By Matthew Moorcroft

Strong Recommendation

• Directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki
• Starring Tomoyo Kurosawa, Yui Ishikawa, Shimba Tsuchiya, Yuuki Shin
• Not Rated

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR GQUUUUUUX INVOLVING PLOT POINTS THAT ARE NOT PRESENT IN THE ORIGINAL MARKETING. PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL.

We are going into the tail end of Gundam‘s 4th decade of being one of the biggest pop culture juggernauts out of Japan, and in the process Gundam is reinventing itself once again. The constant push and pull of franchise fare like this means there must always be something of a status quo, a new installment, something that feels familiar enough to satisfy fans. While Gundam has never gone away, exactly, one of the things the success of much of their recent fare – most notably the explosion of popularity of The Witch from Mercury, one of their boldest and most unique installments – has shown is that fans, and likewise it’s creators, are desperately looking for something new and fresh.

Enter Studio Khara, fresh off of their monumental work on the Rebuild of Evangelion films, who are also trying to find direction in a now post-Evangelion world. And what better way to quell that urge then tackle the very series that famously influenced creator Hideaki Anno’s equally influential series? And while Anno’s involvement is reportedly very minimal – and after watching it, it’s very obvious that he was likely only involved in the early stages of the production – the design influence of the project is as Anno as they get.

This is, in all aspects, basically a Shin Gundam, recontextualizing the original series while also delivering a radical new take on the franchise that is unlike anything ever seen before. What starts as a 23 minute love letter to the original series – music and all – quickly turns into a rapid fire what if story that culminates in one of the most radically different Gundam series in terms of tone and style. While Witch from Mercury was certainly bold and new story wise, it’s themes, characters, and aesthetic were still similar to much of modern Gundam; corruption and capitalism being inherently linked together as part of a massive machine.

And while GQuuuuuuX (yes that is actually the title) has these themes in the background, there is a sense that director Kazuya Tsurumaki is more interested in grander, more esoteric ideas that relate back to much of Yoshiyuki Tomino’s original ideas involving Newtypes and the general advancement of humanity. Machu is inherently drawn to characters she has never met for the sole reason of being able to understand them just at a glance – the “kira kira” this version calls it – and she can really understand why. But Newtypes are just that, the hope of us as a people that one day we can understand each other on a deeper level.

While the story with Machu and her new friends is left mostly unfinished here, as this is very much a prologue first and foremost, it’s really that first 25 minutes that are the star of the show here. Starting with the now iconic narration of the original series and then leading into a recreation of the first episode, it’s all fanservice yes but it’s lovingly crafted fanservice and feels like the production team “got it”. And the little differences are noticeable immediately to long time fans; from the moment you see the red Zaku on the mission, something is up.

If anything, it’s this heavy attention to detail and reverence in the opening segments – as well as a love for the smaller side characters of the original series – that might make some more casual Gundam fans or newcomers scratch their heads wondering what the hype is about. Compared to the last couple of entries, this is certainly a “for fans only” affair, even if it’s likely the future stuff with Machu will be of greater appeal thanks to Tsurumaki’s instantly recognizable design work and some truly inspired direction that places focus on grounding this otherwise sci-fi world.

Power lines, busy streets, and broken cell phones are everywhere here. Machu feels like a high school girl from our time and not just “in the future”, Nyaan has a relevant background that feels all too real (a refugee on the run), the mechs feel cobbled together and sometimes overdesigned on purpose. This is a stylized Gundam yes, but it’s a stylized Gundam that has purpose beyond simply carving out it’s own identity.

It’s going to difficult to say right now if GQuuuuuuX will stick the landing in it’s otherwise ambitious narrative, but as a start, this prologue film is certainly among one of Gundam’s most fascinating works as one of the last big 70s anime artifacts still in the public consciousness. And even if it doesn’t work out, I’m just glad that somebody as unique and distinct as Tsurumaki got a chance to put his stamp on the franchise. Check it out if you can, though be prepared to do some research if you aren’t a longtime fan.