Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX features many cameos from the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime. Certain characters from the classic series even have substantial roles in Gundam GQuuuuuuX, specifically Char Aznable, Challia Bull, Kycilia Zabi, and Lalah Sune. However, the show saved its biggest cameo for its final closing minutes. Throughout the series, Char’s sister, Artesia, made sporadic appearances. Gundam experts would recognize Artesia as Sayla Mass, the alias she used while under the Earth Federation army. Sayla is one of the main characters in the original Gundam anime, only behind Amuro Ray and Char. Her appearances in Gundam GQuuuuuuX were always brief, almost a blink-and-you-miss-them situation, and her facial features were often obscured.
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Fortunately, Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX finally showed Sayla’s beautiful face in the ending montage of the final episode. As Artesia, she ascends to become the leader of Zeon after the death of the Zabi family. She climbs the steps of the old Side 3 mansion in complete royal garb and a crown. Ramba Ral, another classic Gundam character, is not too far behind her, making his surprise last-second cameo as well. Artesia was able to ascend to the leadership position because the Principality of Zeon was named and founded by her father before Zabi took over the organization to usher in their extremist views.
What Was Sayla’s Role in Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX?
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX takes place in an alternate timeline of the original Gundam anime. Sayla technically first appeared in the Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- film, where it was revealed she ended up taking Amuro’s spot as the Earth Federation’s top pilot, but didn’t have a Gundam. She fought against her brother on Solom, an asteroid that served as a base of operations, before retreating. The same scene from the movie would later be repurposed in Episode 8 of the anime. She would appear briefly in two key flashbacks in the final episode. One of them is during a re-animated scene from the original anime, and the other is a flashback scene of her and Char’s childhood.
It was also revealed that Challia Bull, who acted as a supporter of Char, was actually loyal to his sister this whole time. Challia realizes after reuniting with Char that he would be a danger to the future and tries to destroy him. Some of the dialogue hints that Challia had been working with Artesia behind the scenes this entire time. Eventually, Char decided to part ways from Challia and go into seclusion, meeting Lalah in the Gundam GQuuuuuuX universe for the first time in the series’ last minutes. While Challia was willing to accept going to prison for his role in the murder of the Zabi family, Xavier convinces him to stay free and help him build a better future. Challia is last seen looking over Artesia and Ramba from a distance, now sporting a spunky Char-inspired mask.
What Did Sayla Do in The Original Gundam Universe?
In the original Gundam timeline, Artesia and Char, whose real name is Casval, went into hiding after their father’s death. Artesia took the identity of Sayla, whereas Casval abandoned her to join the Principality of Zeon to kill the Zabi family. Sayla became part of the White Base crew, where the RX-78-2 Gundam resided. It’s eventually revealed she had latent Newtype abilities, allowing her to be the only other person to pilot the Gundam when Amuro couldn’t. She would end up piloting secondary mobile suits and vehicles to provide back-up to the Gundam and the rest of the crew at White Base. She survives the One-Year War, and she has essentially disappeared from the Gundam canon from that point forward. She doesn’t even take part in her brother’s war against Earth in Char’s Counterattack.
She makes a small cameo in Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, but wouldn’t have a major appearance until Gundam: Origin in 2015. It’s been long speculated that the character’s absence is the result of the unavailability of her original Japanese voice actress, Yo Inoue. Oddly enough, Origin also takes place in an alternate reality of the original Gundam anime, but the changes this time are relatively minor. Origin is more of a retelling of the original series, with new information and backstory that don’t fully line up with the entire Universal Century timeline. The anime adaptation only covers the origin stories of Char and Sayla, whereas the manga adapts the full series. Weirdly, Sayla also ends up becoming a figurehead of the old Zeon ideology when her identity as Artesia is revealed in Origin, which never happened in the classic series.
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