One of Mobile Suit Gundam’s most-maligned collection is lastly accessible to stream this week—which implies, hopefully, Gundam followers previous and new alike will use it as an opportunity to re-evaluate what has typically been seen because the black sheep of early Gundam.

Over the weekend Crunchyroll introduced that as a part of its ongoing enlargement of its Gundam catalog three extra items of the esteemed mecha franchise had been added to the platform: Awakening of the Trailblazer, the film sequel to the 2007 collection Gundam 00; Char’s Counterattack, the cinematic conclusion of the primary three Gundam collection of the franchise’s unique “Universal Century” timeline; and its direct predecessor, the 1986 TV collection ZZ Gundam. Although ZZ Gundam hasn’t been unattainable to see—it’s been accessible on Blu-ray for a number of years at this level, and has often been made accessible to stream in limited-time home windows on the Gundam.Info Youtube channel—its arrival on Crunchyroll is its first long-term arrival on a streaming service, making it extra readily accessible than it ever has been.

A direct sequel to the occasions of Z Gundam—itself not on Crunchyroll but, regardless of the Funimation/Crunchyroll merger—ZZ (pronounced “Double Zeta,” alas, for followers of long-bearded guitarists) follows Judau Ashta, a younger boy from the Side 1 colony who, alongside his mates and younger sister, get caught up with the crew of the Anti-Earth Union Group ship Argama after it limps into dock for repairs and resupply. With Zeta’s protagonist Kamille comatose after the occasions of the collection, Judau—who makes a dwelling harvesting and promoting scrap from broken cell fits—abruptly finds himself and his mates thrust into the AEUG’s ongoing conflicts with the remnants of the secessionist area colony Zeon, itself reborn as Neo-Zeon underneath the rule of the sinister Haman Karn, the guardian of the final surviving member of the royal household that kicked off Gundam’s unique battle.

All that sounds very self critical and historically Gundam-y, however a part of why ZZ Gundam has a misunderstood fame as a rule is as a result of it begins off very tonally totally different to its predecessors within the franchise. Zeta Gundam’s conclusion was surprisingly darkish, with a lot of the primary forged of the collection left lifeless or incapacitated, and its “victory” not as clear-cut because the conclusion of the One Year War within the unique Gundam. ZZ, in the meantime, opens with numerous comedy hijinks and farce, with each protagonists and antagonist teams alike getting a bunch of non-traditional, kooky characters as they race to revive their depleted combating forces. Judau (slightly youthful than prior protagonists Kamille and Amuro) is intentionally rather more of an abrasive younger teenager much less desirous about combating different folks’s conflicts for them. And as ZZ’s storyline ultimately evens out from its unique tonal shift into one thing extra historically Gundam, he by no means loses his anti-authority abrasiveness as he develops and matures as a pilot, ultimately making for some actually fascinating commentary on the franchise’s programs of governance and the exploitation of generations of youths like him and his mates by the hands of these programs. Plus, he does love punching authority figures within the face:

Char’s Counterattack, the franchise’s fast continuation that launched the 12 months after ZZ’s conclusion, largely eschews following the occasions and characters of ZZ and Zeta to re-focus on the battle between the unique Gundam’s major protagonist and antagonist, Amuro and Char Aznable. But the worldview ZZ leaves behind by its conclusion is among the franchise’s most fascinating bits of commentary about struggle and corrupt establishments, and arguably one much more distinctive than the return of Char particularly as a villainous foil. If you’re a Gundam fan and have shirked off the collection prior to now for its “silly” tone, now’s an excellent time as ever to present it a worthy re-evaluation as a climax to the unique “trilogy” of reveals.

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