[ALTERNATIVE] Harutoshi Fukui's Traces of Six Stains (Story.01)

This is not the Gundam you're looking for.

Call me crazy, call this a bonus perk, I'm not sure. I'll just say this is "Gundam-adjacent" for lack of a better descriptor!

Love him or hate him, I would argue that Fukui is probably just as misunderstood as Tomino at this point. A lot of people seem to parrot the same talking points about him, either citing an old article calling him the Japanese "Tom Clancy" or dredging up his "this didn't age well" comment from an interview where he likened himself to JJ Abrams. Either way, people don't seem to know much about him and probably know even less about the content of the stories that he penned. Most know he wrote an off-the-wall version of Turn A Gundam, one that Tomino metaphorically kicked his arse over. Despite that, Tomino recognized his talent as a writer and has spoken at great length with him on numerous occasions. For those interested, there is a lengthy interview with him here where they discuss war and such: https://zeonic-republic.net/?page_id=12009

But, like many things in the fandom, stuff gets parroted ad nauseam. It's banana logic and mental gymnastics sometimes. So, a couple of years ago (oh god, it was during the void--I mean pandemic), I started diving into his older works, mainly because of another future project after G-Saviour, to see what the deal was. First, I started tackling his "How Deep is Your River, Mr. Guard?" novel, one that is known as his debut release. Then I discovered he actually had a bunch of shorts serialized over the years, so I went back and tackled that first.

So, here we are with the first of six.

ABOUT THE WORK

This riveting collection brings together short stories published in prestigious literary magazines like Shousetsu Gendai, Mondai Shousetsu, and All Yomimono between 1998-2000, plus a novella from the 2004 anthology Rampo Award Authors: White Mysteries. Marking Harutoshi Fukui's debut short story collection, these tales revolve around DAIS (Defense Agency Intelligence Service), the shadowy intelligence organization featured throughout Fukui's universe. Here, we follow the lives of field agents living undercover among ordinary citizens, balancing deadly missions with mundane daily existence. A Naoki Prize nominee that illuminates the human cost of invisible warfare, this collection reminds us that extraordinary courage often wears the most ordinary face.