There’s a lot of reasons you might be interested in watching Gundam anime, but there aren’t a lot of clear places to start, so it can be a bit confusing to navigate all the different shows and movies as you get your bearings. I’ll be discussing what some of the best Gundam series are for beginners, and hopefully make it easier for you to choose which one you want to start out with. Before we begin though, you’ll have to decide which part of the Gundam franchise you want to jump into. There are two categories: the Universal Century (UC) and alternate timelines. The UC is the “main” Gundam universe. It encompasses almost half of all Gundam shows, which take place at various points across a decades-long timeline and is often referenced by shows in the alternate timelines. The alternate timelines each have their own continuity and only one or two seasons of anime each, which make them much more manageable for some viewers.

Best Universal Century Starter Series

Mobile Suit Gundam

1979 | 50 episodes or 3 compilation movies

As the very first Gundam series, the original Mobile Suit Gundam is a natural place to start. It lays the groundwork for themes and conflicts that appear in almost all Gundam shows that followed it, and since it’s the first one you won’t have to worry about missing context from previous shows. Some purists argue against watching the compilation movies, but I think they’re perfectly fine, especially if the alternative is not watching the series at all.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team

1996 | 12 episodes

If you want a look at the UC with less time commitment, the 08th MS Team is what you’re looking for. It takes place at the same time as the original series but focuses on a group of grunt soldiers fighting a guerilla war in Southeast Asia. It explains the main conflict that’s taking place fairly well but leaves a lot of room to learn more if you go back and watch Mobile Suit Gundam. Otherwise, it’s a self-contained story with its own characters and sub-conflicts and will give you a good idea of what the rest of the franchise has to offer.

Best Alternate Timeline Starter Series

Mobile Suit Gundam 00

2007 | 50 episodes

This series is a very good introduction to Gundam’s alternate timelines, and the rest of the franchise overall. It’s a more recent series, so it will feel more familiar to those who mostly watch modern anime, but it still has many of the themes present in the earlier ones. Since its story and universe are completely self-contained you won’t have to worry about anything coming before it, so you can jump straight in and watch it like any other anime.

Gundam Build Fighters

2013 | 25 episodes

The Gundam Build series is a different type of Gundam show. In contrast to the plot of most other Gundam shows, detailing the actions of soldiers as they fight in world-changing conflicts, these much more light-hearted shows are about kids building Gundam plastic models (Gunpla) and using them to fight in Gunpla Battles, where special particles allow the models to move around and fight each other like what you see on-screen in other Gundam shows. If the other series aren’t really your style then this might be one to try out. There’s also a sequel series, Gundam Build Fighters Try in case this leaves you wanting more.