Kidou Shinseiki Gundam X (After War Gundam X)

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: After War Gundam X, Mobile New Century Gundam X

Japanese: 機動新世紀ガンダムX

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Information

Type: TV

Episodes: 39

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Apr 5, 1996 to Dec 28, 1996

Premiered: Spring 1996

Broadcast: Fridays at 17:00 (JST)

Producers: TV Asahi, Sotsu

Licensors: Nozomi Entertainment

Studios: Sunrise

Source: Original

Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi

Themes: Mecha, Space

Duration: 24 min. per ep.

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Statistics

Score: 7.40¹ (scored by 16,313 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #2350²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #3694

Members: 36,777

Favorites: 232

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Synopsis

When one space colony declared its independence from the Earth Federation, the devastating 7th Space War, an all-out war between Earth and space, resulted. The Federation responded to the Space Revolutionary Army with mobile suits, called Gundams. However, the Space Revolutionary forces played their trump card and dropped hundreds of space colonies onto the Earth, plunging the planet into a seven-year-long nuclear winter. The Federation collapsed, but the Space Revolutionary Army was unable to invade the Earth in the aftermath of the colony drop.

Fifteen years have passed. The year is now After War 0015, and a New Federation has sprung up on Earth to restore order. In space, the colonial leaders have been rebuilding their own forces as well. By chance, fifteen-year-old Garrod Ran has discovered an old Federation mobile suit, the Gundam X, and now he uses it to help out the Vulture ship Freeden in its struggle to keep the powers that be from repeating the mistakes of the past.

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Background

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	After War Gundam X
Parent story:	Kidou Senshi Gundam

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Ran, Garrod

Main

Takagi, Wataru
Japanese

Neate, Jamil

Main

Horiuchi, Kenyuu
Japanese

Adill, Tiffa

Main

Kanai, Mika
Japanese

Sou, Witz

Supporting

Nakai, Kazuya
Japanese

Frost, Shagia

Supporting

Morikawa, Toshiyuki
Japanese

Frost, Olba

Supporting

Sasaki, Nozomu
Japanese

El, Ennil

Supporting

Honda, Chieko
Japanese

Sys, Pala

Supporting

Nagasawa, Miki
Japanese

Roy, Roybea

Supporting

Yamazaki, Takumi
Japanese

Langraph, Duett

Supporting

Madono, Mitsuaki
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Yatate, Hajime

Producer, Original Creator

Takamatsu, Shinji

Director, Storyboard

Urakami, Yasuo

Sound Director

Taniguchi, Gorou

Episode Director, Storyboard

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Opening Theme

	1: "Dreams" by ROmantic Mode (eps 1-26)
	2: "Resolution" by ROmantic Mode (eps 27-39)

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Ending Theme

	1: "Human Touch" by Warren Wiebe (eps 1-13,39)
	2: "Human Touch - Japanese Version" by Re-Kiss (eps 14-26)
	3: "Gin-Iro Horizon (Silver Horizon)" by Satomi Nakase (eps 27-38)

Reviews

Sep 9, 2023

Egoistfan1

Recommended

After War Gundam X is one of the most obscure of all Gundam series, as it came out at a time when Gundam had been running continuously since 1993. By this time people had gotten burnt out on Gundam, so Gundam X was practically doomed to fail through no fault of its own, and it got cut from the usual 49 episodes to 39. Despite the stigma attached to the first Gundam show to be cut short since the original MSG, X is a great and underrated addition to the Gundam franchise that would be more highly regarded if it were more widely seen. In ... contrast to Wing and G, Gundam X is a more traditional Gundam story that can appeal to Gundam's core audience. None of the craziness you see in Wing and G.

STORY AND THEMES: 9/10
Gundam X has a setting that will be very familiar to Gundam fans. 15 years ago a war between the earth-based United Nations Earth and the Space Revolutionary Army, a force consisting of spacenoid colonists seeking independence. The war ended when the SRA dropped a colony on Earth, killing billions of people and leaving much of Eath a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Gundam X covers the aftermath of this, taking place 15 years after the colony drop. The story follows the adventures of a group of Vultures (basically post-apocalyptic scavengers) as their captain, who is gathering Newtypes so that they will never be exploited for war again. Like most other Gundam shows (but unlike G and Wing) most of the show takes place on a ship, as the cast goes from place to place. There is some typical Gundam melodrama early on the show involving love and jealousy, which some people won't appreciate but which I enjoyed. The tone of the show takes more from earlier Gundam shows rather than Wing, and it is better for it.

The central theme of Gundam X involves the idea of Newtypes. In addition to having a similar set-up to UC Gundam, Gundam X borrows the idea of Newtypes from UC Gundam. Gundam X, however, is an analysis and critique of the way that the idea is portrayed in UC Gundam. Before Gundam X we are used to seeing Newtypes as the way of the future, the next step in human evolution, or even as a sort of master race. Gundam X gives an entirely different perspective. Here Newtypes are not the solution to humanity's problems, or a superior type of being.

CHARACTERS: 9/10
Gundam X has a solid cast between it, with one of the best Gundam protagonists. The protagonist and hero is the 15-year-old Garrod Ran, a product of his war-torn environment. We never find out much of his backstory, other than that he is an orphan who never got the chance to know his parents. He's a hot-blooded 15-year old, but much more down to earth than other hotblooded protagonists like Domon Kasshu from G Gundam. The biggest struggle that Garrod faces is learning to accept that he is not alone and can rely on others. Once he's over that, he's a dependable and nice guy. Garrod is also unique in being one of the only Gundam pilots who has no supernatural abilities.

The main heroine is Tiffa Adill, a Newtype with psychic powers. She starts out as a very stoic, emotionless 15-year old girl not unlike Rei from Evangelion, which was released immediately before Gundam X came out. She quickly latches on to Garrod, though, and slowly starts to open up, and is an all-around sweet girl. Also, the romance between Garrod and Tiffa is one of the best in Gundam.
Other members of the cast are generally strong characters if you like the usual Gundam-style of characters. They are certainly less exaggerated personalities than in earlier Gundam AU series'.

ANIMATION: 9/10
The animation is great. The animation is probably the best of all the Gundam released in the 90s, with less reliance on recycled animation and off-model. Plus the art-style, with its 90s anime charm, is just nice to look at.

MUSIC: 8/10
The music is generally good. Its two openings sound great. The only downside is that the preview plays over the ending theme, so you're never able to hear it properly.

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May 6, 2022

CrumbSteak

Mixed Feelings

A stable entry in a long running franchise. Not much to write home about, but amusing in small doses.

The story starts promisingly, depicting the lives of a scavenger crew as they travel a post-apocalyptic world. It is through these adventures that new characters, motifs, and plotlines are introduced: it works well, and operates similarly to Gundam 79 with enough differences in the setting to set it apart. Regrettably, the last cour dissolves these differences for the sake of producing a sappy ending, with the writing being about as subtle as Wing’s. In this aspect the journey is definitely better than the destination, with the adventures ... in the settlement of Fort Severn and seawater battles standing out from the rest of the pack. I wouldn’t mind an OVA or side story in the setting, as there is some good potential here. It’s just a shame that the direction the show takes is so lackluster. One thread that I do enjoy is the love story - it’s heartwarming, effective, and has tangible effects on the characters and their attitudes. I believe it’s a strong point in its favor that saves the plot from total mediocrity.

In terms of characters, it is a relief that the antagonist twins are the only ones that fall into similar pitfalls as the story. At first, the older brother is defined by his even-keeled nature and belief in superstitions, using tarot cards to draw the duo's fortune in battle: this was a cool moment when it was first introduced, but is never used again. I am certain there is a logical explanation for this, but it doesn't solve the problem that the twins are pretty flat otherwise. The younger one is even worse: his defining traits are that he’s protective and ends all of his sentences with nii-san. I can understand that they have a greater endgame in the story, but they are a boring pair nonetheless. The upshot to this is that the minor antagonists get to shine on-screen: the archetypal crazed raiders, genteel warlords, and all the rest are more than welcome after the wooden twins spit out their lines. The supporting characters are excellent as well - they’re cheeky yet good-natured, providing solid levity whenever there’s slack or exposition. Very few of them are batshit crazy like the ones in Zeta or ZZ, which will either sour or please viewers with little room in between. The protagonist’s arc is an interesting inversion of what I’ve come to expect from a Gundam series - I won’t spoil it, but I believe it works in the show’s favor. A good showing overall.

The animation is something I am lukewarm on. The designs look like outtakes from Wing, and the artstyle can look pretty rudimentary at times. A benefit to this is that the action is quite fluid, with movement and dynamism to back it up. A couple of the designs are nice, like the Bertigo and Virsago chest break. The character design is my least favorite part of the whole deal, but can be forgiven when the characters themselves are generally entertaining.

The sound is serviceable but unmemorable. I think people sing the OPs’ praises enough for it to go without examination, and the Human Touch makes for a nice ED. But while the sound effects do their job suitably, the BGM is weakly nondescript. Not much to love here.

To conclude, After War Gundam X is a series that is not a trainwreck, but not quite a success either. It’s something to pick and choose pieces from to enjoy: certain mobile suits, openings, characters, etc. Even so, it’s a lot more consistent than lesser efforts like IGLOO and ZZ - I would like to think that the silver linings it carries make it worth a try.

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Feb 20, 2023

ThatAnimeSnobRE

Not Recommended

Historically-speaking, this is the second spin-off (alternative universe) of the ever-expanding Gundam franchise. Despite trying to stay close to the premise of the original, it also added elements of other genres that didn’t mesh very well and turned it into just another superficial, shounen mecha show.

ART & SOUND SECTIONS: 6/10
Typical. TOO typical. The character and mecha designs, as well as the action scenes were not better than an average mecha show. Same thing for the music themes and the character voices. Gundam was always about pushing the limit when it comes to animation. This will not only disappoint fans of the original, it will also ... leave mecha fans in general indifferent about it.

STORY & CHARACTER SECTIONS: 5/10

Gundam is essentially a sci-fi war drama and this series has the same premise. In this timeline, the One-Year-War ends with all space colonies dropping on Earth, instead of surrendering. The result was an apocalyptic event that destroyed almost everything. 15 years later, the remaining humans try to rebuild the wastelands of the surface, only to find many are still using Mobile Suits for profit, while others begin another war for the survival of the fittest race. The protagonist is a young mercenary who is paid to protect a powerful Newtype girl, which possesses the ability to boost a mecha’s psionic capacities. The two enter a Gundam by accident (like in all Gundam series!), team up with a crew of vigilantes and are trapped between the war of Oldtypes vs Newtypes, for the control of the future.

Like in the original Gundam’s normal themes, there is:
- A conflict between the normal Homo-sapiens/Oldtypes and the new Psycics/Newtypes
- Angst before the tragedy of war
- Sorrow for the dead over the struggle for control of the world’s natural resources and the future

Unlike in the original, there is:
- The presence of a kind, magical, beautiful girl with a tragic past that gives the story a supernatural/messiah theme
- More focus on new bigger/better guns that make the story more action-based
- Less focus on character and scenario development, making the series more shallow

The story is very simple, with slow development and almost no plot twists. The characters act too typical and frankly they do not deserve to be remembered about anything they did or said. The ending was also poor, as the scriptwriters gave us a stupid moral message through a metaphysical entity, saying, “There is no difference between Oldtypes and Newtypes”. What is this, a fairy tale with a God-From-A-Machine conclusion? As if everybody else was too stupid to realize something that simple by himself. Not to mention that the bad guys in the story where just two siblings that wanted to kill everyone and were beaten in just 5 seconds. Furthermore the show’s sponsors decided to change the time slot and cut it from 50 episodes to 40, so it had a rushed conclusion which made it look even worse than it already was. To sum it up, there is little story, unmemorable characters and a simple ending. Not suitable for a Gundam series which is supposed to be far more than that.

VALUE & ENJOYMENT SECTIONS: 1/10
If it wasn’t for the name and the basic design of the Gundam in this series, I doubt anyone would care to even try it out. It is just another average-to-bad series that tries to sell by using a renowned title.

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Poll: After War Gundam X Episode 39 Discussion DonKangolJones - Sep 5, 2009	49 replies	by KWabbit »» Apr 30, 3:08 PM
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Ran, Garrod

Neate, Jamil

Adill, Tiffa

Sou, Witz

Frost, Shagia

Frost, Olba

El, Ennil

Sys, Pala

Roy, Roybea

Langraph, Duett

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Synopsis

Background

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Ending Theme

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