History Manga / MobileSuitGundamSEEDAstray

The newest entry is ''VS Astray'', centering on a new antagonistic faction called Librarian that makes use of "Carbon Humans", pseudo-clones made by injecting people with genetic material from others, and having them pilot copies of past mobile suits. Because the series received a huge marketing blitz mostly centered around [[PaletteSwap recolored and only barely changed versions of existing model kits]], fans are decrying this one as MerchandiseDriven (even moreso than the norm for Gundam) drivel.

* {{Expy}} (As soon as Lily Thevalley was revealed in ''VS Astray'', fans started declaring her an Expy of [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ Elpe Puru]]. [[spoiler:Turns out they were spot-on, since there are a double handful of Lily clones running around, and one ends up being taken in by the Junk Guild, just as Puru was by Judau and the Shangrila kids.]]
* FragileSpeedster (Astray Gundams use a foam metal composite for armor material which is nowhere as durable as SEED PS armor but much lighter.)
* GadgeteerGenius (Lowe)
* HomemadeInventions (quite a few)
* HumansAreBastards (Kaite Madigan was abandoned by his parents because his genetic modifications didn't come out as they intended. What's his "defect", you ask? His hair is two-toned (blond and black). There's an entire mercenary organization, Circus, dedicated to taking in such abandoned Coordinators.)
* IllGirl (Prayer, a rare male example. [[spoiler: Speculated to be another Al Da Flaga clone or even a, however unlikely, ''Mu La Flaga'' clone]])
* ItWasAGift (Elijah Kiel hangs onto his custom GINN long past the point of obsolescence because it uses parts from his dead friend Goud Veir's custom GINN, given to Elijah just before [[MercyKill he had to be put down]]. This also serves to explain its unusual half-blue-and-red paint job. Eventually Kaite Maddigan destroys the GINN in a LetsYouAndHimFight situation and gives Elijah a custom ZAKU as an apology.)
* JerkAss (Agnes Brahe from ''DELTA Astray'': very HotBlooded, looks down on Earthlings and has little tolerance for those who don't share his points of view)
* KatanasAreJustBetter (Arguably [[JustifiedTrope justified]]; the Gerbera Straight has no power requirements, which is especially important since a vast majority of Cosmic Era MS use batteries rather than fusion reactors.)

* KnifeNut (Gai's preferred melee weapon is the Armor Schneider combat knife first introduced on the Strike Gundam; he eventually installs such blades in Blue Frame's legs and feet. Canard's Hyperion uses beam knives as its melee weapon, and has a grand total of five so it can [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks throw them if need be]].
* KnowledgeBroker (Kenaf Luchini)

* MechaExpansionPack (Quite a few, including one that's basically a HumongousMecha in and of itself, which is ''piloted by the smaller mecha''.)

* PsychoForHire (Ash Gray)
* RedOniBlueOni: Lowe (Red Frame) and Gai (Blue Frame)
* PaletteSwap (''Frame Astrays'' and ''VS Astray'' got flak for discontinuing the ''Astray'' tradition of awesome new mobile suits in favor of taking stuff from the ''SEED'' anime and slapping on a new color scheme (and, in the case of ''VS'', giving it Striker Pack capability).)

* PrivateMilitaryContractors (Serpent Tail, and later [[spoiler:Canard's Mercenary Unit X]])
* PsychicPowers (People said in-series to have heightened spacial awareness actually have these. While the ''SEED'' anime keeps this it somewhat ambiguous, by the end of ''X Astray'' it's obvious that Prayer Reverie and those like him are Newtypes by another name.
* PunnyName (Lowe Gear)
** SpellMyNameWithAnS (The official romanization is "Lowe Guele", which sadly destroys the pun.)
* ShoutOut (The Martian Guardshell mobile suits can transform into a [[Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds tripod form]].)

* VideoGame/SuperRobotWars (So far has only appeared in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsW''. Interestingly, there are two other playable characters named Gai in it: [[Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico Daigoji]] and [[Anime/GaoGaiGar Shishioh]].)
* SuperSpeed (Astray Mirage Frame 2nd Issue is extremely fast in brute mode, even coordinator's super human reflex can't keep up with it and the pilot need special modification)

* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks (Hyperion's Beam Knife/Bayonets. It's actually given five of them specifically so this can be a viable tactic. Lowe does it with the 150-meter Gerbera Straight.)

* TheUnfavorite: (Canard Pars is a product of the same Ultimate Coordinator project as Kira Yamato, but is considered a "failed specimen". His primary motivation in ''X Astray'' is getting an MS powerful enough to challenge the Freedom, then defeating Kira to prove that he's the superior one. Eventually Canard gets over it and mellows out.)

* ColourMotif: [[RedOniBlueOni Lowe is emotional and passionate; Gai is calm and logical]]. Guess what colors their respective Gundams are?

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic (The Testament Gundam is almost always equipped with the Divine Striker backpack. Thus, its proper name is "Divine Testament".)

* LighterAndSofter: At least the stories revolving on Lowe's team and compared to the [[MobileSuitGundamSEED main series]]. There are still the sad fatalities of war, but the major lowering of the kill rates and Lowe and his group's hijinks and eccentricities keeps their stories from brooding so much. Some of the mangas even have comic strips at the end of each issue focusing and exaggerating on these lighter aspects of the stories.

* LighterAndSofter: At least the stories revolving on Lowe's team and compared to the [[MobileSuitGundamSEED main series]]. There are still the sad fatalities of war, but Lowe and his group's hijinks and eccentricities keeps their stories far from brooding. The first manga series even has comic strips at the end of each issue focusing and exaggerating on these lighter aspects of the stories.

Both ''Astray'' and ''X Astray'' made it into ''SuperRobotWarsW'' alongside ''SEED''. In fact, Astray's storyline makes up the greater content of SEED material in the story.

* SuperRobotWars (So far has only appeared in SuperRobotWarsW. Interestingly, there are two other playable characters named Gai in it: [[MartianSuccessorNadesico Daigoji]] and [[GaoGaiGar Shishioh]].)

* JumpTheShark (a good number of fans cite ''DELTA'' as the jumping point, with ''Frame Astrays'' and (especially) ''Vs Astray'' not helping matters by seemingly centering on rehashed model kits and little plot.)

* ShoutOut (The Martian Guardshell mobile suits can transform into a [[WarOfTheWorlds tripod form]].)

* MetaMecha: In order to handle the 150-meter Gerbera Straight II, Lowe builds a Power Loader reminiscent of ''{{Alien}}'', which Red Frame itself docks with. [[spoiler:Regenerate Gundam one-shots the Power Loader, which leads Lowe to create the Powered Red.]]

* YouFailPhysicsForever: The Delta Astray uses rocket engines for standard maneuvering and the Voiture Lumiere solar sail system for rapid acceleration and extreme maneuverability. Solar sails can push a spacecraft to higher velocities than rockets...eventually. In terms of SuperMode style acceleration, however, they're the ''last'' thing you want to go to.
** Also, the Powered Red. It's supposed to be able to swing a 150 meter katana, far larger and denser than itself. It is said to be designed to have enough strength to do this, [[SpaceDoesNotWorkThatWay when the real problem is not strength but thrust]]. Trying to swing such a massive weapon in space would only result in the Powered Red swinging itself because it has nothing to push off of and its thrust capacity wasn't upgraded.

* TheArcher: Red Frame Kai's newly acquired Tactical Arms IIL has "Arrow Mode", where it changes into a longbow that fires laser beams.

** The ReHOME actually cameos in episode 47 of SEED, so it's safe to assume it's canon.

* TheSameButMore: Regenerate Gundam from ''Astray R'' is basically Athrun Zala's Aegis Gundam taken UpToEleven, almost twice as large and carrying a gigantic beam rifle and limb-mounted beam swords. ''SuperRobotWarsW'' took this a step further and gave it the same "Scylla" plasma-induction cannon as the Aegis[[hottip:*:which is technically unnecessary, since the beam rifle was powerful enough to {{OHKO}} the Power Loader]].

* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: [[RedOniBlueOni Lowe is emotional and passionate; Gai is calm and logical]]. Guess what colors their respective Gundams are?

* SuperRobotWars (So far has only appeared in SuperRobotWarsW.)

* CanonImmigrant: Zig zaging. During the high of Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED, it's hinted that Sunrise may consider Astray an official work, for the anime staff did get involved in its production. They eventually drop that, and thus Astray remain as ExpandedUniverse like any manga. However, there are two short Astray anime, and those parts are official.

* BrainUploading; [[spoiler: George Glenn]]

Both ''Astray'' and ''X Astray'' made it into ''SuperRobotWarsW'' alongside ''SEED''. In fact, Astray's storyline makes up the greater content of SEED material in the story.

* TokenEvilTeammate: Rondo Mina Sehaku in later stories, most notably Destiny Astray. She obviously hates Lowe and wants revenge for the death of her brother, but frequently works with him if only because of similar objectives. After X Astray, Canard Pars plays a similar, if toned-down, role.

* TheSameButMore: Regenerate Gundam from ''Astray R'' is basically Athrun Zala's Aegis Gundam taken UpToEleven, almost twice as large and carrying a gigantic beam rifle and limb-mounted beam swords. ''SuperRobotWars'' takes this even further by giving Regenerate the same Scylla beam cannon as Aegis.

* [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic What Do You Mean, It's Not Symbolic?]] (The Testament Gundam is almost always equipped with the Divine Striker backpack. Thus, its proper name is "Divine Testament".)

* JumpTheShark (Obviously [[YourMileageMayVary YMMV]], but a good number of fans cite ''DELTA'' as the jumping point, with ''Frame Astrays'' and (especially) ''Vs Astray'' not helping matters by seemingly centering on rehashed model kits and little plot.)

* {{Expy}} (As soon as Lily Thevalley was revealed in ''VS Astray'', fans started declaring her an Expy of [[GundamZZ Elpe Puru]]. [[spoiler:Turns out they were spot-on, since there are a double handful of Lily clones running around, and one ends up being taken in by the Junk Guild, just as Puru was by Judau and the Shangrila kids.]]