance to the style of tokusatsu heroes such as Ultraman, Kamen Rider and super sentai. This includes a much more focused role on technology within the design aesthetic.

Characters

 * Mushamaru- A young Musha Gundam who in an attempt to stop an evil plot is swept away to modern day Japan. Although somewhat childish and immature, he is a serious warrior who tries to protect the huma citizens from the actions of likewise exiled Ark villains. Most of his upgrades come from fusions with Ark animals.
 * Tokimaru 03- An associate of Mushamaru, though more mature. Upon arriving on Earth he attempts to help the local police force.Eventually reduced to a skeleton in a massive explosion, he is reborn and upgraded via a data burst.
 * Yoroimaru- Lacking in combat power, Yoroimaru instead uses powerful mecha suits to fight. Upon arriving on Earth he becomes CEO of a major company and uses his resources to aid in the fight against Ark's villains. He and his armour initially resemble the Double Zeta Gundam but after briefly losing his company he returns, now modelled on the Wing Gundam and his mecha based on the Wing Zero Custom. It is possible he is a reference to Tony Stark, Marvel Comics' Iron Man. Given his look and technological skills, he may be descended from Double Zeta and Ikazuchimaru.
 * Goddumaru- A hero of Ark, Goddumaru loses his armour after being transported to Earth and is cared for by a poor girl who runs a ramen cart. In return, Goddumaru is fiercely defensive of her and strives to protect her from harm. Her love for Goddumaru later emerges in the form of a new set of powerful armour for him to use.
 * Tohou Gundam- An associate of Yoroimaru who loves karaoke. Via the mysterious powers of Majin Gundam he is briefly transformed into a villain but using his love of karaoke his friends are able to return him to normal.

Trivia

 * Yoroimaru's Gundam building employees are based on Tem Ray of Mobile Suit Gundam and the five mad scientists of Gundam Wing. All six were noted Gundam designers in their respective series.
 * In his powered up form, Mushamaru wears two flags on his back. A set of exclusive further flags are included as a cut-out in the first collected manga volume.

Mushamaruden 2
The second installment, lasting two volumes.

Story
After dealing with the threat looming over both Ark and Earth, the Musha Gundams return to Earth to compete against each other. As Mobile Citizens become a common sight, a boy befriends Musha-in-training Wakamaru. As Wakamaru and his classmates train under their tough teacher, the Gundam tournament gets underway. 

Mushamaruden 3
The third installment, lasting three volumes.

Story
The overall story serves as a conclusion to the Mushamaruden trilogy. Each of the leads of the three Mushamaruden stories are revealed to be the foretold reincarnations of a trio of Ark's greatest warriors who would be reborn when Ark needed them most. Whilst powerful warriors in their own right, the three heroes can join to form the gigantic and powerful Trinity Dai-Shogun.

Due to its time of release, this series includes references to the then-recent series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and its sidestory Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray. The main Gundam Bakimaru is based on the Astray Red Frame and has two siblings based on the Astray Blue and Gold Frames respectively. Another Gundam is based on the Strike and wields Musha-styled versions of the Aile, Sword and Launcher Striker Packs. 

SD Gundam Mucchamushamaruden (ＳＤガンダム武っちゃムチャ○伝)
A 4-frame parody comic based on characters in the first three series, written by Aokikei and Mikamaru.