is the seventh incarnation of Sunrise's long-running Gundam franchise. It is directed by Seiji Mizushima and written by Yōsuke Kuroda, and features character designs by Yun Kōga. The twenty-five episode series was officially announced by Sunrise during a 15-second trailer on June 2, 2007. The series aired on the Mainichi Broadcasting System and Tokyo Broadcasting System from October 5, 2007 to March 29, 2008. On July 13, 2008, a trailer announcing a second twenty-five episode series was aired. The second series began on October 5, 2008 and concluded on March 29, 2009. A movie sequel is planned for the year 2010.

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 is the first Gundam series to be animated in widescreen and in high-definition, as well as the first to be set in the non-fictional Anno Domini era. The series is set in a futuristic Earth and centered around Celestial Being, a private paramilitary force and their efforts to rid the world of war and conflict with a series of unique and highly effective mobile suits known as "Gundams".

Story and settings

First season

The main tagline for the first season is Rebirth Begins Through Destruction.

The series is set in 2307 AD. As a result of the depletion of fossil fuels, humanity had to search for a new source of power. The power was found in the form of massive arrays of solar power collectors orbiting the Earth, and supported by three orbital elevators, each one serving one of the three "power blocs" on the planet, namely Union, controlling the region surrounding North America, Human Reform League (Japanese: 人類革新連盟; Romaji: jinrui kakushin renmei; Pinyin: rénlèi géxīn liánméng), consisting of China, Russia and India, and AEU, which controls mainland Europe.

With this nearly inexhaustible source of energy benefiting only the major powers and their allies, constant warfare erupts around the globe among minor countries for fuels and energy. Countries that once economically relied on the sale of fossil fuels have plunged into poverty. Some even believe that solar energy threatened the "promised land of God", resulting in the 20-year Solar Wars. This chaos led to the formation of a private military organization, called , dedicated to eradicating war and uniting humanity through the use of four humanoid machines called Gundams.Mobile Suit Gundam 00 follows four mobile suit pilots termed , sided with Celestial Being. The main protagonist is 16-year old , a quiet, taciturn young man who grew up in the war-torn Krugis Republic. He pilots the GN-001 Gundam Exia, a high mobility mobile suit effective in melee combat.

Unable to counter Celestial Being's superior technology, the three major powers eventually unite into the in order to counter Celestial Being's armed interventions. In order to fight the Gundams, the United Nations Army employed the help of Laguna Harvey. Harvey, a Celestial Being intelligence agent turned traitor, provides them with 30 GN-X, mobile suits equipped with pseudo-GN Drives. As the United Nations resist Celestial Being's interventions, a second team of Gundams, known as Team Trinity, appears and assists in the Meisters' eradication of war, albeit in a much more cruel and cold-blooded fashion, in contrast with the original Meisters' less-aggressive nature of armed intervention.

Alejandro Corner, a former Celestial Being observer who plans to make use of the chaos and destruction created by Celestial Being to rule a reconstructed world, subsequently takes over Veda, Celestial Being's supercomputer which is located on the moon. Without the tactical aid from the organization's artificial intelligence, Celestial Being is easily overwhelmed and overpowered by GN-X units and their superior numbers.

The United Nations Army initiates Operation Fallen Angels to destroy the Gundams, having discovered the location of the Meisters' mothership, Ptolemaios. During the operation, Ali Al-Saachez kills Lockon Stratos after a climactic battle. Alejandro Corner, in his unique custom mobile armor Alvatore, attacks Gundam Exia as the GN-X units proceed to destroy the Ptolemaios and the remaining Gundams. Exia struggles with the monstrous Alvatore, but in the end succeeds in killing Alejandro. Graham Aker, an ace pilot of the United Nations Army, then challenges Setsuna to a fight, seeking revenge for his fallen comrades and questioning the purpose of Gundams' existence. The fight results in the destruction of the GN-Flag, while the Exia is heavily damaged.

Second season

Four years have passed since the final battle between Celestial Being and the UN Forces. Humanity, having established the Earth Sphere Federation, forms an autonomous peace-keeping force, A-Laws, separate from and above the formal Federation army. Given unfettered discretion, A-Laws is charged with the duty to further unify nations, enforce the will of mankind, and dispose of terrorist cells. Unknown to the general public, however, is that the A-Laws misuse their power and employ inhumane tactics to oppress freedoms, doctrines, and ideologies, all in the name of 'unity'.

Saji Crossroad has followed the path to becoming a space engineer, to keep his promise to Louise Halevy. But he ends up being mistaken for a member of the dissident organization Kataron and is unjustly imprisoned. Louise herself is compelled to become involved in Federation government reform and joined A-Laws as a mobile suit pilot during the four-year gap, using her family inheritance to fund A-Laws research.

Meanwhile, Setsuna, having survived the battle with Graham Aker four years ago and is in hiding, has witnessed a change in the world due to the actions of Celestial Being. Setsuna tries to confront the A-Laws by himself with his battered Gundam Exia, but is easily overpowered by their newer models. He is soon rescued by Tieria Erde, piloting his new mobile suit, the Seravee Gundam.

By combining the GN Drives of Exia and 0 Gundam, Celestial Being's engineers manage to complete Aeolia's plans for an advanced mobile suit with twin GN drives - the 00 Gundam - which is entrusted to Setsuna. To pilot the two remaining new units, Lockon Stratos' twin brother is invited to assume his brother's codename and former position as the pilot of the Cherudim Gundam, and after Allelujah Haptism is rescued from the prison he was being detained in during the timeskip, he assumes the command of Arios Gundam.

Unknown to Celestial Being and the A-Laws, a third party is manipulating both sides of the conflict. This group call themselves "Innovators", composed of Alejandro Corner's former assistant Ribbons Almark, and his six subordinates. Subsequently, it is revealed that Aeolia Schenberg's plan is to ensure humanity's survival; unite the world's factions through Celestial Being's armed interventions and then advance humanity into deep space and undergo Innovation, a trans-human process.

Movie

A theatrical release was announced at the end of episode 25 of season 2. Within a few seconds of the video shot, it showed Jupiter surrounded by four green lights plus another one at the center and the phrase "The Childhood of Humankind Ends". It is expected to be released in 2010.

Characters

Born as Soran Ibrahim, Setsuna is the primary protagonist of the show and was discovered by Celestial Being at the age of 14 for having special potential as a pilot. He is currently a Gundam Meister for their organization, piloting the Gundam Exia, and later the 00 Gundam, both specialized in melee combat. Setsuna being his Gundam Meister codename. He was a child soldier in the war-torn Republic of Krugis. He murdered his own parents under Ali Al-Saachez's influence in order to prove his devotion to God, and hence bears a deep hatred towards Saachez. Due to his previous religious brainwashing (and awakening from it), Setsuna no longer believes that God exists. Setsuna believes that war can only be stopped through direct confrontation, and therefore has little tolerance for diplomats and politicians, believing that their "peace talks" only lengthen the conflict and cause more casualties. Disappearing at the end of the first season, Setsuna reappears four years later and rejoins Celestial Being.

Born Neil Dylandy, Lockon decided to join Celestial Being after losing his parents and little sister to terrorists in Ireland; because of this, he loathes terrorists. As the eldest pilot, he is considered the team leader of the Gundam Meisters, and sports a more easygoing, flamboyant personality as compared to the other Gundam Meisters. He owns an orange Haro to control Gundam Dynames when sniping and just like Setsuna, he has a personal feud with Ali Al-Saachez, who was directly involved in the terrorist bombing that caused the death of his family. After being killed at the climax of the first season, his younger twin brother Lyle Dylandy chooses to become the new Lockon Stratos, primarily to help spy on Celestial Being for the dissident group Katharon. He pilots the Cherudim Gundam, which is also specialized in long range combat. Later on, he falls in love with a new member of the Ptolemy, Anew Returner.

Allelujah spent his childhood as an orphan in the Human Reform League as a Super Soldier experimental subject, designated "E-57". While generally gentle and rational compared to the other Gundam Meisters, he has another harsher, unstable, and outright sadistic alter ego, named Hallelujah inside him, which was the result of the Super Soldier experiments. His main rival in combat is another subject of the Super Soldier program, the HRL pilot Soma Peries who shares a mysterious connection with him. He is the pilot of Gundam Kyrios, and later, the Arios Gundam, both of which specialize in high mobility and are able to transform into mobile armors (fighter jets). Allelujah is imprisoned during the four year timeskip between both seasons, but he ends up being rescued by his companions after the other three Meisters reunite.

Gundam Meister of the heavily armored Gundam Virtue and its successor unit, the Seravee Gundam, Tieria treats Veda's orders with high regard, valuing the mission above all other issues; he is also able to independently access Veda directly. As a result of his arrogance and cold attitude towards others, his relationship with the other Gundam Meisters got off a rocky start, but later learns to care for the other Meisters. Of all the Gundam Meisters, Tieria is the most enigmatic, with an unknown past and a peculiar connection with the Innovators. Contrary of the other Meisters who were either K.I.A. or M.I.A. in the end of the first season, Tieria continued to work for Celestial Being during the 4 year timeskip. Tieria first appears in the second season rescuing Setsuna in his battered Exia from A-Laws' mobile suits; Tieria then brings Setsuna back to Celestial Being to resume his position.

Production

Development

According to Hiroomi Iketani, one of the Gundam 00 producers, planning for Gundam 00 started in 2005, under the tentative name "Next". Iketani approached Seiji Mizushima, the director who was initially reluctant about accepting the job due to his lack of knowledge regarding the Gundam series, for the first time at the end of 2005.

The staff, consisting of over 300 people, spent roughly 2 years planning the series. Compared to other anime shows, Gundam 00 has more main staff members, partly due to the detailed mobile suit designs.

Release

The series premiered on October 6, 2007, replacing Toward the Terra on the terrestrial MBS and TBS networks, occupying the networks' noted Saturday 6:00 p.m. timeslot. The first season ended its run on March 29, 2008. Season one of the series will be re-broadcasted across Japan on various television networks such as TBS, Kids Station, MBS and BS-i from April onwards. Season two is being broadcast in the MBS and TBS Sunday 5:00 p.m. slot since October 5, 2008.

Currently, fourteen DVD collections have been released. The DVDs performed well in sales, with the first collection ranking third on the Oricon's overall weekly DVD chart. The Blu-ray disc collections have been confirmed, with the first and second volume released on August 22, 2008.

The final DVD of season one contains a whimsical trailer for the second season. Featuring voice work by the four Meisters, the trailer lampoons many early ideas for the show, fan theories and anime clichés before leading into a special message from Mizushima and a preview of the 00 Gundam.

A series of compilation movies with new animated sequences and re-recorded dialogue, titled Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Special Edition, has been announced. The first volume will be released in Japan on October 27, 2009 in the DVD, Blu-ray Disc, and UMD format.

Licensing for a North American release of Mobile Suit Gundam 00 was announced by Bandai Entertainment at New York Comic Con 2008 on April 18, 2008. Mobile Suit Gundam 00 is the first Gundam series to air on national television in the United States since Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and began airing twice weekly on November 24, 2008 on SCI FI (now known as SyFy). The first season concluded its first run on SCI FI on February 9, 2009. The second season is set to air on the same network and time slot starting June 29, 2009.

In Europe the series is licensed by Beez Entertainment.

Music

The series' music was composed by Kenji Kawai. There are four soundtracks release so far, the first on January 10, 2008, the second on March 26, 2008,,the third on December 24, 2008, and the fourth on April 1, 2009.

The first opening theme song, "Daybreak's Bell" was performed by the band L'Arc~en~Ciel. The first ending theme was , performed by The Back Horn. Both songs were replaced in episode 14 with "Ash Like Snow", performed by The Brilliant Green, as the new opening and "Friends" by Stephanie as the new ending. The first opening song, "Daybreak's Bell" was also used as the ending theme to the last episode. "Love Today", performed by Taja, was used as an insert song in episode 19 and 24.

The first opening theme song for the second season is performed by Uverworld, titled . The ending theme, "Prototype" is performed by Ishikawa Chiaki.. The second opening theme song , is performed by Stereopony. The second ending theme, "Trust You" is performed by Yuna Ito. The song "Unlimited Sky" by Tomoko Kawase (under her Tommy heavenly6 persona) served as an insert song for the seventh, eighteenth, and twenty second episodes of Second Season. The song "Tomorrow" by Ayumi Tsunematsu served as both an insert song and the ending of the fourteenth, and insert for the fifteenth episode of Second Season, and it'll be released on February 25, 2009. Most notably, the CD will contain "Marina's solo" version as well as "Marina and children" version.

A series of character CDs has been announced; with the first one, featuring Setsuna F Seiei and the character's seiyū Mamoru Miyano, with a song written by the band Skoop On Somebody, to be released on August 13, 2008. The second entry to the series of character CDs, featuring Lockon Stratos and seiyū Shinichiro Miki, was released on September 24, 2008. The music for second character CD was done in collaboration with Eijun Suganami and Shinji Matsuda, members of The Back Horn.

Media

Books and publications

A novelized version of Mobile Suit Gundam 00 was published by Kadokawa, currently ongoing with two volumes and authored by Noboru Kimura. The book series have been licensed by Bandai Entertainment and will have the first volume released on the December 29, 2009.The manga adaptation have also been licensed and will be released in the United States on the August 24, 2009.

A light novel series, Mobile Suit Gundam 00P was serialized in Dengeki Hobby Magazine and centers around the previous generation of Gundam Meisters. Set 15 years before the anime series, 00P features events that happened before the main story. It is penned by Tomohiro Chiba, with model conductions by Dengeki Hobby Magazine. The first volume of the sidestory was released in May, 2008 by Dengeki Hobby.

A graphic novel that features variations of existing mobile suits, Mobile Suit Gundam 00V, which is currently being serialized in Hobby Japan, is told in the format of a mobile suit development history book published 20 years after the anime series, featuring photo guides of customized models. It centers around the Mobile Suit observer Robert Spacey and his encounters with the different mobile weapons in the Gundam 00 universe.

Manga

Two TV broadcast-based manga series exist to date. One is serialized in Kerokero Ace and drawn by Kouzoh Ohmori. Minor changes are present compared to the anime, such as the use of more visually comedic facial expressions, and the omission of certain characters and subplots. The first volume to this version was released on March 26, 2008 by Kadokawa Comics. It has been released in English in North America by Bandai Entertainment, with the first volume released on September 23, 2009.

The other manga adaptation series of the same name is also based on the television series, and is drawn by Auto Taguchi. Unlike the first manga series, this title is published by Kodansha. The two manga series essentially follow the same story as the anime's main plot, but vary in the sequence of events that unfold and in artistic style.

A manga sidestory entitled Mobile Suit Gundam 00F is serialized in Gundam Ace. Illustrated by Kōichi Tokita, this manga series focuses on Fereshte, an autonomous branch of Celestial Being that is also in possession of several previous generation Gundams. The series acts as a link for the main story to the 2 other sidestories and introduces the characters and mecha from the other publications. First volume to this title was released on March 26, 2008 by Kadokawa Comics.

Another manga series based on the anime, Mobile Suit Gundam 00: Aoi Kioku, runs monthly on Kadokawa's Gundam Ace. This series focuses on the Gundam Meisters' memories and is illustrated by Tarō Shiguma.

Video games

A 3D action game based on the anime entitled Mobile Suit Gundam 00, published by Namco Bandai Games and produced by BEC for the Nintendo DS, was released on March 27, 2008. This game follows the anime's plot with slight variations, but lacks the introduction of the GN-X, ending with the entrance and introduction of Team Trinity instead.

A second video game, titled Mobile Suit Gundam 00: Gundam Meisters and developed by Yuke's for the PlayStation 2, was released on October 16, 2008 Capcom and published by Bandai (now known as Namco Bandai Games). Unlike the first Nintendo DS game, Mobile Suit Gundam 00: Gundam Meisters covers the first season's plot completely, albeit with slight deviations.

The series is also featured in the video game SD Gundam: G Generation Wars, which focuses on the first season.

CDs

A drama CD prequel entitled Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Another Story: Mission-2306 was released on July 23, 2008. In this drama CD, Setsuna F Seiei is tasked with the mission of preventing an assassination of Barry Halevy, the leader of a fossil fuel export regulation watchdog group, and protecting his daughter, Louise Halevy from terrorist organizations. A second drama CD, Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Another Story: Road To 2307, has been announced and is currently slated for a September 24, 2008 release. This drama CD will focus on the Meisters, as well as the Union's story. Unlike the first prequel CD drama, the second will have a comparatively much more serious tone, with stories that link to the original TV series.

A series of character CDs based around the concept of being a message to the character from the cast member who plays them will be released, starting from Setsuna's on August 13, 2008. Three original soundtracks and five singles, featuring the theme songs used throughout the first season, have also been released.

Reception

Critical reception

After a sneak preview of Gundam 00 on September 1, 2007, Anime News Network remarked "striking parallels" between the series and an earlier installment of the metaseries, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (1995): "Like Gundam Wing, Gundam 00's main story begins with hyper-powerful Gundam units appearing at various locales to execute slightly-less-than-Dynasty-Warriors-level mayhem in synchronized phases of a paramilitary operation." Later on October 21, 2007, Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network speculated that just like Mobile Suit Gundam SEED adapted the original Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) for modern audiences, Gundam 00 may possibly be an attempt to do the same with Gundam Wing. He also remarked that "its political flavour [...] is distinctly post-9/11", noting the political and cultural similarities between the series and our modern society. Critics have praised the series for the smooth, detailed visual effects and animation.

Mamoru Miyano, the seiyū for Setsuna F Seiei, won the "Best Voice Actor" award at the 2008 Tokyo International Anime Fair. Miyano and Tieria Erde's seiyū, Hiroshi Kamiya, both won the "Best Main" and "Best Supporting Male Characters" respectively at the 2008 Seiyū Awards.

Popularity

While critically acclaimed, the first season of Gundam 00 experienced lower average ratings than its predecessors Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny. Over its 25 episode run, it averaged a rating of 4.85% and peaked at 6.1%. On a more positive note, Gundam 00's average rating was higher than the other previous Gundam shows set in alternative universes such as Gundam Wing (which averaged 4.3%) and G Gundam (which averaged 4.1%). The viewer ratings for the second season of Gundam 00 had improved, reaching ratings as high as 6.3%.

The series was also a commercial success, with the DVDs showing consistently high sales figures. The third and seventh DVD release topped the anime DVD sales chart.

In a top 20 anime poll published in the April 2008 issue of Newtype magazine, Japanese readers voted for Gundam 00 as the best anime, higher than its predecessor Gundam SEED, which was voted ninth. In Newtype's poll for top 10 male anime characters, Setsuna F Seiei was voted second, Tieria Erde third, Lockon Stratos fifth, Graham Aker sixth and Allelujah Haptism at seventh; and in its poll for top ten female anime characters, Nena Trinity was voted eighth and Marina Ismail was voted tenth.

At the Anime News Network website, the first season of Gundam 00 has an average rating of 8.4/10 and ranked #129 in its top 250 anime poll as of October 18, 2008, while the second season has an average rating of 9/10 and ranked #14 in its top 250 anime poll as of December 13, 2008.

References

1. Newtype Magazine, July 2007
2. Japan's TBS Confirms Anime's Move from Saturday, 6 p.m. - Anime News Network
3. http://www.amazon.com/Gundam-Lite-Novel-Noboru-Kimura/dp/1604961899
4. http://www.amazon.com/Gundam-00-Manga-Kozo-Omori/dp/1604961783/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1248535812&sr=8-1
5. Gundam 00 Vol. 3 first week sales
6. Newtype April 2008 Issue Poll

External links

• Official website
• Official MBS website
• Official Bandai Entertainment website