T5W#215-Top 5 Gundam Mobile Suits

Recently, I saw GameStop was selling Gundam Action Figures again.  These weren’t the older ones like back when Gundam Wing was out.  No these are brand spanking new babies right out of Japan.  And theyre collected from all across the Gundam Multiverse: the first set includes the original RX 78-2 Gundam, Wing Gundam and Unicorn Gundam with Set 2 delivering the Banshee Gundam, Gundam Deathsythe and Gundam Barbatos later this year.  At first I thought about doing a Top 5 based on these names alone…and then I realized, over 200 Top 5 lists ive done on this blog…and I haven’t done a single one dedicated to my favorite Gundam Mobile Suits.  I mean I did a Top 5 NON Gundam Mobile Suits Top 5 forever ago to give them the spotlight (http://gundamanimeblog.blogspot.com/2017/04/t5w86-top-5-favorite-non-gundam-mobile.html).  But it seems unbelievable ive gone this long without churning out a Top 5 (or Top 10) or this subject matter.  Well…I’m rectifying that today on Top 5 Wednesday.  These are my Top 5 Gundam Mobile Suits.

#5-RX-93 Nu Gundam (Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack)  

When Char Aznable returns to wreck havoc on the Earth one last time, Amuro returns to face his old nemesis with a Gundam he designed and built with his own two hands (ok he had help on the latter).  Still, Nu Gundam is the ultimate form of every Gundam that’s come before it in the Universal Century era.  Equipped with a squadron of mentally controlled fin funnels (turrets), a sick beam saber and a rapid fire beam rifle, when Amuro shows up in this thing for the first time in Char’s Counterattack, he is ready to kick all kinds of ass.

#4-XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero Custom (Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz) 

It’s an Angel Gundam, a Gundam with Wings…ok we all love it from a cheesy visual standpoint and it’s initial reveal nevertheless resounds as one of the most iconic moments in all of Gundam.  While it sacrifices the fighter mode its predecessors (Wing Gundam and Wing Gundam Zero) possessed, the Wing Zero Custom is stylish and magnificent and still has the trademark weapons that make the Gundam as renowned as it is.  Hey, Heero wanted to bring peace to the Earth Sphere and defend Relena’s dream.  Why not use a Gundam that speaks of peace while also is locked and loaded for war just in case? 

#3-GN-0000RE+GNR-010 00 Raiser (Mobile Suit Gundam 00) 

Much like Heero, Setsuna is a young man striving for peace in a war torn world and sees himself as the personification of a Gundam. Well while the 00 Quant is the ultimate Gundam Setsuna would receive in the Gundam 00 movie, I personally like the 00 Raiser for being the OP mega tank that was skillfully piloted by Setsuna.  Not only did it inherit all the beam knives and blades of the Gundam Exia (Setsuna’s first Gundam), it also contains a bonus core booster to dial up it’s power levels beyond 9000 (also backpack extensions look cool, just as the GP01 Full Vernian Gundam from Gundam 0083).  Did I mention that this Gundam can create a skyscraper sized beam saber to cut down entire legions of ships?  Im want it, I want it, I want iiiiiiiiiit. 

#2-XXXG-01D Gundam Deathsythe (Mobile Suit Gundam Wing) 

Sure, Wing Gundam had the coolest entrance in Gundam Wing in the first episode.  But then Deathsythe slid in and said “Hold my beer”, not with a cool entrance but with an overall cool factor that no Gundam in Gundam Wing could top (except maybe its successor Gundam Deathsythe Hell).  Duo Maxwell’s Deathsythe struck fear into the hearts of all opponents thanks to its terrifying grim reaper aesthetic and that giant beam sythe that was its trademark weapon.  God I still cry a little when Trowa is forced to blow it up and Duo screams in anguish.  This was the Gundam that got me to like Gundam and was the first Gundam action figure I ever purchased, it wasn’t even a hard choice. 

#1-RX0 Unicorn Gundam (Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn) 

If Amuro’s Nu Gundam was the epitome of all Gundams dating back to UC0079, then this baby that showed up in UC0096 (three years after Char’s Counterattack) basically defined Gundams for the entire era.  The basic design is the most unique look a Gundam has had since Turn A Gundam, the horn being a truly stand out and distinctive feature.  But oh man when the NTD Mode activates and the Unicorn goes red, run like hell if you’re fighting against it.  The speed of a Super Saiyan and the energy blades that can cut through anything and make any life long swordsman blush, the Unicorn is a beast of a machine and unstoppable in the right hands (even ones as complainy as Banagher Links).  I ended up using this Gundam a lot playing Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3 and it’s still the one I go to if I want to end battles quick and with minimal risk of losing.  It’s no wonder they chose the RX0 to replace the RX 78-2 in Japan, I can only imagine how it looks, in person, at night when it lights up.