Watch Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance now
The latest entry in the long-running Gundam franchise has gone live for audiences around the world. Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance is streaming now on Netflix, the latest anime debut of the fall 2024 season. Animated entirely in Unreal Engine 5, the six-episode series is a Netflix Original anime, produced by a collaboration between the franchise's longtime animation studio Sunrise — now known as Bandai Namco Filmworks — and SAFEHOUSE.
The Gundam franchise's official English website gives the following summary of the series:
"In the year Universal Century 0079, a state of war began when the Principality of Zeon declared its independence from the Earth Federation government. In the war's opening stages, the Zeon forces maintained an advantage thanks to the effectiveness of their new weapon, the mobile suit. However, they lacked the fighting strength to fully conquer Earth, and the war became a stalemate.
- Gundam official website
Eleven months after the outbreak of war, a base in Zeon-occupied Eastern Europe is captured by the Federation Forces. A Zeon composite battalion is sent to recapture the base, and among its members are Solari and her Red Wolf Squadron, a mobile suit team that has only just arrived from space... "
The date of Universal Century 0079 is significant to the Gundam franchise, being the same year the events of the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime take place. Requiem for Vengeance provides a perspective flip of the war being fought over the course of the original Gundam anime series. Requiem for Vengeance is happening concurrently to the original anime, focusing on Earth while Mobile Suit Gundam primarily follows the crew of the White Base operating in space.
Most significantly, while the protagonists of Mobile Suit Gundam were members of the Earth Federation fighting the Principality of Zeon, Requiem for Vengeance follows the Zeon military, primarily a group of Mobile Suit pilots called the Red Wolves led by Iria Solari. Notably, while the iconic RX-78 Gundam was the primary heroic Mobile Suit in the original Gundam, since Requiem for Vengeance follows the Zeon forces fighting against the X-78 Gundam, it's portrayed as a menacingly, unstoppable force of destruction that feels like something out of a monster or slasher movie.
Experience the legacy of the Gundam franchise
The Gundam franchise debuted in in April 1979 when the original Mobile Suit Gundam first aired — that's almost a full six years before Dragon Ball debuted and more than 20 before One Piece or Pokémon. In that time, the franchise has produced dozens of anime series and tie-in movies, with plans for a Netflix-produced live action movie adaptation, numerous video game adaptations and an entire model-building hobby.
Luckily for both long-time fans of the franchise and newcomers who may be curious about the venerable franchise's origins, numerous entries in the Gundam franchise are easily accessible on various streaming platforms. Here's a quick overview of some of the series and movies available to stream and where to watch them:
In addition to being the streaming home of Requiem for Vengeance and future home of the forthcoming live-action Gundam movie, Netflix's streaming library also includes:
• The Mobile Suit Gundam I, II and III compilation movies retelling the events of the original anime series with minor adjustments and adaptations.
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack, the first Gundam movie with an original story, meant to serve as the conclusion of the story of the original Gundam series and its sequels Zeta Gundam and Gundam ZZ.
• Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, its sequel Gundam SEED Destiny and its tie-in films.
Please note that availability may depend on international region.
The Gundam series available on Crunchyroll include:
• The original Mobile Suit Gundam and sequel series Zeta Gundam and Gundam ZZ.
• Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, the first Gundam series to be aired in North America — the success of Gundam Wing on Toonami led to the original Mobile Suit Gundam being given an English-language release. Gundam Wing was one of a large number of anime from the early 2000s to be dubbed in Canada.
• Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, the most recent anime series before Requiem for Vengeance and the first Gundam series with a female protagonist — the producers' decision to walk back the well-received relationship between the two female leads caused controversy with the fanbase.
• The spin-off series Gundam Build Fighters and Gundam Build Divers.
Additionally, Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Destiny are available on both Netflix and Crunchyroll, depending on region.
As always, keep following us right here on Anime Away for news about all the latest anime releases for fall 2024 and beyond.