MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM GQuuuuuuX -BEGININNG- is a theatrical experience

When Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX (pronounced kwucks) was announced, there were equal parts excitement and equal parts puzzlement. The idea of Hideaki Anno and Studio Khara creating an entry in the long running franchise Mobile Suit Gundam offered exciting possibilities. But also Anno had created Neon Genesis Evangelion, a series that owed a lot to Gundam and other works of its creator Yoshiyuki Tomino. Evangelion practically rewrote the rule book on mechanical anime. So why would Anno need to revisit a concept that he kind of already outdid?

But as Studio Khara has shown in their live action films Shin Godzilla, Shin Ultraman, and Shin Kamen Rider, one can always come up with fun ways to play with old ideas. The compilation film Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- may not be a total reinvention of the original Mobile Suit Gundam series. There’s mobile suits, newtypes, and of course, space battles. However, for what is essentially a preview of a series premiering in April, this film certainly brings new perspectives to the original series. 

That’s no exaggeration about this being new perspective on the original series either. This film opens as the original Mobile Suit Gundam does explaining the beginnings of the One Year War and the Principality of Zeon’s fight for independence. Char Aznable, the Red Comet himself, and a small crew sneak into Side 7 on reconnaissance. But here’s where things get interesting though. Instead of just spying, Char steals the Gundam before that series Amuro Ray ever finds it, thus fundamentally changing the course of the One Year War.

What’s remarkable about the opening 20 minutes of this film is how much Studio Khara and director Kazuya Tsurumaki adhere to the visual style of the iconic 1979 series. The animation mimics that particular era though eagle eyed fans will be sure to note differences. But it’s the spirit and Studio Khara’s attention to detail that makes those forgivable. Even the updated look of the various mecha, with their moving parts and hyper details exteriors, still share the silhouettes of the original designs. It’s clear these sequences are a true labor of love. 

It’s when the series performs a time skip that film really takes off.  What’s most exciting is the world this alternate universe provides. There’s moments in the  alternative One Year War scenes that might shock and delight long time fans. As it explores a post One Year War world, the film shows a culture on edge. 

The Side Six colony, where most of the film takes place, is practically a police state. Citizens stage mobile suit battles out of scavenged cast offs found drifting in space. There’s a thriving black market delivering stolen parts to customers. It’s a world devastated by war and the scarcity of colony life. Scriptwriters Anno and Yoji Enokido reinject hard social commentary in the same way Tomino brought hard sci-fi and the horrors of war into giant robot anime in the original. 

The scenes set in a new world though showcase its director’s unique visual style. Tsurumaki, the genuis behind FLCL and Diebuster, spent the last decade and half working on the Rebuild of Evangelion series. While Tsurumaki was always a key collaborator on Evangelion, it’s great seeing him once again work his visual magic on a project he developed from the ground up. 

Mobile suits zip around in space. A massive space station rendered in abstract black and white shapes as mobile suits fly past it.  Yellow smoke fills the interior of Side Six as police mobile suits tear up buildings while looking for criminals. Even viewers may not know the intricacies of Gundam mythos, the film is a visual feast especially on the big screen. 

While the film works as a kind of complete arc, it’s ultimately a prelude and commercial for an upcoming TV show. But Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- does what it sets out to do. There’s plenty to get excited about even the tv show doesn’t live up to the promise of this opening story. Once again Studio Khara works its magic on an older concept. It’s a showcase for the masterful skill of Kazuya Tsurumaki. Maybe more importantly it shows what a consistently why audiences still watch Mobile Suit Gundam forty five years later.

---

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- is currently playing in theaters. The series debuts in April.