Mecha, political, space operas step aside – many fans were introduced to the Gundam franchise by the martial arts-focused, cheesy Mobile Fighter G Gundam. An anime series that felt like Dragon Ball Z in the form of giant robots. The battles and surrounding drama of the show focused more on Domon Kashu’s journey through an international tournament between Earth’s space colonies, to see who will rule the world for the next four years.
This happens to be the only real political plot point of the show, but it’s much less than muddy than some other anime’s political-heavy plots. He’s trying to carve his way through the tourney representing Neo Japan, while simultaneously attempting to find answers on the mysterious and sinister Dark Gundam and get revenge on his brother Kyoji. And it served as a major turning point for the wider Mobile Suit Gundam franchise on a whole.
G Gundam goes against the grain of the previous Gundam series and is in a different universe as well. Although it has its detractors, it was a brilliant move by Cartoon Network to put it on Toonami in 2002. Dragon Ball Z was heading towards the end of its massively successful run on the network, and this show couldn’t have dropped at a better time. To many, it didn’t take much to connect the dots of “Going Super Saiyan is cool, so therefore Shining Gundam leveling up each fight is cool” as well.
As simple as that sounds, it struck a chord with an audience looking for the next show beyond Dragon Ball. The comparisons were only further pushed to the forefront when the two franchises were merged in recent crossover by the Dragon Ball Super artist Toyotaro. Furthermore, it was easier to understand for the younger audiences. As much as fans love Gundam Wing now, the plot was incredibly confusing to follow (and still is to this day for some).
Also, one-on-one, martial-arts fights just hit different than long-range gun battles. An extra layer of emotion is added in when it comes to the piloting mechanics. The pilot moves the robot with his actual movements and feels the pain when his Gundam is injured. The other shows use a more traditional cockpit setup.
The extra levels of cheese do make this show such an enjoyable watch. From the outset of the eye-patch-wearing on-screen narrator throwing off his blazer and yelling the above titled catchphrase, the viewer is dropped right into something they know will be over-the-top. The voice actors, specifically Domon’s, don’t care how insane the lines are. They deliver them with as much vigor as possible and further connects the viewer with the characters.
One of the things that makes Dragon Ball so great is that Goku and Vegeta’s actors sound like they are the actual characters. Without a face to look at, voice actors have to sell the character with what they have, and G Gundam followed suit, no pun intended. It also brought about its own iconic attack with Shining Finger. The soundtrack swelling, the transformation of Shining Gundam and line delivery are pure chef’s kiss.
The show doesn’t feature as many fan-favorite Mobile Suit Gundams as opposed to the other series, but it’s got some notable ones. Shining Gundam, obviously, and Master Gundam headline the show. Shining gives off much of the same protagonist Gundam vibes as Wing. A lot of red, white and blue that pops off the screen, while Master Gundam is the total opposite with its imposing horned head, darker paint job and cape that doubles as wings. It’s got that Epyon feel that just epitomizes cool but also lets the audience know that its the evil rival to Shining. The show did a great job of giving easy clues to younger viewers on who represented what.
Dragon Gundam and Spiegel Gundam are major favorites representing Neo China and Neo Germany respectively. Dragon Gundam has dragon heads that cover his hands and shoot fire from them, while Spiegel has blades that can retract under the arms and spring into action at a moments notice. There are some other honorable mentions, but unfortunately, the bulk of them are undone by stereotypes and just downright goofy builds. Neo America’s looks like a boxing football player and Neo Holland’s Gundam has a giant windmill on the front, not the best work.
G Gundam is definitely an acquired taste and one that’s doused in nostalgia, but it also has that classic anime feel that made many Americans fall in love with genre. Unfortunately, Gundam has yet to receive any additional content in this timeline. The story so far has been a one-off, but it made a gigantic impact on the franchise and its fans. Do you think G Gundam deserves more love and a chance a reboot? Let us know in the comments.
