Front Mission Series: Gun Hazard (manga)

Front Mission Series: Gun Hazard  is a manga which was serialized in magazine publication Comic Bean from April 1996 to September 1996. The chapters were re-released by ASCII Comix on November 22, 1996. Front Mission Series: Gun Hazard is an expanded universe supplement to  Front Mission Series: Gun Hazard. The manga revolves around the stories of six characters before they are officially introduced in the video game. In effect, Front Mission Series: Gun Hazard can be seen as a prequel. The stories of the characters do follow the one before it in sequential order, and eventually sync up with the late-game events of  Front Mission: Gun Hazard.

Summary
Front Mission Series: Gun Hazard begins four years before the events of  Front Mission: Gun Hazard  in January 2060, and ends before the video game does in December 2064. Due to its structure, the story of  Series: Gun Hazard  can be loosely split into three acts.

1. In Norway, Brenda Lockheart and her partner Boris check in with the Bergen Army for their newest assignment. Meanwhile in the Middle East, Luven Al-Habi of the ARS Army infiltrates a Zohar Alliance stronghold to recon a new prototype weapon.

2. Vacationing in Peru, Dr. Akihito Sakata receives an urgent message from a former colleague in need of help. Somewhere in South America, Guardians commander Anita Diamonte investigates the loyalties of a new recruit to the fold.

3. A high-ranking Mexican government official hires the Crimson Blow mercenaries to assassinate a group of politicians. In Europe, Royce Felder begins working for the Society, an organization dedicated to advancing the globalization cause.

Major Sub-plots

 * Brenda's camaraderie with her Kernelight Association colleagues.
 * Luven's disdain of the never-ending wars in the Middle East.
 * Akihito's past life as a developer of the ATLAS orbital elevator.
 * Anita's paranoia over suspected spies within the Guardians.
 * Rook's reasoning for following Genoce and serving under him.
 * The painful loss of Genoce's idealism and good-hearted nature.
 * The Society's systematic corruption of Royce's mind and self.
 * The general feelings of hopelessness and despair among citizens of war-ravaged countries.

Trivia

 * Despite not being featured as a main character in any story, Albert's appearances in the featured stories adds a sense of continuity in the manga.
 * The Heulen Wolf wanzer seen in the manga is in an incomplete state. It is revealed that Genoce took the machine in its alpha state, and just completed the design sometime during  Front Mission: Gun Hazard.
 * There are eight color pages inside the manga.