It’s hard to not spoil in this post, so I will make a page break and warning. Unfortunately it is also a spoiler for this piece of advice for the un-spoilt: go in blind if you can. That knowledge itself is a form of spoiler. I think also once the gig is up from Gundam GQuuuuuuX (pronounced like G-quacks) you’ll know there is actually another form of helpful knowledge one can possess before watching, which I will discuss after the spoiler jump.
One thing is for sure, if you enjoy the output of Studio Khara in the past several years, you’ll enjoy this work. The direction is signature Tsurumaki where it counts. In fact some scenes felt straight out of FLCL. This is also, well, a Gundam work that fully embraces the ethos and vibes of other similar alt-timeline Gundam shows. You really know the old timers of former Gainax worked on this, knowing full well what a Gundam title means to them and fans of that generation. Actually as I was going through the end credit roll there were quite a few names I recognize, which kinda sucks that I can’t just go back and reference that easily. The pamphlet doesn’t even have all the credits, but it was surely impressive.
What I watched was the first episode in a theatrical screening, which is coming to America on Feb. 28, 2025 via GKIDS. Rather, I watched it in Japan a few days after it premiered in Japan, so my understanding of both Japanese and Gundam is heavily tested in this experience, to say the least. The rest of Gundam GQuuuuuuX will be a TV anime that begins streaming/airing later in 2025. And for completeness, I saw it in IMAX (wonder if we will have this option in America…?) and the episode was presented as one seamless thing. Maybe it’s just a 90-min pilot instead of 3 episodes, I don’t know.
Also as trivia, after my showing I went to the theater shop to browse for merch. This was at the TOHO Cinema in Hibiya. Turns out a bunch of people were also trying to buy stuff, namely the Gundam GQuuuuuuX pamphlet. So I got to hear a bunch of Japanese people trying to pronounce GQuuuuuuX. Guess what, they can’t either.
