Kidou Senshi Gundam F91

In the year 123 of the Universal Century, skirmishes between the Federation government and the rebel group Crossbones Vanguard echo across Earth's space colonies. One of these small battles breaks in the hometown of young Seabook Arno, forcing him and his friends to flee and ensnaring them in the political turmoil that is quickly evolving into an all-out war.

Seabook meets Cecily Fairchild, granddaughter of the aristocrat Meitzer Ronah, who seeks to create a new political power called "Cosmo Babylonia." Using the Crossbone Vanguard as its muscle, the Ronah family schemes to restore aristocratic rule and establish an economic system that will benefit the nobility, thus devastating the quality of life for the common people of the Earth Sphere.

Seabook is tasked with piloting the Gundam F91, a mobile suit created by his mother, and must choose between protecting the Federation's status quo or cooperating with Cecily to find a better way of life for all.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Arno, Seabook Main

Tsujitani, Kouji Japanese

Fairchild, Cecily Main

Touma, Yumi Japanese

Ronah, Carozzo Main

Maeda, Masaaki Japanese

Chareux, Zabine Supporting

Yanada, Kiyoyuki Japanese

Maujin, Migen Supporting

Koujiro, Chie Japanese

Editoh, Minmi Supporting

Chihara, Eriko Japanese

Arno, Monica Supporting

Shouji, Miyoko Japanese

Panopa, Manuela Supporting

Ichiryuusai, Teiyuu Japanese

Edaberry, Leahlee Supporting

Yokoo, Mari Japanese

Hein, Kochun Supporting

Yoshida, Konami Japanese

Sakuma, Shinichi Co-Director, Key Animation

Yatate, Hajime Producer

Tomino, Yoshiyuki Director, Script, Storyboard, Original Creator

Fujino, Sadayoshi Sound Director

Reviews

Feb 24, 2023

Noahboy

Recommended

Better than I expected, but it's still a compromised film. The animation is absolutely gorgeous and all the battles are intense and exciting. There are some really brutal scenes in this that add a lot to the intensity. The pacing is extremely fast and wastes no time in pushing the plot forwards. So much story is covered and there are so many things glossed over quickly as a result. I had few problems following the plot in spite of everything moving super fast, but one character's change just hit me out of nowhere and made no sense to me. This problem might be due to ... one of the 2 skips I had on my DVD copy, making me miss two short segments. I liked the characters that got some development, but I really wish there was some more development for the cast, some characters just exist and feel like their arcs are unfinished when the film ends. Events also just happen, and you just have to roll with the punches to enjoy the film. Overall, this film manages to be really entertaining but is ultimately a compromised version of a story that was originally meant for a TV series and is lacking in depth, but I still think it's worth a watch for any Gundam fan in spite of all that.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Aug 26, 2025

theo1763

Mixed Feelings

Mobile Suit Gundam F91 is one of those movies that has the potential in the universe but never quite gets there. It was supposed to kick off a new Gundam franchise, but what ended up happening is that it got cut up into a two-hour movie, and you can definitely see why. The tempo of the story is progressing much too rapidly, bringing new characters and storylines into play before you have had time to establish any interest in them. You meet Seabook and his crew for one moment, and then the next thing you know, the whole colony is under attack and civilians are ... being slaughtered in some of the most extreme violence of the Universal Century. The concept is interesting in and of itself, with the Crossbone Vanguard trying to build their noble empire, but the implementation is all over the place, and the pacing prevents anything from gaining traction.

What really kept me interested was the production side of things. The animation is great and is on par with War in the Pocket. The mobile suit designs are great, too. The F91 itself is sleek, fast, and one of the most badass Gundams in the UC timeline. Every battle looks and feels intense, with a smooth feel and sense of speed that still manages to hold up today. The battles themselves are great to watch, but what makes them feel more challenging is how little either can be bothered about innocent lives. The Crossbone Vanguard pretty much ostensibly seems to be worse than Zeon, mowing down civilians with impunity, and the Federation is hardly better. It really does awe how dirty and absurd the war has to be for the average man stuck in the middle.

The characters, though, are where the film fails. Seabook is more like another take on Amuro, but at least he appears a bit more mature and realistic. Too bad the frenetic pace keeps him from ever really developing, though. Cecily (Fhanna) is positioned to be a very important character, but she’s cheated out of screen time, so her story arc can’t even get going. Similar to much of Gundam, the children turn out to be more competent and level-headed than most of the grown-ups, which is intriguing but also sort of absurd at times. The voice acting and music are doing their work well enough, but nothing stayed with me afterwards in the way the animation and mech designs did.

Overall, F91 is wasted potential. You can see the shape of a traditional Gundam tale here, but the lack of breathing room harms it. Had this been fleshed out into the full series planned, it could have delved into the politics of Cosmo Babylonia, built the characters out more, and carried more weight from the tragedies that it brings to the viewer. As it stands, it’s a fun movie to watch for the fights, the designs of the mechs themselves, and the animation quality, but there’s not much else that it offers. I gave it a 6 out of 10 because, despite the fun fight scenes and look of it, the uneven narrative and lack of character development left me with the feeling that it could have been better. It’s worth checking out if you’re a Gundam fan, but more as a glimpse of what might have been than as a complete experience.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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May 21, 2025

NashDGreat

Not Recommended

A slog to get through.

The plot is good at the start. The middle and ending changes that. Upon further research, it turns out that this was suppposed to be a TV show with 50 episodes which explains the rapid pace after the first act.

The mechs are honestly forgettable, not much to say about that. The F91 Gundam isn't really unique looking. The enemies' are no better, ace pilots having grunt looking mechs. Yuck.

The characters... see, when you rush a suppposed 50-episode story to fit into a 2-hour movie, they won't be as developed as you'd expect. I didn't care which is my biggest problem ... with this film. I think an episodic format would have done well with fleshing out the characters at least, but as it stands, it's a nothing burger.

Overall, this movie is forgettable. The starting act was the only good part, I liked the civilian violence and real-time military response to a couple of robots fighting one another in a populated city. After that, you can probably just switch it off.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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