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is a novel set in the Universal Century timeline of the Gundam universe, originally serialized in ''Model Graphix'' magazine between September 1987 and August 1988. ''Gundam Sentinel'' became a cult hit, due to its super-detailed mechanical designs and an intricate story by veteran writer Masaya Takahashi. Set between the final phase of ''Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam'' and the early stages of ''ZZ Gundam'' in UC 0088, the story shows the Earth Federation's efforts to stop an insurrection of elite Federation officers. ''Gundam Sentinel'' took on a much more realistic, technical style of thinking and look at the ''Gundam'' universe, where mobile suits were seen more as fighter jets or military weapons. They were larger, had weapons more powerful than their predecessors', the characters were older, and the plot was on a smaller scale than what is usually found in other ''Gundam'' series. It also marked the debut of Hajime Katoki, who would become one of the franchise's most prolific mechanical designers. ''Gundam Sentinel'' is one of the most well known ''Gundam'' side stories to have been published, and is noted by Gundam fans as being one of the most mature stories in the franchise. The series was never animated (although a short animated television commercial for a model kit was made) or released as a manga, but the mecha have been featured in various ''SD Gundam'' video games, such as ''SD Gundam G Generation F''. ==Production== ''Bandai'' originally proposed to Model Graphix the idea of having the first "non-visual" Gundam, that is, a series totally devoid of animation production and manga as its source material. Model Graphix liked the proposal, since there was a model release vacancy between ''Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ'' and the next animated Gundam series, and it would be perfect to release their first model kit for the series, the FA-010A FAZZ. However, after the first few meetings, and with only part of the story and a few of the mechanical designs in place, Bandai began to lose interest in the project due to the anticipated release of ''Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack'', and claiming that the simultaneous release of two ''Gundam'' stories would confuse fans. As a result, Bandai abandoned the project with Model Graphix, putting it on "pending" status. With only an alternate color version of the ''FAZZ'' model released, the fan community started to doubt the authenticity of ''Sentinel'' (due to the display of a sample model kit at the 1987 ''Japan Hobby Show''). Bandai did not take action to defend the issue. The then-editor of ''Newtype'' was displeased with this turn of events, and added ''Gundam Sentinel'' into its August 1987 issue, with a ''Gundam Saga II'' cover special. Six pages of a brief, detailed introduction to the story was inserted, with the words ''This is REAL!!'' added to confirm its authenticity. The six pages include detailed schematics of the titular machine, the MSA-0011 Superior Gundam, Hideaki Anno's artwork of a battle between a MSA-007 Nero and a RMS-141 Xeku Eins Type-1 mobile suit, and Hajime Katoki's design of the Superior Gundam. Once the fan community built up the anticipation of ''Gundam Sentinel'', Bandai decided to go ahead with the serialization of Sentinel, beginning with the September issue of Model Graphix. While Model Graphix would hold the rights to the story, characters, and mobile units, Bandai would have the sole copyright of releasing its models. Wanting to hold onto their partnership, Bandai displayed all five of the sample model kits for the ''Gundam Sentinel'' line with full descriptions at the 1988 Japan Hobby Show. The Model Graphix team regarded that year's event as a "Victory", compared to the previous show in 1987, where only a lone Superior Gundam was displayed without any descriptions.〔こいつは本物だ!!, Newtype August, 1987 issue〕〔Model Graphix Special edition, Gundam Wars III, Gundam Sentinel, The battle of "Real Gundam"〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gundam Sentinel」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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