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(More customer reviews)As of the writing of this review, the Gundam 00 movie is not yet released on bluray, so I will review the movie itself.
I managed to see a copy of the orignal film in english subtitles a few months after it was released in theatres in Japan. This film follows up directly after the 2nd season of the 00 TV series bringing back all the characters you know & love/hate from the TV series to follow a new threat.This section is spoilers so if you don't want to read, then close this review.
While the first and second seasons of Gundam 00 focused on the efforts of the Gundam Meisters to end all conflict between nations on Earth and unify humanity for the 'dialogues to come' (I put this is quotes because it's referenced several times in the TV series) the film fast forwards a couple years in the future and addresses the true purpose behind these 'dialogues'.
Following the conclusion of the 00 TV series, humanity is starting to manifest it's next stage of evolution, namely the Innovators, of which Setsuna was one of the first. With the human population showing signs of next stage humanity, it attracts the attention of long dormant alien lifeforms of unknown origin and purpose, who seemingly attack humanity for no reason. Dubbed the 'ELS' the unifed Earth Federation forces ready themselves for an upcoming war with these mysterious alien life forms with whom communication seems impossible but the Gundam Meisters, now reunited with the Ptolemias crew seek to combat and find the truth behind the meaning of this new alien presence.
Yes so its a Gundam story that features aliens and long time or even recent fans of the Gundam franchise might get their otaku undies in a bunch because Gundam has always been about people vs people, not people vs space aliens. Still as non-traditional Gundam 00 has been, I thought this was a fine and original direction for the story to go and while the plot is not without it's faults I felt it to be a solid story with more development of existing characters that you know and love and interestingly, minimal introduction of brand new characters. Most interesting I found was the evolution of Graham Acker from loser villian, to masked obsessed rival, to finally a sempai character of sorts especially to Setsuna and it's touching where his character arch leads to.
Animation quality, it's simply gorgeous if lacking in details but that's always been the visual design aesthetic of 00 and consistent with the TV series, just done with a higher budget, so I'll give it a pass. In addition to the cel animation, this film uses extensive CG animation which melds pretty well with the cel
Soundtrack and music was solid befitting a theatrical release.
Introduction of new Gundam mobile suits are done, but frankly these designs just get weirder and more alien with each iteration, so mecha fans maybe a little dissapointed.
Still it's a good story that provides a solid and satisfying conclusion to the Gundam 00 Universe and has a more hopeful and optimistic tone than a lot of Gundam chapters of late. This is a very sci-fi Gundams series and the film captures this tone well.
I'm definitely buying this film once it's released on bluray
For a solid and comprehensive fan review of the Gundam 00 TV series and film, check out the anime mecha podcast Gundam! @ MAHQ with SBR & the Crew, you won't regret it.
Edit: I've now received an advance sale copy of the bluray disc from Bandai Ent at the Anime Expo convention and sat down and watched the disc:
Video: Excellent 1080p video transfer, as expected for such a new film.
Audio: Both Japanese (which I prefer) and English (for those who can't read subtitles) audio tracks and both languages have separate 5.1 ch Dolby True HD and Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks making for a total of 4 selectable audio tracks. Great dynamic range on my home theater system and voices for both languages same cast as the TV series.
BluRay extras: Special annoucement video, Extra Promo video, Theatrical and TV trailers (all japanese with english subs) and the mock trailer for the fake 'Celestial Being' movie shown in the movie (both english and japanese audio tracks).
Overall a great bluray release for a pretty good movie.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Mobile Suit Gundam 00 the Movie: A Wakening of the Trailblazer (2011)
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