Last year, it was announced that Sunrise studio was
partnering with Rightstuf.com (aka the Anime Super Store of the web) to become
the release vehicle of the Mobile Suit Gundam Franchise. The franchise was super big in the early
2000’s thanks to a little Toonami legend called Gundam Wing. Thanks to Bandai Entertainment, several
series, movies and features were released on home media. In 2011, it was announced that the eagerly anticipated
Turn A Gundam would finally see a US video release…only for that news to be
dashed in subsequent months with Bandai Ent USA closing it’s doors. With the announcement of it’s new release run
coming this year thanks to Gundam parent studio, Sunrise, fans are more anxious
than ever to finally look upon these entries, some of which we’ve heard about
for years. I should also point out that
as of late summer last year, the Gundam roll out has begun, with all of Turn A
Gundam and the original 0079 series fully released as of now. Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam is next up and spring
is apparently the set date for the long awaited return to DVD (and maybe even
Blu-Ray) of MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM WING!!!.
So with that in mind, here are my five big picks for the shows that are
still forth coming and, as far as I know, have been confirmed for sometime in
the next year or two. It’s a good time
to be a Gundam fan, that’s for sure.
#5-Victory Gundam
Universal Century 0153.
Sixty years after Char’s Neo Zeon rebellion, a holy war rages across
Earth. The Zancare Empire wont stop
until all resistance has been eliminated and the Earth Federation is on it’s
last breath. The League Militaire and
it’s crew of child pilots, complete with their own iconic Gundam, are all that
stand in the way. This was the last
Gundam entry to be worked on by series godfather Yoshiyuki Tomino until Turn A
Gundam in 1999. It is also one of the
grimmest entries of the franchise, sporting a kill count higher than Zeta
Gundam (if that was even possible). The
behind the scenes drama could mean some sweet extra features (doubt it
though). This was one of the first other
entries id heard of back when I was first discovering Gundam through Gundam
Wing. I’m excited to see it finally get
it’s time in the states.
#4-Gundam ZZ
Universal Century 0088.
The Titans have only just been defeated when the dormant forces of Neo
Zeon emerge to wage war against the weakened Federation. With it’s roster of pilots either
incapacitated or dead, Bright Noa and the AEUG turn to a group of junkyard kids
to join their forces and hold back the return of Zeon. Following the incredibly dark Zeta Gundam,
Yoshiyuki Tomino sought to lighten things up a bit with Gundam ZZ. The end result is legendary: a series that is
half loved and half reviled…or somewhat lived and mostly reviled. The humor never struck a cord with audiences,
resulting in a halfway gear change that returned the franchise to it’s darker,
more intense storytelling. Is the humor
as bad as the image of a chicken on Bright Noa’s head looks? Does the second half do a good job of setting
up events for Gundam: Char’s Counterattack?
This might be one im excited just to see so I can say ive seen it. Whether or not I enjoy it, is a whole other
matter.
#3-Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans
The most recent entry in the Gundam Multiverse, IBO
follows a young PMC that uses child soldiers on a colonized Mars. As the youth rebel against their masters,
they find themselves with their first job as masters of their own fate:
escorting a high profile advocate for Mars independence to Earth. Armed with their own ancient Mobile Suit, the
Gundam Barbatos, and outfitted with youth with nothing to lose, the newly
formed Tekkadan is determined to make a name for itself or die trying. I have mixed feelings about this series
already since I started watching it on Crunchyroll. On the one hand, it’s cool to see Gundam
expand it’s horizons to other worlds outside of the space colonies. The action is great and I’m oddly enough
reminded of Mad Max with all the grunge and dirt. On the other hand, lead protagonist Mikazuki
scares me, he’s as far a broken human as Gundam pilots come, worse than Wing
protagonist Heero Yuy. And it looks like
his best friend, Orga, is determined to die looking cool even if his crew of
misfits dies along with him. The cast is
always the make or break of series like this.
But for now I’m with it and I wonder what kind of an impact this show
will have when the dub comes out soon.
#2-Gundam Build Fighters
I think I’ve said more than enough about this one. Just go back and look at my review and
previous Top 5’s where it’s come up. I
love this series and cant wait to hear an English Dub.
#1- Gundam X
Set in the year After War 0015, Gundam X is a nice little
“What If?” for the Gundam franchise.
With many call backs to the original series, it produces the scenario
what if more than one colony was dropped on the Earth during the One Year
War? Of course, this isn’t the Universal
Century, this is a whole new universe to explore the answer to that
question. Gundam X was the show that
succeeded Gundam Wing in Japan. Much
like the original series as well, it’s run was cut short before it’s intended
end, resulting in the ending being pushed up.
Word has it this is one of the biggest sleeper hits of the Gundam
franchise, a show that has never been given it’s proper due, especially since
the shadow of Wing’s popularity exploded in the U.S. But now this classic is coming to the
states. And im more than excited to see
if it lives up to it’s little told legend.
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