I was just going about my day; I actually woke up a little late coming from some social gathering the day before. I went to the office, sat on my desk, opened my laptop and went through my socials first, as would most folks do. Then I saw this weird Gundam thing with a lot of letter U’s in it. Lo and behold, we just got a new ‘mainline’ Gundam series announcement.
In a franchise first, Studio Khara — yes, the same folks who did the Rebuild of Evangelion film series — is working with Sunrise to produce Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX. I know, that’s quite the title and I like it. And it didn’t take us like seven years to get the new series unlike how we waited in between IRON-BLOODED ORPHANS and the Witch from Mercury. Before going any further, let’s check out the first trailer released below.
This is gorgeous, and I really like the direction they’re taking the franchise with the last few outings, starting from Witch from Mercury and its school setting and now with GQuuuuuX which is entirely different altogether. And did I mention that this is produced with Studio Khara? Here are just some of the names involved in this series.
- Director: Kazuya Tsurumaki (FLCL, Gunbuster 2)
- Script: Yoji Enokido (Bungo Strait Dogs, Revolutionary Girl Utena), Hideaki Anno (Rebuild of Evangelion, Shin Godzilla)
- Character Design: Take
- Mechanical Design: Ikuto Yamashita (Rebuild of Evangelion, Shin Kamen Rider)
It’s basically an Evangelion reunion so I’m really curious how these guys would do their take on a Gundam story, a unique one at that. Speaking of story, here’s the short synopsis:
Amate Yuzuriha is a high-school student living peacefully in a space colony floating in outer space. When she meets a war refugee named Nyaan, Amate is drawn into the illegal mobile suit dueling sport known as Clan Battle. Under the entry name “Machu,” she throws herself into fierce battle day after day, piloting the GQuuuuuuX. Then an unidentified Gundam mobile suit pursued by both the space force and the police appears before her, along with its pilot, a boy named Shuji. Now their world is about to enter a new era.
Let’s get back to the synopsis later and check the characters first.
The trailer introduces us to three of our main characters:
- Amate Yuzuriha (Machu) – a high-school student. Machu has always felt that her daily life in a peaceful colony was somehow false. After meeting Nyaan, she becomes the pilot of the GQuuuuuuX and begins participating in Clan Battle.
- Nyaan – A courier who smuggles illegal goods. When Nyaan’s homeland was turned into a battlefield and she became a refugee, she escaped her colony alone in a petit mobile suit, with no time to even check on the safety of her family. Luckily, she was picked up by a ship and brought to a colony that Machu lives. Her highest priority is her own survival.
- Shuji Ito – A mysterious boy who appears before Machu and Nyaan. Shuji is wanted by the military police for painting graffiti all over the outer walls of the colony. He participates in Clan Battle in order to earn money for a certain purpose, and becomes Machu’s Mav.
Just like the Witch from Mercury, there’s no catastrophic war happening in the foreground and our protagonists instead participate in “clan battles” to earn money. Machu belongs to the Pomeranians and pilots the GQuuuuuX, which is a good segway to check out the newest titular mobile suit.
My first impression upon seeing this design is how Bandai Spirits will turn this into a decent model kit with all the pin stripes and various colors. But that will be my problem when this kit is released in January. Yes, we’re just like over a month before its release, which is probably why their previous Q2 2025 announcements were lackluster, they were saving everything for this new series. GQuuuuuuX is the mobile suit Machu uses in her clan battles, though we’re not entirely sure if this is the actual Gundam in the series.
If you look at the synopsis
… an unidentified Gundam mobile suit pursued by both the space force and the police appears before her, along with its pilot, a boy named Shuji…
Shuji is supposedly the one piloting the Gundam, though this mobile suit wasn’t shown. That said, there were supposedly leaks of what this Gundam is supposed to be. But at the risk of Bandai/Sunrise flagging this small personal website of mine, I’ll just link these images instead of showing them: “Red Gundam,” “Gundam Rise Heavy“
These might just be earlier production designs or something that will appear down the line. Though the bits the “Red Gundam” is shown are very similar to the Elmeth-like bits fought by the GQuuuuuuX in the trailer.
Starting in the 2000s, Gundam series often premiere in October so it’s quite early to announce the next production in December. That’s because they are screening the first few episodes as Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning–, a theatrical edit of the first few episodes, on January 17, 2025. That’s why we’re also getting the HG GQuuuuuuX in January as well, but more of that in a separate post.
As I mentioned earlier, I really like the direction they’re taking the franchise in terms of story and concept. Those who prefer the hard military and war stories recently had their fix with Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance, while those who prefer their Gundam with soap opera elements just had their gangbusters of a film that is Gundam SEED FREEDOM and the upcoming prequel SEED FREEDOM ZERO. Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX further expands that entry spectrum for more fans to enjoy, and I’m all for it.
