Mecha Profile: Gundam Age – Gundam AGE-1
In Advance Generation, the Gundam has been a legendary mobile suit in the truest sense. “The Gundam” has always been a statue, a legend and a myth. That is, until Flit Asuno’s home colony was attacked by the mysterious enemy Vagan. Having lost his home and mother in the attack, Flit vowed to fight back. Using the AGE device that his mother left him, Flit has constructed the hope of the Earth Federation Force – the Gundam Age-1. This article only covers the Age-1’s appearance in the anime and will not include all the variants in the game.
I. History:
– In A.G. 108, Flit Asuno’s home colony, Ovan, was attacked by the U.E. (Unidentified Enemy), and he lost his mother during the attack. At the moment of her death, she left Flit with the Asuno family’s secret memory unit – the AGE Device, which contains information on how to build the Gundam. Vowed to inherit the family legacy and prevent the U.E. from taking anything from him, Flit began to develop the Age-1 Gundam for the Earth Federation at colony Nora.
– Thanks to Flit’s genius and talent, he finished building the Gundam when he was only 14 years old. In A.G. 115, the Nora colony where he lived peacefully was attacked by the U.E. once more. Not wanting to let history repeat itself, Flit sortied in the Age-1 to stop the enemy and managed to beat them back. However, the enemy launched an external attack that destroyed the colony’s structure and forced everyone to evacuate. Flit and the Gundam escaped aboard the warship Diva after fighting off the U.E.’s 2nd assault in space. This was also when the Age-1 Normal received its first upgrade from the AGE Builder: the DODS rifle.
– Flit continued piloting the Age-1 as part of the Diva’s Mobile Suit team. With the assistance of Woolf Enneacle, the Age-1 Gundam managed to survive and racked up achievement after achievement. During the visit to the Fardain colony, Flit took a young, mysterious boy named Desil back to the Diva. He snuck off with the Gundam to fight the U.E. Flit, and the Diva crew were astonished by how well Desil did in the Age-1. This was also the only time the Age-1 was hijacked.
– The Age-1 received its first Wear Parts during the Zalam-Euba conflict. A war has been going on between two prestigious factions for decades. To stop the conflict and protect the civilians, Flit jumped into battle with the Age-1 Titus – a heavy-armor variant specialized in close combat. In the end, he resolved the feud between the two factions and had them work together.
– The Age-1’s second upgrade came shortly after when Fardain was attacked by the U.E. Their attack caused the death of Don Boyage, which enraged Flit. When the AGE Builder completed the new Wear parts, he immediately launched the agile Age-1 Spallow, which resembles a ninja. With his superior mobility, he easily defeated the enemy suit – the Zedas.
– During the battle of the Ambat Fortress, the Gundam Age-1 Spallow took on multiple advanced U.E. units – the Zedas and the Farsia – all at once. Eventually, the Age-1 came out on top thanks to Flit’s X-Rounder ability and Yurin’s sacrifice. The Age-1 then led the Diva into Ambat and finished the battle – unveiling the bitter secret behind the U.E. – now revealed to be called Vagan.
– 25 years after the Ambat battle, Flit was promoted to the Commander of the Big Ring, so he rarely pilots anymore. However, he occasionally launched in the Age-1 if necessary, such as during the Big Ring defence battle. With the completion of the Age-2 Gundam, the AGE Device was removed from the Age-1’s chest and modified into the Age-1 Flat. Flit still successfully piloted it during battle, thanks to his wealth of experience.
– The Age-1 Gundam received its final upgrade after the battle against the Xamdrag and Ghirargha. The Gundam Age-1 Glansa was born to keep up with modern mobile suits. Later, it is also equipped with a 2 x Glastron Launcher, referred to as the Full Glansa. During the final battle at La Gramis and the Vagan’s Second Moon, the three Gundams defeated the Vagan’s ultimate weapon – the Vagan Gear Sid. Flit saw an opportunity to finish off the Vagan once and for all, so he reverted the Age-1 back to Flat Type and equipped it with the Plasma Diver Missile. However, he was convinced by his son and grandson to sever the chain of hatred and ended the battle. Afterwards, the Age-1 was retired from the war.
– In A.G. 108, Flit Asuno’s home colony, Ovan, was attacked by the U.E. (Unidentified Enemy), and he lost his mother during the attack. At the moment of her death, she left Flit with the Asuno family’s secret memory unit – the AGE Device, which contains information on how to build the Gundam. Vowed to inherit the family legacy and prevent the U.E. from taking anything from him, Flit began to develop the Age-1 Gundam for the Earth Federation at colony Nora.
– Thanks to Flit’s genius and talent, he finished building the Gundam when he was only 14 years old. In A.G. 115, the Nora colony where he lived peacefully was attacked by the U.E. once more. Not wanting to let history repeat itself, Flit sortied in the Age-1 to stop the enemy and managed to beat them back. However, the enemy launched an external attack that destroyed the colony’s structure and forced everyone to evacuate. Flit and the Gundam escaped aboard the warship Diva after fighting off the U.E.’s 2nd assault in space. This was also when the Age-1 Normal received its first upgrade from the AGE Builder: the DODS rifle.
– Flit continued piloting the Age-1 as part of the Diva’s Mobile Suit team. With the assistance of Woolf Enneacle, the Age-1 Gundam managed to survive and racked up achievement after achievement. During the visit to the Fardain colony, Flit took a young, mysterious boy named Desil back to the Diva. He snuck off with the Gundam to fight the U.E. Flit, and the Diva crew were astonished by how well Desil did in the Age-1. This was also the only time the Age-1 was hijacked.
– The Age-1 received its first Wear Parts during the Zalam-Euba conflict. A war has been going on between two prestigious factions for decades. To stop the conflict and protect the civilians, Flit jumped into battle with the Age-1 Titus – a heavy-armor variant specialized in close combat. In the end, he resolved the feud between the two factions and had them work together.
– The Age-1’s second upgrade came shortly after when Fardain was attacked by the U.E. Their attack caused the death of Don Boyage, which enraged Flit. When the AGE Builder completed the new Wear parts, he immediately launched the agile Age-1 Spallow, which resembles a ninja. With his superior mobility, he easily defeated the enemy suit – the Zedas.
– During the battle of the Ambat Fortress, the Gundam Age-1 Spallow took on multiple advanced U.E. units – the Zedas and the Farsia – all at once. Eventually, the Age-1 came out on top thanks to Flit’s X-Rounder ability and Yurin’s sacrifice. The Age-1 then led the Diva into Ambat and finished the battle – unveiling the bitter secret behind the U.E. – now revealed to be called Vagan.
– 25 years after the Ambat battle, Flit was promoted to the Commander of the Big Ring, so he rarely pilots anymore. However, he occasionally launched in the Age-1 if necessary, such as during the Big Ring defence battle. With the completion of the Age-2 Gundam, the AGE Device was removed from the Age-1’s chest and modified into the Age-1 Flat. Flit still successfully piloted it during battle, thanks to his wealth of experience.
– The Age-1 Gundam received its final upgrade after the battle against the Xamdrag and Ghirargha. The Gundam Age-1 Glansa was born to keep up with modern mobile suits. Later, it is also equipped with a 2 x Glastron Launcher, referred to as the Full Glansa. During the final battle at La Gramis and the Vagan’s Second Moon, the three Gundams defeated the Vagan’s ultimate weapon – the Vagan Gear Sid. Flit saw an opportunity to finish off the Vagan once and for all, so he reverted the Age-1 back to Flat Type and equipped it with the Plasma Diver Missile. However, he was convinced by his son and grandson to sever the chain of hatred and ended the battle. Afterwards, the Age-1 was retired from the war.
II. Technical Specs & Armaments:
– The Age-1 Gundam has a similar silhouette and proportion to the Strike Gundam and the RX-78-2. It has a blue-red-yellow colour scheme on the main body, with the rest being white, like the RX-78-2. The chest lights up with an “A” symbol when equipped with the AGE Device. On its back are 3 thrusters with a racecar-like spoiler. The Age-1 Gundam stands at 18 meters – which is pretty standard compared to other Gundams in the franchise.
– The Age-1 Gundam (and, by extension, other AGE Gundams built by Flit) has a unique feature called the AGE System. Flit has built the AGE Builder device to analyze combat data from engagements and create new equipment to adapt to various situations. This system allows the Age Gundams to evolve and match against various opponents. To utilize the Age System, the Age-1 Gundam’s limbs can purge during battle to equip new Wear Systems.
– The Age-1 Normal is the Age-1’s basic form. Its standard equipment is the DODS Rifle and a Shield, with 2 beam sabres on the side skirt armour. The DODS (Drill-Orbital Discharge System) Rifle spins the beam it fired like a drill, allowing it to pierce through the Vagan’s thick armour. The Shield is also much thicker than a normal Genoace’s. The Beam Sabers’ output can also be adjusted to alter the length as needed.
– The Age-1 Titus is the heavy-close-combat variant of the Age-1. It has bulky armour on the shoulders, arms and legs. The knee armours and shoulder pauldrons can emit beam spikes to deal damage to nearby enemies, and the forearm can form a Beam Disc using a hidden emitter. This form uses wrestler-like moves such as Lariat, Knee Kick and Shoulder Tackle. The Titus can unleash its full power by unlocking its limiter to enter “maximum output” mode, intensifying the beam’s spikes output.
– The Age-1 Spallow is the high-mobility ninja-like variant of the Age-1. The arms and legs are slim and are entirely blue – reminiscent of a shinobi outfit. The Spallow is extremely lightweight at 33.4 tons compared to the Age-1 Normal’s 43.4 tons, making it almost 25% lighter. The Spallow’s equipment is the Shiguru Blade – a vibroblade that can cut through the U.E.’s armour like butter. When used with the fore-arm thrusters, the Spallow’s striking power is much greater than any other suits. However, the blade isn’t designed to be used repeatedly in a short time as it needs time to re-solidify itself.
– The Age-1 Glansa/Full Glansa is the Age-1’s final upgrade. The Glansa is almost fully covered with additional armour plates. And the Full Glansa is equipped with extra Glastron Launchers on the backpack. On the forearms are two shield rifles – which doubles as Shield and DODS beam rifles for both long and close-range combat. The extra armour also houses missile launchers on the shoulder and leg armor. The Glastron Launchers on the back resemble the Age-3’s Sigmaxiss Rifle and can output powerful beam shots.
– Finally, a special version of the Age-1 called the Swordia first appeared in the Memory of Eden movie. It was used by Asemu Asuno before he got his Age-2 Gundam.
– The Age-1 Titus is the heavy-close-combat variant of the Age-1. It has bulky armour on the shoulders, arms and legs. The knee armours and shoulder pauldrons can emit beam spikes to deal damage to nearby enemies, and the forearm can form a Beam Disc using a hidden emitter. This form uses wrestler-like moves such as Lariat, Knee Kick and Shoulder Tackle. The Titus can unleash its full power by unlocking its limiter to enter “maximum output” mode, intensifying the beam’s spikes output.
– The Age-1 Spallow is the high-mobility ninja-like variant of the Age-1. The arms and legs are slim and are entirely blue – reminiscent of a shinobi outfit. The Spallow is extremely lightweight at 33.4 tons compared to the Age-1 Normal’s 43.4 tons, making it almost 25% lighter. The Spallow’s equipment is the Shiguru Blade – a vibroblade that can cut through the U.E.’s armour like butter. When used with the fore-arm thrusters, the Spallow’s striking power is much greater than any other suits. However, the blade isn’t designed to be used repeatedly in a short time as it needs time to re-solidify itself.
– The Age-1 Glansa/Full Glansa is the Age-1’s final upgrade. The Glansa is almost fully covered with additional armour plates. And the Full Glansa is equipped with extra Glastron Launchers on the backpack. On the forearms are two shield rifles – which doubles as Shield and DODS beam rifles for both long and close-range combat. The extra armour also houses missile launchers on the shoulder and leg armor. The Glastron Launchers on the back resemble the Age-3’s Sigmaxiss Rifle and can output powerful beam shots.
– Finally, a special version of the Age-1 called the Swordia first appeared in the Memory of Eden movie. It was used by Asemu Asuno before he got his Age-2 Gundam.
III. Gallery:
See Also:
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