Kidou Senshi Z Gundam Define

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Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin and Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam are both wonderful works of art, among the best that anime and manga have to offer. It should follow that Zeta Gundam Define, which is apparently a combination of the two in that it's a manga retelling of Zeta Gundam with extra context, should also be excellent. Unfortunately, Zeta Gundam Define is more like a combination of Zeta Gundam and a generic shounen battle manga, as it strips Zeta of much of its good writing.

Because Zeta is a TV show, each episode is based around a sortie that gets resolved within the episode. Though many ... audiences would be quick to write this structure off as "filler" or "formulaic", the sorties provide opportunities for characterization and fleshing out the story of the conflict. In this manga, the sortie structure is abandoned for long, drawn-out battles that greatly expand certain sorties (such as the Jaburo trap) to the detriment of other VERY important ones, such as the Colony 30 sortie, several sorties based around preventing the Titans from gassing colonies, and even the Titans' colony drop! These omissions greatly downplay the Titans' cruelty and how they are repeating Zeon's worst mistakes. The colony drop is an act of Zeon, and the use of gas evokes certain real-world atrocities to which Zeon's acts were compared in 0079. The sorties also help develop the characters as they are challenges the characters must overcome, something that big monumental battles cannot do. This means that the manga never develops the characters with the same meaning and depth the anime does. Kamille becomes a generic shonen protagonist with attitude rather than the kind, well-meaning boy being abused and misunderstood during the war. This also means Fa's kindness isn't shown as effectively and that the crew of Argama isn't portrayed as a "found family" (even with the less-significant characters) like in the anime. Other well-written Zeta moments, such as the reveal of Quattro's true identity and Amuro's first meeting with Quattro, are completely upended in the manga for something that fails to live up to the original. These two anime moments in particular are good examples of "show, don't tell" -- a principle the manga completely ignores. For instance, it chooses to spend time in shadowy rooms deliberating rather than out on the battlefield, giving the characters the opportunity to react to events and develop naturally. It also explains why each character joined the Argama, which also makes the manga feel like a shonen battle manga (e.g. One Piece) assembling its characters. The manga also heavily downplays the Newtype aspects of Zeta. Though controversial, the characters' emphasis on Newtypes in Zeta reflects the attitudes of this time in the Universal Century and provides rationale for certain characters' behaviour. Removing this emphasis on Newtypes means that the story is removed of its important message that understanding Newtypes cannot be counted on as a path to peace.

Despite its many removals, the manga makes quite a few original additions to the story. Some of these, such as Frau's first appearance and the discussions with Sayla, work well. However, many of them fall flat. The latter point is most apparent in its original characters, who are barely characterized and are generally a waste of space. It's also really obvious who the original characters are based on art style alone. Yasuhiko's character designs are beautiful and realistic; the designs of the new characters are stereotypical moe designs, which are distracting and unwelcome in a manga like this. It gives the story a childish, unserious atmosphere. The design issues are also apparent with the unrealistic, "animefied" clothing many of the new characters wear. In general, the art of this manga is very generic and unimpressive, save for a few mechanical details.

Ultimately, Z Gundam Define does nothing but alter a classic for the worse. Though it has a few good moments and some things that may appeal to certain audiences, its changes and writing style fail to live up to the original anime.