Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX (Japanese: 機動戦士 Gundam GQuuuuuuX, Hepburn: Kidō Senshi Gandamu Jīkuakusu) is an upcoming Japanese anime television series jointly produced by Sunrise and Studio Khara. It is billed as the sixteenth installment of the Gundam franchise, the second television series to be aired during Japan's Reiwa era, and the second in a row (after The Witch from Mercury) to feature a female lead, albeit alongside a male and female co-lead.
The series is directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki and written by Yoji Enokido and Hideaki Anno, and features character designs by Take [ja] and mechanical designs by Ikuto Yamashita. It is planned for broadcast starting April 8, 2025 and will be the first Gundam TV series to air on Nippon Television and other NNS stations in Japan. A theatrical cut leveraging footage from the initial episodes was released by Toho on January 17, 2025.
The series is set in an alternate version of the Universal Century timeline, which diverges from the original Mobile Suit Gundam series' continuity, as Char Aznable stole the RX-78-2 White Gundam alongside the White Base. Char became the pilot of the Gundam instead of Amuro Ray, renaming it the "Red Gundam" as this and the newly acquired ship drastically changed the outcome of the One Year War between the Federation and the Principality of Zeon, culminating with Zeon's victory. However, this victory also resulted with both Char and the Red Gundam disappearing afterwards in a phenomenon called Zeknova, leaving Zeon in a hunt on the missing Mobile Suit that stretched over for 5 years.
Aside for the changes in the storyline from its original, some characters in the original series, survived in this continuity.
Five years after the end of the One Year War that resulted in the Principality of Zeon's victory, Amate Yuzuriha, a high school student living a quiet life on the space colony "Side 6", becomes embroiled in unexpected chaos after meeting Nyaan, a war refugee. This encounter draws her into the underground world of Clan Battle, an illegal and high-stakes mobile suit dueling sport. Under the alias "Machu," Amate participates in Clan Battles under the group Pomeranians, competing in relentless battles.
Amate's life takes a dramatic turn when both the Principality of Zeon and the Space Police are chasing over the missing Red Gundam after it re-emerged 5-years later. The Zeon sent out Xavier Olivette piloting the gMS-Ω GQuuuuuuX, a prototype Gundam meant for Newtype pilots in an effort to catch the elusive gundam. But due to the pilot's inability to activate its Psycommu System Omega-type and the Red Gundam's superior capabilities, it crashed into the Space Colony as Xavier abandoned it. Amate jumped in the cockpit of the GQuuuuuuX and activate the mobile suit as well as the Psycommu System Omega-type to fight back and defeat Police Force and allowed the Red Gundam to escape. After rescuing the Red Gundam, its current mysterious pilot, Shuji, carries the potential to bring profound change.
Together, Amate, Nyaan, Shuji, and the enigmatic Gundam stand at the center of events that could redefine the future of their world.
The series was first unveiled during the "Gundam Conference Winter 2024" livestream on December 4, 2024, revealing the series' official trailer. It marked the first Gundam production to be co-produced by Studio Khara, and is largely creatively led by staff who once worked for Gainax on several anime such as Evangelion, FLCL, and Diebuster. Although the degree of the involvement of Khara founder and president Hideaki Anno, credited as GQuuuuuuX's co-writer, has been debated, mechanical designer Ikuto Yamashita has clarified that Kazuya Tsurumaki is serving as the primary director of the project, and Anno's role has been limited to providing production support.
Planning of the show began in 2018. Khara had previously collaborated with Sunrise on in-between animation and other support, such as on the last episode of Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn. As part of production, Tsurumaki was given freedom by Sunrise to offer up new approaches.
The show is considered by Sunrise as "a representative work heading into the 45th and 50th anniversaries of Gundam," which prompted the release of a theatrical cut, titled Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Beginning (Japanese: 機動戦士 Gundam GQuuuuuuX Beginning, Hepburn: Kidō Senshi Gandamu Jīkuakusu Biginingu), to create a "festive element" around the Khara and Sunrise collaboration.
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX is scheduled to broadcast on NNS stations, including Nippon Television in Japan on April 8, 2025. A theatrical cut by Bandai Namco Filmworks and Toho premiered on January 17, 2025, and MX4D and 4DX versions were screened in Japanese theaters from February 22, 2025. The show's opening theme is titled "Plazma", performed by Kenshi Yonezu. Its ending theme is titled "I don't care" (もうどうなってもいいや, Mou dou natte mo ī ya), performed by Hoshimachi Suisei; this song was also used as an insert theme for Beginning.
The theatrical prologue is licensed by GKIDS. Its North American premiere was held on February 20 at the Japan Society in New York City, before being more widely released in North American theaters starting February 28, 2025. The TV series release will be globally streamed by Amazon Prime Video.
Alongside other merchandise releases, the series is also part of the long-running Gunpla line of plastic model kits by Bandai Spirits. Kits based on the Mobile Suits in the series were released in 1/144 scale with the first model be released in January 2025.
The theatrical prologue cut, Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Beginning, was generally praised by critics for its visual style, characters, writing, and its narrative remixing of to the original Mobile Suit Gundam.
The introduction featuring Char Aznable and showing the divergence in the Universal Century timeline central to GQuuuuuuX's narrative was appreciated for its audiovisual and tonal fidelity to the original series. James Whitbrook of Gizmodo praised the reuse of the original's soundtrack and audio cues alongside the faithful recreation of its scenes and set pieces, saying it recontextualized these elements "in fascinating ways to fit its alternative rendition of events where Char is suddenly the protagonist of this familiar narrative." Richard Eisenbeis of Anime News Network felt similarly, positively comparing the conceit to alternate universe fan fiction and saying it was a fresh direction for Gundam, calling it "a blast on its own". Eisenbeis additionally praised the original story and new characters, saying that the combination of the "pure fanservice" of the introduction and the new story made Beginning a cathartic experience for fans of the original series while remaining accessible to first-time Gundam viewers. In contrast, Kambole Campbell of Polygon felt that the dependence on the original series made GQuuuuuuX "probably not the best Gundam to start with", but nonetheless appreciated the film's prologue, calling it a "delightful throwback". Aftermath's Isaiah Colbert also enjoyed the divergent premise, describing it as "watching Studio Khara and Sunrise play with their toys". Juan Barquin of IGN said the prologue functioned as "a loose history lesson that preps the uninitiated viewer" for GQuuuuuuX's new story.
The visual style of GQuuuuuuX was noted for its combination of the audiovisual elements of the original series and its new characters and setting, described by Eisenbeis as "shifting naturally from one generation to the next". Campbell also liked the mix of the two, praising the "brightly colored and more cartoonish" approach to familiar elements of the UC continuity. Barquin felt similarly, comparing the visuals to character designer Take's past work on the Pokémon franchise, as well as previous works produced by Gainax, and said that the marriage of the two styles "not once" was jarring, "instead emphasizing the way life and culture has progressed in the years since the war ended". Colbert also liked the style, saying the aesthetics switching from the "grainy, retro look" of 0079 to "the sleek, vibrant, and bouncy mix of 3D and 2D animation of today's anime" was engaging. While Campbell praised Yamashita's mechanical designs, he felt that the CG animated mech battles were "more of an intrusion", preferring the 2D-animated fights of The Witch from Mercury. In contrast, Barquin considered the mech action to possess "a real fluidity", though also acknowledged that the CG use made them "a stark contrast" to Witch from Mercury. Whitbrook praised the visual style as "a boldly colorful, poppy sci-fi aesthetic".
The characters and apparent themes of GQuuuuuuX were also generally liked, with critics generally eager to see more of the narrative and character development in the series proper. Campbell, Barquin, and Whitbrook all expressed an interest in the narrative premise of following the cast living under the rule of the Principality of Zeon, which was described as "fascistic" and a "police state". Whitbrook compared the premise of GQuuuuuuX to Zeta Gundam, describing it as "imagining what life looks like in a post-war world for the generation that came of age after its conclusion" and described Machu, Nyaan and Shuji as believable young people attempting to navigate the setting.
While GamesRadar+ writer Ashley Bardhan enjoyed much of Beginning, describing it as "the ideal mecha anime compilation film", she expressed discomfort at the "merciless sexualization" of Machu, despite otherwise appreciating the character's "unabashedly girly genius". She said that while she was widely aware of the sexualization of young girls both in Evangelion, Anno's other work, and throughout anime in general, she was very disappointed that despite Machu being such an authentic character, the creators, "much like Evangelion", were more preoccupied with trying to appeal to a male audience who would "gawk at" the character, rather than present Machu as a relatable character for the female audience. She negatively compared Machu's portrayal to Anno's 1998 experimental film Love & Pop, noting its similar sexual presentation but saying that the "context is critical", as that film's themes serve to highlight the vulnerability of the characters, while in GQuuuuuuX it is "blissfully unrelated".