Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt: December Sky (機動戦士ガンダム サンダーボルトDECEMBER SKY, Kidō Senshi Gundam Thunderbolt December Sky) is a 2016 theatrical film based on Yasuo Ohtagaki’s manga series Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt and a compilation of the 2015 ONA series of the same name. The film was produced by studio Sunrise and the staff credits include director & writer Kou Matsuo, character designer Hirotoshi Takaya, and music composer Naruyoshi Kikuchi. The film was theatrically released in Japan aired in Japan in June 2016.
Brief Unboxing Note:
This unboxing has been updated on December 2023 to amend its page design but also add additional context to some parts of the write-up. Everything else has been left unchanged from the original post.
Background:
“Their war has not yet ended…
It is Universal Century 0079, at the end of the One Year War between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon. The space colonies of Side 4, or Moore, were previously destroyed by a Zeon attack, and many colonists lost their lives. Side 4 became a shoal zone filled with the wreckage of destroyed colonies and warships, lit by constant flashes of lightning due to collisions between electrified debris. It soon came to be known as the “Thunderbolt Sector.”
The Moore Brotherhood, an Earth Federation Forces unit made up of surviving citizens from Moore, set out to exterminate the Zeon forces in the Thunderbolt Sector in order to reclaim their homeland. To halt the Federation advance, the Zeon forces deployed their own Living Dead Division, which was established to collect combat data on soldiers with prosthetic limbs.
Io Fleming, though part of the Moore Brotherhood, hates being tied down by his homeland and family history. Daryl Lorenz, having lost his legs in earlier battles, is now an ace sniper of the Living Dead Division.
When they confront each other on the battlefield, they will reach a mutual realization. These two are destined to kill each other.”
Plot Synopsis via Anime Limited, November 2018.
The Mobile Suit Gundam franchise is filled with various instalments, whether they are standalone in their own timelines or adding additional stories to the existing Universal Century timeline. Alongside anime there have also been various stories produced in book format, with Mobile Suit Gundam the Origin being one of the most well-known for modern audiences. But there was also another manga series that eventually received an anime adaptation, which has also been licensed in English for print – Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt.
Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt is one that I haven’t read the source material for but I knew it had a different vibe to the others, with similar traits to Cowboy Bebop with the music score and the direction of the cast from both sides of the fight. What’s also interesting is that the adaptation started off as an Original Net Animation with four short episodes released between December 2015 to April 2016. This was then compiled into a theatrical film that was made more readily available in the west under the subtitle December Sky with a runtime of 69 minutes.
The story takes place in the Universal Century era 0079, the same year where the original Mobile Suit Gundam takes place. While the film is set in that period, it can be watched as a standalone with only references here and there from the other UC era Gundam titles.
UK distributor Anime Limited have the Mobile Suit Gundam rights for home video and while they haven’t released that much from the franchise, Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt: December Sky is one of the newest properties from the franchise so they have jumped ahead than expected. To the surprise of everyone, the collector’s edition Blu-ray set has sold out already and will be out of print very soon. The fastest Gundam title to sell out for Anime Limited since Mobile Suit Gundam the Origin I-IV and the first part of Mobile Suit Gundam 0079.
Collector’s Edition Contents:
This collector’s edition release follows the same style as the other Anime Limited Gundam Collection sets with a rigid box, standard Blu-ray case, and a mini-physical extra.
The package is presented as a rigid box with an Amaray case to house the Blu-ray disc. In addition it also comes included with 5 Art Cards and a Poster.
The artwork is free of any information or BBFC content and the info sheet covers the information and specification like previous Anime Limited releases. The collector’s edition Blu-ray has 1000 units printed for an SRP of £34.99. A standard edition Blu-ray will follow suit.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Box with Amaray packaging and clean artwork
- Info sheet for specification and BBFC description
- 5 Art Cards
- Poster
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Anime Limited
Released: 19th November 2018
The collector’s edition release for Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt: December Sky from Anime Limited contains the film on a single Blu-ray disc, with the authoring & encoding produced by Madman.
The audio options available include Japanese with English subtitles and the NYAV Post English dub commissioned by Rightstuf & Sunrise. The yellow subtitles are unlockable during playback and the disc is accessible to Blu-ray players set to Region B. Region A players can also access the disc via the top-up menu method.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Audio | English Linear PCM 2.0 Japanese Linear PCM 2.0 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 1.78:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | A B |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 1 BD-50 |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
- Promos
- Commercials
- Trailer
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt: December Sky is available to purchase on Blu-ray by Anime Limited in the UK & Ireland territories. The collector’s edition Blu-ray has sold out, but a standard edition Blu-ray is available to order through retailer Amazon UK, Anime Limited’s store and MVM’s Anime-on-Line store.
(Disclaimer: Amazon links are also included when available. They are affiliated so if you decide to order them, I’ll earn a small percentage if they ship which will help me with any hauls or small bills.)
The Normanic Vault 
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