Most Underrated Gundam Series Now Available for Free

One of the most underrated Mobile Suit Gundam series is now available for free on Tubi. After Gundam Wing, debuted in the US, many other installments of the franchise couldn’t make it big among American audiences.

This might be changing now, as people are revisiting older Gundam series and seeing them in a new light. Gundam: Witch from Mercury, a hit from 2022-2023, helped to push the franchise forward to many new international fans. Naturally, platforms are now looking to add Gundam titles to their catalogs, and Bandai is probably also interested in making all possible Gundam content available.

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The Most Underrated Mobile Suit Gundam Series

There are lots of iconic and beloved series within the Gundam franchise, but this particular anime always gets overlooked by fans.

After War Gundam X could easily be considered the most underrated series in the franchise (though there are other strong candidates). It’s one of those installments people are starting to reconsider, but its bad reputation still lingers. Well, this one also struggled in Japan. Now, anyone who wants to give it a shot (at least in the US) can watch it for free on Tubi.

For those who are not from the US, Tubi is free ad-supported streaming service (FAST) owned by Fox. Some shows can be watched outside the US, but that depends on the license/contract (Gundam X is not available outside the US).

Gundam X Negative Reception

Gundam X aired in Japan in 1996 and ran for 39 episodes. It was originally planned to run for 49 episodes, but they cut it to 39 because the audience declined drastically. Differently from many previous series, this one is not set in the Universal Century timeline, but rather builds its own world (it takes place after a war, as the title suggests).

In the US, it was released on home video in 2016 by Nozomi Entertainment (Right Stuf International). The reception was mostly negative, with reviewers and critics claiming that the pacing was off, the characters were unlikeable, and the plot was forgettable.

In the plot, 15 years after a massive war, the surviving people on Earth are trying to make it into a post-apocalyptic scenario. War weaponry, including Mobile Suits, is now in the hands of civilians and organizations (and that’s usually a bad thing). Jamil Neate seeks to find Newtypes and prevent them from being exploited, in order to avoid repeating old mistakes. Meanwhile, a new government is emerging and trying to unify the Earth, as it seems a new war between Earth and Space is about to begin.

Other Gundam Series Available for Free

Gundam X is the only Gundam series on Tubi, but fans can watch other installments for free on other platforms. The official Gundam channel on YouTube, GundamInfo, streams many series, including other underrated ones like Mobile Fighter G Gundam (1994) and Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team (1996).

GundamInfo also streams newer content, such as Witch from Mercury (both subbed and dubbed in English). Anyone who wants to try any Gundam should take a look at what’s available on their channel.

For those looking forward to the future of the franchise, a new series written by Hideaki Anno (Neon Genesis Evangelion) is set to debut this year, and it looks really promising.

Source: Bandai Namco