Figuring Out Gundam

[JCBeezy]

Like it was for a lot of people, Gundam Wing was my first forray into the world of Gundam. It was the first mecha/giant robot/real robot anime that ever caught my attention (though we had Voltron, Robotech, etc), and I still have vivid memories of it today, despite not having seen it for nearly ten years.

While the US has gotten to see a decent amount of Gundam shows thanks to Toonami, I've only found out recently that there's a bigger world than I thought. A lot bigger.

At this point and time, I have just finished a three-day "kill all ten discs of SEED in one weekend" project. Since it was my last weekend before starting back college, I wanted something to completely relax me physically, but provoke me mentally. Plus, while I've had SEED on DVD for years, I've never gotten past the 4th or 5th DVD (16 year old me wasn't a fan of Kira's "wahhh i dun wanna kill peeples"). Now that I was older, I was able to dedicate myself to finishing the whole thing.

While SEED itself was fairly good (though it does have it's moments where I felt my brain explode out of my ears...which hurts), I found that SEED Destiny made my brain hurt in under 10 episodes. While the first 5-ish to 8 episodes of Destiny were really, really good, they kind of shot the plot development and character arcs from SEED in the face and left them in the desert to bleed out. Darn you writers, you ruined Athrun in less than 3 hours. Assholes.

So, I'm hoping that, while I'm in the mood for Gundam stuff, I can find the series that I really need to see, that hold up well.

The series that I've seen and recall vividly are:

Wing, G Gundam, 08th MS Team, and SEED. I've seen bits of pieces of the original stuff, through the random showings we used to have on Toonami, but not enough to have any grand recall of them.

So, my first question is, what should I be watching? Gundam 00? Zeta? Stardust Memory? Mobile Suit Gundam? I am one of those weird people who enjoy dubs, but I can easily watch subbed stuff too obviously. Just some guidance would be helpful!

[Koby]

I've made a Gundam Time Line that shows what order to watch the series in (if they fit in the same timeline as another series).

0-------------0

|(Legend)-----|

|-Movie-------|

|---OVA-------|

|-----Special-|

0-------------0

Mobile Suit Gundam (1979)

-Mobile Suit Gundam Movie 1 (1981)

-Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow (1981)

-Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters in Space (1982)

---

---Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War (2004)

---Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO: Apocalypse 0079 (2006)

---Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO 2: Gravity of the Battlefront (2008)

---

---Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team (1996)

-Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team - Miller's Report (1998)

---Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket (1989)

---Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (1991)

-Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: The Fading Light of Zeon (1992)

---

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (1985)

-Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation -Heir to the Stars- (2005)

-Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation II -Lovers- (2005)

-Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation III -Love is the Pulse of the Stars- (2006)

Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (1986)

-----Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ - Gundam Frag. (2009)

-Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack (1988)

-----All That Gundam (1989)

---Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn (2010)

-Mobile Suit Gundam F91 (1991)

-----Gundam: Mission to the Rise (1998)

Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (1993)

-Ring of Gundam (2009)

Mobile Fighter G Gundam (1994)

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (1995)

---Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Operation Meteor (1996)

---

---Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz (1997)

-Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz Movie (1998)

---

---Gundam Evolve (2007)

After War Gundam X (1996)

Turn A Gundam (1999)

-Turn A Gundam I: Earth Light (2002)

-Turn A Gundam II: Moonlight Butterfly (2002)

-Gundam G-Saviour (2000)

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed (2002)

-----Mobile Suit Gundam Seed: After-Phase Between the Stars (2004)

---

-----Mobile Suit Gundam Seed - Special Edition I - The Empty Battlefield (2004)

-----Mobile Suit Gundam Seed - Special Edition II - The Far-Away Dawn (2004)

-----Mobile Suit Gundam Seed - Special Edition III - The Rumbling Sky (2004)

---

---Mobile Suit Gundam Seed MSV Astray (2004)

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny (2004)

---Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny Final Plus: The Chosen Future (2005)

---

-----Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny - Special Edition I - The Broken World (2006)

-----Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny - Special Edition II - Respective Swords (2006)

-----Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny - Special Edition III - The Hell Fire of Destiny (2006)

-----Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny - Special Edition IV - The Cost of Freedom (2006)

---

---Mobile Suit Gundam Seed C.E.73: Stargazer (2006)

-----Mobile Suit Gundam Seed - Character Theater (2007)

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (2007)

-----Mobile Suit Gundam 00 - Tenshi-tachi no Kiseki (2008)

-Mobile Suit Gundam 00 - Special Edition I - Celestial Being (2009)

-Mobile Suit Gundam 00 - Special Edition II - End of World (2009)

-Mobile Suit Gundam 00 - Special Edition III - Return of World (2010)

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Second Season (2008)

-Mobile Suit Gundam 00 - Awakening of the Trailblazer (2010)

-----30th Gundam Perfect Mission (2009)

That said my favorites in order are:

Gundam 08th MS Team

Gundam 0079

Gundam 00

Gundam Seed

Gundam Wing

I have watched every Gundam anime entry except for Victory Gundam, After War Gundam X, Gundam Unicorn and Turn-A Gundam. I plan to watch those three soon so I can say I watched them all. I'm waiting to watch Gundam Unicorn until it's finished being released as it takes so long between episodes.

[JCBeezy]

I was hoping to get someone's opinion on After War Gundam X, as a friend told me you could watch it before Wing and it made Wing more interesting in hindsight, thinking of X as the precursor to Wing (though X comes after production wise).

[VolvoKing]

Thanx for the timeline Koby. Its a great help to me as well but now I'm even more confused on what timeline to follow first or are they considered parallel universes.

[Koby]

Thanx for the timeline Koby. Its a great help to me as well but now I'm even more confused on what timeline to follow first or are they considered parallel universes.

All of them without a line break are joined in the same universe. If there is a line break then it's set in a different universe.

ex. Gundam 0079 through Ring of Gundam is all part of the U.C. time line. While G Gundam is set all on it's own in a different universe.

[JCBeezy]

Thanks for the timeline btw Koby. I saw it on another thread and saved it then, but it's an insanely useful document.

So I've grabbed the remastered Wing, 08th MS Team, and HD Unicorn and 00 (with movie), and I'm currently working on Stardust Memory, After War Gundam X, the new Zeta movies, and the original Mobile Suit Gundam movie trilogy (both movie series are so I can judge if I want to take on the 50-ish episode series). Considering Victory Gundam too.

Where should I start guys?

[Koby]

Thanks for the timeline btw Koby. I saw it on another thread and saved it then, but it's an insanely useful document.

So I've grabbed the remastered Wing, 08th MS Team, and HD Unicorn and 00 (with movie), and I'm currently working on Stardust Memory, After War Gundam X, the new Zeta movies, and the original Mobile Suit Gundam movie trilogy (both movie series are so I can judge if I want to take on the 50-ish episode series). Considering Victory Gundam too.

Where should I start guys?

I don't know if you plan to watch them in Japanese or English but just so you know several of the series, ova's, and movies never got dubbed. Also the movies for the original series has a totally different cast and it sounds completely terrible in the English version. I'd actually suggest skipping most of the movies as like you said they are mostly just trimmed down recaps of the series. So you'll really be missing a lot of the story, pretty much every bit of the character development, etc... If you must watch them, as I did lol, then I'd suggest watching them after you've seen the series they are for.

[JCBeezy]

So I'm assuming I should just start with Mobile Suit Gundam and build all the way up to Gundam 00?

[Koby]

So I'm assuming I should just start with Mobile Suit Gundam and build all the way up to Gundam 00?

If that's what you want to do then sure. I'd recommend at least watching Gundam 0079, Gundam 08th MS Team, Gundam Wing, Gundam Seed, and both seasons of Gundam 00 if you weren't planning on watching all the shows.

Some people seem to think Zeta Gundam was the greatest season but to be honest I was rather let down about it after watching the original right before it. The main character pales in comparison to Amuro, and the story just felt meh... the only thing I liked was the upgraded Zeta Gundam... but then it gets re-used as an outdated model in Gundam ZZ. Gundam ZZ started off slowly and I was unsure about it, but about 15-20 episodes in if I remember correctly it started getting better and by the end of it I was glad I watched it.

As I said I still haven't seen Victory Gundam, After War Gundam X, and Turn-A Gundam yet to give any advice on them.

G Gundam I see those that tend to not really enjoy the others actually enjoyed this one. I thought it was wacky and didn't fit within the series. After it had 'Mummy' Gundams that could regenerate when blown up, etc.. and all sorts of goofy crap. Then the main Gundam, Burning Gundam, had a special attack, which wasn't so special when it's used left and right in every battle and called 'Shining Finger!'. The whole series just seemed like some goofy cartoon to the way it played out monster of the week style.

[JCBeezy]

Well, of course, I've seen Wing, Seed, and 08th MS Team (but am happy to refresh obviously), and I'm admittedly excited by the prospect of Gundam 00.

I just don't want to miss out on something if I don't watch 0079 right away. I was planning on watching Wing, and then 00, as I've heard the latter is almost a spiritual successor to the former. Plus, it's pretty dammit (and even by Zeta standards, Wing looks like crap sometimes).

But I must say Koby, with what I've seen of Turn A, I think if you're a fan of the UC stuff (at it's best), it's definitely worth a watch. Though it does seem like Tomino made it the way he did to tell Bandai to fuck off. haha

[Ankh]

So I've grabbed the remastered Wing, 08th MS Team, and HD Unicorn and 00 (with movie), and I'm currently working on Stardust Memory, After War Gundam X, the new Zeta movies, and the original Mobile Suit Gundam movie trilogy (both movie series are so I can judge if I want to take on the 50-ish episode series). Considering Victory Gundam too.

Where should I start guys?

First off stop what you're doing and delete the Zeta movies. The only thing decent about them is the updated animation, other than that they do nothing for you if you plan on watch ZZ and CCA.

So I'm assuming I should just start with Mobile Suit Gundam and build all the way up to Gundam 00?

No need to watch every single Gundam series since theres only a few good ones. Ones made by Tomino are certainly worth the watch. I would say skip SEED and 00.

If that's what you want to do then sure. I'd recommend at least watching Gundam 0079, Gundam 08th MS Team, Gundam Wing, Gundam Seed, and both seasons of Gundam 00 if you weren't planning on watching all the shows.

Some people seem to think Zeta Gundam was the greatest season but to be honest I was rather let down about it after watching the original right before it. The main character pales in comparison to Amuro, and the story just felt meh... the only thing I liked was the upgraded Zeta Gundam... but then it gets re-used as an outdated model in Gundam ZZ. Gundam ZZ started off slowly and I was unsure about it, but about 15-20 episodes in if I remember correctly it started getting better and by the end of it I was glad I watched it.

As I said I still haven't seen Victory Gundam, After War Gundam X, and Turn-A Gundam yet to give any advice on them.

I consider Zeta one of the more interesting and well written Gundam series to this date. Tomino really did a 180 and gave us something incredible to enjoy. Because of the small timeskip they give you a new newtype Gundam pilot who teams up with the most popular Gundam character ever. The only really bad part about watching it is the the dialogue is a little poorly written for the first arc or so, but once they settle down on earth and meet Amuro things seem to pan out a lot better.

Oh, and lol newtypelovin. Zeta has a lot of female characters and Kamille seems to fall in love countless times.

Well, of course, I've seen Wing, Seed, and 08th MS Team (but am happy to refresh obviously), and I'm admittedly excited by the prospect of Gundam 00.

I just don't want to miss out on something if I don't watch 0079 right away. I was planning on watching Wing, and then 00, as I've heard the latter is almost a spiritual successor to the former. Plus, it's pretty dammit (and even by Zeta standards, Wing looks like crap sometimes).

But I must say Koby, with what I've seen of Turn A, I think if you're a fan of the UC stuff (at it's best), it's definitely worth a watch. Though it does seem like Tomino made it the way he did to tell Bandai to fuck off. haha

Turn A for me is one of my favorites and I'm actually surprised anyone liked it without seeing Tomino's earlier works. 08th MS Team is a fun watch, but it boils down to some poorly written love story that makes little sense in retrospect.

My recommendation:

1. 0079 Movie Trilogy - You won't be missing so much from the story that it will ruin watching Zeta, and the updated animation is refreshing seeing as 0079 TV series was running thin on the budget. Youre ultimately getting a much better production and it is even now the best Gundam movie compilation out to date.
   
   
2. Zeta Gundam TV Series - As stated above Zeta is one of my favorite(if not my favorite) because of its change in writing from 0079. It's a lot darker themed so someone whos not interested in Gundams more kiddie-style Gundam shows will appreciate it.
   
   
3. ZZ and CCA - These two even if they are the next two in the UC timeline are completely optional. Watching ZZ after Zeta feels... well it feels weird because ZZ is such a slapstick comedy that seems to mock its seniors and really feels like a Gundam parody for the first 20-30 eps until really picking up. Also, lolno Char. CCA is a little bit better as it gives you some sort of conclusion to the whole Amuro vs Char saga, but still is optionable because its really mediocre in general. Best aspect is definitely the Gundams and the new mechanics brought to the UC.
   
   
4. Stardust Memory/08th MS Team - Both of these are good watches and interesting side stories to the UC timeline. They aren't amazing, but for their length they are a good watch if you're a Gundam fan looking for more.
   
   
5. Turn A - Greatly written although some call it the the "Slice of life" of Gundam series. Still a great watch as it has some very interesting aspects such as humanity reverting to a more simple era where technology is not very advanced so there a mobile suits buried in multiple places around the earth.
   

Shows to skip:

• SEED/SEED Destiny - These are just poor rehashes of 0079 and Zeta that fail in comparison by miles. The characters are so shallow that its almost hard to watch.
  
• Wing/00 - Wing is thought highly of for the simple fact that it brought Gundam to the US. Which is cool, but when watched after seeing what the Gundam franchise really has to offer Wing is nothing more than a new idea that was executed poorly. 00, even if it's considered a rehash of Wing is better than Wing, but on the other hand 00 really bites it hard on Season 2. With so many characters to develop they really needed another 50 episodes and maybe it would have worked out. Great season 1 though.
  
• G Gundam - Although fun it really is a longshot from the other series in terms of... everything. I struggled getting through this even though Domon is a pretty cool main character.

[Koby]

I honestly feel Zeta Gundam and G Gundam are the two worst series of the franchise.

I would not recommend people skip Wing, Seed, or 00 as they are all great series.

As for Gundam 00 season 2 is far better than season 1. Season one the Gundams simply over-powered everything in their wake like they were ants and the season just didn't really know what it wanted to do. Season 2 the story finally is fleshed out and takes precedent.

The 0079 trilogy movies aren't worth watching, as is most of the recap movies. You miss way too much, you don't get anything out of them, and that's not exactly their intention either. They were made as a recap and should be treated as such. The dubbing on the movies were really terrible, and I don't get what you mean by updated animation since it was pretty much for the most part the same old animation, which for the record I felt the animation of 0079 was a lot higher than it's sequel Zeta.

I'd love to see them go back and flesh out F91 into the TV series they originally planned it to be. Would definitely recommend watching the movie.

[JCBeezy]

I like that everyone here has differing opinions, as a lot of places would just tell me to watch Wing and love it. Obviously, this place has a lot less robots, which is flipping awesome.

Well, my plan right now is to rewatch Wing, and then watch 00 (is it pronounced Double-O?), because 00 seems pretty sweet in concept. Wing was the catalyst for me, and certainly the reason I had a crap ton of Bandai Gundam toys and models. I'm currently on episode 14 of Wing, and I actually enjoy the slower storytelling in Wing (which a lot of people complain out).

I'll skip out on the Zeta movies then and just grab used copies of the series on Amazon (and probably download the 720p versions from here) and watch it through that. I'm also working on downloading 0079, so I guess I will move to that after I finish 00. Makes the most sense to watch what I'm excited for first, then move to chronologically watching it.

My plan after 00 is:

-Mobile Suit Gundam

-08th MS Team

-Zeta Gundam

-Double Zeta

-Char's Counterattack (I'm excited at pulling this DVD down from my shelves already)

-Unicorn

-F91

-Victory

After that, I want to flirt with watching all of Turn A and After War. Thinking about buying a couple of external drives just to hold all of this stuff I want to keep. haha

Should I consider adding War in the Pocket and Stardust Memory to the UC stuff I plan on watching, just for the sake of being *more* complete? I know 0083 has the origins of the Titans from Zeta (I think...some things I forget).

[CaNzCo]

I just got finished watching Zeta Gundam, so I am kinda in the same position you are with not knowing where to go. I thought Zeta was good, and it reminded me of why I love UC gundam, but if I were to describe the series with one word it would be disappointing. I really don't get the main characters personality, since he often switches between stubborn child, ruthless soldier, and pacifistic newtype saver. I think the only reason why it was any good at all was the return of characters you fell in love with in the original Gundam.

I am basically all set to watch Double Zeta, but I am curious... I have never even heard of MSG IGLOO. Should I go back and watch them?

[JCBeezy]

I am basically all set to watch Double Zeta, but I am curious... I have never even heard of MSG IGLOO. Should I go back and watch them?

It depends on what you want, I'm sure. Do you want to be a completionist or do you want the best parts of the story? I think that's what you have to ask yourself.

And I'm shocked at how well Wing holds up next to something like SEED. Having watched SEED in the past week, and being about a third of the way through Wing, it's so obvious how much better Wing is, in my honest opinion.

I'm sure SEED is a weak series compared to others in the franchise, but Wing has moments that are just spectacular.

[CaNzCo]

I am not really a completionist, But if it is any good I will want to see it. My only concern is weather or not I should watch it before Gundam ZZ.

Also I think Wing is much better than SEED. I liked them both, but the storyline of Wing was just riveting. I love the design of the Mobile Suits, and all the characters.

[JCBeezy]

I would assume you wouldn't need the MS Igloo series then, as it isn't as important as ZZ.

I just think I'm impressed, that after not watching Wing for somewhere close to ten years, that it holds up well in a lot of ways. While SEED is good, I think Wing is just spectacular.

[Koby]

MS IGLOO is mostly just skip-able short CG OVA's.

[CaNzCo]

Alright, thanks a lot you guys.

[VolvoKing]

As always Koby you are the god of Gundam.