It's a damn shame that After War Gundam X is the least popular of all the Gundam shows, because it really is an impressive piece of work and probably one of, if not the best of Gundam spinoffs. It has the realism that Wing does not, the maturity missing from SEED, and the extra kick lacking in 00. The only Gundam since the original to be cancelled, and to be honest that's the biggest fault X has. You can't help but wonder what could've been if only that episode count reached 50.
Story: 10/10
At the start of the show we meet Garrod Ran, a young mercenary of only 15 years of age and lets just say, he does some pretty amazing stuff for a guy his age. After taking a rescue job he meets the target, Tiffa Adill, a mysterious young newtype girl. However, upon learning that his employer would only exploit her for her abilities, Garrod turns on him and joins the very group he "rescued" her from, the mercenary ship "Freeden". With the help of Tiffa's abilities, the crew of the Freeden continues their search to help any newtypes who are being unjustly used by others.
Gundam X has one very crucial element that no other Gundam spinoff does. It feels like a U.C. show. In the world of Gundam X, the colonists have seemingly dropped all of the colonies down to the Earth as opposed to just one, and the human population is relatively miniscule. Because of this, many people consider the After War universe to be an alternate reality to the Universal Century, as opposed to a standalone universe such as the Cosmic Era from SEED or the Future Century from G Gundam.
Without spoiling anything I have to point out again that Gundam X ended 11 episodes early at episode 39 as opposed to 50. Because of this a lot of people feel the ending is rushed. I have to disagree to an extent. Although the ending moves very fast(quite a bit happens in those last 8 episodes in very little time) it wraps things up quite nicely and I can't but feel that's almost exactly how the original ending would've gone. Still, I'd love to see those missing 11 episodes.
Art: 7/10
The art style is good, but let's just say the animation could've had a better budget for its time. Roughly the same quality as Wing. Definitely the biggest negative to X in the aesthetics department, but it's more good than bad. The gundam designs are pretty outlandish, but for how badass they look, they aren't invincible, unlike the SEED and Wing gundams, which is great. The Freeden pilots have an uphill battle ahead of them.
Sound: 10/10
Great voice acting and one hell of a score. The Gundam X openings (by the amazing group Romantic Mode) are some of my favorite openings in all the anime I've seen, and in regards to the ending credits, I rarely sit through ending credits but for this show I made an exception. The three ending themes(two of them are different language versions of the same song) are some the best that I've ever heard used in anything, anime or otherwise. As for the score, I'm always humming one or two tracks here and there. Great soundtracks.
Character: 8/10
At first I thought this was the biggest weakness Gundam X had. A few episodes later and I was proved wrong. All I can say without spoiling you is that it's definitely enough character development. At first the show seems to be only about Tiffa and Garrod, but over time it focuses on other characters well enough. Tiffa and Garrod are still the most important characters, but it doesn't terribly overshadow the anyone else. There are still flaws, such as expanding on a few bit characters who don't show up for more than 10 minutes of screen time, and the Frost Brothers up until the last arc, but overall it's all good.
Enjoyment: 10/10
Gundam X is definitely not the best Gundam show, but damn if it isn't the most likeable. It's hard to hate this show. It may not be a masterpiece, but it's one hell of a ride from start to finish. Garrod in particular is just an amazingly well done protagonist. He's impossible to hate, and he's always believable. He's extremely street smart, but not a genius; very skilled in battle but not exactly soldier by any sense of the word. From the very first episode, he is kicking things in gear and you just want to strap yourself in for the roller coaster ride he's going to deliver.
Overall: 9/10
I like to refer to Gundam X as the Daft Punk of Gundam. Anyone who's experienced it can't hate it in the least. I give it a 9 because hell, I can't deny how much fun I had. I enjoyed this more than G Gundam, and that's saying a hell of a lot. A great balance of the always enjoyable shonen heroism while still keeping that tomino-esque reality that the original gundams had. You can even find some parallels between X and Tomino's own Crossbone Gundam graphic novel, strangely enough. If you can watch After War Gundam X, then do so. Chances are you won't be disappointed.
