Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX: Beginning

This is an amalgam of four episodes that depict the end of the war between the breakaway “Zeon” and the “Earth Federation” some years after much of mankind had taken to living in cities located throughout the solar system. That war is touch and go, verging on stalemate, when the audacious “Char” manages to steal a prototype mobile suit (think “Pacific Rim”) and turn it on their designers. It’s a battle royal that ensues but as that concludes the enigmatic young “Char” disappears. The second part of the story skips on a few years as the search for “Char” and his suit has still to bear fruit, but a feisty young girl is the one to beat as she takes to her new “Gundam” suit only to find she seems to have natural powers to augment it’s formidable capabilities. What’s going on with her and where is the redoubtable champion? Well we don’t find any of that out here, as this is just the start of the series, but what we do have works well enough as a stand alone adventure. The first section was my favourite, with much more intergalactic action, battles and combat going on. The second part reverted a little to the more traditionally frat-based team contest which attracts a bit less, but there’s still plenty going on and it teases the rest of the story encouragingly. It’s short and sweet and worth a watch.