Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (機動戦士ガンダム00 <ダブルオー>, Kidō Senshi Gundam Double O) Season 1, also known as Gundam 00, is a 2007 original television anime series directed by Seiji Mizushima and produced by studio Sunrise. Staff credits also include writer Yōsuke Kuroda, character designers Michinori Chiba & Yun Kouga, and music composer Kenji Kawai. The first season aired in Japan in October 2007.
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:
“The year is 2307 A.D. While the Earth’s reserves of fossil fuels have been depleted, humanity has obtained a new, nearly infinite source of energy to replace them in the form of large-scale solar-powered generation systems based on three huge orbital elevators. However, the benefits of this system are available only to a handful of major powers and their allies.
These orbital elevators belong to three superpower blocs: the Union, the Human Reform League and the AEU. These confederations continue to play a grand zero-sum game for the sake of their own prestige and prosperity. Thus, even in the 24th Century, humanity has yet to unite as one.
In this world of unceasing conflict, a private armed organisation steps forward, declaring their intention to eliminate war through martial force. Using the power of their mobile suits combatively, a series of four high-performance machines each dubbed “Gundam,” the paramilitary organisation known as Celestial Being takes the world stage, beginning armed interventions within all the world’s nations.”
Plot Synopsis via Anime Limited, November 2019.
The Mobile Suit Gundam franchise is very interesting with its wide range of characters, stories and of course the action. It’s also interesting for how it allows newcomers to jump in at any point. Whilst the original few shows are one massive storyline, eventually the later instalments were mostly standalone with no connection to any previous shows, OVAs or films.
Here we have Mobile Suit Gundam 00, the 11th instalment in the Gundam franchise and one that won’t require knowledge of the previous titles to enjoy it. It takes place in the Anno Domini timeline, which is a separate continuity from the Universal Century where Amuro & Char’s saga was covered. That means a whole new cast of characters but the series keeps the same themes of war and the idea of using Gundams to fight.
Like Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Mobile Suit Gundam 00 was previously released in the UK by distributor Beez Entertainment on DVD, however, due to the publisher discontinuing at the same time as Bandai Entertainment in North America, the Gundam licenses went in limbo for a long while. Anime Limited then announced a new partnership with Sunrise to release a number of Mobile Suit Gundam titles into the UK, which admittedly has had a rocky few years due to various pushbacks.
In 2019, UK distributor Anime Limited announced their Summer of Gundam 40th Anniversary plan, which included the Mobile Suit Gundam 00 series as well as its OVA special edition and film, but the latter were delayed into 2020, so only the main series is going to be available during this plan.
Collector’s Edition Contents:
Like the other Gundam UK releases on Blu-ray, Mobile Suit Gundam 00 follows the same structure as before, with a box for Part 1 and a booklet for Part 2.
The package is presented as a rigid box with an Amaray case that covers Part 1’s content. The box has a spare slot for Part 2’s contents.
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 £59.99. A standard edition Blu-ray will eventually follow suit.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Box with Amaray packaging and clean artwork
- Info sheet for specification and BBFC description
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Anime Limited
Released: 11th November 2019
The collector’s edition release for Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Season 1 from Anime Limited contains all 25 episodes across four Blu-ray discs, with the authoring & encoding produced by Nozomi & Rightstuf.
The audio options available include Japanese with English subtitles and the Ocean Studios English dub commissioned by Bandai Entertainment. The yellow subtitles (with white for secondary dialogue/on-screen text) are also unlockable during playback and the disc is region locked to B for Blu-ray players.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Audio | English Linear PCM 2.0 Japanese Linear PCM 2.0 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 16:9 aspect ratio |
| Region | B |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 4 BD-50s |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
Disc 1:
- Tactical Forecasts #3-6
- Clean Opening Song “DAYBREAK’S BELL”
Disc 2:
- Gundam 00 “Daybreak’s Bell” Promotional Video
- Tactical Forecasts #7-10
- Clean Closing Song “Prototype”
Disc 3:
- Japanese Audio Commentary for Episode 17
- Tactical Forecasts #11-14
- Tactical Forecasts #15-18
- Clean Opening Song “Ash Like Snow”
Disc 4:
- Gundam 00 Flash-like Chibi Short
- Japanese Audio Commentary for Episodes 21 & 25
- Tactical Forecasts #19-22
- Tactical Forecasts #23-25
- Clean Closing Song “Friends”
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Season 1 is available to purchase on Blu-ray by Anime Limited in the UK & Ireland territories. The collector’s edition Blu-ray has sold out (as of December 2023), 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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