Earlier today, The Life-sized Freedom Gundam Statue had its formal opening ceremony after a month of being open to visitors and tourists. Along with the spectacle was an announcement of a major project as part of Gundam SEED‘s 20th Anniversary in 2022. Presenting… GUNDAM SEED PROJECT ignited.
GUNDAM SEED PROJECT ignited is comprised of five… projects… as part of the aforementioned anniversary. Yes, I only got three images here, but that’s because only three got actual visuals. Anyway, these projects will span across multiple media and will, of course, have tie-in merchandise which translates to Gunpla.
Gundam SEED Movie!
Yes, we are finally getting that Gundam SEED movie that’s been long in the rumor mill since Gundam SEED DESTINY ended. There were various speculations why the movie didn’t push though as initially intended, including the unfortunate passing of Chiaki Morosawa who’s in charge of series composition. It’s billed as the proper sequel of the television series and will be helmed by none other than Mitsuo Fukuda himself. I just hope that the feature film budget would give him less reasons to reuse animation this time. No other details were revealed as of yet.
The Life-sized Freedom Gundam Statue & GUNDAM docks at Shanghai
Two of the five projects revolve the 1/1 Freedom Gundam in Shanghai. First is the statue itself which is basically an upscale of the Real Grade design and the first outside of Japan. Then opening today until July 11 is GUNDAM docks in Shanghai which is pretty much like the previous GUNDAM docks events.
There will also be a new Gundam SEED game in development.
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED ECLIPSE
Yes, we are finally getting a manga side story that’s not an Astray. The fifth project is Mobile Suit Gundam SEED ECLIPSE, the new Gundam SEED MSV project they were hinting previously. It will be set in C.E. 72, the “time of peace on thin ice” between Gundam SEED and SEED DESTINY and focuses on the Orb International Rescue Team. Unofficially, they’re also referred to as the Orb Disaster Relief Team to which the acronym ODR comes from. You can read more information on the story and characters on the official site so we can focus on the newest Gundam that’s already getting a Master Grade kit (more on that on a separate post).
Our newest non-Astray Gundam is the MVF-X08 Eclipse Gundam. Yet another secret mobile suit developed at Orb that can transform into a flight form and is equipped with the Mirage Colloid system. It is also compatible with existing Striker Packs, Silhouettes, and Wizard Packs.
The design itself looks good and gives me vibes from a couple of other mobile suits. Those red bits on the shoulder armors reminds me of the Freedom Gundam while the extended front shoulder armors and spikey binders reminds me of the Xi Gundam vibe for some reason.
So there you go. Those were quite the announcements, especially the whole bit with the Gundam SEED movie finally moving forward. While I’m not the biggest fan or the series, or its sequels, I do acknowledge how it basically opened Gundam for the new millennium back in 2002. Much like the U.C. and what they did with Stargazer, once they allow other creators to delve into the Cosmic Era universe, I’m pretty sure a lot of great stories can be told.
And now for the Gunpla…
