Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- review: A new Gundam in a reimagined era

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX officially begins airing on April 8, 2025, but, like Witch from Mercury, a prequel movie titled Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- was released in Japan on January 17, 2025, and made its way overseas on February 28, 2025.

It marks the first collaboration between Studio Sunrise, aka Bandai Namco Filmworks, and Neon Genesis Evangelion's Studio Khara. It is directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki (FLCL) and written by Yoji Enokido (Revolutionary Girl Utena) and Hideaki Anno (Shin Godzilla, Neon Genesis Evangelion). The film features character designs by Take (Pokémon Sun and Moon) and mech designs by Ikuto Yamashita (Gunbuster and Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water).

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- is the second Gundam series after Witch from Mercury to star female characters as main characters. Unlike Witch from Mercy, however, Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- requires an understanding of the Universal Century era to truly get into, as the prologue throws a lot of information at new and veteran Gundam fans.

Disclaimer: The following article contains spoilers for the Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- film and the Gundam franchise from the original Mobile Suit Gundam aka 0079. All opinions are exclusive to the author.

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning-: Old and new faces collide in an alternate timeline

For Want of a Zaku, the One Year War was lost

The centuries-old proverb "For Want of a Nail" describes how sometimes the most unimportant acts or mistakes, like a missing horseshoe as in the original proverb, can lead to grave and/or unforeseen consequences, like losing a war. In the case of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- because the person who led the attempt to capture and steal the RX-78-02 Gundam in the original timeline had mechanical issues with his Zaku, Char Aznable was sent in his place.

The result was that Char took the Gundam, blew up White Base's bridge (killing Captain Paolo Cassius and several crew), and severely changed the course of the war. The Republic of Zeon reverse-engineered White Base and the Gundam's technology, with the early development of the psycommu and smaller drones from scrapped Zaku projects, making Char's GMS-α Gundam, aka the "Red Gundam," nigh unstoppable in combat.

Char's Newtype abilities likewise manifested early, alongside his wingman Challia Bull (a minor character in the original Mobile Suit Gundam). During the Federation's final, desperate attack on Zeon's lunar base Grenada, Char attempted to betray the Zeon Republic by letting the Federation and Zeon leadership kill each other by allowing the Solomon asteroid base to drop on the moon instead of destroying it.

His plan was thwarted when two things caught him off guard: his sister Artesia ambushed and defeated him in battle, and a large explosion similar to an Axis Shock called a Zeknova occurred. In the aftermath, Solomon was knocked off course, and part of it was blown away; the Federation surrendered, and Zeon declared victory. As a result of the devastation caused by the Zeknova, the psychocommu systems were outlawed. Char's last words were "I can see time" before he and the Red Gundam vanished in the explosion.

The new era and new protagonists

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning-'s protagonists (Image via Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc.)

After a time skip to Universal Century year 0085, Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- brings the audience up to speed on several key changes to this timeline:

Bull is now a Lieutenant Colonel in charge of searching for Char and the Red Gundam.
The Red Gundam has been rumored to have been seen at the independent colony, Side 6.
The Zeon Republic established its space force, a counterpart to the Titans in Zeta Gundam.

Bull sends out Xavier Olivette in the new gMS-Ω GQuuuuuuX Gundam to investigate the reappearance of the Red Gundam. Xavier's inability to properly utilize the Omega psycommu system nearly results in his death. Military police getting involved only complicates the situation, causing Xavier to be arrested during the struggle.

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning-'s antagonists (Image via Bandai Namco Filmworks)

The main protagonists of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- include a student dreaming of freedom named Amate "Machu" Yuzuriha, a war refugee turned courier named Nyaan, and the new pilot of the Red Gundam and Newtype named Shuji Itō. Machu and Nyaan meet by accidentally swapping their bags when they bump into each other while Nyaan runs from military police.

Machu and Nyaan end up being roped into "clan battles," illegal mobile suit fights, by delivering Machu's cargo: an illegal combat data chip the Pomeranian clan (sponsored and owned by Junk Shop Kaneban Ltd.) needed. This coincides with the military police chasing the Red Gundam and Xavier and leads to Machu piloting the gMS-Ω GQuuuuuuX after nearly dying defending herself in a Zaku.

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning-'s Clan Battles compared to Witch from Mercury's Duels

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- introduces Clan Battles as the main attraction for the residents of Side 6: two-on-two mobile suit duels. Some fans immediately compared and contrasted these to Witch from Mercury's Duels. Some fans aren't keen on the premise, given how they felt the duels were the weakest part of Witch from Mercury.

There are several major differences between the two concepts. In Witch from Mercury, duels were officially sanctioned by a student-run dueling committee. They had stakes that ranged from funding various projects to asking for someone's hand in marriage and could result in loss of social standing, as seen with Guel Jeturk. These duels were never lethal and always one-on-one, barring exceptions.

Clan battles in Gundam GQuuuuuuX Beginning (Image via Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc.)

Clan Battles in Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- are the opposite. They are run in secret by a variety of criminal organizations. Though the battles are live-streamed, the streams are always five minutes long before military police trace the location and move in to stop the battle. Battles are lethal and always two vs. two, mirroring Char and Bull's wingman maneuvers during this version of the One-Year War.

Machu and Shuji barely won their first clan battle, since their opponents were better tacticians than they were. This is opposed to Witch from Mercury, where Suletta and Aerial win handily almost every duel. Though they win owing to improvised teamwork and the Newtype connection between Shuji and Machu beginning to solidify, they're forced to flee as military police start swarming.

Burning Questions

People missing in action (Image via Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc.)

Mobile Suit Gundam fans are no strangers to alternate universes. The After Colony universe, where Gundams are at the forefront of armed conflict, is where Gundam Wing takes place. Witch from Mercury takes place in the Ad Stella universe, where corporations own space. There are other timelines, including the Cosmic Era (Gundam Seed), the Correct Century (Turn A Gundam), the Post Disaster (Iron-Blooded Orphans), and so on.

What makes Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- so fascinating to fans is that it depicts an alternate version of the familiar mainline: the Universal Century, the timeline of the original Mobile Suit Gundam and all its sequels, where the Republic of Zeon won the war. This poses a ton of questions burning in fans' minds.

More people MIA (Image via Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc.)

Several of the top questions are as follows:

What happened to Char? Although Axis Shock and similar events cause Newtypes to vanish into the timestream, as seen in Char's Counterattack when he, Amuro, and Lalah Sune vanished into the timestream, that's not what happened in the film.
What happened to Amuro Ray, the original protagonist of the franchise? His absence is notable, with Artesia Deikun (aka Sayla Mass) coming entirely out of left field to anyone unaware that Artesia and Char fought in the original manga.
What does this mean for Spacenoids, given how bad Side 6 seems to be?

Other pressing questions involve key events being altered or just not happening, dramatically changing people's fates. Does War in the Pocket still occur? Does Stardust Memory? What became of Lalah Sune? Despite some characters like Dozle Zabi still dying, with Kcyllia and Gihren alive, what became of the rest of the Zabi family (Garma, Degwin, Minerva, etc.)?

What happens to characters like Four Murasame, Emma Sheen, Kamile Bidan, and Haman Karn from Zeta Gundam and ZZ Gundam? Did Bright Noa die alongside the rest of the White Base bridge crew? Did Operation Stardust from Stardust Memory happen, and if so, what happened to the Delaz Fleet, protagonist Kou Uraki, and others?

While Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX will undoubtedly answer some of these questions, fans will seek all the answers by the end of the series.

Final Thoughts

Further shots of the protagonists/action (Image via Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc)

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- is an edited movie compilation of the first three episodes of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX. Unlike Witch from Mercury, which was specifically aimed at non-Gundam fans, Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX appears to be trying to court older Gundam fans with the deliberate inclusion of Char Aznable and the alternate timeline.

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- is an interesting teaser, albeit requiring fans to remember much about the original series for more than just the mecha involved and certain pilots. As Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX doesn't officially premiere until April 9, 2025, in Japan, that should be more than enough time to binge the required material.

Prospective fans are recommended to watch, at the bare minimum, the original Mobile Suit Gundam (available on Crunchyroll in series format or Netflix as a three-part compilation movie), The Origin (Crunchyroll), Zeta Gundam (Crunchyroll), and Char's Counterattack (Netflix).

Given that Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- takes place two years after Stardust Memory, it is also recommended viewing and can be found on YouTube. War in the Pocket is optional, but is still worth watching and is available on YouTube. ZZ Gundam is also available on Crunchyroll and is Zeta's sequel.

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX will be streaming on Amazon Prime starting in April 2025.