Gundam Is Getting a New Anime With Evangelion’s Creator: Watch the Trailer

The studio that brought you Mobile Suit Gundam shared a special announcement for the new upcoming series in the prestige mecha franchise. The announcement is a new Gundam series called Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, a collaboration between Sunrise and Khara. The special announcement trailer was published on the Gundam Info YouTube Channel, showcasing the mobile suit designs and main characters. Neon Genesis Evangelion’s Hideaki Anno and Yoki Enokido are listed as scriptwriters for the new Gundam project.

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX follows a high schooler named Amate Yuzuriha, who gets drawn into an underground mobile suit dueling sport after meeting a war refugee named Nyaan. Amate enters the illegal dueling ring under the alias “Machu” and pilots the GQuuuuuuX. Amate and Nyaan cross paths with a boy named Shuji, who’s wanted by the police and space force. The new series takes place in a space colony and features character designs by an illustrator who has worked on Katanagatari and Pokémon Sun & Moon, and mecha designs from Ikuto Yamashita, one of the designers for Evangelion.

[RELATED: Gundam Fans in Mourning as The Walking Gundam is Disassembled]

The Next Gundam Series is Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX

Before Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX airs on television in Japan, a theatrical version of the first few episodes will be released in Japanese cinemas on January 17, 2025. So far, the GQuuuuuuX is the only confirmed mecha for the series. Gundam Info has released a new commercial advertising the High Grade 1/144 GQuuuuuuX, showcasing the state-of-the-art articulation.

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX will be Sunrise’s first collaboration with Khara Studios. Khara is the personal animation studio of Hideaki Anno, having worked on the Rebuild of Evangelion films. The studio has also worked on Anno’s live-action projects, including Shin Godzilla, Shin Ultraman, and Shin Kamen Rider. Yoshiyuki Tomino, the creator and director of Gundam, heavily influenced the original Evangelion series in the 90s. Having Anno finally get to work on his own Gundam series feels like a nice full-circle moment for his career. He has already worked on other major Japanese icons, including Godzilla and Ultraman, so it makes sense for him to get his take on Gundam as well.

The Gundam series features multiple different timelines and alternate universes. While the space colony featured in GQuuuuuuX‘s trailer appears similar to the colonies featured in the original Gundam shows from the ’70s and ’80s, it’s unknown if it’s supposed to take place in that same universe.

The previous main Gundam series, The Witch from Mercury, proved very successful for Sunrise in 2022 and 2023. The Witch from Mercury also stars a cast of teenagers who attain a military school before it evolves into a space revenge story based on the Shakespeare play The Tempest. Interestingly, both Witch from Mercury and GQuuuuuuX feature female leads with bright red hair, a rarity within the Gundam franchise.

Sunrise also released a new movie, Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Freedom, earlier this year in January. Seed Freedom followed the popular Seed and Seed Destiny anime from Japan. The film proved successful, becoming the highest-grossing film in the Gundam franchise. 

HT: Gundam.info