SEEDs of War; the empty battlefield

The setting of Gundam SEED is one where the Earth is at war with the colonies of PLANT, who have fought for revenge and independence after Junius Seven, one of its colonies, was destroyed by nuclear weapons from Earth. After raging on for nearly one year, the war which was suppose to have been a quick victory for the Earth Alliance instead was escalating, finally reaching Heliopolis, a branch colony of the neutral nation of Orb. Kira Yamato, an engineering student living on Heliopolis, is thrust onto the path of war when soldiers from ZAFT (the military force of PLANT), invade and steal the secret weapons Orb has been developing for the Earth Alliance, even though Orb was suppose to be neutral...

Getting caught between the fighting as ZAFT soldiers activate the mobile suits, Kira comes face to face with his childhood best friend Athrun Zala, who had moved to PLANTs three years earlier whereas Kira and his family moved to Heliopolis soon after. Forced to defend his home and friends, Kira ends up fighting Athrun and Athrun's comrades; a situation painful for the both of them.

At first Athrun is reluctant to fight Kira, trying to convince him he should be siding with PLANTs, since Kira is a Coordinator like all of PLANTs. But Kira doesn't want to leave his friends from Heliopolis in danger, and stays in the Earth Alliance to fight to protect everyone. Their friendship turns to hate as they continuously fight and kill the people around them, becoming trapped in the endless circles of war.

Technical terms

Earth Alliance/OMNI is the military force of Earth, whereas ZAFT is the military unit of the colonies of PLANTs. The rift between the two has a long history, largely due to racism. The Coordinators (humans with modified genes) moved to PLANTs when the people of Earth (called the Naturals) showed too much hostilities toward them. There had been previous fighting, but actual war was declared when Junius Seven was destroyed along with all of its inhabitants.

- for more information on Gundam SEED, see here.

Ⅰ The origin  ·  the franchise and original series
Ⅱ The sequel  ·  two years later, the broken world
Ⅲ Kira Yamato  ·  he was unwillingly thrust into war
Ⅳ Athrun Zala  ·  he was fighting for his homeland