Mobile Suit Gundam SEED

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Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
機動戦士ガンダム・シード (Kidō Senshi Gundam SEED)
Genre	Drama, Mecha, Romance, Science Fiction
TV anime
Directed by	Mitsuo Fukuda
Studio	Sunrise
Network	MBS, TBS, Animax Cartoon Network YTV ABS-CBN, Hero TV, Cartoon Network, Studio 23 Cartoon Network (Adult Swim) Champ TV, Tooniverse TV2 MediaCorp TV12 Central
Original run	October 5, 2002 – September 27, 2003
No. of episodes	50
OVA: After Phase: In the Valley of Stars
Directed by	Mitsuo Fukuda
Studio	Sunrise
No. of episodes	1
Released	March 26, 2004
Manga
Authored by
Publisher	Kodansha Del Rey
Serialized in
Original run	February 17, 2003 – January 29, 2004
No. of volumes	5

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (機動戦士ガンダムSEED　[シード], Kidō Senshi Gundam SEED [Shīdo]^?), shortened to Gundam SEED, is an anime television series by Sunrise and Bandai Visual. It is a part of the Gundam franchise that started in 1979, but takes place in an alternate universe called the Cosmic Era. The series spanned 50 episodes, aired in Japan from October 5, 2002 to September 27, 2003 at 6:00 p.m. on the JNN TV stations TBS and MBS.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Broadcast information 3 Adaptations, spinoffs, and sequels 4 Cast and crew 4.1 Japanese cast 4.2 English-language cast 5 Theme songs and soundtrack albums 6 See also 7 Video games 8 In Super Robot Wars Alpha 3 9 External links

[edit] Overview

Directed by Mitsuo Fukuda (Future GPX Cyber Formula and Gear Fighter Dendoh) with music by Toshihiko Sahashi, the series is the first set in the Cosmic Era. This series begins with a war between Earth and the colonies that is similar to the One Year War of the original Gundam series with certain traditional elements from New Mobile Report Gundam Wing and After War Gundam X such as the presence of five multicolored gundam mobile suits and the threat of an apocalypse. On one side is the Earth Alliance, and on the opposite is the space colonies that form ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty). Mankind is divided over human genetic engineering, with normal humans known as "Naturals" and the genetically altered humans known as "Coordinators". Like the original series, ZAFT has a head start on mobile suit design, the Earth Alliance quickly catches up with its five prototype Gundams. With ZAFT having stolen four of the prototypes, young pilot Kira Yamato takes the Strike Gundam and is forced to fight his old friend Athrun Zala. Little do they know that there are sinister forces at work that go far beyond their worst nightmares.

[edit] Broadcast information

The series first premiered in Japan on the terrestrial MBS and TBS networks, where it occupied the Saturday 6 p.m. timeslot, widely considered a prime timeslot; the anime and its subsequent successor to the timeslot (Fullmetal Alchemist) went on to do very well. In February 2007, the series has begun rerunning across Japan on the anime satellite television network Animax.

The series is licensed by Bandai Entertainment, and was released on DVD in North America in uncut bilingual format. On April 17, 2004, an edited version of the English dub premiered at 10:30 p.m. on Cartoon Network's Toonami block, which ran on Saturday nights. On October 23, 2004, it was moved to 1:00 a.m. on Saturdays starting with Phase 27 due to below average ratings.

The majority of the series was aired with a TV-Y7, apparently, at the insistence of Bandai who were desperately trying to push the new Gundam SEED toy line. However, since most retailers had stopped carrying the Gundam line due to over-saturation from the G Gundam series, this soon became a lost cause. Only the final episode was given the TV-PG-SV rating rather than the usual TV-Y7 rating.

Things that were edited out on Cartoon Network include mature content (e.g. most references to the sexual relationship between Kira and Flay — though the initial scene presenting this was left partially intact); scenes of intense combat violence (e.g. almost all shots of pilots, including main characters, in their cockpits before having their machines destroyed); cold-blooded or brutal murders that are non-mobile suit related (e.g. Siegel Clyne getting shot by ZAFT soldiers loyal to Rau Le Creuset and Patrick Zala); all references to the fact that the "Living CPUs" need to take performance enhancing drugs; and most notoriously, handguns being sloppily and inconsistently transformed into neon-colored lasers, dubbed "Disco Guns" by fans, for the majority of the show's run. Also, there was little to no use of the words "kill" or "die" in the middle of the series airing, with the phrase "taking his/her life" or some variant of the phrase in the place of either word. In one instance during the shows desert ark, references to a character being an arms dealer were removed, turning the character into a "Water Dealer".

Since most of the series had been edited by Williams Street before broadcast, Cartoon Network changed very little in terms of content allowance. However, the airings of the final two episodes were left mostly unedited, with only a few elements being affected — namely the guns used by Muruta Azrael, Patrick Zala, and one of the ZAFT soldiers (which was given neon-colored lights in certain but not all of the image frames), airbrushing the naked Flay's body in the final episode to avoid showing her cleavage, reducing the amount of blood shown, editing the character's lines to remove either inappropriate language or controversial lines, and the removal or altering of flashbacks of graphic assassinations.

The Canadian version debuted on YTV's Bionix programming block on September 10, 2004 at 9:30 p.m. where it got a better reception and aired comparatively uncut, with almost all of the material listed above intact. On September 2, 2006, YTV stopped broadcasting the show after airing the entire series three times through. Gundam SEED returned to the Bionix block on March 9, 2007 at 11:30 p.m., beginning its fourth run on YTV; the same evening Gundam SEED Destiny made its North American premiere on YTV.

In the Philippines, the show began airing on ABS-CBN on December 20, 2004. First shown on the 6 p.m. primetime block on weekdays, it was later moved to the 5:30 p.m. slot on the same dayframe until its end on March 4, 2005. As of September 2006, it airs on ABS-CBN's cable anime channel, Hero TV every Wednesdays at 2:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. and on Thursdays at 1:30 a.m. The show ended it's Hero TV run in October 2006 to give way for the airing of Gundam SEED Destiny in December 2006. On December 20, 2006, two years after parent network ABS-CBN aired the series for the first time in the Filipino language, it ran on Studio 23. It airs from Mondays to Thursdays at 6:30 p.m., but sometimes it has a delay because the channel airs the Philippine Basketball League games every Tuesdays and Thursday. On February 26, 2007, Studio 23 moved Gundam SEED to 6:00 p.m. Gundam SEED has since concluded on Studio 23. On Cartoon Network Philippines, Gundam SEED airs on Toonami and editing was also implemented and later, it was aired on Adult Swim in its unedited version. However, no changes were implemented in the show on ABS-CBN and other stations that it aired on. Before the show began, however, a parental guidance warning was shown by the networks due to battle scenes, violence, sexual references and special effects.

[edit] Adaptations, spinoffs, and sequels

A three-part compilation of the TV series has been released as Gundam SEED: Special Edition.

An adaptation of the TV series, authored by Mizuho Takayama, was originally a supplement of Comic BomBom. This version comes with folding color posters of the mobile suits, and a bonus Gundam SEED Destiny episode 0 comic. The stories were eventually published into 2 volumes by Kodansha. The 2 volume version is available in Chinese, published by Rightman Publishing Ltd. in Hong Kong.

The TV series was also turned into a series of novels by Riu Koto, published by Kadokawa Shoten.

Also running with the TV series was a series of manga called Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray that told a side-story to the anime series. This proved popular enough to generate two more side-stories: Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray R and Mobile Suit Gundam SEED X Astray.

The English manga, authored by Masatsugu Iwase, is published in North America by Del Rey Manga and in Singapore by Chuang Yi, while Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray is published in North America by TOKYOPOP.

On July 6, 2004 the sequel to Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, was announced after over a month of rumors. It started airing in Japan on October 9, 2004 on the network Mainichi Broadcasting System and ran until October 1, 2005. A third Gundam SEED production, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED C.E. 73: Stargazer, an ONA side-story to Destiny, is currently being streamed on Bandai Channel. A film was recently announced to complete the trilogy.

[edit] Cast and crew

One striking fact of the series is that the voices of characters, both major and minor, were done by many veteran seiyu. The cast list reads like a "Who's Who" of Japanese voice actors and actresses. This is also carried over to the sequel, Gundam SEED Destiny. Likewise, its English language version features a cast of many veteran English voice actors from Ocean Group studios, the Canada based company which revoiced it. This includes many actors who had previously worked on other Gundam series, namely Gundam Wing and Mobile Suit Gundam.

[edit] Japanese cast

• Aisha — Vivian Hsu, Fumi Hirano (Special Edition)
• Andrew Waltfeld — Ryotaro Okiayu
• Arnold Neumann, Ledonir Kisaka — Isshin Chiba
• Athrun Zala — Akira Ishida
• Cagalli Yula Athha, Eileen Canaver, Birdy (Torii) — Naomi Shindou
• Clotho Buer — Hiro Yuuki
• Dearka Elsman, Martin DaCosta — Akira Sasanuma
• Erica Simmons — Michiyo Yanagisawa
• Flay Allster, Natarle Badgiruel — Houko Kuwashima
• Kira Yamato — Souichirou Hoshi
• Kojiro Murdoch, Tad Elsman — Toshihiko Nakajima
• Kuzzey Buskirk, Romero Pal — Yasuhiro Takato
• Lacus Clyne — Rie Tanaka
• Miguel Aiman — Takanori Nishikawa (T.M.Revolution)
• Miriallia Haw — Megumi Toyoguchi
• Mu La Flaga — Takehito Koyasu
• Murrue Ramius, Ezalia Jule, Haro, Narrator — Kotono Mitsuishi
• Muruta Azrael — Nobuyuki Hiyama
• Nicol Amalfi — Mami Matsui, Romi Paku (Special Edition)
• Orga Sabnak — Joshida Ryohei
• Patrick Zala — Kinryu Arimoto
• Rau Le Creuset, George Allster — Toshihiko Seki
• Sai Argyle — Tetsu Shiratori
• Shani Andras — Shunichi Miyamoto
• Tolle Koenig — Takayuki Inoue
• Uzumi Nara Athha — Toru Ohkawa
• Yzak Jule — Tomokazu Seki

[edit] English-language cast

• Aisha - Saffron Henderson
• Andrew Waltfeld, Reverend Malchio - Brian Drummond
• Arnold Neumann - Philip Pacaud
• Asagi Caldwell - Jocelyne Loewen
• Athrun Zala - Samuel Vincent
• Cagalli Yula Athha - Vanessa Morley
• Clotho Buer - Andrew Toth
• Dalida Lolaha Chandra II - Simon Hayama
• Dearka Elsman - Brad Swaile
• Erica Simmons - Sharon Alexander
• Ezalia Joule, Narrator - Alison Matthews
• Flay Allster, Birdy (Torii), Haro - Tabitha St. Germain
• Fredrik Ades - Michael Dobson
• Gerard Garcia, Captain Koopman - Scott McNeil
• Haruma Yamato - Lee Tockar
• Kira Yamato - Matt Hill
• Kojiro Murdoch, Captain Zelman - Ward Perry
• Kuzzey Buskirk - Keith Miller
• Lacus Clyne - Chantal Strand
• Lacus' singing voice - Jillian Michaels
• Ledonir Kisaka - Adam Henderson
• Lewis Halberton - Richard Newman
• Martin DaCosta - Brian Dobson
• Mayura Labatt, Caridad Yamato - Rebecca Shoichet
• Miguel Aiman - Tony Sampson
• Miriallia Haw - Anna Cummer
• Mu La Flaga - Trevor Devall
• Murrue Ramius, Eileen Canaver - Lisa Ann Beley
• Muruta Azrael - Andrew Francis
• Natarle Badgiruel, Juri Wu Nien - Sarah Johns
• Nicol Amalfi - Gabe Khouth
• Orga Sabnak, Jackie Tonomura - Matt Smith
• Patrick Zala - Andrew Kavadas
• Rau Le Creuset - Mark Oliver
• Romero Pal - Brendan Van Wijk
• Sai Argyle - Bill Switzer
• Sahib Ashman, Ulen Hibiki - Fred Henderson
• Siegel Clyne - Don Brown
• Tolle Koenig, Shani Andras - Richard Ian Cox
• Uzumi Nara Athha - John Novak
• William Sutherland - Ron Halder
• Yuri Amalfi, Ray Yuki - Ted Cole
• Yzak Joule - Michael Adamthwaite

[edit] Theme songs and soundtrack albums

Opening songs (OP):

• INVOKE by T.M.Revolution (ep. 1-13); (Toonami broadcast: ep. 1-26), (YTV broadcast: ep. 1-50)
• moment by Vivian or Kazuma (ep. 14-26)
• Believe by Nami Tamaki (ep. 27-40)
• Realize by Nami Tamaki (ep. 41-50)

Ending songs (ED):

• Anna ni Issho Datta no ni (あんなに一緒だったのに; We were so together, but) by See-Saw (ep. 1-26)
• RIVER by Tatsuya Ishii (ep. 27-39)
• FIND THE WAY by Mika Nakashima (ep. 40-50)

Insert songs (IN):

• Shizuka na Yoru ni (静かな夜に; In the Quiet Night) by Rie Tanaka (English version Jillian Michaels) (ep. 7-9, 14, 20)
• Akatsuki no Kuruma (暁の車; Wheels of Dawn) by FictionJunction YUUKA (ep. 24, 32, 40)
• Meteor by T.M.Revolution (ep. 26, 29, 35, 47)
• Anna ni Issho Datta no ni (We were so together, but) by See-Saw (ep. 28)
• Mizu no Akashi (水の証; Token of Water) by Rie Tanaka (English version Jillian Michaels) (ep. 36, 41)
• FIND THE WAY by Mika Nakashima (ep. 46)

Gundam SEED related albums :

• Original Soundtrack I (by Toshihiko Sahashi and Yuki Kajiura) (2002-12-04)
• Original Soundtrack II (by Toshihiko Sahashi and Yuki Kajiura) (2003-04-23)
• Original Soundtrack III (by Toshihiko Sahashi and Yuki Kajiura) (2003-09-21)
• Original Soundtrack IV (by Toshihiko Sahashi and Yuki Kajiura) (2004-12-16)
• OP1 Single - INVOKE (by T.M.Revolution) (2002-10-30)
• ED1 Single - Anna ni Issho Datta no ni (by See-Saw) (2002-10-23)
• OP2 Single - moment (by Vivian or Kazuma) (2003-01-29)
• OP2 Single - moment Remix (by Various artists) (2003-04-23)
• ED2 Single - RIVER (by Tatsuya Ishii) (2003-03-26)
• ED2 Single - RIVER －Gundam SEED Edition－ (by Various artists) (2003-05-21)
• OP3 Single - Believe (by Nami Tamaki) (2003-04-23)
• OP3 Single - Believe Reproduction ～Gundam SEED Edition～ (by Various artist) (2003-05-21)
• ED3 Single - FIND THE WAY (by Mika Nakashima) (2003-08-06)
• OP4 Single - Realize (by Nami Tamaki) (2003-07-24)
• OP4 Single - Realize Reproduction (by Various artists) (2003-09-26)
• IN Single - Akatsuki no Kuruma (by FictionJunction YUUKA) (2004-09-22)
• Suit CD vol. 1 Kira Yamato × Strike Gundam* (2003-03-21)
• Suit CD vol. 2 Athrun Zala × Cagalli Yula Athha* (2003-04-23)
• Suit CD vol. 3 Lacus Clyne × HARO* (2003-05-21)
• Suit CD vol. 4 Miguel Ayman × Nicol Amalfi* (2003-06-21)
• Suit CD vol. 5 Athrun × Yzak × Dearka* (2003-07-23)
• Symphony Gundam Seed (2004-05-08)
• Gundam SEED Complete Best (Contains some songs from OP1-OP4 and ED2-ED3) (2003-09-26)

Each Suit CD usually contain songs sung by the seiyuu of the characters featured, and audio drama clips of these characters in situations during their "typical" day. While most are comedic in nature, they help to flesh out the characters as well, often offering an insight at their behaviour in the series. (e.g. in Volume 5, Yzak talks about his rivalry with Athrun.) Also, do note that there are only 10 Suit CDs in total for GS and GSD (The numbering for the GS CDs are from 1 to 5).

[edit] See also

• Preceded by (in production order): ∀ Gundam

• Followed by (in production and chronological order): Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny

[edit] Video games

Note that this list only includes games with SEED and SEED Astray characters.

• For the GBA
  • Gundam Seed: Battle Assault
  • Mobile Suit Gundam Seed: Tomo to Kimi to Senjou de (機動戦士ガンダムSEED: 友と君と戦場で)
• For the PS2:
  • Gundam Seed: Federation vs. Z.A.F.T.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam Seed
  • Mobile Suit Gundam Seed: Never Ending Tomorrow
  • Gundam Seed: Federation vs. Z.A.F.T. 2 Plus
  • Battle Assault 3 featuring Gundam SEED

[edit] In Super Robot Wars Alpha 3

In this last installment of the Alpha series, some story plots in Gundam SEED are central to the main story of the game. The climax of these plots would be the Second Battle of Jachin Due, where players would be able to see the re-enactment of the destruction of the Strike (piloted by La Flaga) and the Dominion.

Also, players would be able to use both Freedom and Justice in battle against Rau Le Creuset and the Providence. New dialogue was recorded for this non-canonical encounter.

[edit] External links

• Gundam-seed.net Official Gundam SEED website (Japanese)
• Gundam Official: Official Gundam site
• Mobile Suit Gundam SEED at the Internet Movie Database
• Mobile Suit Gundam SEED at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Gundam SEED at YTV
• Animax's official site (Japanese)
• Gundam SEED: Australian Official Release
• Gundam SEED CD database: Fan Site
• Gundam SEED at AnimeSeiki: Fan Site
• Gundam Seed Genesis