GundamPodcast

Revisiting the ZZ Tarot - Death

Long-time Patrons may remember that ever since Season 3 we've been steadily assembling a collection of Gundam ZZ-themed tarot cards, each one illustrated for us by a different fan artist within the Gundam community. Over the next few months we'll be sharing new illustrations, as well as re-posting some of the older ones in higher quality versions for our Mr. Mnyeah and Lt. Matilda-tier patrons.

The featured card today is Death, illustrated for us by Yura (2026-01-27 20:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post

Saying Goodbye to a Classic

As we phase out physical merch in our patron rewards, we will also be discontinuing a fan-favorite - the 'Fraw Bow and the Orphans' band t-shirt.

While we hope to design (and make available for purchase!) some other MSB t-shirts, this patron-exclusive will no longer be available once the new rewards go into effect.

If you want to be eligible for a Fraw Bow and the Orphans t-shirt, be sure to sign up for our Mr Mnyeah or Lt Matilda t...

Season 11, Episode 1: Combat, Neo-Italian Style!

This week we're lacing our podcasting gloves up and jumping back into the arena for a brutal and bruising battle, with the fate of the Earth and the colonies hanging in the balance. Rather than our usual pre-season prologue we've decided to get into the action right away with Mobile Fighter G Gundam Episode 1: Gファイト開始! 地球に落ちたガンダム aka Gundam Fight Begins! The Gundam That Fell to Earth.

We've got high kicks, mysterious wanderers, spectacle, speculation, behind the scenes anecdotes, a report on the phantom ...

January 2026 Bonus Episode: G Gundam Episode 1 Watch-Along

It's the moment you've all been waiting for! The 13th Gundam Fight is finally here! And now our loyal Patrons can watch (or rewatch) alongside Nina & Thom in preparation for this week's early access podcast release.

Note: this episode includes cussin'. Exercise caution when watching!

To sync this track with your own copy of G Gundam, you'll want to press play on the video at the 1 minute and 20 second mark of the podcast, right after Thom says "playing now," and before he announces "It begins!" You should b...

Behind the Scenes: Pre-Recording Routine

Getting back into the "booth" this week got me thinking about our process. There's a lot that goes into producing a great-sounding podcast - the recording environment, mics and other equipment, how you process and edit the audio - but one piece you might not have thought of is our pre-recording routine!

We make tea, fill out water bottles, draw the sound-dampening curtains, and then....

Vocal Warmups!

I really didn't want vocal warmups to make a difference. Really really really didn't want to have to add an extra step to...

Have you seen these podcasters?

They would have released an episode about 6 months ago...

You can stop looking - new episodes of Mobile Suit Breakdown are BACK, January 24 for paid subscribers and January 31 for the free, public feed!

We are kicking off Season 11, covering Mobile Fighter G Gundam, and will be releasing new episodes weekly - available here on Patreon, at our website gundampodcast.com, and wherever you listen to podcasts.

Season 10+4: Motocross 2

It's a short episode this week as Nina wraps up her research on the history of motocross, bringing us forward to the Xtreme sports era of the 1990s, offering our theory on why it took Japan so long to produce an internationally competitive motocross rider, and considering the connotations Duker Iq's biker lifestyle would have carried for a 90s audience. And next week... the 13th Gundam Fight is about to begin!

Please listen to it!

Show Notes

• Mark Simmon's Gundam Unofficial page on the 2026-01-20 20:18:44 +0000 UTC View Post

Since it's Mobile FIGHTER G Gundam...

Since it's Mobile Fighter G Gundam (not Mobile Suit G Gundam) I proposed a temporary name-change to the podcast, but Nina says we can't use the alternate title because "consistency of branding is important" or something, idk. Anyway, this is what that cover would have looked like!

-Thom

And while you're here...

Year 6 AND Year 7 MSB Pin Promo!

You have all waited so patiently, through a VERY turbulent year, and the time has finally come - the annual* MSB patron-exclusive pin promo!

Who's eligible?

Anyone pledging at the $10 or $25 levels, or the legacy Fraw Bow tier, as of January 31, 2026.

Please note: regretfully, we are unable to send pins to EU addresses at this time.

What will they get?

BOTH the Year 6 (2023-2024) pin AND the Year 7 (2024-2025) pin!

We've never released two pins at the same time before, and ho...

Patreon Refresh 2026

Over SEVEN years have passed since we first launched this Patreon, and a lot has changed since then. With that in mind, we've decided to make some changes to our patron rewards, starting February 2026.

The main change is that, due to rising costs of production and shipping, and the effect of tariffs, we are phasing out most physical merch rewards.

• Merch Boxes will be available to new Mr. Mnyeah tier patrons who join or upgrade by January 31, 2026. Anyone pledged at the $10 tier on that date, who maintain...

  2026-01-15 19:07:05 +0000 UTC View Post

Season 10+: Episode 3 - The Bikes of the Middle Ages!

This week on Mobile Suit Breakdown, an important update about what's coming next for the podcast, plus Nina finally gets to sate her curiosity (and yours) about the origins of motocross, and the state of the sport in the 1990s. And don't miss the real explanation behind Victory Gundam's obsession with bikes and bike battleships: it's all Tomino's fault (kind of)!

Show notes will accompany Part 2 next week.

Season 10+2: The Environment Problem

This week on MSB, environmentalism consultant Colin returns to the program to discuss the role of the environment across the whole grand sweep of Tomino Gundam to this point. Is Tomino actually an environmentalist? Has he always been one, or did he become one at some point? And what does that really mean?

Please listen to it!

Patron Exclusive Bonus Episode: Aura Battler Overload

A bonus episode? In this economy? It's more likely than you might think!

We just finished watching Gundam Chief Director Tomino Yoshiyuki's 1983 sci-fantasy mecha isekai show Aura Battler Dunbine as part of prepping for Season 11 of the main podcast, and we though you might want to hear a few of our thoughts.

Note: contains occasional language deemed Mildly Spicy by MSB's Standards and Practices department.

Season 10+1: The Diapers of Victory

The first of our Season 10 extra research episodes is ready, and as always our patrons get early access! This week, Nina explores the long history of diapers around the world and in Japan to better understand the subtext and significance of Karlmann's cloth diapers. Please listen to it!

Show Notes

• Books and articles:

  Gladwell, Malcolm. “Smaller.” The New Yorker, 26 Nov. 2001. htt...

  2025-10-28 14:48:20 +0000 UTC View Post

Working on a New T-Shirt Design

I've been iterating a new t-shirt design based off the Zaku-daruma print I made for our SD season - the new one is inspired by samurai helmets and the Musha Gundam.

The design will eventually incorporate some calligraphy and, also inspired by SD Gundam, we've picked some ateji (kanji chosen for their reading/sound) for "podcast" / ポッドキャスト:

• Po / ポッ：　点　spot, point, mark, speck, decimal point

• d / ど：　呶　noisy

• ca / キャ：　踋　the foot or feet, cas...

  2025-10-22 16:16:51 +0000 UTC View Post

Throwback Thursday - Forgotten Screenshots

Prepping for the G Gundam season means tidying and archiving files related to Season 10 and Victory Gundam - and I found a few Victory Gundam faces and other screenshots that I hadn't shared! So without further ado ~

Uso really goes through it those last few episodes, doesn't he?

Marbet "These Kids Will be the Death of Me" Fingerhat

Marking Another Milestone

We've been so busy we missed the day itself (classic us!), but September 1st market the 7th anniversary of our very first episode!

When we started, we weren't sure if anyone would be interested in this wildly ambitious project we'd decided to call Mobile Suit Breakdown. Your enthusiasm and support - whether you recommend us to your friends, subscribe to the Patreon, write a review, or send us encouraging messages - have kept us going these 7 years. I hope you're as excited as we are for all the Gundam still to come! 2025-09-26 11:00:37 +0000 UTC View Post

UNGUNDAM #3: September 2025

What have we been doing? On this edition of UNGUNDAM we're falling into old habits, trying new things, and getting back to our roots.

September 2025 Status Update

Here's a quick mini-episode to keep you all up to date on what we've been up to behind the scenes as we prepare for Season 11!

What is the best Gundam song, and why is it "Char ga kuru" ("Here Comes Char")?

Even after 7 years of watching and thinking about Gundam, no other song comes close!

While I'm talking music, "Gallant Char" is also great (it figures that Char would get not one but TWO great theme songs...)

It hasn't been long since it aired, so I won't name names, but a recently broadcast anime episode included a scene of a character singing "Char ga kuru" to themselves - I squ...

Inside the MSB Library: Symbols of Japan

To my mind, the most difficult aspect of analyzing artwork from another culture is the lack of knowledge about common symbols and allusions. I may not always understand a biblical reference in a piece of art, but I can generally tell when one is being made. I recognize visual references to famous works of art like The Thinker, The Last Supper, or American Gothic. I know that red roses symbolize passionate, romantic love, that people wish on shooting stars, and that black cats are sometimes thought to be unlucky.

... but ther...

"Business" Trip - Bandai Namco Cross Store

We decided that enough time had passed since it first opened - it was time for us to visit the new Bandai Namco Cross Store in Brooklyn, NY!

The store is in Industry City - a redeveloped, formerly industrial space, which now has a mix of shops, offices, manufacturing, and bars/restaurants/park + garden spaces. There's a saké brewery and multiple distilleries, a Japanese grocery store, a forge, a shoemaker...

Season 10 Q&A Part 3

Thank you all for your patience and your kind words of sympathy. We're ready to talk about Gundam once again, and this week a question from a listener prompts us to look back at the whole Tomino Era of Gundam, and on that perfect note we end Season 10.

NOTE: There is some mildly suggestive language in the outtakes.

Tigris is gone.

Tigris passed away in her sleep yesterday afternoon, lying on her favorite blanket and surrounded by her favorite people.

She was born 19 years ago in a barn which abutted the home of a friend of mine, and I found her and her sister living under their porch. I lured them home with me using a bag of deli turkey, and she survived for 16 years roaming the woods and marshland of the same timber farm where I grew up. When my mother sold the old farm Tigris moved indoors. In May of last year she relocated to a luxury retirement villa in New ...

Season 10, Episode 52b: Kasarelia?

We apologize for the delay on this episode. Tigris the Podcat has been quite sick and all our focus has gone to her care.

But we're back and this week we answer most of the outstanding listener questions, ranging from Haro to Hilda Bidan, missed opportunities, Family Guy, Tomino's improvisational writing style, and more! Please listen to it!

Season 10, Episode 52: Kasarelia! (Q&A part one)

Part one?? That's right, on this week's episode of MSB we start to answer your many thought-provoking questions about Victory Gundam. From the show's position on the role of women in society to its music to its relationship to Japan's New Religions, this episode has everything! And if everything isn't enough for you, then just wait for next week when we'll be back with even more. Please listen to it!