Mobile Suit Gundam: Top 5 Series to Start With! 

As a Mexican getting into Gundam. I love Tequila Gundam's design and name.

Gundam popularising the Real Robot subgenre is if anything an understatement, it took Macross not being a Gundam parody for the concept of Real Robot to be more then just Gundam and shows parodying it.

Domo always looked so cool in g Gundam. Always liked his design and always wondered the reason they gave him a cape was to make him look more heroic. Instead of just some punk.

While I already knew what Gundam was before I watched it, 00 was the first one I sat down and seriously watched when the dub premiered on Sci-Fi Channel’s AniMonday block.

I appreciate this vid Micah, as I didn’t want to consistently ask where to start in gundam. It’s nice to have a vid like this

For me, it was the 8th MS Team that introduced me to Gundam.

Honorable mention Aura Battler Dunbine. Another great creation of Tomino. A gritty war story about a guerrilla band fighting power hungry leadership. The more fantastical mecha are more palatable due the nature of the world.

Domon Kasshu's Burning Finger still is one of the most iconic attacks in anime. They even referenced it in Nanbaka.

After abandoning franchises like Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, etc., and going back to watching more anime (which has been a guilty pleasure of mine since the mid-1990s when I was 19, and still is to this very day at age 44), I recently decided to move on to the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise. It's amazing how large the Gundam franchise actually is. For several years, I was hesitant in approaching it, because of its sheer size. Now that several alternate timelines exist, it's become much easier to get into the franchise and I thought "let's give Gundam a shot". I recently purchased several physical copies of various series, OVAs and movies on Blu-Ray, when they were on special and/or sold at a discount (at half price and/or where one could buy 2 for the price of 1). So far, I've watched these series, OVAs and movies in the following order. (Scores and a short conclusion are included. I used Gundam Wing as my entry point, because I recall watching a couple of episodes roughly 20 years ago). Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (Series) [The series is only slightly above average, due to the narrator being too preachy for my liking and Relena Peacecraft being so annoying with her pacifist nonsense. The relationships and interactions between the characters felt a bit shoehorned at times. Final Score: 5.5/10] Mobile Suit Gundam Wing - Endless Waltz (Movie) [The narrator isn't so preachy this time. It was a bit more of a "show don't tell" approach. Relena Peacecraft finally abandoned her pacifist nonsense and was less annoying. The characters felt a bit one dimensional. The protagonists got a slightly better send-off and the animation is a lot better. Final Score: 6.5/10] Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (Series) [A very good series overall, which makes it a perfect entry point into the Gundam franchise and even shows what Wing could've been to some extent. The characters are definitely more multifaceted than the ones from Wing, despite looking a little too feminine for my liking. The plot elements fell more into place. Final Score: 8/10] Mobile Suit Gundam 00 - Awakening of the Trailblazer (Movie) [This movie wasn't as good as the series, but decent overall. The characters don't seem to develop much more, despite the fact they aged quite a bit. The fact that the main antagonist is an alien species that duplicates and assimilates alien technologies gave me a few Star Trek - First Contact vibes. Final Score: 6.5/10] After War Gundam X [A good show overall, which definitely could've been excellent overall if it hadn't been cut down from 49 to 39 episodes and if the apocalyptic scenery had been explored a lot more in a Mad-Max-like fashion with a dash more grittiness. The final third felt kind of rushed. The relationships between the characters felt more organic and natural, especially the one between Garrod Ran and Tifa Adill, and they develop really well. Despite the issues the series has, I personally think it deserves a remake. Either as a 49 episode series, or as a compilation movie trilogy. This show could've been a 9/10, but sadly, my final score is as follows: 7.5/10.] War in the Pocket [A great UC side story and a taste of what UC is like. It also shows that not everything is black and white and how one can get needlessly dragged into a war. This OVA even made me shed some tears at time, especially when the closing credits were running. Final Score: 8.5/10] The 08th MS Team (OVA & Movie) [Another great UC side story and another sample of what UC is like. Like War in the Pocket, the 08th MS Team shows that not everything is black and white, and that both sides have individual war mongers in their respective ranks, and that some people from both opposing sides can come together. Final Score: 8/10]

Funny enough i got my friend and family members to watch IBO as their first gundam they all loved it. Then my friend watched gundam unicorn on his own and while he enjoyed it he felt like the show asumed he knew more than he did at the time i had to explain that unicorn needs you to know most of the UC prior to unicorn

tldr: 1. G gundam - super robot, shonen esque 2. Gundam 00 - less sciency, good plot good themes 3. Iron blooded orphans - very seinen 4. Gundam Wing 5. Mobile Suit Gundam

My recommendation is to start where it all began at the og gundam. From there, you go to the 08th team, stardust memories, and zeta gundam. Stardust memories ovas is crucial to fill in the gap between og gundam and zeta gundam. War in the pocket was a good series, but it felt a bit silly at times. Gundam Wing was my first introduction to gundam and Endless Waltz made me a believer.

i was extremely confused where to start with gundam. i basically just watched the entirety of the uc timeline from the start and now i ve watched all of them (uc timeline that is) . i started the original series movie trilogy and watched everything in chronological order . i was hooked from the coz of this 1st one

I want to thank you for the awesome video and for a positive view on gundam wing it was great to hear and I look forward to your review

I love Gunpla but im finding it hard to get into the anime. I did however watch the original Mobile Suit Gundam and it decent, i liked about 75% of the episodes and the Ryu moment made me cry. This is very helpful, for me Iron Blooded Orphens or G would be a good starting point.

Recommendations 5= 4:15 4= 9:13 3= 13:30 2= 16:37 1= 22:21 I recommend 4 personally

Stardust Memory is especially bad as a jumping on point (albeit not as bad as Unicorn) because to get the full appreciation you need to not only know the events of the One Year War (Mobile Suit Gundam) but also the Gryps Conflict and the Titans (Mobile Suit Gundam Z)

This was an interesting watch since, as a recent newcomer to Gundam, I’ve finished every series mentioned except After War, Wing, and 0079 (in progress. I’m on Ramba Ral’s Attack). I got into Gundam just because I was looking for a giant robot thing to fill in the hole Transformers has left because it’s radically been taken over by the woke (the most recent cartoon has a non-binary robot with pronouns and the upcoming film adapting Beast Wars is about black and Latin culture per the director). Despite my own hiccups getting started, I’m very happy and Gundam has gotten more of my money than any other thing this year. How much? I own the entire Universal Century, 00, IBO, Turn A, G-reco, and 2 build shows on Blu-Ray. I also bought model kits. IBO was the first Gundam I enjoyed from start to finish (the first I watched was the Origin. Mistake in hindsight) and Barbatos was my first master grade. I also got Gundam vs, Maxiboost On, and SD Gundam Battle Alliance. My wallet cries when it hears Gundam. I have checked out and enjoyed other Mecha things like Getter Robo and Full Metal Panic but Gundam has filled that Transformers void for me. Beyond that, if we’re gonna get more Gundam content here, I hope we see something on G-reco if only because all I ever see people talk about is the production troubles.

Are these series dubs available on any streaming services?

Honestly didn't expect G Gundam to be on a list like this... Normally it's treated like the black sheep of the alternate Gundam timelines.

Can't argue with your list. I find the gunpla side has surpassed my love of the anime.

I'm autistic and Iron Blooded Orphans looks like my new hyperfixation

It's not Gundam but also made Sunrise Amaim is also a good intro for Gundam, it has same concepts about war and character development.

Got into Gundam because of the figures. Tried watching the og a few years back, but the quirks of it being an old series (reminded me of fight-of-the-week formula of old Saturday cartoons, as well as some cheesy dialogue) kept me from getting more than 5-10 episodes in. Also tried watching Witch too, but there were some elements of it that I didn't super care for either (shame, cause the suits are fantastic looking). Just started and finished IBO, though, and while it hurt watching the second season, I enjoyed it (gosh dang your characterization of someone who would like this series hit the nail; that, and barbatos is probably my favorite looking gundam). Ended up here looking for inspiration for my second series. Was originally thinking Seed because I think the Providence Gundam looks so cool (not as much as barbatos), but I think I'll go with Wing next.

During the IBO segment, I literally thought about the comparison to Robert Heinlein a second before you said it. Also, I feel there might be more to the "autistic friend" bit than the obvious jest we all take it for. While I've never been officially diagnosed, I've long suspected of having some degree of autism. And guess what? I absolutely adore IBO, and Mika's self-absorbed nature and single-tracked approach to every situation made him resonate a hell of a lot with me. Excellent video, and great recommendations overall.

I’m happy to hear you lord Gundam wing! For all its flaws it still remains my favorite.

Wait, Yana Toboso wrote IBO, the more you know, I guess.

"The Idiot Plot done right" Yeah, that describes Orga. A lot of IBO haters really didn't understand the characters during the Second Season.

I just started Gundam these past few weeks. I started with Origin and then finished the '79 series. Several other videos suggested starting with Origin, and I'm glad I did.

I was born in 1980, i grew up during the Giant robot genre

Wing and IBO are my two most favorite entries in the series. But if I had to pick one being the best among them, I’d pick IBO as it was narratively better. But I still how much of a phenomenon Wing was when it first came out in the states. It made me feel like an adult watching it. On a side note, I think the original Gundam series didn’t do so well in the west was due partly to the aged animation but mostly because around that time it started airing in the states, Sept 11 happened.

Dood its funny how all the gundams besides X that you brought up was the ones i legit rewatched this year. I legit agree with you though because honestly i like them all. Still wish i can see some of the ones i have been looking for tho, thay being X, Victory and some others.

Bro i watched origins first didn’t know it was bad

Gundam SEED was my introduction

I wouldn't compare Gundam 00 with Star Wars. I think the more apt comparison would be with Isaac Asimov's Foundation series.

Here's an ironi for yeah. I really love ibo, and I have autism

Where can I watch them?

I started with IBO

I’m probably always gonna start with the original series of a franchise unless I get a really compelling argument otherwise.

I got into gundam with Unicorn without the Prior knowledge of UC

1:20 HAHAHA oh man! Unicorn wasn't my first gundam anime, it was 00, but I remember being SO confused while watching Unicorn. I was like "WHO is Audrey?!" I had to Google every single one of my questions. The first one was about Zeon...

Very cool video, but I have to say, I love Berserk I like Vinland saga, but I couldn't bring myself to even finish IBO because of the majority of the characters. Almost all child soldiers are too cheesy if not ridiculous. Wing for all the corny story as you said has very iconic characters and aesthetically pleasing atmosphere. I started with 00 and i loved it but once you get to UC you can't go back I feel.

Is witch of mercury a good beginning point though?heard it's standalone

Hey Micah, I decided to download Gundam Evolution today and give it a whirl despite never having seriously gotten into Gundam as a kid. I only played it for like an hour or so so far, but I found it enjoyable. Was cool to play as a Zaku. Have you played it?

I think this is interesting because my first five was IBO, Unicorn, Thunderbolt, 0080, and The Origin which looking back at it this is fucking weird

Please do a review of Full Metal Panic anime and manga as manga is complete

WTF Afterwars should be on your list to watch

I am actually really interested in seeing your opinion on The Origin since I loved and it helped get my girlfriend into the series. But I have also only watched a handful of the animes so I what exactly you have problems with it

I'm in my early 30s my first gundam show was Gundam Wing. I've watched a lot of the gundam shows since. Gundam Wing is also my favorite gundam and anime show. Everything about it is awesome. The show came out during the 90s it's going to have some corniness to it. The only show that can compare to Wing is the original series.

G Gundam should be #1

Exactly Seed and Seed Destiny does suck.

good list, tho i have to disagree with not seeing the deaths in IBO coming; especially toward the end, it kinda fell into this pattern of the moment a romantic ship became locked in, you knew at least one of the people in it would die soon with the one exception of the black mechanic dude and his woman it was especially funny when McGillis clarified to his child bride that he actually loved her and wasnt just after a political marriage lol that exact moment you knew his death was imminent

IBO is goat

What no Doozy Bots?

The 08th MS team was my second Gundam series. Wing being the first. I still followed what was going on. There was some things that I didn't fully understand like Shiro's flashback to his colony getting gassed, but I did get Shiro witnessed something bad at the hands of Zeon. The best argument for 08th not being someone's first gundam series is because it's all down hill from there. 08th is the best gundam has to offer. Everything after is going to be a disappointment. I'm always chasing that high that is 08th MS Team and I'll never be satisfied.

honestly the way i would do it is simple watch the u.c. timeline first and yes original show included (minus unicorn and NT cause serious issues with it ignoring themes within gundam u.c. writting) then basically let them go from there and find what gundam universe they like. side note personally i would never recommend witch from mercury... that show was just dumb as hell....

You should always start with the first. If someone tells you not to, they're not really a fan. Like some nit-witt when suggesting where you Start in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure telling you to skip Phantom blood and Battle tenacity, and go straight to the stands.

SEED was honestly the reason I stopped caring for the Gundam franchise for the longest time. It was simply atrocious. But then a certain Nightwish song brought me back, thanks to 08th. In recent years, I haven't cared much for the franchise, save for Thunderbolt, which is incredible in its own right. Just wish it'd finish already. x_x

00 👍🏻👍🏻 IBO 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Wing 👍🏻 MSG 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Seed 👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻

You lost me at saying Zechs was better then Char…

As someone who just got into gundam this year and watched almost every piece of material I could find including the entire universal timeline, I am absolutely baffled that anyone who has watched Wing with out nostalgia glasses in the past few years can say its that good or give it that much praise. Wing was the only Series I rated personally bellow average at a 4.5/10 with Endless Waltz being slightly better at a 5/10. That being said it is a fine jumping on point to the franchise as it only gets better from there, just dont show them the dumb.

God I hate IBO so much, it’s unreal

Dragon Ball? I thought Pokemon was the biggest Multi Media Franchise in the World, not just for Anime.

the only good things in g gundam are the devil gundam, master asia, and the master gundam. maybe a few other gundam designs here and there, but domon and the story sucks.

IBO is not a recommendation i was expecting and one i would greatly rebutle against. If you are a 14 y/o hyper edge, dark, emo boy that thinks hes got it all figured out and is a phylosipher and blah blah blah melodramatic nonsense. IBO is for that niche audience. Gundamn wise, IBO is more like zoids as far as the mecha goes. it has an idenity crisis imo, that it wants the be under the banner of Gundam while pushing these primal, animalistic suits that "eveolve" over time. not get upgraded like a full armor package or edless waltz the custom series. Along with teen characters that are child soldiers that are taking on the world and the grim darkness of war and other heavy phylisophical tones. Bro you 14, you dont even know how to do taxes or what is like to work a real job or know what being soul crushingly tired is. The other Gundam series present the hard and dark realities of war in a more tasteful and honest light. IBO is like, "haaa look im so edge and gruesome and look heres all this gore for no practical reason beyond im the gorey edge dark Gundam show but actually im a animal mecha show". "Im gonna have decent characters and then cus im so edgy and dark imma kill them off unexpectedly" IBO imo, is nothing more than a 14 emo, teen, hyper edge lord's, CRINGY alt zoids universe using the Gundam title to sell its toys and to also get some level of white knighting. I hated IBO, the 2nd season saved it as a mecha show but its no Gundam show in my books. I seriously regret wasting the time to give IBO a chance and the time i wasted forcing myself to watch it. The funny part is, i love Berserk and other dark, goire animes like Blue Gender and Terraformers, Blue submarine No.6, Paranoia Agent ect. I dont corelate good dark/gorey animes with IBO. I honestly wouldnt recommend IBO unless specifically its because it is for a hyper edge-lord teen that thinks they are dark and thinks they enjoy gore and is into mecha and they have terriable social skills and them trying to do or say anything meaninful is with a % of noticable cringe. To me they are not Gundam fans they are alt-Zoids "dark universe" fanfic fans. of course this is simply my opinion and my perspective from the years of interacting with IBO fans and typically they fall into that socially inept stereotype, that think they are on some level an alpha and they are just misunderstood and their head cannon of things is typically far more melodramatic than what actually happen. if it was my list id kick IBO off unless they are that super niche archetype of teen. and that would be like bottom of the list or just a mention, not even an hororable one. I'd put 08th MS team in IBO's place at 4th just because it adds context to the 1YW, but also is its own story that somewhat explains whats going on with the team within the 1YW. Also the quality of the show and the audio work is up therewith the best, both sub and dub are really strong as well. But over all 08TH MS team doesnt need a ton or much previous knowledge of Gundam to watch to get into it. Considering i went from Gundam Wing to a few years later 08TH MS team, then MS Gundam then gong on the hunt for anything Gundam to expanded on me being a fan, IBO is just a hard, no. IBO isnt a Gundam show its more a Code Geause + alt Zoids reserection for a very niche targeted audiance and to ofc sell the toys and kits.

Hold on you put Mobile Suit G Gundam on this list and not MSG: Seed. I could agree with you a little bit because Seed in my opinion is a good series but Seed Destiny sucks😂lol. G Gundam is a ridiculous stupid premise for a show and not all that good to me. I like the Gundam series as a war political military story-driven action suspense drama and, not a Shonen Battle Royale type of show...... If you want to get into the UC timeline story of Gundam I think you should start with The Orgin: Advent of the Red Comet to get the background on how it all got started that leads into the main MSG story plot. In the middle of the main series it tells you what happened to Char family but actually seeing it in the Origin series before getting into the main plot is sooo much better. You forgot to mention the character designer for Gundam Wing Shūkō Murase also designed the popular Legendary Armor Samurai Troopers aka Ronin Warriors hints the pretty boy design on the characters😂 Lol. Mobile Suit Gundam UC Timeline ------------------------------------------------------- ◇The Orgin: Advent of the Red Comet ◇MSG (Movies 1-3) ◇Cucuruz Doan's Island (Movie) ◇The 08th MS Team ◇ War in the Pocket ◇Thunderbolt (Movies) ◇Stardust Memory ◇Zeta Gundam ◇ Char's Counterattack (Movie) ◇Unicorn RE: 0096 -》22 episodes ◇Gundam Narrative (Movie) ◇Hathaway (Movie) ◇Gundam F91 (Movie) Other Timeline Gundam Series --------------------------------------------- ◇ MSG Wing ◇MSG SEED ◇MSG 00 ◇MSG Iron-Blood Orphans ◇MSG The Witch From Mercury

gundam 00 sucks because it feels like they put an emo asshole as the protagonist. and its done in many ways wrong. heero yuy is in a way an emo sort of protagonist done right.

gundam 00 sucks because it feels like they put an emo asshole as the protagonist. and its done in many ways wrong. heero yuy is in a way an emo sort of protagonist done right.