--
David Durica
Sci-Fi Overdrive: America's Premier Sci-Fi Talk Show!
http://www.scifioverdrive.com
I don't think there is a whole lot of information on the Net. My Gundam
Guide by Mark Simmons has a short little paragraph about Gaia Gear. Check
back tomorrow, I'll try to remember to bring it to work and retype the blurb
for you.
> All I've been able to find is that it was a side story by Tomino, and
> that its been ignored for the later UC future stuffs. So is there any
> plot info out there? I'm just trying to find more than "Gaia Grea is
> teh suck!1!"
>
Gaia Gear's rare enough that no one's ever managed to write up an actual
English synopsis of the plot beyond a bare outline: In UC 0203, an
oppressive arm of the Earth Federation known as Manhunter (aka Maha)
attempts to institute a "Earth reverse immigration plan" under which only
certain elites control the planet. 19-year-old Afranche Char, a "memory
clone" of Char Aznable, joins an anti-Earth Federation outfit known as
Metatron (alternately referred to as the "Zi Zeon" on many Japanese sites),
which favors improvement of life on space colonies and protection of the
Earth's environment.
Seems as though most people familiar with it say it's derivative of Zeta
Gundam. It was serialized in Newtype magazine from 1987-1991 and later
reprinted as 5 novels. It was made into a 5 CD radio drama several years
later, which is said to have a number of differences from the written
version.
It's long been out of print in Japan even though fans are clamoring for a
re-release. It seems that the reason for this is that Tomino himself
doesn't want Gaia Gear to be reprinted and would prefer that everyone
simply forgot about it. As a result, a complete set of the paperback novels
can go for up to 6,000 yen ($50) on Japanese auction websites and the even
rarer radio drama for at least 30,000 yen ($250).
> Seems as though most people familiar with it say it's derivative of
> Zeta Gundam. It was serialized in Newtype magazine from 1987-1991 and
> later reprinted as 5 novels. It was made into a 5 CD radio drama
> several years later, which is said to have a number of differences
> from the written version.
>
> It's long been out of print in Japan even though fans are clamoring
> for a re-release. It seems that the reason for this is that Tomino
> himself doesn't want Gaia Gear to be reprinted and would prefer that
> everyone simply forgot about it. As a result, a complete set of the
> paperback novels can go for up to 6,000 yen ($50) on Japanese auction
> websites and the even rarer radio drama for at least 30,000 yen
> ($250).
>
Man, too bad there aren't mp3s floating around of it. Hrm... I had gotten
this one old Newtype as it had a spread on Otaku no Video... I'll have to
check to see if there's an installment in it, as that might hit near the
end of the run.