Mobile Suit Gundam: Ecole Du Ciel

People who aren’t up to the often hard-boiled dead serious approach of Gundam 00 may want to try this more light hearted Manga.  Basically it’s about a military school in Canada (Hooray!) where the Earth Federation is preparing new recruits…

Taking place between Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory and Zeta Gundam in and the year U.C 0085, Mobile Suit Gundam: Ecole Du Ciel gives a number of fans what they have been waiting for for ohhhhhhhhhhhh………..FOREVER!  A Female Lead.  REALLY?! In Gundam?!  Well….yes.

Asuna Elmaritt: Not bad eh?  I assure people that she isn’t a trap either, that’s a genuine bonified female character as a Gundam Lead, and not just a lead, THE LEAD!  I know the Apocalypse must be near eh?

Is This Really Our Heroine?

Erisia Nocton: The Pink Comet?  Asuna’s Rival?  So Many Female Characters In A Gundam Series, So Many Questions?  flight suit and GM Trainer may not actually be pink…

Our main character is Asuna Elmaritt, quite possibly the worst student in the school.  According to the lead instructor she was the only cadet to fail basic training.  As of 2 volumes the series has taken a relatively light-hearted approach to things with Asuna’s good natured cheerfulness getting her absolutely nowhere in her time at the Ecole Du Ciel and her being the dunce of the class.  Sound familiar?  If I had to compare it to anything it would be Gunbuster as Asuna Elmaritt reminds me of the early Noriko Takaya, her friend Emilu (some say characters hint they are secretely lesbians, I hope to god not) of Noriko’s friend who’s name I can’t remember and her divisions hot shot ace, Erisia basically playing the role of a more vain Kazumi Amano.  Hell there’s even a manly coach like character in Instructor Yahagi who I swear just asks to be voiced by Norio Wakamoto if their is ever an OVA.

That’s Emilu Voigtlander In The Background, She’s Kind Of Useless, As Is This Concept Art.  I Guess Mikimoto Likes To Draw These Teaser Images For The Hell Of It To Bait In Readers.  Well Keep Smiling Girls, I Can Almost Guarantee Emilu Bites It Before This Series Is Up…

That’s the early series, as while the story remains far less tension filled then 00, it is slowly starting to get darker as the class visits a Zeon colony in outer space that turns out to be Asuna’s home.  I won’t spoil much, but the usual Gundam intrigue is starting to creep into the storyline as it get’s underway and the Titans come on the scene.  I don’t know though, I like Asuna for some strange reason, despite her early failure she is starting to show that their is a deeper character in there, and I have a strong feeling she’s going to be Gar later on.

So if people are in the mood for a series that sits comfortably between Gundam ZZ (As a measure of the most comical and slapstick a series can get) and Gundam 00 (as what has to be one of the most serious Gundam series out there) then check out Ecole Du Ciel.  It’s published by Kadokawa in Japan, Tokyopop in North America, Pika Edition in France and Editions Star Comics in Italy and is one of the longest running Gundam Manga to date surpassed only by the Crossbone Gundam collective series.