What is Gundam?

If you don’t have any background knowledge about it, the Gundam franchise can be a confusing thing to try and understand. The reality is that Gundam isn’t all that complicated, there’s just a lot of it to take in. For the purpose of this blog, and for the sake of simplicity, Gundam will be divided into two main parts: anime and model kits. Before we start though, I’ll answer the question of what Gundam actually means. The answer is that it doesn’t have a single particular meaning. The main feature of the franchise is pilots fighting each other in giant robots, also known as mecha, which are called mobile suits in the Gundam universe. If you’re having trouble visualizing that, things like the Jaegers in Pacific Rim or the Megazord in Power Rangers are mecha. In their most common depiction, Gundams are limited-production high-performance mobile suits with capabilities far beyond many mass-produced models. However, there are also some series in which all mobile suits are Gundams, so it is difficult to slap a singular definition on the word right now.

The Anime

The Gundam franchise started with the 1979 anime Mobile Suit Gundam. This series established the main themes of the franchise. The first series was not particularly successful, but eventually the concept caught on and led to the production of more series. At this point in time, there are over forty TV series, mini-series, and movies which are accompanied by numerous manga, novels, and video games. And there’s no sign of Gundam stopping any time soon – there’s a movie and TV series currently in production for 2022. In order to parse the 800+ episodes of anime content, I have to further divide it into two categories.

Universal Century

The Universal Century (or UC) is the main Gundam timeline. The original Mobile Suit Gundam takes place in the year 0079 of the Universal Century (which is written as UC 0079), and there are anime that take place from UC 0068 to UC 0153 and beyond. There are many wars in this timeline and various factions that fight in them, but overall, the main conflict of the UC is between those who live on Earth and those who live in space colonies. The UC envisions a future where Earth’s resources are stretched beyond their capacity, and millions upon millions of people are shipped out to live in giant cylindrical space colonies that rotate to provide artificial gravity. The colonies were originally meant to serve only as an overflow for Earth’s population, but they eventually become successful and self-sufficient enough that they desire independence from the Earth Federation that controls them. The resulting conflict between the Earth Federation and the colonies that desire independence is called the One Year War and serves as the main setting for Mobile Suit Gundam. The movies and series that follow deal with various conflicts that happen in the decades that follow as power, freedom, and resources are fought over. If you are interested in watching the Universal Century anime, then the place to start is the original Mobile Suit Gundam, and then continue watching the series in chronological order – although you can watch it in release order if that’s more your style and you’re willing to jump around the timeline a lot.

Other Timelines

While the UC serves as the main timeline for the franchise and contains the most overall content, there are about ten other timelines that each have their own setup and history and take varying levels of inspiration from the UC. I could write about the particulars of each timeline, but that wouldn’t be very helpful for someone just starting to learn about Gundam so I’ll save that for future articles. The most important things to know are that the alternate timelines have much less content with only one or two series and sometimes a movie, and they are generally self-contained stories, so you don’t need much background knowledge going in. Because of this, they make excellent jumping-on points if you are curious about Gundam but aren’t sure you want to commit to the franchise.

The Model Kits

Just like the show Beyblade was made to sell battle top toys, or how Yu-Gi-Oh! was made to sell trading cards, Mobile Suit Gundam was created to sell toys of giant robots. The toys were originally sold as pre-assembled action figures and were aimed at a younger audience, but they didn’t sell very well. Bandai instead shifted to producing models that were meant to be assembled, glued, and painted just like military vehicle models, and targeted a teenage and adult audience. These models, also called Gunpla as a combination of “Gundam” and “plastic model”, caught on well and their continued sales have led Bandai to produce models that are better quality, larger, and more detailed than before. Currently, Bandai’s models don’t need any glue to assemble and normally look very good even without any paint or extra modelling work. However, if you are willing to put in some extra effort you can make even a cheap kit look amazing. There are 4 main lines, or “grades” of Gunpla models.

• High Grade (HG) – 1:144 scale – This line is the base grade of models. They have a level of quality that was good in 2000 and only improved as time went on and feature a decent level of detail and color accuracy.
• Master Grade (MG) – 1:100 scale – This line is a step up from HG’s, both in size and quality. These models feature well-articulated internal frames, which armor is then attached to, and can have quite a lot of detail.
• Real Grade (RG) – 1:144 scale – The RG models were envisioned as a line of 1:144 scale Master Grades, featuring full internal frames, tons of detail, and plenty of accessories in a small package.
• Perfect Grade (PG) – 1:60 scale – Perfect Grade models are quite large and pack in whatever the latest features were from the time they were designed. They can be difficult to pose due to their size, but still have a formidable shelf presence.

Bandai’s Gundam model kits are sometimes treated as something separate from other model kits, but at their core they are still models. Any painting or building technique that can be used on military vehicle models or other plastic models can still be done on Gunpla. And with the prices of HG kits starting under $20, it’s very easy to jump in and have fun building your first plastic model.