What is the greatest Gundam ever made? Chances are that we could ask that question to a thousand different people and we would get countless different answers.
Everyone had a different introduction to Gundam and Gunpla, after all, and whether you liked a particular series, game or model kit will affect which Mobile Suit you love most.
However, Bandai tried to answer the question by asking 1.3 million fans of the series to say what their favourite Gundam was,
The results of the Global Gundam Poll were fascinating; the original RX-78-2 Gundam came 13th, Full Armour Unicorn Gundam came 20th and even Wing Gundam from the popular 1990s series Gundam Wing came second.
The winner was in fact the RX-93 Nu Gundam, the star of the legendary 1988 film Char’s Counterattack as piloted and largely designed by the original show’s protagonist Amaro Ray.
Whilst in some ways this is slightly surprising, the ever-enduring popularity of Char’s Counterattack has been recognised recently by Bandai themselves.
The conclusion to the rivalry between Amuro Ray and Char Aznable, which encompassed Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta Gundam and ZZ Gundam, Char’s Counterattack is especially popular with Japanese Gundam fans for its complex themes and ideological conflicts as striking and beautifully detailed as the immaculate combat sequences themselves.
Possibly the greatest celebration of Char’s Counterattack was the Perfect Grade Unleashed Nu Gundam kit, a fittingly detailed, highly elaborate and astonishingly articulated model kit that has rather fittingly been considered amongst the greatest Gunpla kits ever made.
Interestingly, Nu Gundam won by a landslide in this poll despite not being the most popular Gundam model in every region.
For English-speaking Gundam fans, Wing Gundam Zero won, in part because Gundam Wing was the first to be aired on American television and has become a core memory for the Toonami generation.
However, with the Hathaway Trilogy consistently breaking box office records and an enduring love for the original Universal Century timeline, more people are growing to love Char’s Counterattack and the incredible Nu Gundam at the centre of it.
