Kidou Senshi Gundam

It is year 0079 of the Universal Century. Mankind has moved to space, living in colony clusters known as "Sides." One of these Sides declares itself the "Principality of Zeon" and declares war on the Earth Federation, the governmental body currently ruling Earth. Using powerful humanoid robots known as "mobile suits," Zeon quickly gains the upper hand.

Nine months into the conflict, the Earth Federation has developed its own powerful mobile suit called the Gundam. When Zeon launches an attack on the colony holding the Gundam, a 15-year-old civilian named Amuro Ray suddenly finds himself thrown into a conflict that will take him all across Earth and space, pitting him against the enemy's ace pilot, Char Aznable.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Aznable, Char Main

Ikeda, Shuuichi Japanese

Ray, Amuro Main

Furuya, Toru Japanese

Noa, Bright Supporting

Suzuoki, Hirotaka Japanese

Haro Supporting

Inoue, You Japanese

Mass, Sayla Supporting

Inoue, You Japanese

Ral, Ramba Supporting

Hirose, Masashi Japanese

Zabi, Garma Supporting

Mori, Katsuji Japanese

Shiden, Kai Supporting

Furukawa, Toshio Japanese

Sune, Lalah Supporting

Han, Keiko Japanese

Zabi, Gihren Supporting

Ginga, Banjou Japanese

Yatate, Hajime Producer

Tomino, Yoshiyuki Director, Episode Director, Script, Storyboard, Theme Song Lyrics, Original Creator, Key Animation

Matsuura, Noriyoshi Sound Director

Sadamitsu, Shinya Episode Director

Reviews

Nov 16, 2024

k-0da

Recommended

This series has so much heart. From the very human antagonists, to the acknowledged evil of child soldiers, to the genuinely revolutionary action sequences— fantastic.

Amuro's arc is great and the best thing about it. His rivalry with Char is legendary for a reason. Their relationship is very good, and watching them both start to crack under the pressure is awesome.

The white base crew is very good too, they're very charming and bounce off of each other nicely. I wish we got to see more of them interacting rather than random zeon baddies every week.

There is a fair bit of misogyny, but it’s ... classic 80s misogyny, which I find much preferable than the fan service misogyny of anime today.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Sep 30, 2024

_Lazaroth_

Recommended

(LAZAROTH REVIEW - LONG - VERY MINOR SPOILERS)

"Mobile Suit Gundam (1979)" definitely feels like the foundation of a great franchise, with a brilliant and mature showing of not just the Art of war, but the Nature of war as well.

For context, I am a first time viewer of the Gundam Franchise. I will be watching/reading every Gundam media product to be released, starting with this anime, following an "Best order" guide on the site "AnimeHunch" from an Gundam enthusiast. I have no nostalgia for this franchise nor any particular love for Mecha as a whole, so this review is entirely unbiased. Although I always ... keep Bias out of my reviews anyway.


Animation/Art/Music:

You'd think an anime from 1979 would have "bad" animation, but I was really surprised with the animation and art of the show. While the actual animation is quite limited and repetitive (as you'd expect from a long running anime with banked animation), the art direction and usage of lighting and colours make this a very creative foray. The anime uses lighting brilliantly, such as when they show the glow of monitors basking the characters entirely in a hue of colour. It may seem simple, but it's certainly effective at setting a scene and catching your eye much more as you appreciate the attention to detail.

While the repetitive and limited animation is definitely noticeable, there are a few times where the animation quality spikes, usually in scenes where fast movement is required which does well to sell the sense of speed. The actual art of the show is amazingly consistent, I like the blackened shadows and the art style pulls you into this world somehow, while being wonderfully old-school, yet with a modern flair to it.

The designs of the mechs are quite good, albeit fairly basic. The designs of the Zeon mobile suits look appropriately aggressive, especially the one glowing "eye" that moves around like it's real, but it's actually just the pilot's camera. Some designs, like the Black Tri-star's mobile suits, have headpieces that look like hooded figures, like an representation of the Grim Reaper itself. The Gundam has a versatility to it that is so fun to watch, as it can become a tank, a fighter jet, or the standard bipedal mecha. This aspect of the show compliments the Art of War that the anime is so good at portraying.

The music is good, nothing I'd quite add to my playlist but enough for me to smile when I realise what song is starting to play.


Story/Characters/Action:

The story begins with a relentless assault, a deadly cat and mouse chase as the bad guys (Zeon) thrillingly chase the good guys (White base) across space and Earth that lasts for half of the anime, shows how unrelenting war is, even if it feels repetitive from a viewing standpoint, this actually works as a way to connect with the characters as you share their frustration and lack of rest as you witness them defend and run, defend and run, over and over until it's finally over and you have a chance to breathe. You feel exhausted and come to cherish the fleeting moments of downtime between battles, just like the characters in the anime. You really feel like you are right there alongside them, which is absolutely brilliant.

Meanwhile, the anime tells the story of the crew on the spaceship as it battles and retreats its way through its long journey to safety. The characters of the anime are absolutely stellar and 3-dimensional, which I'll touch on shortly. (Minor first episode spoilers;) But first, I want to talk about the main character, Amuro. Amuro is a 15 going on 16 year old kid who's been living a normal life up until his home, a space colony called Side 7, is attacked by scouts of the Zeon Principality as they seek to destroy the top-secret weapons the Federation have been building. During an evacuation, Amuro pilots one of these secret weapons, called a "Mobile Suit: Gundam", in order to protect the evacuees of Side 7 as they flee from the now full-scale attack on the colony after the Zeon army learns of the secrets it contains and kills every solider and military personnel on the colony, besides the vessel used for Evacuation, the Trojan Horse spacecraft called "White Base". Amuro demonstrates natural skill wielding the Gundam, and he manages to fend off the attackers just long enough for everyone to escape into open space. Due to every Militant dying, Amuro and a group of civilians are assigned as temporary Military personnel by one of the only four surviving Militants of the battle, a ship commander and his non-combatant officers. Forced to pilot the mech and contribute to killing people, the story focuses on Amuro and the civilians as they hastily fulfil the shoes of their dead soldiers in a makeshift Military unit carrying the top-secret weapons of the Federation as they escape the ever looming tail of the legendary Zeon solider, "Char Aznable" and his soldiers.

This story is very unique and very captivating. Seeing the psyche of the civilians change and adapt to the new lifestyle as a makeshift military force is a breeding ground for engaging storylines and drama. Particularly for the scared kid Amuro, as he undergoes extreme traumatisation after being forced to fight and kill or be killed constantly and without a break for long stretches of time, you can actually see his breakdown in real time as the pressure and guilt piles up after every battle. The weight of responsibility and his eventual dependency on the Gundam that he once hated piloting is incredible to witness as it sparks conflict, showcasing many moments of human vulnerability and the impact of such a situation can do to someone's mental and physical health. You can see this pattern with other members of the civilians turned Militants, though not to the extremes of Amuro as they all had much less demanding jobs such as piloting the spaceship or manning turrets.

Let's expand on these other characters. The best thing this anime does is not the mecha battles, but showcasing the mental and physical and spiritual journey of the characters as they learn to adapt to the new roles they were hastily thrust into as they grapple with life or death situations regularly. Seeing their inadequacy at the start, and then seeing how they bloom into their role as they improve as the anime goes on is endlessly innovative and engaging.

Women are written particularly well in this anime. They are every much as capable as their male counterparts, and in some cases, even replace them as their superiors, not out of bad writing, but out of a combination of genuine learned skill and natural talent. The women of the anime start off as novices to fields they have no experience in, but eventually become experts as they gain that experience. Unlike modern "woke" media, where Women literally spawn into the world absolutely perfect with zero flaws, Women in Gundam are treated like actual human beings, and you can actually see their progression in real time. The same is just as much true for the men as well. The women in this anime has just as much vigor to save the day as the men do, and in some situations, even surpass them in this regard. Women in this show do not cower nor are damsels in distress that need saving. They are stalwart, brave, and not afraid to put their life on the line in direct combat. It's a stellar showing of true equality, even more so for an show that released in 1979. I cannot commend the anime enough for its display of TRUE humanity.

You witness these people change, learn, improve, all in real time. Due to the long and uninterrupted Journey that the anime is, you are literally right there alongside them every single step of the way. You see their ups and downs, their defeats and victories, their relationships change for better or worse, all utterly dynamically. This anime is a perfect example of how to write characters that feel and act human, with their own flaws and strengths, their own thoughts and emotions.

These characters feel real, it's the best part of the anime.

(Possible minor spoilers ahead)


I think the anime could've benefitted from more PERSONAL interactions between the primary human antagonist, Char, and the protagonist, Amuro. Their interactions outside of the battlefield could've been amazing moments of drama and tension. They do meet up once outside of battle while on neutral territory, however Char does not know that Amuro is his arch-nemesis at that point. The thorn in Char's side that constantly upended the legend that he was in the story was this nobody, this 16 year old kid, this weak civilian boy turned militant all along. I think it was a missed opportunity.

The "Newtype" is an interesting, but still yet to be fully explored (?), idea that this anime introduces. My take on it is that War has become such a normal detriment to the human race than an entirely new human genome was created in order to allow human to excel at war and protection. These people are called "Newtypes" in the anime. To avoid direct spoilers, I won't explain their powers or who they are, but I think it is an amazing idea that to have a world in which war and strife is so apparent that that the Human body had evolved in order to adapt to the new environment. SO many unique ideas in this anime!

(Possible spoilers end)


I wish we knew more about the universe that the Gundam anime takes place in. This may be intentional in order to keep interest as the series goes on, however I wanted to be more invested in the conflict, so more backstory and knowledge behind the intricacies of this universe, at this stage, would've been appreciated. There's enough to become invested however. There is plenty of other Gundam media that expand on this timeline's lore after this was released.

There is a group of very small children in the anime that have become so used to war that they refuse to leave the ship, instead risking their lives in order to help out. Their refusal to return to a life of normalcy in safety is intriguing and is yet another horrible aspect of war, where innocent children are conditioned to believe that the constant fighting and death is their new "normal".

Even for a show from 1979, it has pretty unique action sequences and setpieces. Such as an intense bomb defusal scene, the Gundam holding back a giant battering ram filled with explosives at the cost of being unable to defend himself, or telekinetically controlled laser beams that are faster than the eye can blink. The show has a lot of repetition, however it has a lot of innovative and fun to watch action that can still leave you on the edge of your seat even if you've seen plenty of media like I have.

Despite the Zeon forces being made to be obviously evil, often times their humanity shows through, showing the reality of war. That everyone is just a human, nothing more or less, every person in war has the same emotions and feelings as each other, regardless of the side they fight for. You can emphasise with them as they mourn their losses, just as much as you can mourn for the losses of the "good" guys. In this war, many people have died as a result of a joint effort from both sides, not just one.


Overall:

Overall, despite the repetitive nature of the anime, I was sad to see it end. But considering that this is the anime that started a huge and enduring franchise with a global fanbase and a permanent impact on pop culture, I'm happy that there's more to come. The way this anime utilises the Art of War, the captivating story of civilians transforming into Military troops, along with its brilliant showing of multi-faceted characters that act like real people, will forever be etched into my memory. The anime is just as much an study into the Human Condition as it is a myriad of epic battles between mechs and spaceships.

I highly recommend this, even if the overall quality isn't amazing, there are many individual aspects of this show that are absolutely worth witnessing yourself if you haven't already. I came for the Mech battles, I stayed for the characters.

The anime wraps up nicely if you wish to only watch this Gundam entry without watching the rest, although I'd recommend watching the rest! Check out Anime Hunch's guide if you'd like for an accurate Gundam watch guide if you're confused.


Bonus:

This anime was adapted into 3 full feature films. The ending of the last movie changes the ending from the anime in order to better fit canon, so be sure to watch that ending after you finish watching the anime before watching other GUNDAM series!

Animation/Art: 6.5/10
Characters: 10/10
Music: 7/10
Action: 6.9/10
Drama/Mystery: 8/10
Plot/backstory: 8/10
Ending: 8/10

Overall rating: 8.0/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jul 13, 2024

09philj

Mixed Feelings

The first and most important thing to say about Mobile Suit Gundam is that there are a great many sequences that use flashing images that could induce seizures in people who have photosensitive epilepsy. This is a series from a time when using strobe effects to represent explosions was still considered acceptable, and it is used liberally. The sequences that use this effect were unpleasant to watch for me, and it therefore seems likely they could have much worse effects on people with a sensitivity to such things.

Despite showing its age in many ways, Mobile Suit Gundam’s better qualities shine through consistently. TV anime ... in 1979 was primitive, to say the least. Every episode looks like it had a budget of about ¥23, but you can the direction pulling hard against those limitations to get the maximum possible value up on screen. Detailed mechanical design is a pipe dream, objects on screen often don’t rotate wherever possible, and the Gundam itself feels like it’s slightly off model a lot of the time. Despite that, there is a lot of striking shot composition, and careful use of the fairly limited score to build tension and excitement even though very often what you are watching is clearly a static animation cel being moved across a background. The depiction of the grim realities of warfare, and the ultimate inhumanity of death and destruction on such a scale are evoked very effectively despite the limitations of the animation, helped along by some excellent sound design. The technical design is also constantly wonderful to look at, there’s a very distinct and interesting aesthetic not just to the mobile suits but also all the technology, ships, and uniforms have a great look to them. A lot of it is a very 1970s vision of future aesthetics that doesn’t quite line up with modern sensibilities, but the Gundam itself is a design classic that has endured in our collective consciousness for a reason.

The writing side is a similar story in how it is in many obvious ways very flawed and yet clearly has something special about it at the same time. The central character, Amuro, has a mixture of neuroticism, fear, vanity, drive, and antisociality that feel right for a teenager thrust into a key position in a war, although it doesn’t always feel like those traits come to the fore organically or in the right order. The central antagonist Char Aznable, as an experienced and cunning soldier, is an ideal foil for him, and the scenes where the power of the Gundam is pitted against the experience and skills of Char are always exciting. They are surrounded by a good supporting cast, with the crew of the White Base believably developing from a rag-tag group of children armed with advanced military technology to a hardened fighting force. The series greatest flaw which drags it down more than anything else is that the plot is all over the place. The opening arc where the White Base is trying to escape to Earth is great, full of constant tension as they are pursued by Zeon’s forces. Once they get to Earth things start to get a bit wobbly. Char isn’t present for large stretches and none of the secondary antagonists introduced in the meantime can really fill the hole he leaves, and there are multiple short arcs that are a bit of a drag to sit through. Characters also repeatedly seem to change their motivations or relationships at random which leads to a lot of scenes feeling jarring. It might also just have been a deficiency of the subtitles I was using, but the motives of certain characters occasionally seemed opaque in a way that I don’t think was intentional. For example, I have no idea what Char was actually hoping to achieve in the last arc, which incidentally also takes a lurching left turn into being concerned with dealing with the implications of the emergence of Newtypes, humans with extrasensory perception. While the plotting is shambolic, the vibes do generally shine through; this is a crushing war of attrition, where characters can and will die, with moral compromise on both sides. Zeon’s nationalism and authoritarianism are the greater folly that initiated the war in the first place, but the Federation are not innocent of carrying out many of the same crimes. Likewise, although many combatants are dragged into the war against their will, they are not any less complicit in propagating it.

The practical upshot is that Mobile Suit Gundam is deeply messy and imperfect, but it is an imperfect mess that I have a lot of respect for, and contains much that is enjoyable. I wouldn’t recommend it on its own merits, but it’s Mobile Suit Gundam; we live in its world, and it doesn’t need to be brilliant to be worth watching. An enduring legacy of mecha anime started here, in the Universal Century continuity, the wider Gundam franchise itself, and beyond, and if you care about the history of the medium it's worth it for that reason alone.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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