For background info on the Universal Century, where Gundam 0080 takes place, see the U.C. Info section.
And so the story of Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket begins...
Volume 1: March 25, 1989
Gundam 0080 takes place in December, U.C. 0079. The Federation has finally driven the Zeon off of the earth and into space. The Gundam's pilot, Amuro Rei, is a Newtype. A Newtype is a new breed of humans with telepathic abilities that eventually evolved from living in space for so long, as Zeon Zum Daikun, founder of the Republic of Zeon (which would later become the Principality of Zeon), predicted. Amuro's abilities are too fast for his Gundam, so after immense amounts of research, the Federation is creating a second Gundam which is especially made for Newtypes to fix the problem. The Principality of Zeon's Cyclops Team is sent to destroy the new Gundam, first launching an attack at the Federation's antarctic base where the Gundam is being built.
Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket was the first Mobile Suit Gundam OVA. It was shown in Japan in 1989. An English dubbed version was released in the U.S. in 1998. A heavily "butchered" version was broadcasted on the Cartoon Network in 2001. Gundam 0080 was the first Gundam sidestory: instead of creating a new time period, Gundam 0080 was set in Universal Century 0079, when the original Gundam series takes place. However, new characters and new Mobile Suits still appeared in the series. Gundam 0080 was also the first Gundam series created by someone other than Yoshiyuki Tomino. Gundam 0080 was written and directed by Hiroyuki Yamaga (The Wings Of Honneamise), with mechanical designs by Yutaka Izubuchi (Patlabor, Garasaki) and character designs by Haruhiko Mikimoto (Macross). The following is the list Japanese airdates of the Gundam 0080 OVA:
Volume 2: April 25, 1989
Volume 3: May 25, 1989
Volume 4: June 25, 1989
Volume 5: July 25, 1989
Volume 6: August 25, 1989