>>18520
It's best to go in production order and mostly stick to the Universal Century timeline. These are the essentials:
>Gundam 0079(series)
The best starting point to the Gundam franchise, though the abridged movie trilogy is about as good. It has better animation and cuts out a lot of the filler but the characters don't feel quite as fleshed out either, as you would expect with an abridged movie compilation(It's not like the characters are tremendously deep in the first place.)
>Zeta(series)
Widely regarded as the best Gundam TV show. It's much darker than the original and the MC is canonically autistic. Be sure to avoid the Zeta movie trilogy because the creator decided to change some very critical parts of the story. After Zeta watch ZZ and Char's Counterattack. Which one you watch first doesn't really matter.
>ZZ(series)
Some people dislike ZZ because the first 20 or so episodes are much more comical and lighthearted compared to Zeta. If you can't handle it just watch the first 2 or 3 episodes then skip to episode 20. You should be able to piece things together well enough or you can just read synopsis of the episodes leading up to that point. Personally I think a lot of those episodes are entertaining. However be sure to skip episodes 14 and 15 at all costs unless you're masochistic.
>Char's Counterattack(movie)
A good movie that brings an end to the all the arcs which began with the original series onward. The two child characters are very annoying though.
>0080: War in the Pocket(OVA)
A very, very good side story that takes place at the same time as 0079. Highly recommended.
>The 08th MS Team(OVA)
Another very good side story that takes place at the same as 0079. It starts out like a Vietnam movie with mechs and becomes more like a traditional Gundam story as it develops. Some people hate the second half, but those people are a bunch of plebs. Best Gundam anime IMO.
Everything else is optional and varies in quality.