When did Gundam Wing premier?
12449#8
"Gundam Wing" was not the first series in the "Gundam" franchise to be dubbed and distributed in the U.S. (the compilation movie version of the original "Mobile Suit Gundam", as well as the OVAs "" and "", preceded it by about two years), but it is well known as the first "Gundam" series to be aired on American television. This dub was produced by Bandai Entertainment and the voice work was done by Ocean Productions. The series aired on Cartoon Network's weekday afternoon after-school programming block Toonami; premiering on March 6, 2000. In the first extended promo leading up to the series' premiere, voice actor Peter Cullen narrated the back story, evoking memories of "Voltron's" opening credits. The promo was said to be so riveting that Bandai decided to use it as the official promo for the series.
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing
12449#20
"Gundam Wing" was a greater success in North America, however, and is credited with single-handedly popularizing the "Gundam" franchise among Western audiences. Just over a week after its premiere on Cartoon Network on March 6, 2000, the series was the top rated program in all age groups. During the summer of 2000, it remained as the first or second top-rated show among kids and teens during its twelve airings per week on the Toonami block. "Gundam Wing" was ranked the 73rd best animated series by IGN, calling the series "so good that even those opposed to anime have to give the show its due credit".
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing
253053#20
Early in the show's North American run, Bandai reported that "G Gundam" had the top ratings of any anime show for the period. The company considered the show to be a "hit" at the time. However, officials for Toonami recounted in 2006 that no "Gundam" series earned significant viewer ratings after the first North American airing of "Gundam Wing" in 2000. "G Gundam" received an overall positive critical reception amid its mainstream exposure in the United States. Nonetheless, views on "G Gundam"s plot remain largely mixed. Negative reactions to the plot mostly stem from its stark contrast to preceding "Gundam" entries that have traditionally focused on deep political and social issues in the midst of war. AnimeNation writer John Oppliger considered "G Gundam" to be "the plague of the "Gundam" franchise" and "one of the biggest mis-steps in anime history" due to its elimination of such serious subtext. Both Bamboo Dong of the Anime News Network and Duncan Scott of "Protoculture Addicts" were also initially disappointed for the same reason, with the latter writer feeling that the series features "Gundam" in its title purely for marketing reasons. Derrick L. Tucker of T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews called the series' episodic storyline its "most profound weakness", whereby "the narrative exists to move the viewer from fight to fight". Tucker also found that the potential for its more dramatic themes, such as tension between Domon and Master Asia or Domon's romantic relationship with Rain, is "overshadowed from start to finale by the show's domineering, if repetitive action sets".
Mobile Fighter G Gundam
12449#1
The series aired in Japan on the terrestrial TV Asahi network. It ran for 49 episodes; beginning on April 7, 1995 and ending on March 29, 1996. It received multiple manga adaptations, as well as video games. Four original video animation (OVA) episodes were produced including a retelling of the series, "Operation Meteor", and a direct sequel, "". In 2010, Sumizawa started writing the novel "", another sequel to the series. While the series fared modestly well in Japan, it found greater success in the United States and popularized the "Gundam" franchise in the West.
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing
20113#10
Hoping to capitalize on the success of "Gundam Wing" from the previous year, Bandai Entertainment released a heavily edited and English-dubbed version of "Mobile Suit Gundam", premiering on Cartoon Network's Toonami weekday afternoon after-school action programming block across the United States on Monday, July 23, 2001. The series did not do as well as "Wing" but the ratings were high enough for the whole series to be aired and to spawn an enormous toy line. Due to the September 11th attacks, Cartoon Network, like many other American TV stations, began pulling, and editing, war-themed content and violent programming, resulting in the cancellation of the series. However, the series finale was shown as part of Toonami's "New Year's Eve-il" special on December 31, 2001 and the unaired episodes were aired in reruns during 2002.
Mobile Suit Gundam
253053#12
The "Mobile Fighter G Gundam" television series originally aired in Japan the terrestrial channel TV Asahi from April 22, 1994 to March 31, 1995 for a total of 49 episodes. The show would not reach North American audiences until many years later. "Mobile Suit Gundam Wing", a series that succeeded "G Gundam" on Japanese television in 1995, was first localized in North America by Bandai Entertainment in early 2000. "Gundam Wing" was a moderate success in the United States while being broadcast on the popular afternoon Toonami block of Cartoon Network. In late 2001, Bandai acquired the rights to distribute an English-dubbed version of "G Gundam" with voice casting recorded by Ocean Productions in their Blue Water studio in Calgary, Alberta. The English-language version of "G Gundam" premiered as a free screening at the Sony Metreon Action Theatre in San Francisco on March 30, 2002. "G Gundam" began airing on Toonami on August 5, 2002. Due to the channel's censorship policies, some edits were made for the broadcast. This mainly involved altering the names of several mobile fighters, such as changing God Gundam and Devil Gundam to Burning Gundam and Dark Gundam respectively. The show was also aired on the channel's "Midnight Run" and as part of its Saturday programming in November 2002. Cartoon Network officially dropped "G Gundam" from its afternoon schedule the following June. The series has since been re-broadcast on the Japanese cable network Family Gekijo and the satellite channel Animax.
Mobile Fighter G Gundam
12449#12
A three-part OVA titled "" was produced in 1997 as a sequel to the TV series; plot-wise, it brought the "After Colony" timeline to a close. The OVA was also notable for its massive redesigns of all the Gundams by Hajime Katoki, such as the Wing Gundam Zero's new "angel-winged" appearance. A compilation movie version of "Endless Waltz" (featuring additional footage, alterations of the music score and a different ending theme) was later released in Japan on August 1, 1998. "Endless Waltz" premiered on Cartoon Network in the U.S. on November 10, 2000. Both the OVA and movie versions of "Endless Waltz" were later released together on DVD. Right Stuf released both OVAs on Blu-ray and DVD in December 2017 (though "Operation Meteor" remains un-dubbed).
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing
292869#2
It is the year After Colony 195, and the battles between Earth and the space colonies have ended. Treize Khushrenada is dead and OZ has come to an end. This gives birth to the Earth Sphere Unified Nation (ESUN) and the Preventers. Seeing they won't be needed anymore, the Gundam pilots (except Chang Wufei) send their suits into the sun. However, this peace would not last, for a rebellion occurs on the newly completed colony, L3 X-18999. Led by seven-year-old Mariemaia Khushrenada, Treize's illegitimate daughter, the rebellion kidnaps Relena Darlian, now the Vice Foreign Minister of the ESUN, during a diplomatic mission to X-18999. As the Gundam pilots investigate further, they discover that Mariemaia is merely a puppet controlled by her grandfather Dekim Barton, a former advisor to martyred colony leader Heero Yuy, who is using X-18999 to go through with the original Operation Meteor, as a contingency plan in case the ESUN doesn't comply. The Gundam pilots must prevent Dekim from seizing power over the ESUN. The Gundams are retrieved from their course to sun to Earth's orbit thanks to Quatre and the Maganacs. The pilots use their Gundams one last time to fight against Dekim's forces, not killing anyone. In the end, Dekim is killed by one of his own soldiers, Earth and its colonies are at peace once again and all mobile suits (including the Gundams) are forever destroyed.One of the most notable features of "Endless Waltz" was the massive redesigns all five of the Gundams from the end of the "Gundam Wing" TV series received, courtesy of the artist Hajime Katoki. The Gundams in "Endless Waltz" have more stylized appearances; reflected in the even more demonic design of the Gundam Deathscythe Hell, the more dragon-like design of the Altron Gundam, and the new "angel-winged" design of the Wing Gundam Zero. Despite the dramatically different designs of the Gundams, the story in "Endless Waltz" retcons them as if the original designs from the TV series never existed. However, this changed after the release of the "Glory of Losers" manga series.In North America, "Endless Waltz" premiered on Canada's YTV on September 11, 2000 and on Cartoon Network in the U.S. on November 10, 2000. It was later released to VHS, UMD, and DVD by Bandai Entertainment, with the DVD edition containing both the OVA and compilation movie versions on one disc. Due to the closure of Bandai Entertainment, the OVA and Movie went out-of-print. On October 11, 2014 at their 2014 New York Comic-Con panel, Sunrise announced they will be releasing all of the Gundam franchise, including "Endless Waltz" in North America though distribution from Right Stuf Inc., beginning in Spring 2015. Right Stuf had re-released "Endless Waltz" on Blu-ray and DVD in December 2017.
Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz
292869#3
The initial airing of the OVA on November 10, 2000, was Cartoon Network's second highest-rated program ever at the time, only being topped by the premiere of Funimation's in-house dub of "Dragon Ball Z". Helen McCarthy in "500 Essential Anime Movies" commented that "the giant robot fights are as good as ever" and that "the art direction and design is excellent".
Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz
995022#8
YTV hosted the North American broadcast premiere of "Sailor Moon" in August 1995. The final 17 episodes of "Sailor Moon R" were dubbed specifically for the Canadian market. Series such as "Dragon Ball" and "Pokémon" were broadcast on the channel in following years. In 2000, YTV broadcast "Mobile Suit Gundam Wing", airing an edited version of the series at 11:30 p.m. ET on weeknights.
Bionix
12449#16
In early 2010, "Gundam Ace" magazine announced they would serialize a "New "Gundam Wing" Project". The project was eventually revealed to be a novel, titled "". Written by Katsuyuki Sumizawa, the novel begins a new timeline, following the "Mars Century" calendar ("MC") which was the successor of the previous "After Colony" calendar. According to an interview with the author, the novel spans backwards into the AC century and the Gundam pilots, Relena, and their children make appearances.
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing