Gundam Series Best to Worst

I've decided to make a post ranking the gundam series from best to worst. The list will ignore OVAs and movies. This list is not opinion and is to be taken as fact. I'll try to keep it mostly spoiler free, but no promises.

Anyway, here we go.



--------------Triumvirate of Awesomeness--------------------

#1 Gundam Seed Destiny

Now, I know a lot of people give the series a hard time, and it does have its problems like the number of recap episodes and the amount of stock footage. But it is still truly the best Gundam out there. It masterfully captures the essence of what makes a Gundam. It has the best cast of characters compared to any other series. The politics and happenings in the world are the most realistic, and most interesting.

Kira is the coolest dude.

The ending most importantly, is probably the best ending I've seen in a Gundam series. It wraps up very nicely. The characters are with the heroines they should be with (AthrunxMeirin). The mobile suits themselves are all quite aesthetically appealing too.

#2 Zeta Gundam

I doubt most people will disagree that this is a good series. It's got a strong universe and the story is told quite well. It is probably the most popular Gundam series out there. The ending I felt was a little weak though. They just start killing a bunch of cast. Killing off characters does not make a series more 'mature' or 'deep' as some viewers would like you to believe.

I also did not care for Kamille's romance. Fa is right there. She is a nice girl. She is his childhood friend. But instead Kamille goes after the socially retarded and mentally unstable girl. What is it with Gundam protags?

The movies aren't that great though, so I don't recommend watching them in place of the series.

#3 Turn A Gundam

I'm too lazy to find pictures for the rest

This is probably the most unique Gundam series. The design of the gundam itself was rather controversial at the time, and at the end they try to imply that all the gundam series (AU and UC) take place in the same universe. The protagonist was cool and a bit of a change from the standard, and the setting in a kind of early 20th century earth was also pretty interesting.

The series starts of rather slow but really builds up by the end. It's a real shame that the ending was so bad. For whatever reason, Tomino, the idiot that he is, decided to have Loran end up with the boring and garbage Dianna, instead of the infinitely superior Sochie. This prevents the series from moving higher on the list.

--------------Good Tier--------------------

#4 Mobile Suit Gundam


This is the original Gundam series. It is quite dated, so it may be hard for new viewers to watch it now, but it is still quite good, and is after all, the series that started it all. Not much else to say. If you are going to get into UC then you should start with this.

#5 Gundam Seed


This is the 21st century's version of the original Gundam. It was extremely popular, and helped revitalise Gundam franchise which hand't been doing too well by that point. Unfortunately I didn't care for Kira's behaviour in the first half of the series which makes it hard for me to rank it higher. He NTRs his friend Sai, which I was not pleased with at all, and seems out of character for the man they call Jesus. I also was not happy with the characters they decided to kill off. They should have lived as far as I am concerned.

The show really picks off after Kira gets the Freedom though. And the cast is quite well done. The themes they bring into the show are also mature and invoke thought. Subjects like genetic modification, war, etc. Destiny takes this further though, which is why it is a better show.

#6 Victory Gundam


This show seems to get mixed reactions. Tomino himself doesn't like it. But, I liked it. I like Usso, I like Shakti, I like the characters. The show is pretty depressing though as they kill off like 50 characters by the end.

#7 Gundam Wing


Probably the first Gundam for a lot of people in the west. It was my first Gundam as well. The show is... alright. The protagonist is kind of a nice change from the typical kid who just happens to be thrown into a war and doesn't want to fight. It's also unique in that it isn't really a war, but more terrorism. The Gundams are acting on their own and are not part of an army, nor are the Gundam pilots even allied with each other. Heero is also kind of tsundere moe. The overall plot though, is kind of boring. There aren't really any stronger themes, interesting revelations, or anything at all.

The Gundam designs are nice though.

#8 Gundam ZZ


This show...

A lot of people probably wont like it. Especially if they are coming straight off of Zeta. Personally though, I don't think it is that bad. The show starts off week, for sure. It almost seems like Gundam was turned into a gag show. About half-way through though, the show starts to take off and have a more serious tone. It's got lots of Haman-sama which is a plus for Haman fans.

However, Tomino once again was an idiot and killed off good characters. I wont say specifically in case people reading this are planning on watching it.

--------------Kuso Tier--------------------

#9 Gundam 00


There are a million things I could write about this show, but I'll try to keep it somewhat breif. The show is just plain bad. There are no mature themes or interesting plot. Just some group of individuals called Celestial Being, who have an absolutely retarded goal of ending war forever.

The Gundams at the beginning are ridiculously overpowered. It's almost like Gundam Wing for the first part of the first season.

The only way the plot ever advances, is via technology.
Oh no these Gundams are totally destroying us!
Now we have something to fight them with!
Oh no now they are using something called trans-am and are destroying us again!
Now we have our own trans-am!
etc etc etc.

The worst part too, is that the technology makes absolutely zero sense. They never even really try to explain it. Everything works around GN particles, but the particles themselves make no sense. They can essentially do everything too, they are basically magic.

The other totally awful part of the show, is its use of time skips to advance the story. In between the first and second season they have a time skip of 4 years, just so they can have the world "change" as a result of the actions of the first season, without ever actually having to show how it all happened or developed. Then, the worst time skip in the series happens later in the second season. They use a time skip to develop the romance between a main character and some girl they just introduce, just so they be in a romantic relationship all of a sudden without ever having to show us it developed. And because it happened via time skip, why would I, or any other viewer, care if said new character died or did anything else? We have no attachment to her.

I'll stop there because I don't feel like discussing 00 in that much detail.

#10 G Gundam


I know a lot of people like this series. But, as a Gundam, it just isn't that good. I'm not even sure why they decided to make it a Gundam series, when it is as far away from being Gundam as anything.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's a bad show (it's bad) but it just is not a real Gundam show and so I have ranked it low.

#11 Gundam X


The worst Gundam ever. It is the most boring and dreadful Gundam I have ever watched. It wasn't popular when it aired either. It was cancelled after only 39 episodes, so the story suffers from that too.

Recently, however, due to its low popularity, a number of Gundam hipsters have emerged. They will lead you to believe the show is actually really good, and didn't get the credit it was due. But trust me. The show is trash. It does absolutely nothing unique. The characters are a joke. The setting and plot is a joke. The only reason to watch it, is if you are a Gundam fan and need to see every series.

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So, there you have it. The official list of the best series. Sorry I didn't go into a lot of detail on most shows, I just don't feel like spending all day writing this post. I do have other things to do after all, like translate milky holmes (just kidding). Also, don't ask about AGE. That show does not even deserve to be in a list with any of these shows.