We’re smack in the middle of SDCC weekend as of this post, and one of the panels that recently happened was the Gundam Wing panel as part of the series’ 30th anniversary. Among the three series celebrating their 30th anniversary, Gundam Wing has the most significant presence in the western market, as that series became the gateway for many of its current fans out there. So, it would only make sense to release this very special, and rather teasing, video during SDCC.
Check in out below and I’ll have some quick blurbs afterwards.
This video is gorgeous and polished, yet it also looks animated in the 90s, which is something Sunrise has been doing with the animated segments in the Gundam U.C. Engage mobile game. I definitely appreciate seeing the same treatment for Gundam Wing‘s 30th anniversary.
The clip opens with the signature beeps heard one “Rhythm Emotion” starts. Speaking of which, the clip uses a different version of the song, but it still triggers the same nostalgia combined with these scenes.
To those not familiar, this version of the Gundam Wing logo is being used in the Frozen Teardrop sequel novels. And if you remember, they did release a Frozen Teardrop picture drama a good 10 or so years ago. I’ve also included it below in case you want a refresher.
Being a picture drama, we only got still images with voice performances. For the anniversary clip, we got short animated sequences from Frozen Teardrop, including the five cloaked Gundams.
I, along with many others, initially suspected that the Gundams seen towards the end of the video are the same ones from Frozen Teardrop. But it looks like they aren’t, especially after the graphic below was shown in one of the interviews.
According to this image, each Gundam is called by their original names and then “Cloaked Custom.” This naming scheme is reminiscent of how the Endless Waltz designs were first called to distinguish themselves from the TV versions, now they are simply referred to as “EW,” While technically not the same as the Frozen Teardrop versions, they do share similarities, most notable Sandrock and its new face mask. There are also key differences, such as Heavyarms not carrying the signature cross-shaped Gatling gun Prometheus has. Or how Altron is just the Endless Waltz version in blue.
We also got a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot of the new pilots, either sons or daughters of the original five or clones or what have you. In case of Heero, I believe he, along with Relena, was placed in cryo-statis and were awaken once the Mars conflict gets in motion. This is one reason I’m quite on the fence if they’ll ever do a Frozen Teardrop adaptation as the story seems to be all over the place.
In any case, as one of the folks who got their first exposure to Gundam through Gundam Wing, this anniversary video did hit numerous nostalgia points. I don’t think we’ll get more outside of this video, and the new 0.5 Point Half Preventer 7 manga that ties in Endless Waltz to Frozen Teardrop. But at least we got something.
Speaking of which, there were other announcements from the same SDCC panel outside of Gundam Wing.
