My first series was on Cartoon Network - Gundam Wing.
And let me tell you, as a kid that shit was not appropriate. My parents would walk by and see robots blow up and had no idea what it was a bunch of people dying in horrific explosions. had no idea what was going on because it was so dense. But I remembered enough to like Death Scythe the most.
I started to hit puberty around the time G-Gundam started airing in the US and that was another wild ride. I haven't gone back because the 'international fighter' anime was not a good look (Tequila-Gundam represented Neo-Mexico) but I do remember the overall story as being a lot easier to digest. It's kinda silly, but I liked this series more because fewer people died in that one. And because of the blatant fanservice.
I watched the original series and the movies once I got old enough to look up anime online. I've watched a lot more since then, sometimes bits and pieces, but I feel like I'm gravitating toward the franchise again with WfM.
So, what do other people think about Gundam?
The Universal Century is the best Gundam gets.
Zeta is great, but I think the original edges out slightly better than it.
0080 and the 08th MS Team are fantastic for different reasons.
G Gundam is way better than it should be. Domon Kasshu my beloved.
After War Gundam X is very underrated. It's actually one of my favorites.
Witch from Mercury is promising, and I'm looking forward to the second cour.
Have you seen Turn A Gundam? It's probably the best in the franchise by a long shot (especially if you've watched a lot of Gundam)
I've watched like 10 episodes, then got distracted by something and never got back to it.
It's got amazing music.