'Mobile Suit Gundam: GQuuuuuuX' Review

TV & Film

Jul 5

The latest iteration of the long-running franchise, Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, is a loving, if not scattered homage to the franchise’s roots in celebration of the 45th Anniversary of the Gundam franchise. It’s a visual feast filled to the brim with ties to other Gundam stories, so there’s plenty for older fans to enjoy, but these ties to other series and its short runtime cause the series to buckle under its own weight, making it a harder sell for new audiences.

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX tells the story of 17-year-old Amate ‘Machu’ Yuzuriha (voiced by Tomoyo Kurosawa/Thea Saccoliti), who, after a chance encounter with war refugee Nyaan (Yui Ishikawa/Anairis Quinones) delves into the underground world of Mobile Suit Battles, only to get caught in the crossfire of various threats all centered around a mysterious Red Gundam, and its pilot Shuji Ito (Simba Tsuchiya/Paul Castro Jr.).

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On paper, this makes for a very solid foundation for a series, but there are a lot of different pieces at work here, the most glaring being the fact that this series takes place in an offshoot of Gundam’s Universal Century, planting it in an alternate timeline that regularly pulls in characters and narrative elements of the original 1979 anime, and its immediate sequels Zeta Gundam and Char’s Counterattack. This can be a big draw for fans of the classic series, getting to see classic characters such as Char Aznable and Kycilia Zabi make appearances, and letting fans see how their story now differs from the original.

However, the challenge comes with balancing the UC characters without letting the core cast fall into the background, which is something the series achieves with varying degrees of success. The best example of this balance would be the re-introduction of Zeon Officer Chalia Bull (Shinji Kawada/Fajer Al-Kaisi), who served as a one-off antagonist in the original Gundam anime, but in GQuuuuuuX receives a substantial redesign and becomes a much more involved character.

As for other things in the series that work incredibly well, the characterization and the dynamic between Machu, Nyaan and Shuji at times can be rather heartwarming if at times offbeat, with both Machu and Nyaan at times trying to emulate Shuji to get closer to him while realizing their own dreams of a life away from war. Meanwhile Shuji is something of an emotional island, being present but at the same time feeling as if he’s in a whole other dimension of being, obsessed with ‘The Other Side’ and the Gundam that ‘speaks’ to him, giving his character a deeply mysterious and oddly comedic side that balances his cutthroat piloting skills, which adds to the allure of his character from Machu and Nyaan’s perspectives, and in some ways becomes a source of conflict.

Sadly, we end up not getting enough of this trio’s dynamic before the bigger plot kicks in, splitting them across space and factions, with each taking up distinct roles in a growing civil conflict within the Principality of Zeon. With Zeon having won the war in this timeline, they take up the responsibility of being peacekeepers and mediators, while the top brass all but refuse to change their own ways, with outside agitators (specifically Zeta Gundam’s Titans) setting off a series of events that thrust all of our cast in different directions, and on different sides of the impending conflict. While this change in direction is a huge one that brings about a major change for our characters, they ultimately end up losing their autonomy in the story as a result, combined with the show’s short runtime of only 12 episodes, it results in their arcs being left underdeveloped, with a conclusion that, while happy, feels rather rushed and hard to follow.

One cannot talk about GQuuuuuuX without talking about the crew behind it. This is the first and only Gundam series to be produced by Studio Khara. With FLCL creator Kazuya Tsurumaki at the helm, and Evangelion’s Ikuto Yamashita and Pokemon: Sun & Moon’s Take serving as designers, GQuuuuuuX’s visual stylings are unlike anything we’ve seen from the Gundam franchise, with the characters invoking, while remaining distinct from the FLCL style, and some of the most mechanically complex (if not also slightly controversial) Gundam designs to date.

The scripts, penned by Yoji Enokido and Hideaki Anno, while crammed for time, manage to deliver some incredibly tense and heartfelt moments amidst pulse-pounding action. The score, composed by Jujutsu Kaisen’s Yoshimasa Terui, also gives the series a different style compared to other Gundam series, relying a lot more on modern techno and lo-fi sounds. Finally, the opening and ending tracks by Kenshi Yonezu and Hoshimachi Suisei, respectively, are songs you’ll have playing on repeat.

Mobile Suit Gundam: GQuuuuuuX is a visual feast that combines classic Gundam Lore with slick modern animation and engaging characters. While the series is hindered by its short length, and its heavy reliance on Universal Century lore makes it enticing to older fans, but confusing to new fans of the franchise, it's an exciting and bold take on Mobile Suit Gundam, told in a way that only the minds of Studio Khara can tell.