History Anime / MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory

* CasanovaWannabe - Bernard Monsha

* DrivenToSuicide - See BittersweetEnding.

** People are so disappointed to learn of GP02's existence that, at the end of the series, all of those involved with preventing Operation Stardust and the Colony Drop have their punishments revoked and all the data on the GP series is erased to keep it from being known that the Federation violated the Antarctic Treaty.

* RetCon - Used InUniverse. To get [[spoiler:Kou's prison sentence revoked]], Synapse erased all data of the Gundam Development Project and it's role in Operation Stardust.

* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish - If you didn't know in advance that it was by an english speaker, the first ending theme, ''"Magic"'', can count for this.
** The English version of "The Winner," "Back to Paradise," used in episode 1 and halfway through the series, is another example.

The series was released following the success of ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam0080WarInThePocket Gundam 0080]]'' OAV and the DTV movie ''{{Gundam F91}}''. One of the factors that really makes this series stand out is the [[TechnologyPorn exceptional mecha designs]], which has had a strong influence on how to make HumongousMecha with a militaristic aesthetic. Fan response to the series holds that it does a good job in bridging the gap as a midquel, but the behavior and actions of Gato and Nina were frustratingly underdeveloped.

* HoYay - Episode 6, where Kou and Kelly Layzner make up and work on the Mobile Armor together. [[SuspiciouslyAproposMusic The background music REALLY doesn't help...]] It's also possible to interpret that song as being about [[CargoShip the relationship between Kelly and his mech]], which, when you think about it is even more disturbing...

* TheJimmyHartVersion - Many people find that the first opening theme, "The Winner", reminds them of "Danger Zone" from Top Gun.

** Gato was practically the embodiment of this trope, as his whole character revolved around trumpeting the "glory of Zeon". When he wasn't bashing Kou around, he was either lamenting his side losing the war or telling the "Just Cause of Zeon and Spacenoid Independence" on the mountain. Delaz was more grounded, though his speech on reigniting the "Zeon War for Independence" showed how much of a (blind) idealist he was, as if abandoning A Bao A Qu in the wake of Gihren's death didn't make it obvious. See FridgeLogic above.

* FridgeLogic - Unit 02's vulnerable spot is its shield. Were the designers unclear on what shields are ''for?''
** GP-02A was designed first and foremost for nuclear strikes... in violation of the Antarctic Treaty (?). Active cooling on your heat shield is very sensible. It's debatable whether Gato pulled out because the damage to the shield was incapacitating the normal operation of his suit in any fashion or whether he wanted to preserve the suit's nuclear strike capability as fixing the shield would have been a tricky operation for ragtag Delaz Fleet. (Which was using improvised suits, like the MS-21C Dra-C that's as close as you can get to an Ugly in Gundam).
*** I think it's debatable whether there was a need for a nuclear warfare specialized mobile suit to begin with, as nuclear warheads were actually common MS weaponry toward the beginning of the OYW. They were standard among Zakus from the One Week War to the Battle of Loum, and the Zakus themselves could launch them from a great enough distance that they never suffered blowback. In fact, the indiscriminate use of nuclear weapons, alongside poison gas and Operation British, was the key factor behind half the human race dying out early in the war.
** Speaking about Fridge Logic, try this one for size. Among one of the biggest contradictions to be seen in UC Gundam, Delaz decries the Federation for creating the Physailis as a violation of the Antarctic Treaty. Apparently, he (or more likely the writers) forgot that the Zeeks had already violated the treaty (multiple times in fact) during the One Year War, starting with M'quive's last minute deployment of a ICBM at Odessa (which occurred in the very first series of all places!), alongside the battleship Graf Zeppelin carrying nuclear weapons to attack Side 6 with (in 0080). The latter had become public knowledge when her captain surrendered to the Feds toward the end of the war. Hell, the viability of the Antarctic Treaty post-OYW itself is in question, as the treaty was signed by the Federation with the Principality of Zeon, and would logically be null and voided when the war and the Principality ended. But then, the writing of 0083 was so biased towards Zeon that it's doubtful any of those points, much less the fact Zeon was already independent as the first Republic of Zeon (the Federation even cut off all Earthside supply lines to Side 3 as "acknowledgment") or that it had murdered far more Spacenoids than it "saved" (look up what happened to Sides 1, 2 and 4 during the early weeks of the war), would have mattered to anyone, much less Delaz or Gato.
*** I will grant that it is rather hypocritical for that character to say that, but I personally think it adds to the realism. I mean, how many treaties has the United States broken in its history (Manifest Destiny, anyone?)? That is just what happens in a war between a fervent minority fighting oppression through dubious means and a government attempting to defend its own people by means that are almost as questionable due to the prejudice present within their society towards people in the colonies. I don't think that any entry that I have seen in the UC canon is biased toward either side, including this one. I think both sides are consistently depicted rather evenhandedly, and that Delaz's comment was intended to be hypocritical, thereby adding to the show's realism.
**** @_@ [[SarcasmMode Thank you for making a pointless real life political statement in a page that has to do with giant robots and men with bad pony tails.]] Seriously, couldn't you have at least gone over to the Eagleland page? Also, I fail to understand your statement: Side 3 might have been oppressed at the beginning, but the fact is the Feds left when they demanded independence, which means whatever oppression they inflicted went away with them. Likewise, how were the Feds questionable in their defenses when said colonists were responsible for the worst form of genocide in history, as well as quite capable of reenacting it (how hard is it to move a colony into Earth's gravity well)? As bad as the Titans were, the reasons for their formation were logical in that regard (if they weren't, then the Londo Bell would never have been formed in their place). And finally, if the show were "realistic" as you claim, then logically there would have been commentary from characters shooting down Delaz's BS; instead, they just stood there mouths gaping, with Delaz (and Gato) getting away unchallenged. If that was meant to be displayed as hypocritical (and unbiased) as opposed to the Zeon version of the Rebel Yell, then the writers really dropped the ball on it (no surprise). Ditto on the ending, which depicted the clearly victorious (if Pyrrhic) Zeon forces making one last stand against the Federation, complete with Gato claiming future generations would be inspired by Operation Stardust to carry on Zeon's fight.
**** Also, for an additional detail, one must take note how some of the ''0083'' writing staff (and one of its Directors) would later go on to create ''MS IGLOO'', which as described in the RootingForTheEmpire section was essentially [[DracoInLeatherPants Zeon themed propaganda]] that obscured the Principality's BigBad elements (for example, the Battle of Loum was depicted ''without'' an exchange in nuclear weapons and its cause, the Zeeks' attempt at a second ColonyDrop, is never mentioned) while retaining the overly patriotic themes from ''Stardust Memory''. It also didn't help that the Zeon side of ''IGLOO'' took up ''two'' OVA series, while the Federation side not only held just one, but was built entirely around the WarIsHell theme as opposed to showing Federation troops fighting a "valiant" battle in the wake of Zeon's invasion. If that's not clear case of bias toward Zeon in a canon series, then I don't know what is.

**** @_@ Thank you for making a pointless real life political statement in a page that has to do with giant robots and men with bad pony tails. Seriously, couldn't you have at least gone over to the Eagleland page? Also, I fail to understand your statement: Side 3 might have been oppressed at the beginning, but the fact is the Feds left when they demanded independence, which means whatever oppression they inflicted went away with them. Likewise, how were the Feds questionable in their defenses when said colonists were responsible for the worst form of genocide in history, as well as quite capable of reenacting it (how hard is it to move a colony into Earth's gravity well)? As bad as the Titans were, the reasons for their formation were logical in that regard (if they weren't, then the Londo Bell would never have been formed in their place). And finally, if the show were "realistic" as you claim, then logically there would have been commentary from characters shooting down Delaz's BS; instead, they just stood there mouths gaping, with Delaz (and Gato) getting away unchallenged. If that was meant to be displayed as hypocritical (and unbiased) as opposed to the Zeon version of the Rebel Yell, then the writers really dropped the ball on it (no surprise). Ditto on the ending, which depicted the clearly victorious (if Pyrrhic) Zeon forces making one last stand against the Federation, complete with Gato claiming future generations would be inspired by Operation Stardust to carry on Zeon's fight.

**** Also, for an additional detail, one must also take note how some of the ''0083'' writing staff (and one of its Directors) would later go on to write ''MS IGLOO'', which as described in the RootingForTheEmpire section was essentially [[DracoInLeatherPants Zeon themed propaganda]] that obscured the Principality's BigBad elements (for example, the Battle of Loum was depicted ''without'' an exchange in nuclear weapons and its cause, the Zeeks' attempt at a second ColonyDrop, is never mentioned) while retaining the overly patriotic themes from ''Stardust Memory''. It also didn't help that the Zeon side of ''IGLOO'' took up ''two'' OVA series, while the Federation side not only held just one, but was built entirely around the WarIsHell theme as opposed to showing Federation troops fighting a "valiant" battle in the wake of Zeon's invasion. If that's not clear case of bias toward Zeon in a canon series, then I don't know what is.

**** Also, for an additional detail, one must also take note how some of the ''0083'' writing staff (and one of its Directors) would later go on to write ''MS IGLOO'', which as described in the RootingForTheEmpire section was essentially [[DracoInLeatherPants Zeon themed propaganda]] that obscured the Principality's BigBad elements (hell, the Battle of Loum was depicted ''without'' an exchange in nuclear weapons and its cause, the Zeeks attempt at a second ColonyDrop, is never mentioned) while retaining the overly patriotic themes from ''Stardust Memory''. It also didn't help that the Zeon side of ''IGLOO'' took up ''two'' OVA series, while the Federation side not only held just one, but was built entirely around the WarIsHell theme as opposed to showing Federation troops fighting a "valiant" battle in the wake of Zeon's invasion. If that's not clear bias toward the Zeeks in a canon series, then I don't know what is.

**** @_@ Thank you for making a pointless real life political statement in a page that has to do with giant robots and men with bad pony tails. Seriously, couldn't you have at least gone over to the Eagleland page? Also, I fail to understand your statement: Side 3 might have been oppressed at the beginning, but the fact is the Feds left when they demanded independence, which means whatever oppression they inflicted went away with them. Likewise, how were the Feds questionable in their defenses when said colonists were responsible for the worst form of genocide in history, as well as quite capable of reenacting it (how hard is it to move a colony into Earth's gravity well)? As bad as the Titans were, the reasons for their formation were logical in that regard (if they weren't, then the Londo Bell would never have been formed in their place). And finally, if the show were "realistic" as you claim, then logically there would have been commentary from characters shooting down Delaz's BS; instead, they just stood there mouths gaping, with Delaz (and Gato) getting away unchallenged. If that was meant to be displayed as hypocritical (and unbiased) as opposed to the Zeon version of the Rebel Yell, then the writers really dropped the ball on it (no surprise).

**** @_@ Thank you for making a pointless real life political statement in a page that has to do with giant robots and men with bad pony tails. Seriously, couldn't you have at least gone over to the Eagleland page? Also, I fail to understand your statement: Side 3 might have been oppressed at the beginning, but the fact is the Feds left when they demanded independence, which means whatever oppression they inflicted went away with them. Likewise, how were the Feds questionable in their defenses when said colonists were responsible for the worst form of genocide in history, as well as quite capable of reenacting it (how hard is it to move a colony into Earth's gravity well)? As bad as the Titans were, the reasons for their formation were logical in that regard (if they weren't, then the Londo Bell would never have been formed in their place). And finally, if the show were "realistic" as you claim, then logically there would have been commentary from characters shooting down Delaz's BS; instead, they just stood there mouths gaping, with Delaz (and Gato) getting away unchallenged. If that was meant to be displayed as hypocritical as opposed to the Zeon version of the Rebel Yell, then the writers really dropped the ball on it (no surprise).

*** I will grant that it is rather hypocritical for that character to say that, but I personally think it adds to the realism. I mean, how many treaties has the United States broken in its history (Manifest Destiny, anyone?)? That is just what happens in a war between a fervent minority fighting oppression through dubious means and a government attempting to defend its own people by means that are almost as questionable due to the prejudice present within their society towards people in the colonies. I don't think that any entry that I have seen in the UC canon is biased toward either side, including this one. I think both sides are consistently depicted rather evenhandedly, and that Delaz's comment was intended to be hypocritical, thereby adding to the show's realism.

''Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory'' is a 13-episode {{OAV}} series that serves as a partial bridge between events that happened between the original ''MobileSuitGundam'' and ''MobileSuitZetaGundam''.

* AllThereInTheManual - Putting aside requiring knowledge of the original MobileSuitGundam to know the backstory, audio dramas expand on why Cima holds such a big grudge against her Zeon superiors, as well as the origin of her SuperPrototype Gebera Tetra as a potential fourth unit in Anaheim's Gundam Development Project that was scrapped by the Feddies and passed along to Zeon -- Oh, and it was test-piloted by [[IconicCharacters Char Aznable]], hence its red/pink coloring when actually seen in the series.

*** This is true as far as it goes, but fails to capture the true ridiculousness of the situation. The reason he thought the Gundam had been blown up? An insane Feddie pilot had customized his [[JokeCharacter RB-79 Ball]] with a Gundam face and when the Zeeks caught sight of it they thought the Gundam had been decapitated. The upshot of all this is that when they finally noticed the actual size of the thing it caused a panic among the Zeon ranks, thinking that the Federation had developed a gigantic 40 meter Gundam, which eventually inspired them to actually go ahead and make one with ''ZetaGundam'''s Psyco Gundam.

* CallForward - The series epilogue show that the events led more or less to the rise of the Titans from [[MobileSuitZetaGundam Zeta]]

* EarlyBirdCameo - We get a foretaste of the bastardry Jamitov Hymem, Jamaican Daninghan, and Bask Ohm would commit in ZetaGundam with their appearances here. Haman Karn also has a "blink or you'll miss it"-cameo.

* EvilPlan- It's heavily implied that those in TheFederation who would become the Titans engineered (or magnified) parts of the crisis to justify forming themselves as an official body at the end of the show, and the show implies that the Federation government is already starting the decay in influence that allowed the Titans to take over in ZetaGundam. By the end, however, it's blatantly obvious, as [[spoiler: Jamitov had Admiral Cowen, the ReasonableAuthorityFigure silenced, Jamacian makes it quite obvious the civilian leadership is held in blatant contempt by himself and the EFSF who support the dominance of the military, and Bask blatantly informs Synaspe Cima Garahau was working with TheFederation to purposely screw over the Delaz Fleet (and by extension the good guys)]]

The Federation responds by sending a team to capture or destroy the GP-02, and Kou finds himself assigned to pilot the GP-01 to the task to both recover GP-02 and to go through general testing that was meant for the two Gundams with the designer Nina Purpleton. Thus begins "Operation Stardust", a [[XanatosGambit plan]] by the Zeon reminants to demonstrate the Earth Federation's impotence and inspire new rebellion against them. Naturally, things are not as simple as they seem at first glance.

* XanatosGambit - It's heavily implied that those in TheFederation who would become the Titans engineered (or magnified) parts of the crisis to justify forming themselves as an official body at the end of the show, and the show implies that the Federation government is already starting the decay in influence that allowed the Titans to take over in ZetaGundam. By the end, however, it's blatantly obvious, as [[spoiler: Jamitov had Admiral Cowen, the ReasonableAuthorityFigure silenced, Jamacian makes it quite obvious the civilian leadership is held in blatant contempt by himself and the EFSF who support the dominance of the military, and Bask blatantly informs Synaspe Cima Garahau was working with TheFederation to purposely screw over the Delaz Fleet (and by extension the good guys)]]

*** I think it's debatable whether there was a need for a nuclear warfare mobile suit to begin with, as nuclear warheads were actually common MS weaponry toward the beginning of the OYW. They were standard among Zakus from the One Week War to the Battle of Loum, and the Zakus themselves could launch them from a great enough distance that they never suffered backlash. In fact, the indiscriminate use of nuclear weapons, alongside poison gas and Operation British, was the key factor behind half the human race dying out early in the war.

* WorthyOpponent: Gato and Kou have a lot of respect for one another. Kou is briefly mentored by a Zeon Commando.

*** This is true as far as it goes, but fails to capture the true ridiculousness of the situation. The reason he thought the Gundam had been blown up? An insane Feddie pilot had customized his [[JokeCharacter RB-79 Ball]] with a Gundam face and when the Zeeks caught sight of it they thought the Gundam had been decapitated. The upshot of all this is that when they finally noticed the actual size of the thing it caused a panic among the Zeon ranks, thinking that the Federation had developed a gigantic 40 meter Gundam, which eventually inspired them to actually go ahead and make one with ''ZetaGundam'''s Psycho Gundam.

** Speaking about Fridge Logic, try this one for size. Among one of the biggest contradictions to be seen in UC Gundam, Delaz decries the Federation for creating the Physailis as a violation of the Antarctic Treaty. Apparently, he (or more likely the writers) forgot that the Zeeks had already violated the treaty (multiple times in fact) during the One Year War, starting with M'quive's last minute deployment of a ICBM at Odessa (which occurred in the very first series of all places!), alongside the battleship Graf Zeppelin carrying nuclear weapons to attack Side 6 with (in 0080). The latter had become public knowledge when her captain surrendered to the Feds toward the end of the war. Hell, the viability of the Antarctic Treaty post-OYW itself is in question, as the treaty was signed by the Federation with the Principality of Zeon, and would logically be null and voided when the war and the Principality ended. But then, the writing of 0083 was so biased towards Zeon that it's doubtful any of those points, much less the fact Zeon was already independent as the first Republic of Zeon (the Federation even cut off all Earthside supply lines to Side 3 as "acknowledgment") or that it was responsible for killing more of the Spacenoids it was supposed to save than the "murderous and tyrannical" Feddies, would have mattered to anyone, much less Delaz or Gato.

** Speaking about Fridge Logic, try this one for size. Among one of the biggest contradictions to be seen in UC Gundam, Delaz decries the Federation for creating the Physailis as a violation of the Antarctic Treaty. Apparently, he (or more likely the writers) forgot that the Zeeks had already violated the treaty (multiple times in fact) during the One Year War, starting with M'quive's last minute deployment of a ICBM at Odessa (which occurred in the very first series of all places!), alongside the battleship Graf Zeppelin carrying nuclear weapons to attack Side 6 with (in 0080). The latter had become public knowledge when her captain surrendered to the Feds toward the end of the war. Hell, the viability of the Antarctic Treaty post-OYW itself is in question, as the treaty was signed by the Federation with the Principality of Zeon, and would logically be null and voided when the war and the Principality ended. But then, the writing of 0083 was so biased towards Zeon that it's doubtful any of those points, much less the fact Zeon was already independent as the first Republic of Zeon (to the point that the Federation cut off all Earthside supply lines to Side 3 as "acknowledgment") or that it was responsible for killing more of the Spacenoids it was supposed to save than the "murderous and tyrannical" Feddies, would have mattered to anyone, much less Delaz or Gato.

** Speaking about Fridge Logic, try this one for size. Among one of the biggest contradictions to be seen in UC Gundam, Delaz decries the Federation for creating the Physailis as a violation of the Antarctic Treaty. Apparently, he (or more likely the writers) forgot that the Zeeks had already violated the treaty (multiple times in fact) during the One Year War, starting with M'quive's last minute deployment of a ICBM at Odessa (which occurred in the very first series of all places!), alongside the battleship Graf Zeppelin carrying nuclear weapons to attack Side 6 with (in 0080). The latter had become public knowledge when her captain surrendered to the Feds toward the end of the war. Hell, the viability of the Antarctic Treaty post-OYW itself is in question, as the treaty was signed by the Federation with the Principality of Zeon, and would logically be null and voided when the war and the Principality ended. But then, the writing of 0083 was so biased towards Zeon that it's doubtful any of those points, much less the fact Zeon was already independent by the time the OYW rolled around or that it was responsible for killing more of the Spacenoids it was supposed to save than even the Titans after them, would have mattered to anyone, much less Delaz or Gato.

** GP-02A was designed first and foremost for nuclear strikes... in violation of the Antarctic Treaty. Active cooling on your heat shield is very sensible. It's debatable whether Gato pulled out because the damage to the shield was incapacitating the normal operation of his suit in any fashion or whether he wanted to preserve the suit's nuclear strike capability as fixing the shield would have been a tricky operation for ragtag Delaz Fleet. (Which was using improvised suits, like the MS-21C Dra-C that's as close as you can get to an Ugly in Gundam).

''Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory'' is a 13-episode {{OAV}} series that serves as a partial bridge between it events that happened between the original ''MobileSuitGundam'' and ''MobileSuitZetaGundam''. Specifically, it deals with the origins of the Titans, a group of the Earth Federation Forces who are the primary antagonists of ''Zeta''.

The series was released following the success of ''{{Gundam 0080}}'' OAV and the DTV movie ''{{Gundam F91}}''. One of the factors that really makes this series stand out is the [[TechnologyPorn exceptional mecha designs]], which has had a strong influence on how to make HumongousMecha with a militaristic aesthetic. Fan response to the series holds that it does a good job in bridging the gap as a midquel, but the behavior and actions of Gato and Nina were frustratingly underdeveloped.