Gundam Wing

Endless Waltz

Review by Matthew Anderson

3 OVA series + 1 Movie

Company: Bandai Entertainment

Running Time: 125 minutes

Region: 1

Rated: PG (Violence and mild language)

EXTERNAL EXAM

It is the year After Colony 196.

It has been exactly one year since the fall of Oz and the destruction of the terrorist group White Fang. Peace has finally been reached, and weapons are no longer allowed with in the Earth Sphere Unified Nation.

Mariemaia, the daughter of former Oz leader Trize Kushranada, and Daikum Barton do not agree with the idea of the Earth once again in control. Daikum wants to rule the Earth Sphere himself, from space.

Now, the forces of Mariemaia have enacted their plan to take control of the Earth Sphere. First they kidnap Relena Peacecraft, leader of the pacifist Sanc Country. By using a new type of Mobil suit, and threatening the Earth by dropping a space colony on Earth, it seems nothing can stop Mariemaia and Daikum. To make matters worse, former Gundam pilots Wu Fei and Trowa Barton have joined Mariemaia.

Gundam Sandrock pilot Quetra leaves to enact a desperate plan to rescue the Gundam's before they are sent into the sun. Now, Heero and Duo must rescue Releana, and stop Daikum Barton before he starts "Operation Meteor".

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: Good video quality for this premiere release. Looking much better than their Japanese LD release, the colors are richer and fuller. With animation this beautiful, you want a great transfer.

AUDIO: With the movie version, both tracks are great, with good mixture on both. The English Dolby 5.1 packs quite a punch, with tons of background and surround sound elements. The original Japanese 2.0 stereo sounds a little louder, but it's not as clear.

The OVA has a 2.0 Japanese and a 2.0 English track. Both sound the same, with moderate directionality on both.

EDITS: On the OVA, Clean close animation are used, with English credits. On the movie, no edits have been made. With this DVD, footage excised when the OVA and the movie were aired on Cartoon Network has been replaced. The omitted"harsh" language has been restored as well.

EXTRAS: Well beyond the typical Bandai releases. An Mobil Suit Encyclopedia that covers all the mecha used in Endless Waltz, a gallery, textless ending from the three OVA's, and the entire recording of the song White Reflection by Japanese tech-pop group Two Mix on the credits page!

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: One of the "Neo Gundam" stories, and perhaps the most popular of all the Gundam series. Katzuyuki Sumizawa has not only given us a powerful antiwar story, but plenty of missing background information on Heero and the Gundam Boys. The dialogue is not brilliant, but it makes a lot more sense than the TV series did at times.

ACTING: A bit of a disappointment, compared to Bandai's "Cowboy Bebop" release. Most of the American voice actors seem to deliver their lines a bit on the flat side. However the acting is ten times better than on the TV series.

The biggest improvement is with the actor for Preventer Wind. On the Japanese side, excellent. Great depth and range. Their battle cries are fantastic.

FAN SERVICE: None. This is perhaps one of the most chaste anime ever to be produced. No bouncing breasts, no panty shots, no sex. You do get at least Trowa's girlfriend Catherine in a bra and short skirt. If you are looking for dirty old men anime, don't look here.

FINAL EXAM

Gundam Wing truly became a breakout series in both Japan and the US. It's popularity was so strong in Japan, that a follow up OVA was made. At the heights of it's popularity, the OVA was combined with some new animation as a special edition movie. Double billed with the other popular series, Gundam 08th MS team, Millers Report, it truly showed the world that Gundam Wing had achieved popular status.

The story avoids a lot of the twists and turns that made Gundam Wing the series so frustrating. Of course, it would not be Gundam Wing without some surprise twists, and they do have a couple. Especially a couple of "dead" character showing up very much alive.

Endless Waltz is truly a collectors edition. Playing it smart, they placed both the OVA and the Movie on the same disc. While some may be disappointed by the movie not being wide screen, it does not detract from the presentation.

The animation is beautiful. Well detailed, it is a vast improvement over the TV series. Sunrise, well known for amping up the animation with their OVA's and movies, have once again given us a wonderful follow up to a popular series.

There are some variations between the OVA and the movie, but most of them are minor. The only major change are the scenes at the end of the movie. It gives an alternate look at the post war Gundam pilots.

Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz is a well plotted, great looking OVA and movie. Bandai has done a find job with this release. Now, if only we can get them to make the rest of their DVD's this good.

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