There’s two ways to look at Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning-, a compilation film for the yet-to-air TV series bringing its first story and opening episodes and combining them into a single 80-minute story. On one side, this is a fascinating world and interesting reimagining spearheaded by Studio khara, led by Gainax veteran who since joining khara was one of the lead directors on the Rebuild of Evangelion films, Kazuya Tsurumaki. It goes beyond its already-intriguing early promotions for a genuinely fresh approach to Gundam within animation.

On the other, from pacing to release strategy to the question of if this is a fulfilling moviegoing experience, it’s a somewhat unsatisfying affair.

In a space colony where its residents know nothing of the vastness of space outside their simulated skies and seas, Amate Yuzuriha dreams of the freedom beyond. It’s only after bumping into Nyaan, finding the core of a Mobile Suit this stranger was smuggling deposited in her bag, that she gets wrapped up in something far larger. From this chance encounter she meets those who participate in underground suit battles, including one aloof boy named Shuji who pilots a mysterious red Gundam, getting wrapped up into a far larger mystery as she awakens to her powers as a Newtype.

There are two sides to this tale. While this side of the story featured heavily in early promotion for the film, a fascinating what-if was kept under wraps that adds a layer of mystery to this robot-infused coming-of-age adventure.

The movie opens not in this space colony, but in the Universal Century 0079 and One Year War we have become oh so familiar with in the years since Mobile Suit Gundam first hit TV screens in 1979. Char Aznable leads the Zeon forces in a mission when, as a pilot, he stumbles upon the RX-78-2 Gundam. In the story we know, Amuro pilots this Earth Federation suit prototype to the ultimate defeat of Char, but things don’t work out that way. More surprisingly, Char steps into the suit, modifying it over the years until he eventually triumphs, only to disappear into a seemingly alternate dimension during the final fight, never to be seen again.

Only then, as a small force continues to search for Char, do we meet Amate, five years following these events in her home in the colony. It’s a far different prospect than the one introduced to us just last month. Still, rather than feeling like the rug has been pulled from underneath audiences, the concept is fascinating. Or it could be, when the completed series airs. For now it feels frustratingly underdeveloped.

Take’s fluid visual style for the 0085 world of GQuuuuuuX brings a far more youthful edge to the franchise. In recent years, Take’s work has been the basis for the Pokémon franchise’s human characters and the anime since the Sun and Moon era and featured heavily in the Pokémon Voltage project. By contrast, this extended opening sequence featuring Char is deliberately, stubbornly traditional, to the point you could easily mistake yourself for walking into a screening of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin.

At least neither side of this tale feels like a TV series blown up to the cinema screen. It’s stunning to witness, whether in full-blown space battles with a roaring score remixing songs from the original series or in its quieter moments. The issue comes in pacing. Whereas Char’s story and the One Year War of the original Gundam series are very familiar to audiences in tune to the series at this point, this single what-if divergence drastically changes the consequences of the war. Yet we rush through the events of that series while highlighting its convergence in just over 30 minutes.

Even as a fan it can be hard to keep up, and considering that the series is very deliberately targeting new audiences both through its visuals and tone, taking advantage of the momentum and new fans introduced to Gundam through 2022’s Witch From Mercury, those unaware of this history are left entirely out of the loop. This isn’t to say this bold swing is a failure. Anything but. The world of GQuuuuuuX is only more interesting for this wrinkle, and rather than feeling like simple fanservice it’s a twist on the familiar that genuinely challenges over pandering to nostalgia.

We’ll have to see how it factors into the show as a whole. For now, what we know from this reveal feels unimportant compared to what’s genuinely new, and only confuses the new fans this is supposed to engage.

It’s here that the uncomfortable question of release strategy, format, promotion and franchising enter the artistic conversation. From a pure filmic perspective, this is awkwardly paced. This entire film wraps up in just 80 minutes, and in that time must entertain Char’s new origin story and introduce ourselves to this new world. With so little time, this story is rushed while we barely get a chance to see what bold strokes have been taken beyond a few pretty visuals and vague hopes from Amate to see the real sky beyond the fake-ness of her home.

What we do see is at-times awe-inspiring. The classic operatic nature of Gundam is wonderfully contrasted by the flowing hip-hop rhythm of this new world, punctuated not with stuffy orchestras but with graffiti and the electronic, punchy sounds of hip-hop and J-pop. In a new frontier for the franchise we’re treated to songs from Hoshimachi Suisei and Kenshi Yonezu, two faces of modern Japanese pop that lend their representation of Generation Z and a vast gravitas to the inner and outer worlds that the protagonist seeks liberation from.

There’s also a reckless, near-psychedelic freedom in playing with what is possible in this world, tied intrinsically to the visceral, uncontrollable emotions and the technicolor high felt as Amate’s Newtype powers awaken and leave her impossibly attracted towards the kinetic worlds and awakened powers of Nyaan and Shuji. Battles in the suits feel like an eSports broadcast, it’s punchy and flashy, and it comes together to feel like a new-generation take on a classic.

Still, thirty minutes is barely an introduction to this world. We don’t even meet Shuji till the film is entering its final moments, and while Amate’s sudden Gundam piloting is a fascinating blend of spontaneity and an emotional maturity and complexity far beyond that of most series protagonists and easy to get wrapped up within, we still barely know them. Char, the only familiar character, is changed a lot prior to his disappearance, and while many core motivations remain there’s certainly a lot that feels undeveloped, or at least unexplored.

We’ve seen a lot of TV series bring themselves to cinemas ahead of broadcast of late, whether as extended opening episodes like Oshi no Ko, or early episode screenings like Demon Slayer. Unlike these, however, GQuuuuuuX, despite the Beginnings subtitle, is clearly selling itself as a film, and unlike those other comparison points, the series isn’t hitting TV screens any time soon. This is all we have for months, with no guarantee it’ll even broadcast in 2025. This is it, and while a different argument could be made if it ended stronger or the series was just weeks away, it feels underdeveloped with too much unresolved to leave the months-long wait feeling satisfying.

Why was Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX brought to cinemas so early? Well, new model kits of the GQuuuuuuX Gundam hit shelves to go alongside the screening. Considering it was kept a secret until now, expect even more in the coming months for Char’s suit, or Shuji’s red mobile suit. Box office revenues are high as it topped the charts in a busy week of new releases. It does the story no favors to tell a lopsided introduction whose momentum doesn’t immediately translate into new episodes of the series it introduces, but with other merchandising and the khara name, it can maintain or revitalize itself when the TV series is ready to go. For business its great. For art less so.

What we see has me curious to learn more. Yet no matter the potential, as it is now, especially with nothing more on the horizon, what we have is messy, something that exists more for money than the creativity it houses within. It’s a shame.