Gundam, a Trojan Horse for Mecha Subculture

In 1979, Japan's Sunrise studios premiered the anime Mobile Suit Gundam, which tells the story of the war of liberation between the Principality of Zeon and the Earth Federation. The main weapons used in this independence war are none other than giant robots also known as mechas. That anime, directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, gave rise to one of the most successful franchises in all of Japanese culture.

Although the idea of a "franchise" can feel somewhat dismissive — it's the same noun used to describe fast food chains — it also describes very well what Gundam became: manga (Japanese comics), endless amounts of anime (Japanese animated series), films, video games, assorted merchandising, toys, and also model kits. Yes, miniature robots that are models of fictional giant robots. Oh, the irony.

Gundam is one of the most — if not the most — respected, consumed, and successful franchises within Japan. The original model of the first "Mobile Suit" is one of the most recognizable icons of Japanese culture: the RX-78-2, which even if you never knew its name, you've surely seen it somewhere at least once in your life. The original figure of the humanoid robot with a white helmet, blue chest, red torso, and yellow details is recognizable even if you've never watched any of the series. Gundam is an icon of Japan, just like Mazinger, Doraemon, Eva 01, and Goku.

Gunplas and Gundams

Much of Gundam's lasting impact comes from its animated series, but it's also due to the success of "Gunpla," the buildable model kits for each robot in the franchise, made of snap-fit plastic and available in different scales. The commercial success of Gunpla created an entire collectible line in itself, assembly championships, a YouTube subculture around building and painting models, and anime about Gunpla battles — and there you have the complete feedback loop.

And, as if that weren't enough, also three full-scale commemorative statues. The most recent one, built in the city of Yokohama inside the Gunpla factory, stands 18 meters tall and moves.

Gundam is a direct successor to anime like Tetsujin 28-gō (known in Latin America as Gigantor) and Mazinger, which made up the first generation of mechas. But unlike the more simplistic approach of its predecessors, Gundam introduced a series of innovations that pushed the genre to explore new narrative territory.

This subgenre of giant robot anime is known as "Real Robot," since the designs attempt to emulate weapons of war rather than present a fantastical conception of machines. And where, furthermore, this realistic approach to war is used to explore every possible dimension of tragedy.

Over the years, in addition to Mobile Suit Gundam, series like Zeta Gundam, Gundam Wing, and Gundam Unicorn kept the franchise popular. Those who want to learn the details of each series and the different timelines that make them up can watch an excellent video that explains everything.

A generous number of these series are available on the most popular streaming platforms. For those who have never seen anything from Gundam, there is also a 1989 miniseries available on YouTube, titled Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, which showcases the full dramatic power of the universe, thematizes the fetishization of war, and tells the story from the perspective of an 8-year-old boy caught between the warring factions. A gem of just six episodes.

SD Gundam: Battle Alliance

But Gundam also has a vast universe of video games, and this month Bandai Namco released SD Gundam Battle Alliance, an RPG that lets you fight with many of the armors from the Gundam universe, level up and develop unit abilities (like any good RPG), and battle in limited scenarios against enemy forces. All with one caveat: the characters are designed in the SD style, super deformed, which is a subgenre in itself and represents all the armors with an oversized, cartoonish head format.

The game is quite entertaining and consists of a constant hack and slash where the trick is to connect as many combos as possible against enemy mechas using melee attacks, ranged attacks, and "special ultimate" moves. After a few hours, the mechanics get a bit repetitive, but the graphics, the universe, and the gameplay are quite decent. As you progress through the initial missions, the party grows to three characters that can be leveled up, and you can also choose allied pilots to combine powers with. Hence the Battle Alliance in the title.

The game's plot is a bit convoluted, but fun. Basically, the character is in a sort of space station that keeps the historical record of all the timelines in the Gundam universe, but it turns out that this archive is interactive, and it seems that the player's interventions modify history. Timelines cross over, Armors from the future appear in the past, and the mission is to normalize the historical archive by recreating the main battles from each key moment in the franchise's history.

The game costs around 60 dollars on Steam and is also available for PS4 and Nintendo Switch. The price is a bit steep for what the game offers, since after a few hours it becomes more of the same: battles in limited scenarios, combos, leveling up, rinse and repeat. That's why it's not a bad idea to wait for a sale week to pick it up at a discounted price. In that case, the investment would be fully justified.

For those who have never played anything from the franchise, it's an excellent starting point that lets you scratch the itch of throwing punches with mobile suits. And for longtime fans, the game lets you relive some famous combat scenes using the armors of the Federation, the Principality, the Zakus, and even the legendary Gundam RX-78-2 itself.

This article was originally published in Pagina/12. It is reproduced here with the author's permission.