Quick Links
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuXdidn’t do the best job of following up its premiere with episode #2, but it still left plenty to be excited about for episode #3 and beyond. The series isn’t doing as great a job of welcoming newcomers as it should, but hopefully, that will improve in later episodes, especially with how fun an anime it’s been to watch.
Rather than continue whereMobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuXepisode #1left off, episode #2 went back to the One Year War, the massive conflict between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon. Normally, the turning point is supposed to be Amuro Ray becoming the pilot of the experimental Gundam for the Federation, but inGQuuuuuuX,the trajectory of the Universal Century timeline was forever changed when Char Aznable of Zeon stole the Gundam before Amuro could get to it. It’s an incredibly engaging premise, and it will be great to see how it develops in future episodes.
What Time Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Episode 3 Releases
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Episode 3’s Release Schedule
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuXwill stream exclusively on Amazon Prime, which can be accessed through its app or directly from the Amazon website, but not third-party websites like Crunchyroll. Assuming there are no delays,Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuXepisode #3 will premiere on Tuesday, April 22 at 9:00 AM Pacific Standard Time (PST), 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST), and 5:00 PM British Summer Time (BST).
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Episode 1 Review: Anime Of The Year Material
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Episode 1 In Review
There’s only one episode ofMobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuXout right now, and it’s already anime of the year material. Between the engaging characters and story, and the stellar art and animation, the latter of which has surprisingly good 3D visuals,Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuXis off to a great start both visually and narratively and is more than living up to the hype surrounding it.GQuuuuuuXis one of themost hotly-anticipated anime of 2025, and it will be great to watch it play out for the rest of the season.
The one odd point of the premiere, however, was the point in the series it chose to start with.Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX’stheatrical previewopened with a lengthy prologue about Char stealing the Gundam, but the actual anime starts with the new timeline, meaning thatMobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuXis deliberately presenting its story in a way that makes it harder for newcomers to understand what’s going on. Those events are set to be covered in episode #2, but it’s still a weird decision, and unfortunately, episode #2 only made it worse.
What Happened In Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Episode 2?
Produced By Sunrise & Studio Khara; Directed By Daizen Komatsuda
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuXepisode #2, “The White Gundam”, was a whole-episode flashback to the One Year War of the Universal Century timeline. At the height of the war, Char Aznable, the ace pilot of Zeon, often referred to as the “Red Comet”, led a mission to invade a Federation colony they believed to be housing something important to the war. Sure enough,Char discovered that the Earth Federation had created a powerful new Mobile Suit called a Gundam and took it for himself, with Char easily using its power to tear through some of the Federation’s forces.
With the Gundam now in Char’s possession and painted his signature red color, Char found himself with even more success than he had before, but things didn’t stop there. Dr. Flanagan discovered that Char was a Newtype, a type of person who could employ superhuman reflexes through psychic abilities, and the Gundam was upgraded to have a telepathic interface called a Psycommu. The Gundam became more powerful than ever, but rather than use it simply for the war,Char made plans with Challia Bull to overtake Zeon to carry out his own vision for Newtypes and humanity as a whole.
Char’s plans never came to fruition, of course. At the climax of the One Year War, Char fought in an operation to prevent the Federation from crashing a massive base into Granada, one of Zeon’s key military bases, and while the attack failed,Char and his Gundam disappeared under mysterious circumstances while fighting against the Federation in what would later be known as the Zeknova Incident. The One Year War ended shortly after in Zeon’s victory, and Challia has never stopped looking for Char, thus leading to the events of the anime.
What Happened To Mobile Suit Gundam’s Original Hero In GQuuuuuuX?
Will Amuro Ray Ever Appear In GQuuuuuuX?
WithMobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuXbeing an alternate timeline to the original anime, that begs the question of what happened to the original protagonist, Amuro Ray. The attack from Zeon shown in episode #2 should have been the same inciting incident that led to Amuro piloting the Gundam in the original anime, yet he was nowhere to be seen. That means that either Char’s presence prevented Amuro from getting the Gundam, orMobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX’s divergences from the original anime go back further than Char stealing the Gundam.
Either scenario is plenty plausible, and they both have major implications for Amuro. While Amuro can still easily show up in theMobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuXanime, there’s a chance he will be completely unlike how he was in the original anime, soMobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuXhas the potential to introduce a version of Amuro Ray unlike anythingGundamfans have ever seen before. All of that is hypothetical, of course, but with how strong the anime’s writing has been so far, it would be great to see what it could do with someone like Amuro.
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Doesn’t Do The Best Job Of Selling Its New Timeline
Why Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Episode 2 Fell Flat
On a technical level,Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuXepisode #2 was a spectacle to behold. Not only was the art and animation great in every scene, but the overall presentation also perfectly played into the gimmick of it being a new take on the original anime, with the soundtrack remixing some of the original music and the eyecatchers even mimicking the original ones from 1979.Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuXepisode #2 did a perfect job of playing into the nostalgia for the original anime while still offering something new, and overall, that was great to see.
Unfortunately, episode #2 largely fell flat with the writing. WhileGQuuuuuuX’s theatrical release went to great lengths to flesh out its take on the One Year War, but the anime cut out several scenes that were important for that, including the basic explanation of the One Year War, soMobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuXepisode #2’s presentation ultimately makes it harder for people to understand the story than need be. Future episodes will likely fill in the necessary gaps, but that doesn’t make it any less odd thatMobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuXwould do something like that, to begin with.
Be sure to watchMobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuXepisode #3 when it releases on Tuesday, April 22.
