DIY VIRAL
The author Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Gundam is one of the longest-running science fiction franchises, having started in 1979 with Mobile Suit Gundamand during this time it is filled with different timelines, but there is one that stands out among the others, for better or for worse. After the war, Gundam X takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, exploring the franchise's themes of war and suffering from a different angle, namely after the damage has already been done. On paper it sounds like a great canvas to paint another series of sci-fi masterpieces, but in practice every good idea is immediately undermined by some of the worst pacing in franchise history and a disaster ending.
Post-apocalyptic Gundam
After the war Gundam X begins with mercenary Garrod Wren on a simple rescue mission to save a young girl, Tifa, but because he's not given much information about her, you can see one of the twists coming from a mile away. Naturally, Garrod joins the Vultures, the group that held Tifa, after his client surrenders. This is the beginning of countless standards animebut the biggest problem is that even a mecha battle in a nuclear power plant about to explode can't beat the painfully slow pace.
There's no intrigue between the rival factions trying to rebuild civilization, and while the Vultures are interesting characters, it takes more than a dozen episodes to get there. After the war, Gundam X eventually begins to introduce Newtypes into this alternate universe, competing philosophies about the nature and governance of humanity, and the usual staples of the franchise, but by then most viewers have long since given up. The back third of the 36-episode run kicks into overdrive to make up for all the good parts of the story in 12 episodes, but it's not enough to redeem the show.
Cut Short And Undeveloped
Cramming multiple episodes into character development, revelations, and mecha battles is incredibly clumsy, and it's clear that wasn't the original plan. After the war, Gundam X flopped in Japan when it first aired in 1996, and as a result the number of episodes was reduced from 49 to 39. The plot lines are not developed, but there is a convincing ending, just to embrace the gloom and anger of the world, instead of ending with the hopeful, inspirational of other Gundam shows note. As a deconstruction of Gundam, it works, but not enough to even rise to the level of a hidden gem.
Garrod, Tiffa, Jamil, Ennil, Roybea, none of the characters from After the war, Gundam X doesn't appear on any fan lists of the franchise's most popular characters, and even the Gundam models, including the GX-9901-DX and its satellite cannon attack on the moon, don't leave much of an impression on fans. As a result, this is one of the more obscure entries in the long-running franchise, ranking even below A mobile suit compilation moviesand while it will mostly appeal to completionists, there are worse anime options out there. In keeping with the franchise's status as the forgotten black sheep, After the war, Gundam X not streaming on Netflix or Crunchyroll like the rest, but free on Tubi, so at least it's cheap to check out.
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DIY VIRAL
