Gundam X
Reviewer: Vitani [email]Overall Rating: B+
Media Reviewed: Hong Kong DVD
Creator: Hajime Yatate, Yoshiyuki Tomino
U.S. Licensed: Yes (unreleased)
Released by: Bandai Japan
Run time: 39 episodes
BL Content: None (slashable)
Genre: Mecha/Sci-Fi/Action
Other media: None
Fifteen years ago, those living in Outer Space went to war with people still on Earth. During the battles of the 7th Space War, it was found that certain human beings had a mysterious arcane ability, powers of the mind to control and forsee. These gifted people were called Newtypes. They were valuable to both sides of the war; the Earth Federation designed the Flash System which allowed a Newtype pilot to control a horde of unmanned MS, called Bit-Mobile Suits.This was an effective weapon, but sacrificed the lives of many Newtypes.
Space fought back for principal, believing the effect of living in Space heightened every human ability and eventually created the prized power of a Newtype, who was not something to use as a tool for war. But in the end, mankind was its own downfall. During the final battle, the Space Revolution Army (SRA) crashed numerous colonies into the planet Earth, with a devastating effect. Millions upon millions died as a result of the colony drop. Those that were fortunate enough to find refuge in a Shelter were both blessed and cursed; they wouldn't see the sun again for four years. The rest that made it through had to endure and suffer with living on a ruined planet, plagued by an endless winter and an ever-changing, chaotic atmosphere. With that, the war had ended -- for now. But everyone who continued to live on was possessed by that tragic war, and the word "Newtype"...
The year is After War 0015, and life on Earth is finally on its way to creating a more perfect world, except for the ruthless mercenaries who use mobile suits to make a living raiding; called Vultures, some of these people are merely chasing money, while others are running from the past. Enter 15 year old Garrod Ran, an orphen of the war. He is a lively, rambunctious and friendly boy who is trying to survive in the wake of the war, living off his daring-do's and knowledge of MS. Because of this, Garrod is hired by a smartly dressed, and secretly ambitious, businessman, Rantu Aiko, for a dangerous mission: to rescue a kidnapped girl from a Vulture ship, called the Freeden, and its hard, stoic captain, Jamil Neate. Sneaking aboard, Garrod manages to find the girl, Tiffa Adill, as well as a little prize for himself, namely a relic from the war, a G-con control for a Mobile Suit.
But Garrod soon finds out that this job is entirely not what it seems; that the girl is actually a powerful Newtype, able to dream the future. The man who hired him is from a political and controversial science research center holding her for testing; they want Tiffa back and will do whatever it takes, even if it means killing Garrod. In order to save her from the researchers and the Vulture ship, Garrod tries to play hero. But it is Tiffa's power that saves them from the centers attacking MS -- by showing Garrod an old, ruined warehouse where they find an incredible weapon leftover from the war.
Model type GX-9900: The Gundam X. With no where left to run, Garrod takes Tiffa, by now worn from using her powers, into the cockpit of the rare mecha. With a stroke of luck and a "newfound belief in God", the G-con stolen from the Vulture ship activates the Gundam, giving Garrod the control of the extraordinary fighting machine. Defeating the science lab's MS trying to reclaim Tiffa, Garrod now finds himself face to face with a new foe; two more Gundams!
The Gundam Airmaster and Leopard, piloted by two men from the Freeden, come to "rescue" Tiffa. Roybea Loy and Witz Sou are outspoken and arrogant men, hired brawn for the Vultures, but they are more skilled than Garrod when it comes to a mobile suit fight. But by using Tiffa as his card, the two manage to escape the two Gundams and the Freeden. Hiding out, Garrod and Tiffa rest for awhile by campfire, and uncomfortable by Tiffa's shy silence, Garrod tells her of his childhood; his pain opens her up a little bit.
Their sweet moment is interrupted by Vultures -- come for the powerful Gundam model. Engaged once more in a vicious battle, finding himself outnumbered, Tiffa once again saves them, by finding power for them both. Her Newtype abilities trigger something on the face of the Moon, what looks like an old satellite system. Suddenly, the true worth of the GX-9900's awesome ability is revealed; registering the Gundam with her power, it is able to receive Microwave, a beam of light direct from the base of the Moon. The GX opens and using the full force of its mighty Satellite Cannon, Garrod shoots the entire lot in a huge blast of light.
And nothing remains but the GX. Garrod is shaken by such power, but Tiffa suddenly becomes hysterical, screaming and lost. She faints in Garrod's arms, who cannot help her. Both are trapped then when the Freeden appears, and both are taken into the Vulture Ship. Held a prisoner, Tiffa unconscious in the infirmary, Garrod can do nothing but bear witness to the suddenly changing times. He may learn that people's true intentions run far deeper, and that the Vultures and Captain Jamil Neate are their only hope for surviving the coming age, and the birth of the New Earth Federation.
Must mankind repeat the tragic mistake of the past...?
After War Gundam X is an alternate-Gundam series [not following the original Universal Century timeline] that aired in Japan from April 5, 1996 to December 28, 1996 with 39 episodes, and was one of the few Gundam series in history to be cancelled (there were originally 49 episodes planned). Though liscensed with Bandai for distribution, Gundam X has yet to be released in the USA. Despite that, it still has a small and dedicated fanbase worldwide (myself included) and boasts a few doujinshi releases - yes, YAOI doujinshi as well.
It is my opinion that any anime can be slashable yaoi when in the hands of a yaoi fan - and most often Gundam series are likely targets since they have mostly (wonderfully sexy) male casts. GX is no exception. Though a young love innocently blossoms between our main hero, Garrod, and Tiffa, there have been a number of yaoi fans that pair Garrod with other MS pilots - primarily a relationship with the man-made Newtype boy, Carris Nautilius, since the two boys seem to have an open and obvious fondness for each other in the series. Personally, while probably not realistic to the anime, I like this coupling; it's cute.
The doujinshi pairing of preference, however, happens to be between the Freeden bodyguard pilots, Roybea and Witz. While I admit, the two of them are at their comic relief best when together, I don't see this couple working at all. Roybea is a proud womanizer, for one; and another, like Garrod, both have ladies they really fancy above any other. But whatever floats your boat, I say.
The other popular pairing in Japan is the incest-coupling of the brothers Shagia and Olba Frost, who are both New Earth Federation Gundam pilots and ruthlessly nasty to boot! These two antagonists are what led me willingly into the yaoi "circle" - they are my favorite anime bishounen, and to understand their frame of mind and combined hatred for any other living being, a yaoi pairing is understandable - and adorable, since younger brother Olba is wholeheartedly adoring of his "Niisan". They are also Category F Newtypes (to understand what that is, see the show!) who are telepathic and empathic - they can converse in their minds, as well as experience each others' feelings. Ooh-la-la.
Finally, though I see it as a bit of a stretch, there is the pairing of Jamil Neate by his old war rival, Lancelow Dowell. However, due to the cancellation, Lancelow's character was not used to his full extent in regards to the plot. Of course, that leaves all the more room for fandom interpretation!
Overall, Gundam X has the misfortune of being compared to the grossly popular Gundam Wing, and therefor many people do not give it a chance. While GX seems an almost "what-if" to the world of GW (the Colony Drop) and both share amazing likeness as far as character and mecha designs go (Garrod has often been referred to as the love child of Heero x Duo, and I've once heard someone say that Olba Frost could be the product of Wufei x Treize) - Gundam X is more about the induvidual people than the actual concept of war. It is much less dry as far as governments and political agendas go; GW had a lot of the heavy policy talks which weighed many of the episodes down. In that respect, Gundam X is much more fun to watch!
While the background music for this series is almost nostalgic-feeling (at times bordering on elevator music) you get the sense that it fits - and it works. I would like to also point out the two AMAZING opening theme songs by Romantic Mode: "Dreams" and "Resolution" are, in my humble opinion, absolutely energizing and beautifully vocalized. In fact, I prefer them to any of the songs produced for Gundam Wing!
Of course, a wonderful seiyuu cast!! Takagi Wataru does an amazing job at keeping Garrod Ran youthfully lively and almost obnoxiously naive (and a much more realistic 15-year-old than the GW boys); Kanai Mika is softly beautiful and shyly haunting as the lonely Newtype Tiffa Adill; Ken-yu Horiuchi keeps Jamil Neate as blunt, gruff and scarred as he looks; and Morikawa Toshiyuki (Shagia) and Sasaki Nozomu (Olba) will forever be my favorites thanks to outstanding performances as the baddie Frost brothers, respectively.
Definitely I will admit that GX has it's share of flaws, and some of the episode arcs could have been shortened or avoided entirely (for instance, the "dolphin" episodes) -- but in the end, I recommend this Gundam series. Even if you're a diehard Gundam Wing fan til the day you die, you must sample GX!! Shoot, even just to see my favorite yaoi couple ever!