Amate ‘Machu’ Yuzuriha (Thea Saccoliti) is a teenager on a space colony called SIde 6. A colossal war has just finished, and she’s acutely aware both of that and of the fact she was born in space, lives in space and that makes her a second class citizen to many people. She runs into Nyaan (Anairis Quinones), literally, on the street and discovers the other teenager is carrying something she shouldn’t. Something that makes the weapons in a civilian mecha go active. Meanwhile, a Zeon taskforce has pursued a near unstoppable enemy ace, known as The Red Gundam. Xavier (Ry McKeand) is the pilot sent after it and he and Amate are about to cross paths.

Ikuo Yamashita’s mechanical design work is stunning, and the series cleverly puts it front and centre from the first scene. The Zeons and Gundam all have weight and size and menace. From the opening, clanging, bareknuckle Zeon fistfight to the terrifying, balletic power of the Red Gundam this is a world full of gliding, sleek, violence machines and the people dragged into their orbit.

Kazuya Tsurumaki (best known for FLCL) directs with a springy, energetic feeling that changes gear as the story demands. Machu’s awkward, fluid grace is especially fun to watch as she flows through scenes in a manner that’s one-part drunken master, one part ballet. The colours and art are stunning too, with Side 6, the colony at the centre of the story, flooded with purple, soft light that’s a brilliant contrast to the hard blacks and whites and space. The acting impresses too, especially Saccoliti as Machu who gets some big dramatic moments, and comedy, and nails them both.

What’s most intriguing is the way the script balances three ideas.  Writers Yōji Enokido and Hideaki Anno have work like Evangelion and Redline on their resumes and elements of both meld seamlessly here. The fights and action are fluid, graceful and brutal. The character work is on point and the characters are fun and easy to like. Machu especially is a great leading character and her discovery of the local illegal mecha sport is the plot anyone can latch onto. If you’re a Gundam fan, then you’ll also find yourself mystified and surprised by how familiar these events seem to be. This is a show in a parallel timeline to the original and if you know the original that adds a whole extra level. One you won’t miss if you don’t.

Especially as the show saves its best surprise for last. At a pivotal moment, Machu sees something impossible in space, something the Red Gundam also seems to be communing with. It gives her the strength she needs to win and as the episode closes we don’t know what it is. The prevailing theory is the show is aware it’s in a divergent timeline and Machu, Nyaan and the others will be drawn into whether or not time can or should be fixed. If so, that’s some really chewy, new territory for a show like this and I’m really excited to see it develop.

Verdict: This is a demanding entry point for a massive, beloved franchise but it’s one that rewards perseverance. 8/10

Alasdair Stuart

 

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX releases weekly on Amazon Prime