Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin VI - Rise of the Red Comet

Directed by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, this is the sixth and final part of The Origin. Yasuhiko was the character designer on the original Gundam series, and in this run he adapted his own manga to tell what came before Char Aznable. This entry centres on the battle at Loum in U.C. 0079. The significance of the battle is technical: heavily outnumbered, the Zeon forces deploy a unit of humanoid war machines and reverse the balance. What Char achieves in that engagement earns him the name Red Comet. The series arrives here at the starting point of the story that follows. The animation works at a large scale, and the space combat sequences are among the best in the run. But this is not an entry point; the people, the political blocs and the family ties were all established across the previous five parts. Who it's for: viewers following the Gundam universe who want Char's origin. Who it's not for: newcomers to the series; the film assumes the earlier parts from beginning to end.