Netflix Sci-Fi Action Epic Is the Perfect Intro To Iconic Anime Franchise
If you’re like me, there are certain anime franchises that you’d like to experience, but there is just way too much content and lore to catch up on (looking at you, One Piece). However, here’s some good news: you can currently check out one of the best series of all from the beginning in the most convenient way. It starts with streaming Mobile Suit Gundam I on Netflix so you can experience the giant mech hype from the beginning.
Mobile Suit Gundam 1 Is A Great Starting Point
Mobile Suit Gundam didn’t begin as a film series, of course. Instead, this wildly popular anime launched in 1979 and ran for 43 episodes, introducing audiences to a plotline filled with complex characters, bitter war, and yes–amazing mech fights. Following the initial success of the anime, show creator Yoshiyuki Tomino helped adapt the entire show into a trilogy of movies that arguably improved upon the original.
Streamlined And Efficient
Those improvements are important because hardcore anime lovers are probably asking why they shouldn’t simply watch the original Mobile Suit Gundam series rather than these films. For one thing, the third film adds some new footage, something that even franchise purists highly recommend that you check out.
Starting with the first film we are focusing on today, Tomino edited out some of the more fantastical elements from the narrative, creating something that seems like a contradiction in terms: a realistic story about soldiers waging war with giant mechs.
In The Grim Darkness Of The Far Future, There Is Always War
What is the core story of Mobile Suit Gundam I about, though? When the Principality of Zeon declares independence from the Earth Federation, it kicks off a brutal war, which Zeon seems poised to win thanks to their revolutionary mobile suits. Hope seems lost, but when the young boy Amuro Ray proves to be a prodigy with the Federation’s own prototype mobile suit (the RX-78 Gundam), it might just give Earth’s forces a fighting chance in the most brutal conflict in planetary history.
If that sounds a little trope-y, well…that’s because it is: this is a story featuring a boy genius who suddenly and conveniently knows how to use state-of-the-art weapons. Oh, and he has a bitter rivalry with a talented young warrior, and they inevitably clash over a girl. These may sound like very familiar story beats, but keep in mind that the popularity of Mobile Suit Gundam helped solidify such tropes as a common part of anime storytelling.
An Unpopular Anime Until The Toys Hit
In a bit of irony, the original Mobile Suit Gundam wasn’t very popular upon launch, but that all changed when Bandai began making plastic models based on the show’s iconic mobile suits. Those models sold like hotcakes, and assembling miniature Gundam suits is a hobby more popular now than ever before. It was that original toy fever, though, that made this show such a success, and it transformed into a series of movies explicitly to capitalize on that newfound fame.
One Of The Biggest Franchises In The World
Needless to say, Gundam has become an anime powerhouse since then, launching different spinoffs, different universes, and countless different toys. However, many argue that the first show is still the best, and the movie adaptation seriously won over the fandom. Mobile Suit Gundam I currently has a 100 percent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes (albeit with very few reviews), and many critics have argued that this franchise (with its combination of complex themes, relatable characters, and slick animation) is the perfect representation of anime as a whole.
Gundam Wing Starters Should Go Back And Watch This
Honestly, I have to agree…I’m one of those Millennials who didn’t get into the franchise until Gundam Wing on Toonami, and I loved that series so much that I wasn’t sure how much I’d enjoy the original show.
But when I watched the Mobile Suit Gundam I movie for the first time, I was amazed by how gripping everything still felt: none of these gritty themes had lost their relevance or edge, and these old-school mech battles are just as thrilling now as they were in 1979. Watching it felt like watching Dragon Ball, giving me the chance to see the birth of another anime legend.
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More importantly, each of the clashes between Amuro Ray and Char Aznable felt like white-knuckle clashes between two 2D titans, and I simply couldn’t look away when they were battling. Put simply, if you enjoy watching other anime icons like Goku and Vegeta duke it out, you’ll enjoy these mech-powered beatdowns.
Will you want to look away from Mobile Suit Gundam I, or will you conclude that this legendary anime lives up to the hype? You won’t know, of course, until you stream it on Netflix. Love or hate it, this movie remains the best way for you to dive into the most influential anime series of all time.
