This episode details the backstory of GQuuuuuuX, providing an alternate account of how the One Year War played out. In the Beginning movie, all of this plays out as the prologue. As you can tell, for the TV version, it’s the second episode. It’s also shorter than the version included in the movie (more on that in a bit). In some respects, the shift makes sense. Not introducing the new characters in the first episode could seem odd and this allows the show to better build intrigue over the fact it’s set in Universal Century. There are however some caveats to the change. By making the prologue/flashback the second episode, the show kills any momentum it has with the present-day story (and bear in mind, that plot just started one episode ago). Putting aside the fact that the TV version is shorter, it’s harder to excuse this version of One Year War being so abridged when it’s not positioned as a prologue.
Episode 2 takes place a couple months into the One Year War, the big major conflict between the Principality of Zeon and the Earth Federation. Beginning starts off with an opening narration akin to the one in 0079. Curiously, this is omitted in the TV version. You can follow the episode just fine without it but it does provide the viewer with the gist of what exactly the One Year War is, which helps a ton for anyone who is super new to Gundam. Anyway, this episode begins with a group of Zeon soldiers, led by a man named Char Aznable (Yuuki Shin), infiltrate a space colony called Side 7. There, they discover that the Federation has developed a new Mobile Suit, the RX-78-2 Gundam. In the original Gundam, the RX-78 would be piloted by the show’s protagonist, Amuro Ray (who is curiously absent in GQuuuuuuX), leading to the Federation’s eventual victory against Zeon. In GQuuuuuuX however, Char successfully steals the Gundam.
This change naturally causes the One Year War to play out differently than how it does in the original UC canon, resulting in Zeon winning instead of the Federation. With the Gundam, Char defeats the Federation soldiers stationed at Side 7 and he proceeds to secure a space carrier the Federation was developing alongside the mobile suit, the White Base. Upon returning to Zeon territory, the RX-78 is then outfitted with Psycommu tech and is rechristened as the GMS-α Gundam, the Red Gundam that we see in the present-day plot. Char learns that he’s a Newtype, which is a newly established concept at this point in the timeline. In light of this information, Char decides to recruit Bull, a fellow Newtype, to act as his wingman, eventually naming this tactic as Mav. The two proceed to work together in taking down key Federation locations, thereby tipping the war in Zeon’s favor. From my understanding, Bull is a returning character from 0079 though unlike Char, he’s a pretty minor character in that show. His role in GQuuuuuuX appears to be much larger. I don’t know what relationship he has with Char in 0079 but here, it’s definitely an important connection. Sometimes, it borders on romantic but that may just be subtext. I don’t know if that’s actually the show’s intention.
By the time Char and Bull start working together, I could not help but from the video player that this episode is running short on time. As it turns out, this episode completely skims over the entire last part of Char’s segment in the Beginning movie. The only thing it includes is Char and the Red Gundam disappearing in a phenomenon later called the Zeknova during the last battle between Zeon and the Federation. Honestly, this felt completely out of the blue even in Beginning though apparently, this is a reference to something that happened in the UC movie, Char’s Counterattack (thanks to AWJ for the tidbit in a different post). I won’t go over what exactly is missing. I imagine that’ll be used in a later episode. It’d be a waste not to use it again. Regardless, not having it here in this episode makes the ending feel extremely rushed.
Something that I really dig about this episode in general is how much it pays homage to 0079 in its presentation. The episode appears to use re-recordings or remasters of music tracks from 0079. The eyecatches are a recreation of the ones used in the original show. Any returning characters and mobile suits look fairly close to their original designs in the main UC canon. Mind you, the results aren’t perfect. Since GQuuuuuuX is paying homage to 0079, it’s strange then that the TV version omits the opening narration. The faithful designs sort of clashes with the aesthetic of the present-day plot, which looks more like a Khara/Gainax/Trigger than 70s Sunrise. I’m also just mixed on the mobile suit designs themselves. The Zaku looks okay but I feel the original one looks sleeker. The RX-78 meanwhile might be one of the ugliest things I’ve seen in Gundam. I suppose the more skeletal look is meant to make it look more like the experimental prototype that it is in-universe but it just looks like an eyesore. It at least looks better once it gets the red paint job.
Watch Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX on Amazon Prime Video
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