Part of the reason that Gundam X still succeeded despite the rushed story was because of the excellent characters and their development. The protagonist is Garrod Ran, a 15 year old orphan who made a living taking high risk jobs and defending his home from Vultures. What separates Garrod from most Gundam protagonists is that he is not some special snowflake. He is an average Human being who happens to be good at piloting mobile suits. And he isn't some concealed Newtype or anything like that, because two of his companions would know right away, and they never said a word. Garrod manages to accomplish feats that rival that of Newtypes, which makes him one of the most powerful Gundam protagonists due to his ability to adapt to any enemy or situation. Alongside him are the Newtypes Tifa Adiil and Jamil Neate, as well as the mercenaries Roybea Loy and Witz Sou, along with the rest of the Freeden crew. What's satisfying is that almost all of these characters are likable in their own ways and have their own stories to tell.
The emotional impact of Gundam X is emphasized by its soundtrack, which is just plain beautiful. The ending theme "Human Touch" is just so good that I had it on repeat for weeks. What I found odd and yet refreshing is that it is entirely in English, despite the fact that the series was never dubbed. It's a beautiful song, and one that deserves to be heard even without the context of the series. The sound effects or course are mostly reused from Wing, which honestly goes well with the art style which is, again, pretty much the same as Wing.
The theme of this series is something that I had never come across before in anime: Labels. We're all familiar with how labels work. When you give something or someone a label, you are essentially defining who or what they are because that label comes with a predefined definition. In this case, Oldtypes and Newtypes. And each faction has a different definition for each of these labels, which leads to the series major conflicts. This was a refreshing change from the usual themes and the series conclusion did justice to that theme.
In the end, After War Gundam X is quite possibly one of the greatest Gundam series to ever be produced. The problem with its popularity lies in the time slot it was placed in as well as the timing of its release. Both of those factors contributed to its commercial downfall. It has, however, gained a cult following in the many years since its initial release in 1997. This series truly deserved a full 50 episodes, and had it been aired in the US following Wing, its likely that it may have seen the popularity it truly deserved. I recommend this series to anyone who could use a break from the normal themes or is just looking for a great story and characters. I highly doubt you will be disappointed.
