Highlights
- Newtypes are evolved humans who excel in space and piloting Mobile Suits due to heightened focus and reaction speed.
- Cyber Newtypes are artificially created, but often unstable due to unethical methods used by Earth Federation.
- While various Gundam series use similar concepts like Coordinators and Innovators, Newtypes remain iconic in the franchise.
From the Mobile Suits to the Minovsky Particles, the Gundam franchise invented numerous interesting concepts to enrich its vast world. One of the concepts that has been used throughout the franchise, although sometimes by different names, is the Newtype.
The concept of Newtype was first introduced in the original 1979’s Mobile Suit Gundam. Since then, every Gundam anime that is set in the famous Universal Century Timeline has always featured a Newtype character in it. So let’s use this chance to talk about what a Newtype is, what a Newtype can do, and some examples of Newtypes in the non-U.C. Gundam series.
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What is a Newtype?
Born in Space
In the simplest terms, a Newtype is somebody who has entered a new stage in human evolution. It’s still unclear what triggered this evolution or how it occurred, but one thing’s for sure, a Newtype only exists among the Spacenoids. After all, most Newtypes are born and grow up in space. There is an exception, like Amuro Ray who was actually born on Earth, but he pretty much spends the rest of his life in space, specifically on the Side 7 colony.
The leading theory behind the existence of the Newtypes is a way for the human body to survive in space. However, since only a handful of Newtypes are known to exist, there are still so many things that scientists don’t know about this supposedly new branch in the human evolutionary tree.
If people go into space, open their hearts, and develop their previously unawakened abilities, they will be able to continue developing and propagating forever.
Cyber Newtypes
The one thing that most scientists quickly realize is the fact that the Newtypes, such as Amuro Ray and Kamille Bidan, are superior pilots to normal humans. It could be because their body is a lot more suitable to live and traverse in space compared to normal humans, but it is also because Newtypes have abilities that normal humans don’t have. More on this in the next section.
Since it is nearly impossible to track down a natural Newtype, the Earth Federation tries to create an artificial Newtype, also known as the Cyber Newtype. They achieve such feats through organ transplants, biotechnical modifications, chemical tampering, and other unethical methods.
While Cyber Newtypes have similar abilities as true Newtypes, they are usually mentally unstable. Most Cyber Newtypes even go as far as developing personality disorders, such as Four Murasame from Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam.
The Abilities of a Newtype
As mentioned above, the Newtypes have developed certain abilities that make them extremely proficient on the battlefield, especially as Mobile Suits pilots. These are some of those abilities.
Extreme Focus and Increased Reaction Speed
Whenever a Newtype is fully engaged in an activity, such as piloting a mobile suit, it will be able to achieve a heightened state of focus. This allows them to act without thinking. Every setting and every maneuver has become a reflex. It’s as if the mobile suit itself has become part of their body.
This extreme focus works especially well with their massive increase in reaction speed. Newtypes can instantly react the moment their brain receives the information from their senses. That’s why Amuro and his Gundam RX-78 can evade the enemy’s barrage with ease.
Telepathy and Spatial Awareness
Another ability that every Newtype has is telepathy and spatial awareness. Every Newtype can have telepathic communication with fellow newtypes. The complexity of the communication, however, varies from one Newtype to the next. Some can only feel the presence of another Newtype, such as Sayla Mass, while others can transmit a whole scene or an image to the other’s mind, such as Lalah Sune.
As for spatial awareness, some might think that it is simply an ability to be super aware of everything that happens in the surrounding space. While it’s true, spatial awareness of a Newtype also means they are aware of other Newtypes around them. But just like telepathy, their range of awareness varies from one Newtype to the next.
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Other Kinds of Newtype in Gundam Franchise
The term “Newtype” is used mostly within the Universal Century timeline. However, a similar concept has been used in other Gundam series as well.
The Coordinators
Title | Mobile Suit Gundam Seed |
|---|---|
Release Date | October 5, 2002 – September 27, 2003 |
Episodes | 50 episodes |
While the abilities of Newtypes and Coordinators are largely the same, their origin is vastly different. Coordinators are artificial humans who have been genetically modified since they were embryos. The hope is for these enhanced humans to later guide humanity on its journey to conquer space, which is why they are called the Coordinators.
The Innovators
Title | Mobile Suit Gundam 00 |
|---|---|
Release Date | October 6, 2007 – March 29, 2009 |
Episodes | 50 episodes |
Just like the Coordinators, the abilities of the Innovators are also quite similar to the Newtypes. But unlike the Coordinators, the Innovators mostly appeared naturally due to the excessive exposure to concentrated high-grade GN Particles. That’s why there are only a handful of Innovators in the world. There are artificial Innovators, but they are mostly inferior to the true Innovators.
The X-Rounders
Title | Mobile Suit Gundam AGE |
|---|---|
Release Date | October 9, 2011 – September 23, 2012 |
Episodes | 49 episodes |
Newtypes, Coordinators, and Innovators take a largely subtle approach to their origin. X-Rounders, however, is the complete opposite of that. Right out of the gate, the series explains that the X-Rounders are superpowered humans who have unlocked an unused region of their brain called the X-Region. That said, their abilities are mostly the same as a Newtype.
Just like Mobile Suits and Spacenoids, Newtype has become an iconic concept that will continue to exist in future Gundam series. It may have different names with different origin stories, but the pilot of the main Gundam will certainly have unique abilities that make it superior to the other characters.
Mobile Suit Gundam is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
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Mobile Suit Gundam
- Release Date
- April 7, 1979
- Seasons
- 1
- Studio
- Nippon Sunrise
- Number of Episodes
- 42
- Japanese Title
- Kidou Senshi Gundam
