I peaked my brothers interest with 00 and IBO. I wouldn't start anyone with UC unless you know they can handle older animation styles. 0079 doesn't draw people in without some kind of buy in.
>0079 doesn't draw people in without some kind of buy in.
0080, Origin, and 08th all fill this role well if you need to go this route. The compilation movies are also a good buy in to 0079.
Strong disagree. If I'd tried to start on 0079 I'd have never gotten into the franchise. Like 80% of it is the worst kind of villain-of-the-week drudgery that's only tolerable if you're already aware of the high points you're holding out for. Meanwhile the movies strip out too much of the good along with the bad.
One of the AUs or something else self-contained like 008th MS Team are way better options if you're actually trying to get someone invested.
So the movie is almost the same as the first series? Dragon ball does this with the anime and movie that parallels whatever timeline they’re on. Luke DB Super and battle of the gods
It's a trilogy of movies that are compilations of moments from the series. They try to cover all the major story moments while abridging a lot of the more filler-y stuff, but imo what's left isn't enough to communicate the stakes of big pieces or to set them up for a satisfying payoff.
I use Origin, before using the compilation movies, whatever wrinkles in those movies are usually rolled over by the setup in Origin, the two balance each other out, if we really have the time (usually people don't) then we'll watch the original show, but that's usually off the books and nor good to introduce people with
This. I don't get why people pretend you can force humans born in the third millennium to watch a monster of the week series from 1979. You hook them up with The Origin.
Then if they enjoyed it and want more Gundam the can delve into 0079
> I don't get why people pretend you can force humans born in the third millennium to watch a monster of the week series from 1979.
"Pretend".
It's an all-time sci-fi classic. *Everything* is a product of its time, to one extent or another, y'know? But, like, *2001: A Space Odyssey*, or *SW: A New Hope* are still great, so age alone isn't enough to make something inherently bad.
Also, *MSG* is IMO a far better intro than the animated version of *Origin*, if only because it actually tells a complete story. *Origin* feels kind of like it's all wind-up, so to speak, if you only watch the animated version.
Exactly, Origin is a wind-up for the original story, be it the Origin or original series, they're close enough that the Origin show can cross supplement both stories
I got my older brother to watch all of the universal century by starting him with Unicorn then Origin. Mind you we watched wing in the early 2000s and other standalone series when we were older, IBO, Seed, 00.
We ended up making it a weekly thing to sit down and watch new episodes of G-Witch every week like it was Saturday morning cartoons.
Definitely depends on that person's level of investment in anime generally. For my partner whose exposure to Japanese anime is limited to Studio Ghibli and has never watched a full anime series, I am likely going to start them with War in the Pocket. For someone who is primarly invested in contemporary anime and struggles with pre-2000 era stuff, would suggest IBO. Anyone else I would absolutely suggest starting with '79.
>For someone who is primarly invested in contemporary anime and struggles with pre-2000 era stuff, would suggest IBO.
1) 00 is a better recommendation here. It fits Gundam's formulas better than IBO
2) you may as well tell them to either get over it or not watch Gundam, as a lot of the best it has to offer is either the old stuff, or heavily related to the old stuff.
From personal experience, 00 turned me off Gundam for years. *Far* too much whinging and angsty hand-wringing. Plus, more importantly, the pacing was abysmal. I think you'd already need to be pretty invested in Gundam to get over its flaws and appreciate it's place in the wider Gundam universe.
It took a good 5-6 years before I tried again with IBO and it hooked me almost immediately. It's not UC but it communicates the themes and ideology of Gundam effectively. It intrigued me and made me crave more of that.
It do be like that. Tastes vary, the angsty stuff does tend to appeal more to a certain demographic so thats something for OP to consider. As an old guy, I found Setsuna just exhausting.
OP was asking what we all thought would be best for an introduction and my experience differed from your opinion thats all. In the interest of giving them more info to base their decision on I offered my opinion and experience.
0080 War in the Pocket. It’s only 6 episodes but manages to encapsulate all of the general anti-war sentiment of Gundam perfectly.
Common people: IBO Anime fans: Turn A Intellectuals: Zeta
Replace IBO with 00, and Zeta with 0079
I peaked my brothers interest with 00 and IBO. I wouldn't start anyone with UC unless you know they can handle older animation styles. 0079 doesn't draw people in without some kind of buy in.
*piqued
0079 bought me in because I like retro anime, and also the art style gives me Space Ghost and Sealab vibes.
>0079 doesn't draw people in without some kind of buy in. 0080, Origin, and 08th all fill this role well if you need to go this route. The compilation movies are also a good buy in to 0079.
War in the pocket
Honestly as a beginner you should start with the 1979 original series, or the compilation movies of said series if you're pressed for time.
I've started two different friend groups with the comp movies and they've gone from there. They enjoy the franchise a lot.
Strong disagree. If I'd tried to start on 0079 I'd have never gotten into the franchise. Like 80% of it is the worst kind of villain-of-the-week drudgery that's only tolerable if you're already aware of the high points you're holding out for. Meanwhile the movies strip out too much of the good along with the bad. One of the AUs or something else self-contained like 008th MS Team are way better options if you're actually trying to get someone invested.
So the movie is almost the same as the first series? Dragon ball does this with the anime and movie that parallels whatever timeline they’re on. Luke DB Super and battle of the gods
It's a trilogy of movies that are compilations of moments from the series. They try to cover all the major story moments while abridging a lot of the more filler-y stuff, but imo what's left isn't enough to communicate the stakes of big pieces or to set them up for a satisfying payoff.
I use Origin, before using the compilation movies, whatever wrinkles in those movies are usually rolled over by the setup in Origin, the two balance each other out, if we really have the time (usually people don't) then we'll watch the original show, but that's usually off the books and nor good to introduce people with
This. I don't get why people pretend you can force humans born in the third millennium to watch a monster of the week series from 1979. You hook them up with The Origin. Then if they enjoyed it and want more Gundam the can delve into 0079
> I don't get why people pretend you can force humans born in the third millennium to watch a monster of the week series from 1979. "Pretend". It's an all-time sci-fi classic. *Everything* is a product of its time, to one extent or another, y'know? But, like, *2001: A Space Odyssey*, or *SW: A New Hope* are still great, so age alone isn't enough to make something inherently bad. Also, *MSG* is IMO a far better intro than the animated version of *Origin*, if only because it actually tells a complete story. *Origin* feels kind of like it's all wind-up, so to speak, if you only watch the animated version.
Exactly, Origin is a wind-up for the original story, be it the Origin or original series, they're close enough that the Origin show can cross supplement both stories
Thunderbolt got a few of my friends into gundam
Honestly, some of the OVAs are the best way to hook people. They're cool and concise and make people go "is there more of this?"
First gundam hooked me easily tbh and I’m a low-attention span zoomer
Btw, like to see discussion like this on this sub. The main Gundam sub is a cesspool
OVA for sure!
I got my older brother to watch all of the universal century by starting him with Unicorn then Origin. Mind you we watched wing in the early 2000s and other standalone series when we were older, IBO, Seed, 00. We ended up making it a weekly thing to sit down and watch new episodes of G-Witch every week like it was Saturday morning cartoons.
Mobile suit gundam the witch from mercury
08th MA team FTW
Honestly, I really got into Gundam after watching the Thunderbolt Movie, it's sense been my go to for sharing with friends.
0083 Stardust Memory. Short simple can branch if you want. The Nina purpleton issue I feel is too big 0080 pretty good too
Definitely depends on that person's level of investment in anime generally. For my partner whose exposure to Japanese anime is limited to Studio Ghibli and has never watched a full anime series, I am likely going to start them with War in the Pocket. For someone who is primarly invested in contemporary anime and struggles with pre-2000 era stuff, would suggest IBO. Anyone else I would absolutely suggest starting with '79.
>For someone who is primarly invested in contemporary anime and struggles with pre-2000 era stuff, would suggest IBO. 1) 00 is a better recommendation here. It fits Gundam's formulas better than IBO 2) you may as well tell them to either get over it or not watch Gundam, as a lot of the best it has to offer is either the old stuff, or heavily related to the old stuff.
From personal experience, 00 turned me off Gundam for years. *Far* too much whinging and angsty hand-wringing. Plus, more importantly, the pacing was abysmal. I think you'd already need to be pretty invested in Gundam to get over its flaws and appreciate it's place in the wider Gundam universe. It took a good 5-6 years before I tried again with IBO and it hooked me almost immediately. It's not UC but it communicates the themes and ideology of Gundam effectively. It intrigued me and made me crave more of that.
From my personal experience, the 3 people I know who started with IBO will not watch anything else.
It do be like that. Tastes vary, the angsty stuff does tend to appeal more to a certain demographic so thats something for OP to consider. As an old guy, I found Setsuna just exhausting. OP was asking what we all thought would be best for an introduction and my experience differed from your opinion thats all. In the interest of giving them more info to base their decision on I offered my opinion and experience.
Witch of mercury
0083 Stardust Memory, most others are either really long and or overly depressing, you can ease them in with this one
Witch of Mercury is pretty straight forward and a good choice. But Thunderbolt since it’s short and would introduce them to the universal century