Mobile Suit Gundam 42 + 43 (Final) Early Access

It's too early to say, but I have to say that after Zeta, you should watch ZZ too. Some people say ZZ is needless, but it's wrong. Zeta needs ZZ' ending.

Yuki

Hi, just wanted to echo for Zeta Gundam. It's maybe the best sequel to an anime I've ever watched.

DChip

You really need to watch Zeta Gundam next, leave everything for later since you wouldn't get the refferences unless you watch Zeta first.

HaganeNoTema

I greatly enjoyed rewatching Gundam along with you! It's a true classic that I've always thought was not appreciated enough in the broader Western anime fandom, and I felt your reactions and analysis really did it justice. They got me to subscribe to your channel and patreon and I'm enjoying it a lot. You should definitely watch Zeta next (after the third movie, if you're so inclined); you're so invested in the Universal Century's history, setting and characters that you'll definitely find it interesting. You should also consider doing War in the Pocket in your OVA timeslot at some point. It's a fully self-contained sidestory to the original MSG, and is not related to Zeta or any later work in the Universal Century - and, Gundam, aside, it's one of the all-time great OVAs.

Mew

Would def reccommend Zeta Gundam next

Kenju Storm

Zeta Gundam would be the direct sequel in the UC timeline and the next main Gundam series. Would recommend Zeta Gundam next. The side stories/OVAs such as 08th MS Team, 0080: War in the Pocket, and 0083: Stardust Memory are also great shows. Short stories which tell a different picture of the war from different viewpoints.

iwashisan

I have no opinion for or against watching the 3rd Gundam movie next. I don't remember whether it is different enough from the TV show to justify watching it immediately afterward. Aside from that, I would recommend watching Zeta Gundam next. There are some side-stories that occur between the original and Zeta, such as 08th MS Team, 0080: War in the Pocket, and 0083: Stardust Memory. Those may be worth watching at some point, but they were produced later, so the transition from the original would be a bit jarring. A quick note about Zeta Gundam. The official US release couldn't get the rights to the OP and ED, but they're pretty good. It's worth taking the time to find a version with those.

Silver Bard Games

If you want to understand how it fits historically and evolved and all that, I think watching it in historical release order would be the way to go.

HamHamJ

To add on, many gundam series are thematically in reaction to, in discussion with, or riffing off of elements from the original Mobile Suit Gundam and Zeta Gundam, with ZZ also in there and CCA capping it off. But yes, Zeta to Double Zeta to CCA is the recommended watch order from here for the core of the Universal Century shows, and then all the late-UC and OVAs can be watched in largely any order. For AU shows, any order is fine except if you want to watch the SEED shows, then it's SEED then Destiny.

Yay on getting through Mobile Suit Gundam! Zeta Gundam is absolutely the next thing to watch, as it was the next big gundam series released and serves as a followup to MSG (there's a bunch of OVA stuff dealing with other One Year War things and stuff in between Zeta, but you kind of want the Zeta knowledge). Char's Counterattack I think can technically be watched after Zeta, but honestly Double Zeta (ZZ) is an even more direct sequel to Zeta and flows directly from it. Then Char's Counterattack is up I think.