Mobile Suit Gundam Review

Synopsis:

The original Nippon Sunrise series that launched the Gundam franchise. Establishes the Universal Century Gundam timeline, including the conflict between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon known as the One-Year War. Focuses on Amuro Ray, pilot of the experimental prototype RX-78-2 Gundam, as well as his comrades on the White Base mobile warship as they engage ace Zeon pilot Char Aznable and other threats across the globe and in outer space. Later cut into three compilation films: Mobile Suit Gundam The Movie, Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow, and Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters in Space.

Release Date:

1979-1980 (TV)

1981-1982 (Films)

Episodes: 

43 (TV)

3 (Films)

Timeline:

UC 0079

My Grade:

Ungradable

Review:

Despite being the platform on which all other Gundam media was built, this was not the first Gundam anime I watched. I only saw it for the first time in 2020 after my wife Leah and I decided to watch the entirety of the UC timeline in chronological order (although she had seen parts of it when she was younger). 

Let's get the obvious out of the way first - the animation is incredibly dated, and was not very good even for its time. The relatively low budget shows on virtually every frame and it does not hold up by today's standards. That said, there's a certain amount of charm to be enjoyed from the of-their-time visuals, which can surely be appreciated by any anime or film fan viewing the series with a historical eye. The saying "art from adversity" certainly applies here. 

While Mobile Suit Gundam is most famous for being the first anime to treat giant robots as weapons of war rather than super heroes (or specifically the vehicles of super heroes), I was additionally surprised by the overall maturity of the plot. It's not exactly Shakespeare, but the story does deal with mature themes like war (obviously), sacrifice, loss, PTSD, child soldiers, and nationalism. There is a fair amount of death present here, and when characters (large and small) die, it tends to mean something. Additionally, the storytelling does not gloss over the fact that there are people inside the mobile suits which explode when defeated. 

The main character, Amuro Ray, is thrust into conflict when his outer space home colony becomes a battleground between Federation and Zeon forces. In a moment of desperation, he boards the prototype RX-78-2 Gundam (the life's work of Amuro's aloof and obsessed father) and pilots it against the enemy, as he and his surviving friends escape the colony aboard the Federation's White Base warship. Out of necessity, this ragtag group of civilians, some of which just watched their families die in the attack, soon find themselves deputized as military servicemen aboard the critically understaffed White Base. Over the course of the story, Amuro and the crew must learn to rely on each other to survive and find meaning in their service together.

Much of Amuro's character is shaped by his encounters with Char Aznable, an almost superhumanly talented rising-star Zeon officer, nicknamed the Red Comet (a nod to both the unique color of his mobile suit, as well as his ability to pilot said suit at three times the speed of the average soldier). Char is never presented as a one-dimensional villain, but rather a complex character in his own right, who genuinely cares for the Zeon soldiers under his command, though he has little patience for those he perceives as being untalented or who stand in his way. Char is set on his own path, however, and shows virtually unshakable fortitude when it comes to carrying out his complex machinations. 

As a huge Neon Genesis Evangelion fan, I was surprised by just how much that series, groundbreaking in its own right, "borrowed" from Mobile Suit Gundam. Both feature a reluctant teenage protagonist, thrust into a conflict against his will. He is forced to pilot an experimental giant robot, the secret creation of his emotionally distant work-obsessed father, because nobody else can. As a result of his traumatic piloting experiences, he develops symptoms of mental disorder, numbly tuning others out or even running away, only to return to piloting after he realizes that this act gives his life meaning. He is regularly chastised or slapped by his commanding officer when he acts out, but ultimately comes to rely on him/her as a mentor. He is challenged by a naturally talented rival who pilots a signature red robot, though he ultimately surpasses him/her. The list goes on. Even the score in Evangelion seems to have been inspired by the former, featuring much of the same brass and orchestral fanfare that characterized Gundam's 1970's soundtrack. One track from the Evangelion score, "Angel Attack", sounds virtually identical to one of the Gundam battle themes. 

If there are failings with the storytelling, they're in the pacing - long stretches go by without much plot development. I wouldn't go so far as to say this constitutes "filler", as these seemingly one-off episodes do provide greater insight into the interesting cast of characters, however the overall story feels stalled in numerous instances. Mobile Suit Gundam famously did not perform well originally and was cancelled, though the studio was at least given time to wrap up the series' story. It becomes very apparent later in the episode count when this point is crossed, as the pace picks up suddenly and new ideas are rapidly introduced, all leading toward a very satisfying conclusion. One of these new ideas is the concept of "Newtypes", humans who have evolved psychic abilities due to their prolonged existence in outer space. Newtypes would become a staple of the Gundam franchise, with the disparity between Newtypes and "regular" humans serving as one of the main ideological franchise focal points. 

All-in-all, while Mobile Suit Gundam more than shows its age, it rightfully stands today as a heavily flawed masterpiece which rocketed the franchise into its status as a global pop-culture phenomenon. For this reason, I don't feel it's fair to give it a tangible grade. I'll just say that while parts of it can feel like a slog and the animation is archaic at best, it's absolutely worth a watch for anyone interested in the history of Gundam or anime in general.