So You Want to Get into Gundam?

Gundam as a franchise can be intimidating as all hell. With over 40 years of entries in the series it can be exceptionally hard to know where to start with getting into it. Thus, this blog. I haven’t watched all of Gundam but I have watched a fair bit of it. I am hear to give you a spoiler free guide to which Gundams you can start with and which should be saved until later. By the fact that I have not seen every gundam property, this list will be incomplete and I will be skipping entries I haven’t seen yet but add them in when I have seen enough to make a determination.

To start, there are two broad category of Gundam stories, the Universal Century (UC), and the Alternate Universes (AUs). The Universal Century is the biggest and most detailed of the Gundam timelines. It features the most amount of stories both of the main and side variety. The Alternate Universes are all disconnected from the Universal Century and each other. They often play on similar themes and motifs but each story is usually self contained with its own side stories.

In my opinion the right answer for getting into Gundam is whatever interests you about the franchise. Every Gundam has probably been someone’s first. But, that in mind, I do believe some answers are less “wrong” than others. This blog will go throughout every main and side series Gundam I have seen in release orderish and let you know if I think it is a good entry point. There are a million of these blogs but this one is different because I am not looking to abuse search engine optimization and I just find this topic interesting.

Mobile Suit Gundam (UC)

I know I just said that there was no correct answer about where to start with Gundam but I kind of lied about that. The best place is the very beginning, with the first series Mobile Suit Gundam. Yes, it is 46 years old, yes it holds up and is an absolute masterpiece. The series has been playing with the themes and tropes it did for over 40 years and it is still as fresh as ever. In addition to simply being an exceptional story, it is also a fantastic starting point to the series because every other work of the franchise is built off of it. The UC originated here and every other UC story kind of expects you know these characters and their deals either as allusion or them just appearing in other works. The AUs build off of things this series originated and familiarity with it would be a great boon to understanding why somethings are the way they are in the AUs. The best way to watch the series is via the TV show, its 50ish episodes and it is one of the greatest TV shows ever made. There is also a rather good trilogy of recap films that cut down the series into its “most important parts”, but there is a lot of excellent stuff left on the cutting room floor, with the third film being the only one that really equals the TV show.

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (UC)

Probably not the best starting point. It is a sequel to the first Gundam and expects a fair bit of knowledge to understand some character motivations. Also a few key characters return from the first series and their arcs are continued here. It’s very good and I highly recommend watching it, especially if you are interested in the UC as a setting. This is a very important work for that.

Mobile Suit ZZ Gundam (UC)

This is where I come out as a fake Gundam fan. I have never finished ZZ Gundam. It’s a direct sequel to Zeta taking place pretty much directly after that series ends. As such, it expects a fair amount of knowledge of what happened in Zeta to figure out what is going on at the beginning. This one is certainly worth watching though, I’ve watched about half of it and it’s a unique take on what Gundam is that is interesting. Be wary of which subtitles you watch with though, there are three different subs floating around and only one set is worthwhile. The fan subs are homophobic and bad and the version of the show on Crunchyroll has several lines go unsubbed every episode. The subtitles that came with the Right Stuf home video release are good apparently and those ones are the ones worth using. I did not know this the past two times I tried watching the show, learn from my mistakes.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counter Attack (UC)

Despite being absolutely fantastic, this is probably not the best starting point. The movie expects you to know several important things, such as who is Char Aznable? Who is Amuro Ray? Why do they see so attracted to each other despite trying to kill each other? What is a Newtype? You learn all of that through watching the previous three series. In my opinion, the first series, Zeta, ZZ, and Char’s Counter Attack form a main quadrilogy that really inform what Gundam is and what its about. If you’re interested in the UC above all else, I would watch the four then branch out into the other more side works.

Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (UC)

This is an OVA that bridges the gap between the end of the first series and the beginning of Zeta. It expects knowledge of both to hit as hard as possible and honestly its interesting enough while not being the most worthwhile. It features cool mobile suits and gorgeous fights so if that’s what interests you about gundam and you don’t care about a complete package, you could do worse. Or you could just watch Char’s Counter Attack since that has cooler mobile suits and better fights.

Mobile Suit Gundam F91 (UC)

This movie is a late UC story that takes place far enough into the future that one could watch it first if it’s what struck their fancy. That is a very weird person but they probably exist. The film moves at a breakneck pace that will leave nearly every viewer confused as it has a lot of timeskips due to its developmental history. It’s neat though, what it eventually.

Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (UC)

Another show is have not finished but seen a good portion of. Despite not finishing it, I think this actually isn’t a bad place to start if this is the show you’re interested in. While it takes place in the UC, it is far enough away from the main quadrilogy that its kind of its own thing. It is very depressing though so be warned.

After War Gundam X (AU)

The first AU on the list. It’s very much in dialogue with the UC based on Newtypes being a feature of this universe as well and also other things but I think the show does a good enough job explaining the concept that one could conceivably start here. This is my personally favourite of the AUs and I highly recommend it, especially if your looking for a show aimed at slightly younger children. Its also only a little over 30 episodes so if you’re in the mood to start with a shorter show you could do a lot worse. Unfortunately, it is short because it was cancelled partway through because we live in a hell where great shows don’t get their full run.

Turn A Gundam (AU)

I have only seen half this show and it is still enough for me to call it the best TV Show ever made. It is very much a Gundam about Gundam so I think you would be missing out on its brilliance if you watched it first. But watch it eventually, it’s fantastic.

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (AU)

Of the AUs, this is probably the biggest and most expansive one, people love Gundam SEED. And they should becauser it brought Gundam into the post 9/11 world with brilliance. This is a great place to start. Especially if you want a longer Gundam but the UC is simply too big. SEED has 50 episodes of its own as well as a 50 episode sequel series and a movie sequel to that. It features excellent characters and melodrama, Lacus Clyne, Athrun Zara, and Cagalli I love you all. There are two versions of SEED floating around, the original standard definition release from 2002 and a later HD remaster. I watched the HD remaster because that’s what I found first but people who watch the original swear by it because the remaster made some weird changes.

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (AU)

Another really good starting point. This one is kind of going through a renaissance on Bluesky with a bunch of people watching it currently and I highly recommend it. It’s very much Gundam for the middle Global War on Terror period and it manages to do that extremely well. You get excellent characters, great mobile suits, good fights, and an amazing and inspiring story. It’s 50 episodes and a movie so middle of the pack for length

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn (UC)

Taking place after Char’s Counter Attack you probably do not what to watch this until you’ve seen the main quadrilogy. As an OVA its fine. I don’t like it but a lot of people do. It’s worth a watch eventually for the pretty good Sawano soundtrack and the excellent design of the Unicorn Gundam

Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin (Alt UC)

If you google Gundam chronological order this is usually recommended as the first entry in the UC. That’s both true and completely wrong. I started here because that’s what I did. Don’t be like me. This is an adaptation of the middle flash back section of the Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin Manga. This manga is a retelling of the events of the first Gundam by the original character designer. It rearranges a bunch of stuff and changes characters ages and invents new canon for this version of the story. This OVA takes the parts where we learn Char and his sister’s backstory and the events leading up the the One Year War. These events do not happen in relation to the TV show but instead, to The Origin manga. Don’t start here.

Mobile Suit Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans (AU)

This is a great starting point. Really neat story. Steps away from the usual war focused Gundam to tell a bit of a different story using Gundam that works really well. I like the characters and all the mobile suits are really cool. It’s a standalone 50 episodes if you just want a one and done to look at.

Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative (UC)

A sequel movie to Unicorn. It’s very boring. Don’t start here because you deserve better and also because it brings up a bunch of stuff from Unicorn and Zeta. This doesn’t even have cool robots to salvage it.

Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway (UC)

I love this movie to pieces but don’t start here. The main Character also appeared in Char’s Counter Attack and that is very core to his character, as is knowing who is father is. His father was very prominent in the main quadrilogy and appears in other side stories. It’s also part one of a trilogy of films, with only the first being released at time of writing. It’s based on a trilogy of light novels by Yoshiyuki Tomino which have been translated by a fan and are well worth reading

Mobile Suit Gundam The Witch from Mercury (AU)

Another excellent starting point. This is a stand alone 25 episode series so its very easy way to get into Gundam. It’s very fast paced and the main character Suletta, is a cinnamon role who I love and her relationship with her fiancée Miorine is very well developed I find. This show also doesn’t center on a war but instead a school as a battle ground for corporate intrigue. This show got a lot of people who didn’t really care about Gundam into Gundam in a big way so I think that speaks to its power as an entry point. Or just watch the lesbian robot show, have a good time, and never watch another Gundam, that’s fine too, I’m not your mom.

Mobile Suit Gundam Requiem for Vengeance (UC)

This Netflix series answers a very important question, what if they made Gundam for straight people? And it turns out it leads to shit tier Gundam. It’s ugly, the central conceit that fighting a Gundam is terrifying is far far better done in The Origin manga, the main cast is the least compelling group of characters I have ever seen, and the fights aren’t even cool. Don’t start here because you deserve to watch good things, this is better skipped.Also they made the Zaku and GM ugly, which I didn’t think was possible.

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX (Alt UC)

Not a very good starting point. It’s an alternative UC based on the idea that Char steals the RX-78-02 and that leads to Zeno winning the One Year War. If you have no idea what any of that means, the show probably isn’t for you yet. It features many callbacks to the main quadrilogy and those are kind of required watching to get this. Or you can be like the person I watch the Beginning film next too and have no idea what’s going on so you need your friend to tell you everything during the movie.