Gundam - Break it down for me, please?

[Deth Muncher]

Okay guys. So, I was thinking I might start trying to go back and watch (maybe read, if I can find the mangas) the entirety of the Gundam universe. This would not, of course, be a one-day thing, as I believe Gundam may be one of the more prolific series in existence. But regardless. What I'd like to know is where to START. I'm only vaguely aware of the different series because I remember them as a kid being on Toonami. So what do I do? Where do I go? Do I skip something because it's not at all related to the rest of the timeline? Is there even a timeline through all the series?

[Kris Strife]

Okay guys. So, I was thinking I might start trying to go back and watch (maybe read, if I can find the mangas) the entirety of the Gundam universe. This would not, of course, be a one-day thing, as I believe Gundam may be one of the more prolific series in existence. But regardless. What I'd like to know is where to START. I'm only vaguely aware of the different series because I remember them as a kid being on Toonami. So what do I do? Where do I go? Do I skip something because it's not at all related to the rest of the timeline? Is there even a timeline through all the series?

I think only 0079, Zeta and ZZ, and Char's Counter Attack are in the original Timeline, with the Gundamn SEED series having their own time line, as do all of the other series.

[OracleofWuffing]

So what do I do? Where do I go? Do I skip something because it's not at all related to the rest of the timeline? Is there even a timeline through all the series?

Hm... According to the Wikipedia Article, there's like, six settings all of the series have, and they loosely fit into a timeline (like, point A, 1000 years later, point B, 1000 years later, etc), and then the fanbase has different standings on how cannon those settings are based on how close the producing staff is to the original series, how much time has passed in story since the original series, and the phases of the moons.

Outside of that, the SD Gundam Series(es) are their own universe. While it's kinda a joke in and of itself, it's also got its own actual story.

Well, just using that, it looks like the first series is "Mobile Suit Gundam 00" is the first series by story time, and "Mobile Suit Gundam" was the first series produced. Wish I had more to suggest to you, but I've only seen Gundam Wing and G Gundam... Gundam Wing is... Well, it has its moments of intrigue, and then it has its moments of filler. G Gundam's closer to a monster-of-the-week action show.

[erikun]

Wikipedia would be a good place to get information. What you are probably asking is which shows take place in the Universal Century timeline, and are thus related. In that case, your answer would be (in order):

Mobile Suit Gundam (TV: 1979; compilation movies: 1981–1982)
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (TV: 1985; compilation movies: 2005–2006)
Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (TV: 1986)
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack (movie: 1988)
Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket (OVAs: 1989)
Mobile Suit Gundam F91 (movie: 1991)
Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (OVAs: 1991; compilation movie: 1992)
Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (TV: 1993)
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team (OVAs: 1996, compilation movie: 1998)
Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO (CGI movies The Hidden One Year War: 2004; OVAs Apocalypse 0079: 2006)
Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO 2: Gravity Front (HDV CGI movies 2008)
Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn (OVAs: 2010)

I'm leaving out the live action and amusement park rides(?) that are listed on the same page. Pretty much the rest of the series seems to have their own isolated timelines.

[Kris Strife]

G Gundam's closer to a monster-of-the-week action show.

It's more of a shonen martial arts show. There is an overarching plot... And a genre shift part way through.

[Tyrant]

Wikipedia would be a good place to get information. What you are probably asking is which shows take place in the Universal Century timeline, and are thus related. In that case, your answer would be (in order):

Mobile Suit Gundam (TV: 1979; compilation movies: 1981–1982)
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (TV: 1985; compilation movies: 2005–2006)
Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (TV: 1986)
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack (movie: 1988)
Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket (OVAs: 1989)
Mobile Suit Gundam F91 (movie: 1991)
Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (OVAs: 1991; compilation movie: 1992)
Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (TV: 1993)
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team (OVAs: 1996, compilation movie: 1998)
Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO (CGI movies The Hidden One Year War: 2004; OVAs Apocalypse 0079: 2006)
Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO 2: Gravity Front (HDV CGI movies 2008)
Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn (OVAs: 2010)

I'm leaving out the live action and amusement park rides(?) that are listed on the same page. Pretty much the rest of the series seems to have their own isolated timelines.

If you want to watch them in the sequence they occur you need to go with a different order.

-Mobile Suit Gundam (TV: 1979; compilation movies: 1981–1982)-This series covers the One Year War. Other series take place during this series, but you should watch them after because they tell you who wins the big war.

-Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket (OVAs: 1989)-This is a very short series (6 episodes) that takes place during the One Year War. It takes place primarily in 1 space colony.

-Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team (OVAs: 1996, compilation movie: 1998)-This series also takes place during the One Year War, except for the last episode which takes place after the end of the war. It takes place on Earth.

-Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (OVAs: 1991; compilation movie: 1992)-This takes place after the One Year War but before Zeta. I liked it, but I don't remember anything in it being tremendously important beyond the formation of a group that plays a big role in Zeta (and I assume ZZ)

-Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (TV: 1985; compilation movies: 2005–2006)
Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (TV: 1986)-I've only seen Zeta so I can't comment on ZZ. This features a number of characters from the Original Series.

-Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack (movie: 1988)-This is, as far as I know, the finale to the Earth/Zeon conflict.

-Mobile Suit Gundam F91 (movie: 1991)-I've only watched it once, but I believe this takes place in the future of the UC timeline (in comparison to the Earth/Zeon conflict).

-Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (TV: 1993)
Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO (CGI movies The Hidden One Year War: 2004; OVAs Apocalypse 0079: 2006)
Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO 2: Gravity Front (HDV CGI movies 2008)
Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn (OVAs: 2010)-I haven't watched these.

[Foeofthelance]

If I remember correctly, Gundam Wing and Turn A Gundam are also part of the Universal Century time line, with Gundam Wing being the "final" act, with all the other UC stuff predating it.

Turn A is weird because its not supposed to just be in canon with the UC, but with every other Gundam series made at that point as well.

Stand alone series:

Mobile Fighter G Gundam - Gundams are used in a fighting contest to determine who gets to rule the world for a year or two. Turns slightly more traditional towards the end, when a hidden big bad rises.

Gundam SEED/Destiny - A "reboot" of the UC timeline. Gundam SEED was pretty entertaining. Gundam SEED Destiny probably shouldn't exist. Awesome music, though.

After War Gundam X - Set in its own time line, follows a scrap team who salvage Gundams to go find legendary Newtypes. May or may not be affiliated with the Universal Century.

Gundam 00 - A "reboot" of Gundam Wing, and much more well received than Gundam SEED/Destiny. It had innovative suit designs, less Mary Sueish characters, and an ability to stick to its plot.

[Tyrant]

If I remember correctly, Gundam Wing and Turn A Gundam are also part of the Universal Century time line, with Gundam Wing being the "final" act, with all the other UC stuff predating it.

I don't see any way Gundam Wing could be part of the UC timeline. It's in it's own universe.

[turkishproverb]

Turn A suggested things go boom every once in a while and the universe gets reduced to cave-tech or close, before people rebuild and forget. Hench, Zaku units in turn a and flashbacks of the wing zero.

[Fri]

Ignore all these stuffs about how every gundam is supposed to be in one timeline joined by Turn A. It might be true, but most people thought of it as crazy ranting of the creator.

It's better to think each timeline as a separate universe, for your sanity and your convenience, like final fantasy. Really. All of the series have a common thing to them, but they all are separate, like final fantasy. One of them might be a serious war series, another an over-the-top super robot series where people yell their special attack names.

The only thing you need to know is this: There are a couple of timelines, and whether you want to focus on one timeline first or watch bits of all of them first is up to you. It's not like, if you say you want to try final fantasy or zelda, you're supposed to play them all from the nes one right?

You might want to test with the latest one, Gundam 00, that's set in our universe. Simply because it's the newest and got best graphic and such.

If you really want to know more about each of the timelines, wikipedia really is a good place to read.

[Just_Ice]

What you start with all depends on what you want to see.

There is no wrong starting point except SEED: Destiny.

I recommend you watch the 0079 compilation movies, 0080: War in the pocket, 08th MS team, 0083: Stardust Memory and then Zeta gundam. You can kind of decide what you want to do from there. Alternative starting points are Gundam Wing (has aged even worse than those and drags out, but there's actually a lot of good plot if you pay attention), G Gundam (Because it's crazy), Zeta Gundam (because it's arguably the best gundam), Turn-A Gundam (It's a little weird, though), SEED (I hope you don't do this) or Gundam 00 (It's the newest one and isn't totally unlike Wing, but it gets worse in the second half and they kind of shove a message down your throat.)

Series that are bad to start with:

Gundam X: Gundam X is okay, but it's got some very atypical qualities for an early gundam. Wing is a better starting point since it takes itself a little more seriously.

08th MS Team: This is a great series, but it'll make you expect awesome fights from every series and that's just not happening.

Victory Gundam: Pretty depressing/boring stuff with schizo pacing due to the creator's depression. Has some awesome stuff but it is a slog.

Double Zeta: Double Zeta kind of sucks, and Zeta is practically a prerequisite

Zeta compilation movies: Just no

SEED Destiny: Is kind of a tragedy

F91: The plot got crammed pretty bad on this one

G-Saviour: This was a Live-Action movie made sort of by Americans. It's really bad, though actually it has one awesome fight scene. It's comparable to the Bayformers series in a lot of ways. There's no way you're seeing this before everything else, it was a joke.

[Terraoblivion]

Yeah, Gundam is just one of those giant, sprawling franchises that are hard to get a handle of. It does have one thematic similarity throughout and features a white, blue and red robot with horns for the main character of each major series, but beyond that it really is very different from the late Victorian aesthetics and technology of Turn A to the post-apocalyptic scavenging of Gundam X to the cheesy national stereotypes of G Gundam. Admittedly, the last of those is just generally incredibly different from the rest of the franchise.

Going into more specifics there are seven timelines as others have mentioned.

UC (Universal Century), the big, original and by far most iconic one, which has four full-length series, two movies and a whole lot of OVAs, mangas, novels and so on. Most of the famous Gundam series such as the original and Zeta are part of this. It also gets incredibly strange towards the end with robots flying by means of a small rotorblade strapped to the wrist and women in bikini with rocket launchersbeing the secret plan of the villain of Victory, but this weirdness is mostly restricted to Victory Gundam and the manga Crossbone Gundam.

Can't remember, which is G Gundam, which is to say kung-fu robots fighting a tournament for whose colony gets to control the world, at least before the plot sets in.

After Colony (AC), that is Gundam Wing and its sequel movie Endless Waltz, which features extreme fabulousness, anachronistic clothing, pacifism and people who really can't figure out which side they are on, though in their defense new sides pop up all the time.

After War, which only contains Gundam X, a show best known for people forgetting about it, being screwed over by the network and having horrible pacing to try and get an ending before being canceled. From what I know that isn't really a fair description of it, as it's supposedly quite good. It's also the most purely post-apocalyptic Gundam series, even if rampant use of WMDs technically makes UC post-apocalyptic too and Turn A is still recovering from an apocalypse thousands of years before.

Perfect Century (I believe), Turn A Gundam, an odd little thing where both sides are largely decent and just fighting because they're idiots and because of a few non-decent people, also features one of the few Gundam leads who is less than amazing at using his unit.

Cosmic Era (CE), the only timeline other than UC to be remotely sprawling, though at heart it is SEED and SEED Destiny, which essentially makes it an attempted reboot of UC with more bishounen and a somewhat more idealized picture of how to oppose war.

Anno Domini (AD), only timeline with a definite relationship to our history, this one contains Gundam 00 and is also the only Gundam timeline ever to include aliens. It has many references to earlier series, especially Wing and Zeta, often pointing out the ridiculous aspects of them while still maintaining a dramatic plot, that does kind of fizzle into being incoherent in the second season. Also being the latest it unsurprisingly has nice art.

[Kato]

Well, people pretty much explained the timelines...

I'd guess I recommend starting with 00 (latest one and mostly pretty decent) or Wing (it's got it low points but overall it's solid and got decent animation)
Of course if you're not afraid of the animation and rather old-stylish plot you can always start with the first, 0079. It needs some getting used to but if you watch UC in chronological order it's an experience in and of itself.

SEED got very different receptions depending on the viewer... it's none of my favourites so maybe don't start there.
G, X, Victory, Turn A... they're all neat but not a good starting point either, imo. (Okay, Victory isn't that neat).
Just don't start with any sequels, or such. That'd be bad, even if it's Zeta (which I only think great considering the animation at the given time, apart from that it's merely average)

[Terraoblivion]

I wouldn't really recommend Wing. The constant popping up of new sides and Zechs being incapable of deciding what he wants or why he wants it were the low points, but Heero's constant attempts at blowing himself up and Wufei arbitrarily fighting his supposed allies all the time were hardly great either. I also found the general plot to be highly naive and quite forced in the end and...Oh, god what was up with new groups that had supposedly been there all along popping up out of nowhere all the time?

I know that the cut version that aired in the US is supposed to be better and cut out many of the dumbest things, but I haven't seen it so I can't say for certain.

[Just_Ice]

I wouldn't really recommend Wing. The constant popping up of new sides and Zechs being incapable of deciding what he wants or why he wants it were the low points, but Heero's constant attempts at blowing himself up and Wufei arbitrarily fighting his supposed allies all the time were hardly great either. I also found the general plot to be highly naive and quite forced in the end and...Oh, god what was up with new groups that had supposedly been there all along popping up out of nowhere all the time?

I know that the cut version that aired in the US is supposed to be better and cut out many of the dumbest things, but I haven't seen it so I can't say for certain.

The thing about Wing is that it's all about Treize, and his philosophy, if you're actually paying attention. Also, it has a totally sweet narrator. Everything else is kind of at random, I'll admit, but Endless Waltz kind of makes up for that. As for Wufei, the chaotic nature of Operation Meteor makes his actions relatively reasonable.

Heero is pretty dumb though, yeah.

[Kato]

Hm... I can't argue much with terr, except maybe for Wufei having no idea what he's doing because noone told him properly but I still kind of hold Wing in dear memory, maybe due to nostalgia, I'll admit. Zechs and Treize are actually among my favorite Gundam characters. Even if Zechs really needs to make up his mind sometime.

(I have a friend who's reading the recent manga and apparently Wing's plot is sane and consistent compared to that)

[Nerd-o-rama]

Tyrant and Terra covered the timelines pretty well. Here are things I would start with:

Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) or its compilation movies: the original and at least the rough basis for everything that comes afterwards. The TV series is somewhat less serious - and far less well-animated - than the movie version, but quite obviously has more fleshed-out characters. Check it out if you want a somewhat dated but still enthralling story of war and growing up, and if you can stand low-budget 1979 animation (again, the movies improve on this).

Mobile Fighter G Gundam (1994): it's nothing like other Gundam shows except for some shout-outs and conceptual ideas, and is more like a wuxia-inspired tournament fighting show with giant robots than anything else, but it is still campily awesome. Also incredibly offensive to pretty much every nationality, including Japanese, but that's part of the campy awesome.

After War Gundam X (1996): it's kind of like a spiritual sequel to the original show meets Mad Max. While the plot and setting are unique, it plays on a lot of the themes developed by other shows, like the dangers of unchecked political idealism and especially the role of "evolved" human psychics ("Newtypes", in metaseries parlance) in warfare and humanity's future.

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (2008): A series focusing on politics, conspiracies, and shades of grey in at least the first season, moving on to questions of transhumanism and Gundam's age-old "democracy vs. 'enlightened' autocracy" political conflict in the second, finally reaching a very unique take on the 'alien invasion' story in the movie. Being the most recent standalone, it has some of the best-choreographed and animated fights from a technical standpoint, too.


I haven't watched Wing or SEED, the other series that kick off separate timelines, and I haven't heard enough good about them through osmosis to want to watch them myself, let alone recommend them. Don't watch Turn A Gundam without at least watching a few Universal Century shows first.

Except for the original, everything I recommended here is standalone (with a concluding movie in 00's case). The next standalone series coming out will be Gundam AGE starting, I think, next season - it looks amazingly different in terms of art style and concept so far. At least G Gundam-level different. We'll see if that works out when it airs, I guess.

[OracleofWuffing]

It also gets incredibly strange towards the end with robots flying by means of a small rotorblade strapped to the wrist and women in bikini with rocket launchersbeing the secret plan of the villain of Victory, but this weirdness is mostly restricted to Victory Gundam and the manga Crossbone Gundam.

Oh man, now I gotta get in on this.

Can't remember, which is G Gundam, which is to say kung-fu robots fighting a tournament for whose colony gets to control the world, at least before the plot sets in.

Apparently, G Gundam is supposed to be Future Century, which is like after all the wars have ended and the colonies have won. Could've fooled me, though, I thought it was just a one-off series. I mean, stopping to think about a timeline in the G Gundam-verse is going to increase the chances of someone exploding your head, and that's in a series about exploding peoples' heads. And also German Ninja and a Horse-Gundam that is controlled by a normal Horse.

[Kris Strife]

Apparently, G Gundam is supposed to be Future Century, which is like after all the wars have ended and the colonies have won. Could've fooled me, though, I thought it was just a one-off series. I mean, stopping to think about a timeline in the G Gundam-verse is going to increase the chances of someone exploding your head, and that's in a series about exploding peoples' heads. And also German Ninja and a Horse-Gundam that is controlled by a normal Horse.

And a pilot with a naga gundam that separates into a human part and a snake part, with the snake part being piloted by his pet cobra (that he uses for a mount), a gundam that turns into a fish, a whole army of gundams that turn into windmills, and a space born Statue of Liberty that shoots death rays from the torch.

And America's Gundam is a surfing-cowboy-football player-boxer.

[Kato]

Don't forget Mexiko's TequillaGundam... no wait, Sombrero Gundam? Cactus Gundam? I forgot. Or Bull Gundam, SPain is pretty awesome, too.
Yes, G Gundam is highly entertaining just not a good representative of a Gundam series, imo. It's... like the kind of special but very lovely adopted foster child of the franchise, I dare say.

[Tengu_temp]

I started with G Gundam, but honestly, I think the best Gundam to start is the original. The ancient artstyle might be jarring for some, the pacing has some issues (which is the case with pretty much all Gundams, and definitely all Tomino shows) and the atmosphere can be weird sometimes because Tomino and the executives pulled the feel of the show in two separate directions, but it's still a fun experience that established many elements further Gundams reference or play with a lot. And sometimes it's just unintentionally funny because of the bad animation and other similar factors.

It also gets incredibly strange towards the end with robots flying by means of a small rotorblade strapped to the wrist and women in bikini with rocket launchersbeing the secret plan of the villain of Victory, but this weirdness is mostly restricted to Victory Gundam and the manga Crossbone Gundam.

Of course, the difference here is that it works for Crossbone, because it's Megaman (seriously, look at the art style) a ridiculous and fun-loving manga while Victory tries to be a SRS WAR STORY. Even though it has robots in giant hamster wheels.

[Poison_Fish]

If you decide to do UC first, be sure to watch some other aspects of UC first (Original, 08th, Zeta, Chars Counter Attack (Where you should watch original at least for that) and yes, even ZZ is useful for it) before watching Unicorn Gundam.

[Kris Strife]

Just a heads up, I've heard the main creator was depressed or had some other psychological issue while making the early stuff, which is why it tends to have bittersweet, if not out right depressing (Zeta Gundam...) endings.

He's remade the ending of Zeta Gundam to be happier since then however, so apparently he got some help. I'm not sure when he started getting treatment, but it might explain the sudden mood/genre shift in G-Gundam...

[John Cribati]

Relevant and obligatory.

[Kris Strife]

So... Short spin off from the pony threads, Eeyore and G-Gundam made me wonder, which Whinnie the Pooh character would be which Gundam Fighter? So far I've got Eeyore as Argo Gulski, possibly Piglet as Sai-Sachi and Tigger as Chibodee Crocket.

Might not be the most appropriate thread, but I'd feel silly making a thread just to mash up Whinnie the Pooh and G-Gundam.

[Tyrant]

Just a heads up, I've heard the main creator was depressed or had some other psychological issue while making the early stuff, which is why it tends to have bittersweet, if not out right depressing (Zeta Gundam...) endings.

He's remade the ending of Zeta Gundam to be happier since then however, so apparently he got some help. I'm not sure when he started getting treatment, but it might explain the sudden mood/genre shift in G-Gundam...

This probably can't be stressed enough. Characters you like will die. Some will die in senseless ways for no real good reason other than to drive home the point that war is hell and no one lives forever. I honestly think the end of War in the Pocket is the real stick the knife in and twist ending.

[Kris Strife]

This probably can't be stressed enough. Characters you like will die. Some will die in senseless ways for no real good reason other than to drive home the point that war is hell and no one lives forever. I honestly think the end of War in the Pocket is the real stick the knife in and twist ending.

I didn't watch War in the Pocket, and it hasn't been in a Dynasty Warriors Gundam game yet so I didn't know. That's the only reason I know about both endings of Zeta Gundam.

[Tyrant]

I didn't watch War in the Pocket, and it hasn't been in a Dynasty Warriors Gundam game yet so I didn't know. That's the only reason I know about both endings of Zeta Gundam.

I think if I told you, you would have no real desire to watch it. Tragic is a word that immediately comes to mind though. If you like UC Gundam you should see it though. It tries to show that the Zeon guys are just people too and most of the people are just caught in the middle of the two powers fighting it out. And it's only 6 episodes so there's no major time commitment.

[Deth Muncher]

Whoa. Okay then. You guys are incredibly detailed in your responses - for a primarily D&D board, I'm surprised at the high number of giant mecha fans here.

One more thing to ask before I start my way through: I notice a lot of the oldest series having compilation movies as well as just kind of regular movies too. Is there any huge detriment to just watch the compilation movie for that arc, or is it like Gurren Lagann where the movie basically glosses over most of the plot and character development and goes right to the booms and the boobs?

[Kris Strife]

I think if I told you, you would have no real desire to watch it. Tragic is a word that immediately comes to mind though. If you like UC Gundam you should see it though. It tries to show that the Zeon guys are just people too and most of the people are just caught in the middle of the two powers fighting it out. And it's only 6 episodes so there's no major time commitment.

Spoiler

Show

Is it the one where it ends with two characters silhouetted and one of them is missing a leg?