Gundamn, I´m confused!

[Eliseu Gouveia]

Whenever I hear about Gundam, people seem to imply that it (alongside NGE) represents to mecha shows what Sailor Moon was to magic girl shows.

However, to this date I have to confess I know nothing about it.
For one reason alone: I don´t know where to start.

I´ve heard of Gundam Wing, Gundam Seed.. how many Gundam shows were there anyway?
How many movies how many tv series, OVAs.... and what was your general impression?
And last but not least...


Where should an absolute beginner like watashi start?

[Chrosis]

The original Mobile Suit Gundam is a good starting point, actually.

The only real similarities between the other series, Gundam Wing, and G Gundam are that they all have huge mechs in them.

G Gundam is totally worthless in my opinion, while Gundam Wing was pretty good.

G Gundam is a tournament with gundams for who gets to rule the world, with a big evil gundam in the backround. And half of the Gundams look stupid.

I'm still trying to find the names of all the other series though, such as Gundam Seed, etc.

[The Xenos]

I rather think of Gundam as the Star Trek of Japan. They have various generations with various fans for each and have been going on for decades. Though unline Star Trek, not all the series are set in the same universe.

My friend got me to watch all of Wing. I enjoyed that series. Though it also catered a bit to the female fanbase with a boy band like cast of pilots. Still I thought the chacters, story, and Gundams were awesome. Plus Gundam Wing is its own universe where the Gundams are godlike killing machines compared to other mechs.

I also liked Stardust Memories, I think. I think that's the one set in the original universe with the nuke Gundam. Never saw the end of it, but it seemed cool.

G Gundam was a joke. I watched it on TV because it happened to be on when my Gundam loving roomate and I got back after classes. Plus the horrible ethnic sterotypes were hilarious even if unintentional. Chico Rodriguez in the Tequila Gundam (with sombero) from Mexico. Lookin' gooooood!

I lost interest in the new Gundam Seed series, of which I think they've got three. Those are in their own universe.

[Yun Lao]

I'm pretty sure there's more than a dozen, however I've only been able to stomach Gundam Wing since the others tend to be more about the drama (Gundam Seed, I'm looking at you) instead of what Gundam should be; things getting blown up real good with giant robots.

[Sanagi]

Gundam Wing is probably the more accessible modern Gundam series.

I've been wanting to see Turn A Gundam because it looked really weird.

[MKTerra]

Of the After Colony series...
My first Gundam series was Wing, and it was enjoyable.
The Endless Waltz OVA was good, though Wing Zero seemed depowered.

Of the Universal Century series...
Gundam 08th MS team was good. Norris Packard was awesome in the second-last episode.
Gundam 0080 was good, if a downer.
Gundam 0083 was horrible. Hated all the characters.

Of the Cosmic Era series...
Gundam Seed was good.
I haven't seen Gundam Seed Destiny, but I've heard many discouraging things about it. Cagalli's character apparently gets shafted, allegedly in a dispute between her VA and the director's wife. Oog.

[The Xenos]

I've been wanting to see Turn A Gundam because it looked really weird.

My roomate, who one year set out to check out ever single series, liked Turn A Gundam. It's a bit slow, but rather interesting. I really liked the weird design and caught some eps, but never watched the whole thing. It's actually the only Gundam series with mech designs by an American. Syd Mead (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syd_Mead), who worked on such American films as Tron, Short Circuit, and Blade Runner, designed the mechs.

Sadly, most Gundam fans either didn't like the series and deisgns or just never heard of it. Though that means you can find Turn A merchendise often on sale. My roomate got some neat models including a neat die cast model of the main Gundam for a relatively cheap price. Oh yeah, he also got a bank of its head which lights when you put money in it. I myself got a neat papercraft book for $5 on sale at a con.

[Melbourne Mew Mew]

Whenever I hear about Gundam, people seem to imply that it (alongside NGE) represents to mecha shows what Sailor Moon was to magic girl shows.

However, to this date I have to confess I know nothing about it.
For one reason alone: I don´t know where to start.

I´ve heard of Gundam Wing, Gundam Seed.. how many Gundam shows were there anyway?
How many movies how many tv series, OVAs.... and what was your general impression?
And last but not least...


Where should an absolute beginner like watashi start?


I'd say either the original Mobile Suit Gundam or Gundam Seed are the best jumping on points - the original because it's, well, the original, and Seed because it's the start of what Sunrise are supposedly making into the new "main" Gundam universe, and also easier to watch if you have a hard time with the dated animation of the original. For original Gundam, the TV series was compiled into a movie trilogy, so you can take your pick which of those you want to see - the TV series has more character development, while the movies are less time-consuming and eliminate some of the sillier story elements.

Chronological list of Gundam shows...

UC Timeline
Mobile Suit Gundam (1979)
The 08th MS Team (1996)
Gundam 0080 (1989)
Gundam 0083 (1991)
Zeta Gundam (1985)
Gundam ZZ (1986)
Char's Counterattack (1988)
Gundam F91 (1991)
V-Gundam (1993)

FC Timeline
G-Gundam (1994)

AC Timeline
Gundam Wing (1995)
Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz (1997?)

AW Timeline
Gundam X (1996)

CC Timeline
Turn A Gundam (1999)

CE (Cosmic Era) Timeline
Gundam Seed (2002)
Gundam Seed: CE 72 Stargazer (2006)
Gundam Seed Destiny (2004)

[Young Avenger]

Everyone else covered the Gundam series well. The only thing I have to say is avoid SD Gundam at all costs.

[Paploo the Ewok]

What's with all the G Gundam bashing?

G Gundam is kind of silly, but it's full of fantastic Giant Robot battles, and takes Gundam to a more cartoonier place ala classic Giant Robot shows like Mazinger and Getter Robo. The robots are big, stupendously impossible in terms of science, and are all themed to a different Nation's tastes. Every episode introduces one bizarre Gundam after another, and it all leads to a really entertaining show. I also like how it takes the concept of colonies to a new level, with each nation creating their own colony.

I also highly recommend Gundam 0080. It'll rip your heart out.

Most Gundam shows are self contained, as are most of the manga series [many of which feature characters exclusive to comics, like the cast of Ecole du Ciel or the Seed spinoff Astray series], so I might recommend checking those out. Especially Ecole du Ciel, which is illustrated by Macross' Haruhiko Mikomoto.