Roger Dean

Roger Dean

Ah! So, I’m a little late here, but since Mobile Suit Gundam The Witch From Mercury brought in a bunch of new fans, there is a recommendation I’d like to make:

Gundam Thunderbolt is, not to put too fine a point on it, rad. It’s a very good introduction to the Universal Century (if a little gritty). It’s fairly short, and the soundtrack’s really good. It provides a good short story set in the one year war to familiarise yourself with the setting (though honestly, the OYW doesn’t require much).

However, there are two points I’d like to bring up

I highly, HIGHLY recommend tracking down the original ONA over the movie, December Sky. While an absolutely baller name, the ONA is paced better, and better fleshes out a lotta things. Some aspects of the compilation movie kinda feel like they come out of nowhere simply because they lack that context.

While the first season/movie (December Sky) is largely self-contained, that second (Bandit Flower) is not. Thunderbolt was supposed to be an adaptation of the manga of the same name, but it was canned after the author had to take a break from the manga for medical reasons. As such, Bandit Flower is largely setup for a series that doesn’t continue (unless you read the manga).

Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game (WotC): Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds - Gem Diver Station by Mark Tedin

I gotta say, while I am, I suppose, looking forward to Gundam SEED Freedom, after having thought about it for a little bit I am curious as to where they’re gonna go with this.

So, we know ZAFT’s probably gonna be the main villain again, since they’re what’s shown in the trailers (and honestly if it gets us a new HG Ginn I’m not gonna complain too much).

Anyway, putting that aside, we do know that Kira, Athrun (because of course) and Shinn (we see a clip of the Destiny in the trailer) are gonna be in the new movie. We also can guess that Kira’s gonna have a shiny new mobile suit/upgrade to the Freedom, since he’s got a new Helmet, and presumably a new cockpit, AND they specifically didn’t show us any shots of a mobile suit barring the Ginns or old footage, implying that it’s a whole new machine.

This is interesting, because I’m really, really curious about what it might be. Perhaps some sort of Perfect Strike Freedom? Or Amazing Strike Freedom? Or perhaps it’ll take influence from the Stargazer and be star themed? Like some sort of Freedom Galaxy Cosmos?

Honestly though, I imagine it’ll stick fairly close to the Freedom and Strike Freedom (I’m imagining a strike freedom covered in Witch From Mercury-style drone weapons in addition to the funnels), but I am distinctly curious how they’ll model it. Bandai’s been really pushing the Seed revives since they made them, like the Impulse and Strike Freedom get used for parts a lot, so I’m wondering if it’s going to be an entirely new mold, or if they’re just gonna make a few new runners for the Strike Freedom.

I am probably going to be interested in Athrun’s new suit though, since I do very much like the Infinite Justice.

Arthur Suydam, 1981