Mobile Suit SD Gundam

Mobile Suit SD Gundam (機動戦士SDガンダム) is a series of animated shorts released in theaters and as original video animation between 1988 and 1993 by Sunrise. Part of the SD Gundam media franchise, the anime was based on the popular Gashapon capsule toys and model kits being released by Bandai at the time.

The shorts initially parody stories and characters from the Gundam franchise with super deformed forms of Gundam characters and mecha. Starting with 1989's Mobile Suit SD Gundam's Counterattack, the series began featuring a regularly appearing set of SD Gundam characters based on existing SD Gundam toys, Carddass trading cards and manga series, notably from the Command Gundam, Knight Gundam, and Musha Gundam sub-franchises.

Works
Mobile Suit SD Gundam was released as a series of shorts accompanying feature films by Sunrise, or in OVA form. Eventually a feature film and a TV series were also made. The complete list of works are as follows:


 * Mobile Suit SD Gundam (機動戦士SDガンダム) (theatrical shorts, March 1988)
 * Released with Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack. Contains the following shorts:
 * Fierce Fighting Chapter: Will Gundam Rise Up? (激闘編 ガンダム大地に立てるか！？)
 * Holiday Chapter: Menace of the Zeon Hotel? The Order to Destroy Gundam Pension!! (休日編 ジオン・ホテルの脅威？ガンダム・ペンション破壊命令！！)
 * The video release includes the two shorts from the theatrical release above, in addition to a new episode:
 * Decisive Battle Chapter: SD Olympic!! The Stadium Saturated with Laughs (決戦編 SDオリンピック！！スタジアム・笑いに染めて)


 * Mobile Suit SD Gundam Mark II (機動戦士SDガンダム MARK-II) (OVA, June 1989)
 * Includes the following shorts:
 * The Rolling Colony Affair (転がるコロニー事件)
 * Original Gundam Stray Scenes Collection (元祖・ガンダム迷場面集) (omake)
 * Gundam Legend (巖蛇武（ガンダム）伝説)


 * Mobile Suit SD Gundam's Counterattack: Musha Gundam Visits (機動戦士SDガンダムの逆襲 武者ガンダム参上) (theatrical shorts, July 1989)
 * Released with Patlabor: The Movie. First animated appearance of the SD Sengokuden sub-series, which is based on the Musha Gundam toy line.  Includes the following shorts:
 * The Storm-Calling School Festival (嵐を呼ぶ学園祭)
 * SD Warring States Legend: Chapter A Bao A Qu (SD戦国伝 暴終空城の章)


 * Mobile Suit SD Gundam Mark III (機動戦士SDガンダム MARK-III) (OVA, March 1990)
 * Includes the following shorts:
 * Battle of the Mystery of the Universe (宇宙の神秘大作戦)
 * SD Sengokuden: Zumushitei no Ninja Gassen (SD戦国伝 頭虫邸の忍者合戦)
 * SD Sengokuden: Ten no Maki (SD戦国伝 天の巻)
 * SD Sengokuden: Ji no Maki (SD戦国伝 地の巻)
 * SD Sengokuden: Shin no Maki (SD戦国伝 真の巻)
 * SD Sengokuden: Ri no Maki (SD戦国伝 理の巻)


 * Mobile Suit SD Gundam Mark IV (機動戦士SDガンダム MARK-IV) (OVA, September 1990)
 * Includes the following shorts:
 * SD Gundam SD Wacky Races (SDガンダム チキチキSD猛レース). Based on the American cartoon, Wacky Races.  Due to copyright issues, this short was never released on DVD.
 * Dream Maron Company: "A Space Odyssey" (夢のマロン社「宇宙の旅」)
 * Appendix Part One: The One Year War Mobile Suit Catalog


 * Mobile Suit SD Gundam Mark V (機動戦士SDガンダム MARK-V) (OVA, October 1990)
 * Includes the following shorts:
 * Miracle of Courier Re-GZ (運び屋リ・ガズィの奇跡)
 * SD Sengokuden: Gundam Go-ninshū no Mononoke Taiji (SD戦国伝 頑駄無五人衆のもののけ退治)
 * SD Gundam Sōseiki: Pikirienta Pōresu (SDガンダム創世記 ピキリエンタ ポーレス)


 * Mobile Suit SD Gundam: SD Gundam Legend (機動戦士SDガンダム SDガンダム外伝) (OVA, March 1990 to March 1991)
 * A series of four OVAs adapted from the manga series, SD Gundam Gaiden Sieg Zion Hen, featuring Knight Gundam:
 * SD Gundam Legend: Lacroan Hero (SDガンダム外伝 ラクロアの勇者)
 * SD Gundam Legend II: Legendary Giant (SDガンダム外伝II 伝説の巨人)
 * SD Gundam Legend III: Algus Knights (SDガンダム外伝III アルガス騎士団)
 * SD Gundam Legend IV: The Knight of Flash (SDガンダム外伝IV 光の騎士)


 * Mobile Suit SD Gundam The Movie: Musha Knight Command: SD Gundam Scramble (機動戦士ＳＤガンダム劇場版 武者・騎士・コマンド SDガンダム緊急出撃) (theatrical short, March 1991)
 * Released with Mobile Suit Gundam F91. Features the first ever team-up of Command Gundam, Knight Gundam, Musha Gundam, who work together with a young girl named Riplin to fight evil.  Video release contains SD Gundam Scramble along with two new segments:
 * Dawn of Paparu: Episode 103 "Suginamu's Bride" (パパルの暁 第103話「スギナムの花嫁」)
 * G-ARMS Course (『G-ARMS』講座) (live-action omake introducing the different members of the SD Command Chronicles team, G-ARMS)


 * Mobile Suit SD Gundam Festival (機動戦士SDガンダムまつり) (movie, March 1993)
 * A feature-length movie divided into multiple parts as follows:
 * SD Command Chronicles II: Gundam Force Super G-ARMS Final Formula VS Noumugather (ＳＤコマンド戦記II ガンダムフォース スーパーＧアームズ　ファイナルフォーミュラーVSノウムギャザー). A teamup between various teams from SD Command Chronicles: SD Command Chronicles II's "Crushers" and SD Command Chronicles III's "Super G-Arms" and the Super Knight Final Formula.
 * SD Gundam Gaiden: Seikihei Monogatari: Dai 1-shō (SDガンダム外伝 聖機兵物語 第1章) & SD Gundam Gaiden: Seikihei Monogatari: Dai 2-shō (SDガンダム外伝 聖機兵物語 第2章). Adaptation of the Knight Gundam Cardass and manga story, Seikihei Monogatari.
 * SD Sengokuden: Tenka Taihei-hen (SD戦国伝 天下泰平編)

Releases
An 8-episode TV series, Do Your Best! The SD Gundam March (ガンバレ!SDガンダム大行進), was aired on TV Tokyo from February to March 1993, compiling the various Mobile Suit SD Gundam shorts as well as some variety segments. The show achieved a TV rating of 8.06% in the Kanto region.

All of the animated shorts, with the exception of SD Gundam SD Wacky Races, were later re-released in a DVD-BOX in Japan on July 22, 2007.

Official sites

 * Mobile Suit SD Gundam Web (Japanese)
 * Gundam