Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- Review
“Amate Yuzuriha is a high-school student living peacefully in a space colony floating in outer space. When she meets a war refugee named Nyaan, Amate is drawn into the illegal mobile suit dueling sport known as Clan Battle.
Under the entry name “Machu,” she throws herself into fierce battle day after day, piloting the GQuuuuuuX. Then an unidentified Gundam mobile suit pursued by both the space force and the police appears before her, along with its pilot, a boy named Shuji.
In the first-ever major collaboration between Evangelion series creator Hideaki Anno’s studio khara, Sunrise, the historic home to the Mobile Suit Gundam animated works and director Kazuya Tsurumaki, known for his work with Anno on the Evangelion series, come together to create a film that is both visually stunning and narratively complex.”
Since this was a high profile release of a much-anticipated film, several different members of the Anime UK News team got together to swap opinions after watching screenings in their local cinemas.
Please note that all three reviews below contain major spoilers for Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning-.
Josh
With such an extensive history spanning over 45 years, one of the most daunting questions for anyone with even a casual curiosity in Gundam can be “Where to start?”, and I totally appreciate why. Mobile Suit Gundam has a number of different ongoing continuities, from the Universal Century (UC) spawned from the seminal 1979 television, the Cosmic Era from SEED and related titles, as well as series that are just entirely standalone, like the recent hit The Witch From Mercury. Understanding where each title is positioned in relation to the rest of the franchise is absolutely key to whether I would recommend it to someone as their first step into this great franchise. Unfortunately, Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX has failed at that very first hurdle. That doesn’t mean that I’m going to write off the series entirely, but if you are looking for your very first taste of Gundam, I would instead recommend that you look elsewhere – such as the aforementioned The Witch from Mercury, or perhaps more pertinently, the movie trilogy that recaps the original Mobile Suit Gundam.
With all of the advertising and press materials for GQuuuuuuX giving the impression of being a wholly original instalment, I made the mistake of bringing my mother to my screening – hoping that it could be her introduction to this franchise I love so much. However, I was completely unaware that the series had been hiding an aspect of its world-building that, despite its secrecy, I cannot in good conscience consider a spoiler (although I’ll spare you the details): Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX takes place in an alternate version of the University Century timeline. This is communicated by the first half of this theatrical run-time arguably not even being GQuuuuuuX, but a prologue section that’s essentially a speed-run of the original series from the perspective of the iconic Char Aznable, detailing the timeline divergences.
This prologue is so scattershot that newcomers will easily be lost, and was even animated in a completely different style to GQuuuuuuX (looking closer to The Origin). I must confess that I’m not entirely clued up on the Universal Century myself, and have been more a fan of the other continuities like 00, The Witch From Mercury and SEED (just don’t ask me about DESTINY). So, I honestly found the Prologue to be a drag. There must have been a more succinct way to communicate the divergence – perhaps even weaving it into the series proper. On reflection, this is completely on brand for Hideaki Anno and Studio Khara, whose involvement in this series was heavily publicised, and who created the Rebuild of Evangelion films. Indeed, the prologue is basically Evangelion 1.11: You Are (Not) Alone but for Mobile Suit Gundam. For the diehard Gundam fans, however, this will be an absolute treat – an interesting twist on the classic story. Especially as we all know how the subsequent Rebuild of Evangelion films were.
Once the prologue finally ended and GQuuuuuuX began in earnest, I was far more invested. Although the One Year War has ended, poverty and discrimination is still rife in the Space Colonies – you know, the usual Gundam fare. Our protagonist Machu is a curious and excitable young girl who, while at the train station bumps into a courier fleeing from the police. In the confusion, Machu finds herself in possession of the courier’s package: a drive that can activate a Mobile Suit’s combat mode. It’s illegal for the general public to possess these, so she inevitably ends up crossing paths with the courier, another young girl with the embarrassingly cute name Nyaan. The package ends up leading them to a group that participates in “Clan Battles” – underground 2v2 mobile suit battles that are streamed online. Of course, in true mecha anime fashion, this culminates in Machu sitting in the cockpit of a conspicuous mech.
If I had to describe GQuuuuuuX in a word, it would be “charming”. The character designs are unmistakingly the work of take (Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Pokémon Sword & Shield) and pop with their vibrant colours and round, softer features. Machu is a delight with her hyperactive, curious energy that contrasts with the more shy Nyaan, and the aloof almost stoner-esque Shuji. The group in the slums cobbling together a Mobile Suit for Clan Battles reminded me of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s and how the Satellite residents helped salvage parts for Yusei’s Duel Runner (the card-playing motorbike). Class politics is about as new to Gundam as the giant robots, but I think there’s room for this to grow in subsequent episodes. Although, perhaps we shouldn’t think too much about how feasible it would be for people living in poverty to keep and maintain a Mobile Suit…
The one criticism that I would raise with the new principle cast, is that Machu seemed a bit too eager to go from seemingly never piloting a Mobile Suit before, to suddenly risking her life in battle. Perhaps there is more about her that we’ll learn when the series starts proper, but I think even a hint of something else driving her would have been appreciated.
Where my attention waned, however, is when the story would shift focus to a different group of characters more directly linked to the Prologue. At this stage, I can’t tell whether it was simply because I was more invested in Machu’s side of the story, or if the Prologue had just turned me off that plot-thread. However, seeds are sewn for what could be a really imaginative link between this new show and the classic era, which will undoubtedly excite dedicated Gundam fans.
Although I may come across as being a downer about Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, I should clarify that my gripes are more with the way this preview event was prevented – from the UC connection being kept secret, to the bloated yet rushed feeling Prologue. The episodes that were shown here gave me enough to be interested in watching the series when it premieres, to see how it stands on its own two feet.
This goes back to thoughts I’ve had in recent years about the Gundam franchise. When I interviewed producers of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin close to 10 years ago (damn, I’m old), their priority with Universal Century works is the existing fans, with new audiences being secondary. However, The Witch From Mercury was born out of an urgency to onboard newer, younger fans to the franchise. GQuuuuuuX feels torn between these perspectives. In short, I just wouldn’t recommend this to Gundam newcomers and I think it’s a shame that this wasn’t effectively communicated. However, existing fans will no doubt be thrilled by the radical ideas introduced here – and plenty in my audience no doubt were.
On the topic of these theatrical previews, one thing that I really wish this and DAN DA DAN: First Encounter before it had, were a sizzle reel or even an end card letting audiences know where they can watch the rest of the series. As I left the cinema, I spoke with audience members who weren’t even aware that this was just “episodes in a trench coat” (as I saw someone on Letterboxd describe it), and that it ended just as they were getting invested. So, a call to action could help those who may not follow anime news as intently as we do.
Score: 5/10
Onosume
As a series, Mobile Suit Gundam: GQuuuuuuX looks like it’s going to be absolutely quackers, but in this initial theatrical presentation of the first few episodes, I question if this is really the right way to kick things off.
I went into this pretty blind, only having seen the initial reveal trailer, and I was completely taken by surprise by what it is framed as. While we try to keep spoilers away from reviews as best we can, I don’t think you can talk about this new Gundam entry without this specific twist because it affects the story so much.
You see, GQuuuuuuX is an alternative history take on the original Mobile Suit Gundam, with the series’ prologue (which takes up a substantial amount of the running time) focusing on Char as he steals a Gundam from the Earth Federation and makes it his own. You could say it’s the Shin Gundam to Shin Godzilla / Ultraman / Kamen Rider etc…
While there is plot relevancy in getting the world to the state it needs to be in for the main part of the show, this prologue often comes across as pure fanservice, showing events from the 1979 original from a different perspective but with a modern touch. As a fan I sat there in initial wonder, trying to figure out what was going on as the timeline slowly diverged, but the longer it went on, the more the magic began to peel away.
I think this was because it went on for way longer than was necessary, and because its pacing was all over the place as it shifted from one moment to the next. While it was cool seeing classic locations and characters, I often struggled to keep up with where it was in the timeline.
It has some new, neat ideas that were probably worth exploring more than getting too far into the fanservice, and I feel that the main aspect of what it tries to do around fleshing out Newtypes could have been given more depth and made a bit more newcomer friendly. As it stands there’s too much legacy baggage for newcomers to come in at this point and actually make sense of what is going on.
As we discover as it transitions into the truly new material, there is a sense of it trying to cater to two very different audiences (the Universal Century diehards and new fans) and not serving either of them well. One of our lovely Discord members said that they felt it was trying to pull those older fans into an alternative universe work, and they might be right on the money on that, as when it switches perspective you can instantly tell that there’s a distinct story that they want to tell, but the Universal Century stuff has aggressively been tagged on. Sure, there are plenty of older characters around who have survived the war, but with Char missing and the two main Gundams being radically different to their original counterpart, for all intents and purposes this is a brand-new entry for the franchise. With that in mind I am afraid that it’s so far tied itself to certain things from the original too much which won’t allow the new ideas to shine on their own.
For the most part however, I did find the core “GQuuuuuuX” part enjoyable, but I do have some reservations.
Gundam as a franchise has always had a slightly goofy touch, and this really leans into that, with a striking art style, hyper-active characters and a sense of dumb-but-fun high-octane energy. A series of blunders and mishaps leads our excitable redheaded protagonist Machu into the underground world of Side 6’s Clan Battles, taking them on wielding the stolen GQuuuuuuX, alongside Shuji, a mysterious boy who is in possession of Char’s scarlet red Gundam, and Nyaan, a cute but shy girl who earns a living delivering illegal mobile suit activation units to those who compete in the games. There are some political goings on at the side as usual with a Gundam show that will no doubt come into play later, but for now this is mainly an introduction into how the world works and how our characters fit inside it.
The sheer lunacy of it all really drags you in and you can’t help but be captivated by Machu’s relentless energy. As Josh mentioned she is a bit too eager to jump headfirst into battle, but she wouldn’t be the first rebellious teen in the franchise to jump into a mobile suit without thinking of the consequences!
It’s just really easy to be swept along for the ride though as the story and artwork offer a good time. The former is bold and bubbling, while the latter makes a great impact and can look really pretty at times, and you can feel the artists playing and experimenting in certain scenes – one even looked to me like a riff on Weathering With You!
The juxtaposition between the more distinctive character art and the mobile suits can be a bit jarring, but I think it makes up for it in the fight scenes or when it’s utilising the new powers it has given the Newtypes.
Where I have more of an issue is once again the pacing, which I think still goes at a rapid clip and lacks the space to breathe, as well as it not being cut very well from the TV version into this theatrical presentation, as the breaks between each episode are clear and jumping between episodes in a single breath was a little jarring. There are also some very loud and intrusive songs in certain scenes which completely pull you out of the action. As much as I like Hoshimachi Suisei, the sweet pumping idol track felt completely over the top for what was going on.
For the series itself then I think it has potential, but this theatrical presentation just isn’t it, as it tries to be too much and ends up being poorly paced, messy and inconsistent. Personally, I would have had the prologue section as a standalone special episode, before cutting in with Machu’s first appearance as episode 1. That’s just my opinion though, and we have to work with what we have got, so I’d say skip the movie and wait for the series to drop on Amazon Prime later in the year.
Score: 5/10
Rui
What a treat for longtime fans of the Gundam series! Is this theatrical cut of the series a good introduction to the world of Mobile Suit Gundam? Absolutely not, for the reasons outlined above; perhaps the broadcast version will tell its story more accessibly. Was it, however, a great way to spend an hour and a half on a chilly March afternoon? For the three people in my group, the answer was a resounding yes. I can’t even remember the last time I watched a film in the cinema and didn’t see people shuffling away right as the credits began rolling but this time every single person – and there were quite a few of us in my central London screening – remained well past the end, chattering to their neighbours excitedly about the movie. I’m sure that at least a few of them were confused but the atmosphere felt electric overall; I’m feeling good about the series beginning its streaming run so soon.
I had studiously avoided reading anything about GQuuuuuux following its initial announcement as it was obvious that I was going to want to watch it, so just like my fellow reviewers I was initially baffled by the lovingly-rendered traditional artwork depicting early events from the original Mobile Suit Gundam. Had I somehow gone into the wrong screening? In typical British style, the cinema hadn’t been very clear about what they were showing (the screens had only called the movie “Mobile Sui”) so there was every possibility that I’d somehow wandered in to a heavily recut episode of Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn that I didn’t remember watching. The plot diverges from established UC continuity almost immediately, however, and as soon as I realised that we were seeing a ‘what if?’ scenario I was fascinated to know what would happen next. Like everyone else, I’d seen the promotion art of Katanagatari/Zaregoto illustrator take’s lovely, colourful character designs, and that was very much not what was being presented on screen!
Whenever a new Gundam series comes out the question is always whether it will follow the main continuity or be a separate spin-off with shared themes, so the fact that this is simultaneously both and neither really made me smile. It’s a daring take on the well-worn formula and in a world where we’re wading through so much identical, calculatedly risk averse content each season, I can’t help but find risky decision-making appealing. So while I feel bad for the people who will go into the cinema cut expecting a full-length outing of the show that was on all of the promotional artwork, which I agree should probably have been more open about the twist in the concept, what we actually ended up getting had me entranced from start to finish.
My partner was watching alongside me and while he watched the original movies and seen countless references in other shows, he is less familiar with the wider Mobile Suit Gundam universe. He thought that the first part of the film would have benefited from being cut down and told in flashbacks interspersed with the rest of the plot, but I personally felt that the results could be even more disorientating that way. Figuring out exactly where the backstory – and agenda – of this version of Char Aznable might differ from the original is something that I don’t want to have to do from breadcrumbs scattered over several weeks of a broadcast run. The cost is that the first part of the film is very disruptive for new viewers who won’t tune in for a second episode if the first is a historical documentary, and if newcomers don’t already know (or care) about Char and the Principality of Zeon at all then the weight of what is happening is lost entirely.
My personal preference for the broadcast version is that we get the scene-setting historical content in an optional ‘episode zero’ which viewers can slot in whenever they want, and then the series proper conforms to expectations with Machu’s dynamic introduction kicking things off. Speaking of Machu, it’s tricky to get a grip on her character so far. She seems dissatisfied with her life when she’s first introduced (explaining how she lunged at the chance to change it!) but although there have been a few hints here and there, the movie doesn’t give us much insight into what she’s thinking deep down. Nyaan is much simpler to understand, even if her backstory definitely needs exploring in future episodes, and Shuji’s strangeness makes him easy to like. There are plenty of other details which need explaining for both new fans and old, especially as anything we know from the original timeline might no longer apply.
In any case, if the first part of the film was a love letter to UC Mobile Suit Gundam nerds, the second is a modern mecha show with mobile suit battles, weird characters and sumptuous designs. Visually the whole film was a treat and even the CG used for the mobile suit fights wasn’t too bad. While CG in anime nearly always looks significantly worse than hand drawn art, the higher budget Gundam projects have generally turned in acceptable CG and GQuuuuuux is no exception; the cartoony designs of the Zaku suits work especially well in 3D. The Gundams look less lovely in action than they would have done in 2D, but the trade-off is lots and lots of detailed effects and dynamic battle scenes, ranging from exhilarating, acrobatic visual feats to comedic physical combat moves.
I felt that the soundtrack was fun too, ranging from nostalgic background music to energetic, poppy songs to further emphasise the difference between the film’s two halves. Although it was a little sad that Char Aznable is no longer being played by the legendary Shuuichi Ikeda after so many years of service to the fandom, his new voice actor Yuuki Shin did a good job of portraying the infamous Red Comet and I soon got used to the change in his voice.
Had the film been nothing but thrilling mecha action with a background hints of politicking I would have come away fully satisfied, so it was a pleasant surprise that it also managed to set up what I assume will (initially) be the main plot of the series as well. The movie establishes logical motivations for two of the three new leads, while also setting up a central mystery which has left me tremendously excited for the full series to start its run on Amazon Prime next month.
Highly recommended for both UC Gundam fanatics and those who love vibrant, lovingly-animated mecha shows, though advance warning and taking the time before the simulcast to dabble in the original Mobile Suit Gundam compilation films will likely enhance the experience with the way that this first outing is presented.
Score: 9/10
Saw the movie and want to know more about what happens next? Didn’t see the movie and want to decide for yourself whether the results are worth the initial disorientation? The story will continue on 8th April 2025 when Amazon Prime Video begins simulcasting the full Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX series worldwide.
