Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, or as it’s known in Japan as New Mobile Report Gundam Wing is a 1995 Japanese mechanic anime series that was directed by Masashi Ikeda and written by Katsuyuki and is the sixth installment of the Gundam franchise, taking place in the “After Colony” timeline. As with the original series, the pilot of Gundam Wing centers on a war that is taking place in the future (specifically in the 2220s) between Earth and its orbital colonies in the Earth-Moon system.

Originally airing in Japan on the terrestrial TV Asahi network, it ran for 49 episodes that began on April 7, 1995 and ended on March 29, 1996. Receiving multiple manga adaptations, as well as video games; there were two original video animation (OVA) episodes that were produced including a retelling of the series, titled Operation Meteor, and a direct sequel, titled Endless Waltz. In 2010, Sumizawa started writing a novel titled Frozen Teardrop, serving as another sequel from the series. While the series fared moderately well in Japan, in the United States it had found greater success and completely popularized the Gundam franchise in the West.

Gundam Wing was considered to be a greater success in North America, however, and is credited with single-handedly popularizing the Gundam franchise among its Western Audiences. Just over a week after its premiere on Cartoon Network on March 6, 2000, the series was the top rated program covering all age groups. During the summer of 2000, it remained as the first or second top-rated show among children and teens during its twelve airings per week on the Toonami block. Gundam Wing was ranked the 73rd best animated series by IGN, calling the series “so good that even those opposed to anime have given the show its due credit”.

The Series (5/5):

While I am still new to the Gundam Series, I have found the overall experience to be much more enjoyable than I originally expected. And, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing is no exception. This particular series offers yet another branch of the original story that, as mentioned earlier really helped to popularize the series as a whole. This particular branch offers everything from action to drama, as well as some political collision as the story progresses. Gundam Wing provides audiences a solid story that is very well maintained throughout and should not be missed!

Picture Quality (5/5):

As one would expect with an animated feature presentation being presented in 1080p, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing looked absolutely beautiful as it played out across my living room television. Providing a sharp, clear look into this expansion of the original story that allows those who do pick this release up to truly appreciate the work that went into making these releases available on Blu-ray. The lines and color palette that are used in this series really shine and you will truly appreciate the work that went into remastering this series.

Audio Quality (3/5):

Packaged with both an English and Japanese LPCM 2.0 audio track, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing offers a clean audible experience for those of you who decide to pick these releases up. While it’s not as immersive of an experience as it could be, I was able to hear and understand everything as I watched through the series. As well as the fact that there was an English audio track that was included, I didn’t have to read the series as it progressed and for that, I am truly grateful.

The Packaging (4/5):

Each collection of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing comes packaged in your standard four-disc Blu-ray amaray case. Within each case for each collection are the four Blu-ray discs that make up the release. Each of the discs do include an individual piece of artwork that is related to the series at hand. There are no DVD copies of the collection included, nor are there any digital copy redemption pamphlets. There are no slipcovers available for either Collection 1 or Collection 2.

Special Features (1/5):

There isn’t really much of anything included in either collection set of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. While there are a couple of items that are included with each set, it is very minimal and do not offer a look into the series at all. Included with each collection is:

Collection 1

Clean Openings 1 & 2

Clean Endings

Collection 2

Clean Openings 3 & 4

Commercials

Technical Specs:

Video

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1

Original Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1

Audio

English: LPCM 2.0

Japanese: LPCM 2.0

Subtitles

English

Runtime

Collection 1: 625 minutes

Collection 2: 600 minutes

Final Thoughts:

Generally speaking, I was really excited for the opportunity to check out Mobile Suit Gundam Wing as I’ve truly enjoyed every experience that I’ve had with the various releases within the Gundam series so far. These particular collections that are becoming available on November 7, 2017 offer a new branch of the series, and it has been one of the best ones that I’ve seen yet. After watching through these collections, I can completely understand why the Gundam Wing series became as popular as it did. These Blu-rays offer an exceptionally beautiful view into the series with it being a remastered release, as well as a clean and clear audio track that allows one to be able to hear everything without any distortion whatsoever. If you’re looking to add these collections to your personal collection, I would most definitely recommend grabbing them. Like I said earlier, they will be available from major retailers beginning on November 7; however, I would highly recommend ordering them from the company that’s making them available to show support for the work that they are doing.

Note: This Blu-ray was sent to us for review. This has not affected our judgement or editorial process in any way. Please contact us if you have any questions regarding this process.