FIF#250-Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Frozen Teardrop

Over two decades after mankind began it’s expansion to the planet Mars, Martian Leader Zechs Merquise is assassinated, leading to a surge in uprisings across the Red Planet.  In response, the Earth Sphere Unified Nations Preventors revives legendary Gundam Pilot Heero Yuy from suspended animation.  His newest mission takes him to Mars where he reunites with old comrades and joins a new generation of Gundam Pilots against this rebellion.  The real reason for Heero’s reawakening is soon revealed as the Mars Resistances newest figurehead reveals themselves as the woman Heero has sworn to but never been able to kill: Relena Peacecraft.

 
It’s crazy to think about the kind of year Mobile Suit Gundam Wing has had.  2025 has marked it’s 30^th Anniversary and it’s gotten so much love all across the world from rereleases of the Theatrical Cut of Endless Waltz to a crazy good panel at this years San Diego Comic Con featuring the English Voice Actors of Heero, Duo and Quatre.  Oh and we got that wickedly good anniversary video that featured the first ever Anime footage of what we’re looking at today for our 250^th Episode of First Impression Friday.  Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Frozen Teardrop is an odd entry to the Wing subseries and was originally released as a novel series between 2010 and 2015 and is the more or less official sequel to the original series.  So far, it’s only ever seen the light of day in those novels (and more recently the aforementioned 30^th Anniversary Video).  However, that’s not entirely true.  As part of the Gundam Wing Ultimate Blu Ray set, a Picture Drama of Frozen Teardrop, titled “The Next War: Epyon Ares” was released as a bonus feature available only to that box set.  It’s a bit odd to look at something like this for a First Impression.  But with the very thin chance this sequel could get an Anime adaptation one day, I figured it’s worth a look.  So, how is this follow up to one of the still most popular entries in the entire Gundam Saga?
 
There’s a lot to take in during this short 16minute presentation and it comes at you with the speed of an opening episode for a new Anime with very little context.  Heero and Relena have both been in cryo sleep?  Milliardo is dead but Zechs is still alive?  Duo’s leading some kind of new Preventer Unit with Wufei and Sally Po’s daughter, Kathy AND two young lookalikes of Duo and Trowa?  It’s enough to make your head spin and wonder just what the hell happened in the last 20-30 years after Endless Waltz to make thing get this crazy and serious?  And yet the plot progresses like it would any other beginning chapter in an Anime, with a smidgen of narrarating setup to get you going followed by being thrown into the middle of an ongoing conflict which would surely be explained in greater detail later.  My worry after watching all of this unfold mostly came about in the ending.  Relena’s leading the Mars Federation now and Heero’s gotta “kill her” again.  In concept, this sounds intriguing but in execution, it’s going to take a lot to make this entire story work, lest it risk ruining the good reputation of it’s parent Anime.
 
Despite the change in medium, the Picture Drama still feels very much like an episode of the Gundam Wing Anime from the dialogue to the classic Koh Otani soundtrack to the sound effects utilized in still photos.  There are a few mini inserts of animation here and there to spruce up bigger moments but for the most part, this short is all beautifully drawn pictures and still.  Seeing Gundam’s Snow White and Warlock standing atop a sand dune on Mars reminded me of Dune and how the Fremen would present their Mobile Suits if they had them.  The entire audio experience feels reminiscent of an old Radio Drama, even without the illustrations, it’s still interesting to close your eyes and imagine what’s happening when Wufei and his new Nataku Gundam clash with Zechs and his new Epyon.  I do love the new Gundam designs or teases of them.  Nataku’s Epyon style design and the beam trident work really well together and I got goosebumps seeing Warlock with TWO Beam Scythes ready to go to work.
 
Judging from the cryptic “Mission Accepted” typed at the end of the 30^th Anniversary Video after it concluded with the Frozen Teardrop footage, it stands to reason at least an Anime version of this novel series is being considered.  If that does happen, it’s got its work cut out for it.  The Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Frozen Teardrop Picture Drama tries to hook with a lot of familiar faces, new yet familiar ones and a boat load of WTF is going on all across the board.  The auditory and visual experience is top notch, it flows together better than you might think.  And as a proof of concept…well more Gundam Wing is something every Wing fan has wanted forever (that “Mobile Suits were never seen again” line at the end of Endless Waltz was total BS and we know it).  The story and character motivations just need a lot of fine tuning cause you can only coast by on nostalgia for so long (look at what happened for GQuuuuuX).  Still, if you can find a way to locate this special short, I do recommend it.  As I said, more Gundam Wing is never a bad thing, no matter how confusing and fan ficky it might appear to be.