WD-M01 Turn A Gundam
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| Turn A Gundam | |
|---|---|
| Appears in | Turn A Gundam |
| Designed by | Syd Mead |
| Profile | |
| Class | Mobile suit |
| Designation | WD-M01 Turn A Gundam |
| Main pilot(s) | Loran Cehack |
| General characteristics | |
| Armaments | Beam saber Multi-purpose missile silo Beam rifle Shield Gundam hammer |
| Equipment | Moonlight butterfly system |
The WD-M01 Turn A Gundam is a fictional mecha from the Correct Century (正暦 Seireki) calendar system in the anime Turn A Gundam. It is mainly piloted by the hero of the series, and acted as the symbol of the earth militia forces against the superior moonrace.
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[edit] Design
Turn A Gundam is designed by Syd Mead, for the series Turn A Gundam. The original design of the mecha was rejected by Yoshiyuki Tomino due to its exotic appearance and Tomino decided that he wanted a figure that is closer to the previous Gundam designs. The old design was renamed and used for the Mobile Suit Sumo instead.[1] The design is still exotic to Gundam anime fans, however, Syd Mead designed Turn A Gundam using real world industrial design aspects, which was aimed to make it look simple and realistic.[2] The shield was designed by Syd Mead with little constraint from the production team, it needed to be big enough so that the suit can hide behind it, making it easier for the anime production staff to draw. Syd Mead imagined it to be like a clam shell and finally settled with a design that looked like MS-14 Gelgoog's shield.[3]
In the eyes of most viewers, the design of Turn A Gundam is comical, however, it is designed to be a figure like the fire of Prometheus. With the earthrace using a lot of old age technology uncovered from mountain cycle that hides superior machines from the old world, the suit was also designed to be outstanding but looking like the ones the moonrace possess, acting like a Deus ex Machina where the inferior earthnoids obtained by luck.[4]
Tomino addressed his little disappointment in the design of Turn A Gundam not having good reception, but he commented that it was happy to see that it was not pointless work as Turn A was selected as the 100th Master Grade model.[2]
[edit] Plot
The System-Turn A99 (WD-M01) Turn A Gundam (also known as "Turn A") first appeared in the show when the Moonrace's Diana Counter army arrived on Earth and attacked the city of Nocis; which at the time was holding a Coming of Age ceremony for Loran Cehack and Sochie Heim, who danced and offered prayers in front of the "White Doll" statue. When the Moonrace forces attack, the "White Doll" statue crumbled, revealing the Turn A. Loran and Sochie take shelter inside the cockpit, which activates and automatically fires at the unaware Moonrace forces. After several battles with the Moonrace, the Turn A became the symbol of the struggle to resist the Moonrace's attempts at colonizing Earth.
It was seldom called Turn A Gundam in the plot, the characters did not know what it was called, and mainly used the name White doll, MS with a mustache or simply Turn A.(as shown on the screen of the computer system and manual) It was known as a Gundam type mobile suit only when an enemy character saw it and called it Gundam, which is the terrifying logo of earthnoids controlling spacenoids in his memory.[5]
The Turn A's main propulsion was provided by an I-field Beam Drive System, which left the suit completely hollow and allowed it to be filled with extra armaments and rocket thrusters. Standard armament consisted of two beam sabers and a beam rifle. The Turn A was also equipped with an I-Field barrier which could protect it from various sorts of attack, including nuclear weapons.
After accompanying the Willgame to the Moon, Loran finally learned the dark truth about the Turn A's past, that the Turn A had been responsible for the destruction of Earth's history by unleashing its "Moonlight Butterfly" attack, spreading nanomachines across the Earth's surface and turning all technology into sand. After learning of this truth Loran also discovered several features of the Turn A that he was unaware of, most notably that the cockpit was a Core Fighter capable of separating from the Turn A; also Loran discovered the ability to make the Turn A vanish from sight by means unknown. During the Turn A's final battle with the Turn X, both machines unleashed their Moonlight Butterfly systems at one another; Loran escaped unharmed, but both machines were encased in a large cocoon - along with the pilot of the Turn X, Gym Ghingnham.
Its nanomachines onboard are capable of an attack named "Moonlight Butterfly" (named after the effects of the attack when active). It is said that the attack has 3 requirements, the nano-machines, the energy to use them and finally the program to activate it. It is a plot device, which was used to destroy the previous advanced technological society and can stop all known machines from functioning.
[edit] Master Grade 100 Campaign
Turn A Gundam was chosen to be the 100th Master Grade model of Gunpla (abbreviation of Gundam Plastic Model) and at an earlier time, the first release of the Turn A Gundam DVD box set was announced. Two of the three Model Magazine in Japan, Hobby Japan and Dengeki Hobby was informed to build their own Turn A model using the old 1/100 kit for a display in the official announcement of the MS100 Turn A. Hobby Japan modeller Seira Masuo drastically redesigned the unit[6] while Dengeki Hobby modeller went for the original approach of diorama.[7] Both of the models was placed next to the MG100 draft design at the Bandai display forum at the announcement of MG100.
[edit] Involvement in video games
As a leading Gundam of a Gundam series, Turn A Gundam has appeared in every G Generation titles since Zero, and its Moonlight Butterfly is the ultimate attack in every G Generation title it has appeared in. It has also appeared in Super Robot Wars Alpha Gaiden and in Another Century's Episode 3 and also Super Robot Wars Z. Other than the Moonlight Butterfly, Gundam Hammer is another common weapon of Turn A Gundam, in The Gundam VS series, Turn A Gundam's primary weapon are the Gundam Hammers (actually a pair of large maces that explode).
Unlike other alternate universe Gundam robots, Turn A Gundam has occasionally participated in games that are set in the Universal Century timeline, as although it is not officially a part of the Universal Century storyline, as Turn A Gundam is supposed to take place 3,000 years after previous series.
Turn A Gundam appeared in a special scenario in SD Gundam G Generation Spirits which can be unlocked by completing all missions. Completing the mission makes the Turn A available for purchase. Turn A Gundam also appeared as a hidden unit in SD Gundam SCAD Hammers, which is set in the One Year War timeline.
The Turn A is also a default mobile suit in Dynasty Warriors: Gundam's Original Mode, with Loran as its default pilot. This marked the first appearance of the Turn A Gundam, Loran, and Horace in the U.S. Loran makes a second and third appearance in the sequel Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 and Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3 along with a few other Turn A Gundam characters such as Gym and Queen Dianna.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ 「∀ガンダム」全記録集, Kondasha, ISBN 4063300889.
- ^ a b Master Grade Turn A Gundam instruction manual
- ^ ROBOの石, 石垣 純哉(mechanical design assistant) homepage
- ^ Otona no Gundam Perfect, Nikkei Entertainment, ISBN 978-4-8222-6317-1.
- ^ Newtype 100% collection, Turn A Gundam Vol. 2
- ^ Hobby Japan, June, 2007 issue, Gunpla LOVE
- ^ Dengeki Hobby, May, 2007 issue, 20th anniversary of Turn A
