The Spring 2025 Anime Season includes a special Mobile Suit Gundam series: Gundam GQuuuuuuX (“G-Quacks”). It is the latest installment in the main Gundam franchise and the second to feature a female lead (some fans didn’t fail to notice that Amate has a few similarities Gundam: Witch from Mercury‘s main character, Sulleta Mercury).
With the involvement of Hideaki Anno and Studio Khara (Rebuild of Evangelion) in this series, fans are expecting a lot from it. But what exactly is GQuuuuuuX about, and when will it be released?
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Gundam GQuuuuuuX Plot and Timeline
GQuuuuuuX is set in a space colony in an alternate timeline to the classic Gundam‘s Universal Century (the timeline of the first Gundam series), where Zeon won the One-Year War because Char Aznable stole the RX-78-2 Mobile Suit before Amuro Ray could become its pilot and renamed it “Red Gundam.” However, Char and the Red Gundam have been missing since the end of the war.
Five years later, Amate Yuzuriha is a regular high school student who lives in a space colony. One day, she meets a war refugee, Nyan, and ends up being dragged into Clan Battle, illegal duels with Mobile Suits, where she fights under the name “Machu” and pilots the GQuuuuuuX. Eventually, however, she encounters the infamous Red Gundam, piloted by a boy called Shuji. The police are hunting the Red Gundam and Amate, Nyaan and Shuji are now in quite a complicated situation.
Can You Watch GQuuuuuuX Without Ever Watching Gundam?
Since GQuuuuuuX takes place in an alternate version of the first Gundam series, it doesn’t assume that the audience has watched any of the previous series. The series will probably nod to the well-established fanbase of the franchise and may reference Gundam 0079 and its sequels by including characters beloved by the fans, but it will probably be just that (fans are definitely expecting Char and Amuro to appear, for example). This series is clearly taking newcomers into account.
Given that the series can build a whole new timeline, since it is an alternate version of the events following Gundam 0079, there is a good chance that it will spawn sequels if it becomes a hit (but if you want to get into the franchise, there are good options).
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Gundam GQuuuuuuX Release Date & Where to Watch
Gundam GQuuuuuuX will be released in Japan on April 8, 2025. Amazon Prime Video has already confirmed to stream the series worldwide simultaneously with the Japanese broadcast.
A prologue to the movie, containing the first four episodes, was released in Japan in January and is now in theaters in select countries (including the US and Canada). The commercial and critical reception of the prologue in Japan has been positive, and there are high expectations this series will break out of its niche and reach a wider audience.
The number of episodes has not been confirmed yet — if the series is one-cour long, it should be about 12 episodes.
A Gundam by Hideaki Anno and Evangelion/Gainax Team
What’s special about this series is the main staff, which is filled with people who have worked on Neon Genesis Evangelion and/or were part of Studio Gainax’s staff. This includes the renowned Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno, who is co-writing the scripts with Yoji Enokido (FLCL, Utena).
FLCL creator and Rebuild of Evangelion co-director Kazuya Tsurumaki is directing the series. He was reportedly the one who created the series and pitched it to Sunrise — he actually didn’t expect the project to be accepted.
According to mechanical designer Ikuto Yamashita (Evangelion, Shin Kamen Rider), only Tsurumaki is supervising the anime:
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX is supervised by Kazuya Tsurumaki. He decides everything as the director. Anno might be giving him some support on the sideline, but that’s all. As the president of Khara, Anno will be informed about the development of the project. However, [Tsurumaki] hides everything until the very last minute, to avoid being overturned or having to redo everything.
That means that, even though Anno is involved as a main writer in a Gundam series for the first time in his life, he is not exactly leading the project.
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX will be released worldwide on Amazon Prime Video, subbed in many languages. A simultaneous English dub was confirmed.
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX
In a war between Zeon and Earth Federation, a stolen prototype Gundam vanishes. Years later, a girl with mysterious abilities finds herself piloting a new Gundam in underground mech battles while searching for answers about her powers.