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gundam question

I've always thought of getting into the gundam animes but seeing how many there are, i just put it off.
my question is, do i need to watch every gundam from start to finish like with dragon balls?

No. There are multiple timelines and spinoffs where not all of them relate to each other. Read this post for an explanation.

Anyway, the Gundam universe is comprised of six separate alternate universes that operate almost entirely independent from one-another, and you do not need to have seen one to understand the other. The main one, in which the majority of Gundam anime take place, is called the Universal Century, and naturally is the setting of the original Gundam series, as well. The other five alternate universes independent of the UC are typically only comprised of one, maybe two series at the most, and as stated, do not necessarily require viewing UC Gundam to understand, as one does not have any impact on the other.

For ease of reference, I've jotted down most of the current Gundam anime, organised by timeline, as well as their chronological order within that timeline. The numbers in parenthesis are the years they were produced, followed by the starting years they take place within the timeline.

Universal Century

Main Timeline
The main timeline is basically the central chronology of events within the Universal Century. It's the core part of this timeline, directed entirely by Yoshiyuki Tomino and for the most part, following many of Gundam's most key characters, such as Amuro Ray, Char Aznable, & Kamille Bidan.

Mobile Suit Gundam (1979, UC0079)
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (1985, UC0087)
Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (1986, UC0088)
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack (1988, UC0093)
Mobile Suit Gundam F91 (1991, UC0123)
Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (1993, UC0153)

Sidestories
The sidestories to the Universal Century are essentially what take place during the early wars of the series, away from the events of the main timeline. They are not essential to understanding what goes on in the main story, but help to further flesh out events happening elsewhere.

Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO: The Hidden One-Year War (2004, Jan. UC0079)
Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO: Apocalypse 0079 (2006, Dec. UC0079)
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team (1995, circa Oct. UC0079)
Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket (1989, Dec. UC00079)
Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (1991, UC0083)

Future Century
Mobile Fighter G Gundam (1994, FC60)

After Colony
New MS Report Gundam Wing (1995, AC195)
New MS Report Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz (1997, AC196)

After War
After War Gundam X (1996, AW0015)

Correct Century
Turn-A Gundam (1999, CC2345)

Cosmic Era
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (2002, C.E.71)
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny (2004, C.E.73)
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED C.E.73: Stargazer (2006, C.E.73)

Compilations
Compilations are essentially retellings of prior Gundam stories that compress the events into a shorter digest form, in order to spare fans from having to down an entire 50-something episode series, provide an alternate viewpoint on the story, throw in a few extra scenes, make an extra buck, etc. Some of them, like the Mobile Suit Gundam trilogy and 08th MS Team's Miller's Report, turn out quite well, while others, like Gundam SEED's Special Editions and Gundam 0083's The Last Blitz of Zeon, leave a little bit of something to be desired.

Mobile Suit Gundam I (1981, UC0079)
Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow (1981, UC0079)
Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters in Space (1982, UC0079)
Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: The Last Blitz of Zeon (1992, UC0083)
New MS Report Gundam Wing: Operation Meteor (1996, AC195)
New MS Report Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz Special Edition (1998, AC196)
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team: Miller's Report (1998, UC0079)
Turn-A Gundam I: Earth Light (2002, CC2345)
Turn-A Gundam II: Moonlight Butterfly (2002, CC2345)
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Special Edition (2003, C.E.71)
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny -EDITED- (2005, C.E.73)
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny Final Plus: The Chosen Future (2005, C.E.74)
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny: Special Edition (2006, C.E.73)
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam I: Heirs to the Stars (2005, UC0087)
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam II: Lovers (2005, UC0087)
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam III: Love is the Pulse of the Stars (2006, UC0087)

A note on Gundam SEED Destiny -EDITED- and Gundam SEED Destiny Final Plus. -EDITED- was a special TV episode independent of the actual series meant to update newcomers to the series on what had happened in the first 15-ish episodes. It's unsure if there was only meant to be one, or if a series was planned that was later scrapped, as no more -EDITED- specials appeared since. Final Plus was an alternate 50-minute version of Destiny's last episode, released as an OVA because Destiny's TV ending was just that horrible and inconclusive.

I just recently tracked down the run of Original Gundam 0079, figuring that it would be a good place to start. After watching that, I moved on to what I thought was the next step, Char's Counterattack, and was immediately hit with lots of references to Char and Amuro's relationship in the ten years or so since the end of 0079. Did I make a grave story continuity error by not realizing that Zeta and ZZ came between? Will watching those provide information on what Amuro and Char were up to during the elapsed years?

Did I make a grave story continuity error by not realizing that Zeta and ZZ came between? Will watching those provide information on what Amuro and Char were up to during the elapsed years?

Also, what the heck happened at the end of Counterattack? spoiler[Did Amuro vaporize himself to create enough force to deflect the asteroid?]

Sam-I-Am wrote:

Did I make a grave story continuity error by not realizing that Zeta and ZZ came between? Will watching those provide information on what Amuro and Char were up to during the elapsed years?

Zeta will. Double Zeta won't. Double Zeta really should've, though, since there was still a pretty large leap in logic that had to be made in order to get from Char at the end of Zeta to Char at the start of Char's Counterattack. I don't care how Tomino zealots try to rationalize it, there's a massive gap between spoiler[a fairly stable thought slightly embittered] Char at the end of Zeta, and spoiler[a hopelessly irrational and manical mass murdering] Char at the start of Char's Counterattack..[/spoiler]

His motives are exactly the same - to pave the way for the future of humanity by getting people, whose "souls are weighed down by gravity", to live in space.

probably due to the outcome of the first Neo Zeon war.

There's nothing "hopelessly irrational" or "maniacal" about him, though. He has decided that before more wars break out, he has to change humanity, whether they like it or not.

And it might've happened, too

Hi,

Does anyone know if they are going to produce any more Gundam Seed Destiny after "Stargazer" and "Destiny Final Plus"? Are there plans to continue?