The Gundam series, created in 1979 by Yoshiyuki Tomino, is one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time. It’s estimated to have generated a total of $20 billion. It spawned over a dozen anime series, movies, manga, and video games, and an entire industry of plastic Gundam models known as Gunpla. Gunpla, on its own, makes up 90 percent of Japanese character plastic-model sales.
Gundam is also responsible for the modern understanding of “giant robot” mecha anime. It was an inspiration for many other series to come out of both the East and West. Gundam has many beloved anime series in its canon, but some are better than others.
Updated by Sage Ashford on April 30th 2023: The Gundam universe is constantly adding new films and television series for fans to enjoy. We’ve updated this list with a few more anime, new and old, for Gundam fans to check out.
20 Gundam AGE
49 Episodes, and 1 OVA
Gundam AGE presents a Gundam adventure where a universal peace gets interrupted by the Unknown Enemy (U.E). Flit Asuno, one of the victims of the U.E, receives given a family heirloom, an AGE device memory unit. The device allows Flit to build a mobile suit that can help the colonies survive further attacks.
What makes Gundam AGE different is it focuses on three time periods. When viewers first meet Asuno, he’s a kid. Later, once the suit is built, an adult Asuno pilots it to help save humanity. In the last part, viewers see the protagonist as a great-grandfather. On top of the interesting story, the character designs are some of the best in the franchise.
19 Gundam Seed
50 Episodes, 1 OVA
Gundam Seed was a modern attempt to take everything that worked from the popular Gundam Wing and the classic Gundam series and turn it into a modern classic. While it didn’t quite hit the heights of the original Gundam, it was still a commendable effort.
The sequels to SEED in particular, miss the mark entirely. However, Seed itself remains a triumph in animation, and it’s a great place for new fans looking for a standalone entry. In the end, there’s no better way to immerse oneself in Gundam lore than to dive right in.
18 Mobile Suit Gundam
43 Episodes, 3 Films, and a follow-up Film
Mobile Suit Gundam represents the beginning of all Gundam to come. Released in 1979, Mobile Suit Gundam sparked a whole new era in mecha anime. The original series had a 43-episode run, but there’s also a compressed movie trilogy with improved audio quality available for fans to enjoy.
The plot primarily focuses on the rivalry between Federation pilot Amuro and Zeon pilot Char. Both are the best pilots for their people, and they have an iconic relationship that several Gundam series have since tried to replicate. While some parts may not have aged perfectly, it is the quintessential Gundam experience.
17 Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory
13 Episodes, And 1 Film
Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory continued to fill out parts of the Universal Century timeline. Set several years after the events of the One Year War, Stardust Memory focuses on the Federation dealing with the remnants of the Zeon. A group known as the Delaz Fleet steals the experimental GP02 Gundam, leaving young test pilot Kou Uraki to recover it and stop the Delaz Fleet’s ultimate goal.
Gundam 0083’s biggest problem is that it doesn’t have the best protagonist. Kou Uraki isn’t making anyone’s favorite list. However, the 90s OVA animation is unmatched, making that alone worth watching it. The series also ties in nicely to Zeta Gundam in some crucial ways that become clear towards the end.
16 Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin
6 Episodes, and then a 13-Episode version of the OVAs
When viewers turned into Mobile Suit Gundam, they entered amid war and its aftermath. How it all came to pass was revealed 20 years later in the manga Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin. It was another decade or so until the anime version of the story came out.
Origin recounts the death of Zeon Zun Diekun, the escape of his children to Earth, and the rise of military might by the Principality of Zeon. The 13-episode series delves deep into the manga’s origin tale and focuses on Diekun’s children and the events that lead to the declaration of war. It’s a good starting point to get a feel for the world of the Universal Century.
15 Turn A Gundam
50 Episodes, and 2 Movies
Turn A Gundam takes place on an Earth that once traveled the spaceways but gave it up. Now, centuries later, its population is a society at peace with a World War I/Steampunk level of technology.
Three teens in Gundam suits come to Earth. Part of a forgotten moon colony, they require resources to survive, let alone return, in order to prevent a new war from brewing. Though not part of the original Gundam timeline, Turn A Gundam’s plot and protagonists have drawn positive reviews from viewers.
14 Mobile Suit Victory Gundam
51 Episodes
The main reason to watch Mobile Suit Victory Gundam, released in 1993, is it was the last one based in the Universal Century timeline. Another reason to watch Mobile Suit Victory Gundam is it’s a coming-of-age story that anime writers and directors do quite well.
Set about 100 years after the One Year War, the Earth comes under attack by the BEPSA. These are the space forces connected to the Zanscare Empire. Two teens are thrown into the war when they encounter a BEPSA pilot in their peaceful European town. Eventually, they join Earth’s resistance movement to pilot the Victory Gundam and win their freedom.
13 Char’s Counter Attack
1 Anime Film
Char’s Counter Attack, based in the Universal Century timeline, has a few monumental moments. First, it ended the rivalry between Zeon’s Char Aznable and Earth’s Amuro Ray. In addition, it became the first film in the Gundam series to feature computer graphics.
Set about 15 years after the One Year War, Char returns to Neo Zeon in time to launch an asteroid attack on Earth. Meanwhile, Amuro, equipped with a psycho-frame Nu Gundam, secretly works with Char and others to establish a peace treaty. Yet, things go awry, and Amuro uses his Nu Gundam to defeat Char and Neo Zeon.
12 Gundam Build Fighters
25 Episodes, and 1 32-minute follow-up
Gundam Build Fighters is unique among most Gundam anime because it takes place in a world very similar to our own. It occurs in the near future when the Gunpla model craze has escalated into the ability to build and pilot one’s own mobile suit. These Gunpla Battles culminate in an annual global tournament.
The main character Sei, a Gunpla builder, partners with a skilled pilot named Reiji. The two of them hope to take on the Gunpla Battle World Championship. While Gundam Build Fighters is, in a way, just an attempt to sell more Gundam plastic models, it also has a lot of heart. It’s easy to tell it was created by the same people who grew up loving the original Gundam series.
11 Mobile Suit Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise
26 Episodes, 1 ONA
The Gundam Build franchise started out strong, but by the time Divers launched the series had experienced a steep decline in quality and popularity. So it isn’t a surprise that people ignored the sequel series, Gundam Build Divers Re:RISE, which was set in the same universe but used an entirely different cast.
In the aftermath of the EL-Diver incident, a new protagonist named Hiroto Kuga finds himself diving into GBN on his own. However, while exploring the world, this loner must team up with three other Divers when he’s sent to the land of Eldora. Build Divers Re:Rise has everything people loved about the GundamBuild series, but also introduces the real-life stakes that fans of classic Gundam might’ve missed.
10 Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt
8 ONA Episodes, and 2 Films
Even though people claim to be tired of the One Year War, it’s hard to ignore Sunrise when they put out quality series like Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt. The anime takes place near the end of the One Year War, in a place known as the Thunderbolt Sector. Amidst the debris of destroyed colonies, the Federation and Zeon forces remain locked in a battle for control of a crucial supply route.
While the series once again has early-era mobile suits using weapons that feel like they come from much later in the timeline, that’s overall a tiny complaint. Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt is a great series that won’t take up too much of a viewer’s time. It also displays how grey the war between the Federation and the Zeon really was. While Io Fleming might be a Federation pilot, he’s far from anyone’s hero, and it’s hard not to root for the Zeon’s Living Dead division.
9 Gundam: Witch From Mercury
15 Episodes
It didn’t take long for Witch From Mercury to steal everyone’s heart. For one, it started with one of the best opening episodes in Gundam history, enhanced by its prologue. Afterward, it dialed back the melodrama a bit to introduce viewers to a world where society is once again split between Earthians and Spacians. At the Asticassia School of Technology, a young girl named Suletta Mercury enters the school with the purpose of making friends.
However, a chance meeting with Miorine Rembran changes not just Suletta Mercury’s own life, but has the potential to shake up society itself. After a season with fairly low-key start, Witch From Mercury kicked into high gear at the end of season one and hasn’t let go since. If it sticks the landing, it has a strong chance to be the greatest Gundam anime ever.
8 After War Gundam X
39 Episodes
Unfortunately, After War Gundam X didn’t receive an English localization until 2016, decades after its original 1996 release in Japan; therefore, it’s probably one of the most underrated Gundam series. That’s a shame, because it brings a lot of interesting new ideas to the franchise.
After War Gundam X features a post-apocalyptic Earth set in the “After War” timeline. Following a devastating war, mobile suits have made their way to civilian hands, and it’s up to a few unlikely heroes to keep the planet from falling into chaos once again.
7 Iron Blooded Orphans
50 Episodes
Iron Blooded Orphans is one of the darker entries in the Gundam franchise. Over the course of its 50 episodes, it deals with heavy themes such as slavery, child soldiers, and neo-colonialism. Three hundred years after a conflict known as the Calamity War, humans colonized Mars. However, many Martian nations live in poverty and entirely depend on Earth’s powers.
The plot begins when Martian noblewoman Kudelia Bernstein hires a security company to transport her to Earth, where she hopes to negotiate the independence of her nation of Chryse. The Earth military attacks them, and all seems lost until the hero, orphan Mikazuki Augus, enters the battle piloting an ancient repaired Gundam. The quick, natural pace of the action and the instantly likable cast of characters make Iron Blooded Orphans one to check out.
6 Gundam Wing
49 Episodes
While it was the sixth installment in the overall Gundam franchise, Gundam Wing is probably the first exposure most people in the US had to the series. It found much greater success there than in Japan and was the entry that popularized Gundam in the West.
Gundam Wing’s writing and pacing might not stand up to either the more classic Gundam series or the more polished anime that followed, but it remains a favorite of many American fans. Gundam Wing belongs on any Gundam fan’s must-watch list.
5 Gundam Unicorn
22 Episodes, 7 OVA installments
Originally a novel by Harutoshi Fukui, Gundam Unicorn was adapted into a 7-episode series in 2010 and wrapped up in 2014. It served as the final entry into the original “Universal Century” timeline in which the original ’79 series took place.
Gundam Unicorn takes place 16 years after the One Year War, just as humans begin to colonize space. An anti-Federation group destroys a residential space station. Then Banagher Links, an apparently typical boy, enters the conflict when he realizes his connection to a dangerous item called Laplace’s Box. Gundam Unicorn has some of the highest production value in the entire franchise, and the spectacle alone makes it worth the watch.
4 Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team
12 Episodes, and 1 Anime Film
The 12-episode series Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team was released between 1996 and 1999, and took place only a month after the beginning of the original Gundam series. It followed the exploits of an Earth Federation ground unit during the events of the One Year War. The central conflict is a guerrilla war between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon.
Shiro, the new commander of the 08th Mobile Suit Team, has orders to eradicate Zeon’s base. He soon finds out that the last hope of Zeon is someone he knows, and the two of them have to choose what’s more important. A unique entry into the original Gundam timeline, The 08th MS Team offers fans not only a more personal story, but a beautiful romance. There’s a reason many regard this show as one of the best 90s anime.
3 Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War In The Pocket
6 OVA Episodes
For a franchise that’s ostensibly anti-war, it takes until Gundam 0080 to create a season that doesn’t feel pro-war at all. Rather than putting viewers in the shoes of a pilot, the viewpoint character is Alfred Izuruha, a ten-year-old obsessed with giant robots. When Alfred meets undercover Zeon pilot Bernie Wiseman, he’s shown the true gritty reality of war, and afterwards, nothing will ever be the same.
Fans will find themselves unable to stop watching this series. 0080 not only features some incredible worldbuilding, but some of the most human characters in the Gundam meta-franchise. Plus, thanks to it being an OVA from the ’90s, the animation is still just as beautiful as it was when it first released.
2 Mobile Suit Gundam 00
50 Episodes, and 3 OVAs
Gundam 00 centers on the paramilitary organization Celestial Being. They are the only people in the world who have Gundams. They seek to use their powers to eradicate war on a global level. The series sports extremely high animation quality. It was also the first Gundam series to be animated in high definition.
Despite its positive critical reception for its visuals and narrative momentum, Gundam 00 had lower-than-average ratings. Luckily, it did well on commercial DVD sales. It’s been called “everything Gundam should be” and is a great place for new fans to join the series.
1 Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
50 Episodes, 3 Anime Films
One of the few examples of a sequel transcending its source material, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, takes what made the original series tremendous and improves on it, making it one of the best mecha anime ever. Set seven years after the One Year War, it follows the new protagonist Kamille Bidan.
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam tackles difficult subjects like the gray area between good and evil and the consequences of a massive war. Sure, the series benefits greatly from watching the original series to better understand characters like Bright Noa and Quattro, but it’s more than worth it.
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