SD Gundam


SD Gundam is a media franchise that spawned from the Gundam franchise. SD Gundam takes the mecha from Gundam and expresses them in super deformed and anthropomorphic style.

Overview

SD Gundam originated from a contributed illustration of a junior student from Nagoya by the name of Koji Yokoi to the "Model News" magazine that Bandai was issuing in the 1980s. The illustration is of a Gundam but with an unusual proportion where the overall height of the Gundam is equal to twice that of its head. This illustration interested the chief editor and led to Koji Yokoi serializing SD Gundam in 4 frame comics in "Model News".
The super deformed designs were suitable for capsule toys, and so they were first merchandised as small SD Gundam-shaped erasers as part of the Gashapon series SD Gundam World in 1985. Built with a hole so they could be skewered into a pencil, the series was a hit with Japanese schoolchildren, and the concept soon expanded to other forms of merchandising and media, including models, manga, trading cards, anime and video games.
The popularity of SD Gundam was such that between the late '80s and early '90s, sales from the SD Gundam franchise far exceeded those of the rest of Gundam. And whereas Gundam pioneered the real robot branch of mecha anime, SD Gundam's more comical and exaggerated approach to the genre served to move it away from the ultra-realism that it was shifting towards in the '80s, and inspired a new flood of super-deformed robot shows the late '80s and early '90s such as Sunrise's Mashin Hero Wataru and Haō Taikei Ryū Knight, as well as video games such as the Super Robot Wars franchise.
Although the SD Gundam franchise initially started out featuring characters and mecha from the mainstream Gundam series, by the 1990s SD Gundam spawned numerous spin-off series, SD Gundam Sengokuden which has a Sengoku setting, SD Gundam Gaiden which has a fantasy medieval setting and SD Command Chronicles which has a modern military style to name a few.

Animated works

Animated works based on SD Gundam are generally adapted from existing toy lines or manga and are animated by Sunrise.

Musha Gundam series

Musha Gundam are Gundam units modelled after samurai, ninja, or other forms of feudal Japanese warriors. Musha Gundam first appeared in "Plamo-Kyoshiro"<プラモ狂四郎>. In the story, the SD Gundam is an original Gundam created by Kyoshiro for a showdown with Shigeru. The original design of the SD form Musha Gundam is credited to Koichi Yamato, and Yasui Hisashi. The story of Musha Gundam, SD Sengokuden, originated from the manga "Seven Gundams" of the "Comic World" series by MARSHI. The Musha Gundam series is the longest running SD Gundam series, since the series is set in the Warring States period the use of katakana is avoided, and kanji is used heavily.
English NameJapanese NameAuthorVolumesReference
Chou Musha Gundam Bushin Kirahagane超SD戦国伝 武神輝羅鋼Masahiro Kanda
Chou Musha Gundam Touba DaishougunMasahiro Kanda
Musha Banchō FūunrokuSDガンダム武者番長風雲録Masato Ichishiki
SD Gundam Force Emaki Musharetsuden Bukabuka HenSDガンダムフォース絵巻 武者烈伝 武化舞可編Masato Ichishiki
SD Gundam Force Emaki Musharetsuden ZeroSusumu Imaishi
SD Gundam Musha GenerationSDガンダム ムシャジェネレーションMasahiro Kanda
SD Gundam MushamarudenSD頑駄無 武者○伝Masato Ichishiki
SD Gundam Mushamaruden 2SD頑駄無 武者○伝Masato Ichishiki
SD Gundam Mushamaruden 3SD頑駄無 武者○伝Masato Ichishiki
SD Gundam Sangokuden Eiyuu Gekitotsu HenBB戦士 三国伝Kentarō Yano
SD Gundam Sangokuden Fuuun Gouketsu HenBB戦士 三国伝Tokita Koichi
SD Musha Gundam FuunrokuMasahiro Kanda
SD Sengokuden Fuurinkazan HenSD戦国伝 風林火山編Masahiro Kanda
SD Sengokuden Musha Shichinin Shuu HenSD戦国伝 武者七人衆編Masahiro Kanda
SD Sengokuden Tenka Touitsu HenSD戦国伝 天下統一編Masahiro Kanda
Shin Musha Gundam Chou Kidou Daishougun新SD戦国伝 超機動大将軍Masahiro Kanda
Shin Musha Gundam Musha Senki Hakari no Hengen Henムシャ戦記　光の変幻編Masahiro Kanda
Shin Musha Gundam Shichinin no ChoushougunMasahiro Kanda
Shin SD Sengokuden Densetsu no Daishougun Hen新SD戦国伝 伝説の大将軍編Masahiro Kanda
Shin SD Sengokuden Tensei Shichinin ShuuMasahiro Kanda
SD Gundam World Sangoku Sōketsuden: EnkotanTakuya Yamanaka
SD Gundam World Sangoku Sōketsuden: SōshōkiTakuya Yamanaka

Knight Gundam series

Knight Gundam is part of the SD Gundam franchise, a sub-franchise of the popular Gundam anime. In Knight Gundam, Gundam mecha and characters are reimagined as knights, sorcerers and other fantasy and medieval European character types. Knight Gundam is a series that took elements from Japanese role playing games, such as the Dragon Quest series, into SD Gundam. The knight style SD Gundam designs are devised by Koji Yokoi and soon Knight Gundam became an independent series like Musha Gundam.
The series first started on Carddas trading cards with the story set in the "Saddarc World". Soon after it expanded to Gashapons, plastic models, manga and games. The Gundams in the Knight Gundam series are portrayed as living beings just like in the Musha Gundam series. But later on in the series giant robots known as "Kihei" were introduced thus creating a weird picture of a Gundam piloting a Gundam. Also different from Musha Gundam, Knight Gundam has important human characters like Knight Amuro and Princess Frau throughout the whole series.
English NameJapanese NameAuthorVolumesReference
SD Gundam Gaiden Knight Gundam MonogatariRyuuichi Hoshino
SD Gundam Gaiden Knight Gundam Monogatari SpecialRyuuichi Hoshino
Knight Gundam Kikoushin DensetsuRyuuichi Hoshino
Knight Gundam Maryuu Zero no KishidenRyuuichi Hoshino
Knight Gundam Gold SagaRyuuichi Hoshino
Knight Gundam Gaitoushin SenkiRyuuichi Hoshino
Knight Gundam SeidenRyuuichi Hoshino
SD Gundam EiyudenKōichi Tokita

Others

In the past most of the SD Gundam games are turn-based strategy video games and brawling-type games with shooting. However, the recent SD Gundam games started appearing in other genres.
Below is a rough list of game works, a more accurate and complete list is available at the :ja:ガンダムシリーズゲーム作品一覧#SDガンダム関連|Japanese wiki entry.
Through not treated as a title from the SD Gundam series, the RPG also used super-deformed graphics for the mobile weapons that were found in the game.
The SD Gundam designs were also used throughout the earlier Super Robot Wars games, as can be seen by the pupils present in the eyes of the various Mobile Suits that appeared. From SRW Alpha and beyond, however, the eyes of Mobile Suits remain blank, though the robots themselves are still super-deformed. The only exceptions are in Shin Super Robot Wars and the Scramble Commander series, where all series featured in these games used real-sized designs instead of the traditional SD-sized ones.
A real-sized Musha Gundam has been placed as a hidden, unlockable unit in series. Particular SD Gundams that has been converted to normal sizes are confirmed to participate in the Gundam War trading card game.

Model kits

While regular Gundam model lines strive for realism by introducing High Grade, Master Grade, and Perfect Grade models, SD Gundam models are designed for the customization crowd. Many SD Gundam models are designed such that variations of the stock models, as seen by SD Gundam comics, can be made by using parts from other SD Gundam kits. Modifying SD models is very popular in Japan, more so than the full-sized counterparts. In addition to made-up robots contributed to SD Gundam comics, Bandai also held monthly contests for custom Gundam models.
The model kit series is called SD Gundam BB Senshi. The "BB" in the title comes from the fact that, initially, BB Senshi models came with airguns that shot BB gun pallets. Due to product liability and safety regulations, the feature was soon removed. 2007 saw the release of the 300th kit in the series. Forming the bulk of the series are Musha Gundam kits; the Musha kits have standard gimmicks like detachable armour and others, such as combination and compatibility of parts between kits. In recent years the G Generation kits have introduced a new proportion and enhanced poseability.
Scale is often inconsistent, especially in older kits where many characters from the same storyline are out of scale with one another. However, as the line continued these issues have mostly been addressed and sometimes been intentional. Dai-Shogun characters have often seen their final form released as a much larger figure.
Another model kit series called Ganzo SD Gundam, though discontinued in the 1990s, covered all the SD Gundam series but mainly focus on Knight Gundam kits. These kits are made from more durable plastic and are bigger than the BB Senshi kits. They can currently be found at auction sites, usually with high prices.
Century number releases are often marked as special occasions. 2007 saw the release of the 300th BB Senshi kit in official numbering. However, the previous kit had been BB 295. Bandai retroactively filled in the missing five kits alongside releases of kits with the 300+ numbering. These retroactive kits were of units from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, many being recolors of existing kits. Additionally, popular SD Gundam kits have been re-released in waves at around the same time as new kits. These re-releases are broken down by series. The popularity of these older kits is such that many have been included in later re-release waves.
A limited subline titled Chi-Bi Senshi consisted of thirteen kits based on Super G-ARMS, Knight Gundam, Gundlaner and Musha. The kits were smaller and less complex than full BB Senshi, built on a five-point skeleton block which allowed for parts swapping between the kits. This gimmick was also utilized with some of the Knight kits to allow them to combine with larger BB Senshi versions of the 'Kihei' mobile weapons they piloted. Additionally, nine of the Chi-Bi Senshi were released in three triple boxsets, depicting them in widely different transparent colours. The Comic World chapters included with these sets referred to these 'Crystal' versions as doppelgangers made from sentient alien crystals who had chosen to copy the real Gundams.
A related line of merchandise has included the designs from SD Gundam works presented as 'real type' versions, lacking the deformed proportions. This concept has seen a resurgence in recent years, with Bandai issuing a Master Grade model kit of Hajime Katoki's Shin Musha Gundam and Banpresto releasing toys and mini-statues based on 'real type' versions of Musha and Knight characters.

SDX

Starting in 2008, the SDX line is a collector aimed series of action figures based on SD Gundam characters. The first figure released, Knight Gundam, was based on a scratch-built model of the character made by Hobby Japan for his appearance in Musha Retsuden Zero. Following this was a release of 'Full Armor Knight Gundam', with figures of Satan Gundam and Command Gundam announced for later in 2009.
Being a collector aimed line, the series focuses on high detail, option parts and updating popular SD Gundam characters who are only otherwise represented by decades old model kits and toys. For example, Knight Gundam was released with a display base, alternate facial expressions and armor pieces produced from metal.

SD Ex-Standard

This is the most recent model kit series which aims for styled proportions, weapon customization, budget friendliness, and connecting every single SD Gundam Kit, and possibly even make kits from other grades that doesn't have SD versions of it; one example is the Try Burning Gundam, which currently has a HG version of it, and unlike its past counterpart, the Build Burning Gundam has its own BB Senshi counterpart. So far, this kit series has ten sets, which contains RX-78-2, Aile Strike Gundam, Gundam Exia, Wing Gundam Zero EW, Gundam Unicorn, Strike Freedom Gundam, Astray Red Frame, OO Gundam, Destiny Gundam, Gundam Barbatos, Try Burning Gundam, Gundam Deathscythe Hell EW, Sinanju, and Gundam Barbatos Lupus. This kit series is really similar to the BB Senshi sets, but this kit series is a lot smaller than the BB sets or any other SD kit series.

Official sites