Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM (機動戦士ガンダムSEED FREEDOM, Kidō Senshi Gundam Seed FREEDOM) is a 2024 original theatrical anime film directed by Mitsuo Fukuda and produced by studio Sunrise, and is a continuation to the 2004 anime series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny. Staff credits also include screenplay writers Chiaki Morosawa, Liu Goto and Mitsuo Fukuda, character designer Hisashi Hirai, and music composer Toshihiko Sahashi. The film was first theatrically released in Japanese theatres in January 2024.
Background:
“In C.E.75, the fighting still continues. There are independence movements and aggression by Blue Cosmos… In order to calm the situation, a global peace-monitoring agency called COMPASS is established, with Lacus as its first president. As members of COMPASS, Kira and his comrades intervene into various regional battles. Then, a newly established nation called Kingdom of Foundation proposes a joint operation against a Blue Cosmos stronghold…”
Plot Synopsis via Anime Limited, August 2026.
The Mobile Suit Gundam franchise is nearing 50 years of classic mecha action and it’s still growing strong. In recent years we saw a couple projects make their way either in theatres, streaming or for video games. There’s even a live-action Hollywood Netflix adaptation in the works as well. Amongst these projects was the return of a rather divisive but successful series released during the 2000s era – Gundam SEED.
The Gundam SEED franchise has already received two anime series (totalling 100 episodes overall, or 98 if you watched the HD Remaster version), a Special Edition compilation version of the series and an OVA plus over a dozen video games. Celebrating the series’ 20th anniversary, Sunrise decided to work on a new theatrical project with the same cast making a return as well called Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM.
Now admittedly despite owning all of the anime, including the original versions for the episodes (which were exclusive to the Ultimate Edition releases for both Anime Limited & Nozomi Entertainment), I haven’t gotten around to watching them yet but I am well aware of the characters and aspects of the story thanks to the Dynasty Warriors: Gundam games as well as Super Robot Wars, both of which are worth playing for the record. So I won’t be able to add much in terms of my experience with this portion of the Gundam franchise, but because of the fan reception and popularity it is definitely on my radar to watch sooner than later in my anime backlog.
Licensing on the other hand I can at least mention. Anime Limited, the UK & French distributor, were able to acquire the UK & French theatrical and home video rights for the film which is interesting considering their track record for the Gundam franchise has been very underwhelming as of late because there’s still dozens of instalments that have yet to be released on home video. Their excuse is due to hold backs related to the Sunrise merger with Bandai Namco in Japan and other factors but I suspect Crunchyroll getting rid of the license in North America probably added to the challenges of re-using assets for specific titles. Speaking of Crunchyroll, they did distribute this film for North America as a 4K Ultra HD only release.
Collector’s Edition Contents:
Anime Limited have a sub-collection called the ‘Gundam Collection‘ which is a little icon on the spine for each collector’s edition release that have a rigid box, and they have done the same for Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM. This is also the second Gundam title to be released on 4K Ultra HD which thankfully doesn’t fall victim to Anime Limited’s double case padding that they have done for their other film sets.
The collector’s edition release is presented with a rigid box, a 4K Amaray case housing the discs, a 56-page booklet that includes an introduction essay to the film, character designs with brief information, mecha and mobile suit designs and an interview with the director, a 48-page Key Animation booklet featuring different key artwork from the film, and a serialised art card.
The rigid box 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 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray combo pack release was printed at 1,500 units for an SRP of £79.99. Also available on the same day is a standard edition Blu-ray, with a standard edition 4K Ultra HD expected to follow suit later down the line.
I pre-ordered the film on its own during Anime Limited’s early bird offer last May for £49.99 (£45 with the 10% off Anime Unlimited discount) plus £3.50 postage.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Box with clean artwork
- 4K Amaray case packaging
- Info sheet includes specification and BBFC description
- 56-page Booklet
- 48-page Key Animation Booklet
- Serialised Art Card
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Anime Limited
Released: 17th August 2026
The collector’s edition 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray release for Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM contains the film on a single 4K Ultra HD disc and a single Blu-ray disc, with the encode and authoring done by VDMS.
On both formats, you have the option to choose between English & French menu text at the start and can switch back and forth without having to reset the player. Audio options available on the English option include Japanese with English subtitles and the NYAV Post English dub, whilst the French option only has Japanese with French subtitles. French’s subtitle options are locked to the French menu, while English’s dub/subtitle options are locked to the English menu.
Worth mentioning that the English dub is also available on the Blu-ray disc which in North America is only attached to the 4K Ultra HD disc.
The 4K Ultra HD disc features High Dynamic Range 10. The white subtitles are unlockable during playback, the 4K Ultra HD disc is playable to 4K players of any region and the Blu-ray disc is region accessible to players set to A & B.
4K Ultra HD Specs:
| Languages | Japanese, English |
| Audio | Japanese Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1) English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 |
| Video | 2160p Ultra High Definition format 1.78:1 aspect ratio HDR10 |
| Region | All Region |
| Subtitles | English, French |
| Locked Subtitles | Yes |
| Discs | 1 BD-66 |
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | Japanese, English |
| Audio | Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 1.78:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | A B |
| Subtitles | English, French |
| Locked Subtitles | Yes |
| Discs | 1 BD-50 |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
- Terminal Communication SPECIAL-PHASE (15:21 runtime)
- PV1 (00:31 runtime)
- PV2 (00:31 runtime)
- PV3 (00:43 runtime)
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM is available to purchase on 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray by Anime Limited in the UK & Ireland.
The collector’s edition 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray combo pack is available across different retailers including AllTheAnime Store, Amazon UK, and Anime-on-Line.
The standard edition Blu-ray is also available across different retailers including AllTheAnime Store, Amazon UK and Anime-on-Line.
(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.)
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