Gundam X is a peculiar show. Half forgotten, half remembered. Half derided, half praised. The show came was the third of three Gundam series in a row to be released back to back to back in the 90s. As ratings declined, the show ended up being moved to a 6 am time slot, and eventually cancelled early, ending at a mere 39 episode rather then the planned 50. Despite this, the show has a cult following amongst segments of Gundam fans, yet the show also has its fair share of detractors.
After War Gundam X takes place 15 years after the last great war. The final battle between the space colonies and Earth resulted in a mass colony drop operation, where 99% of humanity died in the ensuing apocalypse. Only after 15 years has Earth started to recover, but the law still barely exists. Isolated towns huddle together to protect against mobile suit bandits.
It is in this scenario that we're introduced to our protagonist, 15 year old Garrod Ran. As a single mobile suit attempts to raid a town, Garrod use a flashbang, a grapnel hook, and an understanding of mobile suit cockpit hatch operation, to hold him at gunpoint. After this, Garrod is tasked with rescuing a young girl from a group of Vultures, outlaws who travel the world making their fortune on selling abandoned Mobile Suit parts, or just plain banditry. All too quickly, Garrod realizes that his contractor wants this young girl Tifa for malicious ends, and so he defects to the side of these Vultures, and meets their captain, Jamil Neate, who is looking to protect Newtypes across the world.
Gundam X, primarily, is an arc based character drama. The show focuses quite keenly on the main character Garrod. Fortunately, Garrod is instantly likable from the start. Despite being only 15 years old, Garrod's a low level badass in this post apocalytpic humanity. Garrod is headstrong, courageous, and wears his heart on his sleeve. Even so, he's still quite childish in his own way. Sure, he's completely awkward around his love interest Tifa, but his issues go beyond that.
Despite his joking and friendly nature, truth is Garrod's lived most of his life as a drifter. He's lonely, and some of the best drama in the early episodes of Gundam X revolve around the immature way Garrod deals with guilt and the judgements of others. Namely, by attempting to do something reckless for the good of the crew, and then leaving the ship when this blows up in his face. Garrod is also insecure, and distrusting of others at the start. We see how this distrust has served him well in this dog eat dog world, but also how it shorn him of any opportunity to connect with a woman. It's only when Garrod's friends are put in danger, that he's able to overcome his pride and trust issues, and come to their rescue.
Yet a character drama can only be as good as the characters surrounding the main character. Aboard the Freiden, the ship protecting Tifa that Garrod joins, there is a wide cast of characters. There is Tifa, a shy and lonely girl. There is Jamil Neate, the stern and aloof captain of the Freiden, who occasionally shows his anger and passion when he feels Garrod isn't growing up fast enough, yet also has the respect to overbear on Garrod. There is Roabea, the mecha pilot and womanizer, and Witz, the combative and defensive other mecha pilot, who's working this job to provide money for his family. There Toniya, the ditzy blonde bimbo, and Sala, the uptight first officer pining after Jamil.
Unfortunately, there's not much more to these characters then what I just listed. It's true, almost every character on board the Freiden is likable. Some, such as the enigmatic and mature Dr. Tex, are very interesting, and I wish he'd gotten a dedicated episode or two exploring his past, or his methods. Unfortunately, Gundam X seems relatively uninterested in developing its other major characters. Witz and Roabea get one episode shared between the both of them to fill in their backstories, but afterwards the pair get almost no development, and some of the plot details of that episode are simply not alluded to again. One of the strengths of prior shows like Zeta Gundam was an ability to develop multiple characters at the same time, and watch them bounce off against one another. Sadly, this is not a strength Gundam X has, and this can make the story of the show quite boring when Garrod isn't on screen. Even Garrod's love interest, Tifa, is not extremely complex, though I felt she had enough inner conflict going for her role in the show.
The other issue Gundam X has is somewhat lackluster battles, and lackluster villains. The battles, especially early on, are plagued by the old issue of adversary mechs going down in one shot, but allied mechs that are capable of being slashed, burned, shot, and otherwise able to survive lethal damage until help is able to arrive. Other times the villains simply have the chance to shoot their enemies fatally, but neglect to do so. Naturally, this breeds boredom on the part of the audience, as we start to check out and just assume our heroes will survive.
The show does get better at action scenes with time. Where the show is at its best in action scenes, is when it can craft good scenarios for the heroes to fight in. The satellite cannon is an especially useful tool for this. It's a powerful laser cannon capable of wiping out swathes of enemy ships, compounds, even space colonies, but it requires a microwave transmission from a station on the moon. Thus, some episodes revolve around the crew of the Frieden waiting for the moon to come out, or being in a pickle as they are attacked mid day, and denied their trump card. Later episodes also see Garrod fight against a litany of ace pilots, all unique in their own ways, which was a significant step up from prior action scenes.
This brings us to the other relative issue of this show, the villains. Early on, the show relies a lot on other Vultures as enemies, bandits. Sadly, these villains are basically portrayed as "thugs with a tiny bit of smarts", so battles against them are rarely interesting.
The other issue is the Frost brothers, Shagia and Olba Frost. These two characters are the puppet masters and main antagonists of the whole show. Despite this, the show has the Frost brothers fight the protagonists quite often in the early episodes, sometimes even showing up as secondary antagonists sometimes just to give the Frieden crew someone to fight. Unfortunately, they are often beaten quite easily by the protagonists, to the point where the brothers openly comment about how they feel they are at an disadvantage. Eventually, the show realizes and rectifies this mistake, and from then on the brothers appear as only puppet masters, controlling the enemies Garrod and the Frieden are slated to fight this week, rather then fighting directly. The two brothers' motivations as characters are peculiar, and particularly resentful and petty. Some have criticized the Frost Brothers for this, but I think it's actually a perfect fit for this show, and its message of how old grudges can threaten the safety of the world.
Thus far, I've avoided speaking about the central theme of Gundam X: Newtypes. Newtypes appears as they were in past Gundam shows: semi-psychic beings with greater reflexes, limited telepathy, and even the ability to see the future. Jamil is running his ship, the Frieden, in hopes of finding and protecting Newtypes like he once was. Tifa, Garrod's love interest is a Newtype, and her powers are desired by much of the movers and shakers of the society left over. As the show progresses, we see contrasting views on Newtypes, from those who view them as tools to be exploited, those that resent and wish to destroy them, and those that view them as the saviors of humanity.
All of these questions, and views about Newtypes are answered at the end of the show. While you've likely been spoiled already on the answer that's given, for those who are not, I will simply say that the answer this show gives on Newtypes is a unique one, and the primary reason this show remains relevant. No other show is as thorough on Newtypes, and what they truly mean for society.
Finally on the climax itself, this is actually when Gundam X really starts to pick up as show. The final battle I would even describe as memorable in its own right. When Gundam X was under the confines of being an episodic show, with only the invincible main characters at stake, it often felt like there was little drama in Gundam X. As the scope of the show expands however, the stakes are raised, and we get to see both the humanity and inhumanity in the men pushing the world towards the brink once more. And these men are portrayed in a sympathetic light; not as if they were guiltless, but you can see how every step they took on the road seemed like the right one. These types of genuine rivalries were missing from a lot of the show.
In the end, Gundam X does feel a little bit like a half baked masterpiece. All the ingredients are here, but there's just not quite the directorial skill or planned character writing to affect what the staff wants. The show has an excellent concept, with good ideas, executed passably. A lot can be forgiven with its excellent ending and epilogue, but I can't help but wonder what could have been, if the staff had just been given a bit more time to plan the show.