{"id":40900,"date":"2024-05-31T13:59:05","date_gmt":"2024-05-31T20:59:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/?p=40900"},"modified":"2025-06-10T11:37:48","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T18:37:48","slug":"magmix525","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/magmix525\/","title":{"rendered":"Magmix<\/em> article, May 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Traditional thought experiment: \u201cWhite Base<\/em> vs. Yamato<\/em>\u201d<\/h2>\n

Reconsidering it today, is there a gap that makes comparison impossible?<\/h3>\n

by Masaki Ando<\/em><\/p>\n

Published May 14 by Magmix. See the original article here<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

There is a classic topic of discussion online: \u201cWhat would happen if the White Base<\/em> from Mobile Suit Gundam<\/em> fought the Yamato<\/em> from Space Battleship Yamato<\/em>?\u201d What would the outcome be?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Was this a topic of discussion when Gundam<\/em> was first broadcast?<\/h3>\n

Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> and Mobile Suit Gundam<\/em> are two of the biggest names in Japanese science-fiction animation, and both continue to attract new fans even today. A classic topic of discussion that brings these two works together is the thought experiment of \u201cWhite Base<\/em> vs. Space Battleship Yamato<\/em>.\u201d This topic is still discussed on social media today, but as far back as the December 1979 issue of Animage<\/em>, a reader asked, \u201cWhich is stronger, Yamato<\/em> or White Base<\/em>?\u201d to which Mobile Suit Gundam<\/em> director Yoshiyuki Tomino replied, \u201cIf White Base<\/em> can avoid the Wave-Motion Gun, it’s obviously stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n

The above statement can be seen as a service to Gundam<\/em> fans, but what would happen if the two actually fought? Let’s take another look.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

First, let’s compare their speeds. Is the difference in civilization levels too great?<\/h3>\n

If we think about it logically, Yamato<\/em> would win without a doubt. Yamato<\/em> has a warp function and can travel at 99% of the speed of light even without warping. That’s faster than the bullet speed of the Mega Particle Cannon used in Gundam<\/em> (which is around 10-33% of the speed of light, depending on the setting), so it’s literally \u201cfaster than a bullet.\u201d The technological levels of the two works are simply too different.<\/p>\n

Of course, Yamato<\/em> isn’t always traveling at 99% of the speed of light. I don’t think the Cosmo Tigers, which are carrier-based aircraft, could fight at such speeds. They must be traveling at a much slower speed.<\/p>\n

So, how fast is it? Yamato<\/em> itself has adopted ultra-advanced technologies such as the Wave-Motion Engine brought from the planet Iscandar, but the aircraft probably don’t have wave engines. While the exact speed is unknown, they are said to have the ability to escape Earth’s atmosphere on their own, meaning they can achieve at least the second cosmic velocity (43,000 km\/h).<\/p>\n

In Mobile Suit Gundam<\/em>, the world is amazed when the protagonist’s mobile suit, Gundam, can jump and fly. Even a fighter jet would be unable to escape Earth’s atmosphere on its own.<\/p>\n

Aside from White Base<\/em>, there is the question about whether the weapons in Mobile Suit Gundam<\/em> could damage Yamato<\/em>. In fact, the attacks by the Earth fleet before the introduction of the wave engine were largely ineffective against the Gamilas warships due to the technological gap.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

However, even this \u201cEarth fleet before the introduction of wave engines\u201d actually possesses incredible performance. According to the remake version, the Kongo-class space battleship Kirishima<\/em> can apparently travel from Mars to Pluto and back in three weeks. In the original work, a battle near Pluto was depicted, so there should be little difference.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the Jupiter transport fleet’s Jupitris<\/em> in Gundam is said to take two years to travel from Earth to Jupiter, so it is possible to compare their speeds.<\/p>\n

Kirishima<\/em>: Mars to Pluto (approximately 9.3 billion km) in 21 days (442.85 million km per day)
\n\u3000
\nJupitris<\/em>: Earth to Jupiter (approximately 886 million km) in 730 days (1,213,698 km per day)<\/p>\n

In other words, Kirishima<\/em> has 353 times the cruising speed of Jupitris<\/em>. It is reasonable to assume that the aircraft carried by these ships also have similar performance differences.<\/p>\n

A 353-fold difference means that, using walking speed (4 km\/h) as a reference, the speed is 1,412 km\/h (Mach 1.15). In other words, even against the Earth fleet without wave engines before the appearance of Yamato<\/em>, there would be a civilizational gap akin to soldiers with bows and arrows fighting jet fighters.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Which Gundam unit could potentially retaliate with its attack power?<\/h3>\n

The most powerful attack in Gundam<\/em> is the \u201cColony Drop,\u201d which uses a space colony as a mass bomb. This attack has the power to destroy Earth’s environment and alter its rotational speed, but it still pales in comparison to the Wave-Motion Gun mounted on Yamato<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The Wave Gun has the power to completely shatter a floating continent the size of Australia, and in the series, its users hesitate to use it if the target has a planet behind it. In other words, the Wave Gun, which can erase an entire continent, surpasses the Colony Drop, which wiped out the city of Sydney.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the remake version of Yamato<\/em> can deploy a Wave Barrier, a shield made of wave energy, so it would likely remain unscathed even if hit by the \u201cSolar Ray,\u201d a laser cannon from an ultra-giant space colony. And since the weapons mounted on White Base<\/em> do not seem to possess the same power as the Wave Gun or the colony drop, I believe there is no way to inflict damage on Yamato<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

By the way, the strongest weapon in the Gundam<\/em> series is likely the Turn A, which exists \u201c10,000 years after the Universal Century.\u201d The \u201cMoonlight Butterfly\u201d mounted on the Turn A is a terrifying weapon that can \u201cdecompose all matter and energy, including beams, missiles, and forests, and destroy civilization\u201d using nanomachines.<\/p>\n

Turn A has demonstrated the power to push back the atmospheric escape-capable space battleship Jandarm<\/em> head-on, so it likely possesses power surpassing that of a Cosmo Tiger II. With such power, it might be able to defeat the \u201cEarth fleet without wave engines.\u201d<\/p>\n

If we were to consider a hypothetical showdown with Yamato<\/em>, enemies like the Zentradi Army from Macross<\/em> (which is also capable of interstellar travel and has a fleet of approximately 500,000 ships) or the Buff Clan from Legendary Giant God Ideon<\/em> (which possesses the superweapon \u201cGand Roa\u201d capable of destroying a Jupiter-class planet) would make for a more fitting challenge.<\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Return to previous article<\/a><\/p>\n

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