There are few anime properties that have been around for as long as Mobile Suit Gundam and the long-running franchise has had an undeniable influence on giant robot series. There are several varieties of programming that have practically become synonymous with anime, and mecha series are among them.
It’s easy to generalize when it comes to mecha stories, but Mobile Suit Gundam has crafted an intricate and challenging universe for over 40 years, which has featured a wide variety of mobile suit designs along the way. Typically, it’s the most powerful and sleek Gundam that get remembered, but there are also some mecha from the Mobile Suit Gundam series that are memorable for all of the wrong reasons.
10 Mobile Suit Gundam’s Zakrello Are A Terrifying Alternative To The Standard Mobile Suit
Part of the charm behind the original Mobile Suit Gundam series is to witness how both the Principality of Zeon and the Earth Federation experiment with less than elegant mecha models during their war. Zeon eventually find success in their Zaku, but the Zakrello are one of their earlier models that resemble a much more vicious and personal style of combat.
The Zakrellos have pincers and an animal or insect-like design that emphasizes Zeon’s darkness. Zakrello have shown up in more recent series and their design is even more jarring and foreign to the norm.
9 G Gundam’s Noble Gundam Is An Ode To Magical Girl Heroines
The Gundam franchise has expanded in very exciting ways and series like Mobile Fighter G Gundam allow the mecha property to flex other talents. G Gundam resembles more of a shonen tournament series where each country sends a Gundam representative to engage in a galactic competition.
G Gundam indulges in some of the franchise’s most absurd creations and Neo Sweden’s Noble Gundam looks like it belongs more in a magical girl series than a mecha show. Allenby Beardsley is the female pilot for this inventive Gundam that immediately brings Sailor Moon to mind.
8 Turn A Gundam's Titular Mecha Looks Like He Needs A Shave
Turn A Gundam is an ambitious addition to the franchise that marks Yoshiyuki Tomino's return for Gundam's 20th anniversary. Turn A Gundam excels with its animation and music, which is by Yoko Kanno of Cowboy Bebop fame, but it also features one of the strangest-looking lead Gundam models.
The Turn A Gundam is originally designed as a weapon of destruction and its unique look makes the mobile suit appear as it has a gigantic mustache that it can villainously twirl. Both the Turn A Gundam mecha and the series face a difficult battle largely because of this design.
7 Zeta Gundam’s Zeta-Zaku Is A Frankenstein’s Monster Of A Mobile Suit
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam is an excellent continuation of the Universal Century Gundam narrative. The series showcases a lot of conventional mobile suits, but the signature Zeta Gundam experiences a temporary setback that leads to some fascinating improvisational skills.
The head of a Zaku is fashioned onto the top of the Zeta Gundam like some bizarre hybrid that’s somewhere between good and evil. The Zeta-Zaku isn’t permanent, but it opens up the door to some aesthetically interesting future choices. It’s also a rare example of characters in the anime mashing their toys together like they’re kids with their model kits.
6 Victory Gundam’s Sandhoge Is An Arachnid Support System
Victory Gundam can often get overlooked among the larger Gundam pantheon, but there are some mature ideas present and another very sobering look at the casualties of war. A creative aspect of Victory Gundam is that many of the mobile suits have insect-like designs and gimmicks behind them.
The Sandhoge has an arachnid appearance and it even dispenses adhesive like a spider. The Sandhoge is used for repairs, but it fixes mobile suits in a very threatening manner. Other mobile suits, like the moth-esque ZMT-A30S Birknau and the ZMT-A31S Doggoria, which looks like a dragonfly, are also highly unusual.
5 The Mermaid Gundam Looks Absurd In Either Of Its Amphibious Forms
All of the Gundam that come out of Mobile Fighter G Gundam are extremely silly and worthy of this list, but Neo Denmark’s Mermaid Gundam is another mecha that needs to be seen to be believed. Hans Holger pilots the Gundam that draws inspiration from mermaids as well as Atlantis.
The mecha wields a gigantic laser-shooting trident and it can also transform into a fish form for more agile underwater transportation, but both of these options make it hard to take Neo Denmark seriously and their representative Gundam is more of a joke than a threat.
4 The Walking Dome Gundam Looks Like Old Sci-Fi & Not A Glimpse Of The Future
Turn A Gundam marks the return of Mobile Suit Gundam’s creator to the franchise and it feels like Tomino wants to push boundaries as much as possible and really experiment with what qualifies as a mobile suit. The Turn A Gundam itself leaves much to be desired, but the Walking Dome Gundam brings War of the Worlds and 1950s science fiction to mind.
It’s a very different look for a mobile suit, which is also true for Turn A Gundam’s beanpole High Heel Gundams. These mechas try, unsuccessfully, to expand the designs of the series.
3 Fuunsaiki Becomes An Unnecessary Addition To The Mobile Suit Process
At the least nobody can ever accuse Mobile Fighter G Gundam of not thinking outside of the box. Gundam are built for combat, but they’re also designed to be excellent vessels for space travel. Master Asia is a major antagonist out of G Gundam and he marks his extravagance with Fuunsaiki, a Gundam unicorn that his regular Gundam rides around.
What’s even crazier about all of this is that there’s an actual horse inside of Fuunsaiki that controls its movements, which also seems incredibly needless and prone to pitfalls. Gundam that are based on animals remain highly uncommon.
2 The End Gundam From Gundam Build Fighters Is Like A Greek Chimera Of A Mecha
The Mobile Suit Gundam franchise has found some success with a creative reinvention that embraces the model building aspect of the franchise and turns these toys into mecha warriors through virtual simulation. Several series explore this principle, but Gundam Build Fighters Try involves the heaviest hitter, The End.
This over-the-top Gundam is piloted by Saga Adou and it has four arms, three faces, and two forms that cater towards both offense and defense. The End Gundam is seriously intimidating, but there’s also so much involved that it almost looks comical.
1 The Nether Gundam From G Gundam Is More Landmark Than Mecha
Out of all of the ridiculous mecha designs that come out of Mobile Fighter G Gundam, Neo Holland’s Nether Gundam (or Hurricane Gundam in the English dub) is by far the strangest and most reductive of cultural stereotypes. The Nether Gundam’s pilot, Rutger Verhoeven, is arguably just as big of a caricature.
The mobile suit that represents Neo Holland is emphasized with a gigantic windmill, which seems like it’d be largely impractical for combat. The Nether Gundam is a pro at camouflage, but it’s another G Gundam contender that seems like a visual gag and not serious competition.