“Mobile Suit Gundam / Char Aznable & Sayla Mass” (機動戦士ガンダム), Original Japanese Promotional Poster 1981, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) I196
This is an original Japanese B2 promotional poster from the height of the 1981 Gundam boom, featuring Char Aznable and Sayla Mass in one of the most atmospheric and emotionally resonant images from the original series era. It is not the standard theatrical one-sheet for a specific Gundam film, but an early original promotional issue from the first movie-trilogy period. The vintage “G” movie-era logo at lower left and the printed “YAS.” signature within the artwork place it squarely within the world of original early-1980s Gundam printed material.
Franchise background
The original Mobile Suit Gundam theatrical trilogy began with Mobile Suit Gundam I in March 1981, followed by Soldiers of Sorrow in July 1981, and Encounters in Space in 1982. That run helped turn Gundam from an admired television series into a full-scale cultural phenomenon in Japan. Posters from this first wave are especially desirable because they belong to the period when the franchise’s visual language — heroic, tragic, and increasingly mythic — was first being fixed in the public imagination.
What makes this image especially compelling is that it focuses not on large-scale mechanical battle, but on one of the series’ deepest emotional threads: the divided fate of the Deikun siblings, with Char and Sayla standing on opposite sides of war, memory, and identity.
Poster design
This is a striking and highly unusual early Gundam design. Rather than centring the RX-78-2 Gundam or a conventional combat scene, the composition presents Char Aznable, masked and caped, standing high on a rocky outcrop, while Sayla Mass appears below with sidearm in hand, turning upward toward him. The effect is theatrical, tense, and psychologically charged.
The palette is particularly strong: deep blacks and dark rock forms are set against a fiery orange-red sky, while Sayla’s pale pink uniform and Char’s vivid red military dress create a dramatic contrast. The image feels closer to a painted illustration or character study than to ordinary commercial poster art. It is precisely this focus on mood, symbolism, and the tragic relationship between the two figures that makes the sheet so collectible.
Together with the vintage “G” logo and the printed YAS signature, the poster has the feel of a serious piece of early Gundam art rather than a routine piece of promotional ephemera.
Condition
Very Good / Excellent. Please review the photos—they show the exact poster for sale. The poster displays strongly overall, with rich colour and excellent visual impact.
It is over 45 years old!
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
