Right Stuf teamed up with Sunrise and all the series are going to be released, finally, in North America. This is great news for me because for years all I had was the movie trilogy on DVD, which basically took the entire 43 episodes of Mobile Suit Gundam and condensed it all down into three movies. I am a completest so I craved more. I don't care if some of the episodes are considered filler, if I love a series, I have to have all of it, warts and all. Now I can put away the movies and my old video cassettes of various Mobile Suit Gundam random episodes and Victory Gundam that I've had since I was a teenager. Back then I didn't care if I had the entire run of a series, in the late 80's you were lucky to have one episode. The episodes I had were from a Japanese market in raw Japanese with the commercials left in. Just like they were broadcasted in Japan. It was cool and an extra bonus to see Japanese toy and McDonald commercials.
Some will be hating on the 70's artwork and design, but I prefer the personal touch of hand drawn animation to the crystal clean and over processed CGI art today that is so bland and uninspired. In 70's anime, a lot of detail went into the vehicles, mechas, and spaceships that was so cool. Mobile Suit Gundam looks just as good as other 70's anime such as Battle of the Planets, (aka Gatchaman,) and Star Blazers (aka Space Battleship Yamato.) Who cares if the fashion and characters looked funky, it was the 70's and fit in perfectly.
Mobile Suit Gundam was created by Tomino Yoshiyuki who was inspired by the 1959 Robert Heinlein Science Fiction novel called Starship Troopers. Both are great examples of military Sci-Fi, involving humans who pilot robotic suits. Set in the Universal Century, MS Gundam tells the story of the gift and hot tempered teenager, Amuro Ray. The Principality of Zeon becomes independent from the Earth Federation and so starts the Year One War. In the midst of fighting, young Amuro, stumbles onto the giant mobile suit called Gundam. As Zeon attacks, Amuro climbs inside as an inexperienced military man to stop them. Even in these early action scenes, you can tell that Amuro has a knack for piloting a giant mecha.
However, Zeon will not be easy to beat due to the quick-witted and strategic genius, Char Aznable. A wonderful villain who frustrates Amuro throughout the series. Char is my personal favorite villain in all anime. He always manages to dodge Amuro's angry attacks with excellent counterattacks and witty dialogue. It is so much fun watching Amuro and Char battle each other. You need both to provide the perfect dramatic angle.
How does it look on Blu-ray? Excellent. Along with Gatchaman on Blu-Ray, 70's anime has never looked so fresh. Mobile Suit Gundam is beautiful to see in HD. This is coming from someone who watched it originally on VHS, with so many lines running down the screen.
The audio is fantastic. A quality surround sound system will make you feel like you are watching Gundam inside a movie theater. For the sub vs dub debate, I will answer both. I am watching MS Gundam in the English dub so I can catch all the delicious details and art without reading. Then I will watch it again in Japanese for the complete effect.
The only thing lacking is Special Features and that is typical for anime. You get the usual stuff like clean openings and closings.
Interestingly, MS Gundam during its initial run failed to find an audience and was in danger of being cancelled. Bandai bought the copyrights and quickly has plastic models out on the market. Then the anime took off and spawned an empire of toys, video games, and a series that continues on and on.
The popularity of Gundam has had a tremendous influence that led to Robotech, Evangelion, and countless mechas shows.
If you get the chance, I highly recommend traveling to Tokyo to visit the Gundam Café in Akihabara and also Tokyo Diver City in Odaiba. The later is a mall with a 59-foot Gundam greeting you at the entrance. Inside, there is Gundam Front, a museum that also has a IMAX-style theater that features two Gundam anime shorts. Tokyo Diver City also has a Gundam Café, I'm not sure if it is the same as the one in Akihabara. In Osaka, you can visit Gundams, a huge store devoted to Gundam in Den Den Town aka Nipponbashi.
So MS Gundam on Blu-Ray comes with my highest recommendation. Next up for me is Part 2 and Zeta Gundam Part 1 that is coming soon. Thank you Right Stuf on a job well done.
No comments:
Post a Comment