{"product_id":"mobile-suit-gundam-rx-78-vs-ms-11s-original-release-japanese-promotional-poster-early-1980-s-very-rare-b2-size-51-x-73cm-l65-copy","title":"“Mobile Suit Gundam – RX-78 vs. MS-11S \/ Char’s Gelgoog” (機動戦士ガンダム), Very Rare Original Japanese ANIMEC Promotional Art Poster, Early 1980s, B2 Landscape Size (c. 72.8 × 51.5 cm)","description":"\u003cp dir=\"auto\" class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"\u003eThis is an \u003cstrong\u003eoriginal Japanese B2 promotional art poster produced during the early-1980s \u003cem\u003eMobile Suit Gundam\u003c\/em\u003e boom\u003c\/strong\u003e, featuring the \u003cstrong\u003eRX-78 Gundam battling Char Aznable’s red Gelgoog\u003c\/strong\u003e against an expansive deep-space backdrop.\u003cspan class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThis is \u003cstrong\u003enot a standard theatrical movie poster\u003c\/strong\u003e. The lower-right edge carries the \u003cstrong\u003eANIMEC\u003c\/strong\u003e branding associated with \u003cstrong\u003e“Total Shop of Animation \u0026amp; Comics”\u003c\/strong\u003e, placing the piece within the specialist anime culture that developed rapidly around \u003cem\u003eGundam\u003c\/em\u003e following its original television broadcast.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eProduced during the formative years of the franchise, this is a particularly striking example of early \u003cem\u003eGundam\u003c\/em\u003e promotional art—created long before the enormous multimedia universe, international following and modern collector market that surrounds the series today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHistorical context\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eFirst broadcast in Japan in \u003cstrong\u003e1979\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cem\u003eMobile Suit Gundam\u003c\/em\u003e radically changed the giant-robot genre.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eRather than presenting its machines simply as fantastical superheroes, creator \u003cstrong\u003eYoshiyuki Tomino\u003c\/strong\u003e placed them within the military, political and human realities of the \u003cstrong\u003eOne Year War\u003c\/strong\u003e, treating mobile suits as weapons operated by soldiers rather than magical machines.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eAlthough its original television run ended early, the series rapidly developed an intensely committed following through \u003cstrong\u003ereruns, model kits, records, specialist publications and the 1981–82 theatrical trilogy\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThis poster belongs to that foundational period when \u003cem\u003eGundam\u003c\/em\u003e was becoming a cultural phenomenon and Japanese specialist anime retailers such as \u003cstrong\u003eANIMEC\u003c\/strong\u003e were helping to create a new market for dedicated character and artwork merchandise.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe RX-78 and Char’s Gelgoog\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eAt the centre of the image is one of the defining rivalries of the original \u003cem\u003eGundam\u003c\/em\u003e story: \u003cstrong\u003eAmuro Ray’s RX-78 Gundam against Char Aznable’s custom red Gelgoog\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThe Gelgoog represented one of the Principality of Zeon’s most advanced mobile suits of the One Year War and was one of the few machines capable of meeting the Gundam on broadly comparable technological terms.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eChar’s commander-type machine is today standardised as the \u003cstrong\u003eMS-14S Gelgoog\u003c\/strong\u003e, distinguished by its red colour scheme and association with the legendary \u003cstrong\u003e“Red Comet.”\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cspan class=\"contents\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eIntriguingly, however, this period poster itself prints:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“RX-78 VS MS-11S”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eand immediately beneath identifies the opposing machine as:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“MOBILE SUIT CHAR’S GELGOOG.”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThat unusual \u003cstrong\u003eMS-11S\u003c\/strong\u003e designation is an especially interesting piece of early \u003cem\u003eGundam\u003c\/em\u003e history. \u003cstrong\u003eMS-11 was originally associated with the Gelgoog development programme before the machine was redesignated MS-14\u003c\/strong\u003e, with MS-11 subsequently becoming associated with the Act Zaku. Early-period merchandise and model material is known to preserve the older MS-11 Gelgoog designation. \u003cspan class=\"contents\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eFor that reason, the period wording on this poster is worth retaining rather than silently “correcting” it to the modern designation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDesign\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThe landscape composition is dominated by an enormous \u003cstrong\u003eChar’s Gelgoog\u003c\/strong\u003e, rendered in brilliant crimson and viewed dramatically from below.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThe machine appears to surge directly toward the viewer, both hands gripping its distinctive \u003cstrong\u003ebeam naginata\u003c\/strong\u003e, whose luminous blue blade cuts horizontally across the upper-left portion of the composition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThe extreme foreshortening gives the Gelgoog enormous physical presence. Its hands, torso and armour occupy much of the sheet, creating a powerful sense that the viewer has been placed directly inside the battle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eImmediately behind it, the \u003cstrong\u003eRX-78 Gundam\u003c\/strong\u003e moves through space with its red shield raised, its familiar white, blue, red and yellow armour providing a vivid contrast against Char’s overwhelmingly red machine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eSurrounding them, additional mobile suits and craft dart through the star field while \u003cstrong\u003eyellow, blue and pink beams\u003c\/strong\u003e slice diagonally across the composition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eAt left, the blue-and-white curve of \u003cstrong\u003eEarth\u003c\/strong\u003e provides both depth and scale.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThe battle is therefore not contained within a conventional rectangular “scene”; it appears to extend beyond the boundaries of the paper itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eColour and composition\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThe palette is pure early \u003cem\u003eGundam\u003c\/em\u003e spectacle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eA nearly black field of space allows the machines and weapon effects to appear extraordinarily saturated:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ecrimson red, Federation white and blue, beam-sabre pink, laser yellow and the luminous turquoise of Earth.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThe gigantic red Gelgoog acts as the visual anchor, while the RX-78 and scattered combatants create a strong diagonal recession into space.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eUnlike many later anime posters, there is almost \u003cstrong\u003eno explanatory typography or promotional copy\u003c\/strong\u003e competing with the illustration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThe artwork is allowed to occupy essentially the entire sheet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eAt upper left appears only the classic early:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e機動戦士ガンダム \/ GUNDAM\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003elogo, while the lower-left corner carries the unusual machine identification:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRX-78 VS MS-11S\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMOBILE SUIT GUNDAM \/ MOBILE SUIT CHAR’S GELGOOG\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThe sparseness gives the poster the character of a dedicated \u003cstrong\u003ecollector’s art print\u003c\/strong\u003e rather than conventional cinema advertising.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eANIMEC\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003eANIMEC\u003c\/strong\u003e mark at the lower-right corner identifies the poster with the specialist anime retail culture of the period.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eANIMEC material from the early \u003cem\u003eGundam\u003c\/em\u003e boom is particularly interesting because it sits at the birth of the modern Japanese anime collector market—a period when specialist shops and publications increasingly treated animation artwork, posters, character goods and production imagery as objects worth collecting in their own right.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThis poster is therefore not simply an image of Gundam and Char’s Gelgoog. It is also a surviving document of the \u003cstrong\u003eearly organised fandom surrounding the franchise\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVery Good+ \/ Excellent original condition overall.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThe principal artwork retains \u003cstrong\u003eexceptionally strong colour\u003c\/strong\u003e, with deep black space tones, vivid crimson across Char’s Gelgoog, bright beam effects and excellent saturation throughout the RX-78 Gundam and surrounding imagery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003ePlease review all photographs carefully; they show the \u003cstrong\u003eexact poster for sale, front and reverse\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThis is an \u003cstrong\u003eoriginal Japanese ANIMEC promotional art poster from the early \u003cem\u003eMobile Suit Gundam\u003c\/em\u003e era\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eIt is \u003cstrong\u003enot a reproduction or modern reprint\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eIt is \u003cstrong\u003eover 40 years old\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCertificate of Authenticity included.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Japan Poster Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57280052068730,"sku":null,"price":175.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0424\/8859\/4591\/files\/wall-shelf-with-ornaments_36_50a6737e-e1da-43e2-a49c-ef6a2a562706.jpg?v=1789705405","url":"https:\/\/japanposter.co.uk\/products\/mobile-suit-gundam-rx-78-vs-ms-11s-original-release-japanese-promotional-poster-early-1980-s-very-rare-b2-size-51-x-73cm-l65-copy","provider":"Japan Poster Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}