BANDAI: SUPERIOR GUNDAM
The various Gundam lines have become a main stay for Bandai over the years. This year, Bandai has a lot of interesting and new stuff set for release.
The big push for 2003 is for "Zeta Gundam". The presentation was given by an actor playing what appeared to be the part of Astronage, the famous A.E.U.G. mobile suit technician.
What struck me is that this year there clearly was a noticeable trend towards an older consumer. This was evident from the first sentence uttered. "The happy world of G Gundam is gone!", the presenter said very ominously. From there, he gave a simplified rundown of the setup for the Gryps war, even using the term "fascist" to describe the Titans.
Video footage of the upcoming show was then shown. This included a special dub over with what sounded like Char's voice actor announcing that we were boarding flight "Zeta Gundam". After the announcement, shots of the various MS's in the show were shown, including lots of scenes with the MKII, Hyaku Shiki, Zeta Gundam, Marasai and numerous Hi-Zacks blowing up. Then came the first big surprise of the presentation. On the screen, the Vigna Ghina flew by, followed by a big Gundam F-91 emblem on the screen. Yes, "Gundam F-91" is coming to the US, and will also be shown on Cartoon Network as well as have a DVD release!
With the animation presentation concluded, "Astronage" rounded things out by explaining how the Gundam franchise has been doing. F-91 was mentioned again, and he also stated that numerous Gundam shows will be airing on Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" as part of "Saturday Action Night." Cartoon Network is setting up the schedule around "Zeta Gundam", and, in fact, it will be the focus of Saturday night. Fortunately, we got a picture of the lineup for the future.
Interestingly enough, "Zeta Gundam" will have two different versions on the air. One version will be shown on "Toonami" Monday - Friday, but there will also be a version made just for "Adult Swim".
Now on to the actual toys. The Gundam toy and model line has undergone some slight tweaking from the previous years. For instance, the large 12 inch toys were not mentioned at all, raising the possibility that this product type may be gone.
Models
Bandai is still committed to bringing model kits out in the US, and they will continue to use its ranking system. The new photo style packaging is spreading to other previously released kits. I noticed new packaging for the 1/144 Kampfer and 1/100 Wing Zero Custom, for example.
One surprise on display was transparent, crystal versions of some of the already released 1/144 G-Gundam kits. These re-colors are set for release as well and will be sold in the new style packaging.
Mobile Suits in Action
The new MSiA's on display seemed to come from various series. New versions of the old Gundam Wing MSiA's are being made, as well as special "Battle Scarred" versions of the Gundams from Gundam Wing Endless Waltz.
The Zeta Gundam MSiA's on display were all ones that have already been released in Japan, including the recently released Qubeley, Rick-Dias and The-O.
The real oddity on display was an apparent mock up of a deluxe transforming Raven Gundam in the new Zeta Gundam style packaging. This was the only example of the Zeta packaging in the entire display.
The MSiA's will still stay in the same price range as they have been in the previous years, with the normal ones being sold at $5.99 and the deluxes at $7.99. One little factoid is that The-O apparently is being sold as a deluxe -- a great value.
Next up were the boxed MSiA product, the Mobile Suit in Action With Vehicle. This class has always been a rather broad ranging category, including very large MS's, as well as a normal MS with a transport vehicle. Two new items were featured in packaging mock-ups: the nu-Gundam Heavy Weapons System and the Burning Gundam with Fuunsaiki. The Burning Gundam with Fuunsaiki appeared to have been molded in a pearly style plastic, much like the the one used for the MSiA Qubeley. This size class is set to sell from $9.99.
On display, but not boxed, was the Flying Armor system that was used by the MKII in Zeta Gundam to land on earth. The Hyaku Shiki was posed on it, but it is not known if it will be packaged with this set, or the MKII.
Large Figures
Last year, Bandai started up a 7.5 inch sized figure line during G-Gundam's run. Most of these were older toys original from Japan, but some new ones were made just for G-Gundam's release out of Japan. Bandai is keeping this line going for this year. With the focus being on Zeta Gundam, a show that never had toys like this when it first aired, all the figures coming out this year are new.
On display were three examples: the Hyaku Shiki and two MKII's (A.E.U.G. colors and Titan colors). They all looked to be really solid figures, each coming with a lot of equipment and being well articulated. If you can't afford a higher priced model kit, these guys, priced at $14.99, are an affordable substitute. One thing I also noticed was that the Hyaku Shiki was not chromed. With that in mind, these guys look durable enough to be played with or set up as a nice display piece.
Arch Enemy Figures
This collector-focused line is continuing in 2003 with two new entries: the RX-78 Gundam and a surprise -- Char's Gelgoog. The Gelgoog looked really spectacular, one of the better Gelgoogs I have ever seen. The RX-78 looked well done as well, maintaining the quality seen in the the previous two Arch Enemy releases. The Arch Enemy Series is set to be sold for $24.99.
The Gundam room, while compact, ended up being a great showroom. The wealth of information I got out of it was staggering, and I was surprised by some of the figures we're going to receive. The stuff shown looks like it is just the tip of the iceberg of what is coming, so 2003 looks to be a great year for Gundam fans.
ASM would like to extend many thanks to the wonderful folks at Bandai for their courtesy and for the promotional pictures.