Side 2

Side 2, also known as Hatte (ハッテ), was a space colony cluster located at Lagrange point L4 during the Universal Century. The colonies suffered devastating casualties during the One Week Battle of the One Year War and later became a strategic flashpoint in the Gryps Conflict, highlighting the vulnerability of civilian populations in space warfare.¹

Description

Side 2 comprised multiple O’Neill cylinders orbiting the stable L4 Lagrange point.¹ The mix of residential and industrial colonies supported a large civilian population whilst occupying a strategic node within the Earth Sphere’s transport network.

One Year War

During the One Week Battle, the Principality of Zeon targeted Side 2’s cylinders in its opening offensive.² Several colonies were destroyed, contributing to the 5.8 billion casualties recorded in the war’s first week. Survivors emerged traumatised and infrastructure lay in ruins, yet the location retained strategic value because of its position within the L4 network. Side 2 became a symbol of the enormous civilian toll exacted by the conflict.²

Gryps Conflict

Decades later, Side 2 remained contested. The Titans occupied the surviving colonies, imposing harsh governance while exploiting the L4 position to police nearby traffic lanes.³ In response, the AEUG launched Operation Apollo to liberate the civilians and wrest control of the cluster. The campaign formed part of the broader Gryps Conflict strategy to dismantle Titans power across the Earth Sphere.³

Significance

Side 2’s history illustrates how space colonies remain vulnerable whenever war reaches the Earth Sphere.² Strategic locations place residents directly in the line of fire, erasing any hope of neutrality once hostilities begin. The cluster’s L4 position made it a recurring objective for rival factions, proving that geography continues to shape space warfare even generations after colonisation began.¹ Its repeated involvement across multiple conflicts shows how violence persists, affecting the same populations long after the original battles end.

Legacy

The colonies of Side 2 stand as a warning about the long-term costs of war on spacefaring societies. Their repeated devastation underscores how strategic habitats can become perpetual battlegrounds and how civilians bear the scars of successive conflicts.²

Behind the Scenes

Side 2 was created for the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise as one of the original Sides, suffering massive casualties during the One Week Battle. Its reappearance in Zeta Gundam as contested territory during the Gryps Conflict demonstrated that strategic locations remained important across conflicts.⁴

Director Tomino Yoshiyuki used Side 2 to show how space colonies – humanity’s hope for the future – became targets and battlegrounds, with civilian populations suffering repeatedly.⁴

Appearances

Side 2 is depicted in Mobile Suit Gundam and returns in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, reflecting its importance across multiple eras.

See also

Explore related articles on the One Week Battle, Operation Apollo, the Gryps Conflict, and faction profiles for the AEUG and Titans.

External links

Additional background can be found in the Gundam Wiki entry “Side 2”.

Footnotes

1. Sunrise, Gundam Officials (Tokyo: Kadokawa Shoten, 2001), pp. 196–199. ↩ ↩² ↩³

2. Yoshiyuki Tomino (dir.), “Gundam Rising” and “Re-Entry to Earth”, Mobile Suit Gundam episodes 2–5 (Nagoya Broadcasting Network, 1979). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. Yoshiyuki Tomino (dir.), “Amuro Flies Again” and “Crisis at Side Two”, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam episodes 14–15 (Nagoya Broadcasting Network, 1985). ↩ ↩²

4. Tokuma Shoten, Roman Album Extra: Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (Tokyo: Tokuma Shoten, 1986), pp. 70–73. ↩ ↩²