During the war between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon, an attack on Side 7 turns civilian Amuro Ray into the pilot of the Gundam. The original television series begins its military conflict through a young person caught in a colony raid.
The story's year is Universal Century 0079, a calendar belonging to its setting rather than the show's release date. Amuro's entry into combat comes from an attack on his home, not a long military career. The 1979 television run remains distinct from its compilation films and later Universal Century series.
The exposed cockpit brings the scale of the emergency back to Amuro's body. The opening image shows him pulling back a covering over the machine’s cockpit. Before the Gundam becomes an answer to the attack, it is unfamiliar equipment that a civilian has to get inside.