SD Гандам: Супердеформация және тарихы

Japanese media franchise

SD Gundam (SDガンダム) is a media franchise that spawned from the Gundam franchise. SD Gundam takes the mecha (and characters) from Gundam and expresses them in super deformed and anthropomorphic style.

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 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 between 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 (Musha Gundam) which has a Sengoku setting, SD Gundam Gaiden (Knight Gundam) which has a fantasy medieval setting and SD Command Chronicles which has a modern military style to name a few.

While regular Gundam model lines strive for realism by introducing High Grade, Master Grade, and Perfect Grade models, SD Gundam models are designed for (and sometimes by) 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 (usually Musha based) models. The model kit series is called SD Gundam BB Senshi (SDガンダムBB戦士). The "BB" in the title comes from the fact that, initially, BB Senshi models came with airguns that shot BB gun pellets. 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 (in some cases, this is included in the storyline by the character growing to giant size to combat an equally large foe). Another model kit series called Ganzo SD Gundam (元祖SDガンダム), 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 (100, 200, 300, etc.) 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 (Musha, Knight, Command, G Generation). 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 (a pun on the mainline's 'BB' and 'chibi', meaning small) 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 (appearing in Dynasty Warriors: Gundam) and Banpresto releasing toys and mini statues based on 'real type' versions of Musha and Knight characters.

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' (depicting the character's upgraded form), 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.

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 (High Grade) 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 (orderly) RX 78 2, Aile Strike Gundam, Gundam Exia, Wing Gundam Zero EW, Gundam Unicorn (Destroy Mode), Strike Freedom Gundam, Astray Red Frame, OO Gundam, Destiny Gundam, Gundam Barbatos (form 4), 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.