Anno Domini

Anno Domini (AD) is the timeline of Mobile Suit Gundam 00 and its spinoff projects. Unlike previous Gundam installments, the timeline Anno Domini (abbreviated as AD or A.D) corresponds to the real-life Gregorian calendar, placing the story around 300 years into the future from the present day. This timeline distinguished itself by being the first in the Gundam franchise to be set within our own calendar system rather than a fictional era.

The Anno Domini timeline depicts a world where fossil fuels became exhausted and their distribution became imbalanced. Humanity came to rely on three large-scale solar power systems controlled by the three major power blocs, alongside the use of space elevators. Constant warfare around the globe for energy resources led to the formation of a private military organisation called Celestial Being, dedicated to the eradication of war through the use of four powerful mobile suits called Gundams.

Timeline

The Anno Domini storyline began with the visionary scientist Aeolia Schenberg, who at age 39 in 2090 presented a solution to the Global Fuel Crisis through a theoretical basis for the combined Orbital Elevator and photovoltaic energy system. While working on the concept of the orbital space elevator, Aeolia also worked on the development of humanoid machines—precursors to what would eventually become mobile suits.

The main conflicts of the timeline occurred between 2307 and 2314, spanning the interventions of Celestial Being, the formation of the Earth Sphere Federation, and ultimately the first contact with an alien species known as the Extraterrestrial Living-Metal Shape-shifters (ELS).

Series	Year
Mobile Suit Gundam 00P	AD 2292 to AD 2302
Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (Season 1)	AD 2307–2308
Mobile Suit Gundam 00F	AD 2307–2308
Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (Season 2)	AD 2312
Mobile Suit Gundam 00I	AD 2312
Mobile Suit Gundam 00: A Wakening of the Trailblazer	AD 2314
Mobile Suit Gundam 00I 2314	AD 2314

Mecha

The mobile suits of the Anno Domini timeline were powered by GN Drives, revolutionary semi-perpetual energy systems that utilised compressed GN particles. These particles not only provided near-unlimited energy but also had unique properties that affected human evolution and consciousness.

Celestial Being’s Gundams represented the pinnacle of mobile suit technology, each designed for specific combat roles. The GN-001 Gundam Exia specialised in close combat, the GN-002 Gundam Dynames excelled in long-range precision attacks, the GN-003 Gundam Kyrios provided aerial superiority, and the GN-005 Gundam Virtue served as heavy artillery, concealing the GN-004 Gundam Nadleeh within its armour.

The timeline’s mecha designs evolved through multiple generations, from the experimental Second Generation Gundams seen in side stories to the powerful Twin Drive System of the GN-0000 00 Gundam and ultimately the quantum-powered GNT-0000 00 Qan[T].

Series & Films

The Anno Domini timeline encompassed one main television series divided into two seasons, a theatrical film, and numerous side stories that expanded the universe.

Television Series

The television series Mobile Suit Gundam 00 aired from October 2007 to March 2009, comprising 50 episodes across two seasons. The first season (AD 2307–2308) depicted Celestial Being’s initial interventions against global conflicts, while the second season (AD 2312) showed their struggle against the oppressive A-Laws and the Innovades.

Films

Mobile Suit Gundam 00: A Wakening of the Trailblazer (AD 2314) served as the timeline’s conclusion, premiering in Japanese theatres on 18 September 2010. The film introduced the first alien antagonists in Gundam history, the ELS, and depicted humanity’s first contact with extraterrestrial life. This groundbreaking entry in the franchise explored themes of communication, understanding, and evolution on a cosmic scale.

Manga

The Anno Domini timeline featured an extensive collection of manga and light novels that expanded the universe’s lore and explored different perspectives on the main narrative.

Main Story Adaptations

Several manga series directly adapted the main storyline, providing additional scenes and character development:

Side Stories

The timeline’s side stories explored the history of Celestial Being and introduced characters and events that occurred parallel to the main narrative:

Prequel Series:

• Mobile Suit Gundam 00P - A photonovel series following the Second Generation Gundam Meisters 15 years before the main series
• Mobile Suit Gundam 00F - Focused on Fereshte, a secret Celestial Being unit operating during Season 1

Concurrent Series:

• Mobile Suit Gundam 00I - Featured Innovades during Season 2 events
• Mobile Suit Gundam 00V - Explored various mobile suit variations and their pilots

Post-Series:

• Mobile Suit Gundam 00I 2314 - A sequel to 00I set during the film’s timeframe

Character Studies

Additional manga explored character backgrounds and relationships:

Technology & Concepts

The Anno Domini timeline introduced several unique technological and thematic concepts to the Gundam franchise:

GN Technology

The revolutionary GN Drive technology formed the backbone of the timeline’s advanced mobile suits. These semi-perpetual motion engines produced GN particles that not only powered the machines but also had profound effects on human consciousness and evolution.

Human Evolution

A central theme of the timeline was humanity’s evolution into Innovators, beings with enhanced quantum brainwaves capable of true understanding and communication. This concept reached its culmination in the movie, where humanity’s evolutionary step enabled communication with alien life.

Global Powers

The timeline depicted a world divided between three major power blocs that controlled orbital elevators and solar power systems:

Legacy

The Anno Domini timeline distinguished itself within the Gundam franchise through several notable achievements:

• First Real-World Calendar: Unlike other Gundam series set in fictional eras, Anno Domini used our own calendar system
• First Alien Antagonists: The ELS in A Wakening of the Trailblazer marked the first time extraterrestrial life served as the primary antagonist in a Gundam production
• Evolution Theme: The timeline’s focus on human evolution and communication provided a unique philosophical framework
• Contemporary Relevance: By setting the story 300 years in the future from our time, the series addressed contemporary issues of energy crisis and global conflict

The Anno Domini timeline concluded with humanity’s first steps into interstellar space and the beginning of a new era of cosmic understanding, establishing it as one of the most thematically ambitious entries in the Gundam franchise.

See also

• Gundam series and films
• Gundam timelines
• Universal Century
• Cosmic Era

External links

• Anno Domini on the Gundam Wiki
• Mobile Suit Gundam 00 on Wikipedia