Kidou Shinseiki Gundam X

The first episode starts by showing the main character in action. A bad guy is attacking a small village. Garrod Ran is down below, on the ground. Yet, he somehow manages to steal the bad guy's mobile suit! That's incredible! Here I am, thinking this is going to be Heero 2.0 . However, it soon turns out he isn't that much of a badass, and throughout much of the series, even with a Gundam, he gets his ass kicked most of the time.

Fortunately he joins up with a team of freelancers. This team is led by captain Jamil Neat, using an amphibious ship called the ... 'Frieden'. Captain Jamil Neat hides his eyes under his sunglasses... and he also hides his past during most of the show. He is probably the character I liked the most. His team contains a number of interesting side-characters.

The characters definitely showed a good amount of progress... Garrod Ran matures, and improves as a mobile suit fighter.

The show felt a bit too slow at first. It simply took too much time for anything to happen. After a while, the show gets up to a normal velocity. From about episode 30 onward, everything starts getting rushed. New characters, and new information gets introduced at a startling speed compared to earlier episodes. Honestly, because of this, I'd say that the middle part of this show, is where it's at its best. For resolving the conflict between both opposing parties at the end, they pulled a bit of a 'deux-ex-machina', in my opinion.

A big problem this show has, is a lack of credible villains. They just don't make any sense. Let's look at the main antagonists throughout the show: the Frost brothers.

The army didn't care a whole lot for them because their special abilities weren't good enough. This is the reason they want to start up A WHOLE NEW WAR in a time of peace. Guys, this doesn't make any sense!!! For some reason they decide to pick on Garrod Ran. They keep attacking him out of nowhere. Whether he's minding his own business, or helping someone, they pop up out of thin air. At one point Garrod defeats one of the brothers, only to make them even more persistent in annoying the shit out of him!

Garrod usually gets pulverized by them in fights, and each time he gets saved by his friends, the Frost brothers simply take off. AND NOBODY DARES TO STOP THEM ESCAPING!!! This does get old pretty fast though. You can compare them to Team Rocket in that respect.

The relationship between Garrod and Tifa follows the pacing of the show. Way too slow at first, then moving along at a reasonable pace, but they rushed it towards the end. However, mostly during the show, they're both too shy and embarrassed to make a move. Don't get your expectations up too much though, there doesn't happen that much.

And yet, even though it has some flaws, I did enjoy it a lot. I have a hard time giving more objective reasons for why though. One reason might be, is that the characters simply feel very human. This is quite refreshing compared to other series. If you like watching Gundam-series, I'd recommend this to you.

This show is a rarity for Gundam anime: It's probably the one show aside from G-Saviour that Sunrise absolutely wanted people to never find out about, at least until the Super Robot Wars series re-introduced the mecha from this show.

Why? Well, after 2 underperforming cours, their sole broadcaster essentially ordered the production to commit seppuku. I wish I were joking. Not only were they told to cut the show by 10-11 episodes (forcing the story to become a mad dash at the end), their time slot was moved to 5 AM on a Saturday. I bet they never bothered to update fans (since the Web ... was just starting in Japan, and late-night viewing/recording of anime wasn't really a thing until the year after), and I bet a lot of fans at the time thought the series was cancelled at episode 24. Think about that. Not only are you asked to slash a labor of love by about one-third its remaining life, you are asked to perform to an empty house for the rest of the broadcast. I can't imagine what the writer and the rest of the production must've thought as they were compelled to do this.

This is a show that takes its time with plot and characters (until studio demands otherwise). Once you get to the third arc in episode 10, the characters are now one team, and you start to see some chemistry. By episode 20, even one of the recurring villains starts on the path to redemption. While there are some places where the animation cut corners (a few frames of the new Divider look very hastily drawn), when the moment really counts (stealing the Double X, the captain and pilots getting their mechs back), the action is fantastic.

The soundtrack is one of the gems of the production. While other Gundam shows might feature epic themes for the hero mobile suit (AGE-FX theme on infinite repeat, anyone? Freedom Gundam?), the composer here writes themes that exude atmosphere (fun fact: he knew the legendary Dr. Osamu Tezuka of Astro Boy fame). Using little-known techniques like tapping the wood of the bows on stringed instruments (col legno), the soundtrack can create the tension of ambush, or by utilizing dissonant horns, it can induce the dread of facing a powerful adversary. While it was only used in the latter part of the show (the colony arc and afterward), there was a track that screamed "space conflict" through the use of vocals and violins, culminating in a climactic riff led by the trumpet section. Even though the show itself was doomed to a quick end, the music was never compromised. There are, however, two tracks that didn't make it to the OST for some reason: one featuring pizzicato like part of a famous Tchaikovsky symphony (played once in episode 20), the other much more folksy and featuring a lute-like instrument (played once in episode 35 or 36). This guy, like any great orchestral composer (think John Williams or James Horner), is a master of every section of the orchestra.

If Two-Mix was probably the best thing to happen to Gundam in the 90s, I say Romantic Mode is the second-best. The first opening theme to most Gundam shows never really grabs me for some reason, and Dreams was no exception. The second theme, though, was what ultimately drew me in. Human Touch is one of the extremely rare English songs in anime, and it's fantastic... but then they had to make a crappy cover in Japanese. #YouHadOneJob

So why am I giving it an 8? It's not the abrupt episode cut and change of time slot, although those inevitably affected production quality. The animation is inconsistent at times-- one shot, the Gundams look fantastic, the next, they look like someone quickly sketched a small frame and had the photographer zoom in (the worst example is episode... 11?). I'm thinking, Evangelion and its highly-regarded visuals had aired a year prior to this, so GX didn't look nearly as good in comparison. Secondly, while they were some of the best-directed villains in all of anime, the writing for the Frost brothers wasn't nearly as well-developed as the rest of the regular cast. This could be attributed to the mad dash late in the production, so their backstory had to have been severely cut. Their cold-blooded actions throughout the show made me think "Oh, their story's gotta be good", and when episode 38 rolls around, I was like, "... Srsly? That's it?? Oh, they so deserve that beating..." I gotta say, fansubbing the hero's lines there was therapeutic. Their dialogue was also dreadfully repetitive; the voice actor for the younger brother became sick of saying "Nii-san", and this show predates imouto moe shows.

Even cut short, the production staff made the most of a terrible situation, I think. Despite dated visuals and static villains, the soundtrack is outstanding, the Gundams aren't ridiculously overpowered (well, all right, the villains' Gundams are), and the sole screenwriter made sure that there was solid themes and narratives (kinda like a slightly less epic version of J. Michael Straczynski). If anything, it's a post-apocalyptic space opera with giant robots, and it's definitely better than G Gundam, in my opinion.

I'm half-way through Gundam X and I'm still working out my thoughts on it. Reading through the reviews on MAL, it's got a pretty good reputation - one that kind of amazes me. I've always been a fan of the alternate Gundam universes, Wing and G being my personal faves. Knowing that, I was really hoping to find another gem in X.

I'm not quite sure whether I have or not.

The concept is great. Whereas the other AUGundams are re-inventions or re-interpretations of the Gundam idea, Gundam X actually spins out of the set-up from the original MSG. Having that background familiarity, and having that background ... to build off of, its pretty cool and should open up a lot of doors for story-telling.
Instead, we get lack-luster characters; a slow, drawn out plot, and sub-par animation.

To be fair, the main character - Garrod Ran, a rambunctious young scavenger - is the best written character in the show. His core personality remains much the same throughout, but he does slowly grow. Going from a loner to someone who can work with a team, someone who can trust in his skills, someone who is willing to fight for what he believes in, but not at the cost of his soul.
That said, the rest of the cast has little background and less personality. Much of the staff of the Freiden, the main location for the series as well as their transportation, are little more than place-holders. The other pair of Gundam pilots have a lot of potential at the start of the show - after all, unlike Garrod, they've had their Gundams for some time and as such, should have a more complex and interesting history. However, in the space of 20 episodes, we only get one based around them - and even then they share the episode. I'm not saying that episode was bad, it's just a shame that it's ONLY one episode.
The main female of the show - and Garrod's love interest, Tifa Adill, is an Ayanami Rei; quiet, withdrawn, and perpetually alone. This works at the opening of the show, as she's a Newtype and as such, she has mental powers that - in a post-apocalyptic landscape of murder and pain - would cause her to pull away from people. But once again, 20 episodes in and we're only just NOW beginning to see her open up. TWENTY EPISODES. That's more time than most anime get to tell their WHOLE STORY and it just seems like a drawn-out waste.

Despite my complaints, the show isn't all bad. In fact, the thing I love the most is the exploration of what it means to be a Newtype. A staple of the UC Gundam's, Newtypes are generally just low-level psychics, able to lightly scan minds and anticipate events. Here the depths and varieties of their powers are explored - Newtype brothers, Newtype enemies, strange and interesting concepts. After the show got the rather obligatory and standard ideas out of the way they've started to stretch their feet and that I'm loving.

I've been trying to keep an open mind as 1) this is a Gundam and I love me some Gundams and 2) it's an AUGundam, which means a lot more freedom for story-telling. So far it hasn't been bad, but it HAS been drawn-out, lacking in depth, and only just barely touching upon innovation. I've still got another half of the show to go, but so far Gundam X is nothing special.

Spoiler free

After War Gundam X fits into a strange category of being separate from the Universal Century timeline, yet it's told in a way that mainly appeals to fans of it. I guess in that regard, its similar to Turn A Gundam. Both Turn A and Gundam X are essentially alternate universe conclusions to many of the prior anime in the franchise. In my opinion, Gundam X is slightly more accessible to new viewers whereas watching Turn A wouldn't make a whole lot of sense considering most view it as development of it's original creator and not just a standalone story. The only thing you ... really need to know about Gundam in order to understand X is what Newtypes are, and that's a very simple explanation. Newtypes, are humans born in outer space with an extra sense that gives them psychic abilities. Depending on what series you watch, Newtypes could be symbolic of the empathy and unity required for the advancement of our species, or just crazy powers that can sometimes make mechs go ultra instinct. Personally, I'm a fan of the symbolism, but when it starts to expend beyond clairvoyance, ya lose me, the mechs are already enough. Thankfully, Gundam X features one of the best implementations of Newtypes I've seen, so it wasn't a deterrent for me. Now that you know about Newtypes, lets move onto the story. The setting of Gundam X is easily one of my favorites from the entire franchise. It takes place in a UC alternate universe where the war took a catastrophic turn as numerous space colonies crashed down to earth, extinguishing 10 billion lives. 15 years later, new cities have been built and humanity is beginning to thrive once again. Although the war is over, life isn't without its struggles thanks to raiders pillaging their towns using scavenged mobile suits. Think of Gundam X as Mad Max with mechs because you have raiders or vagabonds behind the wheel of massive armored vehicles going to war with each other over discarded military equipment. The story follows Garrod a 15 year old boy who lived most of his life fending for himself and thought his years he's honed the skills necessary to survive. Basically speaking, he's a badass who can walk right up to your mobile suit and kick you out of its cockpit. Though Garrod has the experience to make money piloting mobile suits, he prefers to sell them and live a quiet, solitary life. One day, Garrod's lonesome existence is turned upside down by a mission to rescue a young girl, Tiffa from her kidnappers. As the plot thickens, he discovers that his contractor is the real villain and the supposed kidnappers were the ones who actually saved her. This event becomes the catalyst that throws the story into motion as Garrod reluctantly joins the Freeden, a hover vessel filled with scavengers commanded by the infamous war hero, Jamil. Jamil's goal is to travel the world freeing Newtypes who're enslaved or manipulated for their powers as well as extinguish any remaining embers of the past war. I appreciated the variety of the antagonists in Gundam X because it displayed a believable post war, apocalyptic environment. Some fought for profit, some for survival, and others, simply because ending the war didn't end the mentality that created it in the first place. There's always the risk of starting new wars for old reasons. Each era of Gundam anime is slightly different from the last. In the 80s, Gundam was an abysmal look into the horrors of war. They developed their characters well, then had them brutally murdered leaving the survivors with traumatic scars that will never heal. In the 90's the mainline series shifted its gaze away for cool mechs and exciting battles to became the main focal point. Gundam X is kinda like the best of both worlds because it shares much of the same creative talent as Gundam Wing, so the mechs are awesome and the battles are exciting. It also manages to incorporate one of the more palatable anti-war themes the franchise has to offer. I know war is bad, everyone knows it, but sometimes it feels like the morals in Gundam outweigh the viewer experience, and it becomes emotionally exhaustive. Gundam X on the other hand takes a much more balanced approach to war by primarily displaying how our differences are superficial and can sometimes be set aside for the sake of peace. This is a crucial element for plot progression because some of the antagonists eventually become allies. Which ones? I won't show or tell, because that's a spoiler. What I will say is that some of these baddies get great development, and can really win you over. However, we aren't so lucky to have all of the antagonist be so dynamic, some of them are sadly one dimensional cartoon villains. Despite some of its annoying villains, I think Gundam X makes up for it by having so many likable characters who actually receive development. I'd consider many of the characters and their interactions with each other to be in my top 20 of the franchise. I thought Garrod had an interesting backstory of growing up alone in this post apocalyptic world. This negatively impacted his interactions with the freeden crew, because he's used to being a lone wolf and teamwork isn't in his wheelhouse. The growing love between Garrod and Tiffa was also enjoyable as it was innocent and heartwarming. Jamil is basically their version of Armuro Rey who took an incredibly dark turn. Although it sounds like he should be the powerhouse who negates any threat, he struggles to pilot a mobile suit due to his debilitating PTSD. I also enjoyed Sou and Roy, two mercenaries hired by Jamil. They appear to be pretty bland at first due to their guarded personalities, but they really open up in the second half and actually become my two favorite characters. Gundam X equally develops like 10 characters, and in the end, I liked them all, even though I initially disliked half of them. I'd argue that Gundam X tried to develop far too many characters, in doing so it sacrificed the character depth that could have otherwise been achieved. I like the direction they took, but there's not a single character that I thought couldn't be developed more. Aesthetically speaking, Gundam X clearly falls in line with the other 50 episode Gundam anime from the 90s. I mostly compare it to Gundam Wing considering it was created months later and shared many of it's creative talents such as mech designers, character designer, and animation directors. I loved how they integrated mech designs from previous anime with a twist. It's easy to see how some mobile suits were heavily inspired by Zaku, Qubeley, or various mobile suits from Gundam Wing. I really appreciated the level of creativity featured in these mobile suits. It's just a shame that the series isnt long enough for them to all be appreciated. The GX-9901 has a unique feature because it's one of the few Gundams equipped with a weapon of mass destruction. It's got these solar pannel looking things on it's back that unfold to collect radiation that's beamed down to earth from the moon. It basically just deletes everything in its path. I thought this was pretty cool, but it's kinda conflicting when a show features such strong anti-war themes, but the protagonist evaporates hundreds of people with the press of a button, but I guess that's the cost of war, you cant make friends with everyone. The animation is also what you'd expect for a 90's Gundam, but in my opinion it's much better than Wing because it didn't re-use footage as often. At most they recycled some attack animations. Although the battles weren't as intense or gritty as 08th MS Team, I don't hold that against it because I see them both as being two different brands of Gundam and two different tiers of production quality. Gundam X is more about fast paced action, lots of explosions, and mobile suits flying around and cutting each other in half. Typically in Gundam anime, mobile suits get 1 upgrade and that's it. Gundam X utilizes it's post apocalyptic setting by incrementally upgrading it's mobile suits which added a nice touch considering all the spare parts they must have lying around on a salvage ship. I felt this was another factor in keeping the fights feeling fresh. The main problem I have with Gundam X is that it's a little too ambitious and it's structured in a way that risks representing good ideas poorly which turn people off before they understand what they're even watching. After watching 08th MS Team last week, I wanted to drop Gundam X around 10 episodes in. Of course I finished it, but I wasnt that impressed. After a day of letting the anime sink in, I realized that I misunderstood it, and didnt give it a fair chance, so I started over and enjoyed it much more my second time around. I believe my initial dissatisfaction was not a unique experience. Even the Japanese lost interest which caused it to be cut short by 11 episodes. Although it has a pretty good ending, it's easy to see the pacing is ramped up during the final arc. I believe if it had better written villains and more thorough planning then they would have enticed more people to see it through to the end. My initial impressions were that the series was nothing but a bunch of bland characters and rescue missions. Afterall, Tifa gets kidnapped like 6 times. Although the plot progression and a few shallow villains are undeniable shortcomings, The character development becomes a casualty because the aforementioned flaws tend to eat away at your patience, resulting in overlooking the development that's already there. Many had a similar problem with Cowboy Bebop because it also uses a slow, but gradual characterization method. The difference is that Bebop has a much more exciting and diverse plot with fewer long long term characters that featured a staggered introduction. Gundam X on the other hand dumps most of it's characters in your lap in the first few episodes and uses a development format similar painting a wall, one evenly distributed microscopic layer every few hours. Due to this, it's easy to confuse its abundance of slowly developing characters with boring characters. I remember the exact moment when I realized that the cast was more complex than I had given them credit for, that was episode 15 which is devoted to Roy and Sou. Up until this point, I thought they were just background characters. However, they're just hired mercenaries in a post apocalyptic world. Why would they trust their employers enough to open up? Episode 15 focuses on them away from the Freeden, when they can truly become their self and it's easily my favorite episode in the anime. I can't blame people for dropping Gundam X after 10 episodes, and especially for not wanting to rewatch an anime they didn't like. All I can do is properly set your expectations so that you can appreciate the anime for what it is. I think if you set your expectations at the level of other 90s Gundam TV series like G-Gundam, Wing, and even Turn A, then you'll be impressed. Overall, After War Gundam X is an uncut gem that I'd love to see remade as a much longer anime. It's a slow burn that's not going to be for everyone, but if you're patient and open minded enough, then I think it's a great experience especially if you're a fan of Gundam Wing or Universal Century. I give Gundam X an 8/10. This is just the script from my youtube review. Hope you found it helpful

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.

I first had the chance of watching Gundam X back when local TV networks were capitalizing on the anime resurgence back in the very early 2000s. The first anime series that were shown back in the 70s were Mazinger Z, Voltes V and Daimos -- all super robot shows. With the premiere of Gundam Wing on local TV, I was introduced to the real robot mecha genre. Now Gundam Wing and G Gundam were immensely popular, the former for being the first taste of mecha in the country and with solid robot designs to boot (my first GunPla was a no grade Deathscythe); the latter, ... for having incredibly fun fights ala shounen that were airing around the same time (Yu Yu Hakusho, Dragon Ball Z) and harking back to super robot which, I'm guessing, people here have a spot for.

Enter Gundam X which was the third Gundam series to premiere and sadly, I was not able to finish as a kid due to reasons I have forgotten now. All I remember was that the main team was composed of three pilots instead of the accustomed five in Wing and G and that the Satellite canon was destructive as hell. I'm glad that I recently went back to watching Gundam as I have recently come back to GunPla as a hobby.

Story - 8
Gundam X's story and setting were refreshing. People talk about its "what-if" aspect and how similar it is to the UC entries. I liked the Mad Max-esque world building they set up in the first half with the Vultures' adventures in post colony drop earth. There is some lull in the middle with the Ennil El arc, newtype dolphins and enemy mobile suit of the week parts but nothing so jarring as to make you want to drop the show altogether. Towards the end, it does feel rushed as the show was cancelled/ordered to be shortened but the series does end on a high note, a quick one if you may, but it absolutely does not end badly. In the end, the show wants to deconstruct what being a newtype means and if labels we associate with the unknown are just illusions. I liked that very much.

Art - 8
The lack of stock footage was a major plus especially after seeing SEED's shameful application of it. The way the mobile suits moved was not akin to the speed with which some other Gundam shows had e.g. Wing Zero, Heavy Arms jumping around. I would say the fighting was more grounded and similar to UC style which is why the animation was fitting. Character designs were simple but by no means simplistic and there were only a few instances of inconsistencies in the way the characters' faces were drawn. As for the Gundams and mobile suits, the art was solid but not masterful.

Sound - 9
Stock Gundam sounds are present which is a good thing. OST and background tracks were actually pretty good especially towards the end with the Garrod-Tiffa romantic scenes. But what really shines for me is the two Openings ("Dreams" and "Resolutions"). Amazing tracks and they had you hyped up to watch the rest of the episodes. Really, the only thing keeping me from giving sound a perfect score is the Ending songs which feature a soulful ballad which I understand was to reflect Garrod and Tiffa's relationship but I just found myself not listening to it after hearing them the first time.

Character - 10
This is where X really excels and I find some characters to be the most memorable in all of Gundam. Aside from Garrod and Tiffa, Jamil, Roabea, Witz, Shagia, Ennil, Caris and even Lancecrow all had good setups of their backgrounds, motivations and goals. Just excellent character development and dialogue all around and despite Garrod repeatedly bumbling around with his Gundam, you can't help but root for the kid as he fights for Tiffa. At first, I wondered why the Double X's incredibly devastating twin Satellite cannons were so underused but then I remembered Garrod wasn't a trigger happy lunatic who wanted to destroy entire countries because he felt like it. Ultimately, he uses it to protect Tiffa which is the core of his character. Jamil is also the best captain in the franchise for me.

In summary, Gundam X is a very solid Alternate Universe Gundam show with stellar characters and good and well-executed narrative that has something different to offer amidst all that's been said about newtypes in the UC timeline. It may not have the iconic designs of Wing or SEED or the high octane fighting 00 or IBO have but I think X's message is one of the most profound and illuminating I have yet to experience in AU titles.

Story: 4/10
It is clearly a plot built from basic premises (everything revolves around Tiffa and, unlike Wing, which had context and motivations, here it is more focused on battles) and expanding in a more or less free way and with objectives simple-minded, when they exist (they know characters, the protagonist's journey of self-discovery and, several times, rescuing the young lady), which can hinder coherence, giving the impression that events are disconnected and take away the sense of where they want to get to and, when they try to give a north, they get lost, with a poorly conceived political plot and bad ending, which makes ... no sense of what they did and exposes a typical problem of the franchise, which are futile battles and without much sense.

Art 6/10
Character Design is competent and the animation, although average by the standards of the Sunrise itself, manages to maintain some consistency.

Sound 4/10
Disregarding the main themes, which are very good (although I didn't really like the idea of ​​a TV version and a full version for the endings, where the first one ends up being superior), the soundtrack is weak and discreet, where, depending on the theme, ends up being generic and sometimes poorly inserted in the scenes.

Characters 6/10
In general, they are average, with charisma not being a strong point; the problem really lies in the dense protagonist (for much of the story) and silly actions on several occasions (where not all of them can be attributed to immaturity) and Team Rocket style villains, that smile all the time but when the situation gets complicated they they always flee, in addition to weak and questionable motivation - in short, poorly conceived.

Enjoyment 4/10
Most of the episodes are not at all memorable, being, at times, dragged, whose battles are not so exciting, where the light romance may motivate a little but does not compensate for the problems of direction. They tried to fix this in the end, but it didn't work out very well.

Overall 4/10
I am surprised by the popularity and high rating of Gundam X in MAL, wondering if I watched a different anime, but from my experience, the fact that it was canceled ends up not being a surprise (which cannot be compared with the Original Gundam, which, in particular, is superior to this anime, otherwise it would not have won 4 episodes or even the recap films) and it would not be strange if Sunrise itself reneged on it, since the series has been somewhat forgotten over the years. In summary, I do not recommend.

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História 4/10
É claramente um enredo construído a partir de premissas básicas (tudo gira em torno da Tiffa e, diferente do Wing, que possuía contexto e motivações, aqui é mais focado nas batalhas mesmo) e se expandindo de uma forma mais ou menos livre e com objetivos simplórios, quando existem (conhecem personagens, jornada de autodescoberta do protagonista e, em diversas vezes, resgatando a mocinha), o que pode atrapalhar a coerência, dando a impressão que os eventos são desconectados e tira um pouco o sentido da onde eles querem chegar e, quando eles tentam dar um norte, eles se perdem, com uma trama política mal concebida e final ruim, que tira todo o sentido do que eles fizeram e expõe um problema típico da franquia, que são as batalhas bestas e fúteis, sem grande sentido.

Arte 6/10
O Character Design é competente e a animação, embora mediana para os padrões da própria Sunrise da época, consegue manter alguma consistência.

Som 4/10
Desconsiderando os temas principais, que são muito bons (embora não tenha gostado muito da ideia de uma versão para TV e outra completa para os encerramentos, onde os primeiro acaba sendo superior), a trilha sonora é fraca e discreta, onde, dependendo do tema, acaba sendo genérica e por vezes mal inserida nas cenas.

Personagens 6/10
No geral, são medianos, com o carisma não sendo um ponto forte; o problema reside mesmo no protagonista denso (durante boa parte da história) e de ações tolas em diversas ocasiões (onde nem todas podem ser atribuídas à imaturidade) e nos vilões padrão Equipe Rocket, que sorriem o tempo todo mas quando a situação se complica eles sempre fogem, além de motivação fraca e questionável - em resumo, mal concebidos.

Aproveitamento 4/10
A maioria dos episódios não são nenhum pouco memoráveis, sendo, por vezes, arrastados, cujas batalhas não empolgam tanto, onde o leve romance até pode motivar um pouco mas não compensa os problemas de direção. Tentaram consertar isto no final, mas não deu muito certo.

Conclusão 4/10
Fico surpreso com a popularidade e a alta nota do Gundam X no MAL, me perguntando se eu assisti um anime diferente, mas, pela minha experiência, o fato de ter sido cancelado acaba não sendo uma surpresa (o que não pode ser comparado com o Gundam original, que, particularmente, é superior a este anime, senão não teria ganhado 4 episódios e nem os filmes recap) e não estranharia se a própria Sunrise o renegasse, já que a série ficou meio esquecida ao longo dos anos. Em resumo, não recomendo.

Postapocalyptic Gundam is such a neat idea that alone gives it extra points for me. Mix that with a protagonist with as much balls as Garrod Rand and a mobile suit design as cool as the Gundam X and you've got yourself one hell of a series. After almost 2 decades of Gundam, Garrod is an incredibly refreshing lead character. He's not the kind of protagonist to worry much about what needs to be done. He doesn't balk about being put in the pilot's seat, or worry about killing in self defense. Garrod arguably has one of the highest bodycounts in the series, but he's ... not a killer, he only does what needs to be done, the result of him growing up in a post-apocalyptic mad-max world.
The moral quandary that's a staple of every good Gundam is still here, though it isn't as much about peace through understanding as most other ones. Here, the moral theme is more about what level of overwhelming force is justified to break an enemy's fighting spirit. Asking the same question that sparked the bombing of Nagasaki, only in context of a Gundam who's main weapon is an unstoppable nuke-level laser able to level mountains, Garrod's main issue is determining what level of collateral damage is justified in ending a single enemy, and that in itself is an interesting take on modern war.
Pulling off pretty much THE Renton/Eureka relationship 9 years before E7 came out, Gundam X's supporting cast of characters, while not as strong as other installments in the series, the main 3 characters, Garrod, Jamil and Tiffa, are all really well done.
However, as much as I do love it, Gundam X isn't without deep flaws. Much like its progenitor, X was cancelled right as it was leading up to the final arc, resulting in a rather rushed ending, with unremarkable villains and a final conflict much less satisfying than it seemed to be leading up to.
However, despite the issues, X still holds a very special place in my heart. Garrod, the harmonica (which shoots lasers), the Double X, and Jamil are all enough to push X into the topmost tier of Gundam installments.

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.

After War Gundam X is definitely worth a watch, there some genuinely really cool shots done in this anime that make you go wow. The story is pretty consistent overall, however there is a segment of "Mecha of the Week" for like 3~4 episodes which annoyed me as the show had been going great until then. The ending is heavily rushed and makes me wonder how amazing After War Gundam X could've been if it hadn't been cut short.

Inspite of all that, the relationship between Garrod and Tiffa, all the side characters get decent amount of screentime and characterisation (Roy kinda gets the short end ... of the stick at the end of series IMO) and the narrative is strong and interesting enough to push you through the 39 episodes.

Give it a fair chance, and you'll be surprised how well this 1996 anime still holds up in some regards.

This is a decent show. I'm just not sure why it exists. In the 90s, Sunrise tried to diversify the Gundam franchise away from the Universal Century continuity. G was a martial arts adventure. Wing gave its pilots more agency and focused on school life and the aristocracy as much as war. Turn A turned mobile suits into lost technology and dropped them into a pseudo-19th-Century setting. In that vein, Gundam X is ostensibly a post-apocalyptic story, which you think would open up opportunities for a different type of story. The problem is it doesn't take advantage of them.

The first few episodes are promising. Cocky ... teenager Garrod gets his hands on a Gundam and looks like he's going to make it his personal toy. A boy and his Gundam alone vs the world would have been something different for the franchise. It doesn't last though. All too quickly, Garrod gets press-ganged by the grumpy captain of a ship that's basically White Base with the serial number filed off. He's Bright-slapped until he falls in line, chafes at authority and rebels occasionally, but generally follows orders and gets crammed into the typical role of all the early UC Gundam pilots. The ship isn't part of a formal military though, and the writers can't seem to figure out what to do with it instead. They just float around the world getting into scraps with bandits, local warlords and army remnants in a manner that's functionally identical to any UC Gundam show.

Individual episodes are generally fine, except for the dumb one with the dolphin newtype. It just feels like business-as-usual Gundam though, which isn't what these alternate continuity shows were meant to be about.

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.