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The main female of the show - and Garrod's love interest, Tifa Adill, is an Ayanami Rei; quiet, withdrawn, and perpetually alone.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.
