Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Gwyndolyn35
Mobile Suit Gundam, I learn a lot about it either through osmosis or through my cousin but for watching this for the first time myself, all I can say is that I am very pleasantly surprised how well this aged, a lot from the characters to the themes to the story to each and every individual characters big or small have such a huge impact and it’s just a pleasant surprise watching this when everything I learn about Gundam was from a Dynasty Warriors spin off and I love it. I have nothing more to add overall I think for everyone’s first time for going into Gundam, this specifically sets the benchmark to what to expect as I continue watching this show more and more
Read at the sourceOlorin666
Yes, this is a very old series. Not only the animation, but also the type of storytelling is outdated. But its core, the story itself, will be relevant forever. The battle of the robots is just a screen behind which an adult drama about war is hidden. The horror of war and the pain and suffering it brings to people is what this story is about. Each character, each small story, like small pieces of a puzzle, add up to a complete and deep canvas, without exaggeration, one of the best space operas. For everyone who loves adult life stories, well-written characters whose development is interesting to watch, and sad stories about war.
Read at the sourcecurryage
While not the first, Gundam pioneered and popularized the mecha genre. Fans dubbed the original Gundam robot or mobile suit as Grandpa.
Story = 7/10
The original series is probably one of the robot shows that has a mature theme and has political conflicts that inspired future animes. But the writing is inconsistent. Out of nowhere, some characters just fell in love with each other that felt the writer is not fit for romance. The pacing is dreadful. The series focuses more on how cool and marketable the mobile suit. The plot became more interesting on its last few episodes.
Animation = 6/10
The first Gundam, RX-78-2, is probably one of the recognizable robot design in anime history. This series was made in the 70s and we are getting basic hand drawn robots without CGI. For that time it i…
Read at the sourceKinglink
This is a good anime, but it's a flawed anime in 2025... The animation is old as hell, it feels like a saturday morning cartoon show at the beginning, and it's definitely a feeling that there's lighter production on this then there should be.
At the same time, I can't deny it's still a really solid series, with a few mis-steps. Amuro Ray the "Boy who pilots a gundam" feels really out of place, but what's odd is in the future series this is just normalized. I feel like more could have been made about his age, but really everyone is just like "yup, 15 year fights and kills people, we good with that". I know the series does focus on it a couple times, but the point is that every single person who finds out about Amuro is just like "That's normal" when it's really not at this point in the se…
Read at the sourceDanteDemonZ
I still believe that Gundam: The Origin manga is the best and most complete way to experience Gundam’s beginnings. It fleshes out the supporting cast far more effectively, deepens motivations, and makes deliberate tonal changes that give the story greater weight. While the original 1979 television series is more serious than the compilation movies, it still contains several awkward or outright goofy moments that undermine its impact. Scenes like Garma’s girlfriend randomly falling from a plane and dying instantly, or everyone unquestioningly accepting Sayla’s excuse for stealing the Gundam as “I wanted to prove women could pilot Gundams too,” feel clumsy, dated, and tonally out of place.
That said, if you are going to experience Mobile Suit Gundam (0079), you should absolutely watch the f…
Read at the sourceRealkaku
Some anime are fun to watch, but Gundam changed what anime could be. Before it, giant robots were just toys for heroes to fight with. Gundam changed everything. It showed that robots are not just symbols of power but weapons of war, built and used by people who are scared, broken, and human.
What made Gundam revolutionary was its serious treatment of war. It did not glorify battle or victory. Every fight had a price, every decision left a scar, and every death felt real. It made the audience think about the cost of survival, rather than just cheering for it.
But Mobile Suit Gundam did more than tell a story. It became a phenomenon. It captured Japan in the same way Star Wars captured the world. It gave people a universe to believe in, filled with politics, tragedy, and hope. Children bui…
Read at the sourceHERMIT_PAIMON
Gundam is a title that almost heard by every anime watcher unless he is new to anime or a complete nobody .
Problem is that hardly anyone grasp what gundam is truly trying to project and convey , people judge this from poster and synopsis like they expect oh ! we gonna get big robot fights . So, almost 80% of anime watchers drop gundam in starting 10 eps or they struggle to find a watch order .
Due to poor promotion and dynamics gundam fanbase isn't very large . You will meet many anime watchers across your anime journey who watched some parts of gundam but not whole franchise . So, whole franchise fan base is very small despite of having a mature plot , perfect story of execution , intense politics and situations where real human nature arise .
0079 is 1st installment where from gundam or…
Read at the sourceHirenCloud
So I finally sat down and watched the original Mobile Suit Gundam from 1979, the granddaddy of robot anime and the starting point of a massive franchise that still hasn’t stopped growing. Going in, I knew it was going to be an old show with obvious limitations, but I was curious to see how well it held up beyond just its historical importance.
First off, I absolutely loved the worldbuilding and the tone. It’s a deeply influential series, not just the space setting, but the way it blends political tension, war and human drama. For a show made in the late '70s, Mobile Suit Gundam is shockingly ambitious and impressively executed. It gave me Star Wars vibes at times. The production value really exceeded my expectations. I was especially surprised by how good the storyboards were.
Visually,…
Read at the sourceChrismas95
I went into the very first Mobile Suit Gundam with low expectations due to its age. To my pleasant surprise, its animation wasn’t bad and its writing was far from being bare! It’s very much like how I was surprised by how good Evangelion was due to the same biases.
…Maybe I should stop underestimating old anime.
0079 is definitely endearing. Its plot is about a bunch of trainees and civilians involuntarily taking control of the Federation’s best ship and its best mech, trying their hardest to survive onslaught after onslaught of the enemy forces that want that technology. I’m as surprised as anyone that the show can make that interesting for 43 episodes, but they did! It’s always fun to see the Gundam be overpowered, but the ship’s crew also pulling through is also always good to see! To…
Read at the sourceLegionWrex
There is a moment early on in Mobile Suit Gundam's first episode that immediately sets the vibes and tone of the entire series, and it's when Amuro, in a desperate attempt to stop an attack on his home, gets inside of the titular mecha and we start to see it rise up. The vents open up, air releases as it's feet hit the ground and shake the earth beneath it. Despite the spectacular nature of it's existence - this massive, hulking suit of armor that uses laser weapons and has a beam sword - it's a tangible, physical thing with numerous buttons, levers, scratches. It's a lived in hunk of metal. And it needs a pilot.
Lots of write ups have been said about MGS, so much so that it's difficult to find new things to say about it. It's influence is so far reaching that most people are more likely…
Read at the sourcek-0da
This series has so much heart. From the very human antagonists, to the acknowledged evil of child soldiers, to the genuinely revolutionary action sequences— fantastic.
Amuro's arc is great and the best thing about it. His rivalry with Char is legendary for a reason. Their relationship is very good, and watching them both start to crack under the pressure is awesome.
The white base crew is very good too, they're very charming and bounce off of each other nicely. I wish we got to see more of them interacting rather than random zeon baddies every week.
There is a fair bit of misogyny, but it’s classic 80s misogyny, which I find much preferable than the fan service misogyny of anime today.
Read at the source_Lazaroth_
(LAZAROTH REVIEW - LONG - VERY MINOR SPOILERS)
"Mobile Suit Gundam (1979)" definitely feels like the foundation of a great franchise, with a brilliant and mature showing of not just the Art of war, but the Nature of war as well.
For context, I am a first time viewer of the Gundam Franchise. I will be watching/reading every Gundam media product to be released, starting with this anime, following an "Best order" guide on the site "AnimeHunch" from an Gundam enthusiast. I have no nostalgia for this franchise nor any particular love for Mecha as a whole, so this review is entirely unbiased. Although I always keep Bias out of my reviews anyway.
Animation/Art/Music:
You'd think an anime from 1979 would have "bad" animation, but I was really surprised with the animation and art of the show.…
Read at the sourcecri_c
The Iconic classic that started a phenomenon & A surprisingly well executed war drama
Gundam was always one of those franchises i knew existed but never got the time to really get into it. That was until a few days ago where i finally decided to start my journey into this expansive Sci - Fi setting and i don't regret it one bit.
Don't let the somewhat silly concept of giant mechas fighting in space fool you. "Mobile Suit Gundam" is a serious war drama, dealing with concepts such as: PTSD, children in the military, how civilians are treated in times of war & how, ultimately, no one wins in war.
In the show, there are two factions fighting each other, "The UEF" & "The Principality of Zeon" and while Zeon is shown as a bit more evil in their methods, the UEF isn't that innocent either. W…
Read at the sourcekekekeKaj
For a long time I'd thought the importance of the original Gundam anime Mobile Suit Gundam was mainly due to its founding of the Real Robot genre as well the huge, sprawling Gundam franchise that's still going strong today. Having actually sat down and watched the show though, I realised that I seriously underestimated the influence of this seminal series: not only did it make its mark in anime history, many of its ideas remain relevant to this day.
It always seemed a little strange to me how Gundam series often recycle the same elements over and over. What became obvious once I started Mobile Suit Gundam was how these traditions were inherited directly from the original series. Even the opening shot was a spine-tinglingly iconic one, with the sun peeking out behind Earth and the sunlight…
Read at the sourceKrenZane
*Progenitors walk so their descendants can run (I hope they'll run)*
~~
All due respect is given to this revolutionary title without second thought. One would basically be living under a rock were they unknowing of the breadth and depth of its success. No matter what I say here, it wouldn't ever touch its reputation. These are merely ramblings of a random person who thinks the very origin of the franchise feels inadequate in and of itself (final opinion should never be cemented in individual seasons comprising a whole, and it should never be taken too seriously when someone finds faults predominant in a certain part; practicing giving the benefit of the doubt while acknowledging the current state of affairs is the way to go), and I would be hard-pressed to believe otherwise when things a…
Read at the sourceRelag
Mobile Suit Gundam is and enormous work. Much like having seen any movie since 1950 is to know Citizen Kane, it is impossible not to know of Gundam if you have even a passing interest in the mecha genre. However, that is not the same as "Experiencing" Gundam. While subsequent shows exhibit the same plot beats, the same stylings, the same characterizations as Gundam; there is no substituting the keen understanding of the violence and the status quo that Tomino and team brought to this seminal work.
Having been cruelly cast out into space, the newfound Spacenoid humans struggle for independence from the Earth government. A beautiful dream for the future is turned into supremacist ideology as this movement is co-opted by fascists. The ensuing conflict results in the deaths, the murders, of m…
Read at the sourceJastereich
This show is about a group of ordinary people who become soldiers and use the Earth Federation's powerful ship, the White Base, and their new weapon, the Gundam, to fight the Zeon Empire. I found the story repetitive as the group traveled from one place to another to get supplies and repair their weapons. However, the show stands out for its focus on character development and interpersonal relationships. The protagonist, Amuro Ray, must grow and learn to work with his team in order to overcome his enemies.
The show also highlights the human cost of war. It shows how war affects not only soldiers but also innocent people. It emphasizes that war is not just about winning and losing but about the loss of life and human suffering. Gundam provides a sincere and refreshing perspective on war t…
Read at the sourcebboy_X
Not to sound like a deranged six year old but if you like planet sized robots with guns, bazookas, lightsabers, canons, jet packs, lasers, that can also fight in hand to hand combat then screw this review and pick this up. Forget the fact that it’s made in 1979, because this cinematic masterpiece holds up to this day. This has it all: mecha, love, characters, weird acid trips, family drama, Char, and military tactics that anyone could desire in a Gundam show. I’m talking scenes filled with so much war and space jargon that you’ll be fluent in the language of Spacenoid by the end of it. But is this series all sunshine and roses? Ahem, time for a most dubious synopsis.
In short, we begin with an expedition dump saying how Earth has split in two. One half is the Earth Federation that wants t…
Read at the sourceWander42314
as it happens to be one of the most famous animes i knew i had to check this one out and lemme tell you this lived up to the hype. the highs were some of the best anime ive seen yet. yet the lows were quite low.
the story is quite simple yet interesting in how its done, a war between the earth and the zeon forces and this is some of the best parts of this when they focus on the war as a whole showing both sides (zeon a bit less) as just people fighting for what they believe in (minus the whole nazi government that zeon was kinda turning into) 9/10
characters were my second favorite part everyone felt really unique and different to each other only downside being how sometimes the minor characters can be dropped a bit frau beau obviously being my least favorite victim of this, as shes not ex…
Read at the sourcewhiteflame55
I will say that it's pretty difficult to rate this series. It was the progenitor of so much anime so it's legacy is certainly a great one, and I really shouldn't be judging it in comparison to more modern shows. Still, I will say I appreciated a lot of what this series did, especially with more nuanced villains and antiheroes in the form of Char, as well as some deeper story threads that I'll have to explore in more detail through prequels and sequels. That being said, the series was incredibly slow to warm up, taking far too much time dragging its heels between episodes. It too far too long to really get going, and when it did, the cancellation of the show rushed everything. There are a lot of good ideas in here, and it makes me want to see how they developed things that take place chrono…
Read at the source
