What You Need To Know About ‘Ready Player One’s Stunning ‘Gundam’ Sequence

Mecha isn’t a stranger to Hollywood. The industry has tried its hand at the robotic genre with series like Pacific Rim, but anime fans there’s one name you have to bow before when it comes to mecha. Sure, titles like Robotech and Neon Genesis Evangelion are big, but they all call Mobile Suit Gundam their progenitor.

And, if you have seen Ready Player One, then you finally saw what Hollywood can do with a Mobile Suit.

Yes, the live-action blockbuster was lucky enough to feature an actual Mobile Suit and put it into action. Fans have known for awhile now that the adaptation would house the iconic anime reference, but audiences can see the whole scene now that Ready Player One is out. So, here’s what you need to know about the sequence.

The reference is sourced from Ernest Cline’s novel, and Ready Player One was very specific with the model Mobile Suit it used. To be exact, the series calls upon the RX-78-2 mecha suit which appeared in the very first Mobile Suit Gundam anime.

According to canon, the RX-78-2 suit was created by the Earth Federation during the One Year War against the Principality of Zeon. The suit was the main one featured in the series as the protagonist Amuro Ray piloted the RX-78-2 at just 16-years-old.

The Mobile Suit may not appear in Ready Player One for long, but it definitely has its nods to the anime. Daito is the boy who pilots the Gundam, and the young boy echoes back to Amuro. When he calls upon his suit, Daito goes all out by showing off the flexibility of RX-78-2 and its armory. Not only does the suit get off shots with its various guns, but Daito uses its Beam Saber for fun.

This isn’t the first time a Mobile Suit has appeared in a Hollywood blockbuster, but it is the first time the tech has been functional. Recently, Pacific Rim Uprising featured the Gundam Unicorn, but the suit was not used in actual combat. Ready Player One is the first outing for a fully functional Mobile Suit, and RX-78-2 proves how intense a live-action Gundam adaptation would be if Hollywood could get its hands on a filming license.

What did you think of the film’s Gundam inclusion? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!