The newest Mobile Suit Gundam series’ movie prequel stylishly sets the stage for a show that’s bursting with incredible potential.
Mobile Suit Gundam has spent 45 years being in almost constant conversation with itself. From the successor series that built on the story of the 1979 anime, to myriad alternate universes that extrapolate on its series and themes, the venerable mecha franchise has always, in some ways, existed in a state of trying to evolve and live up to the bold ideas that made its original self so compelling in the first place. But for all those continuations and conversations, it’s taken four and a half decades for the franchise to deliver one of its simplest, yet most fascinating twists on that original idea: and in that idea, Gundam GQuuuuuuX offers itself up to a huge amount of intriguing potential.
Warning: This review contains spoilers for the overall premise of the Gundam GQuuuuuuX. If you’ve kept up with news of the show following Beginning’s debut in Japan last month, none of this is new, but if you haven’t, well…
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX – Beginning –, a collaboration between Neon Genesis Evangelion studio Khara and Gundam creator Bandai Filmworks arriving in international theaters this week after its debut in Japan last month, is two very different prospects smashed into a single 80-odd-minute runtime. The latter half of the film is a condensed compilation of the first few episodes of the upcoming TV series, following the stories of three young teens—Amate “Machu” Yuzuriha (Tomoyo Kurosawa), Nyaan (Yui Ishikawa), and Shuji Ito (Shimba Tsuchiya)—as they live their lives on a far-flung space colony five years after the conclusion of a devastating interstellar war, their paths crossing over the return of one of the legendary giant mecha from that conflict, the first Gundam-type mobile suit, and the ruling powers desperate to find it.
But the first half of it is the most shocking prospect: a prequel that details the events of that interstellar war, revealing that it is none other than an alternate version the infamous “One Year War” from the original 1979 Gundam anime. One where the antagonistic forces of the secessionist space colony Zeon, lead by Char Aznable (Yuuki Shin, taking on the mantle of Gundam‘s most famous character from original voice actor Shuichi Ikeda), successfully steal the prototype Gundam from the Earth Federation and ultimately win the conflict, changing history as Gundam fans have known it for 45 years.
Gundam fans of all stripes are more than familiar with alternate universes—the franchise has existed for so long not just by continuing the story of its prime timeline, the “Universal Century,” but by creating original series set in their own distinct universes. But this scenario depicting an alternate history of the Universal Century is one that has usually been consigned to non-canonical side stories and spinoffs, rather than being the underpinning for a brand new mainline entry, and GQuuuuuuX is clearly eager to mine the potential of it, and all fannish the questions it raises, from the get go.
It makes Beginning and its bifurcated structure an interesting film to watch, albeit one that might initially seem somewhat overbearing for a complete newcomer to the franchise. While the movie is unabashed in laying out its connection to, and vision of, an alternate version of the 1979 anime—and does just enough to introduce unfamiliar audiences to that world before its second half picks up with the series’ primary cast of characters six years later—the first half of Beginning is equally unabashed in being pure fan service for fans of the original Gundam.
The film has two distinct art styles (and does a surprisingly good job of making that feel less jarring than it sounds), with the first half emulating the modern-retro vision of the 1979 anime envisioned by original Gundam character designer Yoshikazu “Yas” Yasuhiko seen in series like Gundam: The Origin and the 2022 movie Cucuruz Doan’s Island. To anyone even remotely familiar with the first Gundam, it’s a joyous experience: Beginning uses the original show’s brilliant soundtrack, it recreates exact shots and lines of dialogue from its opening episodes to a tee, twisting and reframing them in fascinating ways to fit its alternative rendition of events where Char is suddenly the protagonist of this familiar narrative. There’s of course a thematic parallel to be had here with director GQuuuuuuX director Kazuya Tsurumaki’s work on the Rebuild of Evangelion film series, which itself took another icon of mecha anime and both lovingly recreated moments of it before spinning off in its own unique vision of that original narrative. But, at least in this opening half of Beginning, GQuuuuuuX is interested in the immediate contrast of having it both ways at once, constantly calling to iconic moments from the original show while ceaselessly prodding at them and twisting them to cast them in new light.
If this was all GQuuuuuuX was, it would be a loving, intriguing tribute to one of the most influential anime of all time, one befitting an anniversary celebration. But as the retelling of the One Year War gives way to the actual meat of the show itself in the second of Beginning—set five years after the conclusion of the war in 0085—the film (and the series itself) proves it is more than willing to move beyond the fan service of its recreation of the original Gundam, and marinate itself in the world it has built out of that recreation. While some characters carry over from the first half (mainly Challia Bull, played by Shinji Kawada, a minor but significant character from the 1979 anime who becomes a major player in GQuuuuuuX), the second half establishes a premise that has more parallels with a series like Zeta Gundam, imagining what life looks like in a post-war world for the generation that came of age after its conclusion.
Beyond the unique art style it’s given here—stylized through the vision of famous Pokémon character designer Take, giving GQuuuuuuX‘s a boldly colorful, poppy sci-fi aesthetic—the back half of the film, and the opening episodes of the series it’s pulling from, display a great deal of promise. Machu, Nyaan, and Shuji all feel grounded and earnestly real as young people trying to navigate a world that has disenfranchised them each in myriad ways, tackling typical Gundam themes like the oppression of a police state, systemic inequality, and astropolitical divides, all the while thrusting them into the front lines of conflict. But the ways they interact with the classic Gundam worldbuilding elements beyond those themes—especially the idea of the “Newtype,” an evolutionary path for space-living humans that sees them develop enhanced psionic awareness and communicative skills—places them in an incredibly intriguing parallel to the fanservice of Beginning‘s first half.
All of that (as well as, of course, some sumptuous mecha action in both halves of the story), synthesizes Gundam GQuuuuuuX, both in this film and whatever’s to come in the TV anime, into something uniquely fascinating and positively vibrating with potential. Marrying a loving vision of the original Gundam with a bold new vision for it, Beginning represents a pan-generational celebration of Gundam as a whole—one that’s sure set to have diehard fans’ head spinning at all the questions and ramifications it raises, while equally introducing newcomers to a new cast of compelling characters that likewise has to navigate those ramifications themselves alongside the audience.
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX – Beginning – is set to hit US theaters in a limited capacity February 28, with early screenings starting today. The TV anime will begin broadcasting in Japan April 8.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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