The Gundam Rising Event was a joyous presentation that celebrated the complex yet short Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX. It was an incredible showing that featured fun cast interviews, live performances, and reveals about the series. While the series appears to be a one-season wonder, the cast and crew have revealed some interesting details about the show. Those attending the event include series director Kazuya Tsurumaki, series scriptwriter Yoji Enokido, executive producer Naohiro Ogata, and voice cast members Tomoyo Kurosawa, Shimba Tsuchiya, Shinji Kawada, and Yuuki Shin. Gundam Rising also had a live musical performance by Nomelon Nomelon, who performed insert songs for the series, including “Midnight Reflection,” “Kienai,” and “HALO.”
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The cast and crew revealed many fun introspectives on the series, including explaining why the series took place in an alternate timeline from the original show and why it ended the way it did. The series’ creation stems from the creators’ desire to see a happier ending in the original anime. The classic Mobile Suit Gundam and its immediate follow-ups were much more cynical and dire, with many characters not walking away in one piece. The original series creator, Yoshiyuki Tomino, had a reputation for killing characters on a whim, turning the early Gundam shows into a bloodbath. Gundam GQuuuuuuX was made to subvert that and give the fans the happy ending they all desperately want.
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Gives The Timeline a Happy Ending
While the original Mobile Suit Gundam ended on a very optimistic note, Zeta was an angrier show. Zeta was Tomino at his most cynical, depicting a story about government overreach, innocent civilians dying, most of the cast perishing in the final two episodes, and the lead protagonist becoming a vegetable. Even Mobile Suit Gundam‘s original happy ending is undermined by the continued government corruption. Amuro Ray, the protagonist of the original series, and his rival Char Aznable would mysteriously disappear at the end of Char’s Counterattack, leaving their fates somberly vague. The tragic endings will follow future Gundam anime, most notably with Gundam V and Iron-Blooded Orphans.
It’s all these sad endings that Enokido, Tsurumaki, and Ogata were reacting to when creating Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX. They purposely created the series as an alternate timeline of the original shows, which are labeled as part of the Universal Century (UC) timeline in the Gundam franchise, so that they can give the characters brighter futures. They wanted to subvert the tragedy inherent in the UC, ending Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX on a hopeful note, with most of the characters gaining their happily ever afters. Char survives Gundam GQuuuuuuX and meets Lalah Sune, his main love interest in the original timeline, for the first time. Challia Bull, who went from being an obscure one-off character to a bona fide fan-favorite, also lived and helped put Artesia in charge. Artesia herself, who went by Sayla Mass in the classic series, makes a surprise last-minute cameo to become the new leader of Zeon, a role she arguably deserved in the original timeline.
None of the major new characters perished, with the major exception being Shuji, who mysteriously disappeared. Machu matured throughout the series, becoming a better and more well-rounded character, and Nyaan found a true friend to be loyal to with Machu. The villainous members of the Zabi family were still all slain, with Kycilia Zabi dying the same way as she did in the original show. The crew for Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX describes the finale as the “positive ending,” gifting the Universal Century a brighter outcome than the original series ever did.
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