Gundam Series

There are more than forty years of Gundam shows. There are definitely shows — and their mobile suits — that I like and those that I do not.

I have noticed most Gundam series take a hard turn at their midpoint. Often the final act will feel rushed and a fantastical or another element may get dropped in with insufficient set up in the earlier acts.

The Ones I Like

SEED

Even with all the flaws that are complained about ad nauseam by stateside Gundam fans, this is probably my favorite series. I have watched the first show multiple times. I enjoy the mobile suits, battles, pacing, and most of the characters.

The follow up, SEED Destiny, was okay. I didn't buy the protagonist's redemption and too much was crammed into the final act with exposition.

The movie, SEED Freedom, helped address some of the flaws that were left hanging after SEED Destiny. Otherwise, it was a lot of fan service that I did enjoy.

This series has many of my favorite mobile suits in the Strike, Freedom, Rising Freedom, Impulse, and the various GINN grunt suits.

Iron Blooded Orphans

The first season was great. It was gritty and strong from start to finish. The second season spun off in a different direction that I didn't enjoy as much.

The only truly memorable suit from the show was the amazing and brutal Barbatos. Everything else seemed to just be there for it to slice through.

After War Gundam X

This show strikes an interesting balance. The core story is typical Gundam; the horrors of war and bigotry, conflicts between earth and space, etc. It is also quite silly at times, particularly the protagonist.

I like many of the suits from this series. The designs, particularly the titular Gundam X, reminds me a lot of those from SEED.

Stardust Memory

My very first kit, the GP-01, was featured in this amazing, short run series from the early 90s. It is one of my favorite Gundams.

Build Fighters

I've watched the original show a couple of times. I enjoy the new twists on older mobile suits, like the Build Strike. The story is fun and interesting all the way through. The marketing hype for Gunpla integrated into the show can get a little graining at times.

The follow up, Build Fighters Try, introduced some more cool mobile suits, but the story wasn't as good and I didn't get attached to the characters.

The Witch from Mercury

This series was running when I first really got into Gundam and Gunpla. It has fun characters and a pretty good story. It suffers from the typical abrupt turn in the final act. Most of the mobile suits are cool and their Gunpla kits are really well designed.

Mobile Fighter G Gundam

This show is bonkers and a lot of fun. It has some serious threads, but it is mostly campy and over the top.

I like the two hero suits, the Shinning Gundam and God Gundam.

Origin

This was a great prequel story for the original show. I enjoyed the more modern pacing and animation.

Several more detailed kits of the classic suits came out with this. They are held in high regard, but I haven't built any.

GQuuuuuuX

The animation was stunning in this show. The story started off great, but was a bit messy at the end.

I enjoyed the new take on mobile suits, for the most part. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the kits from the show as they are very ambitious designs with a lot of parts, and yet still require a lot of painting.

"First" or 0079

The original Mobile Suit Gundam show from 1979 that started it all. The core story is interesting but the pacing is slow.

Some mobile suits, like the "Grandaddy" RX-78-2, are classics.

Hathaway

This ongoing trilogy of films is visually amazing. Pacing, characters, and story all have seemed solid so far. Unfortunately, the mobile suits are massive beasts that don't look fun to build as kits.

The Ones I Don't

Wing

Due to how this series managed to introduce the West to Gundam, it is everywhere and seems to be a favorite of many. However, I think most of the characters are flat and their motivations are lacking. The the story is overly philosophical. The suits in the main series are only okay. I do appreciate some of the redesigns that appear in the sequel Endless Waltz film.

Zeta and Double Zeta

The battles and pacing are all better in these sequels to First, but I didn't like most of the characters. There are a couple nice mobile suits, like the Mk II. The Zeta and ZZ have some interesting aspects, but overall I find them to be too large and complicated by their transformations.

Build Divers

While there are some nice characters and mobile suits, the premise of the show was so dumb that it kept taking me out of the story. The follow up, Re:Rise, was much better.

The Rest

Char's Counter Attack

The continuation of 0079 and Zeta, it wraps up the stories of two main characters from the prior shows. I have a difficult time squaring the seemingly sudden shift in character motivations. The mobile suit designs in the anime are iconic.

8th MS Team

On my first watch, I found the characters to be uninteresting and the story rather simple. I did enjoy it more on a second watch and remembered to skip the terrible epilogue episode.

The Gouf Custom is the most noteworthy mobile suit from the series.

Unicorn and Narrative

Unicorn was visually amazing with modern story pacing, but I found so much of it confusing when I first watched it. I did enjoy it a bit more after I suffered through Zeta and Double Zeta, which this show draws from a great deal. The sequel movie Narrative seemed rushed with flat characters.

The design of the Unicorn Gundam is nice, but I don't see how it is as popular as it is. I hated building the High Grade version.

00 or "Double-O"

This one has many of the same problems as Wing. It was a struggle for me to get through the first season. The second season was actually better. Some of the kits are cool. Lots of sharp angles in the designs.

There are a few series I haven't watched yet.