GUNDAM SEED DESTINY is the latest incarnation of the popular franchise from Japan that has practically redefined the giant robot genre in the last 25 plus years.  Often being variations on a consistent theme, the stories that make up the Gundam canon usually involve young people fighting in devastating wars for freedom, or political self determination using huge and remarkably powerful weapons called Gundams.  Like a kind of comedia del arte for sci-fi fans, GUNDAM, like other popular franchises like STAR TREK is populated with stock characters and situations, long episodes of preachy dialogues on the nature of humanity, war, and destiny, among other fine topics, and sharp exchanges using conventional weapons in addition to the giant armored mobile suits that give the series its name.

DESTINY, direct sequel to GUNDAM SEED, fits in beautifully with its progenitors for it contains all of the above in abundance.  Falling asteroids, changing alliances, and new intrigues have rent old friends apart and have made wary friends out of old enemies.  Shin Asuka- Gundam pilot with a major vengeance complex, Princess Athha Cagalli- diplomat and pacifist working for the Earth Alliance, Chairman Dullindal- leader of the PLANTs, as well as Athrun Zala- Cagalli’s bodyguard living on Earth under an assumed name because of his connection to PLANT councilman Patrick Zala, his father, are in the thick of the action as the world reels under the threat of another global war.  In Volume Three, Stella, one of the genetically enhanced pilots of these fearsome machines is killed in battle, sending Shinn, already troubled by events and his role in them over the edge.  Communities on Earth face destruction as new Gundams appear, blasting everything ins sight.  Politicians who were shapers of policy in Volume One are now on the run for their lives by the end of Volume Three.  And…new robots have been brought into the fight.  While pilots can’t be brought back from the dead, it seems some of the machines that appear and are destroyed can be repaired and put back into the fight.  Kira Yamato, piloting of these machines, is pitted once again in battle against his old friend/foe, Shinn. There is more reflection on the revulsion some feel towards concepts of human enhancement, and the ongoing diatribe among the characters about the nature of duty and loyalty reaches fever pitch as the Gundams go down in flames. 

As in Volume Two, Del Rey has provided a very useful guide to the main characters and a brief synopsis of the plot so far to get you up to speed.  There is still a problem with the art, however, with the characters drawn so stylistically that the male pilots are sometimes hard to tell apart.  The action scenes are more dynamically drawn in this outing, especially when giant swords are used to pierce the armor on the Gundams.  The image is remarkable in its beauty and its terror.  Still, this is a solid adaptation of the anime, and has an advantage that it can cut to the chase in the pages more easily than the series could, giving the work slightly less of the soap opera feel it possesses elsewhere.

IN SUMMARY:
GUNDAM SEED DESTINY VOLUME THREE combines action, romance, and heartbreak on an epic scale.  More amazing machines, shattering battles and everything else you expect to find in a Gundam story is here.  Launch yourself into armchair action with GUNDAM SEED DESTINY!