Gundam’s New Present Has Lifted the Lid on Its Fascinating Premise

Throughout the final 45 years of mecha anime historical past, Gundam has been unafraid to each think about different riffs on its iconic main timeline—both throughout re-imaginings of its story, alternate eventualities, or closely impressed alternate timelines and settings—or broaden on it completely. However the latest entry, Gundam GQuuuuuuX, is maybe going for one of many boldest but we’ll have seen on display, and we lastly have somewhat extra data what that precisely appears like.

A number of brief weeks after the Japanese launch of Cell Swimsuit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Starting, a theatrical compilation of the early episodes of the collection with new materials, Bandai and Khara have formally lifted the lid on a collection of designs and details about the mysterious new present’s setting—confirming what has been rumored and furiously speculated upon by anybody poring over snippets of footage over the previous few months that sure, GQuuuuuuX is certainly a retelling of the occasions of Gundam‘s iconic “Common Century” timeline, from a perspective the place the Principality of Zeon gained the warfare depicted within the 1979 anime moderately than the Earth Federation.

The brand new data confirms that GQuuuuuuX is ready within the 12 months 0085, little over half a decade after the conclusion of the One Yr Struggle that shaped a lot of the worldbuilding for the unique Gundam. This time round, Char Aznable efficiently manages to steal the Federation’s prototype Gundam—a recon mission we noticed go south in Gundam‘s very first episode—claiming it for Zeon, who go on to retrofit its superior know-how and use the Gundam to show the tide of the battle of their favor. And naturally, Char being Char, he paints the rattling factor pink within the course of.

Cell Swimsuit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Mecha and Zeon Characters

By 0085, Char is seemingly nowhere to be discovered—however the Crimson Gundam, because it’s now dubbed, re-emerges within the Earth Sphere, taking part in underground cellular go well with battles on the colony GQuuuuuuX protagonist Machu calls residence. In addition to new appears at each traditional and Zeonic types of the Gundam RX-78-2—re-imagined by Evangelion mechanical designer Ikuto Yamashita as one thing altogether extra skeletal and just like the body of a prototype in comparison with the armored type of the traditional aesthetic—the brand new materials additionally features a have a look at the setting’s tackle the long-lasting Zeon grunt go well with, the Zaku, given curved armor placements over a equally skinny inside body, in addition to a number of intriguing Zeon characters past Char himself. These include Challia Bull, a newtype Zeon officer who appeared in a later episode of the 1979 anime to assist set the stage for its exploration of psionically enhanced pilots, and two new younger officers of varied Zeon navy academies, Xavier Olivette and Comoli Harcourt.

The studio additionally revealed a number of extra characters who additionally name the Facet 6 colony residence that Machu finally meets as she’s wrapped on this planet of “clan battles” within the type of the proprietors of Kaneban Co, a junk vendor appearing as a entrance for recruiting pilots into the underground struggle scene—together with an lovely Pomeranian who acts as firm mascot, and two little robots, one new (Konch, a cuboid little robotic seen within the trailers with Shuji, the brand new pilot of the Crimson Gundam), and one very acquainted (a Haro, carrying a beanie, the spherical robotic who’s been part of Gundam because the very starting).

Cell Swimsuit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Colony Characters

Whereas Gundam diehards have had a short time to ponder simply what precisely it means for the brand new present to straight riff off the unique Gundam like this—a Rebuild, if you’ll, given collection director Kazuya Tsurumaki’s prior work on the Evangelion re-imagining film series—that is the primary time the studio has been keen to essentially exhibit what it has cooking to the world past Japanese theatergoers. Simply the way it all comes collectively stays to be seen, however in some ways, Gundam has been in dialog with itself ever because the franchise was saved from seeming doom, from how successor series to the primary present developed the story of the Common Century and its cyclical conflicts, to how myriad alternate universe within the franchise since have tackled its premise and grandest questions in their own way. What GQuuuuuuX is doing could be extra direct, nevertheless it nonetheless in flip is a part of that broader dialog of re-examining Gundam‘s legacy: an concept that’s filled with potential, and ripe for exploration in a undertaking that was explicitly introduced in celebration of the franchise’s newest anniversary milestone.

Cell Swimsuit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Starting is ready to come to American theaters in a restricted capability later this month on February 28. The TV anime is anticipated to start broadcast in Japan this spring.

Need extra io9 information? Take a look at when to anticipate the newest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s subsequent for the DC Universe on film and TV, and all the pieces you might want to learn about the way forward for Doctor Who.