• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Mobile Suit Gundam newbie - watch original movie trilogy or start elsewhere?

Status
Not open for further replies.
00 is also a good starting point.

To be honest, it really depends how much time OP has. I'd go with UC timeline if you have the time.

If you start with UC, then watch:
- 0079 (tv series or movie trilogy) The animation in the tv series has not aged well while the movies updates the second half of the story with new animation.
- Zeta (tv series) Don't go for the New Translation movie trilogy as it is a retelling of the tv series with a new ending
- Char's Counter Attack. The movie that concludes the relationship between Amuro and Char.
- Unicorn (OVAs) Avoid RE0096, which is a lazily edited TV adaptions of the OVAs complete with spoiler heavy OP and ED.
- 0080 War in the pocket. One of the best written Gundam series ever made.
- 08th MS Team. Also very good. It focuses on a group of soldiers instead of the usual teenager becoming pilot trope.
- The Origin. Origin is a manga that retells the story of 0079. The main story is the same for the most part but minor details are charged and it also provides more detailed backstory for many of the characters. The OVAs that's currently still ongoing focuses on Char's childhood.

if you want stick with alternate timeline:
- 00 (2 seasons + movie) I think it's a good series, but some people hate it because of a certain plot point that is not Gundam norm.
- Wing (TV series + Endless Waltz) The first Gundam series to air in the west.
- Gundam X. Underrated series. It sets in a post apocalyptic world in a "what if" scenario. Unfortunately, budget cuts meant that the last arc was rushed due to having episodes cancelled.
- IBO. A different take on Gundam. Usual tropes like accidental teenage pilot and Earth vs Colonies are gone. In fact, MS don't even use beam weapons. Overall, it's quite dark and gritty for a Gundam series as it deals with things like child soldiers and slavery.
 
Thanks for all the advice. Looking at the chronological list someone linked, I noticed there is something called MS IGLOO. It looks like 3 OVA's that are 3 episodes long that take place between 08th MS Team and 0080 War in the Pocket. I haven't seen them mentioned. Is MS IGLOO recommended to watch along with the other stuff that takes place between the original series and Zeta?

I mean, if you want? It's a bunch of side stories done in mid-2000s era CGI. There's some cool stuff in there (Zudah is bae), but it also looks like this.
 

Htown

STOP SHITTING ON MY MOTHER'S HEADSTONE
honestly, I watched the original Gundam movies and didn't retain a damn thing about them except for like two cool scenes.

Started watching the TV show instead and am enjoying it more, despite the completely amateurish looking animation and liberal re-use of stock footage.
 
honestly, I watched the original Gundam movies and didn't retain a damn thing about them except for like two cool scenes.

Started watching the TV show instead and am enjoying it more, despite the completely amateurish looking animation and liberal re-use of stock footage.

You were missing out on Quality Zaku!

JScMPIi.jpg
 
Any word on the 0079 retelling novels? Read up that they expand on the original series by a lot, and that it's had several rereleases/retranslations.
 

novenD

Member
I'd advise starting with the original; it shows its age sometimes, but it's still a really quality show, and it provides context that only improves the later series.

IMO, the best way to watch it is to watch the TV series up until episode 30, then watch the third movie in the trilogy. While the other two movies are essentially just condensed versions of the TV series, the third is almost 70% new animation, which makes it the superior version of the last arc of the show.

Whatever you decide to watch, I hope you enjoy it!
 
I'd just start with 00, it's easy to get in to, doesn't look dated and has for the most part a pretty typical Gundam plot.

Only start with IBO if you want to watch a Gundam with a lot less Gundam and a lot more drama.

Edit: Oh yeah, you could watch Unicorn as well, though in that case I would recommend watching them in the original movie format.
 
Thanks for all the advice. Looking at the chronological list someone linked, I noticed there is something called MS IGLOO. It looks like 3 OVA's that are 3 episodes long that take place between 08th MS Team and 0080 War in the Pocket. I haven't seen them mentioned. Is MS IGLOO recommended to watch along with the other stuff that takes place between the original series and Zeta?

I love UC Gundam that it hurts.

Igloo fucking sucks. It's ugly, and even worse it's boring. I consider it about the worst thing in the franchise. Even worse than Seed / Destiny.

Here is my tier list.

Amazing:
First Gundam
0080
Turn A

Great:
Zeta
Victory
Char's Couterattack
Unicorn
Builders
IBO (pending the final episode)

Good:
ZZ
F91
0083
G
00
Builders

Okay:
Wing
Build Fighters Try
Age
00 movie
Star Gazer
The Origin

Mediocre
X
G Reco

Bad
Seed
Destiny
Igloo
Igloo 2

I probably left off a bunch but I'm tired.

Any word on the 0079 retelling novels? Read up that they expand on the original series by a lot, and that it's had several rereleases/retranslations.

If you are referring to the actual novelization from the 70s...

It's very much it's own thing. It's not canon at all. And it's bat fucking insane. But there are some really neat conversations about Newtypes in it.

I'd advise starting with the original; it shows its age sometimes, but it's still a really quality show, and it provides context that only improves the later series.

IMO, the best way to watch it is to watch the TV series up until episode 30, then watch the third movie in the trilogy. While the other two movies are essentially just condensed versions of the TV series, the third is almost 70% new animation, which makes it the superior version of the last arc of the show.

Whatever you decide to watch, I hope you enjoy it!

I prefer the tv series to the movie... but I kind of like this suggestion. Encounters in Space is great.
 
yea tbh even though wing was the one to introduce me to the genre, rewatching it shows how mediocre it is. It's really slow and just flip flops villains. Wing shouldnt have been 50 episodes. Also g gundam sucks b/c i know a certain mod likes it
 
I personally started with Wing, and I liked it quite a bit at the time, but I recommend the original trilogy or even the series those movies are derived from. The latter is a fairly large commitment, but I just rewatched it last year and was surprised at how well its aged. Definitely some parts that drag, though.

Just go into the movies recognizing that they are edited compilations of a television show, which particularly in the first film leads to some awkward pacing.

If you really dig 0079 then Zeta is a great watch which holds up beautifully. (Sadly the English translation is kind of bad, but it's functional enough.) No harm in jumping around to alternate Gundam universes instead, but if you're going to keep going with the Universal Century then make Zeta a priority.

If for whatever reason you don't want to go with 0079, I personally feel 0080 is a great starting point too. It has a bit of a different focus than most of the series, and you want to go into it with at least the knowledge that Gundam is "the good guy"
and the Zeons lose the war
-- but the themes are there and it's extremely well-made.
 

shintoki

sparkle this bitch
OT Movie Trilogy is a good place to start. I do prefer the original series, but you need to at least watch the third movie for the real ending I feel like.

In terms of must watch series,

I think these three are the highlights

0080 War in A Pocket - Short, simple, and sweet OVA series that looks at the war through a child's perspective.

8th MS Team - Overall the highest quality series, between writing, characterization, etc. It's basically Romeo and Juliet.

0083 Stardust Memory - Gundam will never look this good again. Top fucking notch animation, soundtrack, and sequencing.


I think most of the actual major series outside of the original fall apart. Either they start strong and fall apart, or they start off weak and get better. But not a single one earned it's full 50 episodes. The original is the only one that kept a good pace throughout. For example
-Zeta - terrible set of characters acting irrational and out of character on almost an episode basis.
-ZZ - Beginning is trash, recovers a bit, but everyone ignores anyways. It's dog poop
-Victory - I still never been able to finish it.
-Wing - We had like one villain?, followed by a dozen pointless rebel offshoots and generic nameless guys who got killed. But Treze remembers! The entire second half is just one big, these bad guys are good now and these are the real baddies, we lied, it's them now.
-G - When it moves away from the Gundam of the week, it's nice. When it's Gundam of the week, it's boring.
-00 - The first season is solid, it's more grounded and works well. 2nd season is a sequel to Code Geass
-X - I can't remember a damn thing about it.
-There is this point from 2002 thru 2007 I can't quite recall.... I think it started with S, E.... Better not.
-It's the inverse of 00. I thought the first season was throw away trash with a terrible finale. Second season's been legit though.

I knew I forgot one, Turn A, I liked this one. I lied.


But if you want to go through some of the movies and OVAs, I have a better opinion.
Char's Counterattack - Can't shake the terrible Zeta characterization, but it's a great conclusion to Amuro vs Char.
Build Fighters - Season one is hype, legit the best thing from Gundam since the turn of the century.
Unicorn - For the most part, I liked the aspects of it.
 
I've recently begun to watch all there is to the Universal Century.

If you want to get into it, start with the Mobile Suit Gundam I/II/III movie trilogy and then begin watching the OVAs and series in chronological order timeline-wise.
 

mid83

Member
I think I'll attempt the UC timeline. Any opinions on if chronological vs production order is better? I've seen both recommended here.

In other words, should you jump right into Zeta after the original series/movie trilogy, or should you watch all the OVAs like 0080 and 0083 prior to going into Zeta?
 
Go production order. That way you avoid jarring leaps in animation quality. Plus from a story telling perspective, some of the ovas, namely 0083, assumes familiarity with zeta.
 

thetrin

Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
Yeah, my opinion is to start with UC and then branch out to other timelines if you want.

0079 movie trilogy -> 08th MS Team -> 0083 Stardust Memory -> Zeta Gundam -> Char's Counter Attack -> Unicorn. (You can watch ZZ if you want, but I really didn't like it at all).

Outside of UC, my faves are:
- 00 Season 1
- Iron Blooded Orphans
- Build Fighters (BF Try isn't bad, but the original is way better)
- Wing & Endless Waltz
- G Gundam (totally different take, but lots of fun)

I think I'll attempt the UC timeline. Any opinions on if chronological vs production order is better? I've seen both recommended here.

In other words, should you jump right into Zeta after the original series/movie trilogy, or should you watch all the OVAs like 0080 and 0083 prior to going into Zeta?

You won't be missing anything if you watch Zeta first, so it's up to you.
 

lupinko

Member
I'd recommend the TV series but the movie trilogy is good too.

And Gundam the origin movies add to the One Year War.

I'd recommend the Zeta TV series over those garbage new Translation movies.

All the OYW OVAs are good.

ZZ is like it or hate it.

CCA is a must watch to finish Char and Amuro's arc.

Unicorn OVA is fantastic but I don't know how the TV version compares. But the TV series was adapted from the OVA.

F91 is absolutely awful but that was because it was originally intended to be a TV series but changed during development to be a theatrical movie and it shows how badly crammed it was. The positive side to F91 is that it gave way to the amazing Crossbone manga series.

V is also quality.

The other recent UC stuff I can't comment on.

The AU stuff depends on your own personal tastes.

I really love G, Turn A was great, X and Wing/EW are decent to good.

I didn't like Seed, oddly enough I own the official R3 DVD set for Seed which I impulse bought because I was a sucker for deals.

I haven't seen the other AU stuff after Seed (with the exception of Unicorn, Gundam origin and at the time Ghibli, I stopped watching Robot anime or anime in general after Top 2).
 

SkyOdin

Member
I think I'll attempt the UC timeline. Any opinions on if chronological vs production order is better? I've seen both recommended here.

In other words, should you jump right into Zeta after the original series/movie trilogy, or should you watch all the OVAs like 0080 and 0083 prior to going into Zeta?
I say go straight into Zeta. You might want to watch 0080 at some point, but Zeta is one of the defining pillars of the Gundam franchise. In comparison, 0083 is just pretty filler that lacks substance.
 

massoluk

Banned
Original trilogy and Zeta trilogy should get people up and running.

But what Zeta taught me is that being told your name is girly is totally legitimate reason to punch government official, steal prototype giant robot, destroy governmental properties and join rebel organization.

War in the Pocket is the greatest Gundam media ever.
 

Escargo

Member
I liked SEED. Great animation quality and soundtrack, especially the remastered version. I also liked the characters. It's an unpopular opinion but I still think it SEED warrants a watch. Especially if you enjoy watching strong talented protagonists.
 

massoluk

Banned
I liked SEED. Great animation quality and soundtrack, especially the remastered version. I also liked the characters. It's an unpopular opinion but I still think it SEED warrants a watch. Especially if you enjoy watching strong talented protagonists.
SEED is great, I like SEED. Even with the dumb stuffs.

Destiny... Just pretend it doesn't exist
 

Drkirby

Corporate Apologist
The Original Gundam is average, but its a good base for the rest of the series, that I recommend watching if you want to branch out to the core universe shows. I also would recommend watching the anime and not the movies. Zeta was OK, never was a big fan of Double Zeta. War in the Pocket and 08th MS Team were great though, those alone make watching the Original Gundam worthwhile.

For non-core stuff, G Gundam was always a favorite. Gundam Wing was good back in the day, but I haven't watched it in 15 years. Turn A Gundam is pretty good, and a nice change of pace (Plus its the last gundam to use traditional animation). Gundam Build Fighters is a wonderful spiritual successor to G Gundam that I loved. Gundam Build Fighters Try was kinda OK, but no where near as good as its predecessor (Plus, it felt like it was just a big build up to a season 3 that never happened)
 

ShirAhava

Plays with kids toys, in the adult gaming world
Watch the OG series chrono order is best from there

This has come up in the last few Gundam threads on GAF and has been bothering me but

The idea that Gundam X had some type of 'hidden potential' and would have been some great series if it wasn't for the cuts is very odd the me...Other than the art It was total crap.
 

massoluk

Banned
Watch the OG series chrono order is best from there

This has come up in the last few Gundam threads on GAF and has been bothering me but

The idea that Gundam X had some type of 'hidden potential' and would have been some great series if it wasn't for the cuts is very odd the me...Other than the art It was total crap.

Gundam X has the best MC of the franchise until Iron Blooded Orphan.
 
Go production order. That way you avoid jarring leaps in animation quality. Plus from a story telling perspective, some of the ovas, namely 0083, assumes familiarity with zeta.
Yep. Later UC stuff is created for an audience familiar with Zeta, and doing something like watching (the very pretty but middling) 0083 first will hinder dramatic tension in both series. You're supposed to watch 0083 knowing what happens later in Zeta, and Zeta is supposed to be a bit of a WTF without any sort of bridge piece explaining its initial setup.

I just want to point out again that it's a shame the English translation of Zeta is so lousy, it makes an already deliberately confusing show even more so, but it's still absorbing and entertaining. You're just going to need to puzzle things out a lot more than you should, and too much of the dialogue comes across as stilted or robotic.
 

DiGiKerot

Member
Ask Gundam people where to start, and you'll get a billion different answers, it turns out. I'm increasingly coming around to thinking starting, as far as the UC stuff goes, The Origin then going onto the movie trilogy might be the way to go. This, admittedly, comes from conversations with accquantences recently, but whilst it blows a few major spoilers, Origin does a pretty good job of fleshing out things that the movie trilogy drops for runtime purposes, and I have a hard time recommending folks watch the whole TV run these days.

I don't particularly have a problem telling folks to watch IBO cold either, but I am behind on S2 of the show. The thing is that there's Gundam, and there's Gundam, as many of the non-UC shows, even when using the same framework as the original series, are so vastly different in style or tone. Watching something like Seed or IBO, or especially G, doesn't really do much to inform you as to what other Gundam shows are. Even watching Turn-A doesn't really inform you as to anything other than the fact that Tomino is a smart guy who is kind of a hack as an actual director - that some of his stuff turns out amazing offen seems kinda almost accidental.

Oh, and Seed is fine. It has the same problem with a lot of the 50episode robot shows in that most of the best stuff is either front or back-loaded, with a real baggy 20-30 episodes in the middle - my favourite episode is probably mid-season, but it doesn't really start to hit with any consistency until towards the 40s. That being said, the early digital animation hasn't particularly aged all that well, though it's always been the music that has done the real heavy lifting with the series. Seed has a phenomenal soundtrack.

Destiny largely deserves its reputation, though. I actually really like it up until about the halfway point, and it honestly has probably one of the strongest opening runs of episodes of any of the Gundam shows I've seen just through pure intensity of stuff happening, but that it's as maligned as it is just shows exactly how much it shits the bed by the end. The last episode of the show was so bad that they ended up going back and making a "better" version as a TV special.
 
It's ironic how SEED always gets panned in these discussions, yet is probably the most common starting point (mainly because of the broadcast) among the people I know.
 

Bebpo

Banned
Watch the original trilogy first then CCA and then go back and watch Zeta & ZZ at some point (not the movies for Zeta, definitely not the movies for Zeta). Definitely don't watch Unicorn until after CCA, and just watch Unicorn when you want animation explosion. Same with 0083.

The core UC is still the best entry point for Gundam. It's basically watching Star Wars Ep4-6 before getting into the spinoffs and prequels and sequels.

ZZ is pretty bad though.

Fuck that.

ZZ is the most underrated Gundam series ever. Judo is basically GOAT Gundam Protagonist and Haman is the best female character in the entire franchise of Gundam. Judo's crew is fun and the 2nd half is great. Some great music too. Ops are the best. Downsides are mecha are boring/re-used from Zeta and animation is pretty weak. First half is also kinda goofy, but it's fun because Judo & crew are always fun.
 
Smh my head at all the people saying SEED is bad...it's easily one of the best series. Much more interesting then the show it was inspired by. Rau>Char any day, any time.
 

muteki

Member
The movies skip over a few events but are a good time saver if you just want to get the 0079 story in as little time as possible. You can always come back and watch the tv series later.

Just don't watch the Zeta movies instead of the tv series. They are horrible.

And don't skip ZZ.
 

sibarraz

Banned
I'm honestly embarrassed by how much I love Gundam Wing.

As a kid I enjoyed it for his mature themes and how dark and gritty felt compared to the other cartoons/anime that I watched (plus, like lots of folks here, it was my introduction to the gundam world)

Now as an adult I enjoy it more since is a living meme with legs, the exchanges between relena and hero are so fucking stupid that they are awesome

"Please come here and kill me"

Or one of my favorite lines in all anime since is fucking ridiculous

"this is weird, I'm crying but I'm not sad"

The movies skip over a few events but are a good time saver if you just want to get the 0079 story in as little time as possible. You can always come back and watch the tv series later.

Just don't watch the Zeta movies instead of the tv series. They are horrible.

And don't skip ZZ.


The zeta movies are bad? I thought that people liked them since it pretty much erases ZZ. I havent watched them
 
I liked SEED. Great animation quality and soundtrack, especially the remastered version. I also liked the characters. It's an unpopular opinion but I still think it SEED warrants a watch. Especially if you enjoy watching strong talented protagonists.

SEED is the most popular Gundam show out there so a lot of people liked it. It just has very vocal hater base too from some of the traditional Gundam fans.
 
SEED is a lot of fun. SEED Destiny is a clusterfuck.

Personally, I'm biased, but SEED was my first gundam show that I watched to completion. Since then I went back through all the UC stuff, G Gundam, Wing, and then the first half of 00. I lost interest when it came back for S2, and by all accounts it sounds like I didn't miss much. Pretty much the only old school Gundam I haven't watched yet is Turn A, and none of that would have happened had I not gotten into SEED.

That said, SEED definitely has a lot of flaws. Like having flashbacks in the first episode to something that happened earlier that same episode. When it's bad, it's really bad. But when it's great, it's *really* great.
 

Scavenger

Member
I liked SEED. Great animation quality and soundtrack, especially the remastered version. I also liked the characters. It's an unpopular opinion but I still think it SEED warrants a watch. Especially if you enjoy watching strong talented protagonists.
I've been rewatching SEED on DVD over the last few days and boy do I disagree on the animation quality. The original TV/DVD version had a lot sluggish looking animation and a crapload of stock footage. Framerate also constantly jumped from 24fps to 30fps whenever there was a cg shot or a panning shot.
 
For the love of Kira, please stop recommending Wing.
It doesn't hold up. At all.
It's fucking TRASH. Just like Seed Destiny.

Start with the movie trilogy or the original Mobile Suit Gundam show.
Then go to Zeta, then watch the OVAs.
From there, you'll have a decent structure for Unicorn and Char's Counterattack.
Then, Turn-A Gundam.

Maybe throw Seed in there at this point, but skip Seed Destiny.

If you can handle cheesy action anime, G Gundam is good stuff.

Gundam Age is the best Gundam show.
 

kayos90

Tragic victim of fan death
I'm of the opinion that Seed has my favorite mobile suit designs out of every series I've seen. I think Gundam 00 S1 is a good start for something that has high visual fidelity. Outside of that, any pick is a good start. Do watch G Gundam. Whether you think it's good or bad is up to you.
 

Bulzeeb

Member
My favorites are

Z gundam
08th ms team
0079 War in pocket
Build Figthers 1st season (watch it after you've seen some other gundam series)
00 1st Season
Char's counter attack (Flawed but I enjoyed it)

You can watch but don't expect a master piece

Wing: lots of filler and nonsensical plot, this was my first gundam show but after trying to re watch it I didnt enjoy it as much as back in the day
SEED: Good start, interesting characters at first but not that good at the end (it peaked at the desert)
G: If you enjoy battle shows like Dragon Ball or the tournament part of shonen series you'd like this one, however it should have ended 2 or 3 episodes sooner (I did not like that last boss)
Turn A: Its weird but interesting
V: Watch it if ou are felling to happy and want to feel depresed
0083: Stardust Memories: Nice mechs and plot at first but turns fast into a train wreck
00 Second season + Movie: This is wasted potential the show and borderline avoid tier for me but it had a nice final battle
Build Figthers 2nd Season: Not as good as the first but not that bad
IBO: One episode left and it was nice but predictable most of the time, this might become the second wasted potential show for me after 00 but not as bad.
Unicorn: Interesting concept but it had its boring parts

Avoid:
SeeD Destiny: Terrible and destroys any descent thing that was left from SeeD
ZZ: I saw like 15 episodes or so, I hated everyone, decided to drop it

I Never cared for or Couldn't pass the third episode:

Age: Meh
Reconguista: I loved the art and designs and wanted to like it but I couldn't =/
Original Gundam (0079): Watch the movies or some SD Gundam to get the basic outline of the plot

I think thats it for me, now that I recall, I haven't watch Gundam X and the recent thunderbolt and Origin OVAs
 

Effect

Member
It's pretty bad.

Nah. Seed is decent. It kinda falls off a cliff in a way at the end. It's an interesting reimagining of the original Gundam series. For a long time it hits the same plot points with twist to pretty positive results. It gets thought of negatively I think because of Seed Destiny. That series after the first 7 to 12 episodes is a disaster. It's one of those series where you watch and there is a point where it feels like a different show in the sense that someone on the creative team left or was fired because of the swing that takes place on several fronts. That person wasn't fired though. The opening of that show is tight and well done then it goes off the cliff and never stops falling.
 
I started recently with Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket and Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team. I shot the request for suggestion to Austin Walker, who is great at communicating with nobodies like me, and these were what he came back with.

Almost completed 0080! It's damn good, I'll tell you that much.
 
Someone said the 0079 movie trilogy had a good dub. Lol no way. It's dub is utter shit. Even Steve Blum sucks in it, which is terrible because he's playing one of the most charismatic and iconic anime characters of all time.

The tv dub is 20x better. At least the core cast is good. I like Michael Kopsa almost as much as Shuichi Ikeda. And Brad Swaille is good as amuro.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom