T5W#502-Top 5 Gundam Series with the Biggest Impact/Influence on the Franchise

We’re only a couple of weeks away from the debut of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuX.  Anticipation for this one is at a fever pitch, especially after the box office results of the GQuuuuuX: Beginnings movie both in Japan and in the US.  Clearly everyone is ready for this long overdue union between the minds behind Mobile Suit Gundam and Neon Genesis Evangelion.  One question on my mind is: how big of an impact will this have for the franchise?  And can it measure up to other shows that stand as the core pillars of the Gundam multiverse.  To explain a bit further, we have todays Top 5 Wednesday as I share my picks for the Top 5 Gundam Series with the Biggest Impact/Influence on the Franchise.

 
#5-Mobile Suit Gundam SEED

For Gundams first foray into the 2000s, Sunrise needed to reinvigorate the franchise in a big way following the disappointing performances of After War Gundam X and Turn A Gundam (both of which are seriously underrated).  This gave birth to Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, which brought the franchise roaring into the new millenium of Anime.  Fans quickly gravitated to the characters and music and themes of the series, most of which were heavily influenced from the original Mobile Suit Gundam.  The cast of SEED remain some of the most recognizable in Gundam and the love for this entry is stronger than ever given the massive success of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom and the announced prequel that’s now in production.
 

#4-Mobile Suit Gundam

Many have followed but Mobile Suit Gundam still stands as a huge game changer for Anime as a whole.  This was the Mecha Anime that showed what would happen if Humans used Giant Robots to fight each other, not Aliens and it wasn’t pretty.  This is the show that introduced us to every major staple of the franchise from the young and unsure protagonist to the cool as hell rival with the cool as hell mask to the real world themes and messages of anti war that still stand the test of time today.  It might not have been successful at first launch but 46 years later, Gundam still stands and is widely recognized alongside Macross and Evangelion as the Mecha Anime that changed Mecha Anime forever.

 
#3-Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury

By the time G Witch arrived, it became the shot in the arm the Gundam Franchise needed in nearly a decade.  While many of the classic themes and tropes are present, G Witch shook up the formula with a school days setting, a focus on corporate espionage/wars, and one of the strongest central romances in the franchise through Suletta and Miorine.  G Witch became one of the most talked about entries in all of Gundam and not just by Gundam fans.  Thanks to the new additions and tweaks to the formula, it became more accessible to fans outside of the Mecha genre.   I have no doubt that G Witch’s success is part of what has people excited for GQuuuuuX and how the franchsie will reinvent and reinivigorate itself all over again.
 

#2-Mobile Suit Gundam Wing

This one is the stuff of legends. While Gundam Wing was very popular in Japan, it’s its success in the US that changed everything for the franchise.  For the first time, Gundam was on the world stage, expanding it’s influence and reach to a new generation of fans who had never heard of Gundam until then (myself included).  Toonami promoted and aired the mess out of it, making Gundam Wing one of their most watch programs in Toonami history.  The results of Wings runaway success can be seen in other Gundam entries like SEED, 00 and Iron Blooded Orphans especially when it comes to the use of the bad boy team line up.  Actually, until G Witch, Gundam didn’t have as quite a momentous reach as it did when Wing reigned supreme.

 
#1-Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam

For all of the popularity of Wing and SEED, neither would be around if Zeta Gundam hadn’t taken what worked in Mobile Suit Gundam and took it to the next level.  Everything that worked in the original 1979 series was expanded upon: the story was darker and edgier, the characters more flawed and interesting, the battles bigger and bloodier and the finale, yikes even Iron Blooded Orphans put their notes from that finale to good use.  Zeta Gundam took the renewed interest in the series thanks to Tomino’s Compilation Trilogy of the original series and ran with it, basically finishing the book on the tropes, story and character beats that Gundam is still using as their chief playbook to this day.