Mobile Suit Gundam: THE ORIGIN Deluxe 1

by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, Yoshiyuki Tomino (Creator), Hajime Yatate

Genres: Manga

880 pages, Hardcover

Published August 12, 2025

About the author

Yoshikazu Yasuhiko (安彦良和) is a Japanese manga artist, animator, character designer, anime director, illustrator, and novelist. He was born in Engaru Town, Monbetsu District, Hokkaido, and currently resides in Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture.

Reviews

[Matt Quann · Rating 3 out of 5]

My gamble with these larger format manga is that I’ll find something that hooks me. The downside is that there’s sometimes where it’s a big old serving of “meh.” Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin falls in the middle of this pack.


The art, while occasionally terrific, is often very hard to follow, especially in complex battle scenes. The static images of Mobile Suits is pure cool and it’s only when they get moving that it can be disorienting. The story itself is intriguing, but not as compelling as a Berserk or Vinland Saga. I found lots of subplots overstay their welcome and add to an already bulky story.

I did snag both this volume and the next on a profoundly good sale. I’m at least committed to another 900 pages, but if it doesn’t blow my socks off, it may make its way to the local comic shop for a trade in.

[Annas Jiwa Pratama]

This book is probably at least 7kg, and it is the first work of literature that I have to handle with some caution as to avoid physical injury. Some accounts on the Gundam/Mecha orbit on Twitter were bashing on this release since it omits the interviews and lower-than-average production quality, but honestly I was just happy I don't have to spend about 3x the amount buying the individual volumes. This one covers up to the introduction of my eternal favorite uncle Ramba Ral, so it is no question that I'll pre-order volume 2 in the coming months.

I love Yasuhiko's art, especially the uniquely Yas way that the character faces and body contorts to convey theatrical levels of dramatic intensity. The emotions are over the top, and the mechas pops out of the panel. The water-color illustrations are gorgeous.

This more 'romantic' style informs his writing as well. Characters are bigger and bolder. Amuro feels angrier and less confused and angst ridden compared to the anime, and Char was much more conniving. Some characters are more changed than others (both Sayla and Char comes to mind most prominently). It was in this that his work feels most at contrast with Tomino's idiosyncratic obtuseness and staccato-like flow. I think I still prefer that vs. Yas' more dramatic and larger-than-life reimaginings. But it's fine. Nobody does it like Tomino anyways.

[Vekk · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a long-time fan of Gundam, and Universal Century in particular, I've watched the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime many, many times. This is a fantastic manga adaptation of the show with phenomenal art, and while many people take issue with some of the changes made to the story and characters, I find this to be a great way to revisit the story of the White Base crew during the One Year War. It's worth noting that a number of characters are indeed altered and even Flanderized at times, but when treated as a retelling instead of a remake I feel there is much joy to be found in these pages.

The only complaint I have is with the physical form of the Deluxe release itself, as the covers are vastly inferior to the original single-volume hardcovers and I personally found it straining to read more than a chapter at a time due to the size and weight. If ease of reading and visual presence on a shelf is a priority to you I'd recommend hunting down the original releases, but the larger pages of the Deluxe gives the artwork even more room to breathe and the water-colored sections are some of the nicest scenery I've seen in a manga.

[GooseGuy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is awesome. Whenever I thought about Gundam, I thought of a story on par with Power Ranger or Voltron. The type of story to hook kids to buy their toys. Yet, this book was farrr from my expectations. After the first chapter, there is almost an endless conflict of war. While the robot may be cool, the author constantly reminds us that they are weapons, and the people who are inside them risk their lives for the people they love. Amuro is a great character to introduce us with this war. His growth within this book gives off the same growth as a reader who wants the best for District 7. Char is a great and intimidating villain whose goals haven't been explained yet but actions show the kind of intelligence and deception he has. A punchy ending, beautiful art (that sometimes is not fully emphasized), and a story that kept me hooked once I began to have a grasp on what the book is all about.

[Jarred · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this more than I expected. Definitely a good experience for fans of Gundam. Action scenes can feel a little choppy, like watching it happen with a strobe light, as it doesn’t capture the “movement” well, but almost everything else is there that I’d want and expect from watching gundam: the heavy handed horror of war, civilians caught up in the violence, complex perspectives, gray areas where it’s not simply “good vs bad”. Recommend for gundam fans specifically. Not sure how well it hits for non gundam/mech fans.

[Communist Mimikyu · Rating 5 out of 5]

My preferred way of enjoying OG Gundam, cuts out alot of fluff to give a much more well paced story

[Straw Boy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The definitive way of experiencing the original story of Mobile Suit Gundam