“Mankind possesses a god.
The inner god called Possibility.”
- Cardeas Vist
Already a stark contrast line from the thematic “Mankind’s souls are bound by gravity” used throughout the Universal Century prior to this. Mobile Suit Gundam UC (Unicorn) is the latest Gundam animated series entered into the Universal Century calender, placed in the untold era between the end of Char’s Counterattack and Gundam F91.
Just warning you now that this WILL be spoiler heavy, so please continue at your own risk.
For the last 35 years, the term “Universal Century” was synonymous with endless war and bloodshed, something that just seems expected after the One-Year War and all conflicts that had sparked from the embers of that war. However, Unicorn paints this picture as the result and not the cause, as previously thought for years, thanks to an untold incident that happened almost 100 years before - A terrorist attack on the Earth Federation’s Prime Minister’s satellite residence, Laplace, at the dawn of the Universal Century...
Laplace’s Box. A secret object said to be able to topple the Earth Federation or even destroy the world if used by the wrong men for the worst intentions. It’s an interesting plot device for a Gundam series, and very different from anything used before. What this item truly means to either side of the conflict, or the world itself, is revealed by the end of the series. And while, if you’ve seen Gundam F91 or V Gundam, you might be thinking why this is important at all. I will get into that toward the end of this.
This retrospective will follow 3 parts, the characters, the myths, and the themes.