Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny: The Edge

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny: The Edge (機動戦士ガンダムSEED DESTINY THE EDGE) is a manga series by Chimaki Kuori (久織ちまき Kuori Chimaki) based on the events in the anime Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny. It is written from the point of view of ZAFT pilot Athrun Zala. (In the anime series, many events were seen from the point of views of Shinn Asuka and Kira Yamato.) Currently, all 5 volumes in Japanese have been published by Kadokawa Shoten, while the Chinese version is also complete and published by Taiwan Kadokawa.

This series is noted for its more "mature" depiction of the characters in the main series. (They look older and have a greater expression of emotions. Kuori noted that this series had a shōjo ("young girl") flavour in his remarks at the end of volume 1.)

Notable differences
Although the series followed the events of the anime closely, there were still some differences.
 * Gilbert Durandal acknowledged to Athrun that Meer Campbell was an impostor. Even Meer herself admitted this fact to her "fiance". (She reasoned that she was able to use Lacus Clyne's "strength" for good purposes if she impersonated her idol.) Although Gilbert and Meer both admitted this in the anime as well, Meer was shown to be more mature here.
 * During Athrun's defection from ZAFT, Meer was also portrayed as sane. When she rejected Athrun's offer to leave with him, she argued that there is nothing wrong with her being Lacus; she felt that it was the only identity she had.
 * Heine Westenfluss's role was expanded: he was present at the battle of Gulnahan, and it was stated that he was in a team (which was disbanded after Gulnahan). Also, he went drinking with Athrun during their night's stay at Diocuia. (Athrun was using him as an excuse to get away from Meer. The drinking session was given as a probable reason why Athrun did not know of Meer's sneaking into his room later.)
 * In this series, Shinn is portrayed in a more favourable light, and his relationship with Athrun is more cordial.
 * The final battle between the Infinite Justice and the Destiny is somewhat different from the anime version.

Chapters
Altogether, the series consists of 21 "phases" (with Phase 00 being a very short chapter) and 3 "Special Editions", which are chapters focusing on different characters closely related to Athrun.

Volume 1

 * Phase 00—Memory (prologue; a summary of Athrun's encounters in Gundam SEED)
 * Phase 01—Suspend
 * Phase 02—Ignition
 * Phase 03—Shift

Volume 2

 * Phase 04—Recurrence
 * Phase 05—Feel Lost
 * Phase 06—Head On
 * Phase 07—Faith
 * Special Edition—Please Give Me Wings (Cagalli Yula Athha)

Volume 3

 * Phase 08—Impact
 * Phase 09—Conflict
 * Phase 10—Cross
 * Phase 11—Complex
 * Special Edition—Because I Will Protect You (Shinn Asuka)

Volume 4

 * Phase 12—Destruction
 * Phase 13—Lock-On
 * Phase 14—Nightmare
 * Phase 15—Take-Out
 * Special Edition—Sisters (Lunamaria and Meyrin Hawke)

Volume 5

 * Phase 16—Regreting
 * Phase 17—Justice
 * Phase 18—Real
 * Phase 19—Destiny
 * Phase 20—Tomorrow

The Edge: Desire
After the end of the series, Kuori has released several chapters focusing on the other characters in the series. They include:
 * Shinn
 * Cagalli
 * Rey
 * Meer
 * Shinn and Mayu
 * Yzak Joule and Dearka Elsman

The first volume of this series was released on 26 June 2007. The series has 10 chapters in total, with the last chapter released in the 26 October 2007 issue of Gundam Ace. Also, the second volume was released on 26 Feb 2008.

Trivia

 * With this series, the viewpoints of all three teenage male leads of the Cosmic Era have been expressed in at least one series. (The original Mobile Suit Gundam SEED was largely told from Kira's point of view.)
 * The title comes from the phrase "View from the edge", which can be found on the side margin of the two-page cover art in the volumes. This apparently refers to Athrun as he was initially an outsider (a civilian of Orb) in the series.
 * The covers of the first and last volumes showed Athrun in his pilot suits, along with his first and final mobile suit of Gundam SEED Destiny: the ZAKU Warrior in volume 1 and the Infinite Justice in volume 5.

機動戦士ガンダムSEEDシリーズ (書籍)