Few years ago I have watched Gundam Thunderbolt OVA, it left certain impression of me with its different style of presentation especially the strong Jazz theme inclusion which was rather unusual for Gundam series. Fast forward to the present, I get to marathon Thunderbolt Manga as the series apparently reached its completion and all I can say Gundam Thunderbolt is possibly the best Gundam manga to date. The Mangaka, Yasuo Otakagaki sensei really did his best in this series after Front Mission manga and you will be in for quite a treat for intense Mecha actions in this one.
Gundam Thunderbolt is an alternate Universal Century that took on more unhinged direction compared to original timeline befitting Otagaki sensei. The series premise revolves around Two Ace Pilots of EFSF and Zeon; Io Fleming and Daryl Lorentz whose battle with their Mobile Suits: Gundam Thunderbolt and Psycho Zaku 2 will shape the history of Universal Century era. The original manga series has concluded its run recently in 26 Volumes where the manga has covered the story up to 8th volume.
I would say Gundam Thunderbolt made quite an entry for itself which allow the series to rise as multimedia franchise spawning OVAs and cameos in Gundam Video Games. The series definitely got the flair that Otagaki Sensei had just like in his Front Mission manga though the warcrime part probably toned down due to Sunrise supervision. One thing that Gundam Thunderbolt really did well is character development, not just the main protagonists but the supporting characters of Io and Daryl's side are very well rounded, not exactly common thing anymore on recent gundam series and this is why Thunderbolt stood apart.
I never expected having Cultist extremists headed by a Newtype as main adversaries could spawn such a long Gundam manga series but Gundam Thunderbolt did. I also got to say Thunderbolt have the best contender of Menhera antagonist who ruin everything that can give V Gundam a run for money. Another surprising twist from Gundam Thunderbolt is that the Protagonist of EFSF and Zeon eventually use Mobile suits from their enemy sides with Io ended up with Zeong and Daryl with Gundam complete with the last shooting reenactment. Thunderbolt makes me instantly respect Zeong as a powerhouse to be reckoned with and Gqux also owed its settings from this series. Ever wonder how BrawBro got its MS form as Kikeroga? You can trace the influence to Gundam Thunderbolt!
Personally I think Gundam Thunderbolt did make itself as new pinnacle for Gundam Manga and it can even put the recent gundam anime series to shame with the quality of its storyline. Despite the apparent micromanagement by Sunrise as you notice the transition from the early part of the series, Otagaki-sensei definitely make a magnum opus out of Gundam Thunderbolt. I think the series could run for a little bit more to cover Zeta Gundam series storyline, but most of the Thunderbolt storyline has properly wrapped up with the rivals settled their score.
While I really doubt Thunderbolt gundam could get any OVA continuation due to Bandai and Japan's overall financial situation, I do look forward to possible OVA continuation despite Thunderbolt has wrapped up its story quite well.
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