English Dub Season Review: Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX

I’ve been a longtime fan of the Gundam franchise ever since Gundam Wing first premiered in the states on the Toonami block, and since then I’ve looked forward to every new release. This was no different with the arrival of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, which in addition to being a Gundam thing, also was revealed early on to be written in part by Hideaki Anno, the mind behind the Evangelion series, and directed by his protege, Kazuya Tsurumaki, known for the equally iconic FLCL. Acting as a celebration of the franchise’s 45th anniversary, GQuuuuuuX makes use of the current trend of multiverse stories and goes back to where everything started with the start of the original Mobile Suit Gundam. However, instead of prodigy pilot Amuro Ray being forced to take up the eponymous Gundam to fight Zeon forces, his eternal rival Char Aznable takes the Gundam for himself instead, causing a whole new chain of events where Zeon wins a war they were fated to lose, though Char mysteriously disappears by the end. And then we jump five years ahead to follow Amate “Machu” Yuzuriha, who comes across not only Char’s disappeared Gundam, but also the titular GQuuuuuuX, taking her into a new adventure.

That all sounds like a great time on paper, and in fact it was for the first seven episodes of the series’ twelve episodes. The initial half focuses on Machu, as well as fellow pilots Nyaan and Shuji, ending up in an underground Mobile Suit group called the Pomeranians and basically cuts her teeth on piloting through that. As much as I was intrigued by the alternate timeline setting in a world run by Zeon, this was a pretty strong opening for things we hadn’t seen in Gundam in a long time, if ever, all while being observed from afar by Chalia Bull, an underutilized character from the original series who didn’t even appear in the compilation movies that is now getting his time to shine. However, that status quo comes to a pretty decisive end by the seventh episode, when the show dives head first into just unpacking all of the multiverse stuff. And by that point, it becomes clear that a lot of the development needed for Machu, Nyaan, and Shuji ended up being discarded or cut short to make room for fanservice. I have no way of knowing how many episodes this series was initially meant to have, but it seems clear that it needed at least twice as many to give everything room to breathe.

In fact, GQuuuuuuX is the shortest mainline Gundam show in the franchise’s history, and the second in a row to be that! The previous series, Witch from Mercury (which also had a female lead) clocked out at only twenty four, when most Gundam shows typically are close to 40 or 50. And whether this is due to budget or cutbacks or the increasing demand for higher quality television, I can’t see it being a benefit in the long term for Gundam. Still though, despite it spinning out near the end, and it’s weird as hell name, GQuuuuuuX is still a fun time for either newcomers or series veterans. It looks great, has a strong opening, and evokes its past in both some great and not so great ways. Heck, maybe the short episode count might be good if you’re looking for a short watch to binge through. It’s not entirely what I would like to see out of current Gundam, but if it gets people watching, it may be worth it in the end. In the meantime, I’ll be waiting in anticipation of your insight into the future…whatever that means.