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While Gundam features many one-on-one fights, the franchise has mostly adhered to the grounded and realistic warfare that defined it since 1979. The series is a forefather of the Real Robot genre, creating tropes and plot details that place the shows in a reality closer to our own. Nonetheless, the franchise dabbles with other genres, specifically the over-the-top shonen genre with Mobile Fighter G Gundam. While classic Gundam shows stuck with their semi-accurate portrayal of the military and warfare, G Gundam went in a more ridiculous direction. G Gundam‘s premise revolves around all the world’s nations each having a Gundam to represent themselves in a tournament that determines the Earth’s next leader.
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Rather than being about politics and facing high-stakes battles, G Gundam is about tournament-style battles where pilots fight against each other in one-on-one duels. The premise helps sell G Gundam as more unique than the other Gundam shows. Tournament arcs would later return to the franchise with the Build Fighters series, but G Gundam remains distinct purely because of its passion. Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX brings back the close-quarter fights, yet it isn’t as fun or vibrant. The clan battles in Gundam GQuuuuuuX are more like underground fight clubs where the combatants fight for money. If G Gundam was the official boxing matches of the Gundam multiverse, Gundam GQuuuuuuX is the franchise’s illegal MMA fighting ring.
[RELATED – G Gundam Has Aged In the Best Ways Possible (Except for One Major Issue)]
Gundam-v-Gundam Fights are Back with Gundam GQuuuuuuX!
The Gundam Fight Tournament in G Gundam is a sanctioned competition used by the Earth’s government. All the nations in the world agreed to the Gundam Fight Tournament to avoid any more wars, and the winning nation would be declared the planet’s primary leader for the next four years. Everything done in Gundam Fight is official and has a set of rules that competitors need to follow.
Contrastingly, the clan battles from Gundam GQuuuuuuX have less structure and are illegal. Whereas G Gundam‘s fights are bright and outrageous, Gundam GQuuuuuuX‘s clan battles are more down and dirty. However, the Gundam Fight Tournament and clan battles share one major rule: competitors must destroy the head of an opponent’s mecha to win. However, clan battles follow MAV, a tactic that Char Aznable and Challia Bull invented during the One Year War. The tactic is a doctrine where two mobile suit pilots partner up, covering each other’s blind spots.
MAV was created because pilots lose their advantage if they miss their first shot, revealing their location to the enemy. If a second pilot is within range, they can cover their partner’s missteps and provide back-up. Even though there were several team-up duels in G Gundammost of the fights in the series were one-on-one. The clan battles and MAV tactic offer a unique twist to the classic combats, yet the fights in Gundam GQuuuuuuX have a gritty realism that makes them less fun than G Gundam.
Gundam GQuuuuuuX Has Real Life Stakes
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX features plenty of humor and isn’t as dire as some other Gundam titles. The series even has moments of impressive vibrant colors, specifically the moment Machu witnesses a vision that connects her to Shuji. Nevertheless, clan battles are part of the underground criminal organization, emerging post-war because of people’s desperation.
Nyaan is a war refugee who needs money from clan battles to survive. The Pomeranians, the group that Machu joins, are on the verge of losing everything because they don’t have the funds to keep up clan battles. The fights in G Gundam did have stakes, specifically who would end up as the Tournament’s winner, yet the stakes always felt broad, whereas Gundam GQuuuuuuX‘s stakes are more personal. It’s nice to see another mainline Gundam anime focus on close-quarter combat again, yet will Gundam GQuuuuuuX evolve into something more akin to G Gundam and become the next over-the-top Gundam action series fans have been demanding? Or will the series continue its more cerebral messaging of a post-war society?
