Adwin McCants, staff writer

If you have been a fan of anime and similar media from Japan, one thing that you’ve probably noticed is that rarely do titles aim for simplicity. Similar to Japanese media naming conventions, “Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuux: Beginning,” directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki (FLCL) with a screenplay by two legends revered by anime fans, Yoji Enokido (“Revolutionary Girl Utena”) and Hideki Anno (“Gunbuster,” or his less popular show “Neon Genesis Evangelion”), is a complicated and complex introduction to the upcoming television series which this movie serves as a pilot for. Buckle up, it’s time to dive deep into the original “Mobile Suit Gundam” series, and hopefully discover something new. 

I’ll start by saying that this movie is amazing IF you fulfill these prerequisites: watch the original “Mobile Suit Gundam” or the trilogy of movies adapting the series, have knowledge of the background characters and setting and want to see a new take on the “Gundam” franchise. Without knowing the story of the original series, I bet this movie will mainly just confuse and obfuscate what works best about this film. Have all the necessary knowledge, or just want to see people in mechs fight each other? Good. 

This film is structured weirdly when taken as a standalone feature film. The story can be divided into two parts which, while connected, don’t form a cohesive plot structure. It’s very apparent this movie wants to get all the busywork done so the show can properly start without the baggage of exposition. The first part is an alternate universe based on the beginning of “Mobile Suit Gundam.” The character designs and especially the music both faithfully recreate the feel of the 70s anime, only two things are different. 

The designs for the mobile suits for both factions of the war and especially the main Gundam are radically different from how they originally looked. These complex designs animated well but the still noticeable 3D animation was a miss for me and took me out of the first half. They just don’t fit the classic feel that the characters and music try to match. On a meta level it works great on making the events off-putting, but it’s not my favorite redesigns for any of the mechs. 

The second change is how the story plays out, and due to not wanting to spoil the movie I’m going to keep things vague. Let’s just say, characters who are supposed to be there aren’t, and characters who originally appeared in limited roles are given much more to do. 

Following the first half of the movie, the second portion is where we are introduced to the real main characters who will star in the upcoming “Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuux” anime series. It’s truly entertaining to learn more about these characters, all three of the main protagonists are different from how their designs suggest they would act. The characters are designed by “take” who worked on “Pokémon” and designed several of the human characters in “Sun & Moon” and recent seasons of the anime. 

It’s exciting as a fan of “Mobile Suit Gundam” to see what the new series will be like, and if you’re also hungry for another great “Gundam” anime I think you’ll be happy with this.