Hi all, I came back to anime after a long hiatus thanks to Witch from Mercury.
Since then, I’ve watched a bunch of anime - including many masterpieces - but nothing could scratch that itch like a Gundam series could.
So now I’m look for more Gundam shows to watch.
It doesn’t have to be Gundam exactly (or even anime!). As long as it shares the main features, I would consider it to be Gundam.
From what I observed, the following themes are essential to Gundam series:
War - To be specific, it shows how war is bad, and that nobody truly wins in a war.
Child soldiers - Usually forced to fight, or manipulated into fighting (by people who would usually get revealed to be the real villains later).
Politics - What started the war, or kept the war going. The politicians tend to be the ones manipulating others.
Tragedy - In war, people are obviously going to die. Personally I would prefer if the main cast gets a happy ending though.
Discrimination - It can be discrimination over race, class, etc.
“Mecha” - I am using the term mecha loosely here, because it doesn’t really have to be a robot that’s piloted. It can simply be some kind of enhancement or weapon of war, or something symbolic; usually a game-changer in the war.
Other themes that I have noticed are common but not really essential include:
romance subplot - Looks like in war, love gives people hope, as well as the drive to keep on living.
dystopian setting - It could be the lasting effect of previous wars, or the consequences of politics.
Finally, these are not really themes, but I’ve noticed these trends:
- the protagonist tends to not fit in with their society
- there’s usually an ensemble cast; would likely be the protagonist’s found family
- the protagonist’s team tend to switch sides in the later stage of the show to fight against the true villains; usually resulting in a three-way conflict
- the mechas would progressively get upgraded over the course of the show
- usage of WMD (e.g. a giant laser beam)
- there’s someone - usually a villain - whose face is hidden, usually with a mask; tend to have a grandiose plan (i.e. Char clone)
- there’s a princess character who may have some level of influence or authority over the others, or is otherwise special in some way; tend to serve as the love interest of the protagonist; hair color usually stands out from the rest of the cast
To avoid overlaps, here are the Gundam-like series that I have watched / plan to watch.
Watched:
Planning to watch (based on hearsay about their similarity to Gundam):
These are the Gundam series that I have watched:
- Witch from Mercury
- Gundam SEED
- Gundam 00
- Iron Blooded Orphans (season 1 only)
- After War Gundam X
- 08th MS Team
And these are the ones I’m planning to watch at the moment:
Thanks in advance for the recommendations.
its a bit different than the traditional political stuff found instandard Mecha, but give Majestic Prince a shot.
mecha about humanity fighting against an unknown force thats superior. follows a group of 5 misfits and their crew. Character Designs by Hirai Hisashi (the guy who did character designs for Gundam Seed).
Show starts off slow, but gets a lot better
Speaking of him, also try Fafner for the dystopian feel.
I never remember the name of this one and just think of it as ‘weirder gundam seed’
its an odd show, at leat in my perspective, as it kind if does things the oppisite of seed. instead of having a genetically OP pilot MC, you get sent the worst pilots in order to save humanity. starting from the bottom for MJP allowed for moments of character growth to progress better, as they learn from their actions (or lack thereof) and its consequences, especially compared to Kira (Jesus) Yamato who is one of the faces for being a Gary Stu who almost always has everything handed to him on a platter.
I didn’t mean it so much as seed wasn’t weird because it totally was, but that it was a weird experience because it was the same character designer. watching it after seed made it more confusing, especially since my friends and I watched it all in one marathon while high.