The first episode of the original “Mobile Suit Gundam” anime series originally aired on Japanese TV on April 7, 1979. That should make this month the 46th anniversary of the landmark mecha series that jumpstarted the entire real robot genre, but I think most fans will be able to set aside linguistic/mathematical quibbles for Uniqlo’s new line of Gundam 45th Anniversary T-shirts, on account of how awesome they look.
Stating things off is a shirt saluting “The Witch from Mercury,” the most recently concluded series in the Gundam franchise. The front features protagonist Suletta and Miorine striking poses as dramatic as the mobile suit behind them. Written across the back are the words “If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two,” Suletta’s personal philosophy as taught to her by her mother.
The graphic/text layout is reversed for the second shirt, with three alphanumeric lines on the chest that won’t mean anything to non-fans…
…but which mecha scholars will recognize as the unit designations for Gundam Seed’s Freedom Gundam, Strike Freedom Gundam, and Strike Freedom Gundam Type II.
Of course, you can’t celebrate 45/46 years of Gundam without swinging the spotlight to where it all began, which is where this original “Mobile Suit Gundam” shirt comes in.
Solid black across the back, positioned on the front are the OG original Gundam, the RX-78, flanked by the Guncannon and Guntank, whose inspirational lineage didn’t end up as long as illustrious as the titular mecha’s. Looming large behind the trio is the customized Zaku II of ace antagonist Char Aznable, who’s been stealing the show for a whole bunch of the original series’ U.C. timeline.
Saving the best for last, we come to the final design, which says that says the only thing better than a Gundam T-shirt is a Gundams T-shirt.
Flanking the RX-78 in the front row are the Zeta Gundam (“Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam”) and God Gundam (“Mobile Fighter G Gundam”). Behind them are “Gundam Wing’s” Wing Gundam Zero and the Turn A Gundam (from the series of the same name). At the back we have the Strike Freedom Gundam and “Gundam Unicorn’s” Unicorn Gundam, plus a mysterious red Gundam that doesn’t appear to be the hero mecha from any currently concluded Gundam series. However, “Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX,” the new Gundam series with scripts from Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno, makes its TV premiere this month and does feature a red Gundam, though with a much more skeletal appearance than the mobile suit seen here, so maybe this is a sneak peek at GQuuuuuuX developments to come.
▼ It’s especially cool to see the newer series’ Gundams rendered in the brush painting style used for much of the original “Mobile Suit Gundam’s” promotional art and posters, giving the overall composition a dignified historic feel.
▼ The front keeps things simple, with an understated “Mobile Suit Gundam 45th.”
The shirts, which are listed as a relaxed-fit unisex cut, are priced at 1,990 yen each and go on sale in mid-April, with online orders through the Uniqlo website here.
Source: Uniqlo
Insert images: Uniqlo
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