10. Strike Noir Gundam
First Appearance- Gundam Seed: Stargazer
Pilot- Sven Cal Bayang
You can pretty much tell just by looking at it that this customized
Strike Gundam is a “bad guy” unit. Indeed, its pilot Sven Cal Bayang
used it in service of Phantom Pain- the spec ops. division of the Earth
Alliance Forces which answered directly to Blue Cosmos. Blue Cosmos was
an organization dedicated to the eradication of all Coordinators-
humans who had been genetically-altered or enhanced in the womb. Sven
was one of the main characters in the “Stargazer” anime, and despite
working for the bad guys, had a sympathetic backstory and evidenced
something of a conscience by the end. Still, he ruthlessly eliminated
anyone his superiors told him to without question… whether they deserved
it or not. Sooo, it kinda makes it hard to root for him at all… but
that doesn’t mean his mobile suit wasn’t super-cool!
As stated, the Noir was based on an enhanced Strike Gundam frame with
some extra whistles and bells. A “power extender” within the unit
allowed this version of the Strike to fight for much longer periods than
the original without losing its bulletproof “Phase Shift” armor
coating. It carried twin “Shorty” beam pistols- smaller and
less-powerful than the standard beam rifle of the basic Strike, but with
a faster rate of fire. Its special Noir Striker pack granted it
sustained flight capability in Earth’s atmosphere and had a pair of
linear rail guns that could swivel and fire in virtually any direction.
The Noir Striker also granted it two Beam Blades that were more
lightweight than the traditional Strike’s larger Anti-Ship Sword,
allowing them to be dual-wielded and even used as throwing weapons. The
Strike Noir’s most memorable equipment, for me at least, were the
Rocket Anchors mounted in its hands, feet, and backpack. These
grappling lines let the Noir “zip-line” around in low gravity
environments and combined with the suit’s own strength, could be used
offensively to drag and smash enemy mobile suits into each other.
With its sinister color scheme, menacing silhouette, and stylish combat
techniques, you can see why the Strike Noir is on this list. Its only
real weakness was a lack of more substantial defensive options like a
shield, as the suit had been intended to work in tandem with its sibling
Gundams, the Blu Duel and Verde Buster. Still, much like the Banshee…
you can scarcely go wrong with a darkly-colored “mirror” of the good
guy’s Gundam!
9. Zeta Gundam
First Appearance- Zeta Gundam
Pilot(s)- Kamille Bidan, Roux Louka, others
As the title mobile suit of the second animated Gundam series, the Zeta
is one of the trend-setters for the franchise as a whole. Zeta began
the tradition of a series protagonist upgrading to a second, more
powerful or personalized Gundam later in the show. It began the
tradition of Gundams that transformed into some kind of secondary flight
or “Waverider” mode. It actually opened up the range of basic design
for a Gundam, possessing a more curved and sleeker look than the blocky
RX-78 and a very different facial architecture. The Zeta was also the
first Gundam to be specifically intended for the main character’s use,
rather than the pilot accidentally stumbling into piloting the suit as
with Amuro Ray and the original. The technically-minded Kamille Bidan
was even the one who designed the Zeta in the first place.
Most of the Zeta’s weapons have multiple uses, with its standard beam
rifle also being able to emit a saber for close-range combat, and its
larger Hyper Mega Launcher doing the same. The launcher ports on its
forearms could either fire grenades or be fitted with a grappling cable
attachment. Its beam sabers could function as guns in Waverider mode
for dogfights, and in mobile suit mode were the conduit to unleash some
of Kamille’s surging Newtype power. With the Zeta’s built-in
bio-sensor, Kamille could harness his anger or grief to enhance the
sabers’ power and length. As I mentioned before in the Double Zeta’s
entry, I don’t know how “BURNING SPIRIT” can fuel a beam saber, but
damned if it isn’t effective!
Of course, the Zeta’s main attribute is the Waverider mode, and
Kamille’s famous “Waverider Crash” in the final episode of the anime is
one of the most satisfying dispatchings of an enemy in the franchise.
Channeling the spirits of his dead friends and comrades through the
Zeta’s bio-sensor, Kamille ends Paptimus Scirocco’s existence for good…
although not without cost. Scirocco reaches out with his own Newtype
abilities and shatters Kamille’s mind with his last breath. However,
the later movie versions of Zeta remove this scene, and Kamille manages
to escape with his sanity intact. Still, no matter which end result you
prefer for the story, the movie version’s added new animation
definitely made the Zeta Gundam’s transformation and the “spirit
channeling” part of the Waverider Crash look a lot more epic.
I’ve got a soft spot for unorthodox-looking Gundams, and Zeta is the
ORIGINAL unorthodox Gundam, so it easily secures a space on my favorites
list. The suit plays a role in the follow-up series ZZ Gundam as well,
where it seemed to be the object of comedy antics for many of the early
episodes, with various characters trying to steal it. It even lost its
head in one episode and had it replaced with a Zaku’s, thus becoming
the “Zeta Zaku”! Thankfully the second half of the series largely drops
the goofy stuff surrounding it and places the suit firmly in Roux
Louka’s hands. Still… the sight of a Gundam with a Zaku’s head is not
something one can easily forget!
8. Arche Gundam
First Appearance- Gundam 00
Pilot- Ali Al-Saachez
Like I said in the last entry, I’m a fan of unorthodox Gundams, and
aside from having the qualifier in its name, the Arche really doesn’t
even look like one! It was taller, wider, and lankier than any of the
other Gundams in 00, and probably had the least human-like proportions
among all mobile suits in the series. Basically, Ali Al-Saachez’s
personalized Gundam was a monster, just like the man himself.
Al-Saachez wasn’t really the deepest character in 00… he was a ruthless
mercenary/terrorist with a fetish for war who would have been fairly
forgettable if not for his personal connections with main characters
Setsuna F. Seiei and Lockon Stratos. He was a good bad guy… but he
started and ended with “bad guy” on his resume when all was said and
done. Still, the Arche Gundam appeals to me not only for its odd
design, but also for just how well it reflects its pilot’s personality
and style.
Built as an upgrade to the “Throne” series of Gundams and specifically
the Throne Zwei, the Arche was gifted to Al-Saachez to aid him in
serving as main bad guy Ribbons Almark’s enforcer. It kinda looks like
the Throne Zwei was cross-bred with Ali’s old custom red Enact,
resulting in a suit that is simultaneously bulky and slim at the same
time. I really liked the Arche’s head design in particular, especially
the four narrow optics on either side of the face. I mean, just look at
this thing… one glance and you KNOW it’s friggin’ evil!
The Arche was the perfect vehicle for Ali’s close-combat fighting style
of using agile, deceptive moves that overwhelmed enemies quickly. Its
elongated limbs gave it great reach and power in combat and it always
looked to me like some angry, flailing red dragon while fighting. I
guess that’s only appropriate as Ali served in as what TV Tropes would
call “The Dragon” role to Ribbons Almark. His main weapon was the hefty
GN Buster Sword that mounted under the suit's right arm, which could
double as a beam rifle. Ali never used it as a rifle in the anime
though, because he was too busy swinging it around and smashing
opponents senseless. The Arche could deploy up to ten GN Fangs from its
armored hip containers- these remote weapons could swarm enemies and
attack from any angle. A pair of beam sabers secreted in the tips of
the Arche’s feet rounded out the suit’s arsenal, and combined with the
Buster Sword and Fangs, Ali was capable of fending off multiple enemies
at once thanks to his superb piloting skills.
The Arche also had a “Core Fighter” escape pod built into its back,
which the dastardly Ali used to escape his due comeuppance at least once
in the series. A villain as outright monstrous as him should have an
actual reason for his Joker-esque “plot armor”, I guess!
7. Master Gundam
First Appearance- G Gundam
Pilot- Master Asia
The Mobile Fighter of one of the chief antagonists of G Gundam, the
Master Gundam is the mutated form of Master Asia’s Kowloon/Haow Gundam
after it was exposed to DG (Devil/Dark Gundam) Cells. Master Asia is so
attuned to it that he didn't even need to wear a Mobile Trace bodysuit
to control his Gundam, like every other fighter in the series did. As
the legendary “Undefeated of the East”, Master Asia was a martial artist
without compare, and considered the most compelling antagonist in the
series by myself and many others. His relationship/rivalry with his
former pupil and main character of G Gundam- Domon Kasshu, was one of
the high points of a great show in general... and the Master Gundam
itself is a pretty awesome avatar for Master Asia himself.
On his lonesome, Master Asia was powerful and skilled enough to use mere
cloth as a weapon, and he often entered battle armed with nothing but
his own fabric belt. The Master Gundam likewise uses an energized beam
cloth as its main melee instrument, being able to bind opponents with it
or even harden it to use as a striking weapon. The Master Gundam’s
forearms could also extend like pistons and even fire off on wires,
giving Master Asia’s blows impressive range. While Master Asia was
never infected with DG Cells (a fact he seemed quite proud of), the
Master Gundam did utilize them in its construction, allowing it to
regenerate from even the most crippling damage. Much like Domon’s
Gundams, the Master could enter a Hyper Mode, turning gold and
expressing its maximum power. Master Asia’s horse Fuunsaiki was even
given its own Mobile Fighter and Trace System, allowing the Master
Gundam to travel astride it much as Asia would with his faithful steed.
Of course, the Master Gundam could perform several special techniques of
Asia’s, chief among them being the Darkness Finger- an evil mirror to
Domon’s own Shining Finger. The Master Gundam’s most powerful move was
the ultimate technique of the Undefeated of the East- the
Sekiha Tenkyoken
(“Rock-Crushing Heaven-Quaking Fist”), a devastating wave of energy
focused and unleashed from the user’s hands. Perhaps Asia’s most
bizarre technique was the
Zyuuniou Houpai Daishyahei/Kizan Shyoukouzin
(I’m not even gonna try to type what that translates to) combination.
With it, the Master Gundam created tiny energized versions of itself
that swarmed an opponent. It was an attack that was annoying as hell to
deal with in the Gundam Versus series of video games, as the
mini-Masters would latch onto your unit and slow you down.
The Master Gundam is a great design that fits its “pilot”, so to speak,
perfectly. It looks completely badass whether mimicking Master Asia’s
arrogant stances or performing his martial arts techniques. I love how
its wings can unfurl and become a metal cloak for the suit as well,
enhancing its sinister, yet prideful image. Oh, and if you hadn’t
noticed… the Master Gundam’s head is shaped like a somewhat-pointy
heart… referencing Master Asia’s former title in the Shuffle Alliance-
“The King of Hearts”. Any robot that can have a heart-shaped head and
still look as awesome as the Master Gundam does is pretty respectable in
my book!
6. Gundam Barbatos Lupus Rex
First Appearance- Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans
Pilot- Mikazuki Augus
As the last couple entries might indicate, I’m a real fan of Gundams
that are intrinsically linked to their pilots, and the final incarnation
of the Barbatos is both a figurative and literal example of this.
Thanks to the “Alaya-Vijnana” implant in Mikazuki Augus’ body, he can
connect to the Barbatos so deeply that the suit literally becomes an
extension of himself... or perhaps it was the other way around. The
consequences of this link are portrayed with a real permanence to them
and much more harshly than other examples of similar circumstances in
the Gundam franchise. Instead of an endearing partnership with his
Gundam, Mika’s bond with Barbatos seemed more like a Faustian bargain
with a demon. The further he pushed Barbatos in combat, the more he had
to sacrifice of his own body. On the battlefield, the Barbatos was the
spearpoint and foremost avatar of Tekkadan, the organization that Mika
dedicated his life to. That notion was never more apparent than in its
final version- the Lupus Rex.
The Gundam Barbatos Lupus Rex (basically “Demon Wolf King”) certainly
takes the “demon”, “wolf”, and “king” qualifiers in its extra-long name
to heart. Its new head crest resembles a king’s crown, reflecting
Mikazuki’s desire to make his best friend Orga Itsuka’s dream of being
“King of Mars” come true. If the organization of Tekkadan, made up of
orphaned child soldiers, was considered to be a "pack of wolves" by
many, then Lupus Rex was “king of the wolves” as well. Also, its
appearance marked it as both a wild beast and a demon, with its
elongated arms, claws on the fingers and feet, and of course… a
newly-added bladed tail. The tail was probably the Lupus Rex’s most
striking feature… echoing Mika’s own back-wired Alaya-Vijnana connection
within the cockpit and moving like it had a life of its own in combat. If Mika had indeed sold his body and soul to a demon through the
Alaya-Vijnana, then the tail could be considered its most direct
physical manifestation.
The Lupus Rex carried a greatly-enlarged version of its traditional mace
weapon, fittingly named the “Ultra-Large” Mace. Few mobile suits or
even spaceship hulls could survive a direct hit from it and it possessed
sharp pile drivers in its tip and hilt to spear opponents as well.
Lupus Rex’s large forearms had 200mm guns in the wrists for longer-range
combat, and deployable sub-arms hidden underneath the elbows for
surprise attacks or to better latch onto enemies. The Gundam’s most
deadly attribute, however, was the level of synchronicity it had with
its pilot. As previously stated, the more Mikazuki willed it, the more
responsive Barbatos became… and its speed and ferocity reached a peak in
the final battle of the series. When Mika surrendered himself
completely to the Alaya-Vijnana, the Barbatos’ optics bled jagged trails
of red light and the Gundam became the most lethal mobile suit ever
seen in the series.
The Barbatos Lupus Rex’s animalistic fighting style and general presence
made a big impact on me after its debut in the series, and it is in
fact the newest qualifier for this favorites list. It’s almost like a
Gundam by way of… Evangelion or something, with a dark or somehow unholy
connection to its pilot. Whatever it was, I thought it was a
really cool take on the main Gundam of a series, and I actually ended up
buying TWO of the same model kits of it. I wanted two copies so I could
custom up a battle-scarred, one-armed, bloody-clawed, red-eyed final
battle version of it to display on my bookcase.
5. Kshatriya
First Appearance- Gundam Unicorn
Pilot- Marida Cruz
The Kshatriya undeniably looks cool, but I think what initially earned
it my favor was that first mobile suit fight scene in Unicorn episode
one. Talk about making a great first impression; I knew Unicorn was
going to be a really enjoyable and high-quality series from that scene
on. A smaller offshoot/upgrade of the giant Queen Mansa mobile suit
from ZZ Gundam, the Kshatriya was designed to be more versatile and able
to be handled by a single pilot instead of two. Marida Cruz, of the
“Ple” series of artificially-created Cyber Newtype clones, piloted the
Kshatriya in service of the Sleeves- a remnant force of Neo Zeon that
ultimately sided against their commander Full Frontal in the final
battles of the Unicorn series.
The first thing that draws one’s eye to the Kshatriya is its distinct
silhouette- created by the four wing binders mounted on its shoulders.
This appearance gave it the nickname of “Quad-wing” in the series,
although personally… they kind of looked like a giant metal palm tree to
me when splayed out. In addition to possessing an impressive array of
thrusters, which gave the Kshatriya immense maneuverability in space,
the wing binders could also generate an I-Field to deflect enemy beam
shots. Hidden within the wing binders were sub-arms that could be used
to bind enemy mobile suits. They were even dexterous enough to be used
as extra limbs to give the Kshatriya a distinct advantage in melee
combat.
The Kshatriya was also armed with a series of mega particle cannons all
around its body and on its wing binders. They could unleash a
scattering hail of beams or be focused into one super-powerful blast.
However, the suit’s main long-range offense was undoubtedly its
compliment of twenty-four “Funnels” housed in the wing binders. These
remote beam weapons that could utterly annihilate any foe caught in a
crossfire.
After the Unicorn Gundam utterly trashes the Kshatriya in combat, and
Marida’s group join forces with the AWOL crew of the Federation assault
ship Nahel Argama, the suit was repaired and supplemented by the
Sleeves’ former adversaries. The Kshatriya “Repaired” was sort of a
makeshift version of itself, lacking many of its former weapons. Its
Funnels’ beam guns were replaced with explosive warheads, thus
transforming them into one-time use remote-guided missiles. Two of its
wing binders were replaced with giant propellant tanks to make up for
its loss of speed and a hyper beam javelin was installed in place of the
suit’s missing arm. The most peculiar patch-up was replacing the
Kshatriya’s damaged leg with a support strut which had a hidden beam
gatling gun inside it!
The Kshatriya looks cool, has a distinct and menacing silhouette, and
Marida Cruz was my favorite character in Unicorn, so clearly I love this
flying metal palm tree. I also like mecha that look awesome when
battle-damaged, or haphazardly restored with limited materials, and the
Repaired version definitely fits that criteria. Much like the Neue
Ziel, its appearance alone screams “ZEON!”, and its Zaku-like head marks
it as the natural enemy of a Gundam. However, since Marida eventually
becomes a friend and ally to the main character Banagher Links, their
two mobile suits working together was a nice visual representation of
natural enemies putting aside their differences.
The Kshatriya is also one of my best units in the Gundam Versus series
of video games and it’s super-fun to deploy all its Funnels at once and
watch an enemy boost and dodge them like a swarm of angry bees.
4. Gundam Physalis
First Appearance- Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory
Pilot- Anavel Gato
While there had been occurrences of antagonists using Gundams in
previous series, 0083 was probably responsible for popularizing the
“Gundam VS Gundam” setup in regards to the two main rivals in a show.
The GP02A, better known as the Physalis, was part of the same lineage as
the main character’s Gundam and stolen by the enemy in an episode
titled “Gundamjack”. The term “Gundamjack” would henceforth become a
descriptor widely used by fans for this kind of thing in the Gundam
franchise as it occurred with incredible frequency across various
incarnations. Zeon ace Anavel Gato strolled into a Federation base, and
with nothing but a stolen uniform and some falsified clout, took the
nuke-bearing Physalis right out from under the enemy’s nose. Suddenly…
the Zeon had a Gundam of their own!
The Physalis was one of the most bulky Gundams in the Universal Century
timeline, perhaps even upstaging the Full Armor ZZ. Despite this, the
Physalis was actually quite fast and nimble in combat thanks to its
shoulder binders, which housed multiple powerful thrusters. It had your
standard low-caliber vulcan guns in its head and a pair of beam sabers-
the output of which could be manually adjusted to increase the size and
power of the blade. As mentioned, the Physalis also carried a nuclear
warhead, to be launched from its Atomic Bazooka. While this
highly-specialized weapon was limited to firing only a single shot, that
shot WAS a nuke, and Anavel Gato used it to eliminate nearly two-thirds
of the Federation’s space fleet. The Physalis’ heavy armor and
over-sized shield were specifically designed to protect the suit from
the fallout of this monstrously-destructive attack.
The Physalis is also another of my favorite units to use in the Gundam
Versus video games, and nailing an opponent with an Atomic Bazooka shot
is pretty satisfying. Although, you must be careful not to catch a
teammate in the massive radiating explosion caused by a nuke in that
game! If you’ve been reading this list to this point, you can probably
tell I like a lot of “evil” Gundams, and Physalis is no different. It
is imposing as hell, dwarfing its sibling GP01 “Zephyranthes” Gundam in
size, and its massive handheld weapons and shield only add to the
intimidation factor. Its head design is also somewhat off the beaten
path for traditional Gundams, looking appropriately sinister.
I always kind of felt that 0083 had a somewhat weak cast of characters,
but Anavel Gato was definitely my favorite in the series. He clearly
had great taste in mobile suits too, scoring THREE spots on this
favorites list with the Gelgoog, Neue Ziel, and Physalis!
Too bad about his taste in women.
BURNNNNN, NINA!!!
3. Gundam Exia
First Appearance- Gundam 00
Pilot- Setsuna F. Seiei
The “starter” Gundam for 00’s main character Setsuna F. Seiei, the Exia
has had a healthy life in the spotlight since 00 began. Exia was
Celestial Being’s close-combat unit and at the forefront of many of
their land-based combat interventions. Its wide range of bladed weapons
earned it the codename “Seven Swords” by its developers, and Setsuna
wielded Exia’s arsenal with ruthless efficiency. The suit’s
highly-articulated frame allowed for fluid, almost human-like movements
in battle and thanks to the GN Drive that all Celestial Being’s Gundams
possessed, its power source was nearly limitless. There was simply no
contest when compared to the slow-moving mobile suits of many of
Setsuna’s opponents in the earlier episodes of the series.
The Exia possessed two beam sabers for high-speed combat, two beam
daggers to be used as throwing weapons, and Long and Short GN Blades-
handheld physical swords infused with GN Particles that enhanced their
cutting edges. The Exia also had some rarely-used GN Vulcans in its
wrists, but its main weapon was the arm-mounted GN Sword/Rifle. In
rifle mode, it was a fairly standard beam gun and Exia’s chief means of
long-range combat, but in sword mode, it became Setsuna’s favored
instrument of destruction. The entire assembly also had a small shield
on its side, so the Exia could defend and/or attack long or close-range
using this single versatile weapon.
After Celestial Being’s enemies
began to catch up in the mobile suit arms race and gained access to GN
Particles, Exia and the rest no longer seemed so invincible. However, a
parting gift from Celestial Being’s murdered founder Aeolia Schenberg
unlocked the Trans-Am System hidden with the Gundams’ GN Drives. With
Trans-Am, a Gundam could temporarily triple its particle output and thus
overall performance, giving them the edge over their foes once more.
In Trans-Am, the Exia glowed bright red and could run literal rings
around even other GN-powered mobile suits.
After the final battle of 00’s first season, Exia was severely damaged
and in the following years, Setsuna had to patch it up himself, being
separated from the rest of Celestial Being. I’ve said it before, but
for me, the mark of a good mecha design is how cool it looks when it is
battle-scarred, and the makeshift Exia “Repair” definitely surpasses my
expectations by that measurement! Missing half its face, its missing
left arm covered by a badass cloak, and relying solely on its broken GN
Sword/Rifle for combat, this version of the Exia left a sizable
impression on me and many fans.
The elegant simplicity of the Exia clearly lends itself to
reinterpretation, and of course it has received many other variations
over the years. The completely-refurbished Exia Repair “II” made its
surprise debut in the final episode of Gundam 00, giving Setsuna the
means to finally defeat his nemesis Ribbons Almark after his newer
00-Raiser was wrecked. The “Avalanche” Exia was a special mission
loadout that added more armor and boosters, only appearing in a special
Gundam 00 side-story. In a different universe during the series Gundam
Build Fighters, Gunpla battler Tatsuya Yuuki (known by his title of
“Mejin Kawaguchi”) utilized the Amazing Exia, which was later altered
into the corrupted Exia Dark Matter. Basically, however you change the
Exia, it pretty much looks cool no matter what!
Aside from looking cool, Setsuna’s own personal connection with the
original Exia was quite endearing, as he literally wanted to BECOME a
Gundam. He saw Exia as a physical representation of his ideals and the
eradication of war. One of Setsuna’s rare smiles in the series comes
when his teammate Lockon Stratos called him a “hopeless Gundam nut”. To
Setsuna- being compared to the Exia is the best compliment he could
receive. The aforementioned unexpected appearance of the Exia Repair II
in 00’s last episode is such a great moment because much like Setsuna…
the viewer feels like they’re seeing the return of an old friend.
2. Destiny Gundam
First Appearance- Gundam Seed Destiny
Pilot- Shinn Asuka
I know what you’re thinking; how can this Gundam be so high on my
favorites list? Not only is Gundam Seed Destiny considered to be one of
the most disappointing iterations of the franchise by a sizable amount
of the fandom, but the Destiny Gundam itself isn’t without its fair
share of detractors. The Destiny Gundam design was actually a discarded
idea from the original Seed series- the concept of the Strike Gundam’s
three Striker Packs being combined into a single suit. Once it was
developed for Seed Destiny, a handful of elements taken from Gundams in
other previous iterations of the franchise were added to the design,
which often makes people see this suit as nothing more than the
combination of unoriginal ideas. However, the fact of the matter is
that Seed Destiny as a whole went a little “homage-crazy” and that is
reflected in the title suit of the series. Some ideas may be
unoriginal, but that doesn’t mean they are bad, and the Destiny actually
ticks a lot of boxes for stuff I think is cool in Gundam designs and
mecha in general.
As the second and final mobile suit of series “protagonist” (although at
times, it seemed not) Shinn Asuka, the Destiny was of course loaded
with weapons and boasted high performance. The Destiny’s chief assets
were its Wings of Light- a pair of beam-generated wings that, using the
“Voiture Lumiere” propulsion system, granted it incredible speed and
agility in flight. A “Mirage Colloid” system was also incorporated into
them, which created holographic afterimages of the Destiny when it flew
with the wings deployed. The beam wings were no doubt an homage to the
Victory 2 Gundam, while the trailing afterimages drew inspiration from
the Gundam F91. Using the Wings of Light, the Destiny could
effortlessly evade entire barrages of heavy beam fire and close the gap
with an opponent almost instantly. These tactics were especially
effective against the giant lumbering Destroy Gundams pitted against
Shinn and his comrades in the latter half of the series.
The Destiny was armed with your standard beam rifle, a pair of beam
boomerangs, a high-energy long-range beam cannon that unfolded from the
backpack, and a massive beam sword called the “Arondight”. Shinn
Asuka’s previous Impulse Gundam wielded a blade known as the
“Excalibur”, after King Arthur’s legendary weapon, but Arondight is Sir
Lancelot’s sword. It is undoubtedly a reference to Sir Lancelot’s
eventual fall from grace… a path that Shinn Asuka also unfortunately
travels. Also, perhaps it is a knowing nod to Shinn’s slip to “second
banana” status behind the previous series’ protagonist Kira Yamato in
the latter half of the series.
Another homage to Victory Gundam was in the form of Destiny’s
knuckle-mounted beam shields which, like the Victory, projected an
energy barrier for the suit’s defense. Perhaps my favorite weapon the
Destiny possessed was yet another homage to a previous Gundam series-
the “Palma Fiocina” beam cannons. These lower-powered guns in the suit’s
palms allowed the Destiny to perform its own sort of “Shining Finger”
attack from G Gundam at extremely close range.
Like I said, all these elements that the Destiny takes from other previous Gundams… I actually
like,
and I think the design combined them all in a fairly stylish way. I
also like the Destiny’s head and facial design, complete with some
little gashes under the eyes that I assume are supposed be evocative of
Shinn’s tears (cuz he’s a whiny little emo kid, I guess?) It is just
too bad that Seed Destiny took the path it did, and Shinn became an
antagonist to the previous series’ characters, instead of the more
respectable anti-hero he initially started off as. The Destiny Gundam
itself is now probably more remembered for being a failure, much like
its pilot, which is a real shame considering how much I like its
messianic, yet menacing design altogether.
The Destiny Gundam walking through an inferno surrounded by the wreckage
of other Seed characters’ mobile suits? That’s a pretty good metaphor
for the series itself, isn’t it?
1. Gouf
First Appearance- Mobile Suit Gundam
Pilot(s)- Ramba Ral, Norris Packard, others
While Char’s custom red Zaku was the first instance in the Gundam
franchise of a specialized enemy ace mobile suit, I’ve always felt that
the Gouf defined the role. A mobile suit that was nearly equal in power
to the Gundam, and had an experienced pilot with enough skill to be a
serious threat to our hero. While the Gouf appears to be nothing more
than just a blue Zaku, trust me… do I even have to say it?
Ramba Ral was the pilot of the original Gouf, or at least the first one
we ever see in the series. Possessing greater armor and strength than a
Zaku, the Gouf was specifically-intended for close-quarters combat with
another mobile suit. Its signature weapon was the heat rod- an armored
cable that extended from under its right arm and could be superheated
enough to slice through enemy armor. It could also ensnare and
electrocute any opponent that was tangled in it. The Gouf also carried a
heat saber and its left hand doubled as a five-barreled machine gun.
Ramba Ral used the Gouf to great effect in several engagements with
Amuro Ray’s RX-78 Gundam before the young pilot managed to destroy it.
Ramba Ral is undoubtedly the most famous pilot of the Gouf, and in the
Gundam Build Fighters universe where the original series is a work of
fiction, there exists a “Mr. Ral” who looks and behaves like the
fictional character. No one really knows how this works, but Mr. Ral
still utilizes a Gouf model in Gunpla battles. The Gouf “R35” is a
souped-up version of the original, and the “R35” references Ramba Ral’s
stated age, which is played for some laughs in both Build Fighters and
its follow-up series Build Fighters Try. The official background
material for the original series puts Ral’s age at thirty-five years
old, even though he looks and behaves like he’s much older. This
becomes even more ridiculous when he still insists he is thirty-five
during Try, which takes place seven years after the first Build Fighters
series!
While Ramba Ral was first, and is definitely one of my favorite Gundam
characters across all iterations of the franchise period, my favorite
version of the Gouf was piloted by Norris Packard in the series Gundam:
The 08th MS Team. The Gouf “Custom” took the “real robot” aesthetic
that Gundam is known for and enhanced it to a greater degree. Its
weapons were more refined than the original Gouf, with the heat rod
being changed to a much thinner wire with a grappling attachment at the
end. It could still electrify opponents it latched onto, but the
Custom’s heat rod was more of a utility instrument than a melee weapon.
The Gouf Custom also wielded a large drum-fed gatling gun that was
fixed over its shield in addition to another three-barreled machine gun
fitted over its left hand. This gave it much greater firepower than a
normal Gouf and certainly made it look that much more intimidating.
Just like with the original Gouf, what made the Gouf Custom especially
dangerous was its ace Zeon pilot, and Norris Packard provided what was
and still is probably my favorite fight scene in a Gundam anime to date.
Fighting the 08th MS Team in an abandoned city, Packard managed to
outmaneuver them all and pick off the supporting Guntanks they were
protecting one-by-one. While it cost him his life in the end, it was
still an incredibly impressive showing, and the visceral way he
dispatched one of the Guntanks always stuck with me.
The Gouf was reinterpreted in Gundam Seed Destiny as the GOUF “Ignited”.
This homage to the original Universal Century design was armed with
heat rods and multi-barreled beam machine guns on both arms, also
carrying a dual-sided beam sword. Appropriately, my favorite Seed-verse
character Yzak Joule flew a custom white and blue-colored GOUF Ignited
towards the end of Seed Destiny. Even his initial mobile suit in the
series- the Slash ZAKU Phantom, possessed a custom Gouf-like color
scheme.
With several of my favorite characters across the franchise piloting
Goufs, the generally-appealing Zeon aesthetic, and the
non-inconsiderable fact that my favorite color is blue… you can probably
see why the Gouf is my favorite mech in the Gundam franchise. It is
truly… no Zaku. Oops, I went and said it.
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Okay, that was my top twenty-five favorites… now for my top five LEAST favorite mecha designs in the Gundam franchise!
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5. Asshimar
First Appearance- Zeta Gundam
Pilot- Buran Blutarch
Zeta Gundam had a lot of odd designs, especially on the Titans’ side of
things. I like odd or unconventional designs for the most part, but
sometimes they just don’t work because they are evocative of something
else in my head, and that’s the case here with the Asshimar.
First off, its mobile suit mode kind of looks like a Dom wearing some
dumb hoodie or something, or a short raincoat. The Dom-like head just
doesn’t really seem to match with the color scheme of the suit either.
Secondly, and more damning in my eyes… its flying mobile armor mode
looks like a friggin’ flat hamburger thanks to that color scheme. It reminds
me of those transforming Happy Meal toys from various McDonald’s
promotions over the years.
The Asshimar piloted by Titans officer Buran Blutarch once got taken out
by Amuro Ray crashing a simple transport plane into it and then bailing
out. While part of that happening is just the fact that Amuro is THE
MAN, another not-inconsiderable part of it is probably also that the
Asshimar is LAAAAAME!!!
4. Mack Knife
First Appearance- Gundam Reconguista in G
Pilot- “Mask”/Luin Lee, Barara Peor, others
This Medabots-looking… thing was the second main mobile suit of the
“Char” of Reconguista in G, the man who would become known rather
bluntly as “Mask”. You’d expect that the Char-guy of the series would
have something extraordinarily nimble… but it also kind of has to be
tough and threatening too, right? That’s not the Mack Knife, really…
it’s so thin and slight and friggin’ fragile! The main character Bellri
Zenam was able to totally manhandle (suithandle?) Mask’s Mack Knife in
its first outing, kicking it in the balls and TAKING ITS WALLET.
Mask managed to improve his skills with it eventually and make use of
its inherent speed and array of beam weapons. This odd shark did have
some teeth, but its most pearly weapons were by far the Photon Bombs-
missiles with AI-assisted optics in the tips, which could almost
unerringly seek out targets. Sounds cool and effective, right? Yeah…
they fire out of the Mack Knife’s crotch. This suit literally shot its
BALLS at you.
The Mack Knife is ditched by Mask when he procures an
actually-intimidating mobile suit in the Kabakali towards the end of the
series. However, I could never take this thing (or Mask himself,
really) all that seriously.
3. Strike Freedom Gundam
First Appearance- Gundam Seed Destiny
Pilot- Kira Yamato
The successor unit to Kira’s original Freedom Gundam, the Strike Freedom
is fairly emblematic of what sabotaged the Seed Destiny anime in its
latter half. Before I get into why I hate what it represents though, I
should actually mention what I dislike about the suit’s design itself.
First off… the gold bits visible on its joints, hands, and peeking out
from various other places on its frame annoy the crap out of me. This
extra “bling” on Strike Freedom just looks off-putting and gaudy, and
doesn’t seem to serve any purpose. The Akatsuki Gundam from the same
series is completely coated in gold, but that was explained as
purposeful, as the coating is necessary for absorbing and deflecting
beam fire. The Strike Freedom’s gold parts are just there to look…
shiny? I think some model kit manual later tried to explain them away
as some kind of heat sinks or something, but c’mon now…
Another part of the design I don’t care for are the “Super DRAGOON”
remote weapons mounted on the Strike Freedom’s wings. Wireless remote
weapons were initially pretty rare in Seed, with only the main villain
Rau Le Creuset’s Providence Gundam possessing them in the final battle.
The only reason he could use them was that he was a classic “Newtype”
and had superhuman spatial awareness. The whole underlying concept
behind Rau and his “brother” Mu La Flaga in Seed was that they were
supposed to be the last Newtypes in the world. People who possessed the
senses-enhancing “SEED” factor were the main “special” humans in the
series, but Rau and Mu stood apart from them as Universal Century-style
Newtypes. Suddenly, with Kira Yamato’s acquisition of the Strike
Freedom… HE could use these remote weapons and what’s more- when he
deployed them there was a Newtype “flash” in the animation!
So in addition to Kira Yamato possessing the SEED factor, and being the
“Ultimate”, most perfect genetically-engineered Coordinator (as revealed
in Seed), he was now a Newtype as well! That’s really the root of the
whole problem here with the Strike Freedom and Kira Yamato in general-
he became a victim of his own popularity. Kira was the best at
everything and his power was to have all the powers like some bad fanfic
character. I’m probably getting more into Kira as a character than I
should at this point, and that maybe isn’t completely on-topic, but I
feel it is relevant to the Strike Freedom. Many fans feel that Kira
stole Shinn Asuka’s spotlight in the latter half of Seed Destiny, and it
was totally reflected in the Strike Freedom as well, which becomes the
main Gundam showcased in the title credits during the last two opening
sequences of the show.
When the Strike Freedom deploys its Super DRAGOONs, its wings look kind
of skeletal and it removes a lot of the suit’s presence. The
showrunners and/or mecha designers must have realized this… because in
following episodes after this Gundam’s debut, there was a minor change
to its animations. Remember the Destiny Gundam’s “Wings of Light”-
probably the most significant visual distinction that Shinn Asuka’s
“title” suit possessed? Whelp, Kira can’t look dumb and has got to have
all the powers, so the Strike Freedom eventually got them too! This
became standardized in the later Special Edition movies and Remastered
releases whenever the Strike Freedom launched its DRAGOONs.
Add all this to the fact that the Strike Freedom never takes ANY damage
in the entirety of Seed Destiny, and that Kira himself is completely
stagnant as a character by the end, and you get a textbook example of
why some people think Superman is boring. Now, I personally don’t think
Superman is inherently boring, but I do think Kira is as of Seed
Destiny. Hell, just like with the Strike Freedom, many newly-drawn
scenes in the Special Editions and Remastered versions were attempts to
“pretty” Kira up or at least make him look like he’s invested in what’s
happening on-screen.
It was SO easy to get off-track here, but my final word is that I
dislike the Strike Freedom mostly because of what it represented for
Seed Destiny and for what a shining symbol it was for the series’ many
problems. And honestly… I think it’s fairly tacky in a technical sense
too, which is a shame because the original Freedom Gundam was a fairly
decent design. The Strike Freedom is just… over-designed, over-sold,
and over-exposed.
2. Baund Doc
First Appearance- Zeta Gundam
Pilot(s)- Rosamia Badam, Jerid Messa
The Baund Doc has got to have the ugliest “robot” mode of any mobile
suit I’ve ever seen in a Gundam series. Yet another wacky Zeta design
like the Asshimar, but at least the Asshimar has proper humanoid
proportions. The Baund Doc’s asymmetrical upper torso design, weird
“hoop skirt”, and long “ears” on a slender head all contribute to making
a pretty chaotic mash of aesthetics. I feel like if you black out all
detail on it and leave just the silhouette, more people would guess it
was either a Pokemon or some overweight, deformed kangaroo than a robot.
Its flying mobile armor mode isn’t much better, looking like a
loudly-colored mining helmet with claws or legs. It’s pretty fugly from
underneath too, as the entire upper half of the robot torso is just
chilling under its skirt. With such a wild, inhuman design, one would
think that its weapons would be all built-in, but no… the Baund Doc
actually hand-carries a rifle and beam saber as its main armaments. It
does also have a powerful scattering beam gun mounted on its body, but a
thing like this that seems designed to take advantage of a more
monstrous physical structure shouldn’t really need hand-held weapons,
should it? That seems almost counter-intuitive to me, especially with
those giant awkward hands it has.
The Titans pilots who chiefly used the Baund Doc over the course of Zeta
don’t really win it any points with me either. The first was Rosamia
Badam, an unstable Cyber Newtype girl who eventually befriended main
character Kamille Bidan and the crew of the Argama. She largely had a
childlike mindset and would refer to Kamille as her big brother
in-between bouts of hysteria and trying to kill everyone when her
aggressive mental programming kicked in. Her whole plotline was
basically a watered-down repeat of Four Murasame’s, another Cyber
Newtype girl who Kamille actually had a romantic relationship with
earlier in the series. Kamille eventually had to put Rosamia down when
she threatens to blow up the Argama in her new Psyco Gundam Mk-II.
Rosamia was a sympathetic character, but ultimately kind of annoying and
redundant, which is probably why she was mostly excised from the
retelling of Zeta in movie form. But thanks to that, at least she never
had to pilot the Baund Doc and humiliate herself further in the movies!
The other major character who piloted a Baund Doc was Jerid Messa- one
of Kamille’s chief rivals. Jerid was basically Flash Thompson from
Spider-Man, except with virtually zero redeeming qualities, and an
inability to learn from his mistakes. It seemed like he and Kamille had
an ongoing competition throughout the series to see who could kill more
of the other’s friends and comrades. Jerid gets a Baund Doc to try and
kill Kamille one last time in the second-to-final episode of Zeta.
While the Baund Doc was supposedly a powerful unit, it was intended to
be used by pilots with Newtype ability, which Jerid really didn’t have.
He was unable to put up much of a fight in it against even a distracted
Kamille and dies a fairly quick and ignominious death. I thought it
was only fitting that a punk like Jerid went out flying a hideous thing
like the Baund Doc!
Looks like Jerid is blasting off again!
INTO HIS GRAVE.
1. Zakrello
First Appearance- Mobile Suit Gundam
Pilot- Dimitri
Y’know, there are some designs in the Gundam franchise that are so
off-the-wall wacky that they circle around to being kind of neat, like a
good chunk of G Gundam’s mecha. And then there’s the Zakrello, which
is just…
WTF, right? You look at it, and you’re instantly like
“what IS this, what even IS this??”
As a Zeon mobile armor created to fight the RX-78 Gundam, the Zakrello
kind of falls into a category of criticism for the original series- the
“Monster of the Week” trope. In between episodes that actually advance
the plot of the series, the creators also had to just do installments
where Amuro Ray and co. just fight some new scary toy. The Zakrello
wasn’t so much a “Monster of the Week”, as a “Monster of two minutes of
one episode”. It seriously only has about two minutes of screen-time at
best, and Amuro takes it out fairly easily at the beginning of episode #
32. Also, it was apparently piloted by Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel.
During its limited deployment in the anime, it failed to destroy the
Guntank… while the Guntank was just SLOWLY DRIFTING IN SPACE. The
Guntank isn’t even MEANT to be deployed in the vacuum of space, yet the
Zakrello couldn’t get the better of it. Also, Hayato Kobayashi was
piloting the treaded Federation unit at the time, and Hayato kind of
sucks at piloting stuff. I mean, he’s a good guy and he’s always going
on about how he knows judo and junk, but that doesn’t really mean squat
in mobile suit battles. I think the fact that the Zakrello is
just awful
is what probably let Hayato live long enough for Amuro to arrive and
save his short bacon. Heck, even after Amuro destroys the mobile armor,
he’s all like
“...what the flying f**k was up with that??”
As goofy-ass as the Zakrello is, it is super-annoying to fight in the
Gundam Versus video games as a boss unit. It jets around the arena,
barrages you with missiles, and relentlessly tries to spear you with its
arms and then blast you point-blank with the particle cannon in its
“mouth”. I’m ashamed to admit it took me some time to figure out how to
effectively and consistently defeat it. I guess I shouldn’t give
Hayato that much grief...
