As I mentioned in “Gundam 40th Anniversary“, one of the more intimidating aspects of Gundam is the various timelines. Before I began watching Gundam, I too was intimidated by this aspect. However, it is not nearly as complicated as it first appears.
The first thing to remember is that each timeline is separate. The only exceptions are Turn A Gundam which contains references to other timelines and Gundam Reconguista in G which references a previous timeline. Beyond that, no timeline connects with each other. Therefore, the most important thing to do is to start at the beginning of a timeline. To help with that, I will explain each timeline and where to start within that timeline.
Universal Century
Universal Century can be considered to be the quintessential Gundam timeline and is easily the most developed. The original Mobile Suit Gundam is part of this timeline along with its sequels Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ and Mobile Suit Victory Gundam. In addition to these TV series, this timeline contains a variety of spin-offs, OVAs and movies. You will see that my most common recommendation will be to start with the first show produced in a timeline which in this case would be the Mobile Suit Gundam TV series or the Mobile Suit Gundam movie trilogy which tells the story of the TV series in a more condensed format. However, for this timeline, I would actually recommend the OVA prequel Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin which is set before the original series and lays the groundwork for the war and politics as well as providing a wide range of characters with added depth.
Future Century
Future Century is the setting for Mobile Fighter G Gundam and the first timeline separate to Universal Century. The idea behind creating separate timelines was to allow viewers to watch new Gundam series without having to watch previous entries and hopefully reignite the popularity of the, at the time, flagging franchise. Instead of a war, like in most Gundam shows, Mobile Fighter G Gundam is about a fighting tournament called “Gundam Fight” and takes inspiration from martial arts films. A divisive entry, the good news is that Mobile Fighter G Gundam is the only entry in the Future Century timeline and can be easily watched without any knowledge of Gundam.
After Colony
This is the setting for Mobile Suit Gundam Wing and its sequel OVA/film Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz. For many, this might be the Gundam series they are most familiar with as Gundam Wing popularized the Gundam franchise in America through Toonami. Gundam Wing returns to the premise of war and conflict as space colonies fight against Earth. Again, this is a standalone timeline.
After War
After War Gundam X is one of the few Gundam series to be cancelled during its run, cut to 39 episodes from 49. Set in a post-apocalyptic world after a devastating war, the cast of characters must work to stop a new war from occurring.
Correct Century
The setting for Turn A Gundam, this is the series that I mentioned earlier that contains references to other Gundam timelines. I don’t wish to elaborate on how it connects to the other Gundam timelines as this is certainly a spoiler. Turn A Gundam is also noteworthy for Syd Mead, designer for such films as Blade Runner, Aliens, etc, who designed the titular Gundam. The show ran for 50 episodes and 2 compilation films were later released.
Be sure to check out the conclusion of this article in “Gundam Timelines: Not As Confusing As You Think Part 2“
Hopefully you have found this article interesting and informative and, if you wish to seek any of the works I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs!