"They Did It Again!" Beam Saber Swing Homage in "Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX" Sends Fans Into a Frenzy

Episode 2 of the anime "Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX," packed full of homages that sent "Mobile Suit Gundam" fans into a frenzy, is making waves. Not only did the main story pay homage, but even the eye-catch segments completely recreated those from First Gundam, resulting in an unprecedented buzz on social media.

An eye-catch refers to a short video or still image inserted before and after commercials. In episode 2 of "Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX," the first eye-catch appeared before the commercial break. It was a quiet one that displayed only the work's title, using the same production as in episode 1 of the original "Mobile Suit Gundam."

The second eye-catch, which aired after the commercial break, shared the same design as the one before the commercials. However, the sound effect jingle was different, which was an homage to the eye-catch used in episodes 2 through 11 of "Mobile Suit Gundam."

Moreover, there was even a third eye-catch within the same episode. This appeared just after the scene in which Char Aznable (voiced by Yūki Shin) of the Principality of Zeon destroys his opponent with a beam saber. Right after Char utters the line, "Is that a Gundam...? Perhaps this mobile suit will be the key to our future strategy," the so-called "beam saber swing cut" version of the eye-catch suddenly played.

This eye-catch was a direct recreation of the one inserted in episodes 12 through 42 of the original "Mobile Suit Gundam." For long-time fans of the series, this familiar eye-catch was inserted not before or after commercials, but rather right in the middle of the actual main story at a turning point.