Been revisiting some things. Those first ten episodes of the original Gundam are a pretty solid unit.

A lot of the meat of those eps is a good naval pursuit story.

And by the end of the tenth you've got some of the big questions on the table, e.g. what the hell is Char's deal?

Also almost certainly the only run of anime episodes which starts at L3 and ends in Seattle.

I guess this thread is also sort of an implicit remark on the old movies vs TV show chestnut.

Ten episodes isn't too long a set to put your toe in the water.

While I do think the show's worth trying if you're curious, I'm not wedded to any option.

If you've money, the form of this story that's the most complete & consistent aesthetic object is the The Origin manga (NB not the OVA).