Side Story of Gundam Zeta (review)

On December 31, UC 0079, the One Year War between the Principality of Zeon and the Earth Federation comes to a close at the Battle of A Baoa Qu. Inside the space fortress, Gundam pilot Amuro Ray uses a fencing saber to defend himself from Zeon ace pilot Char Aznable. Amuro thinks that the true enemy is Zeon’s ruling Zabi family, but Char disagrees. His sister, Sayla Mass, pleads with them not to fight, and Amuro stabs Char through the helmet and wounds his forehead. Amuro says that Lalah Sune told him that Newtypes aren’t meant to be tools for killing each other, and Char counters that Lalah was doomed to die. Sayla begs them again to stop, and an explosion forcibly separates Amuro and Char. Sayla tells Char he has no reason to hate Amuro, and when Char responds that he killed Lalah, Sayla counters that they’re both responsible. Char states that he can’t leave Amuro running wild, and another explosion separates them. Amuro escapes and tends to a saber wound, while Char switches out helmets and grabs a bazooka. Char says goodbye to Sayla and then proceeds to blast Kycilia Zabi with the bazooka as she attempts to flee on a Zanzibar cruiser. As explosions rock the fortress, Amuro finds himself back at the spot where he abandoned the damaged Gundam. He ejects the Gundam’s torso and uses the Core Fighter to escape from the space fortress. In space, two Zaku pilots find the Gundam’s torso and bring it back to the Gwazine cruiser that Char escaped to.

The war officially ends on January 1, UC 0080, but discontent is wide in the post-war world. Violent riots across the world leads the Earth Federation to establish the Titans, a secret police force tasked with hunting down Zeon remnants. Seven years later, Hi-Zacks from the Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG) engage in combat against the Titans’ Hyaku-Shiki, Gundam Mk-IIs and GM IIs outside a space colony. The Hyaku-Shiki follows the AEUG forces inside the colony and fights in a ruined city area. A Hi-Zack pilot abandons his damaged suit and is stopped at gunpoint by Char, now using the alias Quattro Bajeena. After the battle, Quattro meets with Bask Om, who complains that Quattro has been commanding the Titans for a year and has produced paltry results in intelligence gathering. He says that Zeon remnants have coalesced into the AEUG and that their secret base’s location eludes them. He wonders if Quattro still has any misplaced loyalty toward Zeon, but Quattro insists that’s not the case. Bask mentions that former crew of the White Base have joined the AEUG, so he considers them to be traitors. Bask is also concerned that support for the AEUG is increasing among the civilian populace, so he wants Quattro to crush them immediately. He reminds Quattro that if he values Sayla’s safety he’ll act quickly against the AEUG. Quattro leaves and walks in on the interrogation of the captured AEUG prisoner, Jim Thomas. Quattro grabs Thomas and starts slapping him around. Thomas recognizes Quattro as Char and calls him a Titans lapdog. He then bites through his tongue to prevent any further interrogation and dies. Titans soldiers drag his body away, and Jerid Messa, addressing Quattro as Char, thinks this is too harsh. Quattro ignores the comment and tells Jerid not to address him as Char.

Char drives away from the Titans base and thinks about Bask’s comment on the White Base crew. In space, an AEUG ship enters satellite orbit of Earth and pilot Kamille Bidan prepares to launch in his Asshimar. A Marasai pilot tells Kamille that they’ll act as decoys and reminds him to meet at the rendezvous point after completing the mission. On Earth, Amuro looks out at a vast plain and sees a small airplane land nearby. Quattro disembarks from the plane and walks over to Amuro, who comments that he rarely gets visitors. Amuro says this great wilderness is his jailer and says that the world has moved on without them. Quattro responds that the war’s scars are fading quickly, but Amuro notes that some people will carry internal wounds for life. Amuro then says they should head inside because it’s getting chilly. The AEUG mobile suits launch and deploy their ballutes for atmospheric reentry. Amuro pours bourbon for them and asks Quattro what he came out here for. Amuro asks why the Titans are so spooked and pumping out Minovsky particles to keep the colonies isolated, and Quattro answers that it’s the Gundam. Quattro says that the Titans are jumping at the Gundam’s shadow and explains that in UC 0080, a Zeon ship picked up the Gundam’s ejected torso. They examined the computer and found a gold mine of data that is now in the AEUG’s hands. He adds that Zeon was also researching Newtypes, and those two things coming together scares the Titans. That’s why Amuro is in the middle of nowhere and Quattro is kept on a short leash. Elsewhere, Bask wakes up after having flashbacks to being tortured by the Zeon during the war. He calls to ask for a status report and is informed that a supply base is under attack by a small AEUG force.

A Titans ship picks up the orbiting AEUG vessel, and Kamille is ordered to ignore them and descend to Earth. The AEUG transport ship is damaged as Kamille launches in his Asshimar. On Earth, the AEUG forces engage in combat against the Titans. Bask demands to know where Quattro is and yells at Jerid for not keeping an eye on him. Bask is informed that one of their orbital patrols has taken out an AEUG ship, but it launched three mobile suits during the battle. Based on the ship’s coordinates, Bask realizes that they’re after Amuro and that the other attack is a decoy. Bask issues deployment orders to all bases near Amuro’s home in Cheyenne, North America. Quattro tells Amuro that he’s heard rumors that the AEUG has a “Project Zeta” to build their own Gundam, and that several former White Base crew have joined the organization. Amuro asks Quattro why he’s a lapdog for the Titans, and Quattro answers that when a man’s dreams crash and burn, all that’s left is to tumble down a slippery slope. Amuro wonders what Sayla would say if she could see Quattro now, and he angrily counters that Amuro has no business saying her name. Quattro decides to leave, and Amuro has a realization and asks if Sayla is also being held prisoner like him. Quattro takes off in his plane and spots AEUG suits nearby ejecting their ballutes. Hi-Zack pilot Clamp reminds Kamille to keep his eyes on the altimeter so he doesn’t crash into the ground at Mach speed. Clamp and Kamille barely avoid hitting Quattro’s plane, and Quattro realizes they must be after Amuro. Quattro flies around Clamp’s Hi-Zack and realizes he’d better get to a base and switch to a mobile suit. The AEUG team lands on the ground and heads to the mansion where Amuro is being held under house arrest. Men scramble around the mansion and a Titans officer named Kurtz tells Amuro he’s being confined to his room for now. The AEUG team attacks the mansion’s meager defenses, which includes several junior mobile suits. Kamille announces himself to Amuro and states that they’ve come to break him out. Kamille feels a strange sensation, followed by a soldier opening fire on him with a machine gun. An explosion blasts a hole in the wall of the room Amuro is in, and he uses the confusion to knock out his guard and escape. Kamille spots Amuro, and Quattro approaches Jerid’s incoming Sudori airship.

Quattro calls Jerid, who demands to know where he’s been all this time because Bask is mad. Quattro informs Jerid that the AEUG is after Amuro, but Jerid answers that they’re already aware of that. The Sudori opens its hatch to allow Quattro to land his plane. He then launches in a Gundam Mk-III on a sub-flight lifter and is joined by several suits as reinforcement. On the ground, AEUG forces engage in battle against GM IIs but then come under fire above from Sturm Jaegers. Quattro lands near the mansion and sees that Amuro is already gone. He calls the Sudori and orders them to get recon units scrambled immediately. Elsewhere, Kamille apologizes to Amuro over the cockpit being cramped. He smells booze on Amuro, who asks where they’re going. Kamille introduces himself and explains that the AEUG has a shuttle prepped at Hickory to take Amuro back to space. Amuro asks what happens after that, but Kamille answers that he doesn’t know, but they need his help to take down the Titans. Amuro appreciates the sentiment but says his fighting days are behind him. Kamille asks if it’s because the AEUG is made up of former Zeon, but Amuro responds that both sides are the same to him. That angers Kamille, and Amuro asks how someone as young as him got mixed up in all this. Kamille explains that his parents were killed by the Titans in an anti-Zeon witch hunt, which is why he joined the AEUG. He also says he has no love for Zeon turncoats who are now Titans lap dogs, and he adds that Char is a traitor to what Zeon stood for. Bask is informed that all the enemy suits attacking the supply base have been destroyed, and also that Quattro is on the line. Bask is informed that Amuro escaped with the AEUG, so he sees this as a perfect excuse to get rid of him. A recon Sturm Jaeger picks up Kamille’s Asshimar and the two suits riding on it and reports back to the Sudori. Quattro then launches in the Gundam Mk-III, followed by Legassim.

The Hi-Zacks disengage from the Asshimar as they approach Hickory. Kamille deploys his landing gear and is guided to a landing zone. A man named Granton greets Amuro as he disembarks from the Asshimar. The other pilots compliment Kamille for a job well done, and Kamille mentions the fact that Greg’s team is still MIA. He’s told they still have to launch the shuttle because getting Amuro into space is the top priority. Kamille asks about the men they’re leaving behind and is told they have seven minutes to show up if they want to get back into space. Clamp tells Kamille to drop it because they’re in the military and have to follow orders. Granton walks over to a communications truck and has a coded message sent to Granada about Amuro. On the lunar surface, the AEUG’s new Z Gustav undergoes performance tests in its Waverider mode. After the test is successfully completed, the Z Gustav returns to base.