The year is 2307 A.D. Although fossil fuels have been depleted, humanity has obtained a new source of energy to replace them, in the form of a large-scale solar power generation system based on three huge orbital elevators. However, the benefits of this system are available only to a handful of major powers and their allies. In this world of never-ending conflict, a private armed organization appears, dedicated to the elimination of war through armed force. Its name is Celestial Being, and it is in possession of "Gundam" mobile suits.
The story takes place in the year 1614. Two ninja clans, Tsubagakure of the Iga and Manjidani of Kouga, battle each other to determine which grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu will become the next shogun. The deadly competition between 10 elite ninja from each clan unleashes a centuries-old hatred that threatens to destroy all hope for peace between them.
Tatsumiyajima is the central island in the middle of a small cluster of islands, in a sleepy backwater of the Japanese isles. Not much happens there, and the island's young people go to school knowing that their lives are likely to remain peaceful and undisturbed. Or so they have been taught...but the truth is different. The fate of mankind is on the line, and Tatsumiyajima is the last line of defense against a hostile and incomprehensible enemy. At the center of it all, fighting for Humanity's continued existence, is the giant robot Fafner, the dragon that guards this final treasure of mankind.
Cosmic Era 71. Mankind has developed into two subspecies: Naturals, who reside on Earth, and Coordinators, genetically enhanced humans capable of withstanding the rigors of space who inhabit orbital colonies known as PLANTs. The story revolves around a young Coordinator named Kira Yamato, who becomes involved in the war between the two races after a neutral space colony secretly developing mobile suits for the Earth Alliance is attacked by the PLANTs' military force, ZAFT.
After Colony (A.C.) 195. Mankind has moved into space. Thousands of people live on giant orbiting space colonies called "Sides." However, the Earth Government, which rules the colonies, is unjust and cruel. A group of revolutionaries builds five robotic weapons called Gundams and plans to send them to Earth to begin their fight for independence. Piloted by five young men, these Gundams carry the hopes and dreams of freedom of the colonists with them as they descend to Earth to begin Operation Meteor!
Six long months have passed. The Raalgon Empire has developed a horrible new type of weapon, and Tylor has been charged with the duty of intercepting it as it is being transported. But when all that could go wrong does go wrong, the crew members of the Soyokaze find themselves at the mercy of their enemies. As the hours tick down toward their execution, the crew wonders: has their irresponsible captain misled them? Or is this all a part of some greater strategy?
In the Year F.C. (Future Century) 60, much of mankind inhabits space colonies which orbit the Earth. Dominance over the colonies is decided once every four years by a large tournament in which each nation sends a single representative to fight the others with a giant robot called a Gundam. Domon Kashuu is selected to represent Neo-Japan in one of these tournaments, but he fights less to ensure his nation's victory than to find his brother, who has been blamed for the deaths of Domon's parents and the disappearance of a very dangerous weapon, the Devil Gundam (Dark Gundam).
In the near future, humanity has taken its first steps towards journeying into the far reaches of the galaxy. Upon doing so they discover a huge race of insectoid aliens known as "Space Monsters." These aliens seem dedicated to the eradication of mankind as they near closer and closer to discovering Earth. In response, humanity develops giant fighting robots piloted by hand-picked youth from around the world. Shortly after the discovery of the aliens, Noriko Takaya, the daughter of a famous deceased space captain, enters a training school despite her questionable talents as a pilot. There, she meets her polar opposite, the beautiful and talented Kazumi Amano, and is unexpectedly made to work together with her as they attempt to overcome the trauma of war as well as their own emotions.
The year is Universal Century 0088. Directly after the end of the Gryps War, Haman Karn and her army of Zeon remnants on the asteroid Axis begin their quest of reviving the lost empire of the Zabi's, and proclaim themselves as the Neo-Zeon. With the Earth Federation as hapless as ever, only the Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG) is able oppose the plans of Neo-Zeon. In need of all the help it can get after being decimated in the previous war and losing many of its key members, the AEUG ship Argama enlists the aid of a young junk collector from the Side 1 colony of Shangri-La named Judau Ashta to pilot its newest mobile suit, the ZZ Gundam.
Universal Century 0087, 7 years have passed since the end of the One Year War between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon. The Earth Federation has created an elite task force, known as the Titans, who are responsible for hunting the remaining Zeon forces. However, the power-hungry Titans have spurred the creation of a rebellious faction called the Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG).