So, obviously, spoilers ahead. The show just ended yesterday, and I needed a break from video editing, so I’m gonna write down my thoughts. Be warned: this is kind of a quick reaction blog, rather than some sort of truly informational review. But let me know what you think of the show, too! Either in the Disqus comments below or on our Discord.
What I liked!
It’s a visual treat. GQuX was made by the same people who did the Evangelion rebuilds. (And… the Fire Emblem Echoes cutscenes? That’s what Wikipedia says!) And since I was a big fan of those, it’s no surprise that I was a big fan of the visuals here, too. These Pokémon protagonists are visually interesting, yet somehow the animators made sure they don’t stand out too hard from the very faithfully recreated 0079 era UC designs. When Nyaan and Lady Kycilia share a private moment, they don’t feel jarring side by side, which was my primary worry after the first two episodes, when we went from Machu’s technicolor hair and schoolgirl outfit to The Red Comet in full Zeon uniform. The visual directors put a LOT of love into this show.
An alternate history where Zeon won the war is SUPER interesting. The UC Gundam shows make it a constant goal to show that there are no “good guys” in war, despite the fact that the Federation are usually our story’s protagonists. But they always work with one simple backdrop: that the Federation won the One Year War. It always pits them as the winner and the status quo, while Zeon is in a “the South will rise again!” sort of situation. What I found fascinating about GQuX’s portrayal of a world where Zeon won the war is how little actually changed. For the citizens, for the day to day of life, and for the soldiers who have to constantly be ready to throw their lives on the line when called. It feels very Tomino.
They knew how to hook you in for the next episode. In shorter 12-episode series like this, a big part of the draw is suspense and intrigue. End every episode with something to get the reddits and the twitters talking. And the showrunners knew how to do that. Since the show is still fresh and recently finished, I can’t say for certain how much I’ll enjoy it on a second watch, obviously. But I can say that on first watch, I was excited for every episode and wanting more. Not every show is able to do that for me. I’m picky.
What I kinda didn’t.
In retrospect, the whole clan battle thing ate up way too much time. Obviously clan battle was never going to be the driving force of the show; it was a setup for a high school girl to learn how to pilot a Gundam. I get that. But with how the story shifted in its second half, I feel like the whole first half meant… very little? We had standout episodes for sure (shoutout to Shiiko’s episode in particular) and the lower stakes allowed Machu, Nyaan and Shuji to connect and grow, which is important. But outside of those three, none of the other characters really… mattered? Challia was kind of just scheming in the background, the mystery of Char and the Zek Nova were lingering, and we were spending a lot of plot time on a villain of the week setup in a low stakes competition format. I enjoyed it at the time, but considering how the show ends…
The final episodes feel really rushed. I still enjoyed what they did; don’t get me wrong. The story this show told was really cool. I just wish the final episode (really, the final… 3-4 episodes?) had more room to breathe and give the moments that need weight more weight. It felt like we had to move from moment to moment at a feverish pace to get it all in, and explain what we didn’t have time to show via kira kira exposition. Which is a shame, because the clan battle segment did plenty of showing! I’ve seen lots of online takes saying that this show would’ve done better as a 24- or even 50-episode series instead, and I’m not sure I agree. It feels more like an extended cut OVA to me, but with what should have been the first OVA (the clan battles) extended while the other OVA episodes were not. If that makes sense.
The Char reveal was meh. After all that buildup of what happened in the Zek Nova? and where is Char if Shuji’s piloting the red Gundam?? he just kind of… shows up with a science team in the most obvious “I’m really Char” character look possible. I expected him to come from the other side in some big moment, or be really dead, or… something. And instead he’s just kinda been around the whole time. No real explanation for what, how, when or where. Just, “Yep, I’m here.” Maybe I had too high of expectations, but they made him such a focal point of the show with flashbacks, Challia’s goals and Lalah’s obsession that having him just kind of show up felt underwhelming. I wanted something cooler.
The references!
Throughout the show, I saw a lot of online discourse about how this was Gundam’s MCU moment, where the series finally succumbed to the ease of relying on references and nostalgia instead of pushing the series forward. And I couldn’t disagree more.
My complaint with Disney & co.’s constant milking of nostalgia is how it’s often to the determent of new ideas. Or how many dopamine triggers feel thrown into the script just to get your brain to go, “hey I know that thing!” A lot of this generation’s talent is being wasted on expensive regurgitations of stories we’ve already seen, so I understand being wary of a show that leans so heavily on 0079 and Zeta for inspiration. “Look! It’s Lalah! Remember her??”
But GQuX’s references feel more like reverence. This is a show made by people who are genuine, wholehearted fans of the works that came before them, and it was created to share that love with its audience. Because remember: 1979 was forty-six years ago. The audience for this show isn’t necessarily even aware of the references being made. When you see Char’s Gundam salute Kycilia while holding a rocket launcher, you know it’s history repeating itself the moment you see it. But a 15 year old just getting into mecha? It’s just a really cool moment that they’re experiencing for the first time. And it’s inviting them to watch the source of that inspiration.
All of GQuX’s references feel like winks to the audience without force. They’re sometimes subtle, like minor characters you wouldn’t have even thought about until they showed up, or how the final episode’s title mirrors the title Tomino’s autobiography. Sometimes they’re blatant and intentionally obvious, like shot composition meant to recreate an 0079 scene frame for frame. But they’re never just… this:
As for the Evangelion nods and parallels… eh. Kazuya Tsurumaki directed it. Let him be self-indulgent. We all knew from the moment the Gundam GQuuuuuuX was revealed that it was gonna have an EVA mouth. What I did not expect were the FLCL references. Or the Diebuster references! Man. I suddenly really wanna rewatch Diebuster.
…oh right that’s what the references are meant to do. Huh.
Final Thoughts
GQuuuuuuX is both reverent and self-indulgent, and I think that’s a-okay. It celebrates nearly a half-century of Gundam (and mecha in general) alongside a compelling original story with likeable characters and a very cool world. Is it too short for the story it’s trying to tell? Probably. Is the final execution of all its ideas perfect? Nah. But I enjoyed myself watching it, and I think that’s the most important quality for a show to have.
The question on my mind is: do I want to see more of this alternate Zeon-wins timeline? Do I want to see more Machu and Nyaan and Char-but-he’s-trying-not-to-be-a-prick-this-time? I’ve been pondering this question since the final credits rolled yesterday, and I still don’t really know the answer. I like this world and these characters, but I also feel as though the story they were made to tell has now been told. Machu got to her beach. “Canon events” still happened, with the Zabi family meeting its end, etc. Do I want a whole separate alternate-UC timeline running parallel to the UC?
Ehhhhh… I think my answer might be no?
Gundam works as a long running series in the same way comic books do: you have your mainline run that dates back to the 60s, with comic #452 for the fans who have been following for decades, all heaping onto the same legacy that rewards those who know everything about this franchise. But you also have elseworlds stories. One-offs. Events set outside the main continuity and thus unburdened by that legacy. Continuity is both a strength and a weakness, as it demands knowledge of its audience and expectations of its writers. And I don’t really think we need a branching path from the UC to further complicate what’s already seen as a somewhat intimidating series for newcomers. I think this is best as a one-off. A love letter to the franchise meant to celebrate with longtime fans and offer new audiences a look into why we love the series so much.
Doesn’t mean I won’t pop off in ten years when Machu makes a surprise appearance in some crossover event thing. We are simple creatures, and we need our dopamine triggers.
