By the start of the 90s, Gundam was in a bit of trouble. The series was no longer quite as popular as during the 80s, and Sunrise felt they needed to experiment if they wanted to keep the franchise going. After years of only having Gundam's Universal Century timeline, both that timeline and Gundam's creator, Yoshiyuki Tomino, were abandoned in the mid-90s. This gave Sunrise the opportunity to allow some new creators to come in and work on the franchise.
With Gundam's new creators came alternate universe interpretations. They were experimental and approached Gundam from a different perspective than what fans were used to. But, most importantly, they worked. Gundam left the 90s more popular than ever thanks to a handful of really strong performing anime series.
10 Mobile Suit SD Gundam Pokes Fun At Gundam
With all the Mobile Suit SD Gundam series, Bandai wasn't afraid to experiment with the franchise. Gundam was one of the biggest franchises in Japan at the time, but they weren't afraid to poke fun at themselves a bit. Some series just placed the usual Gundam cast in the Warring States period.
Other parodies took on an RPG storyline, like SD Gundam MK II having Amuro, Judau, and Kamille rescuing a princess from Char Aznable. These series are fun, but never quite hit the mark for fans who expect a more serious Gundam series.
9 Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory Shows The Missing Piece To The Gryps Conflict
Mobile Suit Gundam 0083 takes place in the aftermath of the One Year War. Everyone should be at peace, but there's a remnant of the Zeon forces still fighting back, relying on their ace pilot Anavel Gato. It's just too bad a cool pilot on the Federation side never rose up to meet him.
To this day, Kou Uraki is still one of the least-liked protagonists of the Universal Century. It's a shame, though, since Mobile Suit Gundam 0083 fills in some strong gaps in how the Federation became corrupt between the One Year War and Zeta Gundam.
8 Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz Doesn't Feel Like A Necessary Continuation
Taking place a year after Gundam Wing, Endless Waltz gives fans an epilogue to the original story. There's nothing wrong with an epilogue; however, Endless Waltz is not as strong as it could have been. There's not a lot going on other than Wufei joining an enemy faction to drop a colony on Earth.
Endless Waltz is not long enough to be a proper sequel to Gundam Wing, and there's not much additional closure that couldn't be gotten from the original anime. The best reasons to come back are the superior animation and the re-designs of the Gundams.
7 Mobile Suit Gundam F91 Doesn't Tell Its Full Story
Mobile Suit Gundam F91 could have been the next great Universal Century storyline. However, Tomino was forced to cut it down over and over, resulting in a single movie instead of a 51-episode series.
Mobile Suit Gundam F91 is still a film worth watching, as the Universal Century rarely looks this beautiful, but there are obvious sections that should have been expanded upon. It's so glaring that it takes away from what this film could have been if it had been properly written to be a feature film. Still, at least fans get Crossbone Gundam in exchange.
6 Mobile Suit Victory Gundam Is An Imperfect Story, But Still Great
To date, Mobile Suit Victory Gundam is still the last Gundam series that happened in the Universal Century. It's also the last time Tomino expressly had something to do with the Universal Century. Focusing on talented pilot Uso Evin in the distant future of UC 150, the story is about the League Militaire fighting against the oppressive Zanscare Empire.
The problem with Victory Gundam is that it's too uneven. It has some weaker moments between the great parts, which aren't helped by the series airing out of order in the first four episodes. It shows an era in steep decline with the Federation Forces and Zeon alike long gone, but there's a reason the franchise moved away from the Universal Century after this series. Still, for fans who don't mind some grim endings, it's a necessary Gundam to watch.
5 Mobile Fighter G Gundam Reinvents The Gundam Formula
After years of pioneering the Real Robot genre, the first idea Sunrise had for an alternate universe Gundam was going in the completely opposite direction. Mobile Fighter G Gundam is the kind of Super Robot anime that sounds absurd when explained, but awesome when watched.
Mobile Fighter G Gundam finds a way to mix Gundam's love of political stories with cool martial arts fights, only in giant robots. G Gundam might not be as good as fans remember, but it's still a great choice for viewers wanting hot-blooded mecha action.
4 Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Made Gundam Cool Again
Though G Gundam was moderately successful in Japan, it was Gundam Wing that really made the series take off again. Starring five young boys sent from the colonies to Earth to fight an oppressive regime, Gundam Wing had everything it needed to succeed. It featured amazing mecha designs unlike anything else out, pretty protagonists, and tons of cool fight scenes.
Gundam Wing was a hit in Japan, then came to America and contributed to the 2000s anime boom. Not all of Gundam Wing matches up to its best episodes, and there are plenty of better-written Gundam stories, but few have ever had Gundam Wing's impact.
3 Turn A Gundam Is The Best Series From Its Creator
After several years of alternate universe Gundam series, Yoshiyuki Tomino made his grand return with Turn A Gundam. Taking place within the "Correct Century," Turn A Gundam aims to combine all the different timelines into a single one with Turn A.
Though that might not work all the way, the other risks he takes definitely do — namely, the combination of high technology with steampunk and the radically different Gundam design. Even Turn A Gundam's decidedly less violent tone helps to create one of the strongest Gundam anime of the 90s.
2 After War Gundam X Reboots The Entire Gundam Concept
After War Gundam X doesn't get nearly enough credit. The series was one of Sunrise's experiments to maintain Gundam's popularity, but it never caught on like the others. After War Gundam X is a reboot of the classic Mobile Suit Gundam idea, right down to a young kid being the best pilot of a powerful mech traveling on a military ship. It even brings back the NewType concept for good measure and adds a variety of mecha to shake things up.
Because After War Gundam X is cut down, it's forced to burn through its second half — but that only ramps the drama of the series up. While this wasn't a popular series in the 90s, fans watching it today tend to love it.
1 Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team Shows Gundam From The Perspective Of Grunt Pilots
Gundam 08th MS Team gave fans something they'd never seen before, and have rarely ever seen since. Most Gundam anime focus on ace pilots and characters who are the turning point in a war, but Gundam 08th MS Team doesn't even attempt to do this.
Gundam 08th MS Team's protagonists aren't NewTypes, and none of them are ever going to single-handedly change the course of a war. They don't even get many experimental suits — they're handed the standard-issue Gundams and make the best of it. However, that's what the fans were after — the gritty side of the war from the perspectives of ordinary pilots. As a war drama, 08th MS Team delivers everything its viewers are looking for, and it's the must-watch for Gundam fans.