My Hopes for G-Witch

Thoughts and hopes for the upcoming Gundam show

A new Gundam show is on the horizon, and so far, I'm pretty optimistic with what's been shown. I took a deep dive into mecha a few years ago starting with the Gundam compilation movie trilogy, and as of now I've watched the shows in production order up through my current watch of Turn A. As a leader of the genre, especially now, I'm interested in how G-Witch will turn out as both a Gundam show and a mecha anime overall. This is all speculation, but these are a few hopes I have for the show.

I meant to get this up before the teaser dropped, but I still have enough to say. I watched the preview unsubbed, so some of these details may be a bit off.

1. Go all the way with Suletta as the lead pilot

This seems redundant given that she's the lead character, but I have a lingering feeling that it'll be tempting to have her sidelined at points or get bailed out by the other pilots too many times. With how her character is framed, some of that may make sense story-wise, but I really hope she gets enough moments to stand on her own as a capable pilot as one of Gundam's first female leads. The fact that of the five main characters, the other girl doesn't have an MS listed from the onset makes me a bit suspicious, but it'd be nice to have Suletta hold her own enough in the show.

2. Go beyond the standard Gundam anti-war template

From the preview, it seems like the MS pilots require special coordination and body modification to handle piloting. There were also other moments highlighting what seem to be modifications and cybernetics present in the world. I don't know if they'll tackle augmentation with much depth, but it'd be more interesting to see that explored as a central theme regardless. Gundam's done a lot of war focused stories, and while it's a template that can still work, I'd like to see something else explored more prominently. The setup of a cliqued school isn't too original, but it's something newer to Gundam that I hope will have different possibilities for scenarios.

3. Make Suletta fun 

I think it would be a nice change of pace to have Suletta be more of a goof. While it's possible to do stone cold serious leads well (Chirico from Votoms being one of my favorites), it seems like a few of the last lead pilots have fallen between that or being pretty standard teenage Gundam heroes (going off on what I've gathered from others). Garrod from Gundam X and Lorran from Turn A are great because they have a lighthearted charm that makes them both endearing, but also sympathetic when they are put through tough situations. I think it would be fun for Suletta to be a bit more light-hearted, even as she'll get put through difficult moments. The descriptions of her on the websites as socially awkward sort of point towards her being quieter, but I hope it's something she grows through.

4. Stick with 2D as much as possible

The preview surprisingly had all of the mecha action in 2D as far as I could tell, aside from CG spaceships. 2D mecha shows have become a lot rarer due to a general dwindling of the traditional pipelines and talent pool, among other things. While I'm not opposed to 3D mecha animation, and I'm aware of some of the unique strengths is offers, I still prefer 2D mecha for feeling more grounded within the rest of the show. Anaim seems to have been a training show for a lot of the upcoming staff, which makes me optimistic that G-Witch can maintain a fairly consistent supply of 2D action throughout. I also think it would be a great show of confidence to have such a high-profile series like Gundam maintain a 2D action focus and make it more viable again.

5. Take advantage of having multiple factions

This is more specific to me, but I always like shows that have more factions involved besides two, be that from internal villain disputes or multiple parties. The website descriptions seem to imply that the world is governed by multiple competing corporations, and I think there's potential for the sorts of fun alliances, betrayals, tenuous truces, and other arrangements that make conflicts more multifaceted and engaging. Gundam has done this well in some shows, like Zeta's new faction changing the central dynamic of the conflict and bringing out new angles from the cast, and not-so-well in others, such as Wing's sidelining and sudden takeovers with no buildup. There's a risk of over-complicating the story, but I would enjoy having a more unpredictable central conflict that forces people into tougher decisions and situations.

There are other, smaller things as well, but these five are my broadest hopes for the show. It'll be fun to look back on this later and see how much of this ends up happening or not, but I'm still interested and excited overall.