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Which Gundam series should I start watching first? (hexbear.net)

submitted 1 month ago by razgriz@hexbear.net to c/chat@hexbear.net

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I don't know where to start blob-no-thoughts

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[–] NonWonderDog@hexbear.net 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

The Universal Century timeline is why Gundam became famous, and is the most "Gundam" Gundam.

Production order of the major entries isn't a bad way to watch them:
0079 -> Z -> ZZ -> CCA -> 0080 -> 0083 -> V -> 08MS -> ∀ -> UC -> Origin -> NT

The original 1979 series is great, but it really drags for a dozen or so episodes in the middle. I haven't seen the movies, but the movies are what actually made Gundam famous in Japan.
Zeta is the direct sequel, is also great, and has the best OP of any animated series. Nobody recommends the movies instead of the series.
Double Zeta starts with the aftermath of Zeta before just ignoring it and pulling a massive tone shift. It gets really bad for a bit, but I thought the episodes towards the end were better than anything in Zeta.
Char's Counterattack is essentially the real sequel to Zeta, although it's slightly polarizing.
0080, 0083, and 08MS are spin-offs set during or just after the original. These are all pretty short, and you can watch them whenever. These are all good, but with minor problems (weird characterization in 0083, director changes and tonal inconsistencies in 08MS, etc.)
Victory Gundam is incredibly grim and weird, but worth it just to see how depressing a supposed kid's show can get. Starting here would be insanity, but it's not actually directly connected to anything else so I guess you could do it.
Turn A Gundam is the absolute best of Gundam, but it plays with the formula and calls back to the themes in everything prior. This one is technically alternate universe, but you should watch another full Gundam series first (0079 -> Zeta -> CCA would be good). The more Gundam you've seen, the harder this one hits, because it does a number of things that Gundam just does not do.
Unicorn and Narrative were OK, I guess. Kind of felt like a more serious sequel to Double Zeta that integrated Char's Counterattack.
Origin is good, and you can watch it any time after Char's Counterattack if you need more Char.

The newest one was GQuuuuuuX last spring, but it was major fanservice that probably only really made sense if you've seen 0079 -> Zeta -> Double Zeta.