Top 5 Alternate Universe Gundam series

As I'm sure many of you are well aware, I am a huge fan of the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise. I began watching 08th MS Team and G Gundam during Toonami's heyday, and jumped back in with 0083: Stardust Memory when I resumed watching anime on a regular basis a few years ago. Generally speaking, I am partial to the Universal Century series. I've found that - while not all are created equal - they do tend to trump the alternate universe series in terms of consistent plot development and likeable characters. However, I have viewed all of the alternate universe anime, save for Gundam AGE, and found a few series that really stood out to me as being impeccably well done and especially entertaining.

#5 - Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz: I should preface this by stating that I do not care much for the Gundam Wing series. The characters were so bland and one-dimensional and the plot ran in circles for nearly the entire run. Endless Waltz managed to turn all of that around to create a follow-up story that was not just stomachable, it was downright awesome. I find it curious that one hour and a half film did more to make me feel for and care about a small cast of characters than an entire forty-nine episode series did, and I wonder how much different Gundam Wing would have been had they cut out all the monologuing, emo Heero moments, and declarations of "it's a Gundam!" to focus instead on balancing the action and fun factor as well as Endless Waltz managed to.

#4 - Gundam 00: The second-most recent alternate universe series, Gundam 00 break from the military strategies so prominent in the Universal Century, but does not force ridiculous mobile suit designs on viewers. Instead, Gundam 00 presents a perfect balance between the stylized and realistic sensibilities, and is host to some of the most creative yet practical mobile suit designs to date. Giant robots aside, the concept of a unified world that is so frequently visited between the two seasons is very probable, considering the chronology of the series. While each season has its up and downs, the element of mystery surrounding the Gundam Meisters, Veda, and the Innovators keeps the experience interesting, and the fact that the plot allows characters to develop through both successes and failures adds a human level to the story.

#3 - After War Gundam X: To be completely honest, the execution of Gundam 00's story is probably done with fewer flaws. But Gundam X is such a bold and different Gundam series that I can't help but place it near the top of the stack. The ravaged Earth that resulted from a series of colony drops presents an incredibly cool setting that shapes the characters, forcing them to adapt to a wasteland of a planet. Garrod Ran is not only one of the youngest lead pilots to date, he's also one of the funniest. His relationship with Tifa Adil makes for one of the cutest and endearing romantic subplots in all of Gundam. Gundam X presents a perfect balance of fun action scenes and serious plot, with a younger cast trying to learn from the mistakes of the previous generation.

#2 - Gundam SEED Stargazer: A spinoff that deserves recognition as its own sequel series in the Gundam SEED storyline, this three episode OVA accomplishes so much in so little time. It chronicles the events that follow the Break the World Incident from SEED Destiny. Earth is subjected to both social and environmental chaos, and the DSSD races against time to complete their deep-space exploration Gundam, the Stargazer, before the forces of Phantom Pain find and destroy it. It's a unique series in the SEED universe, not only because of its notably darker tone, but because neither side is explicitly stated to be 'good' or 'bad'. The events that unfold are left entirely up to viewer discretion.

#1 - Turn A Gundam: The most daring Gundam series of them all, Turn A takes place in a retro-future where technology has reverted to roughly the same level as it was during World War I. Biplanes fly alongside mobile suits as the Moonrace humans return to Earth in hopes of claiming a territory for their own settlement. Unfortunately, not all of the Moonrace believe in the same strategy, and it quickly becomes apparent that a number of individuals share a stake in how this landmark meeting of Moonrace and Earth dwellers will ultimately play out. The rich culture cultivated in the anime, combined with the multiple layers that drive the primary conflict makes for a genuinely excellent story. But what really tops it all off is the brilliant cast of incredibly diverse characters - lead pilot Loran Cehack among the best of the best. Loran wishes that the Moonrace and Earth dwellers could all live in peace, but he also realizes that sometimes difficult decisions must be made in order to come to a peaceful resolution. He is perhaps the most believably human lead character in any Gundam series to date, and - gorgeous animation and breathtaking soundtrack aside - makes the entire experience of viewing Turn A Gundam so wondrous and memorable.

Top 5 Gundam Intro Themes

When I was planning my various top five lists for this year, most of them leaned toward the video game side of my blog. While I still plan on posting at least one top five list per month, some months (like this month) will see two lists. For February's anime-related top five, I decided to revisit one of my all-time favorite franchises, the king of mecha, Mobile Suit Gundam. I have not viewed every single series in the franchise in their entirety, but I have seen all of the opening and endings at least once. I've decided that I will only allow one intro per series, so the likes of SEED Destiny would be a bit more constrained than, say, Zeta Gundam. These top five are my favorites not just because of how catchy the themes might be, but also because of how well I feel they reflect the mood of each respective series.

#5) Victory Gundam - "Stand Up to the Victory"

Victory Gundam is sort of an odd duck, as it presents the harsh realities of war through the eyes of innocent Uso Evin. The intro theme harkens back to the original Mobile Suit Gundam with its chant-style lyrics. It's certainly an exciting intro theme, though the 'dirty' guitar riffs sort of tie it back to the more adult theme of the series.



#4) Gundam SEED - "INVOKE"

The first Gundam series to be digitally rendered, Gundam SEED is a lot about flash and flair. While the story gets stuck in some cheesy pitfalls during its second half, it's still a series that is a lot of fun to watch. This theme echoes many of the intro themes that preceded it, but takes on an identity all its own.



#3) Zeta Gundam - "Mizu no Hoshi e Ai wo Komete"

A bit more mellow of a tune than the other entries on this list, I feel this song embodies the tragic tale that Zeta Gundam turns out to be. Though I love Kamille Bidan, Lt. Quattro, and practically every other character in Zeta Gundam, not all of their hopes and dreams become realized before their time has come.



#2) Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory - "The Winner"

This is the essence of classic nineties rock. It has a goofy electronic undertone, a singer with soul, and a bit of a repetitive drum part. But I love every minute of this tune. It's a great parallel to Kou Uraki's hopes to become a strong enough pilot to take on Anavel Gato.



#1) After War Gundam X - "Dreams"

The only tune more rockin' than Stardust Memory's "The Winner" belongs to one of the most overlooked, most underrated Gundam series. I think this song suits both the sort of post-fallout world where the story unfolds, as well as Garrod Ran's antics and aims as one of the most entertaining lead characters in any of the Gundam series to date.

Anime review: After War Gundam X

A sort of alternate outcome to the colony drop of Operation British from the original Mobile Suit Gundam, the events of the Seventh Space War in After War Gundam X leave the planet in a state of chaos after the spacenoids drop countless colonies onto Earth. Though the Gundams tried desperately to protect the Earth, they could only accomplish so much and those few humans who survived were doomed to wander as scavengers (or 'vultures' as they are consistently referred to) as society and government bodies attempt to rebuild. Garrod Ran, a young but resourceful boy, comes across the Gundam X while protecting a newtype girl named Tiffa Addil and ultimately joins Captain Jamil and crew aboard the Frieden. Throughout the course of the show, the Frieden has a number of encounters with other vulture groups, the new Federation military, and the mysterious Frost brothers who pilot the Virsago and Ashtaron Gundams.

Unlike many of the alternate universe series, Gundam X deals very closely with the idea of newtypes. Along the lines of their Universal Century counterparts, newtypes in Gundam X are much more capable in combat than the average mobile suit pilot, but are relatively few and far between in the grand scheme of things. Also akin to the UC timeline is the fact that newtypes and their origins are often associated with space, and in Gundam X this is a large part of the basis of the conflict between the Earth and Colony forces. While lead character Garrod Ran is not a newtype, his closest friend/love interest Tiffa Addil is a highly regarded newtype among both friends and foes of the crew of the Frieden.

The characters are a very interesting bunch with enough variety to cater to plenty of different viewers' tastes. There are certain episodes centered almost entirely around some of the secondary characters, either as a backstory or a subplot, and these make the story more fluid while exploring the lives of said characters beyond their roles as mobile suit pilots. While Garrod Ran may be one of the youngest lead characters in a Gundam series, he is by far one of the most entertaining, from his skills in battle to his attempts to impress Tiffa. Garrod also changes a fair amount over the course of the series, maturing as apilot but never losing his comedic charm. The other two Gundam pilots working aboard the Frieden are Roybea and Witz, pilots of the Leopard Gundam and Gundam Airmaster respectively. Roybea is a womanizer who plays the part of a traditional romantic to make women swoon, but is still more than capable as the pilot of such a heavy weapons-based Gundam. Witz is piloting for the sake of his family, who - since the death of his father - seems to have hit hard times financially. While Tonya may come across as a bit shallow of a character, the remainder of the Frieden's crew members are rounded out enough to fit their respective roles convincingly.

I found the antagonistic Frost brothers to be an annoyance after a while, however, as they constantly talk about some grand plan they have in store for Garrod and all other Gundam pilots, but don't ever really do anything significant to the plot. For the most part, the Frost brothers appear with Gundam Virsago and Gundam Ashtaron when it's convenient with the plot. They aren't up to par with other Gundam villains, as the Frost brothers are nowhere near as clever as someone like Zeta Gundam's Paptimus Scirocco, nor as evil as someone like Gundam SEED's Rau le Cruset. It's not that Olba and Shaiga are difficult characters to read by any means, it's just that they aren't particularly interesting.

Overall the series' pacing is quite good, though at one point late in the series things slow down briefly as Garrod travels to space. During this time, the action slows down and some time is taken to further explore the events of the Seventh Space War and the current state of tension between the Earth and the Colonies. The information presented here is important given the context of the last few episodes and is conveyed in a relatively interesting manner, but the series certainly feels like it has hit the brakes at this point as there is little to no action to balance with said exposition, and the series probably would have benefitted had this information been sprinkled throughout previous episodes.

The animation is a drastic improvement over the stiff motions and lack of detail in Gundam Wing and aligns itself much more closely with that of Turn A Gundam. Coincidentally, the soundtrack of Gundam X is reminiscent of both Turn A Gundam - with its sweeping emotional pieces - and G Gundam - with its upbeat and intense brass and percussion style. Though obviously an alternate universe series based on the exaggerated mobile suit designs/capabilities, many of the ships and tech pay homage to the universal century. Unlike Wing and SEED, battle scenes are never directly repeated and the strategies used by the crew of the Frieden and the Gundam pilots are nicely varied. A large part of this is due to how many different forces Garrod, Jamil, and co. find themselves facing, as well as the variety of environments they travel through, but the variation throughout works wonders for the series, as it makes the "recovering wasteland" that is Earth a far more interesting place to look at.

An interesting spin on an old classic, Gundam X is easily one of the stronger alternate universe series in Sunrise and Bandai's long-running franchise. With a phenomenal soundtrack and colorful animation layered over a strong story packed with a myriad of entertaining characters, there's bound to be something that will cater to every Gundam fan's preferences. Even anime fans who aren't quite as keen on mecha series may find Gundam X to their liking. It's not as drastically nontraditional as Turn A Gundam, but Gundam X does a nice job of breaking apart from the crowd without being too different or losing its identity as a Gundam series.

My rating: 8.5 (out of 10)

Anime update #4: "Is there a moon?"

I'm slowly but surely making my way through Mushi-Shi. I've been rather busy lately and overall the amount of anime I've been watching has dropped since school started back up for the Fall. However, I have started up on After War Gundam X, which - at least from my impressions thus far (being up to episode 13) - I find it to be one of the better alternate universe series. It has some major improvements over Gundam Wing, both in story and animation, but still holds some roots in the Universal Century mythos (which isn't a bad thing by any means).

As for Death Note, I'll get back to it when I feel like it. This final story arc is leaving a bad taste in my mouth and I feel the series should have ended shortly after the major plot twist at the end the second story arc. I understand that the creators wanted to milk the story for all it was worth (both in the anime and the manga), but this last bit being as subpar as it is really drags down the value of the series as a whole, in my opinion.

After the series mentioned above, I'm thinking of moving back to Full Metal Alchemist and Sgt. Frog (both of which I have yet to the second seasons). And from there... well, we'll see I suppose. I'm interested in viewing Eden of the East and there's a number of Gundam series, OVAs, and two films that I have not yet seen. As much as my viewing has slowed for the time being, I'm hoping it will pick back up the pace soon.