Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory

Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (機動戦士ガンダム0083 STARDUST MEMORY) is a 13-episode anime OVA series set in the Gundam universe. The first volume containing two 30-minute episodes was released in Japan on May 23, 1991. Subsequent volumes, containing one 30-minute episode each, followed every one or two months; the final volume went on sale on September 24, 1992. The series was directed by Mitsuko Kase (Episodes 1–7) and Takashi Imanishi (Eps 8–13). The characters were designed by Toshihiro Kawamoto. Mechanical designs were by Shoji Kawamori (of Macross fame) and Hajime Katoki. Gundam 0083 is licensed in North America by Bandai Entertainment and is available on VHS and DVD.

Synopsis
Universal Century 0083: Zeon Intelligence has identified a prototype Gundam designed for nuclear attack under development by Anaheim Electronics. A former Zeon ace and a small band of Principality soldiers are dispatched to Earth to capture the Gundam as part of Operation Stardust. When the Zeon successfully make off with the prototype the Earth Federation assigns the mobile suit carrier Albion to locate and recover the missing unit. When the stolen Gundam fires at the space fortress Solomon (now occupied by the Federation Forces under the name of Konpei Island) the Federation Space Force suffers a catastrophic loss; as the Federation regroups, they learn that the Zeon have captured a space colony ostensibly with the objective of colliding it with the moon. When the colony's course is unexpectedly changed toward Earth, the true objective of Operation Stardust is revealed.

The series ends with the creation of the Titans, an elite Zeon-hunting division of the Federal Forces, the main antagonists in Zeta Gundam.

Episodes
The Japanese laserdisc release of Gundam 0083 featured English episode titles on the cover that often differed from the Japanese titles shown at the beginning of each episode. For each episode in the list below, the official English translation of the Japanese title is given with that title's kanji and romaji, followed by the alternative English title from the laserdisc cover in parentheses.


 * 1) Gundamjack (ガンダム強奪) (Stardust Rising)
 * 2) Endless Pursuit (終わりなき追撃) (War is Not Over, Yet)
 * 3) Into Battle, Albion! (出撃アルビオン) (Irregulars in Albion)
 * 4) Attack and Retreat on the Burning Sand (熱砂の攻防戦) (The Lost Troopers)
 * 5) Gundam, to the Sea of Stars (ガンダム、星の海へ) (Sieg Zeon!)
 * 6) The Warrior of Von Braun (フォン・ブラウンの戦士) (Mind of the Moon)
 * 7) With Shining Blue Fire (蒼く輝く炎で) (Burning Heart)
 * 8) Conspiracy Sector (策謀の宙域) (Conspiracy of Silence)
 * 9) The Nightmare of Solomon (ソロモンの悪夢) (Nightmare of Solomon)
 * 10) Colliding War Zones (激突戦域) (The Hot Area)
 * 11) La Vie En Rose (ラビアンローズ)
 * 12) Assault on the Point of No Return (強襲、阻止限界点) (Assault Waves)
 * 13) A Storm Raging Through (駆け抜ける嵐) (Men of Destiny)

A special VHS sneak peak of the first episode titled GxG Unit was given to advance ticket purchasers of Gundam F91.

The series was reissued in DVD format in Japan on four volumes; the first R2 disc went on sale on January 25, 2000.

Bandai Entertainment licensed the series for the US market. The series was released on VHS in dubbed and subtitled versions in 1999 to coincide with the Gundam Big Bang Project. It spanned 7 VHS volumes and was also available in a box set. Volume 1 of the R1 DVD went on sale in January 2002. Cartoon Network premiered the series on US television a month later.

Compilation Movie
After the completion of the Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory OVA in 1992, the series was reformatted into a compilation movie which was released under the title Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: The Last Blitz of Zeon (ジオンの残光|Jion no Zankō). This feature opened in Japanese theaters on August 29, 1992.

To date, Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: The Last Blitz of Zeon has not been released in America (apparently due to the lack of original footage), however it has been released in France, Benelux, Germany, and received a UK DVD release in May 2006 as Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: The Afterglow Of Zeon.

Radio Drama
Gundam 0083's canon includes two radio dramas on CD format billed as Cinema CDs. Both drama CDs were directed by series director Takashi with dialogue by Asahide Ōkuma (writer for 5 of the 0083 episodes).
 * Runga Offing Cannonade Battle (ルンガ沖砲撃戦)
 * Runga Offing narrates events between Episodes 7 and 8, when the Albion engages a Chivvay-class Zeon warship. It introduces a new character, Aristide Hughes, the Albion's Gunnery Lieutenant.


 * Mayfly of Space (宇宙の蜉蝣)
 * Mayfly reveals Cima's backstory in flashbacks as she reflects on her past prior to the events of Episode 13. It reveals that Cima and her unit poisoned a Side 5 colony using G-3 nerve gas, under orders, but were treated as pariahs afterwards by their own countrymen for committing such an atrocity. At the end of the war her superior refused to let her retreat to Axis. Because their home colony Mahal had been converted into a weapon, Cima and her men were left stranded and homeless.

Both of these stories appear in the PlayStation 2 game Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space.

Novelization and Comic Book
The story of 0083 was retold in prose form by Hiroshi Yamaguchi in three volumes. The books were published by Kadokawa Shoten and contain illustrations by Toshihiro Kawamoto, Hirotoshi Sano and Hajime Katoki.

Viz Communications also released all episodes in a comic book format from 1994 to 1995. However, instead of a manga, they used screenshots from each episode for the panels. Line art and descriptions of all units were inserted as well.

Protagonists

 * Kou Uraki maincast.jpg
 * Ensign Kou Uraki is a 19 year-old Federation test pilot stationed at the Torrington base in Australia. When Anavel Gato steals the Gundam GP02A, Kou goes after him in the GP01. He is later assigned to the mobile suit team under the command of Lieutenant South Burning on board the Albion with orders to either recapture or destroy GP02A.


 * Nina Purpleton Nina1.jpg
 * Head engineer of the project that developed the two Gundams, which she is extremely protective over. She reluctantly allows Kou to pilot GP01 in order to recapture GP02A and the two of them slowly begin a romantic relationship.


 * Eiphar Synapse
 * Captain Eiphar Synapse is the commanding officer of the ship Albion, which is given the tall order of recapturing the stolen Gundam GP02A.


 * South Burning
 * A senior pilot at the Federation's Torrington base, Lieutenant South Burning serves as mobile suit company commander for the Albion. He pilots a RGM-79C GM and later a RGM-79N GM Custom.


 * Chuck Keith
 * Ensign Chuck Keith is a test pilot who was stationed at the Torrington Base along with his former classmate Kou. He is likewise reassigned to the Albion as part of its mobile suit team. He is initially seen piloting a Zeon Zaku II captured by the Earth Federation but later pilots a GM Cannon II.


 * Bernard Monsha
 * Lieutenant Junior Grade Bernard Monsha is one of three mobile suit pilots assigned to the Albion after the theft at Torrington. He takes an immediate dislike to Kou and Keith, especially the former for piloting the Gundam GP01. When he is not on duty, Monsha likes to drink, gamble, and chase women.


 * Alpha Bate
 * Lieutenant Junior Grade Alpha Bate is another reinforcement pilot who served under Lieutenant Burning along with Monsha and Adel during the One-Year War. Although he is calmer and less obnoxious than Monsha, he has a tendency to encourage his friend's misbehavior, but that does not prevent him from being promoted to deputy commander of the mobile suit team.


 * Chap Adel
 * Lieutenant Junior Grade Chap Adel is the third reinforcement pilot assigned to the Albion and the most mild-mannered of the three.


 * Mora Bascht
 * Lieutenant Junior Grade Mora Bascht is a tall, big-boned female mechanic who serves as chief of maintenance on board the Albion and friend to Nina.

Antagonists

 * Anavel Gato
 * Lieutenant Commander Anavel Gato is a former member of the Principality of Zeon's elite palace guard unit.  During the One Year War, at the Battle of Solomon, Gato earns the nickname "Nightmare of Solomon".  He joins Aiguille Delaz's fleet late in the war, and withdraws with Delaz and his supporters after Gihren Zabi's assassination at the hands of Kycilia Zabi, his sister.  He returns to Earth in October of UC0083 to seize the Gundam GP02A, and later uses this Mobile Suit's nuclear weapon against the Earth Federation's Naval Review.


 * Aiguille Delaz
 * Vice Admiral Aiguille Delaz is a former captain of the Zeon space fleet during the One Year War who chose to withdraw from A Baoa Qu in order to strike back at the Earth Federation later on. He makes his move three years later when his loyal underling Anavel Gato commandeers the nuclear weapon armed Gundam GP02A. He calls his plan "Operation Stardust".


 * Cima Garahau
 * Cima Garahau is a commander of a group of former Zeon marines who are called upon by Delaz to help him execute Operation Stardust. She pilots an MS-14Fs Gelgoog Marine.


 * Kelly Layzner
 * Kelly Layzner is a former Zeon lieutenant who fought alongside Gato during the One-Year war, Layznerjunkyard.jpg ultimately losing his left arm. When Kou is beaten up by hoodlums in Von Braun City, Kelly helps him recover his mental faculties and the two become friends. However, the two of them are well aware that if they meet in battle, they will have no choice but to fight each other.

Openings, Endings and Insert Songs
Opening/Insert:
 * Back to Paradise by Miki Matsubara (Episode 1)

Openings:
 * The Winner by Miki Matsubara (Episodes 2 to 7)
 * Men of Destiny by MIO (Episodes 8 to 12)

Endings:
 * Magic by Jacob Wheeler (Episodes 1 to 7)
 * Evergreen by MIO (Episodes 8 to 13 ~ In its full version in episode 13's ending)
 * True Shining by Rumiko Wada (Compilation movie ending)