Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX ‒ Episode 3 (2025)

Another week of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, another episode of zero new footage for those of us who already watched the movie. Unlike the first two episodes, which swapped the order of the first and second thirds of the movie, “Machu in Clan Battle” comprises the final third of the movie. If there are any minimal editorial changes from the film, I didn't catch them. This episode finishes introducing what will be our main trio moving forward. A combination of throwback references to earlier Gundam shows and original worldbuilding of our heroine's suffocating life on a space colony, this episode gave us plenty of flashy action sequences and very little direction as to where we're going when we run out of movie footage.

Here's an important detail about the Gundam franchise: it exists within a multiverse. Some Gundam TV shows take place within their own timelines. (For example, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury takes place in the Ad Stella timeline and Mobile Suit Gundam 00 takes place in a timeline called Anno Domini.) However, a little more than half of all Gundam series take place in what's called the Universal Century (UC) timeline. Shows like Mobile Suit Gundam, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, and Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn all deal in some respect with the One Year War—a brief but influential conflict between the Earth Federation and the space colony-based Principality of Zeon. Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX is in a unique situation (sort of, but I can't explain without spoiling other shows) because it is not part of the UC but is instead an alternate version of that timeline. As a result, GQuuuuuuX is highly derivative of the UC and reuses characters, plot points, and even dialogue from it. As I review this show, I will continually be highlighting the ways it adheres to and remains in conversation with the UC Gundam shows that came before.

This week, the most notable reference to the One Year War is the introduction of a VIP named Cameron Bloom. Cameron previously appeared as a bureaucrat in Mobile Suit Gundam and Char's Counterattack, so his role as a presidential aide here is not unexpected. (Interestingly, unlike Challia Bull, Cameron has not gotten a glow up and looks relatively the same.) When Cameron and Challia meet, the first thing Cameron asks is whether Challia is still “in thrall” to the Red Comet Char Aznable. This is fantastic phrasing to describe Challia's obsession, which he brushes off as not relevant to his conversation with Cameron (so, in other words, “yes”). Later in the episode, Challia confidently asserts that it's not Char in the GQuuuuuuX machine because Char would surely have asked Challia to be his Mav, not somebody else. I'm fascinated by this Old Man Yaoi dynamic that GQuuuuuuX generated out of thin air—like I said last week, Challia was a side character who appeared in a single episode.

So what does “Mav” mean exactly? I'm not quite sure yet, but I can logically assume it's a support or defense partner to a paired machine. Unlike a lot of the other terminology you'll find in this show, it's a completely original term to GQuuuuuuX. Another new word to add to the lexicon is "Kira-Kira," which literally means “sparkle” in Japanese, but which isn't getting translated here. That leads me to believe it has an additional meaning beyond the norm. For Machu, the Kira-Kira is a specific sight she saw when she, presumably, instantly absorbed all of the Red Comet's talents out there in space in the first episode. But why does her new friend Shuji the graffiti artist recognize that same sight? This new character seems like an airhead but clearly possesses hidden depths, and I don't just mean the literal sewer entrance where he stores his Gundam. Also, why is Shuji receiving an illegal mecha key delivery from Nyaan? Whatever the reason, this trio's motives have aligned at last, leading to Machu's first clan battle.

The Pomeranians, as Annqi's clan is called, somehow decides to take a chance on these newcomers almost as if they realize from Machu's technicolor hair and Shuji's red-ringed irises that these two are main character material. Otherwise there's no reason to put their fate into the hands of two kids. It's action for action's sake but boy, does it look good. As Machu combines her own rookie unwieldiness with Char's memories (or so I assume), she and Shuji soon begin behaving like Newtypes, experiencing a close psychic connection within the Kira-Kira. Showing Newtype pilots' bodies nude when they're communing is a convention of the Gundam franchise dating all the way back to the first show, but it doesn't feel sexual. Perhaps it's because Machu's body is never portrayed sexually, even when she's shown in the bath (from the nose up) or in a surprisingly restrained version of the Evangelion plugsuit. I found it interesting to watch the battle's violent choreography, but I still don't get where we go from here. What motivation does Machu have to continue to compete in clan battles? How will it help her be more free?

While their inevitable win comes to fruition, Challia and the GQuuuuuuX's former pilot, Xavier, watch at an upscale bar. This is also a direct throwback to the first Gundam show, where Char drinks a brown liquor from a lowball glass while wearing a tan suit jacket and watching a plot-relevant broadcast on the bar's TV. This time it's his #1 fan Challia taking his place. I'm pointing this out because I recognize it, but it wouldn't change my understanding of the show if I hadn't. It's just another example of the way GQuuuuuuX tosses Easter eggs at old school fans at every possible opportunity. Another throwback: the title of the next episode shown during the preview guide, “The Witch's War.” Obviously I instantly thought of The Witch From Mercury. Right now, I'm watching this show as an exercise in nostalgia; picking up the crumbs it offers about the Gundam shows it borrows from so strongly. In the fourth episode, I'm hoping it gives me a reason to watch GQuuuuuuX for its own sake.

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Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video on Tuesdays.

Lauren writes about model kits at Gunpla 101. She spends her days teaching her two small Newtypes to bring peace to the space colonies.