T5W#309-Top 5 Gundam Original Feature Films

Despite being around for over 40 years, the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise hasn’t had that many theatrical film releases.  Or rather, I should clarify, when it comes to ORIGINAL Theatrical Films, the list is pretty small compared to their TV and OVA offerings.  Most Gundam films are Compilations, gatherings and restructurings that basically play out as a Greatest Hits album of a TV Series or OVA rather than an actual story (though there are some exceptions like the original Mobile Suit Gundam Compilation Trilogy).  Actually, with the release of Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway, we now have an exact FIVE Theatrical Gundam Films…and today I’m gonna rank them.  From worst to best (though admittedly quality varies across all of these, there are the Top 5 Gundam Original Feature Films.  And just to be clear once again, that means no Compilation Films, even if they do end up making something better (so no Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz-Special Edition or any of the original Gundam Compilation Trilogy…could be a Top 5 for another day though) 

#5-Mobile Suit Gundam F91 (1991)

Easily the weakest of the bunch but I do feel bad for this feature, always have.  Originally meant to be a new 50 episode TV Series, a behind the scenes decision was made to make F91 a movie instead (no doubt thanks to the success of its predecessor, but we’ll got to that).  Scripts had been written for 13 episodes and all of that and more was crammed into a movie that acts less like a new launching point for the next generation of Gundam and more like a Compilation Film for a TV Series that doesn’t exist.  It is an incomprehensible train wreck, no doubt.  But F91 has a cool titular Gundam and a couple of nuggets of good ideas and I still think this deserves a second chance, maybe it can during the UC NexT UC100 Project.

 

#4-Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway (2021)

Based on the novel series by Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino, Gundam Hathaway is the first of a new trilogy of movies…and it feels like it.  It does look pretty and looks to show promise in the last act.  However, most of Gundam Hathaway feels like setup for the other two movies to follow.  It doesn’t help that if you have a low opinion on Hathaway after Char’s Counterattack, he doesn’t work hard enough to change that opinion.  Not helping matters is the all over the map love interest Gigi.  We do get one of the most realistic depictions of Mobile Suit combat since 08^th MS Team and I am very curious to see how Hathaway’s resistance crew came together…too bad we’ll have to wait til Part 2 to find out more.

 

#3-Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative (2018)

Gundam Narrative marks the beginning of the Gundam Franchise’s UC NexT 100 Project, which will take a look at event spanning the second century of the Universal Century Timeline.  I was pretty hyped behind Narrative since it acts as a direct sequel to Gundam Unicorn, which had a doozy of a revelation for the Earth Sphere.  Except it isn’t followed up on, instead focusing on a new story surrounding a lost Unicorn unit known as the Phenix.  The central trio is interesting with their One Year War tie in and the visuals are stunning, as is the soundtrack from Hiroyuki Sawano, who did the scores for Unicorn and Hathaway.  And yet…Narrative is just ok…and that doesn’t feel right.

 

#2-Mobile Suit Gundam 00: The Movie-A Wakening of the Trailblazer (2010)

Fun Fact: When the Gundam 00 Movie was released in 2010, it was the first original theatrical story for Gundam in 19 years, since 1991’s Gundam F91.  This was the big one, the most controversial move Gundam ever made, even if it fit in line with what Gundam 00 was building towards: Humans vs. Aliens.  Considering Gundam was the first ever “Real Robot” Mecha series, its bizarre to really see 00 follow through on the promise of Humans battling Extraterrestrials in an epic First Contact War (no relation to the same event in Mass Effect).  Still, for what it’s worth, if you’ve loved Gundam 00, this is a pretty damn epic finale (though not quite as good as the TV Series, wont lie).  Everyone from the cast gets their moment to shine and there’s a new bevy of updated Gundams for the Meisters waiting for a test drive…and you can tell they came equipped to deal with a threat this big. 

 

#1-Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack (1988)

At one point, there was pause to wonder if this was gonna be the grand finale of Gundam, and it sure looked that way didn’t it?  Char’s Counterattack is the grand conclusion to everything that began in Mobile Suit Gundam and continued through Zeta Gundam and Gundam ZZ.  The rivalry between Amuro Ray and Char Aznable reaches a fever pitch and this time the world is caught in the crossfire.  While it does suffer from the less than likeable Hathaway and Quess, Chat’s Counterattack boasts action and scale to more than match a grand finale event.  Thankfully, contrary to what might’ve been believed back then, this wasn’t the end of Gundam…but it was a stunning close to a wild first chapter in its long legacy.