One of Gundam‘s Most Underrated Series Is Finally Streaming

For occidental audiences, 1990s Gundam tin mostly beryllium defined by 1 series: Gundam Wing, the sixth large introduction successful the franchise, and the 1 that would acceptable the signifier for the mecha series’ rise successful the westbound done its landmark broadcast tally connected Cartoon Network successful 2000. But conscionable a twelvemonth aft Wing aired successful Japan, Gundam returned with a full caller series—one that often flies nether the radar arsenic 1 of the series’ astir intriguing additions.

After War Gundam X archetypal broadcast successful Japan successful 1996, and is now, extracurricular of Blu-ray releases a fewer years ago, yet making its planetary streaming debut for free connected Tubi this month. Set successful what was astatine the clip Gundam‘s third alternate timeline—i.e, not being portion of the “Universal Century” continuity that the archetypal 4 Gundam bid were each portion of—after Wing and its predecessor G Gundam, Gundam X picks up a decennary and a fractional aft a deadly interstellar warfare has ravaged the Earth and its abstraction colonies. Following a young scavenger named Garrod Ran, 1 of galore survivors eking a surviving by scavenging and repairing remnant mobile suits from the war’s aftermath, Garrod discovers the titular Gundam X and crosses paths with the unit of the battleship Freeden and wrapped up successful their aims to safeguard a fistful of Newtypes, evolved humans who person developed enhanced cognition from surviving successful space, from being exploited by assorted emergent factions looking to thrust the Earth Sphere into interstellar struggle erstwhile more.

While Gundam‘s anterior alternate universes successful Wing and G Gundam lone carried escaped parallels to the model of the worldbuilding of the Universal Century—mostly successful the signifier of struggle betwixt Earth and abstraction colonies, and, of course, elephantine mecha—Gundam X was the archetypal of the alternate universes to truly explicitly grapple with 1 of Gundam‘s astir fascinating concepts successful the signifier of Newtypes, some successful taking the literal sanction (other AU Gundam shows person explored the conception done antithetic lenses and names, of course) for these enhanced individuals and besides successful examining their spot successful the satellite beyond their exploitation arsenic assets of war. Although astatine the time Gundam X had mixed reception—it ran for conscionable 39 episodes, truncated from a planned 49, and was yet overshadowed successful the westbound wholly by the occurrence of Gundam Wing, ne'er receiving an English-language dub—in years since it’s been re-examined and appreciated for its spot successful the wider oeuvre of Gundam‘s alternate timelines.

Of the trifecta of ’90s Gundam AUs (putting speech X‘s nonstop successor, 1999’s day series Turn A Gundam, a bid that, portion successful its ain continuity, mostly plays with ideas connecting itself to the archetypal timeline and the wider Gundam franchise), it’s the 1 that’s arguably the astir successful speech with the original Mobile Suit Gundam and its own nonstop successors successful Zeta and Double Zeta. It’s good worthy checking out, particularly arsenic Tubi’s free—and hopefully a motion that, adjacent if a batch of Gundam‘s large hitters are each presently landing connected different streaming homes, we could spot a fewer much entries from the franchise get a spotlight connected Tubi excessively (the aforementioned Turn A, a franchise highlight, is successful hopeless request of a streaming home!).

You tin cheque out After War Gundam X connected Tubi here.

Want much io9 news? Check retired erstwhile to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s adjacent for the DC Universe connected movie and TV, and everything you request to cognize astir the aboriginal of Doctor Who.