Anime Rebirth

Review - Kidou Shin Seiki Gundam X

Review by Roriconfan

Prologue
This series is an alternative universe of the normal Gundam timeline. It has many similarities with the original but adds elements from other genres that give the series a more epic and flashy atmosphere. Unfortunately, it also removes many good parts we find in the original, which turned it into just another superficial, shounen mecha show.

Animation & Sound: 6
Typical. TOO typical. The character and mecha designs, as well as the action scenes were not better than an average mecha show. Same thing for the music themes and the character voices. It will really disappoint fans of the original and will leave mecha fans indifferent about it.

Story & Characters: 5
Gundam is essentially a sci-fi war drama and this series has the same premise. (spoiler alert!)

In this timeline, the One-Year-War ends with all space colonies dropping on Earth, instead of surrendering. The result was an apocalyptic event that destroyed almost everything. 15 years later, the remaining humans try to rebuild the wastelands of the surface, only to find that many are using Mobile Suits for profit, while others begin another war for the survival of the fittest race.

The protagonist is a young mercenary who is paid to protect a powerful Newtype girl, which possesses the ability to boost a mecha’s psionic capacities. The two enter a Gundam by accident (like in all Gundam series!), team up with a crew of vigilantes and are trapped between the war of Oldtypes vs Newtypes, for the control of the future.

Like in the original Gundam’s normal themes, there is:
-a conflict between the normal Homo-sapiens/Oldtypes and the new Psycics/Newtypes
-angst before the tragedy of war
-sorrow for the dead over the struggle for control of the world’s natural resources and the future

Unlike in the original, there is:
-the presence of a kind, magical, beautiful girl with a tragic past that gives the story a supernatural/messiah theme
-more focus on new bigger/better guns that makes the story more action-based
-less focus on character and scenario development, making the series more shallow

The story is very simple, with slow development and almost no plot twists. The characters act too typical and frankly, they do not deserve to be remembered about anything they did or said.

The ending was also poor, as the scriptwriters gave us a stupid moral message through a metaphysical entity, saying, “There is no difference between Oldtypes and Newtypes”. What is this, a fairy tale with a God-From-A-Machine conclusion? As if everybody else was too stupid to realize something that simple by himself or herself. Not to mention that the bad guys in the story where just two brothers that wanted to kill everyone and were beaten in just 5 seconds.

To sum it up, there is little story, unmemorable characters and a simple ending. Not suitable for a Gundam series.

Anidb member cctv11 informed me that the ending was bad because the show’s sponsors decided to change the time slot and cut it from 50 episodes to 40, so it had a rushed conclusion. A bad thing for everyone.

Value & Enjoyment: 4
If it wasn’t for the name and the basic design of the Gundam in this series, I doubt anyone would care to remember it. It is just another average-to-bad series that tries to sell by using a renowned title in it. Same thing can be said about all the Gundam alternative universes. If you want to be left with good impressions, stick with the original timeline.

Verdict
The accused is found … GUILTY! … of using plagiarism for disguising a mediocre work.