Gundam Franchise

[Avaitor]

I haven't got around to X yet, but it's on my list of Gundam series to hit up when I try to get back into the franchise.

ZZ, though... yeah, I don't recommend it. There are some events that happen here which are relevant to Char's Counterattack, but so much filler to sit through, and most of the characters are unlikable.

[Markness]

I've watched X subbed and it's really good. It's like a mix between Gundam Wing and 0079 Gundam. Can't wait to finally own the official release! I also own the two Robot Damashii figures of the Double X and Virsago Chest Break!!

[Avaitor]

Not sure who cares, but this is my list of series to hit up when I go through my Gundam binge, which I'll probably do after I finish my Lupin binge.

The Origin (of what's available by that point, at least)
Unicorn
MSG (the series, since I intend to buy the sets. But if you want to get into the franchise, I recommend the films)
08th MS Team
0080
0083 (maybe, depending on my mood)
Zeta
Char's Counterattack
Build Fighters
Build Fighters Try (maybe, depending on how much I like the original)
X
Mobile Fighter G
Turn A
Iron Blooded Orphans

[Spark Of Spirit]

From what I saw of Build Fighters, it was much better than it had any right of being.

I'm still interested in seeing 00 even if I heard the movie was garbage.

[Avaitor]

00 is okay, I guess. I liked it better than Wing and SEED, but I couldn't jump on board with the hype at the time. And I don't have a strong desire to watch it again any time soon.

[VLordGTZ]

While I'm not too well-versed in Gundam, I enjoyed Build Fighters a lot.  BF Try was a bit of a step down from the original, but it still kept many of aspects of it that made it entertaining.

I've been wanting to check out Zeta, X, and Turn A for a while, but need to find the time. 

[gunswordfist]

I don't think I'll ever watch that much Gundam but good luck.

[Avaitor]

Hey, I found the dub for Iron Blooded Orphans online after all.

Good stuff so far. I dig the concept, the characters are decent, and the action is tight. That's just all you can ask for in a Gundam series, and it's delivering. I'm excited to see how this tuns out.

[Avaitor]

This is a good article explaining why the franchise has always had difficulty catching on in the US.

[Markness]

Pretty good article. Yes, I liked Gundam Wing and still do but it created a legion of annoying fanboys here in the West who only wanted Wing and nothing else. I remember the fanboys saying they didn't like the original Gundam because it "looked old" and there were some who thought it was the only Gundam series there was. Instead of giving the other shows a chance, they just wanted more Wing not realizing how Gundam works as a franchise.

Another reason I think Gundam has had a hard time catching on in America is because Americans tend to prefer stories of good vs. evil such as in Transformers instead of the harsh reality of grey that most Gundam shows tend to portray. Someone I know also told me that they wanted a live-action Gundam movie like the Bayformers movies and I immediately thought "What a horrible idea!"

[Lord Dalek]

Since IBO didn't so much as crash and burn as much as leave a smouldering crater in Japan, Sunrise has decided to say "Aw fuck it! Lets make another season of G-Reco!"

...and people wonder why Gundam died in North America after Wing...

ALSO...

Gundam UC is probably overall the best series since 0080 and that's saying a lot.

I regret this post.

[Daikun]

Gundam 00 is getting a sequel.

I'm surprised they would revisit this after a decade. It's usually the main UC series that get the sequel treatment after so long while the AC stuff gets new material almost immediately.

[Dr. Insomniac]

I think it's because 00 is the latest TV Gundam to have been a success in DVD/BD sales. The other shows like Age, G-Reco, and IBO had sales that were underwhelming at best. And SEED, while more successful, has been an enigma due to the original writer dying and Fukuda's jobs drying up not long after Destiny, his latest gig being a producer role on Cross Ange.

And I suppose there wasn't enough demand from Wing fans to turn "Your Sight, My Delight" into a show.

[Daikun]

The next Gundam series is called Gundam NT (or Gundam Narrative).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac_yRqcNsnw

A bunch of info on the series:

Spoiler

This is kicking off an ongoing "UC Next 100" project that will presumably do what it sounds like, telling stories that lead into and take place in the second Universal Century. A chart they apparently weren't supposed to show indicated that Hathaway's Flash is another project they're developing for animation.
Narrative is due this November in Japan. No news about distribution elsewhere yet. It's not a TV series, it'll be a movie or maybe a short series like Unicorn or Thunderbolt.
Narrative is 1 year after the ending of Unicorn. The Sleeves are basically beaten, the Federation's been doing its best to cover up the "Laplace incident" and carry on. Typical decadent Federation leadership, dealing with problems by overlooking them.
The plot kicks off when a third Gundam Unicorn unit turns up - a gold one called Fenex, which may or may not be localized to Phoenix. It's built from psycho frame tech that was the subject of a test gone wrong in 0095 when the other Unicorn units were being developed. What could possibly go wrong?
The Gundam's existence is a problem for the Federation, so they put together a task force to hunt it down. The protagonist and his Narrative Gundam are deployed to be part of it. Narrative was a test unit for Amuro Ray's Nu Gundam (see Char's Counterattack) and can apparently be outfitted with different equipment.
The hero and his friends were there when Zeon's infamous colony drop destroyed Australia.
The Zeon MS was the precursor to Full Frontal's Sinanju. Prototypes vs an upgrade seems to be the theme here with the new MS.

[close]

And some group pics:

[Dr. Insomniac]

At last, Gundam Kingdom Hearts.