Manga Mobile Suite Gundam: Ecole du Ciel

[Stark]

This Gundam series is...refreshing, to say the least. I've been a Gundam fan for several years now, and I just picked up the first volume of this manga yesterday because I know I can never go wrong with anything Gundam. But this manga surprised me. For one thiing, I have never seen a female main protagonist in any Gundam series. For a while, I actually thought it was impossible.

She exists, and her name is Asuna Elmarit.

It's a breath of fresh air for me, because Asuna seems to be your typical fifteen year old school girl. She's cute, and not the brightest crayon in the box. This is the first time I've seen a character such as her be the lead in a Gundam series, so that's the main reason why I picked it up.

Looking into the book itself, the artistry is the best I've seen in any Gundam series as well, including Gundam Seed. The artist is the same person who drew Macross, so if that doesn't give you a clue of how it looks then I don't know what will.

The story takes place in the year UC0085, post the One Year War. There's a lot of talk concerning Newtypes, and I have my suspicions about a few of the characters already. Beyond that, since I've yet to see any of the previous characters , I'd say that it's a pretty good series for a person who is new to the Gundam idea to read. Or anyone, for that matter.

What do you think of it, if you've read Ecole du Ciel? Even if you haven't read it, would you? I'm just curious to see what everyone has to say.

[Chikara Kokoro]

I actually haven't read any of the Gundam manga, at all. On top of that, I've only watched small snippets of the various anime series, but based on your description of it I'm honestly intrigued. Especially with the lead role, hopefully she isn't as much of a ditzy high school girl as what you wrote leads me to believe. How many volumes are out right now? If it's just starting I might be more interested in buying it (my mind works in strange ways ^^; )

[Stark]

lol. Nothing wrong with that! Anyway, there is only one volume out that I know of, out of a total of six. It's licensed by Tokyopop too, so it's at the standard $9.99 price. As for Asuna...well. I'll just say that she's cute like a ditsy school girl, but she has a heck of a lot more skill. I do hope that you enjoy it.

[Starwind]

I just read it and I'm very impressed with it so far. The artwork kind of makes me think of ink painting the the way it's done. It's also alot like water painting. The lead, Asuna, is an interesting girl and an interesting chose for lead in a gundam series manga. I think any fans of the gundam series should pick this one up, I don't think you'll be dissapointed.