Correct Century

Correct Century (CC), also known as Seireki (正暦) in Japanese, is the timeline of the anime television series ∀ Gundam and its related projects. Set in the far future after the events of the Dark History, the Correct Century represents a unique timeline that theoretically encompasses all previous Gundam series as part of its distant past.

The Japanese term Seireki is a wordplay on the Japanese term for the Common Era (CE) Western calendar system (西暦), which is also pronounced Seireki. This linguistic connection suggests that the world of Correct Century is not entirely different from the real world.

Timeline

Set in an indeterminate number of years into the far-flung future, Correct Century is a universe in which all technology on Earth and human civilisations in space, except for the Moon, had regressed following the culmination of mankind’s Dark History. The technological level on Earth in this timeline was comparable to that of the real world in the early 20th century, with steam-powered technology and World War I-era equipment being the norm.

The series takes place in Correct Century 2345, approximately 2,000 years after the end of the Space Age. During this period, humanity has largely forgotten its advanced past, with massive space colonies and mobile suits existing only as buried relics of a bygone era.

The Dark History

The Dark History refers to the sealed records of the Space Wars that occurred during various eras with names like the Universal Century, Future Century, After Colony, and After War. After countless years of war and destruction, these memories were sealed from human consciousness.

The final catastrophe of the Dark History involved nanomachine-powered Gundams that devastated the Earth’s surface and annihilated most of the population. During this catastrophe, a nation of people escaped from Earth to settle on the Moon, becoming the Moonrace.

Setting

In stark contrast to the backwards nature of Earthlings was the almost utopian society of the Moonrace, a futuristic civilisation which had changed the barren landscape of the Moon into a paradise. The Moonrace was the only group which had advanced to the point of having their own mobile suits, whilst the people of Earth only found mobile suits as relics of the far-flung past in archaeological digs.

The majority of the series takes place in North America, referred to as North Ameria in the Correct Century. Various territories had altered names based on real-world locations: Ameria instead of America, Inglessa instead of England, and Luzianna instead of Louisiana.

Series & Films

The Correct Century timeline encompasses the following animated works:

Title	Type	Release date
∀ Gundam	TV	9 Apr 1999–14 Apr 2000
∀ Gundam I: Earth Light	Movie	9 Feb 2002
∀ Gundam II: Moonlight Butterfly	Movie	10 Feb 2002

∀ Gundam

Main article: ∀ Gundam

The centerpiece of the Correct Century timeline, ∀ Gundam was created for the Gundam Big Bang 20th Anniversary celebration. Directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, the series was his return to the Gundam franchise after a five-year hiatus following Mobile Suit Victory Gundam.

The series follows Loran Cehack, a young member of the Moonrace who was sent to Earth as part of a reconnaissance mission. When the Moonrace begins their return to Earth, misunderstandings lead to conflict. During a coming-of-age ceremony, the mysterious statue known as the White Doll crumbles to reveal the fully functional System ∀-99 ∀ Gundam, forcing Loran to fight his own people to protect the Earth inhabitants he had grown to care for.

The series was notable for featuring mechanical designs by Syd Mead, the renowned concept artist known for his work on Blade Runner, Aliens, and Tron. ∀ Gundam was also the last entry in the Gundam franchise to be mostly hand-painted on cels, with subsequent series switching to digital ink and paint.

Mecha

Main article: Correct Century mecha

The mobile suits of the Correct Century represent a unique blend of past and future technology. Many of the mobile suits discovered on Earth were relics from the Dark History, whilst the Moonrace possessed advanced mobile suits of their own design.

Earth Mobile Suits

The Earth Militia forces relied primarily on excavated mobile suits from the Dark History, which they discovered buried in the “mountain cycles” across the landscape. These included:

• MS-06 Borjarnon - Based on the MS-06 Zaku II from the Universal Century
• AMX-109 Kapool - Derived from the AMX-109 Capule of the First Neo Zeon War
• System ∀-99 ∀ Gundam - The mysterious mobile suit found within the White Doll statue

Moonrace Mobile Suits

The Moonrace possessed technologically advanced mobile suits that incorporated modern design philosophy:

• CONCEPT-X 6-1-2 Turn X - The counterpart to the ∀ Gundam
• JMA-0530 Wodom - Heavy assault mobile armor
• MRC-F20 SUMO - Mass production mobile suit

The designs by Syd Mead incorporated real-world industrial design aspects, making them look simple and realistic compared to traditional Gundam designs. This aesthetic choice reflected the series’ themes of technology and its impact on humanity.

Manga

Several manga works have been created within the Correct Century timeline:

Title	Author(s)	Release Date(s)
∀ Gundam	Akira Soga	1999–2000
∀ Gundam	Kōichi Tokita	2000–2001
∀ Gundam: Tsuki no Kaze	Akira Yasuda	2004–2005

∀ Gundam: Tsuki no Kaze serves as a prequel to the main series, following a younger Loran prior to the events of the anime and showing the process of his training for the reconnaissance mission to Earth.

Relationship to Other Timelines

The Correct Century’s most significant aspect is its connection to all other Gundam timelines. Director Yoshiyuki Tomino created the series as a means of “affirmatively accepting all of the Gundam series”, which is reflected in the series title’s use of the turned A (∀), a mathematical symbol representing universal quantification.

Throughout the series, mobile suits resembling those from previous Gundam series are excavated, having been preserved by nanomachines for thousands of years. The Dark History archives contain footage from pivotal battles of previous Gundam series, including scenes from the Universal Century, Future Century, After Colony, and After War timelines.

This concept suggests that all Gundam timelines eventually converge into the Correct Century, making it a theoretical endpoint for the entire franchise. However, this connection is best enjoyed thematically rather than literally, as the series functions perfectly as a standalone work.

Legacy

The Correct Century timeline established several important precedents for the Gundam franchise:

• Technological regression: The concept of advanced civilisation reverting to simpler technology
• Environmental themes: The consequences of warfare on planetary ecosystems
• Timeline unification: The idea that all Gundam stories could be connected
• Alternative aesthetics: Demonstrating that Gundam could work with radically different design philosophies

The Correct Century’s influence can be seen in later series that explored similar themes of technological cycles, environmental concerns, and the long-term consequences of warfare. Its approach to unifying disparate timelines also paved the way for later crossover concepts in the franchise.

∀ Gundam marked Yoshiyuki Tomino’s intended conclusion to the Gundam franchise, though the series continued with new entries in subsequent years. The Correct Century remains a unique and experimental part of the Gundam universe, offering a different perspective on the recurring themes of war, technology, and humanity’s relationship with both.

See also

• Universal Century
• Future Century
• After Colony
• After War
• Dark History
• Gundam timelines

External links

• ∀ Gundam on the Gundam Wiki
• Correct Century on the Gundam Wiki