Mobile Suit Gundam Ecole du Ciel Volume 1 [Paperback]

Haruhiko Mikimoto (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Mobile Suit Gundam | Publication Date: September 13, 2005

Ecole du Cielâ€"where aspiring pilots train to become Top Gundam! Year is 0085 of the Universal Century. Daughter of a brilliant professor, Asuna is a below-average student at Ecole du Ciel. But with the world spiraling toward war, Asuna is headed for a crash course in danger, battle, and most of all, love... Set in the original Gundam universe, renowned artist Haruhiko Mikimoto has created the perfect series for anyone who hasn't yet been introduced to the wonderful world of mobile suits!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This installment in the long-running Gundam manga/anime series tells more about the increasingly powerful humanoid armored machines (called mobile suits) that humans wear during a protracted interstellar conflict. The story focuses more on machinery than people, with a rudimentary, perfunctory plot involving a Canadian academy where young people learn to operate their mobile suits. In particular, 15-year-old Asuna Elmarit is an underachieving student who must learn to care more about her fighting skills than her budding body and lack of popularity. This installment of the story vaguely hints at the tension between the Federation and the Principality of Zeon that soon will erupt into war, and it also contains references to the "newtype" humans with psionic powers—including hints that Asuna has talents that she must be pressured into discovering. But the book really comes to life when the kids climb into their giant metal shells and start slugging and blasting one another. Mikimoto is famed for his design work here and on Macross, and his fractured pages full of scratchy energy show that his mighty robots are more interesting than the small, timid creatures who inhabit them. (Sept.)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 188 pages
• Publisher: TokyoPop; First Edition edition (September 13, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595328513
• ISBN-13: 978-1595328519
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,489,454 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Manga > By Series > Gundam

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BREATHTAKING ART HIGHLIGHTS THIS SERIES, June 30, 2006

By 

Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Mobile Suit Gundam Ecole du Ciel Volume 3 (V. 3) (Paperback)

Gundam Ecole du Ciel continues the story of Asuna Elmarit, a student in training at the Earth Federations Mobile Suit military academy. In this third volume we start with an attack on the Federation by three mobile suits who are laying waste to the Federations defenses. Meanwhile Asuna and some other classmates are out exploring when Asuna seems mesmerized and hears a voice calling out to her. Asuna soon learns she may not be so normal as she learns she's been genetically engineered and given special training. The mystery soon deepens when Asuna's mother Haruka Elmarit comes to the academy but wishes to speak to instructor Yahagi and not her own daughter. Is Asuna really a Newtype? And What are her abilities? Someone is determined to find out no matter what it takes.

If you like action-packed Gundam manga then this is the book for you. The battle scenes in space are elaborate and remarkably choreographed. They are truly mesmerizing. While the story may bog down a bit in stretches, you at least get the feeling that a worthwhile payoff is coming down the road very soon and all the questions will be answered. The book is written and illustrated by Haruhiko Mikimoto and is just gorgeous. One of the best illustrated Manga that I have seen in a long time. There is a depth of detail here that you don't always see in some Manga. The skilled Mikimoto even changes up his style in parts to present it with a more sketchy look in certain character close-ups. Just fantastic!

Reviewed by Tim Janson

4.0 out of 5 stars Good side story in the UC, January 13, 2009

By 

C-Note (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mobile Suit Gundam Ecole du Ciel Volume 1 (Paperback)

Mobile Suit Gundam: Ecole du Ciel takes place in the Universal Century after the One Year War. It follows the somewhat familer plot of an emerging newtype who is not very interested in becoming a pilot. Asuna is the daughter of a Zeon scientist who has been accused of war crimes, and has since gone underground; like many UC Gundam protaganists Asuna has parental issues. That being said, I really have been enjoying this manga, the art is great, the dialogue is a bit clunky, but the story is solid and it fits well into the Universal Century timeline. The story takes a while to get going, but when it takes off, it really takes off. If you have no idea what I mean by the One Year War, Zeon, or the Universal Century, this is not the best place to be introduced to the vast world of Mobile Suit Gundam. The story assumes you have seen the original Mobile Suit Gundam, so you may want to start there.