Do the WANT to kill Gundam? :/

you complain about kids beong protaganists but want gundam to go back to its roots... how do you do that whilst not making it abput the rebellious nature of youth?

And here I thought this wasn't popular enough to attract any grifters. But what do you know it's the same guy that was making 8 threads a day about WfM. And what do you know Roberts here to fan the flames of the culture war narrative yet again, acting as a "neutral" third party, to get guys like the ones above me to think that whining about a series having a female protagonist is somehow a sane thing to complain about. It gives me immense pleasure to know that the people whose free time is entirely consumed by calling people tourists, haven't even the barest understanding of the messages of the original. But I don't even have to look at the profiles of half the people on this thread to see, that these people supposedly gatekeeping a 40 year old franchise like their masculinity depends on the sales of the plastic kits; haven't even watched the original series, at best they've probably seen the movie trilogy version, say its bad and then claim that Unicorns the best thing ever made. But no, go blame imaginary queer teenagers, women with dyed hair (who you might also imagine as being oveweight) while you go make your sad sigma male Char videos for fifteen views.

Its so over for media literacy that it's not even funny. What do any of you people think the dark parts of any Gundam series are there for, Tomino's writing in particular has always been soap opera drama, why does this character die? because we needed to keep the show from getting axed, nobody cares for love and understanding, so you need to put your moral teachings at the end so that the warmachine toys sell better. "Boo Hoo, all I care about are dark stories about sweaty men getting it on with each other in a non gay way". "The only way I can ever find women tolerable nevertheless attractive is when they're in a relationship with a character or even feign interest in a character I have an unhealthily sexual attachment to". Has it ever come across any of these culture warriors heads, that the series has had a target audience of teenagers to young adults for the past forty years. Before acting all high and mighty about those you deem sociallly lesser than yourself being in the limeligh, how about you look in the mirror and stop playing with childrens toys. I myself have undying love for this franchise, it holds a place near and dear to me, but it sure is hard to talk about it with anyone because online discourse has become infatuated with a bunch of manchildren. Any person nowadays think that just because they can get their two cents in their worth a damn. Half of these people are willingly disingenuous and the other half are just too uneducated to understand, that the other guys are just trying to sell them stupid ex Star Wars theory channel youtuber merch.

Yeah the series is about war but more importantly might you have even a modicum of an idea what war itself is about? Human conflict, now who is to say that this human conflict can't be explored in say a high school setting, which as other people have pointed out was done in Witch from Mercury. Petty aesthetics will always triumph over meaning. Hell most of the people complaining about WfM were so enamored with Guel that they made accounts to inflate the number of favorites the character had, and in spite of having a problem with the setting, would have been perfectly happy had he been the protagonist, and if he had ended up with the protagonist.

Everyone on this websites forums is either lethargic, or trying to sell snake oil, its hard to count who on this website is worth talking to, but what do you know, most of those people get constantly harassed for having "wrong opinions". I just hope, so sincerely hope that those two main characters are gay, so that you people can go have an existential crisis, or at the very least have something new to hate other than yourselves. Cause I can't even begin to imagine how miserable I'd have to be to go argue that people can't ship two female or male characters (or even like media featuring two character of the same sex in a relationship) because class S is some sort of peak of Japanese culture every four months and men loving in each other in a romantic way is threatening to me. Yay Platonic love, there's never enough of that in media unless we
re speaking of a relationship between a man and a woman, "because I can only have deep meaningful relationships with other men, and it's threatening when people imply I might be gay, and I don't actually form meaningful relationships with women, but who am I actually kidding, I've never had a relationship with a woman so all I do is post on Myanimelist forums everyday, looking for things to whine about". you know what I just dislike Platon as a philosophist on so many levels. I'm glad Diogenes burned him so hard with the featherless bipedal thing.

I'm not going to go into painstaking examples of hypocritical statements made, which can easily be countered by examples referencing past shows. Because I'm sure that no one mad about any of this actually cares about what happened in Turn A Gundam or any show made in between Gundam 79 and Seed. It's so utterly baffling to see the poster above say that you needn't worry about forced high school drama when this is like the holy trio of adolescence angst from the 90's, with Tsurumaki, Enokido and Anno on board. You know what I'll just say it out loud NewestPersonHere I just don't like you. You'll probably come around to seeing this even if I don't quote you. Nothing personal.

There was no controversy regarding WfM, outside of your echo chamber original poster and main agitator, Bobert, and no matter how neutral you'd like to seem, people would have to be stupid not to notice that you have a personal vendetta regarding the series, you probably have me blocked but, I'm sure one of those flies that gather around you will probably buzz in your ear, seeing as how you were so committed to calling me some kind of Gatekeeper while Gundam Witch from Mercury was airing. You know there's really no reason for me to entertain those addicted to attention but this isn't even about op.

Edit; I guess It's always been about moral superiority to you though Robert, I'm sure that's why you're making that arranged marriage argument, whose twitter post did you get that one from.

I haven't watched the OG Gundam, but I've been doing research. I think this "What if" scenario is a great idea. It bridges the gap between nostalgia for older fans of the series while bringing the series to a newer audience. I think it's best of both worlds. Growing your audience, while satisfying the more established base of the series. So far from what I've seen, they're being true to the OG series.

It's still early to tell how it will ultimately develop, but I have trust in this project, as there's alot of big names working on it (Predominately the team behind NGE/FLCL). It seems that the larger focus will be on this "Newtype resonance" phenomenon, something that goes back to the OG Gundam. My guess is that the NGE team, who's producing this anime, will probably tie in Gundam's "Newtype resonance" concept with the idea of "Instrumentality of Mankind" theme, since they worked with that before (NGE's "Human Instrumentality Project").

And on a more material topic, as others have pointed out, it's easier for marketing to involve a younger cast revolving around a female protagonist. While they do seem to be yuri teasing, it seems the main pairing will be Amate and Shuuji. In before we have an Asuka x Shinji type finale haha

@Kumiveneella

The only correct take here.


Also, I can see the irony of the creator of this whole topic having the avatar of one of the most pathetic and cringe character in Attack of Titan, a lobotomized yeagerist. It's so on point that I can't help it but laugh.
Truly par for the course.

Also, @MyllerPhiem you're absolutely entitled to dislike a Gundam, whichever it may be. But the fact you went "Do we want to kill gundam" then brought GWitch to the conversation when it was a super successful show that put Gundam on the map again in terms of sales and brought new fans to the franchise is irony on top of irony. Don't like it? Move on. The gays absolutely saved the franchise.
Just like the fujoshi did in the time when Gundam was cool (in you guy's perception) with Char and Amuro. Not even my words, but Tomino's.



So I think, if Tomino himself praised GWitch a lot and mentioned the homo-eroticism he purposely put in the UC then it seems to me, the one who hates and stands against Gundam is you.

Cry more lol.

Second episode down, and it was way worse than the first episode. Not looking like a series I'll enjoy, but I'll give it another episode.

@Kumiveneella

The only correct take here.


Also, I can see the irony of the creator of this whole topic having the avatar of one of the most pathetic and cringe character in Attack of Titan, a lobotomized yeagerist. It's so on point that I can't help it but laugh.
Truly par for the course.

Also, @MyllerPhiem you're absolutely entitled to dislike a Gundam, whichever it may be. But the fact you went "Do we want to kill gundam" then brought GWitch to the conversation when it was a super successful show that put Gundam on the map again in terms of sales and brought new fans to the franchise is irony on top of irony. Don't like it? Move on. The gays absolutely saved the franchise.
Just like the fujoshi did in the time when Gundam was cool (in you guy's perception) with Char and Amuro. Not even my words, but Tomino's.



So I think, if Tomino himself praised GWitch a lot and mentioned the homo-eroticism he purposely put in the UC then it seems to me, the one who hates and stands against Gundam is you.

Cry more lol.

Yes, because I've totally taken the time to go through the thousands upon thousands of series I've seen or read. I wish people would use their brain before typing, it would save the world a lot of hassle.

I concede that I dislike the majority of Gundam. Only the original series was any good.

The shift in tone with the newer Gundam shows is hard to ignore, especially when it comes to the protagonists. Characters like Amuro Ray and Kamille Bidan weren’t just teens; they were deeply human, relatable. They had flaws, they struggled, and their growth felt earned and grounded in the realities of war and trauma. That’s part of what made the original shows so impactful.

Meanwhile, a lot of the new Gundam leads come off more like archetypes than real people.. often overly "moe" or simplified for broader appeal. It’s not that younger or more stylized characters can’t work, but when the emotional depth and psychological nuance gets lost, so does a huge part of what made Gundam Gundam in the first place.

I’m all for the franchise evolving, but I do feel that there’s a certain emotional weight and psychological realism in the older series that just isn’t there anymore, and maybe that's just me.

That said, I’m still gonna watch and see how it goes. I’m keeping my expectations in check, but I’m hoping it surprises me.

@spacedos My brother in Christ, nothing about Kamille was relatable at the start of the show.

Dude was an angry brat that would attack anyone for making fun of his girly ass name, stole a MS and tried to kill people for the same reason.

Yeah I too so relate to a guy whose reaction to an asshole soldier is to kill them with a 30ton stolen mobile suit.

That's not a character flaw, that's "oh boy I hope he gets fucked fast". Whatever growth he has later doesnt change any of that.

By comparison Suletta and Miorine were far more relatable from the first episode just by being, relatively, normal kids that DONT TRY TO KILL a guy just because they were pissed at him for.....his friend/comrade being kinda of an asshole.

Machu still has a single episode for her character and we know mostly nothing about her. Which in my book is better than absolutely hating the MC for being a dumbass psychopath.

So lets not compare things that arent comparable like characters that have an entire show to develop with one that barely got introduced. Or characters that were absolutely hated in their introduction.

@ssjokg Not a brother, and not in Christ, but message received. x)

I totally get what you're saying about Kamille. He definitely didn’t come off as the most likable or “relatable” person at the very start. He was volatile and emotionally reactive brat, with wild choices and actions, no argument there. But weirdly enough, that’s exactly why he grew on me. A flawed teen in a messed up world, lashing out in ways that, while extreme, felt like a raw reaction to the environment he was thrust into. Over time, we saw how those flaws were challenged and developed; how the consequences of his actions shaped his growth.

He was rough around the edges, sure, but there was something raw and vulnerable under all that rage. Honestly, Kamille kind of triggers my motherly instinct 😅..like, I just want this emotionally damaged space child to be okay lol

But jokes aside, I think what I appreciated about characters like Kamille (and Amuro too) was that they weren’t clean cut heroes or instantly likable. They were flawed and messy in a way that felt very human, and the shows didn’t shy away from letting them grow through serious trauma and consequence. It made their arcs hit harder.

With some of the newer protagonists, they do feel more "put together" or easier to digest right out the gate, which can make them easier to like but less compelling in the long run (at least to me).

Take Amuro, for instance; he started out as a socially awkward, self-centred kid who didn’t even want to be involved in the war. He didn’t become a hero overnight. He panicked, ran away, broke down, and made a lot of selfish choices. But over time, you saw him mature, face the consequences of his actions, and carry the emotional weight of being a pilot in a real war. That progression felt powerful which is what made him so memorable to me.

Suletta, by contrast, starts off far more "put together" on the surface, she's awkward in a charming way, polite, and doesn’t seem to carry that same emotional baggage. Which makes her more likable right away, sure, but it also feels like she’s written to be more safe. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, just different. I think some of us are just missing that heavier, messier character journey.

That said, I get your point, it's still early for the new cast, and we shouldn’t rush to compare before they’ve had their full arc. I’m definitely still watching (enjoyed ep2 a lot!) and hoping they develop into something memorable.

I feel like you are over exaggerating the success of Suisei no Majo a bit. It was the first Gundam series in like 7 years, sales were going to increase regardless. Furthermore, Gundam sales were already increasing even before the anime aired (they had been going up YoY for a few years). The franchise wasn't "saved", nor did it need saving.
Not to mention the Gundam Seed movie made more money.

I'm not saying Suisei no Majo did bad or anything like that, I just frequently see arguments like yours claiming it "put Gundam back on the map" or whatever, when the IP was already seeing some of its best years before the anime aired.

1. Define "Proper Gundam"
2. Gundam heroes have always been kids often.

0/10 Coalpost :))))))))))))))))))

@Saku_k

It did do that though. The goal with GWitch, as stated in interviews with Okamoto, was to bring new people to the franchise because Gundam was seen as "an old men thing" by Japanese high schoolers. Hence the setting in the anime and it being a different kind of Gundam. It did exactly that and it was a major factor for the success of Bandai's 2023 Fiscal Year. If you can find Bandai Financial Statement from 2023, there's an english version where it mentions its success and Aerial being one of the (if not the most) profitable HG model kit they've released. I assume later on it was the same case for Calibarn but that's just me assuming things.

Iron Blood Orphans wasn't nearly as profitable or successful nor any of the most recent shows prior to GWitch. I suppose I can agree with you that 'saving' might be a bit much as I don't think the franchise needed saving, I was just trying to match the OP's exaggeration game, but it did put it back on the map.

It might not look like it in the west but in Japan GWitch was wildly popular, to a point that not even Bandai was expecting. Trending every single week on twitter, getting figurines and model kits sold out in seconds and even limited bomber jackets of the protagonists.

I'm curious though, do you have a source for the movie making more money for the franchise than GWitch? I'm asking genuinely, because I find it very hard to compare those two things as GWitch had a longer run and more merch to sell.


@Guilmon1
It was a short segment on the New Year's Celebrations Bandai does every year themed around Gundam. It was iirc at the end of the 2023 one though I'm not sure if it can be found because they tend to private those videos for some reason in the official channel.
Here's a snippet of it.

@LeonhartAugust More like always been teenagers to young adults, at least in the past when the makers respected the intelligence of their fans by giving them reasonably old enough MCs capable within the realm of reason to pilot such weapons.

@Fukiri
First off, every new Gundam is meant to bring in new people to the franchise, that is part of the whole point of non-UC stuff to begin with. It's why they are often so different.
I did look at the financial statements (it is what I was basing what I was saying off).
So let's look at some numbers. As you are probably aware, fiscal years run from April to March. So FY 2025 is April 2024 to March 2025. Anyway:
Gundam IP for FY 2020 78.1 billion.
Gundam IP for FY 2021 95 billion.
Gundam IP for FY 2022 101.7 billion.
Gundam IP for FY 2023 131.3 billion. (this is the FY witch gundam started airing)
Gundam IP for FY 2024 145.7 billion.

As you can see, the numbers were already growing before Suisei no Majo started airing. 2020 to 2021 saw an increase of 21.6%, and that was without even having a Gundam anime airing, so how much of the 101.7 to 131.3 (29.1% increase) is really just because of Suisei no Majo? If it was already able to do 20% gains without an anime, then I kind of feel any Gundam series could've boosted the numbers.

Further more, as far as I can tell, the numbers Gundam was doing before Suisei no Majo started airing (2021, 2022) are already like, record highs for the IP. As an example, in 2008 the IP was at 50.9 billion. This is why I disagree with statements like putting the IP back on the map regarding sales and such, when it was already growing and doing super well.

As for the movie I don't have any source aside from the fact that the movie was the highest grossing Gundam movie (From the financial report: ...Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM, which was the topselling movie among all the Gundam series theatrical releases). The models also appear to be the best selling models for the year, but the FY results for 2025 aren't out yet, so there isn't anything more specific. I don't believe Bandai Namco gives specific data on how much money a specific series makes.

@TheBerserker
Not sure if you are just trolling but...
Gundam Victory MC is 13, ZZ is 14, Wing is 15, original Gundam is 15, etc.
Protag in this new Gundam is around 17, for comparison.

Off the top of my head:
0079: Amuro. 15 yo.
Z: Kamille. 17 yo.
ZZ: Judau. 14 yo.
X: Garroad. 15 yo.
SEED: 15 yo.


GQuuuuuuX: Machu. 17 yo.


So... yeah... you're full of s***.

they don't want to kill the franchise, but they want to stop giving people "war is bad" ideas (because of a certain country) and instead give them pedobait, feetbait, lolibait, vtumorbait, moebait trash to distract them from real life issues and increase degeneracy and goon culture.

look at how many feet shots in this show. now they gave us a nude scene for the underage 11 years old girl in episode 3.

sad to see Gundam sinking so low

@ZeraX Yeah, khara and Tsurumaki, famous for doing pure escapism and ignoring the bad sides of reality. /s

Did you miss how Side 6 treats refugees? Or how this show just started?

And Machu isn't a loli lol. JFC

@kuribo-04 oh no, a minimal side setting of refugees that the show isn't about at all but zoomer culture clan battle that is supposed to be secret and underground yet the it's screened on all TVs lol

@ZeraX You realize people stream ilegal shit IRL?
And two of the major characters are refugees, so saying that's a side setting is pretty lol.

@kuribo-04 yeah sorry I forgot that illegal content are streamed in public bars where politicians can hang out.
and the show still didn't tackle the refugee thing. just Machu and her wacky and epic adventures of being a moe blob meme doing random hilarious stuff like blushing when talking to a boy she first met, and with the other dummy girl that sells illegal stuff even though Machu is standing there watching like it's nothing.

@ZeraX Why would it matter where its streamed. They flee before police arrive. And most don't seem to care anyway outside of the presumably small police force of Side 6. This is forced nitpicking tbh.

Dude rewatch the episodes that are out and say with a straight face there is no setup of refugee stuff. And again, the show just started.

And I'm sorry you don't like girls I guess. Machu is doing nothing wrong, she's a fun character, Nyaan is not a dummy in any way. And yeah Machu HELPED HER deliver the "illegal stuff" last time so why would she care if she sees Nyaan do that again.
Idk watch more stuff outside mecha dude.

@kuribo-04 oh no, a minimal side setting of refugees that the show isn't about at all but zoomer culture clan battle that is supposed to be secret and underground yet the it's screened on all TVs lol

@ZeraX I feel you. That's what I thought as well. When I heard about that Clan Battle stuff, I was rather unamused and didn't like the idea itself that much, but at the same time I decided to wait and give it a try in as unbiased a way as possible. After finishing episode 3, I can say that my initial hunch, even though far from positive, was overly optimistic.

Not only has the concept itself proven to be ridiculous, but the whole execution of it is simply pure clownery. Unfunny one, if I may add. Giant robots fighting in a 2vs2 model are being streamed legally throughout the whole colony, even though such activity is illegal and the local authorities actively struggle to put an end to it? What? xD Various Gundam series had wacky moments or elements, but this one might be among the wackiest of them all. The final straw was the bartender casually turning on the TV where an "illegal transmission of an illegal sport that is considered a crime" was just airing like any other TV programme belonging to the entertainment industry, lol. All while Challia and Xavier were just sitting right nearby.

The whole battle could have looked nice in terms of visuals, but the battle choreography felt chaotic and all over the place, especially if we compare it to the older Gundam shows. FLCL fans might've enjoyed it, but I'm not a fan of messy action meant, especially not when I know how well it could have looked decades ago when the aforementioned older Gundam series first aired.