Mobile Fighter G Gundam

"This hand of mine glows with an awesome POWER! Its burning grip tells me to defeat you! Take this! My love, my anger, and all of my sorrow! SHINING FINGER SWORRRRRDDDD!!! GO! GO! GO!!!"
—Domon, Calling His Attack in the hammiest way possible

Mobile Fighter G Gundam (Kidou Budouten G Gundam, lit. "Mobile Fighting Legend G Gundam") is the first Alternate Universe in the Gundam franchise. Notable as a significant departure from the normal Gundam saga in that it was essentially a Super Robot show. Every Gundam series before and after has been essentially the prime examples of the Real Robot Genre. G Gundam has only a few mild relations to the other series besides the name "Gundam". It also takes a lot of inspiration from the Shonen genre. Part of this radical change is that Yoshiyuki Tomino set aside series director duties after being burned out on Mobile Suit Victory Gundam, and that Bandai demanded a Gundam tournament story in an attempt to increase gunpla sales, which were doing poorly at the time.

G Gundam is set in the Future Century (FC) in which The Federation, consisting of several colonies corresponding to Earth's nations, has held a robot-battling competition called the Gundam Fight every four years to determine which colony would gain control of the government. The show's story takes place in the year FC 60, the year of the 13th Gundam Fight, and follows Neo-Japan's Gundam Fighter Domon Kasshu, as he not only fights to win the Gundam Fight, but also searches for his missing brother and the Devil Gundam. As the series progresses, Domon fights his way through several powerful opponents, gains new allies and discovers the truth about his brother, the Devil Gundam and himself.

The show completely embraced the aspects of the Super Robot Genre and featured, among many other things, a Gundam that not only looked like Sailor Venus, but in one episode actually GLOMPS the main character's Gundam (Link). It is impossible to accept this show without understanding Refuge in Audacity, but what keeps this as a proud Gundam series is the nature of the Gundam Fight itself. Without the tournament, Earth would return to its previous habit of resolving conflicts... through war.

This was also noteworthy as the first Gundam series made after the toy company Bandai bought Sunrise.

Compare and contrast Macross 7 in terms of a franchise sequel that differs greatly from the source material.

In 2010, as part of a project to revive interest in the Alternate Universe Gundam stories, an expanded retelling titled Choukyuu! G Gundam began serialization in Gundam Ace.

Let's get things started! Gundam Tropes all set! Ready, GO!!!
  • The Abridged Series: G Gundam Abridged.
  • Action Girl: Allenby.
    • Rain can be quite the Action Girl herself sometimes. Perhaps even more of one than Allenby seeing as she defeats Allenby when the latter is Brainwashed and Crazy.
  • Adaptation Expansion: The 2010 manga is a retelling with some altered details and some expansion, such as having Ulube reference Domon's father during the Neo-France storyline.
  • Affably Evil: Prime Minister Wong, who eats pocky, invites the hero to his penthouse for a drink, and even cheers his victories in his first few matches.
  • After the End: The Earth itself, but not the colonies.
  • Air Vent Passageway: Played straight in Episode 2, where Domon sneaks through the ducts of Madison Square Garden and ambushes Chibodee's boxing opponent so he can take his place. Played for Laughs in the 2010 manga, he intends to go to Chibodee and challenge him, but ends up in the opponent's room because he got lost. He then tries to play himself off as an autograph hound. It doesn't work, and after knocking the guy out, he decides to take his place.
  • All There in the Manual: If you do the math, you might notice that the "Gundam Fight every four years" thing doesn't quite line up with 13th Fight's date of Future Century 60. The official timeline reveals that after Neo-England's Gentle Chapman won three tournaments in a row, rising international tensions lead to the 12th fight being delayed another four years.
    • The information was first published in the "Gundam Fight Round 1 & 2" CD collection's booklet, though Bandai America later translated those details and posted it on the G Gundam portion of their gundamofficial.com site.
  • All Your Powers Combined: The Grand Master Gundam, created by the Devil Gundam near the end of the series for Major Ulube to use: it's quite literally Master Gundam (down to the waist) mounted on Grand Gundam's body, with Gundam Heaven's Sword's wings and a copy of the Walter Gundam attached to it, the whole thing held together with green DG cell tentacles.
    • The Shuffle Alliance performs a five-man Combination Attack, the Shuffle Doumeiken, to defeat the Grand Master Gundam.
  • Aloof Big Brother: Kyoji Kasshu.
  • American Robot: And a Japanese Robot, and a Chinese Robot, and an Egyptian Robot...
  • America Saves the Day:
    • Chibodee attempts to play this trope straight, and manages to pull it off more often than not, though he's more successful as a member of the Shuffle Alliance than he is solo.
    • When the Neo America military tries it at the climax, however, it doesn't work out so well.
  • Ancient Conspiracy: The original Shuffle Alliance.
  • Animate Dead: Devil Gundam can use its nanomachines to animate corpses, turning them into zombies to pilot Death Army mobile suits.
    • It even brought back a previous champion who had been killed in a Gundam Fight 40 years earlier... as a mummy!
  • Anyone Can Die: Well of course, it's a... Wait... not anyone can die? In a GUNDAM series? Holy hell.
  • The Archer: The Rising Gundam features a bow that's normally folded up on its left arm. We even see an image of Rain in traditional Japanese archery clothes during one scene when she uses this weapon to disable the Walter Gundam without hitting the cockpit and killing Allenby, its Brainwashed and Crazy pilot.
  • Artifact Title: Sort of. In the English translation, God Gundam is renamed Burning Gundam, but it's suggested that G Gundam stands for "Gundam of Gundams" (i.e. the winner of the Gundam Fight) instead.
  • Artificial Gravity: Played much straighter than most Gundam series, where spaceships have some gravity, but still involve a lot of floating around, and the colonies which do not have the standard round shape that spin to generate gravity. Ships and colonies both appear to have 1G. Most of the action takes place on Earth anyway.
  • Artificial Human: Schwarz Bruder, at least in his current state.
  • Ascended Fanboy: Subverted with Chang in Episode 27, who tries to steal Domon's Gundam only to get nearly killed by the Mobile Trace System.
  • The Atoner: Domon enters the Tournament to atone for his family's supposed sins. However, the true atoner is Dr. Mikamura, who framed Domon's family and, after his Heel Face Turn, he makes up for it with an Heroic Sacrifice.
  • Attack Hello: ANSWER ME, DOMON! THE SCHOOL OF THE UNDEFEATED OF THE EAST!
  • Awesome McCoolname: In the 2010 manga at least, Chibodee's boxing opponent from Episode 2 is named "Zapp Funk".
  • Ax Crazy: Michelo Chariot from day one. He's later joined in his murderousness by Fallen Hero Gentle Chapman.
  • A.I. Is a Crapshoot: The Devil Gundam, originally named the Ultimate Gundam, was intended to be used to restore the Earth after the damage it'd taken from the Gundam battles. All it takes is a simple mechanical malfunction for the thing to interpret this ultimatum as "Kill All Humans".
  • Badass: Most of the cast, but especially Domon, Schwarz and Master Asia.
  • Badass Bookworm: Kyoji is hinted to be one of these.
  • Battle Strip: Ulube.
  • The Berserker: Allenby, when under the control of the eponymous Berserker System.
    • Domon shows traits of this when he uses anger to enter Shining Gundam's Super Mode.
  • Big Bad: The Devil Gundam itself.
  • Big Brother Mentor: Schwarz Bruder, who ends up being a clone of Domon's older brother Kyoji.
  • Bittersweet Ending: They win, but Domon loses his mother, older brother, mentor and a clone of his brother due to the fighting. And he almost loses his friends, father, home colony and girlfriend in the process as well.
  • Blade Reflection: Variation in the opening.
  • Bodyguard Crush: Princess Maria Louise crushes like crazy on George, who may or may not love her back.
  • Body Horror: Saette, Gentle Chapman and/or Kyoji's cases exemplify the horrifying control that the DG cells can have on someone's body and mind.
  • Boisterous Bruiser: Chibodee Crocket. Argo Gulskii also counts, but as a more serious version.
  • Bowdlerization/Market-Based Title: Under orders from Sunrise, the English dub changes several of the mechas' names for various reasons. The most obvious are the God and Devil Gundams, renamed Burning and Dark respectively; this also goes for anything with "Devil" or "Death" in its name: DG Cells, Death Army, etc. Other changes may have been for more impressive-sounding names or to tone down the national stereotypes: Neo-Mexico's Tequila Gundam to Spike Gundam, Neo-Canada's Lumber Gundam becoming Grizzly Gundam, Neo-Hong Kong's Kowloon Gundam becoming Haow Gundam, Neo-Germany's Gundam Spiegel becoming Shadow Gundam. Perhaps strangest of all was Neo-Sweden's Nobel Gundam being changed to Noble Gundam, even though it was still pronounced Nobel. No personal names were changed.
  • Brainwashed and Crazy: Saette, when under control of the DG cells. George, Sai Saici, Argo and Chibodee, during the Shinjuku arc, when also infused with the cells. Allenby, during the Battle Royale in Lantau: she was under DG cells AND Berserker system control.
  • Broken Pedestal: Master Asia, Kyouji.
  • Cain and Abel: Kyoji is the Cain, Domon is the Abel. Or so we think.
  • Calling Your Attacks: As you'd expect from it being a Super Robot series. See page quote for one of the most extreme examples (in the series) ever.
  • Canon Foreigner: The SD Gundam G Generation series of games introduced the Devil Gundam Jr., which looks suspiciously like the Turn X, and has yet to filter back into G Gundam proper.
    • The 2010 manga introduced the JMF1337SD Shading Gundam, a black copy of the Shining Gundam that appears in the "episode" where Domon is dragged back to the colonies to be tested by the Neo-Japanese government. It takes the place of the goofy-looking mobile armor Fantoma from the anime.
  • Captain Ethnic: And how! However, unlike other examples out there, this does does not stop anyone from being awesome and it only fuels the Refuge in Audacity.
  • Catch Phrase: Frequently overlaps with Calling Your Attacks, but Domon also has a habit of shouting "Rise, Shining Gundam!" and then snapping dramatically in order to summon his mecha from where ever he's hidden it that episode.
    • Who could forget "Gundam Fight! Ready...GOOOOO!!"
    • One of Domon's later Calling Your Attacks quotes ("This hand of mine is burning red! Its loud roar tells me to grasp victory!") is notable in that everyone in the Shuffle Alliance (and Allenby) ends up saying it at least once.
    • While Domon was still using Shining Gundam, the quote was much different ("This hand of mine glows with an awesome power! It's burning grip tells me to defeat you!").
  • Cat Fight: Partially subverted with Rain's fight against Allenby. They're both in the skintight suits, but the battle is a very serious one.
  • Char Clone: Arguably two, in fact: Schwarz and Ulube.
    • Don't be silly. Schwarz is clearly Racer X.
  • Charles Atlas Superpower: Apparently, one of the main teachings of the School of the Undefeated of the East is doing this. Even compared to other Gundam fighters, what this school does is beyond what normal humans are capable of.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: Several seemingly one-episode characters either appear again or are mentioned, but most starkly Gentle Chapman and Michelo Chariot, who become major forces driving the plot. Andrew Graham is another seemingly one-episode character who turns up again, serving a very important role towards the end of the series, saving Argo's life at the expense of his fighting career and setting off the chain of events leading to Allenby's disappearance.
  • The Chessmaster: Master Asia at first, before the Tournament Arc. Later, Wong took this role, introducing a direct chess metaphor with a giant chess set representing the Gundam Fight final battle. He played everyone from Domon to the Devil Gundam itself like pawns.
  • Chess Motifs: Prime Minister Wong's Gundam chess set with Gundam figures.
  • Chivalrous Pervert: Chibodee, who flirts with Rain gratuitously but only in good fun, and when it's needed is fiercely protective of her and his Four-Girl Ensemble.
  • Chunky Salsa Rule: Article 1 of the Gundam Fight rules states that a Gundam Fighter is disqualified if his/her Gundam's head is destroyed. Effectively nullified during the Finals, however, when Wong changes the rules to allow unlimited repairs (and even outright replacements) between matches.
    • Also note that nothing in the rules says that a Gundam has to win a set number of matches to qualify for the finals, just as long as the head is intact. Neo-Holland's Nether Gundam hilariously exploits this loophole to make the finals by disguising itself as an ordinary windmill and making the finals without fighting a single preliminary match. While the Nether Gundam gets trounced in every battle it faces in the finals, simply making it there greatly improved Neo-Holland in the world rankings over their pitiful 66th place finish in the 12th Gundam Fight.
  • Combat by Champion: Essentially the whole concept of the Gundam fight.
  • Combat Commentator: Practically anyone watching the matches, from little children to the authorities.
  • Conservation of Ninjitsu: Episode 22 that's for sure.
  • Conveniently an Orphan: Most of the show's cast are orphans and a few have one parent. Can't be tough if you came from a happy family it seems.
  • Cool Horse: Fuunsaiki, a horse so cool he gets his own Gundam.
  • Crapsack World: Earth. After centuries of war and pollution, it was abandoned by the wealthy and powerful for space colonies and then completely written off by all but a few national governments. Conditions are so harsh in some places that people will do anything to get to the colonies. To make it worse, every four years they have to endure a load of giant robots tearing up the landscape in duels and there is absolutely no provision that they can't do this in population centers or natural landmarks (in fact, Gundam Fighters are legally protected from any responsibility for the damage they cause). Some countries hire criminals and outright killers as Gundam pilots, and others coerce fighters into the job. As a result, most locations in the series looks like they've been run over by a truck five or ten times.
  • Curb Stomp Battle: Episode 2 shows Chibodee defeating the "Scud Gundam" in one punch; the 2010 manga expands on the battle, but keeps it as this trope by having the Scud fire off a Worf Barrage Macross Missile Massacre. After the smoke clears, Chibodee says "Now It's My Turn" and, again, lays Scud out in one punch.
  • Damsel in Distress: Subverted with Maria Louise. She really wants to play the part, but...
  • A Day in The Spotlight: Some of the entourage characters get a few episodes focused on them.
  • Dead Person Impersonation: To a degree, Schwarz. It's... complicated.
  • Defeat Means Friendship: And so, apparently, does a draw.
  • Did Not Do the Research In Episode 5, Domon is trapped in a Russian cell. His cellmate, playing chess, signifies the hopeless of his situation by moving a knight and declaring checkmate... while not checking the opposing king at all.
  • Disappeared Dad: Chibodee's Missing Mom is seen in a flashback, but nothing is ever mentioned about his father
  • Drunk with Power: Ulube, who waits about five seconds after Domon's won the tournament to pull a massive coup d'etat, declare himself Dictator of the Universe: and ultimately become an overly-muscled freak.
  • Dub Name Change
  • Eagle Land: Neo-America. Its first episode takes place in New York City, and their Gundam is a surfing, six-shooting, football-playing boxer, piloted by a proud Self-Made Man. The actual space colony is shaped like a star, has a detachable combat section shaped like and named after Manhattan (which is operated by a guy who looks like every American general from a World War II movie) and its ultimate weapon is the Statue of Liberty cannon.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: The Wing Gundam makes a brief appearance in the final assault on the Devil Gundam. It would have a much larger role in the next series.
  • Earth Is a Battlefield: Sort of. It's not covered by battles, but the Gundams can fight anywhere. "Earth is the ring."
  • Earth That Used to Be Better: Earth was ravaged first by its endless wars and then by the Gundam Fight, which has no regard for the damage it causes to cities, towns, and wilderness. Cities are in disrepair and ravaged by crime and bandits. Everyone with money has moved to space colonies, leaving the poor to fend for themselves with what little resources remain; in fact, leaving Earth is a big part of Chibodee's Self-Made Man backstory.
  • Eiffel Tower Effect: Numerous national landmarks are used to establish location: these landmarks are usually in a sad state of disrepair. The Eiffel Tower itself, for instance, is bent over almost double.
  • Eldritch Abomination: The Devil Gundam itself.
  • Empathic Weapon: The Gundams. They match whatever movement the pilot makes in the cockpit, but sometimes respond to what they're doing outside too. Justified, as they're controlled through a mix of voice commands and an elaborate motion capture system.
  • Enemy Civil War: Master Asia and Prime Minister Wong start off as partners in crime, begin to distrust and snipe at each other, and by the end, each is openly gunning for the other's death. Wong tries to bargain it into going full circle, but Asia openly admits at that point that he'd planned to double-cross Wong the entire time. And Asia would have disposed of Wong sooner if his Incurable Cough of Death hadn't acted up at the exact moment he got really pissed off at his nominal boss.
  • Enthusiasm Versus Stoicism: The Meikyou Shisui requires that the user be able to channel both sides at once.
  • Even Evil Has Standards:
    • Prime Minister Wong and Domon are equally horrified when Master Asia reveals his intent to let the Devil Gundam wipe out humanity.
    • Master Asia becomes increasingly frustrated at Wong's blatant disregard for fair play and meddling with the finals for his own amusement.
  • Everyone Looks Sexier If French: Look no further than Neo France's George de Sand.
  • Everything's Better with Princesses: Maria Louise of Neo France despite the fact that the series was made well over a century since the last time France was a monarchy, and her father's title is President.
  • Evil Plan: A few people have plans that drive the plot and the heroes must fight against, but the most notable are Master Asia's well-intentioned plan to help the earth, and Urube's plan to rule The Federation. At times, it feels like the plans are hijacking each other.
  • Evil Redhead: Michelo Chariot, subverted by the fact that he apparently dyes his hair that color
  • Excited Episode Title: G Gundam is the one of the very few Gundam series to feature these and the only one with the lengthy variant, being a Super Robot show.
  • Face Palm of Doom: The Shining Finger, Darkness Finger and God Finger from G Gundam. It even got two Shout Outs in its franchise.
  • Fallen Hero: Gentle Chapman.
  • Female Gaze: Domon Kasshu, making Super Robot fanboys everywhere vaguely uncomfortable since 1994.
  • FemBot: The Nobel Gundam.
  • Finishing Move: Shining Finger and its derivatives
    • Lampshaded in an episode where Marcelot angrily says to fighters also beaten by Domon that he wins by constantly using that "dirty technique".
  • Five-Man Band: All of whom are competent fighters:
  • Foregone Conclusion: Any fight involving Domon, unless he's fighting a mentor character for the purposes of an Aesop.
  • Four-Girl Ensemble: Chibodee's Angels, of course.
  • Four Is Death: The Four Heavenly Kings.
  • Future Spandex: All of the pilots wear skin-tight body suits as part of the interface for their mobile suits. The substance is sort of like spandex, but they actually have transformation sequences (not always shown) that make it look like plastic wrap. Nearly all of the pilots are male, but we do get to see Rain suit up a few times, and Allenby as well.
  • Gaia's Vengeance: "As the Devil Gundam saw it, the problem with the world was humanity, and eliminating mankind became its number one priority."
  • Gambit Roulette: Ulube pulls a frighteningly good and convoluted one to have Domon and Rain doing his dirty work and use the whole Gundam Fight to his profit, even incorporating the plans others' into his Plan.
  • Generation Xerox: The manga Fight 7th plays this up pretty heavily. The protagonist is Neo-Japan's Fighter in the 7th Fight, who befriends (through combat) the Neo-American, French, Chinese and Russian Fighters, gets schooled by the Neo-German Fighter, goes to train in the Guyana Highlands, and then saves the planet from an insanely powerful machine. If it wasn't obvious enough, the ending reveals that this was the genesis of Master Asia and the previous Shuffle Alliance, as well as being where he developed the Sekiha Tenkyoken.
  • Genki Girl: Allenby is very perky. Thought subverted since she's also a Berserker Tyke Bomb and NOT happy about that.
  • Getting Crap Past the Radar:
    • Rain's very... um... "interesting" squeals whenever she puts on the Mobile Trace System. She actually goes on to say "This is tight". No way this was unintentional. There's also the fact that, while others occasionally do seem to struggle when the system is activated, she's the only one to be brought to her hands and knees by it.
    • In Episode 1, when the villain opens his Gundam's fist to reveal a hostage, you'll notice the suit only lift's up its middle finger. Yeah.
    • The Uncut version also gets the word "Crap" past in one episode too.
  • Gondor Calls for Aid: Nearly every friend and foe throughout the series comes together to face the final threat of the Devil Gundam... including: the RX-78-2 and Wing Gundam, whose series hadn't even aired yet. There's slightly under a dozen cross-series Gundams that show up in the crowd scenes of episodes 48 and 49, actually.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars: Domon has a cross-shaped scar on his face. Ulube uses his metallic mask to cover the one that the Devil Gundam gave him as a proof of their Deal with the Devil.
  • Gossip Evolution: One of the drama CDs has a variant: in the movie the cast is watching, The Shuffle Alliance and Master Asia engage in the standard shouting match... except that Master is standing on Tokyo Tower's observation deck while the guys are at the tower's base. Because of this, the banter quickly degrades into confusion.

Movie!Chibodee: I said, "After this, we're coming for you! Prepare yourself!"
Movie!Master: What?! Did you say "crazy balding shitty old man"?!

  • Government Conspiracy: Neo Hong Kong, and Neo Japan.
  • Gratuitous English: Chibodee Crockett.
  • Gratuitous French: An unintentionally hilarious bit in Episode 4: George tells Domon he understood the kidnapping was faked because he could never have written a note in French that good. The thing is, it is written exactly like a French note written by a Japanese guy would look like: pretty badly.
  • Gundam vs. Series: God/Domon and Master/Tohou Fuhai show up in Gundam vs Gundam, Devil Gundam is its final boss; Domon also receives Shining Gundam in NEXT. Spiegel/Schwarz and Nobel/Allenby debut in the sequel as well. Extreme Vs. brings God and Master back while adding Sai Saici/Dragon to the mix.
  • Guns vs. Swords: According to the backstory, the world's nations will flip-flop between favoring melee and ranged combat depending on whichever won the last Gundam Fight. After Gentle Chapman won three Fights in a row, everybody started fixating on long-range sniping... only for Master Asia to dethrone Chapman in the 12th Fight using martial arts, which is why the 13th has such an emphasis on melee combat.
  • Ham-to-Ham Combat: Just about every Gundam Fight match. And every non-Gundam fight too.
  • Handicapped Badass: Kyral Mekirel of Neo-Nepal. He was one of the world's top competitors in the 11th Gundam Fight, ranking very highly but losing in the finals when his opponent accidentally blinded him. He makes a comeback in the 13th Gundam Fight... by assassinating his opponents before the fights so that he can win by default. But this still requires a blind man armed with only a sword to take out world-class martial artists. After he fails to kill Domon before their scheduled match and is defeated in a fair fight, he makes a Heel Face Turn and proves that, even without his sight, he's still one of the world's top Gundam Fighters.
  • Handshake Substitute: The greeting of the School of the Undefeated of the East ends with what is arguably the most epic brofist in all of Gundam.
  • Heel Face Turn: Though never actually a real villain, Natasha's change of heart at the end fits the bill quite nicely.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Used straight and subverted very often.
  • Hitman with a Heart: Kyral Mekirel.
  • Honor Before Reason: All the Shuffle Alliance fall prey to this trope now and again, but none more so than Domon
    • Particularly in the Finals, where Chibodee and George feel compelled to demonstrate their new finishing moves: Machinegun Punch and Rose Hurricane to Domon before their fights, which allows him to develop the God Shadow and God Slash Typhoon specifically to counter them. Sai Saici, the youngest of the group by far, is ironically the one who has the sense to not show off his ultimate attack before his fight with Domon... not that it helps (he almost shows it while sparring with Allenby, but he stops the fight before going through with it). Argo also doesn't explicitly show off his technique to Domon, though Domon is able to witness him using it against Andrew in a match.
  • Horrible Judge of Character: Chairman Karato, who inexplicably puts the deranged Ulube in charge of Neo Japan's military. D'oh!
    • Considering that Ulube is THAT good at lying and was one of the best Gundam Fighters in the whole world until he was defeated by Master Asia, it may be not that surprising.
  • Hot-Blooded: Everyone, even the French gentleman, the technician and a horse.
  • Hot Amazon: Natasha Zabikov. Allenby skirts the line.
  • Hotblooded Sideburns: Many characters, though Master Asia's are particularly epic.
  • Hot Scientist: Rain Mikamura.
  • Hot Shounen Mom: Chibodee's Missing Mom was very beautiful. Domon's own Missing Mom was older, but still easy on the eyes.
  • How Do I Shot Web?: Domon initially has trouble adjusting to the Burning Gundam's controls.
  • Humans Are the Real Monsters: Master Asia's motivation for becoming a genocidal maniac. He gets better before dying.
  • Husky Russkie: Slightly subverted with Argo Gulskii. While he's VERY big and possesses enormous strength, he's also remarkably mature and level-minded. Enough to be the only one in the Shuffle Alliance who did not show any signs of emotional trauma after being Brainwashed and Crazy via DG cells.
  • Hypocritical Humor: At one point, George starts berating Chibodee for being irresponsible enough to store whiskey in his Gundam's cockpit before quickly remembering that he does the exact same thing with champagne... while Giving Him The Pointer Finger with said bottle, no less. Hey, at least he picks the quality stuff.
    • George was more going on about the quality than the fact that Chibodee had alcohol at all: they both intended to save the drinks for after they had won the Gundam Fight, but instead pour one out before going toe-to-toe with the Grand Gundam, thinking they won't survive. They do, but barely.
  • Idiot Hero: Domon. Oh so much. Chibodee and Sai Saici also have their moments, but they're nowhere that bad. The 2010 manga retelling enhances it a good deal.
  • I Got You Covered: During the Devil Gundam vs. Everyone Else fight.
  • I Have the High Ground
  • "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Domon does this *thrice* in the series. First, he tried it to snap his friends from DG cell brainwashing in the Shinjuku arc, but failed. Second, towards the Brainwashed and Crazy Allenby during the Gundam Fight. And later, to Rain: who had been turned into the Devil Gundam's Seitai Unit by force during the Grand Finale.
  • Ill Girl: Gina, the little sister of Chico from Neo Mexico. Complete with Incurable Cough of Death. She doesn't die on-screen, but it's clear in the end of the episode that she's gonna fall victim to her illness very soon.
  • Insufferable Genius: If. Dr. Mikamura is to be believed, Domon and Kyoji's father was a prime example. He still didn't deserve what was done to him though.
  • I Uh You Too: Domon has a few of these with Rain.
  • Japanese Ranguage: Whenever Chibodee says something in English in the original Japanese dub. Also, in a rather hilarious oversight, when Chapman was locking onto George's Gundam with his rifle, instead of saying "LOCK ON", the HUD instead said "ROCK ON"!
    • The "ROCK ON" thing seems to be in just about every anime where that situation occurs, which leads one to conclude that they either did deliberately or they just don't care. This particular example though has become a bit of a meme among American fans... mainly because "Rock on!" is a hilarious Totally Radical phrase that's completely inappropriate in context.
  • Jerkass --> Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Domon, a huge Jerkass at the beginning, but he *does* change with time, and we still love him.
  • Kick the Dog: Master Asia has several of these in the first half of the series.
  • Kill All Humans: The Devil Gundam's top priority.
  • Killed Off for Real: Schwarz Bruder and Master Asia.
  • Large Ham: Nearly every character epitomizes this trope, but Master Asia and Domon take it to a whole new level. If it's possible for Charles Atlas Superpowers to enhance your hamminess, Master Asia certainly figured out how and passed the technique onto Domon.
  • Latex Space Suit: Arguably this Gundam series seems to have the tightest space suits ever to appear in the franchise... which is surprising as the huge majority of the pilots wearing them are male. There are exactly two female characters who are seen wearing the mobile trace suit.
  • Lighter and Softer: Than all UC Gundam series and movies that proceeded it. Has an Earn Your Happy Ending where the main cast all get to live and The Power of Love is shown to conquer all.
  • Love Hurts: Averted hard for a Gundam series! By the end of the series, most if not all the main characters have someone who could be called their significant other, the degree to which each is considered as such but both involved varies. Combined with Earn Your Happy Ending for Domone who manages to rescue Rain from being the organic core of the Devil Gundam.
  • Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter: HUGE subversion: we all thought Domon was the Mad Dictator's Handsome Son, but he wasn't. THEN we thought he was the Psychotic Killer's Handsome Younger Brother, but he wasn't that EITHER. *Rain* , on the other hand...
  • Manipulative Bastard: Ulube, Wong, Master Asia.
  • Manly Tears: Master Asia's death invokes this.
  • Man of Wealth and Taste: Prime Minister Wong.
  • Mask Power: Schwarz Bruder and Ulube Ishikawa.
  • McNinja: Schwarz Bruder, the master of "German Ninjutsu". He even provides the page image.
  • The Mean Brit: Gentle Chapman, after he dies and is revived as a zombie by the DG cells. Holy Came Back Wrong!
  • Meaningful Echo: Look! The East is burning red!
  • Meaningful Name: Schwarz Bruder is German for "Black Brother".
  • The Medic: Rain.
  • Meditation Powerup: Domon unlocks his true Super Mode by putting himself into a serene state of mind (which is always depicted with a falling water droplet). This is immensely superior to his Unstoppable Rage since he can actually think clearly.
  • Merchandise-Driven: The Gundam Fight was created so that Bandai could sell a ton of models.
  • The Messiah: Domon. Believe it or not.
  • Mighty Whitey: The Japanese version.
  • Mind Rape: Episode 6, when Domon is drugged and forced to watch an holographic re-enaction of his family's downfall to see if he can really use his Super Mode: which is supposed to be powered up through anger-fueled Heroic Resolve. For worse, much later, we find out it was all a lie.
  • Missing Mom: Chibodee's mom got kidnapped and maybe killed by clowns.
  • Mood Whiplash: After the first several, very lighthearted episodes, we get to one where Domon is revealing what later turns out be a fabricated version of the events of the Devil Gundam incident, revealing that he's brother went rogue with what was effectively a weapon of mass destruction, and his mother died. Later in the series, we have another case Chidobee appearing terrified of the circus and clowns (along with the episode the features the Jester Gundam, probably the silliest design in the series), which is initially Played for Laughs, then it starts getting Played for Drama, and we find that he's terrified of laughing clowns was because of gang of lunatics with machine guns dressed up as guns started a riot that his lost his mother in, and she most likely died.
  • Motion Capture Mecha: Using the Mobile Trace system. Also taken to a ridiculous extreme: you can dislocate your shoulder and the suit's arm will also dislocate.
  • Ms. Fanservice: Rain when she suits up, Allenby when she suits up, Natasha during the Guyana highlands arc.
  • Multinational Team: The new Shuffle Alliance.
  • Murder Is the Best Solution: Neo Nepal, which opts out of sportsmanship in favor of sending their Gundam Fighter to kill the competition before the match. They have a Buddhist Monk chewing out their fighter for failing an assassination attempt.
  • Mythology Gag: Episodes 48 and 49 pit a Rain-powered Neo Japan-sized Devil Gundam against every other nation's Gundams in space, and then some. Among them include the RX-78-2 and possibly an RGM-79 or two, the MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam, GP Unit 01 Full Vernian and GP Unit 02, SNRI's Formula 91, the F97 Crossbone, the LM314V21 Victory Mk. 2 and Wing Gundam 01. Keep in mind that Gundam Wing wouldn't start airing for another few weeks yet.
  • Never Got to Say Goodbye: Rain and her close classmate Saette. Domon and his mother: he does get to say goodbye to Kyoji and later gets his father back.
  • Never Say "Die": In the dub. The fact that people are dead is acknowledged, but the characters go through varying degrees of verbal gymnastics to avoid the actual word: return from the grave, pass away, lose his life, etc....
  • New Powers as the Plot Demands:
    • Arguably Domon in the Battle Royale arc, where he comes up with several Ass Pull attacks that are never used again to defeat his partners' various ultimate techniques.
    • Oh damn. God Shadow to a T. Nice hax there, Domon.
  • Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: Taken to its absolute limit. For example: mecha-piloting cyborg zombies.
    • One of them was a freaking mummy instead of a zombie. An Egyptian Cyborg Mummy Zombie.
  • Not Good with People: Domon is callous, abrasive, and generally a bit of a cad, due to ten years of rough training while growing up. He gets better in the second half, mainly through some timely Pet the Dog moments and even some Moments of Heartwarming.
  • Not Just a Tournament: The Gundam Fight occurs regularly every four years. However, in the 13th Fight, we have the Devil Gundam getting lose and trying to destroy the planet, while several nations vie to find and take control of it for their own purposes.
  • Not Quite Dead: Prime Minister Wong. But he dies for real roughly five minutes later.
  • Oddly-Named Sequel 2: Electric Boogaloo: One of the very few Gundam series (along with ∀ Gundam and After War Gundam X) to not have Mobile Suit in the title. Unlike those two examples, this is because a Mobile Fighter is a distinct class of machine that is operated quite differently from an Mobile Suit, which appear mainly in the hands of construction workers and military police.
  • Omnidisciplinary Scientist: Rain patches up both people and giant robots with the same level of skill.
  • One-Winged Angel: The Devil Gundam is pretty much the definition of this trope.
  • Partly Cloudy with a Chance of Death: A sunrise version.
  • Phenotype Stereotype:
    • There is a good lack of stereotyping for the human cast. Surprisingly, Domon, Rain and Kyoji, the Japanese characters, all fall under this trope. The only one who sticks out more than the others is Allenby, the Swedish fighter with sea-green hair.
    • The Gundams themselves, on the other hand, play this trope painfully straight: to a degree of hilarity. The exceptions are the Shining and God/Burning Gundams: Domon's (which instead follow the typical "main character Gundam" design ethos, though they also follow the samurai motif that allegedly inspired the design of the RX-78 Gundam in Mobile Suit Gundam), and the Nobel/Noble Gundam: Allenby's. The Noble Gundam is feminine in appearance though, in keeping with the stereotype of Sweden being the land of hot blondes.
  • Plucky Girl: All the females, in one way or another. Special mention goes to Cécile Holgar, a sweet-looking moeblob who stands up against punks in her very first scene and doesn't hesitate to bitchslap her boyfriend when he has an Heroic BSOD. And to Maria Louise, the blonde and frilly Tomboy Princess who handles Molotov cocktails and machine guns near the end of the series.
  • Power Glows: "This hand of mine glows with an awesome POWER!" "This hand of mine is burning red!" And so on...
    • The Shuffle Alliance members and their Gundams take on a golden glow when they enter Hyper Mode.
  • Power Incontinence: Domon's inability to control his Super Mode in the first half of the series.
  • The Power of Love:
    • To the point where the King of Hearts himself is summoned. Also the most extremely awesome portrayal.
    • In his first fight with Domon, Chibodee is about to give up before the cheers of his fellow New Yorkers rouse him to get his second wind.
  • Psycho for Hire: Michelo Chariot.
  • Punch Parry: Especially whenever Domon and Master Asia fight.
  • Rage Against the Mentor: Most of the first half of the series, once Master Asia does his thing.
  • Rated "M" for Manly: "LOOK! THE EAST IS BURNING RED!!!"
  • Real Men Wear Pink: George is a bishonen and loves roses, but can fight as well and as passionately as the others. Chibodee has pink bangs and is a self-admitted Momma's Boy.
    • Flashbacks imply that Chibodee's hair is naturally all-blue, meaning he purposely dyes his bangs pink.
      • Not to mention that his title in the Shuffle Alliance is the Queen of Spades, something he embraces fully with no one ever doubting his heterosexuality (it helps that his predecessor with that title was also male).
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Subverted and later played straight with Karato. Starts out as very incompetent and leaving almost every matter to Ulube and Dr. Mikamura, but by the end of the series, it's hinted that he does have the potential to become a true leader and actually intends to do so.
  • Rebellious Princess: Maria Louise of Neo France. She looks cute and sweet, but isn't afraid of either plotting her own kidnapping to attract her Knight's attention, or using a molotov cocktail to aid said knight when he's in a pinch.
  • Red Baron: Doesn't get much better then "Undefeated of the East".
  • Redemption Equals Death: Master Asia, after spending most of the series as a Card-Carrying Villain, recants his dastardly deeds on his deathbed.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: Once Wong's glasses start to slip is the part when the audience realizes he's a villain.
  • Red Herring: Early on, Karato and Dr. Mikamura seem more than a bit shady, as if they might have some villainous plan that they're worried Domon might get in the way of. Wrong. Ulube on the other hand seems like a Reasonable Authority Figure who seems to be looking out for Domon and for Neo-Japan's best interests. Way wrong.
  • Refuge in Audacity: The most ridiculous: and at the same time, wonderful Humongous Mecha designs in all of Gundam.
    • And that's not mentioning everything else.
  • Rewrite: The 2010 manga version of Domon vs. Chibodee is more even-handed than the anime version was. In the boxing match before the Gundam Fight, Chibodee completely dominates Domon; during the actual Gundam Fight, Domon has it won, but since he forced himself to fight through his earlier injuries, he's too roughed up and tired to actually finish Chibodee off, resulting in an actual draw.
    • On the flipside, George gets it worse. In the manga, he rescues Princess Maria Louise from the Neo-Cubans and brings her into the Gundam Rose's cockpit, which messes with his synchronization. Eventually, Domon lands the Shining Finger, and Maria leaps onto George, apologizing for causing all the trouble while herself getting hit with the feedback. Rain begs Domon to stop before the feedback harms the princess, which he does.
  • Robotic Reveal: Kyoji, while in the hospital unconscious.
  • Rogues Gallery: Michelo assembles a team of antagonists in Episode 32 on behalf on Wong.
  • Rule of Cool: Oh damn, yeah. The series director explicitly said in a DVD interview that he decided early on not to worry about whether or not anything made sense as long as it looked cool.
  • Rule of Symbolism: Admist all the Rule of Fun thematic Gundams are the slightly more serious God and Devil Gundams. The Ultimate Gundam fell to Earth and became the Devil Gundam, turning into a many-headed monster that corrupted people. Rather than the Judeo-Christian God, the enlightenment-powered God Gundam's golden glow, mandala, and threateningly open hand evoke the statue of a Buddhist warrior deity.
  • Say My Name: "Raaaaaaain!" "Domoooooon!" "Chibodeeeeee! Geooooorge! Argoooo! Sai Saiciiiii!" "MASTER ASIA!"
  • Scary Shiny Glasses: Wong lives for this trope.
  • Screw the Rules, I Make Them: Prime Minister Wong, so much so that he could well be the trope namer.
  • Shining Goodness: The Shining Gundam.
  • Shout-Out:
    • The Nobel Gundam looks a lot like a mecha Sailor V.
    • A rather surprising Shout-Out for an anime: the name of the Mobile Suit piloted by George's butler Raymond is "Butler Bensonmum". Similarly, the Neo-American Mobile Suit is named "Murphy".
    • The Maxter's color scheme greatly resembles a certain other giant robot popular in America...
    • Neo-Japan's space ships have a design similar to the Enterprise, except with spherical main sections: making them resemble the Olympic-class . Director Imagawa is an unabashed Star Trek fan, and even appears in the second opening in a The Next Generation-era uniform: he's in the crowd during the shot of Argo.
    • The whole character of Saette, from his past background to even his name, is taken from a Turkish film that Imagawa saw and said that he personally felt touched by.
    • The Master Gundam is basically the Griffon with Type-Zero's extending claws.
  • Shut UP, Hannibal: Domon, all the time.
  • Sins of Our Fathers: Dahal Muhammad and his Pharaoh Gundam IV get revived by DG cells and try to kill Sai Saici because his grandfather Sai Feilong accidentally killed Muhammad during the 4th Gundam Fight.
  • Slouch of Villainy: Wong in his ridiculously awesome floating chair.
  • Snooping Little Kid: Chang, the orphan who tries to steal Domon's Gundam in Episode 27
  • Spanner in the Works: Domon Kasshu throws huge wrenches into the plans of pretty much every major villain, from Master Asia, to Prime Minister Wong, and finally derailing Ulube's Gambit Roulette.
  • The Strategist: Rain, Urube, Natasha.
  • Street Urchin: Chibodee used to be one, as did his support crew.
  • Stripperiffic: The Mobile Trace System does this to you. Surprising since most of the pilots are guys. Holy Stupid Sexy Flanders!
  • Stupid Sexy Flanders: The majority of the shuffle alliance, but especially Domon.
  • Suck My Rose: George and the Rose Gundam.
  • Sunglasses at Night: Wong, who wears his signature shades around in dimly-lit underground hangars and even the privacy of his own home. Rule of Cool, indeed.
    • The DG cells/Tentacles even form into sunglasses when he jumps into the Walter Gundam in the end.
  • Super-Powered Evil Side: Allenby, who becomes 120% stronger when she goes nuts on the Berserker System.
  • Super Mode: A Hot-Blooded hero cannot be without his Super Mode, it's even called "Super Mode".
    • Domon and Master Asia have/gets a second one called Meikyou Shisui: Clear Mirror, Still Water. This carries over to Super Robot Wars and is superior to the standard "Super Mode".
      • Director Imagawa specifically says that while the Gundam's Super Mode is the machine at its full potential, the Meikyou Shisui/Hyper Mode is the pilot's full potential.
  • Super Robot: Mobile Fighters, the Gundams, are, though there are Real Robot examples, such as the Death Army robots and the few Mobile Armors that are still being used.
  • Super Robot Wars: It's in the Game Boy version of Super Robot Wars 2, as well as F, F Final, Impact, Super Robot Wars MX, Super Robot Wars Advance, Super Robot Wars Reversal, Super Robot Wars Judgment, Shin, Super Robot Wars 64, and Super Robot Wars NEO. Super Robot Wars NEO is unique in that Domon and God Gundam are the only Gundam representatives in the entire game. Super Robot Wars 64 is special because Master Asia can fight Albert the Shockwave and Axis gets infested by the Devil Gundam.
  • Sweet Tooth: Wong, whose passion for sweets rivals that of L from Death Note.
  • Synchronization
  • Team Mom: Rain to the Shuffle Alliance. Subverted by Domon in the third issue of the manga though.
  • Tenchi Solution: Each of the four main Gundam Fighters has a love interest and, the epilogue shows them becoming an Official Couple. While the other three have only one lady in this scene, Chibodee has four.
  • Tomokazu Seki: Domon. This role is one of the things that cements him as one of anime's Kings of Hot-Blooded.
  • Too Long; Didn't Dub: Certain attack names are left untranslated in the English version.
  • Tournament Arc: Almost the entire last half of the series, save the final four episodes, falls under this.
  • Transforming Mecha: Some of the weirdest in giant robot history. Highlights include: Mermaid Gundam: a fish. Mandala Gundam: a Buddhist Temple bell. Matador Gundam: a giant flying cow head. The ever popular Nether Gundam, who, as befitting his Dutch origins, becomes a windmill. Unlike the others though, there was actually a point to this. Since all one had to do to qualify for the finals was survive until enough combatants had been eliminated from the tourney hiding in plain sight to avoid being attacked, while not guaranteeing victory, was able to significantly increase the country's standing. Domon's Gundams may also count, being robots that turn into more powerful robots.
  • Treacherous Advisor: Ulube, to Domon and Karato.
  • Tyke Bomb: Allenby.
  • The Unfavorite: Implied to be Domon, who left home at an early age because he was Book Dumb and couldn't measure up to his much older brother Kyouji, a Badass Bookworm, in his father's eyes. Subverted, since Dr. Kasshu isn't shown as evil towards his younger son, so Domon still cares for him more than enough to make his dad one of the causes why he's fighting. And the first time they actually talk in the series towards the end, when the old man stops being a Human Popsicle and tells Domon how proud he is of him, qualifies as a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming.
  • Unstoppable Rage: Subverted: Rage is eventually stoppable... calm is truly unstoppable. However, this does not mean "calm" cannot be Hot-Blooded. Yes, Hot-Blooded Tranquil Fury.
  • Unwitting Pawn: Master Asia for Wong's Evil Plan, Domon for Ulube's. Later subverted when Domon tears Urube's scheme down around him.
  • Victorious Childhood Friend: Rain. Maybe, Maria Louise.
  • The Virus: DG cells. It also doubles as The Corruption for Gundam pilots, as the stuff also grants their mechs some of the Devil Gundam's regenerative abilities.
  • Warrior Therapist: Roughly half the point of the series. Not Good with People? No problem: just fight against them, and the two of you will figure it out. Referred to as "communicating with your fists" in the series.
  • Weaponized Landmark: The Statue of Liberty Cannon!: Part of the Manhatten Battle Zone! Both on the Neo-American space colony.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist:
    • Master Asia. Trust me.
    • Even moreso, the Devil Gundam... or rather, the Ultimate Gundam. It was built for the purpose of repairing the Earth's damaged ecosystem, but its AI was damaged when it landed on Earth and it decided the best way to heal the planet was to Kill All Humans.
  • What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?: The little spar/dance/greeting of the School of the Undefeated of the East. Your Mileage May Vary on whether it is awesome or just looks awesome.
    • Fuunsaiki, the only horse in the entire franchise with its own Gundam.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: In Episode 9, Gentle Chapman's wife Manon is instrumental in his Gundam Fight matches and even gives a speech in the end on the fate of warriors. When Chapman is revived with DG cells later, she's nowhere to be found.
  • Whip It Good: The Nobel Gundam's main weapon is a beam ribbon, used like a whip.
  • The White Prince: George.
  • A Wizard Did It: Don't bother trying to make sense of most of the action scenes, the show is as Super Robotty as it can possibly get.
  • World of Badass: Everyone in the gundam fight, and everyone that tries to survive the people fighting in said fight.
  • World of Cardboard Speech: Domon's confession to Rain at the end of the series.
  • World of Ham: GOD HELP US ALL.
  • Wuxia: With Giant Mecha. No wonder this show is both awesome and cheesy.
  • Xanatos Gambit: Some strategies during the Gundam Fight lay heavily on this. For example, Kyral Mekirel decided to assinate his opponents before the match. If he succeeds, great, he wins by default the next day. If he fails, he'll fight as normal with insight on how his opponent will react to his style.
  • X Meets Y: The description of this show in 10 words is: Gundam meets Dragonball Z with shamelessness and manly tears moments.
  • Your Days Are Numbered: Gina Rodríguez, the Neo-Mexican Ill Girl.
  • Zeerust: Critical data on the Devil Gundam is stored in a 3.5 inch floppy disk.
  • Zettai Ryouiki: Cécile, in her normal attire. Rain, when she suits up. Suited-up!Allenby is a curious case: one of her "boots" is much longer than the other...
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