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“Mobile Suits Can Do Anything If You Want Them To”: Unpacking Gundam’s Most Philosophical Meme
A seemingly throwaway phrase about Mobile Suit capabilities has become the defining commentary on the Gundam franchise’s 45-year struggle between realistic military sci-fi and dramatic storytelling. What started as a joke on social media has evolved into a profound critique of how the series handles mechanical specifications across multiple timelines and universes.
What Happened
The phrase “Mobile Suits can do anything if you want them to” (“モビルスーツってやろうと思えば”) has become a viral meme among Gundam fans, sparking widespread discussion about the franchise’s inconsistent mechanical specifications. The phrase encapsulates a fundamental tension in the Gundam series: the conflict between establishing detailed, realistic specifications for Mobile Suits and the narrative need to have those same machines perform dramatically different feats depending on story requirements.
What began as a humorous observation about setting contradictions has evolved into a shared language among the fanbase for discussing deeper issues about how the franchise balances technical consistency with dramatic necessity. The phrase now appears regularly in fan discussions whenever new Gundam content is released, particularly when Mobile Suit performance seems to contradict established canon.
Why It Matters
This meme represents something significant about how long-running franchises manage continuity and creative freedom. The Gundam series, spanning 45 years across multiple timelines, directors, and creative teams, has always struggled with maintaining consistent mechanical specifications while allowing for dramatic flexibility. The phrase “Mobile Suits can do anything if you want them to” acknowledges this contradiction openly, transforming what could be seen as a flaw into a point of self-aware humor that actually strengthens fan engagement.
For viewers and fans, the phrase serves as a sophisticated communication tool that simultaneously critiques the franchise’s weaknesses while affirming their love for it. It demonstrates how modern fandoms use irony and meta-commentary to engage with the media they consume, creating a shared understanding that transcends simple criticism or praise.
Background
The Gundam franchise began in 1979 with the original Mobile Suit Gundam, created by director Yoshiyuki Tomino with an emphasis on treating robots as realistic military hardware. This “Real Robot” concept was revolutionary at the time, contrasting sharply with the super-powered robots of earlier anime. However, over four decades of production involving numerous directors, writers, and mechanical designers, each brought their own interpretations to Mobile Suit specifications.
The problem became apparent when comparing machines across different eras. The Zaku from the original 1979 series is portrayed as clearly inferior to the Gundam, yet the Zaku Warrior from the SEED timeline fights as an equal to contemporary Gundams. The same machine name, vastly different capabilities. This pattern repeated across the franchise’s many continuities: Universal Century, SEED, 00, Iron-Blooded Orphans, and the recent Witch from Mercury.
Additionally, Gundam’s adaptation into video games further complicated specifications. The same RX-78 Gundam performs differently across various game titles depending on game balance requirements, creating yet another layer of inconsistency that fans have long acknowledged but rarely articulated so succinctly.
Key Points
- The phrase “Mobile Suits can do anything if you want them to” highlights the Gundam franchise’s fundamental contradiction between realistic military specifications and dramatic storytelling needs
- This meme originated from social media discussions around 2019 and has since become a shared language among Gundam fans for discussing mechanical inconsistencies
- The phrase functions as both criticism and affirmation—fans use it to acknowledge the franchise’s flaws while expressing their continued love for the series
- Mobile Suit specifications have varied significantly across the franchise’s 45-year history due to different creative teams, animation capabilities, and narrative requirements
- The meme represents a sophisticated form of fan engagement that transforms potential weaknesses into points of meta-commentary and self-aware humor
- Recent Gundam works like Witch from Mercury attempt to address this issue through new narrative frameworks, suggesting the franchise is aware of and responding to this criticism
Timeline
- 1979: Original Mobile Suit Gundam premieres with emphasis on realistic military specifications
- 2008: Fans begin noticing significant specification inconsistencies when comparing original Zaku to SEED-era Zaku Warrior
- 2015-2020: Gundam Versus game series highlights specification variations across different versions of the same Mobile Suit
- 2019: The phrase “Mobile Suits can do anything if you want them to” goes viral on social media
- 2023: Witch from Mercury introduces new Mobile Suits with specifications that significantly deviate from established canon, reigniting the discussion
Perspectives
Fan Interpretation: Many Gundam fans view the phrase as an affectionate acknowledgment of the franchise’s willingness to prioritize compelling storytelling over rigid technical consistency. This perspective sees the flexibility as a strength rather than a weakness, allowing the series to evolve and surprise audiences across different eras.
Critical Analysis: Some fans and critics interpret the phrase as pointing to genuine narrative laziness or inconsistent worldbuilding. From this perspective, the phrase represents a failure to maintain coherent specifications and represents the franchise’s inability to balance realism with drama effectively.
Comparative Context: When compared to other mecha anime like Neon Genesis Evangelion, which deliberately uses ambiguous specifications as an intentional artistic choice, Gundam’s inconsistencies appear less calculated. Evangelion’s vagueness serves thematic purposes, while Gundam’s variations often seem driven by practical production needs rather than narrative intent.
Creator’s Perspective: The original vision by Yoshiyuki Tomino emphasized realistic military specifications, yet subsequent creators have prioritized dramatic impact, creating an inherent tension that persists throughout the franchise’s history.
Insights
The phrase “Mobile Suits can do anything if you want them to” reveals something fundamental about how modern franchises operate and how fans engage with them. Rather than demanding perfect consistency, contemporary audiences have developed sophisticated frameworks for understanding and discussing the contradictions within the media they love.
The meme’s success demonstrates that fans don’t necessarily want flawless worldbuilding—they want creators to be intentional about their choices. The Gundam franchise’s 45-year history shows that dramatic necessity will always trump technical specifications in storytelling. What fans increasingly demand is that this flexibility be acknowledged and explained logically within the narrative framework.
Recent Gundam works like Witch from Mercury appear to be responding to this implicit criticism by introducing narrative explanations for mechanical inconsistencies, such as the integration between pilot and machine. This suggests the franchise is evolving to address the very contradiction that the meme highlights.
Ultimately, the phrase represents a maturation of fan discourse. Rather than dismissing the franchise for its inconsistencies, fans have created a shared language that allows them to celebrate what makes Gundam compelling—its willingness to prioritize human drama and character growth over rigid technical specifications—while maintaining a critical eye toward how those choices are executed.
For newcomers to the Gundam franchise, understanding this dynamic is essential. The series should be approached not as a perfectly consistent technical manual, but as a 45-year exploration of how warfare, technology, and human ambition intersect. The Mobile Suits are ultimately tools for exploring character development and philosophical questions about conflict, sacrifice, and human potential. When viewed through this lens, the phrase “Mobile Suits can do anything if you want them to” becomes not a criticism but an accurate description of what makes the franchise endure.
