Gundam GQuuuuuuX’s Finish Credit Are Already Fueling the Flames of Sapphic Hypothesis

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 degree of interpretation. But it surely’s the vitality within the wake of that that makes the arrival of Gundam GQuuuuuuX so attention-grabbing, as a result of now the percentages of that delivery hyperfixation being in followers’ favor are larger than ever.

The primary episode of GQuuuuuuX premiered world wide final night time, and whereas all of its materials was already coated by the compilation movie Beginning when it launched a number of months in the past, the TV launch did add one factor specifically: 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 house collectively, dwelling a quiet life fairly in contrast to 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 aspect by aspect. 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.

In fact, 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 will not be all the time fully true to the textual content of the present itself (though it’s definitely truthful 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 least projecting a whole lot of 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 attention-grabbing when Machu tags together with Nyaan to drop off a smuggled piece of equipment that can 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 may even be a Mav—in GQuuuuuuX‘s worldbuilding, the time period for a duo in Cellular Go well with fight techniques, pioneered during a prior war by the Zeon ace Char Aznable and his associate, Challia Bull.

“Mav” is used a number of occasions within the sequence with a degree of closeness that goes past easy wingman although, making Machu’s use of it (past her intrigue at doubtlessly becoming a member of in on underground mecha fights) attention-grabbing. Challia’s relationship to Char—who went lacking alongside the original Gundam on the finish of the battle, 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 slightly, his Mav,” to counsel a bond even nearer than that.

Anybody who’s seen Starting will even know that one other character describes Challia as nonetheless being within the “thrall” of the Crimson Comet, Char’s nickname from the battle. 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 may see as getting used to check with the bond between mates or romantic companions.

In fact, all this stays open to interpretation (and never in the way Bandai wanted Suletta and Miorine’s marriage to be, for now at the least). GQuuuuuuX may pair off any variety of its characters, or the hints and particulars followers hoping for a Sulemio repeat may very well be nothing extra than simply that: hints. It could 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 crew, 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? Effectively, 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 Go well with Gundam GQuuuuuuX is now streaming on Prime Video.

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