... and cemented creator/director Yoshiyuki Tomino's nickname of "kill-em-all".

- Mobile Suit Gundam (series, 1979-1980)
 - Mobile Suit Gundam I (movie, 1981)
 - Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow (movie, 1981)
 - Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters in Space (movie, 1982)
The grandaddy of them all. The one, the only, the first. A true classic, but it is VERY dated. Tons of boring filler, a lot of nonsensical things, and dirt cheap animation. And yet, still worth watching. But start with the movies; if they grab you, you can follow up with the series to see certain events expanded upon, character fates changed, and that one episode where they look for salt.

- Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (series, 1985-1986)
The first sequel to the original, set 7 years afterwards. Noticeably darker and less goofy than the original series. A definite classic, worth watching. Has a set of compilation movies made 20 years after it aired, which I will get into later.

 - Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (series, 1986-1987)
A direct sequel to Zeta, taking place immediately after the end. But while Zeta had become almost pure tragedy near its end, ZZ (or, Double Zeta) starts as almost pure comedy. The whiplash of going from the depressing finale of Zeta to the wacky hijinks of ZZ's second episode (its first episode is a recap of the first series and Zeta) is pretty insane. But the sometimes grating comedic elements eventually fall away and it gets more sombre, though never to the same degree as Zeta. Opinions are divided on this one, personally I think it's good and worth seeing, but you can get away with skipping it if you can't power through the earlier episodes.

 - Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack (movie, 1988)
The conclusion of the character arcs and plotlines of the first three series. Somewhat divisive in reception, though not to the same degree as ZZ. I love it, personally, but is so important to the original Gundam universe that it is a must-see.

 - Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket (OAV, 1989)
The first animated Gundam produced without the involvement of series creator and director, Yoshiyuki Tomino. It is also one of the absolute best entries in the entire series. It really is something amazing. Takes place in the same time period as the very end of the first Gundam series, but is a stand-alone story. Absolutely worth watching.

 - Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (OAV, 1991-1992)
Set between the original and Zeta, serving to answer a few questions about the setup of Zeta that didn't really need answers. Like 0080, it was not created nor directed by Tomino. Unlike 0080, it's... not good. At all. Awful plot, even worse characters. The animation is gorgeous and the action is great, though. But it's just so...eugh. I would not recommend it, but it's pretty popular. Also, has a compilation movie that is garbage.

 - Mobile Suit Gundam F91 (movie, 1991)
Set 30 years after Char's Counterattack, and since everything had pretty much been resolved at the end of that, this essentially functioned as a soft reboot of the franchise to get away from the complicated continuity of the earlier series, while still taking place in the same universe. It was originally produced as a TV series, but part-way through production it was turned into a movie. Which explains the plot, which is extremely rushed, and why it feels like there several scenes missing. It sure is pretty, though. Not essential, but not bad either. It's an interesting look at what could've been.

 - Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (series, 1993-1994)
Set 20 years after F91 (for much the same reasons as F91's time jump), this series manages to be darker and more depressing that Zeta, and that is quite a feat. The last entry in Gundam's original universe (more or less), and the last entry of the series Tomino worked on until 1999. Worth seeing if you like Gundam.

- Mobile Fighter G Gundam (series, 1994-1995)
The first series taking place outside the Universal Century timeline, this is the series that you get when you stuff Gundam, Dragon Ball, Street Fighter, and pure wonder into a blender. Instead of repeating the same kinds of stories the last decade of Gundam had told, G Gundam went and did something different. And it was great, it was amazing, it was everything. I would recommend this to people who don't even like Gundam. It's a model of what the franchise should be doing, trying new things and not regurgitating the stories and cliches of the first series.

New Mobile Report Gundam Wing (series, 1995-1996)
The second alternate universe series, hews much closer to the style of the first few series, except this time there is ludicrous amounts of yaoi bait, at times nonsensical political machinations, lots and lots of stock footage, and plot armor. It's not very good. But it is (or was, at least) immensely popular here in the US. Unless you are a big time Gundam fan, I would avoid it.

 - After War Gundam X (series, 1996)
The third alternate universe series, a sort of "what-if" scenario of the first Gundam, taking place on post-apocalyptic Earth. Sadly canceled with ~20 episodes to go, so the end is pretty rushed. In many ways, it feels like a continuation of the plots and themes of the UC shows, but it puts its own unique spin on things. Worth watching.

 - Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team (OAV, 1996-1999)
A return to the Universal Century, taking place around the same time period as the original Gundam series. Strives for a gritty and realistic ground war feel, or as close as one can come to that while still starring giant samurai robots. I go back and forth on it. The characters can get irritating and the story gets pretty dumb, and it really complicates the continuity, but I'm still somewhat fond of it. Check it out if you're getting deep into Gundam. Also has a compilation movie that for whatever reason doesn't include the climax of the series; the movie also has some new footage and story material (the gist of it is that the movie is a court martial of the main character and the questioning takes the form of flashbacks to the series)

 - New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz (OAV, 1997)
Sequel to Wing. More of the same, basically, but now with angel wings. Also has a compilation movie, which isn't really all that different from the 3 individual episodes. I think there's new footage or something, though.

∀ Gundam (series 1999-2000)
Also known as Turn A Gundam. Tomino's return to and his final Gundam series, essentially a celebration of Gundam's 20 year history. Sometimes described as "what if Miyazaki did a Gundam". Goregous animation, great character designs by Akiman of all people, and a stunning soundtrack by Yoko Kanno. Definitely worth seeing, though personally I think one would get the most out of it if they had seen all the series leading up to it. Also has two compilation movies, they're very rushed and not worth mentioning.

 - G-Saviour (movie, 2000)
This is a weird one: a live action movie that, along with Turn A, was supposed to celebrate Gundam's 20 year anniversary. It's really, really low-budget (looks like a movie you'd see on Saturday nights on Syfy or something), starring Canadian actors you've never heard of. It's actually set 70 years after Victory Gundam, but has mostly been forgotten and IIRC, has never been mentioned on any UC timelines made after it was released. It's quite bad, but there is an endearingly cheesy quality to it. Might be worth watching for a laugh, especially since it's so short.

- Gundam Evolve (shorts, 2001-2007)
A series of CGI shorts centered around one particular mobile suit. May or may not be canon to each respective series. In any event, none of them are really essential.

 - Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (series, 2002-2003)
Takes the general concept of the first series and updates it, in a way. Really, really bad. Starts as a carbon copy of the original series with the serial numbers filed off, then turns into an awful mess. Avoid unless you want to seethe in rage. Has a few compilation specials that are not worth it, even if one likes this series. Also recently was the subject of an HD remaster, which added a few cameos. Whatever.

 - Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny (series, 2004-2005)
The absolute nadir of the franchise. Direct sequel to SEED. Started off with some potential, but soon became a sinkhole of absolute shit. Like SEED, it had some compilation specials, and is about to get an HD remaster. Chew off your own leg if you have to to avoid this.

 - Mobile Suit Gundam SEED C.E. 73: Stargazer (ONA, 2006)
A sidestory of SEED Destiny. Actually... this is pretty decent! Very surprising. It actually takes a good look at the setting of SEED and doesn't have characters you want to murder with a rusty spoon. Worth a look, since it's pretty short.

 - Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War (shorts, 2004)
 - Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO: Apocalypse 0079 (OAV, 2006)
 - Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO 2: The Gravity Front (OAV, 2009)
CGI shorts for hardcore fans. Set around the same time period as the first Gundam. The animation isn't that great, especially on the human characters. Also pretty dumb, storywise. Not really worth watching unless you're really into Gundam, and specifically UC Gundam.

 - Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation: Heirs to the Stars (movie, 2005)
 - Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation II: Lovers (movie, 2005)
 - Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation III: Love is the Pulse of the Stars (movie, 2006)
Compilation movies made for Zeta Gundam's 20th anniversary. Noteworthy because they feature new animation sandwiched between 20-year-old animation. The effect is... off-putting, to say the least. Also changes up a significant number of events, removes several arcs, and changes the ending into a happier and more conclusive one. These changes are probably not canon (as much as canon can be said to exist in Gundam, it's a big complicated thing, that you wouldn't want to read). Anyways, not really worth watching unless you really love Zeta.

 - Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (series, 2007-2009)
Two seasons, which is new for Gundam. The first is a neat and exciting new experiment in what Gundam can be and what stories it can tell. The second immediately tries to reverse all the new things while introducing the same, tired old Gundam cliches. And also magic space pixie dust. Worth a shot, even with the much weaker second season.

 - Mobile Suit Gundam 00 the Movie: Awakening of the Trailblazer (movie, 2010)
This is... well, it's interesting to say the least. Not bad, but... I don't know. It's worth a shot if you liked 00.

 - Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn (OAV, 2009-2014)
Takes place 3 years after Char's Counterattack. Still in production, but it's almost done. It's pretty bad. Really pretty, but the story is terrible and the characters are awful. The goal was to produce something for older fans of the UC timeline, but it comes off across as fan fiction written by a 13-year-old trying to be as DARK AND EDGY as humanly possible. And its author may or may not be an extreme right-wing Japanese nationalist, which explains quite a few things in the story...

 - Model Suit Gunpla Builders Beginning G (OAV, 2010)
This is easily the most blatant form of product placement in the entire franchise, which, given the franchise's raison d'être is selling plastic model kits, says volumes. And yet, it is also an absolute hoot! Set in the present day, except there is technology that allows people to scan their Gundam model kits (AVAILABLE IN STORES NOW) into an arcade machine and battle other people's kits. It's insane and I love it.
 
- SD Gundam (stuff, dates)
This is almost a franchise onto its own, but I'll hit the highlights. There are the shorts from the late 80s/early 90s that are just wacky super deformed adventures starring Gundam characters, which will appeal only to the hardcore. There's the CGI Superior Defender show that was awful, and will appeal only to no one. And there's SD Gundam Sangokuden Brave Battle Warriors which is some show I've never seen because all this Musha Gundam stuff is confusing.

 - Mobile Suit Gundam AGE (series, 2011-2012)
This show, man, this show. It's so bad that as it was nearing completion, a debate began that continues to this day: is AGE worse than Destiny? It's very divided, but I say Destiny is worse. AGE at least had an interesting concept (3 protagonists in 3 different time periods), a mediocre to bad start, and a pretty decent middle. But then the last third with Kio happened. That last third was so bad it taints the whole series. Ugh. What was the Professor Layton dude smoking when he made this? Don't watch.