Gundam X (TV Series-39 episodes) Review By vmoore86
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	Audience:	PG
	Genre:	Sci-Fi/Action
	Contains:	mecha violence, language
	Rating:	C

"Once there was a war..."

This third "alternate-universe" Gundam series was released on Japanese Television in 1996 right after Mobile Suit Gundam Wing ended it's run (And right before Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino stepped back into the picture with "Turn-A Gundam and "Brain-Powered.") Part original Gundam and part "Road Warrior" with a bit of Wing mixed in, Gundam X was overshadowed by the looming success of Gundam Wing (which has become so popular that 90% of Gundam websites on the net are dedicated to this series alone) After watching Gundam X, it's really easy to see why. Gundam X isn't a completely bad series, it's just that it has nothing that stands out to make it as interesting or fun. Gundam X feels a bit TOO classic in some ways, which was probably why it was the least popular series in the the "alternate-universe" Gundam stories.

In this universe, Gundam X tells the story about the survivors of the cataclysmic Seventh Space War (which once again is an intense conflict between the Earth and the Colonies)This destructive war came to a stalemate, and in one swoop decision, the people of the Colonies made a kamikaze decision to drop Colonies onto the Earth and destroy it's surface completely. The Earth Federation decided to use their secret weapon, the Mobile Suit Gundam. Which were piloted by "Newtypes" human beings with heightened senses and telekinetic powers. Jamil Neate, a young newtype pilot led the mission to stop the falling colonies by piloting the Gundam X, a gundam which is holds the destructive "Satellite Cannon" a devestating beam weapon that is powered by the moon. The decision to use the Gundam X only instigated the Colonies to follow through with their decision resulting ultimately in the tragic destruction of the Earth's surface and most of the planet's population. Now 15 years have passed since the disaster and the world has become a desert in which humanity battles to survive. "Vultures," scavangers now scout the planet for valuable resources at any cost. Garrod Ran, the main hero is a young boy who stumbles upon the powerful Gundam X, while protecting a mysterious newtype girl named Tifa. They eventually run into the crew of the landship "Freedan." led by the former Gundam X pilot Jamil Neate. They band together to find and protect Tifa and the surviving newtypes from a mysterious enemy.

One thing that Gundam X lacks is an identity of it's own to make it stand out. Each alternate-universe Gundam series introduced a new and different approach to the Gundam story. Gundam G was made purely for silliness, parody, and an attitude and atmosphere by itself. Gundam Wing had a successful mix of flamboyant, intimidating kick-ass mecha, a complex storyline, and bishoujo(pretty boy) characters won over tons of fans in both Japan and the U.S. Turn-A Gundam was made for retro-nostalgia and contain bizzare and different mecha(which wasn't really an improvement) Gundam X presents a less-inspired universe that heavily resembles the original Gundam series. Gundam X's Seventh Space War is really seems like an alternate-telling of the original Gundam's "One Year War" except that instead of just one colony falling to Earth, we have dozens destroying everything.(Which is really a scientific impossiblity, in real life that many falling objects would cause far greater damage) Also some of the mecha represents classic Gundam, many of which highly resembles Zaku and GM mobile suits. When it comes to the alternate-universe concept, Gundam X's concepts are rather uninspired, but not uninteresting.

In comparison (other than the falling colonies), Gundam X is a bit more realistic than Gundam Wing, the Gundams are impressive but they're no longer portrayed as being ultra-powerful as in Wing. The Gundam X is a powerful gundam on it's own, but it's not unstoppable due to Garrod's inexperience piloting one, which makes the action a little more suspenseful. The characters are interesting and really help the plot, Jamil (who reminds me of a cross between Gendo from Evangelion and Coach from Gunbuster) plays a would-be hero of the Seventh Space War who has an unpleasant past and has to live with an extremely costly mistake. Tifa does a dead on impression of Rei Ayanami as the mysterious and enignatic newtype love interest for Garrod. Garrod is your typical brash young boy protagonist who's very resourceful (and stops an attacking mobile suit in a really clever way in the first episode) but can also become quite an idiot when dealing with other people and makes a lot of mistakes. The mecha designs (which are done to a veteran designer who's name I forgot) are impressive (but not as stylistic as Wing's mecha) even though they are a bit uninspired. Roabie's Gundam Leopard is really a blue variation of Trowa's Gundam Heavy Arms and antagonist Shagia Frost's Gundam Virsago is a cross between the Gundam Epyon and Wufei's Gundam Altron. (Even though it's way more powerful) Gundam X also has kind of a retro feel to it, from the updated original Gundam-style mecha designs, the music, and to the Frost Brothers rather outdated pretty-boy fashion sense. :-)

Presentation-wise Gundam X doesn't take advantage of it's good artwork and mecha designs, compared to the impressive and eye-catching presentation of Gundam Wing, the animation ranges from poor to average and at times the animation seems rushed. The Gundams and characters could've been more detailed (especially Gundam X), which would've made Gundam X stand out a bit more. Aside from the good opening and ending songs (which ends in a rather sappy jazz-style ending love song), the score is pretty forgettable, uninspired and doesn't compare to Two-Mix's awesome music of Gundam Wing, in fact some pieces sound as if they were taken from Takayuki Hattori''s score for Martian Successor Nadesico.

Gundam X starts out pretty average, while not a bad series, I still have yet to see all 39 episodes to see if the story improves. It contains a good storyline and is a bit more light-hearted and comedic, but it can't compare to the superior story and presentation of Gundam Wing. Even though it feels pretty inferior, the series is growing a huge fan base, I wouldn't be surprised if this show will eventually become the next big thing for Toonami. It isn't out yet in the U.S., but I have a feeling it will be soon enough.

Fansubbed version reviewed. Image shown is not created by atek studios. Review by vmoore86. Nov 2000.