Old School Anime Reviews - Mobile Suit Gundam

The Gundam franchise has been around for years, that's no secret, but where did it start? Why did it become so popular? How has it continued to grow over the years? Well, that's what we're going to discuss in today.

Welcome to Old School Anime Reviews, this is Mobile Suit Gundam!

The First of the Franchise

Created and Directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, Mobile Suit Gundam (also called First Gundam, Gundam 0079, and Gundam '79) was produced and animated by a company called Nippon Sunrise. Running from April of 1979 to January of 1980 for a total of 43 episodes, the idea was to have a war story with people inside giant robots - similar to the armor worn by the marines in Robert Heinlein's 1959 novel, Starship Troopers.

Sounds like a cool concept, right? Well, it is, but you'll be surprised to learn that the initial ratings for the show were bad...like...really bad. In fact, the show was almost cancelled after 39 episodes until the team managed to snag an extra month to round out the series with 43 episodes. It wasn't until Bandai bought the rights to make modelling kits of the different mobile suits that things started to turn around.

The models sold well and the 1981 theatrical compilations were popular so the re-runs did well. How well? Well, the series won the first winner of the Animage prize at the Anime Grand Prix in 1979 and 1980. The Wizard Magazine listed the series as the second best anime of all time. It was also ranked 24th on the Top 100 Anime from Animage.

Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 did eventually make its way across the pond in the mid to late-90s, airing on Cartoon Network (with a lot of the darker stuff edited out, of course). The series was eventually cancelled after the September 11th Attacks when the network started pulling programming with themes of war and violence. It did eventually air again - on Adult Swim - but the ratings were low and the series was cut again.

Since its release, there have been novels, videogames, manga, and film releases. Each one contributing to a growing legacy.

The Story

In the Universal Century 0079, the Principality of Zeon declares independence from the Earth Federation and launches a war of independence - which would later be called the One Year War. Both sides end up stuck in a stalemate, however, leading to a rather uneasy situation.

Our story kicks off with Zeon soldiers attacking a Federation space colony. During the course of the attack, a teenage mechanic named Amuro Ray accidentally stumbles across a secret military project - the RX-78 mobile suit. He hops in, and helps the local Federation military to fend off the attack and evac the other residents.

After that, he's more or less shanghaied into service aboard the Earth Federation's new warship, the White Base. He spends the series forced into countless battles and has to face many issues along the way.

What Works Here?

Okay, first off; I don't care what anyone else says, I LOVED the art style! There's no getting around it, the animation and art style are seriously dated, but I love it for exactly that reason.

The series is tonally consistent and well-paced. The battles are very cool to watch. I also really liked the way the show approached its depiction of war. That probably sounds weird, let me explain. Most war-themed shows and movies present a sort of glamorized portrayal. Navy SEALs sneaking into places to rescue high value targets, Marines and/or Rangers storming into buildings to rescue colleagues or hostages are common tropes.

It's rare, however, that we see the psychological effects of being in a warzone on soldiers or civilians. Amuro is a civilian who is pretty much forced into the role of a soldier; his mental state is explored quite a bit but it's done in a way that doesn't come across as pandering.

Where does the Series Fail?

Okay, so where does Mobile Suit Gundam fall short? Well...okay, let's start with the music. As nice as it is, the music is largely...forgettable. It just becomes lost in the barrage of 80s sci-fi titles of the time.

The characters are also not very likable. Amuro comes across as bratty and obnoxious for a lot of the series; it's not until later that he matures. Sadly, that initial bratty behavior is very off-putting.

Now, I know that he's a civilian and not a soldier, but he's also well aware of the dangers posed by the Zeon soldiers and he made the choice to get involved with the war when he got into the RX-78 - even if he didn't intend to.

An Amazing Legacy

So, is this series worth your time? Well, that would depend on whether you like this sort of art style and storyline. It's very dated, but it holds up rather well nowadays. Additionally, this is the series that created one of the biggest sci-fi franchises in anime.

Not all of the series' in the franchise are great, but overall this series has created an amazing legacy that will be maintained for years to come.