Gundam GQuuuuuuX’s Finish Credit Are Already...

The Gundam franchise’s historical past with queerness is longer within the meta textual content than it has been within the textual content of the franchise itself. Shippers have been matching up same-gender characters with one another for generations earlier than Witch From Mercury‘s first episode climaxed with its feminine deuteragonists getting engaged, kicking off a relationship that even Gundam‘s owners couldn’t deny was greater than merely open to some stage of interpretation. However it’s the power within the wake of that that makes the arrival of Gundam GQuuuuuuX so fascinating, as a result of now the percentages of that delivery hyperfixation being in followers’ favor are greater than ever.

The primary episode of GQuuuuuuX premiered all over the world final evening, and whereas all of its materials was already lined by the compilation movie Beginning when it launched a couple of months in the past, the TV launch did add one factor particularly: the present’s finish titles sequence. Set to VTuber Hoshimachi Suisei’s observe “I don’t care,” the ending sees protagonists Machu and Nyaan sharing a comfortable, cluttered condominium collectively, residing a quiet life fairly not like those we’re launched to within the episode. There’s singing, there’s dancing, there’s pizza events, and the ladies are seen crashing out collectively facet by facet. It’s very candy, however it’s despatched any followers hoping a for a repeat of Suletta and Miorine’s relationship in Witch From Mercury into hypothesis overdrive.

After all, no quantity of hypothesis over shared ankle bracelets and disco-filled home bliss can change the truth that, on the finish of the day, an anime ending is just not all the time completely true to the textual content of the present itself (though it’s actually honest to say in Witch From Mercury‘s case, each of its opening and ending sequences did play up Suletta and Miorine’s romance even earlier than it was clearly established throughout the present). Regardless of the intentions or the interpretations of the sequence, GQuuuuuuX‘s ending would possibly simply be a cute what-if state of affairs that doesn’t pan out within the present.

However that’s to not say that GQuuuuuuX itself isn’t at the very least projecting numerous queer vibes to some individuals, in each Machu and Nyaan’s early encounters and even different potential pairings on the present. There’s an electrical chemistry between the duo of their early encounters, one made all of the extra fascinating when Machu tags together with Nyaan to drop off a smuggled piece of equipment that may in the end see the previous wind up piloting the present’s new Gundam. At first, a tagalong is precisely what Machu describes herself as, however then she pointedly notes she might even be a Mav—in GQuuuuuuX‘s worldbuilding, the time period for a duo in Cellular Swimsuit fight techniques, pioneered during a prior war by the Zeon ace Char Aznable and his accomplice, Challia Bull.

“Mav” is used a number of occasions within the sequence with a stage of closeness that goes past easy wingman although, making Machu’s use of it (past her intrigue at probably becoming a member of in on underground mecha fights) fascinating. Challia’s relationship to Char—who went lacking alongside the original Gundam on the finish of the struggle, sparking a search that Challia has been conducting for 5 years since its finish—is described at one level to him by a personality early on within the episode as Char being “his buddy, or somewhat, his Mav,” to counsel a bond even nearer than that.

Anybody who’s seen Starting can even know that one other character describes Challia as nonetheless being within the “thrall” of the Crimson Comet, Char’s nickname from the struggle. And all that’s even earlier than entering into the truth that sequence author Yoji Enokido (who has written on, amongst different issues, the likes of Revolutionary Lady Utena, Evangelion, and FLCL, all sequence with various ranges of specific and implicit queer intimacy) has said in press interviews that, regardless of it being a army time period, it’s additionally one he might see as getting used to seek advice from the bond between pals or romantic companions.

After all, all this stays open to interpretation (and never in the way Bandai wanted Suletta and Miorine’s marriage to be, for now at the very least). GQuuuuuuX might pair off any variety of its characters, or the hints and particulars followers hoping for a Sulemio repeat might be nothing extra than simply that: hints. It will admittedly be very humorous for Gundam to do back-to-back feminine protagonists who occur to be queer, a landmark first for the sequence in Witch From Mercury made much more notable by it occurring instantly once more from one other, unconnected artistic staff, however we’ve merely not seen sufficient of the present but to know if that’s going to be the case.

That truth gained’t cease shippers from hoping anyway. And if it doesn’t? Nicely, that’s the enjoyment of fandom delivery, isn’t it—they’ll have the ability to create loads of work imagining in any other case regardless.

Cellular Swimsuit Gundam GQuuuuuuX is now streaming on Prime Video.

Need extra io9 information? Try when to anticipate the most recent Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s subsequent for the DC Universe on film and TV, and every part it’s worthwhile to learn about the way forward for Doctor Who.