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Following the phenomenal success of Gundam Wing (and the end of its run), After War Gundam X (released in Japan as 機動新世紀ガンダムX, or Mobile New Century Gundam X) premiered in early 1996. Directed by 80s mecha veteran Shinji Takamatsu, this series was the third of Bandai's alternate universes, and the last Gundam series to air for several years. This series is a 'what if' on the Universal Century's One-Year War. What if the Zeon had dropped dozens of colonies instead of one and destroyed Earth's surface? What if most of the world's population died, leaving the survivors in a ruined Mad Max-like world? That basic premise is the setting of Gundam X, which uses the After War (AW) calendar. The series begins in AW 0015, as the Earth is just beginning to recover. The star of this series is fifteen year old Garrod Ran, a member of the Vulture scavenger group that patrols the wasteland for profits, and is on a mission to find and save mistreated Newtypes in the world from those who wish to take advantage of them.
The series was canceled after only 39 episodes, just 10 short of the intended 49. This was due to the pulling of support from the sponsors due to the slumping TV ratings and merchandise sales in Japan. While the series started off strongly with a viewership rating of 6.2% TV tuned in for the Kanto area of Japan, it subsequently dwindled to a measly 2% after 10 episodes. From that point on until Episode 26, the ratings only exceeded a 4.3% rating twice, whereas 4.3% was the average rating for the previous series, Gundam Wing. After a few sponsors pulled their support, the series was moved to an abysmal 6 AM Saturday morning slot, where the ratings declined to unprecendented levels for a Gundam series, with 0.6% viewers tuned in for the final episode.
There are several explanations for Gundam X's unpopularity. These include speculation that its attempt to merge Universal Century concepts with the flashier elements of previous alternate universes alienated rather than unified the two sets of fans, or that Japan was, with a new Gundam series and/or movie released every year, simply experiencing "Gundam fatigue". However, no clear answer has been established. The series was structually different from other Gundam series. All previous Gundams followed one basic storyline, but Gundam X was presented in a series of story arcs, which may have turned some fans off. One of the more memorable parts of this series, however, is that it gives an answer to the everlasting Newtype question.
See also
Preceded by: New Mobile Report Gundam W
Followed by: ∀ Gundam
External Links
http://www.mahq.net
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