Strong character design is one of the more notable features of “Gundam.” It crafts a future that’s populated by “real” people rather than more idealized figures.
The human cast members are a little stiff, but they at least show a full range of emotion. Similarly, “Gundam’s” animation is very much a product of the ’70s, even with the updated segments. The movies aren’t totally devoid of levity, but they are more tonally consistent.Īs the war-weary characters of “Gundam” lament, some things will never change. However, the first movie opens with fleeing civilians getting struck by stray munitions, and it only gets worse from there. The main cast is mostly made up of teenagers, and visual gags pepper the films. “Mobile Suit Gundam” is a kid’s show, something that is at once easy and difficult to forget. While the more childish parts of the show are still present, the gap between the most heartbreaking moments is much smaller.
This emphasis is even more prominent in the movies, where Amuro’s increasing exhaustion feels even more appropriate with how little time there is between each engagement. “Gundam” instead creates a harsh vision of futuristic warfare that emphasizes the human cost. It’s easy to imagine giant robots glamorizing war, and this genre often falls into that trap. Similarly, the “Movie Trilogy” brings Gundam’s strong anti-war themes to the forefront.
The agonizing, uneven middle portion of the show is also recut into something far more watchable and poignant. Most importantly, it removes certain absurd, immersion-breaking mobile suits and equipment added for the benefit of merchandising. Goofier elements and more blatant animation mistakes are absent. While some important moments are lost in the transition, the movies are much more watchable than the show. Regardless, the trilogy is still the best way to experience the original “Gundam.” New animation fills the gaps, and it’s easy to pick out the additions from the original footage. The “Gundam” movies rush in places and certain story elements are changed, glossed over or removed entirely. This is not a seamless transition, especially when it comes to the pacing.
Released between 19, the “Mobile Suit Gundam Movie Trilogy” condenses the original 42-episode run into several two-hour films. Now losing the war, the Federation’s own mobile suit prototype, the titular Gundam, falls into the hands of the designer’s teenage son, Amuro Ray (Toru Furuya). The better-supplied “Earthborn elites” find themselves struggling to match Zeon’s mobile suits, massive human-piloted robots. The fascistic Principality of Zeon opposes the corrupt Earth Federation, who forced half their population into space decades ago. Originally airing in Japan from 1979 to 1980, “Mobile Suit Gundam” is an animated TV series that depicts a war between Earth and its interstellar colonies in the year 0079 of the Universal Century.
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