The Gundam Franchise is arguably the most successful Mecha franchise in the world. All over the world, Gundam has made leaps and bounds of success in multiple genres, including toys, video games, and even virtual reality. Gundam has come a long way from its beginnings and has spawned entire universes based on the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime.
Among these universes, Gundam explores different timelines and scenarios; among these timelines is the Future Century Timeline, one of the vastest and most unique timelines of all the Gundam universes. For newcomers to the fandom and even some veterans, here are some things you need to know about the Future Century timeline.
7 Mobile Fighter G
The future universe timeline is the home to the Mobile Fighter G, or “G Gundam” series which was made popular during the Toonami block on Cartoon Network like Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. G Gundam is perhaps one of the most unique Gundam anime series in the Gundam franchise as it takes the constant concept of war and nearly turns it on its head.
Instead of a hundred-year war, the universe has created peace through battle. The great colonies formed a federation to save the Earth from an impending nuclear threat amongst the conflict between the remaining human life on Earth. The colonies governed Earth from Space, ending the war and infighting by announcing a tournament called the Gundam Fight between the nations to decide the nation that should lead.
6 A Cold War In Space
As Space Travel and Space migration became the norm, the wealthy and well-connected abandoned Earth and created multiple colonies under their control. Left to their own devices, the remaining life on Earth crumbled without order and became a callus battlefield between all nations.
The chaos escalated and would soon reach the level of nuclear war; Fearing the worst, the colonies got involved and decided to regulate the remaining nations on Earth. However, the fighting soon spread to the colonies as neither nation could allow another to rule over them. A second war nearly broke out until a single scientist suggested a different path to coast the human race away from extinction.
5 United Colonies Federation
With tension rising and the colonies on the brink of war, Professor E.C. Ducer shines a light on the path to peace and salvation. Professor Ducer suggests that instead of engaging in a cataclysmic war, the right to leadership should be earned in a battle amongst the technological elite.
A tournament is arranged, composed of the most advanced machines nations can produce and the strongest pilots capable. All of the Nations agree, and the Gundam Fight is born along with the Colonies of Nations' partnership in a combined federation.
4 Gundam Fight!
Within the Future Century timeline, there have been fourteen Gundam Fight tournaments to decide the fate of the colony nation federation. The Gundam Fight tournament consists of twenty-eight nations and sponsored competitors. Of the participants, only eleven nations have won the Gundam Fight tournament.
The nation of Neo England has won three times in a row with pilot Gentle Chapman and the Britain Gundam, which utilizes high-powered ranged beam weaponry. Gentle Chapman was praised as a brilliant tactician but unfortunately succumbed to a sickness brought on by contact with Dark Gundam cells.
3 The Most Advanced Cockpit In The Franchise
The futuristic tech in the Gundam franchise brings impossible creations to life in a large variety of ways. Each Gundam has its own groundbreaking abilities and advancements that give it an edge over other machines and mobile suits.
In G Gundam, one of those advancements are the cockpits; pilots control their Gundam in a full-body apparatus that reads the pilot's moments, physical abilities, supernatural powers, and raw emotions. The cockpit transfers these factors into energy that the Gundam can use to increase its own power. Unfortunately, these cockpits also place pilots in danger as they do not have much reinforcement.
2 In A League Of Its Own
One of the most exciting things about the G Gundam series is that while it was the tenth animated series to debut, it was the first series set in the Future Century timeline and vacant of most Gundam tropes like Newtypes. G Gundam was also the first Gundam series not set in the Universal Century Timeline, which had dominated the Gundam franchise with multiple series such as Mobile suit Gundam, Mobile suit Gundam Zeta, and Mobile Suit Gundam f91.
Since its creation, Mobile Fighter G continues to be the only series that is contained within the Future Century Timeline but continues its story with Manga releases published by Yasuhiro Imagawa.
1 Yasuhiro Imagawa
The lead writer and director for Mobile Fighter G is Yasuhiro Imagawa, a well-traveled Manga and animation director. Imagawa should be well known to many fans of the anime genre as he has had his hands in some of the most influential series in Manga and Anime.
Imaghawa has worked on Berserk and Heavy metal Z and is still publishing the G Gundam Manga. Imagawa is proclaimed as a master of Mecha, having defined the genre during the 80s with the Giant Robo series, which is still highly loved to his day.