Mobile Fighter G Gundam

Mobile Fighter G Gundam (機動武闘伝Gガンダム) is a 1994 anime television series created by Sunrise under the direction of Yasuhiro Imagawa. It was the first series in the Gundam franchise not set in the Universal Century timeline, instead it's set in the Future Century timeline.

Synopsis
In the Future Century universe, humans have ruined the Earth. Much of mankind has abandoned Earth for space colonies, with each country on Earth having a corresponding space colony. Instead of having wars, a "Gundam Fight" is held every four years, where a representative will pilot a Mobile Fighter and compete with other Gundams until only one is left. The winning country is allowed to rule the Earth for four years until the next Gundam Fight.

Dr. Kasshu builds the experimental Ultimate Gundam, whose purpose is to restore the Earth. However it is stolen by his son, Kyoji Kasshu, who escapes to Earth. As the 13th Gundam Fight begins, his brother Domon Kasshu is forced to become Neo Japan's Gundam Fighter to free his father, who was arrested and sentenced to cryogenic sleep following these events. He must also defeat his brother Kyoji and destroy the Ulimate Gundam, which has since evolved into the monstrous JDG-00X Devil Gundam.

Rules and Regulations of the Gundam Fight
The following are the seven articles of the Gundam Fight International Regulations:
 * 1) A unit whose head section has been destroyed is disqualified.
 * 2) A Gundam Fighter must never aim at the cockpit of an opponent's Gundam. Supplement: Accidental harm inflicted on a Gundam Fighter during a match is acceptable.
 * 3) A Gundam Fighter may repair any damage to their Gundam as often as they desire and move on to the championship league, as long as the head section has not been destroyed.
 * 4) A Gundam Fighter must take full responsibility for protecting their own Gundam.
 * 5) A match shall only be held on a one-on-one basis.
 * 6) A Gundam Fighter shall not taint the honor and dignity of the nation they are representing.
 * 7) The Earth is the ring! Supplement: Destruction of property on Earth due to the Gundam Fight is not considered a crime.

Final Tournament Additional Rules
Upon the start of the Finals of the 13th Gundam Fight, Wong Yunfat debuted some controversial new rules:
 * 1) Unlimited repairs, improvements, and substitutions are acceptable during the final tournament.
 * 2) Victory may be obtained through any means (including targeting the cockpit).
 * 3) The final winner of the Battle Royale will be awarded the title "Gundam of Gundams."

Neo Japan

 * Domon Kasshu
 * Rain Mikamura

Neo America

 * Chibodee Crocket
 * Chibodee Gals

Neo China

 * Sai Saici

Mobile Weapons

 * See List of Future Century Mobile Weapons

Episodes
Comprehensive Episode Listing of Mobile Fighter G Gundam episodes

Production
The anime was directed by Yasuhiro Imagawa

Name changes in localization
G Gundam was aired on Cartoon Network starting in August 2002; however, many of the Gundams' original names were changed for various reasons.

Three of the changes were because of overt religious references: God Gundam to "Burning Gundam", Devil Gundam to "Dark Gundam", and Gundam Heaven's Sword to "Soaring Raven Gundam" (partly due to the fact that Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the United States, refused to stock toys of the XXXG-01D2 Gundam Deathscythe Hell during the run of Gundam Wing). In addition, the Death Army was changed to "Dark Army" for conservative reasons. Tequila Gundam was changed to "Spike Gundam" due to alcohol references.

The others were changed for unclear reasons, though speculations cite some names being too difficult for children to understand, or to make them more appealing to younger viewers. Cultural sensitivity may also have been an influence two cases: the briefly encountered Neo-Iraq Scud Gundam (likely due to the use of Scud Missiles in the then recent Gulf War), and Neo-Hong Kong's Kowloon Gundam.

In the U.S. DVD release, the original Gundam names are seen in the English subtitles but the dubbed actors' lines are the same as the Cartoon Network version. The English manga also uses the new names.

In a related occurrence, Chibodee's oftenly used friendly nickname for Domon, 'Japanese', was changed to 'Neo Japan' to avoid similarities to the racial slur 'Jap', a derogatory term to refer to someone of Japanese origin. Similarly, Chibodee's one-off use of 'Chinese' to refer to Sai Saici was changed to 'Neo China'.

Audio Drama
The show's second soundtrack CD (although it is titled Round 3, as Rounds 1 & 2 were released as a two-disc album) contains an audio drama. In this brand new story, Domon and the others attend the premier of a Hong Kong action film based on their adventures. The story of both the film itself and the audio drama is mostly comedic in nature. One running joke involves Sai's annoyance that the film had cast him as a female and given Rain his place as Neo China's fighter. The drama segments are interspersed with the Catonese songs which were used to define the show's second half, set in Neo Hong Kong. A new one created for the album is a Catonese version of the show's first opening song Flying in the Sky, used as the opening song for the fictional movie. Domon is shown to quite enjoy the song.

Manga
A three volume manga was produced serialising the show, as authored by Kōichi Tokita. The manga has generally been poorly received by fans, mainly due to Tokita's characterisation of Rain Mikamura and how he ultimately paints her in an even worse light due to his own admitted favortism of Allenby Beardsley. The manga is perhaps most famous for starting Go For It, Domon!, a series of 4-komas in which Tokita poked fun at the series. These continued throughout his Gundam works of the 1990s

Cameos
The final battle of G Gundam includes numerous cameo appearances by prominent mobile suits from previous Gundam series such as the original Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta Gundam, Gundam 0083, Gundam F91, V Gundam, and the manga Crossbone Gundam. In addition, this battle also features appearances by Gundam Wing's XXXG-01W Wing Gundam (making its on-screen debut) and the title robots of Zambot 3 and Daitarn 3 (both of which were Yoshiyuki Tomino's creations before Gundam). Also, a mobile suit of striking resemblance to Gundam Deathscythe Hell makes an appearance in the episode introducing Bolt Gundam in the underground facility. None of these machines played any significant role in the battle, and were likely included as an inside joke to long-time fans of Gundam.

Theme songs

 * Openings
 * 1) "Flying in the Sky" by Hitofumi Ushima (episodes 1-25)
 * 2) "Trust You Forever" by Hitofumi Ushima (episodes 26-49)


 * Endings
 * 1) "Umi Yori Mo Fukaku [Deeper Than The Ocean]" by Etsuko Sai
 * 2) "Kimi No Naka No Eien [The Eternity in You]" by Inoue Takehide

Notes & Trivia

 * This series is set in the Future Century timeline. This made it the first Gundam series to be set outside of the Universal Century timeline from the original Mobile Suit Gundam series.
 * Additionally because of the setting, this is the first Gundam series to not use catapult launching sequences.
 * The show is often mistakenly called 'Gundam G' by unofficial and fan sources.
 * At the start of the second episode, Stalker (the show's narrator) welcomes the audience with an introduction that begins "I would like, if I may, to take you-". This is a reference to the same narration from the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
 * In the English version certain Gundams were renamed. However in episode 41 when the names and locations of the Gundams in the final Battle Royale are shown they are their original names. Domon's Gundam's name is shown as God Gundam and Gentle Chapman's is shown as John Bull Gundam.
 * In the third opening animation for the series, director Yasuhiro Imagawa can be seen in one of the Neo Hong Kong crowds wearing a Star Trek uniform.
 * There is a considerable number of spoilers and previews in the first opening. Master Asia, for instance, is featured prominently despite taking a long time before making an appearance or even being mentioned. In the beginning of the opening, a montage of five Gundams that appear to be GF13-017NJ Shining Gundam, GF13-006NA Gundam Maxter, GF13-003NEL John Bull Gundam, GF13-013NR Bolt Gundam and GF13-009NF Gundam Rose, some of which would only appear several episodes on. Additionally the Colony Devil Gundam is featured at the end of the opening, despite only appearing in the last few episodes.
 * It's been rumored that some of the sillier designs of the Gundams were made purely out of spite for Bandai/Sunrise's toy-centered policies as Imagawa disliked them (something he shared with Tomino).
 * In a series of interviews for the official Region 1 American DVDs, Imagawa explains that Tohofuhai martial arts (the style practiced by Domon Kasshu and his mentor Master Asia) is so successful because rather than sticking to one particular fighting style it is constantly evolving and accepts successful elements from any and all known fighting styles.
 * Mobile Fighter G Gundam is the only representative of Gundam series in Super Robot Wars Neo (Nintendo Wii), as there are only Super Robot titles in the game, while G Gundam is the only Gundam series that categorized as Super Robot.