Mobile Suit Gundam: Universal Century Timeline Watchorder
Anime
This is a canonical watch order that is geared towards a first time viewer of Gundam. I myself experienced the series in this order, which preserves the canonical order, but mends it slightly to preserve watching experience and prevent burnout. Included will be double-ups of series, which means the TV and Compilation movie versions and/or OVAs. Most of those "rewatches" will come after a period of time, slid into the timeline in a way that prevents serious burn-out. Realistically you can swap around any of them for their relative compilation, but first will always come the "preferred" version.
There is nothing in this list I would call spoilers, but I do give some slight generalized opinions which may lead, or alter your own experiences. If you want to go in blind, just look at the show. The blurbs are there to decide if you aren't sure when you want to watch something, not to give you anything before you watch.
I will also be forced to keep a side list since the max number of items in a single list is 50. Until more Gundam content is released, it mostly has small 5-10 minute things that don't really add to the canon in anyway. However, Gundam is approaching a point where if 2-3 more series release this list will get tight. Here is a link to that list: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/12271
I want to clarify that I am not some super Gundam fan, and I began making this list from the beginning of my watching experience. It thus offers a glimpse into what watching Gundam in 2022 should be like for the open-minded, anime history inclined weeb. If you know nothing (or very little) about Gundam this is the perfect place to start in order to grind out the main Universal Century timeline.
If you have any questions (or suggestions to improve since I'm not a hardcore Gundam fan) please feel free to message me.
There is nothing in this list I would call spoilers, but I do give some slight generalized opinions which may lead, or alter your own experiences. If you want to go in blind, just look at the show. The blurbs are there to decide if you aren't sure when you want to watch something, not to give you anything before you watch.
I will also be forced to keep a side list since the max number of items in a single list is 50. Until more Gundam content is released, it mostly has small 5-10 minute things that don't really add to the canon in anyway. However, Gundam is approaching a point where if 2-3 more series release this list will get tight. Here is a link to that list: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/12271
I want to clarify that I am not some super Gundam fan, and I began making this list from the beginning of my watching experience. It thus offers a glimpse into what watching Gundam in 2022 should be like for the open-minded, anime history inclined weeb. If you know nothing (or very little) about Gundam this is the perfect place to start in order to grind out the main Universal Century timeline.
If you have any questions (or suggestions to improve since I'm not a hardcore Gundam fan) please feel free to message me.
TV, 1979,
43 eps
Me:-
Author:10
The only way to begin Gundam is with the very first series.
UC0079
UC0079
OVA, 2015,
6 eps
Me:-
Author:10
Next I would HIGHLY recommend the OVA adaptation of the Gundam: The Origin manga. Written by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko himself, Origin is six, hour long movie quality OVAs that expand on the backstory of the characters.
I would also recommend picking up the manga if you like this and the original, as they truly are some of the best manga out there, Gundam, or otherwise.
UC0068-UC0079
I would also recommend picking up the manga if you like this and the original, as they truly are some of the best manga out there, Gundam, or otherwise.
UC0068-UC0079
OVA, 1996,
12 eps
Me:-
Author:7
This is a Vietnam-esque Gundam that offers a nice side story. This is realistically the first skippable, and there is nothing canonically "required" in this one, unlike the previous two, however I would recommend watching it, and pushing yourself to watch this over the compilation movie, 'Miller's Report', as the latter removes many of the humble details that give the OVA charm.
UC0079: One Year War
UC0079: One Year War
Special, 2013,
1 ep
Me:-
Author:6
I believe this was released in a box set of the original, which is a kind of mini-episode that seems to fit in the earlier bits of the 8th MS Team timeline. If you want to watch this after, like, episode 3-4 I don't see an issue with that, and might make more sense than after you finish.
There is actually quite a bit of provenance behind this one, with many of the team that goes on to create Cowboy Bebop using this as a very rough sketch of what Bebop could become. Of note, the character designer who has two females that weirdly both resemble Ed, I guess he has a type? Also shares the mechanical designer, and who knows what other "Hajime Yatate" members who are uncredited. In the same way Mamoru Oshii's Headgear pioneered many of the scenes/themes found in Ghost in the Shell in Patlabor 2, this serves as the Bebop teams Patlabor 2, quality withstanding.
UC0079: One Year War
There is actually quite a bit of provenance behind this one, with many of the team that goes on to create Cowboy Bebop using this as a very rough sketch of what Bebop could become. Of note, the character designer who has two females that weirdly both resemble Ed, I guess he has a type? Also shares the mechanical designer, and who knows what other "Hajime Yatate" members who are uncredited. In the same way Mamoru Oshii's Headgear pioneered many of the scenes/themes found in Ghost in the Shell in Patlabor 2, this serves as the Bebop teams Patlabor 2, quality withstanding.
UC0079: One Year War
OVA, 2004,
3 eps
Me:-
Author:6
If you wanted Advent Children as a series of stand alone style, engineering nerd Gundam OVAs then you got your wetdream. Otherwise, you most likely will not enjoy this, and while I would describe 8th MS Team as "Skippable", MS Igloo is beyond skippable, it's more like "better to skip this" as it may bring down your experience, unless you are SERIOUSLY dedicated to a canonical watch order. Yes, they are fairly decent for filling out the One Year War, but they aren't much more than a couple of war-stories.
The dreaded CGI begins to creep into the Gundam franchise. From what I have seen in later Gundams, this early OVAs are basically Sunrise testing out CGI and beginning to get their feet wet, and for that they are very important because they do sharpen the usage of CGI for Gundam battles. Here, however, all the characters are also CGI, and that really takes away from the emotion, lack of developed plotline withstanding.
UC0079: One Year War
The dreaded CGI begins to creep into the Gundam franchise. From what I have seen in later Gundams, this early OVAs are basically Sunrise testing out CGI and beginning to get their feet wet, and for that they are very important because they do sharpen the usage of CGI for Gundam battles. Here, however, all the characters are also CGI, and that really takes away from the emotion, lack of developed plotline withstanding.
UC0079: One Year War
OVA, 2006,
3 eps
Me:-
Author:7
Everything said about the previous stands here, but there is a stronger set of characters, if only slightly.
UC0079: One Year War
UC0079: One Year War
OVA, 2008,
3 eps
Me:-
Author:5
The CGI has improved by this point, and you begin to see what paves the way for stuff like Thunderbolt (Oh, hey that's next!)
UC0079: One Year War
UC0079: One Year War
ONA, 2015,
4 eps
Me:-
Author:8
Note that this is interchangeable, and (nearly minus a scene or two) identical to the movie version, 'December Sky'. This came first, but I feel this version is slightly better, and has more content, than the movie.
Unlike the previous series this one really stands out thematically. While Igloo is quite boring, and 8th MS Team is niche, they all fit the standard Gundam vibe. With Thunderbolt you can really feel them attempting to do something a little more modern. It works out. This is a great ONA that doesn't overstay it's welcome.
There is some notable provenance behind the soundtrack of this one, as one of the members of the Seatbelts (Yoko Kanno's team behind Bebop's soundtrack) did work on the soundtrack.
UC0079: One Year War
Unlike the previous series this one really stands out thematically. While Igloo is quite boring, and 8th MS Team is niche, they all fit the standard Gundam vibe. With Thunderbolt you can really feel them attempting to do something a little more modern. It works out. This is a great ONA that doesn't overstay it's welcome.
There is some notable provenance behind the soundtrack of this one, as one of the members of the Seatbelts (Yoko Kanno's team behind Bebop's soundtrack) did work on the soundtrack.
UC0079: One Year War
OVA, 1989,
6 eps
Me:-
Author:8
A side story of sorts, but don't let that fool you. This is a nice diversion from the typical Gundam affair, and you won't be disappointed.
When combined with 8th MS Team, Igloo, and Thunderbolt these 4 series offer to fill out the One Year War, which still feels like there are plenty of stories left to tell.
UC0080: One Year War
When combined with 8th MS Team, Igloo, and Thunderbolt these 4 series offer to fill out the One Year War, which still feels like there are plenty of stories left to tell.
UC0080: One Year War
ONA, 2017,
4 eps
Me:-
Author:8
More Thunderbolt, so if you enjoyed that then you will enjoy this one. If you'd like more content similar to this, definitely check out the Thunderbolt manga. https://myanimelist.net/manga/37683/Kidou_Senshi_Gundam_Thunderbolt
UC0080: Post One Year War
UC0080: Post One Year War
TV, 2019,
13 eps
Me:-
Author:8
A recut of the OVA, that doesn't do nearly as good a job of preserving the manga's pacing. I would absolutely recommend the OVA over this, but this isn't bad, it's just identical content. If you are one of the dudes like me who just has to watch it all then be my guest. It's great, and you may enjoy seeing the story a second time, frankly.
UC0068-UC0079
UC0068-UC0079
ONA, 2020,
1 ep
Me:-
Author:5
Essentially a re-animation of sorts of the opening scenes for Amuro and Char from the first Gundam, the best part might be the Jpop at the end, frankly, it's actually EXILE.
UC0079
UC0079
Movie, 1981,
1 ep
Me:-
Author:8
This is just a compilation movie of episodes 1-13. There is very little reason to watch this, unless you perhaps want to hear what Steve Blum as Char sounds like, I could not come up with another reason. It is not bad, in the slightest, but doesn't have that epic provenance of the original.
Okay, there is another reason to watch these movies, if you want to save yourself time and cut out a lot of the 'filler' content like the Guntank nonsense. It turns them into more narratively succinct works, but that also removes the epic, journey vibe from the series. If you are on this list, you prolly won't watch this INSTEAD of the original, but you very well could.
Be a champ and watch both.
UC0079
Okay, there is another reason to watch these movies, if you want to save yourself time and cut out a lot of the 'filler' content like the Guntank nonsense. It turns them into more narratively succinct works, but that also removes the epic, journey vibe from the series. If you are on this list, you prolly won't watch this INSTEAD of the original, but you very well could.
Be a champ and watch both.
UC0079
Movie, 2022,
1 ep
Me:-
Author:8
Honestly, what do you want from a feature length movie version of a single, butchered and 'removed' episode of Gundam? While this won't blow you away, it certainly does it's job.
This movie was the reason I began watching Gundam, as it released June 2022, the month I started Gundam.
UC0079
This movie was the reason I began watching Gundam, as it released June 2022, the month I started Gundam.
UC0079
Movie, 1981,
1 ep
Me:-
Author:8
Everything said about the first movie applies here, but it covers 16-30, which means you will miss 14/15 (although Tomino wants you to miss 15, and if you just watched Cucuruz Doan's that isn't the biggest loss.
UC0079
UC0079
Movie, 1982,
1 ep
Me:-
Author:8
Once again, as above, but it covers 31-43.
UC0079
UC0079
Movie, 1998,
1 ep
Me:-
Author:4
Quite a strange one here. Pretty much edits out a lot of the "team" content, but it does feel like there isn't much reason to watch this INSTEAD of the main series, only as a refresher for the original "plot", with tiny added bits.
UC0079
UC0079
Movie, 2016,
1 ep
Me:-
Author:8
I would say watch the series over the movie, but there isn't that much difference between the two. The movie feel much faster, removes a few scenes, and changes some of the musical score. The manga is probably the superior between the three.
UC0079
UC0079
Movie, 2017,
1 ep
Me:-
Author:8
UC0080: Post One Year War
Special, 2001,
1 ep
Me:-
Author:5
PS2 Recap of the events of Gundam leading up to the game. I have it here, but it's hardly content.
UC0079
UC0079
ONA, 2009,
1 ep
Me:-
Author:7
Unlike the recap animation, this time we get some prequel to the events of the PS3 game, and some new content. Unlike the other, while this is short, it actually provides some substantial content. If you like this, consider reading the four volume manga adaption. Sadly, it only has two volumes translated but they are actually quite good, and much better than this ONA will lead you to believe. https://myanimelist.net/manga/23418/Kidou_Senshi_Gundam_Senki_UC0081__Suiten_no_Namida
UC0081
UC0081
OVA, 1991,
13 eps
Me:-
Author:8
One of the more formulaic OVAs which does fill out a piece of missing events between the main two Gundam series by Tomino. It's much less skippable than most of the side content for the 0079 stuff, but that doesn't necessarily mean you should expect to be blown away since most of the plot elements are lifted from other Gundams.
If you enjoy this, you can read the very short one-shot chapter regarding Gato's backstory in the war.
https://myanimelist.net/manga/9854/Nightmare_of_Solomon
UC0083
If you enjoy this, you can read the very short one-shot chapter regarding Gato's backstory in the war.
https://myanimelist.net/manga/9854/Nightmare_of_Solomon
UC0083
Special, 1992,
1 ep
Me:-
Author:4
I'm not even sure what happened here myself.
UC:0079-83
UC:0079-83
Special, 2016,
1 ep
Me:-
Author:7
TV Special, 2010,
1 ep
Me:-
Author:-
Recap of Char's insanity.
UC0079-93
UC0079-93
Movie, 2018,
1 ep
Me:-
Author:-
Alternative ending for Ep 7
UC0096
UC0096
Special, 2014,
1 ep
Me:-
Author:-
UC0096
Special, 2019,
1 ep
Me:-
Author:-
Special recap included with the Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn Blu-ray box.
UC0096
UC0096
CM, 2021,
1 ep
Me:-
Author:-
I don't know some Unicorn thing...
UC0096: I guess?
UC0096: I guess?
Special, 1998,
1 ep
Me:-
Author:4
Otomo, yes that Otomo, wrote and directed this one. I know, shocking.
UCOtomo
UCOtomo
