Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt

Plot

The series takes place concurrently with Mobile Suit Gundam, during the One Year War. In U.C. 0079, the Earth Federation's Moore Brotherhood and the Principality of Zeon's Living Dead Division engage in a fierce battle in the "Thunderbolt Sector" (サンダーボルト宙域, Sandāboruto Chū-iki), a shoal zone littered with debris from destroyed space colonies, named for the frequent electrical discharges. Since the outbreak of the war, Zeon forces have secured the Thunderbolt Sector, as it is a vital supply route to the A Baoa Qu asteroid fortress. The story focuses on Federation soldier Io Fleming as he battles Zeon's best sniper, Daryl Lorenz.

Moore Brotherhood

The Moore Brotherhood (ムーア同胞団, Mūa Dōhō-dan) is an Earth Federation squadron consisting of former residents of the space colonies of Side 4: Moore, with the intent of punishing the Principality of Zeon for destroying their homeland.

Io Fleming (イオ・フレミング, Io Furemingu)

Voiced by: Yuichi Nakamura (Japanese); Max Mittelman (English)A Federation Ensign who enjoys pounding his drum sticks on his mobile suit cockpit console to free jazz music on his pirate radio receiver. Prior to the One Year War, Io, along with his friends Claudia Peer and Cornelius Kaka, participated in air racing events in Side 4. His father, who was Mayor of Side 4, had committed suicide during the outbreak of the war. Io is part of a GM squadron sortied to break through the sniper lines of the Thunderbolt Sector when his GM is shot down before he manages to eject his cockpit block. He sneaks through the debris, kills Zeon pilot Hoover, and commandeers his Rick Dom before returning to the Moore Brotherhood fleet. Using the sniper data extracted from the Rick Dom, Io pilots the Federation's new Full Armor Gundam prototype to flush out the Zeon Big Gun units stationed all over the sector, boasting that the sound of jazz music marks his presence. Following a grueling battle between the Full Armor Gundam and the Psycho Zaku, Io is captured by Zeon reinforcements along with the surviving members of the Moore Brotherhood. He is beaten to a pulp by members of the Living Dead Division while in captivity aboard the Chivvay-class ship en route to A Baoa Qu. In the epilogue of the Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt: December Sky theatrical compilation, the ship crashes on A Baoa Qu's surface when the Earth Federation stages an assault on the Zeon asteroid fortress. In the midst of the chaos, Io breaks out of his cell and kills the remaining guards before reuniting with his comrades.

Claudia Peer (クローディア・ペール, Kurōdia Pēru)

Voiced by: Toa Yukinari (Japanese); Cherami Leigh (English)Captain of the Beehive. Claudia finds her position uneasy, especially with Io as her lover. She is further disgusted when the Earth Federation sends teenage pilots to her fleet as reinforcements. The war takes a huge toll on her, as she resorts to taking depressant drugs before Io snaps her out of an overdose. During the last leg of the Moore Brotherhood's operation, her fleet is destroyed and she is shot by her XO Graham, who blames her and the Brotherhood elites for the death of his family. However, this ensures that she survives the destruction of her ship and her continued presence in the ongoing story.

Cornelius Kaka (コーネリアス・カカ, Kōneriasu Kaka)

Voiced by: Daisuke Hirakawa (Japanese); Christian La Monte (English)An engineer aboard the Beehive and Io's best friend. As Io seemingly has an allergic reaction that causes him to sneeze in the hangar, Cornelius often lends him a pack of tissues.

Graham (グラハム, Guraham)

Voiced by: Shunsuke Sakuya (Japanese); Ray Chase (English)A Federation XO aboard the Beehive. He is uncomfortable with serving under Claudia. After the Beehive is severely damaged by the Psycho Zaku, Graham shoots Claudia before he is consumed by the ship's final explosion.

Living Dead Division

The Living Dead Division (リビング・デッド師団, Ribingu Deddo Shidan) is a Principality of Zeon squadron made of amputee pilots fitted with metal prosthetic limbs. The division is assigned to defend the Thunderbolt Sector from the Federation.

Daryl Lorenz (ダリル・ローレンツ, Dariru Rōrentsu)

Voiced by: Ryohei Kimura (Japanese); Johnny Yong Bosch (English)A Zeon Chief Petty Officer and ace sniper. He carries with him a retro-style radio he has owned since childhood that plays pop oldies. As an infantryman, Daryl lost his legs from mortar fire during a landing raid on an enemy colony in the first half of the One Year War. While fighting against Io during a skirmish in the Thunderbolt Sector, he loses his left hand after the Full Armor Gundam pierces through his Zaku I with its beam saber. After much deliberation by the Living Dead Division to hasten the Reuse P. Device project, Daryl has his right hand amputated so his body can have full control of experimental Psycho Zaku. Following a grueling battle with the Full Armor Gundam, Daryl is rescued by Zeon reinforcements and he sets his critically damaged Psycho Zaku to self-destruct. In the epilogue of the December Sky film, Daryl is issued a Gelgoog unit, but has difficulty using the manual controls with his prosthetic arms.

Karla Mitchum (カーラ・ミッチャム, Kāra Mitchamu)

Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara (Japanese); Tara Sands (English)A Zeon scientist who is part of the "Reuse P. Device" (RPD) (リユース・Ｐ・デバイス, Riyūsu Pī Debaisu) project. Her father was a historian who was sent to prison after being marked by Zeon as a dissident, and she is serving the Zeon military in hopes of her father's release. Karla supplies the Living Dead Division's pilots with their prosthetics and cares heavily about them. After Hoover is shot dead by Io, Karla asks Daryl to avenge him and kill Io. She is sent into a catatonic state after witnessing her comrades vaporized by a GM Cannon's beam saber while attempting to self-destruct the Dried Fish.

J. J. Sexton (J・J・セクストン, Jei Jei Sekusuton)

Voiced by: Hiroshi Tsuchida (Japanese); Will Barrett (English)A Zeon scientist in charge of the RPD project. He treats the Living Dead Division pilots as lab rats. During the evacuation of the Dried Fish, Sexton sneaks through a pile of injured soldiers and jumps into an escape pod.

Burroughs (バロウズ, Barousu)

Voiced by: Mutsumi Sasaki (Japanese); Scott Williams (English)Captain of the Dried Fish, the Living Dead Division's flagship. Like the division's pilots, Burroughs is an amputee, sporting a prosthetic right arm. He and his main crew are killed after the Full Armor Gundam fires at the Dried Fish's bridge.

Sean Mitadera (ショーン・ミタデラ, Shōn Mitadera)

Voiced by: Shinya Hamazoe (Japanese); Ivan Nemer (English)A Zaku pilot with prosthetic arms. He is killed by Io, who uses his Zaku as a shield against Daryl.

Hoover (フーバー, Fūbā)

Voiced by: Kent Itō (Japanese); Jamison Boaz (English)A Rick Dom pilot with a prosthetic left arm, he is described by Daryl as a "playboy-wannabe". Hoover is shot in the head by Io, who then hijacks his Rick Dom to leak the Living Dead Division's sniper positions to the Moore Brotherhood.

Fisher Ness (フィッシャー・ネス, Fisshā Nesu)

Voiced by: Ryōsuke Morita (Japanese); Chris Jai Alex (English)A Rick Dom pilot with prosthetic legs. During the final battle between the Moore Brotherhood and the Living Dead Division, he retreats to rendezvous with Zeon reinforcements to rescue his comrades.

Layton (レイトン, Reiton)

Voiced by: Shuuhei Iwase (Japanese); Todd Haberkorn (English)A Gattle pilot and Daryl's close friend. After firing a direct hit on the Beehive with a Big Gun, he is killed by the Moore Brotherhood fleet's countering fire.

Keith Meyers (キース・マイヤーズ, Kīsu maiyāzu)

Voiced by: Hiroshi Murata (Japanese); Wayne Grayson (English)

Denver Roche (デンバー・ローチ, Denbā rōchi)

Voiced by: Keisuke Kōmoto (Japanese); Daniel J. Edwards (English)A Zeon soldier who wears a black face mask and has a prosthetic leg. During the Moore Brotherhood's takeover of the Dried Fish, Denver detonates a suicide bomb in the vessel's armory.

Manga

Yasuo Ohtagaki put his Moonlight Mile manga on hiatus in November 2011 to write a Gundam series. He began serializing Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt in Shogakukan's Big Comic Superior magazine in March 2012.

North American publisher Viz Media announced their license to the series during their panel at Anime Expo on 1 July 2016.

Anime

A 4-episode original net animation adaptation, produced by Sunrise, was confirmed on 28 October 2015. It was directed and written by Kō Matsuo, with character designs from Hirotoshi Takaya and mechanical designs from Morifumi Naka, Seiichi Nakatani and Hajime Katoki. It premiered on 25 December 2015 with the last episode officially aired on 8 April 2016 via pay to watch service in Japan, with early access from the Gundam Fan Club app service on 11 December 2015. The first episode was streamed outside Japan for a limited time from 25 December 2015 to 7 January 2016. A 4-episode second season was announced by Bandai Visual on 18 November 2016, which is scheduled to premiere on 24 March 2017.

Movie

A theatrical compilation of the ONA titled Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt: December Sky (機動戦士ガンダム サンダーボルト DECEMBER SKY, Kidō Senshi Gandamu Sandāboruto Dissenbā Sukai) was released in Japanese theaters on 25 June 2016 with the Blu-ray release on 29 July 2016. Sunrise and Anime Limited distributed the film outside Japan.