Which Gundam series is worth watching?

Rommie2006 · Post by **Rommie2006** » 2006-05-31 09:24am

Have been trying out Gundam anime for the past week or so, and I'm really not sure what to choose as there are so many anime series out there. Honestly, I'm not too impressed with what I've seen so far.

Basically, what I am looking for is something like Robotech/Macross. Lots of ships, lots of mechas, etc. So will I find that in Gundam?

I've tried watching the original Gundam, but the fact that they have just a few mechas and one puny ship has put me off. Endured until episode 30+ before I quitted, it got too boring. So far, I haven't watched any Gundam series from that continued from the original Gundam so far (i.e. Gundam 08th MS Team, Gundam 0080, Gundam 0083, Z Gundam, ZZ Gundam & V Gundam). Are any of these worth watching?

I also understand that there is an "alternative timeline" for Gundam, where the series are not connected with the original Gundam, namely:
1) G Gundam
2) Gundam Wing
3) Gundam X
4) Turn a Gundam
5) Gundam SEED
6) Gundam SEED Destiny

So far I've checked out Gundam Wing, and it is just enough to keep me in the show, but my attention is fading too. I heard that Gundam SEED and its sequel Gundam SEED Destiny is not bad... so any other recommendations?

Or at the very least, some recommendations on what to avoid. Thanks in advance folks.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2006-05-31 09:36am

First, watch First Gundam again.

I recommend Zeta Gundam and Gundam ZZ, on the UC side of things. ZZ is pretty dumb for the first ten episodes or so, but it vastly improves once it gets going somewhere.

Of the UC OVAs, I recommend 0080 far over 0083 and 08MST, simply in terms of story quality.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2006-05-31 09:37am

Oh and SEED should rot in Hell. The less attention given to that garbage, the better.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2006-05-31 09:53am

G Gundam is really the only AU Gundam show worth watching. If only because it doesn't take itself seriously and actually tries to be something besides a Mobile Suit clone. Also, avoid Gundam Wing. Not only is it a piss poor Mobile Suit clone, its characters are horribly boring and cliched.

Movie-wise, I'd strongly recommend Char's Counterattack after you've watched some of the original series. It's very excellent and worth watching once, at the very least.

Sharp-kun · Post by **Sharp-kun** » 2006-05-31 12:04pm

AU wise, G Gundam as its simple great fun, or Gundam X, since it has an extremely likable cast.

I would say try the original again. Go with the movie versions, since they cut out a lot of the crap. After that move on to Zeta, skip ZZ then watch Chars Counterattack.

Vehrec · Post by **Vehrec** » 2006-05-31 12:10pm

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Oh and SEED should rot in Hell. The less attention given to that garbage, the better.

Agree. The Sooner people forget SEED the better. Every damn Mobile Suit in that series has as many parts as Wing Zero Custom. That offends me on a design level. The characters do nothing to redeam the series.

Icehawk · Post by **Icehawk** » 2006-05-31 12:20pm

Don't bother with any of the Alternate Universe Gundam shows especially Gundam Wing and SEED. Stick with the UC timeline.

If your going to watch the orginal Gundam, don't bother with the TV
version. Get your hands on the Gundam movie Trilogy. Its the TV series re-edited by the creator Gundam into 3 two and half hour movies. Its much better as it cuts out alot of the filler and streamlines the story into a better package IMO.

After this, I HIGHLY suggest 08th MS Team. I havent seen it yet myself but from what I've heard Zeta Gundam is also very good.

SylasGaunt · Post by **SylasGaunt** » 2006-05-31 01:27pm

I'd reccomend-

Mobile Suit Gundam (As others have said, go with the movie version)
08th Mobile Suit Team
0080: War in the Pocket
0083: Stardust Memory
Zeta Gundam
Char's Counterattack

I haven't seen ZZ so I can't reccomend it myself. Gundam F91 is okay but you can tell it was meant to be a TV series instead of a movie. On the other hand if you want to see some spiffy mobile suits it's a good one.

Seed.. well if you can sit through all of Wing and enjoy yourself you might want to try it. Destiny is from what I've heard not worth watching at all.

Wing I thought was great right up until I saw some of the UC timeline stuff so I'd reccomend skipping it.

G Gundam.. well that's a matter of taste. I'd heartily reccomend it if you're looking for something that takes itself less seriously, or if you're a fan of super robot shows.

Dark Hellion · Post by **Dark Hellion** » 2006-05-31 02:14pm

Watch all of UC gundam. If you stomach the slow parts you will really appreciate it later on.
As for alternates, watch Gundam X. It has the one character in any anime that should actually be anime angsty, and he isn't. It's worth watching for that fact alone.

Icehawk · Post by **Icehawk** » 2006-05-31 02:24pm

Another Gundam I that I highly recommend which I just started recently is MS IGLOO. Its a 6 episode OVA series all done in CGI animation. Its separated into two arcs, first 3 OVAs are called "The Hidden One Year War" which is what I have seen so far.

Heres a link with more info and detailed reviews of the episodes: MS IGLOO

Seggybop · Post by **Seggybop** » 2006-05-31 02:51pm

No one cares about Turn-A Gundam? T_T

Darwin · Post by **Darwin** » 2006-05-31 04:36pm

SylasGaunt wrote:I'd reccomend-

Mobile Suit Gundam (As others have said, go with the movie version)
08th Mobile Suit Team
0080: War in the Pocket
0083: Stardust Memory
Zeta Gundam
Char's Counterattack

Throw ZZ in there after Zeta for completeness. It's not the best, but it's not horrible. This is the core story. After 08th MS team, you may also want to watch MS Igloo, a short 6-parter about a zeon experimental weapons crew. only the first 3 parts of that are readily available so far.

Turn A gundam is also a neat bit of alternate reality to watch.

SylasGaunt · Post by **SylasGaunt** » 2006-05-31 05:44pm

You'll notice I did mention ZZ but like I said, I couldn't reccomend it because I haven't actually seen it.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2006-05-31 06:08pm

Seggybop wrote:No one cares about Turn-A Gundam? T_T

I like Turn-A. I like it a lot, actually.

I mainly recommended ZZ Gundam for the sake of completeness concerning Zeta, but also because once you seriously get past the first block of episodes, it's actually pretty good (at least I think so). Sure, you'll hate the first ten or so, but without them you'll miss stuff.

Erik von Nein · Post by **Erik von Nein** » 2006-05-31 06:12pm

What, no love for SD Gundam? Those poor, deformed Zakus.

Sharp-kun · Post by **Sharp-kun** » 2006-05-31 06:12pm

ZZ will never be forgiven for what it did to Yazan.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2006-05-31 06:14pm

The new CG kids series?

Probably because it blows. Semi-serious speculation/rumour was that the series was Sunrise's revenge for UC toys not selling in the US.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2006-05-31 06:15pm

Sharp-kun wrote:ZZ will never be forgiven for what it did to Yazan.

That I admit was a terrible low point. They turned a cold-hearted killer into a total clown.

Fortunately that was about as low as the series got, and it happened right at the start.

Pulp Hero · Post by **Pulp Hero** » 2006-05-31 06:30pm

The UC storyline is by far the best. I original show suffers pretty badly from the aged animation, but the story is good.

My favorite UC show is 8TH MS Team,. It's about a team of federation gundam pilots during a campaign. Great animation and action. Plus it has some really sympathetic bad guys (remember that Zaku pilot who gave the little kids a gift?) that makes the battles heartwrenching and tense no matter what because you almost always want both sides to survive.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2006-05-31 06:37pm

08MST really benefitted from getting a new director after the fourth episode. Of course the terrible thing was that only happened because the original director was killed in a car accident...

But it seriously propelled the series forward into a real dramatic shift, rather than just being repeats of the "we got it does as a team!" formula that were the first few episodes.

Frankly, though, I liked 0080 much better. Better drama and impact, I think.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2006-05-31 06:38pm

And the old animation of the original is damn fine, thank you very much.

lance · Post by **lance** » 2006-05-31 07:02pm

Vehrec wrote:
Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Oh and SEED should rot in Hell. The less attention given to that garbage, the better.
Agree. The Sooner people forget SEED the better. Every damn Mobile Suit in that series has as many parts as Wing Zero Custom. That offends me on a design level. The characters do nothing to redeam the series.

Well it was a vast improvement over Wing.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2006-05-31 07:04pm

"Poor" isn't really that much of an improvement over "bad."

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2006-05-31 07:04pm

lance wrote:
Vehrec wrote:
Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Oh and SEED should rot in Hell. The less attention given to that garbage, the better.
Agree. The Sooner people forget SEED the better. Every damn Mobile Suit in that series has as many parts as Wing Zero Custom. That offends me on a design level. The characters do nothing to redeam the series.
Well it was a vast improvement over Wing.

That isn't saying much. Frankly Wing was utter garbage.

VF5SS · Post by **VF5SS** » 2006-05-31 07:31pm

You sure you don't want to avoid this drama and just watch Armored Troopers VOTOMs? Chirico Cuvie is the best damn young soldier with blue hair.