New Gundam Series Rumor FAQ Version 1.13 Date: July 7, 2002 Written and compiled by Neo-Era (Guitarman555@hotmail.com) Changes to version 1.13: Moved Gundam (new series) rumor to CONFIRMED NEW OR CURRENT SERIES & MOVIES and renamed to Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Added Gundam File to DEBUNKED OR UNRELIABLE NEW SERIES & MOVIES RUMORS section Updated Ecole Du Ciel facts & links Updated Turn A Gundam The Movie (I: Earth Light, II: Moonlight Butterfly) details & links Updated Mobile Suit Gundam live-action facts & links Updated Time Crusade Epsilon Gundam rumors Updated S (Saviour) Gundam facts Removed/replaced most broken links (mostly related to the late Anime Daisuki website) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= TABLE OF CONTENTS =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- SECTION I - INTRODUCTION 1.01 - What sort of rumors are included here? 1.02 - Are there any 100% reliable sources for news on new Gundam series? SECTION II - DEBUNKED OR UNRELIABLE NEW SERIES & MOVIES RUMORS 2.01 - For The Barrel animated series 2.02 - G Gundam sequel 2.03 - Gundam.com April Fool's Day rumor 2.04 - Gundam Hope 2.05 - Gundam live-action 2.06 - Gundam: Mission To The Rise 2.07 - Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Cross 2.08 - Mobile Suit Gundam live-action 2.09 - Time Crusade Epsilon Gundam 2.10 - Turn X 2.11 - S (Saviour) Gundam 2.12 - Ecole du Ciel 2.13 - Untitled Gundam movie (Hellfire Gundam?) 2.14 - Gundam File SECTION III - SEMI-RELIABLE NEW SERIES & MOVIES REPORTS None. SECTION IV - CONFIRMED NEW OR CURRENT SERIES & MOVIES 4.01 - Gundam Neo Experience 0087: Green Divers 4.02 - Turn A Gundam The Movie (I: Earth Light, II: Moonlight Butterfly) 4.03 - Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (aka New Mobile Suit Gundam SEED) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= SECTION I - INTRODUCTION =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- With the newfound popularity of Gundam in North America comes more fans and with more fans comes more Gundam-related chatter and with more chatter comes more rumors. And there's nothing fans like to speculate on more than what the next Gundam series/spinoff will be. This FAQ is here to help separate fact from fiction by debunking the more questionable "news" of possible new Gundam-related productions in one convenient & friendly little file. The FAQ is not intended to kill off any fun discussions on what the next spinoff might be like ("Hey, wouldn't it be cool if the next Gundam series had a Minovsky Teleportation System and beam sabers mounted onto funnels so you could slice up grunt mobile suits from a distance?!") but is meant to help separate the signal from the noise, so to speak. 1.01 - What sort of rumors are included here? Pretty much anything deemed to have some kind of halfway credible information or evidence (website news report, extravagant details, photos or pictures and so on) about a new Gundam series or movie. A simple "Y0, my fri3nd fr0m sk00l said theirs g0ing t0 b3 a n3w Gund4m sh0w!!!" usually doesn't qualify. I'm looking for things that, left unexamined, might actually be convincing on some level to fans out there. 1.02 - Are there any 100% reliable sources for news on new Gundam series? Of course. Anything that gets announced on Sunrise's official website (their latest news is always posted at http://cgi.cinematopics.com/sunrise/diary/new.htm so check there often), comes from a knowledgable Bandai or Sunrise employee, or is reported in Newtype magazine is completely credible. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= SECTION II - DEBUNKED OR UNRELIABLE NEW SERIES & MOVIES RUMORS =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 2.01 - For The Barrel animated series The rumor: On September 6, 2000, an exclusive report from Fanboy Entertainment Online said that the novel/manga series For The Barrel (a stylized retelling of Yoshiyuki Tomino's novelization of the original MS Gundam serialized in Newtype magazine) would be animated and was, in fact, currently being worked on. The news item mentioned that the story was "just rumor at this point, but it is pretty solid" and that more info would be forthcoming. The source page can be found at... http://www.fanboyinc.com/news.cfm The facts: A search through Fanboy's news archives shows that no further info on an animated For The Barrel series was ever reported. At this point, almost a year and a half after the series was supposed to be "already in the works", absolutely nothing else has been heard. I would say that this rumor is, therefore, very dismissible. For further information on the For The Barrel manga & novel version, see the following excellent sites... For The Barrel Newtype magazine flash site: http://www.web-newtype.com/cdrom/2001_09/barrel/ For The Barrel manga & novel image archive: http://gungal.hoops.ne.jp/barrel/ 2.02 - G Gundam sequel The rumor: On August 7, 2001, an individual named Newtype Goten posted a news item on Gundam.com's news section regarding rumors of a "sequel to G Gundam" along with news of another possible series called "Death of a Republic: Mobile Soldier Gundam Hope" (see the Gundam Hope entry). The facts: Not long after this was posted, the bit referring to the G Gundam sequel was edited out of the news post entirely. Presumably, that means that Gundam.com's webmaster found this particular part of the story too far-fetched to even keep up. 2.03 - Gundam.com April Fool's Day rumor The rumor: On April 1, 2001, Gundam.com printed a news item that revealed that the next Gundam series would feature the return of Char Aznable "after Lightning Hathaway (UC 0098)". The story was that he would orchestrate "a resistance on Earth against the current Federation" which had become some kind of Titans-esque military dictatorship and that he would be possessed by Amuro Ray's ghost. The facts: If it wasn't already obvious enough, soon afterwards Gundam.com posted that the name of the new series would be "APRIL FOOL'S COUNTERATTACK". And die-hard fans will notice that Hathaway's Flash takes place in UC 0105, not UC 0098. Still, some people seem to have only read the initial report, not checked back for the final revelation that it was a joke, and continued to buy it hook, line, and sinker months afterwards. Scary, I know. 2.04 - Gundam Hope The rumor: On August 7, 2001, an individual named Newtype Goten posted a news item on Gundam.com's news section regarding Sunrise looking into "3-D cell shaded animation" for a new Gundam series that takes place in "UC 250". The plot of this show, named "Death of a Republic: Mobile Soldier Gundam Hope", would be about "the problems surrounding mass food and water shortages caused the still swelling human population, now extending far out in our solar system." The planned airdate was said to be 2003 or 2004. Also originally mentioned in the same item was a vague rumor of a G Gundam sequel (see the G Gundam sequel entry). The facts: This one is the most widely spread of the current rumors. It has to be said that, unlike most news posts at Gundam.com, not a single source was cited for this story and that immediately hurts its credibility. And indeed the post was prefaced with a disclaimer saying that the information was unconfirmed. But this didn't stop Wizard's Anime Invasion Magazine from lifting the rumor and printing it in their pages a few months later, giving it new life (scroll down http://www.animenewsservice.com/archives/nov17.htm for more on that). Since this rumor never had anything to back it up to begin with, there's very little chance of it being reliable (See the S (Saviour) Gundam entry for even more on this). 2.05 - Gundam live-action The rumor: On April 29, 2001, Harry Knowles of famous movie rumor site Ain't It Cool News reported that an "actual size" Gundam had been constructed to help get financing for a live-action Gundam movie. The story included pics of an actual Zeta Gundam in Japan with tourists flocking around it and an opening cockpit that one could actually enter and sit down in. The AICN story is archived at http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=8830 The facts: Months before this story appeared, pics of the 1/3 scale Zeta Gundam had circulated around anime and Gundam news sites with absolutely no mention of it being used to help finance a movie. The likely explanation here is that someone simply grabbed pics of it, made up a movie-related story surrounding it, and sent it in to Harry to see if he'd fall for it. Knowles, not being a fan of anime, ran the story. The pics from the original Japanese site can be found here: http://ww3.tiki.ne.jp/~marume/ganda/gandamu.htm 2.06 - Gundam: Mission To The Rise The rumor: Late in 2001, an AnimeOnDVD.com Community Forum member in the Off-Topic board brought up news of an upcoming new Gundam series that was said to be directed by Katsuhiro Otomo called "Gundam: Mission To The Rise". Don't have the original thread for reference since it was lost during Animeondvd.com's forum upgrade but the FAQ writer was a participant in the original discussion and recalls it clearly. =) The facts: This one was pretty easy to debunk. A simple Google search reveals that Mission To The Rise is simply a computer animated short made by Katsuhiro Otomo for Gundam's 20th Anniversary Big Bang Proclaimation celebration in 1998. It depicts an alternate Universal Century in which faster-than-light travel is attempted. Info on it can be found at the following links: http://www.ex.org/3.5/13-event_gundam2.html http://www.buildup.co.jp/works/movie/ogundam/ogundam.htm http://www.interq.or.jp/blue/junya/appleparadise/html/okmovies/ok-mov-gundam.html 2.07 - Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Cross The rumor: In February of 1998, movie rumor and news website Dark Horizons received a report that said that Dreamworks was working on a $6 million live-action/CGI pilot for a MS Gundam tv series tentatively titled "Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Cross". Supposedly, Jill Hennessy was slated to be the lead and mecha designs culled from Gundam 0083 would be used even though the story was going to be set in UC 0091. It was said that it would premiere in January of 1999. Dark Horizons webmaster Garth Franklin admitted up front that he had no way of confirming the information. Usenet newsgroup posts which quoted the original DH reports can be found at: http://groups.google.com/groups?q=gundam+dreamworks+iron+cross&hl=en&selm=34dc6e5f.3300951%40news-server&rnum=4&filter=0 and http://groups.google.com/groups?q=gundam+dreamworks+iron+cross&hl=en&selm=34e1e03f.944273%40news-server&rnum=2&filter=0 The facts: Predictably, nothing ever came of the rumors (not surprising since the details seemed to have been put together by someone who had read a few Gundam websites and slapped random information together but had no real in-depth knowledge of the franchise itself). The only reason this old rumor is listed is because roughly at the same time, G-Saviour (a completely unrelated live-action/CGI Gundam tv movie produced in the West with English-speaking actors) was produced and some people naturally assumed that it was Iron Cross resurrected. Every so often, I still come across someone who thinks that Jill Hennessy is in G-Saviour... 2.08 - Mobile Suit Gundam live-action The rumor: In January of 2002, Gundam.com message board member Neo-Era (that would, uh, be the FAQ writer himself) put up a picture of a real live actress resembling Lalah Sun for his avatar, a tiny, decorative picture that appears in every post a member makes. This was accompanied by the following in his sig file: "OMG!! It's a publicity photo of Indian actress Aishwarya Rai in her role as Lalah Sun from the upcoming live-action Mobile Suit Gundam movie!!! =)". Consequently, Neo-Era received several messages asking him if there really was a live-action MS Gundam movie being made. Oy. The facts: Well, quite simply, I just grabbed Adobe Photoshop and slapped together a photomanipulated pic of Indian actress Aishwarya Rai made to look like Lalah and used it for my message board avatar. =) The pic was purely for fun and not intended to deceive people but the fact that there were some who were duped by it was yet another factor in my decision to start up a rumor debunking FAQ. The message board thread where I explain this whole situation is here: http://www.gundam.com/mb/index.cfm?fa=view_topic&ForumAction=ViewTopic&topicid=43138&highlight=aishwarya 2.09 - Time Crusade Epsilon Gundam The rumor: Yet another news item related to Gundam.com, this one was posted on the news page by someone using the handle hibiki22 on October 13, 2001. The story here is that "Hitotoki Gisen Epsilon Gundam" (Time Crusade Epsilon Gundam) was to be another alternate universe tv series and that it dealt with time-travel. And had a Haro in it. The airdate mentioned is Autumn 2002. The facts: This rumor is slightly more complex than the other Gundam.com ones because it cites Anime Daisuki, a website I considered reputable, as a source. But when you actually go to the link, you don't find any of the info this hibiki22 reported. The only thing that gels with the original report is that a new Gundam series with the same tentative airdate is listed. No details about the premise are mentioned. It seems pretty clear that hibiki22 simply took the airdate listed and made up his own story around it. The final nail in the coffin of this particular rumor is the announcement of Gundam SEED (see Gundam SEED entry). 2.10 - Turn X The rumor: Following the end of Turn A Gundam's broadcast, it was reported on the Gundam Mailing List by member Joseph Riggs that a new series entitled "Turn X" (or "Turn X Gundam") was in the planning stages: http://gundam.aeug.org/archives/2000/08/1016.html The facts: A simple explanation for the new series rumor by the inevitable Mark Simmons: http://gundam.aeug.org/archives/2000/08/1060.html 2.11 - S (Saviour) Gundam The rumor: Early in 2002, Anime Daisuki (formerly the most comprehensive English-language site that covers new and upcoming anime in Japan) added a new entry for a new Gundam spinoff called "S ( Saviour ) Gundam" on its "Upcoming Shows" page. It has a release date of 2004, the year of Gundam's 25th anniversary. The facts: Thanks goes out to reader Sany van Tran for revealing where Anime Daisuki got this one. On December 20 of 2001, Japanese anime news site Moon Phase printed an item that stated that a new Gundam tv series tentatively entitled "S (Saviour) Gundam" was to be broadcast in 2004. Further, they report that the series would take place after G-Saviour in "UC 250" and that the show would make use of new 3DCG technology. Sound familiar? Well, you're right. S (Saviour) Gundam turns out to be nothing more than a 3rd generation mutation of our old friend, the Gundam Hope rumor (see the Gundam Hope entry), which was originally posted at Gundam.com and then rehashed by Wizard's Anime Invasion magazine. The smoking gun here, as if the matching details weren't enough, is that Moon Phase's news blurb includes a link to www.wizardworld.com as the source of their info. The only mystery left is exactly where the title "S (Saviour) Gundam" came from since neither Gundam.com nor Anime Invasion ever mentioned it... Moon Phase's December news archive: http://cyan.maid.to/Html/log_011231.htm 2.12 - Ecole du Ciel The rumor: On January 14, 2002, a topic on Anime Daisuki's message board revolved around a report in the January issue of Newtype magazine regarding a Gundam-related series entitled "Ecole du Ciel". The report included pictures of the main character and appearing mecha. http://216.239.35.100/search?q=cache:SpBVgwMKsH8C:pub66.ezboard.com/fanimejohomessageboardfrm1.showMessage%3FtopicID%3D2.topic+&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 The facts: Nope, it's not a new animated series. Ecole du Ciel is simply another ongoing manga in the pages of the Gundam Ace manga anthology. Created by Haruhiko Mikimoto (best known for his work on the various Macross series), the story takes place in UC 0085 and revolves around a teenage girl joining a Federation mobile suit training school. It started appearing in Gundam Ace with issue 3. Pics of characters and mobile suits in it from the January issue of Newtype magazine can be seen at the following links: http://www.pitt.edu/~jdd9/asuna.jpg http://www.pitt.edu/~jdd9/Gm.jpg http://www.pitt.edu/~jdd9/Tgm79c.jpg 2.13 - Untitled Gundam movie (Hellfire Gundam?) The rumor: On March 14 of 2002 on the Mecha & Anime HQ's message board, a poster named Invid Master gave details about a new Gundam movie via "a friend who lives in Japan" who was supposedly hired as part of the staff for the said movie. Mentioned were things such as fan-favorite character Char Aznable being included as the lead, the name & detailed specs for the mobile suit he would be using (the "Hellfire Gundam"), that the story would not have any direct relation to any previous Gundam series, and that the new movie would strangely only be available for sale via the Web. Invid also let it be known that he was sent concept art of the Hellfire Gundam, that it was "mind-blowing", and that he would have more info as it develops. http://pub15.ezboard.com/ffantasyandanimationhq80633frm9.showMessage?topicID=76.topic The facts: Well, even if we ignore the "I heard from a friend" premise, the whole thing sounds like a bad fan-fic. The rather overpowered armament of the Hellfire Gundam immediately raises suspicion. The only thing that might vaguely ring true is the concept of a Web-only distribution given Bandai's recent announcement regarding making its anime available to computer owners in encoded formats through broadband Internet connections. Still, anyone could've read that at an anime news site and then slapped a story together around it. Bandai broadband anime announcement: http://www.bandai.co.jp/press_e/press_P00215.html 2.14 - Gundam File The rumor: In late September of 2001, Anime Daisuki added an entry in its "Upcoming Shows" listings for a new Gundam series set to debut in Autumn of 2002. In March of 2002, they updated the entry with information about the possible staff involved. They say the director may not be Yoshiyuki Tomino (the man behind so many Gundam shows, including the original), and have speculative listings for Hirotoshi Sano (Gundam 0083, Escaflowne) as mechanical animation director and Yousuke Kuroda (Trigun, Scryed, Tencho Muyo) for the scenario. The facts: In light of the S (Saviour) Gundam rumor going down in flames, Anime Daisuki has been shown to be less than completely reliable when it comes to news regarding upcoming anime. The source of this rumor, as with S (Saviour) Gundam, looks to be Moon Phase. On March 16, 2002, they cite a page announcing Gundam Ace manga anthology issue 4, wherein the contents list includes something labeled as "Gundam File (New Series), Hirotoshi Sano with Yousuke Kuroda". Gundam File turns out not to be a new animated series but simply a novel retelling of events in the original Mobile Suit Gundam series seen through the eyes of a civilian. Subsequently, Moon Phase updated their Animation Schedule Chart listing for the Fall 2002 Gundam series, removing Sano and Kuroda's names (See Gundam SEED entry). Moon Phase's news archive (3/16): http://cyan.maid.to/Html/log_020330.htm Moon Phase's Animation Schedule Chart: http://cyan.maid.to/Html/anime.shtml Gundam Ace anthology 4 announcement: http://www.kadokawa.co.jp/anime-comic/anime-magazine/gundamace4/index.html -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= SECTION III - SEMI-RELIABLE NEW SERIES & MOVIES REPORTS =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- None. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= SECTION IV - CONFIRMED NEW OR CURRENT SERIES & MOVIES =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 4.01 - Gundam Neo Experience 0087: Green Divers Details: A 23-minute Zeta Gundam side story short film using CG and animation that follows two kids who must try to successfully re-enter Earth's atmosphere when their passenger ship is damaged during a mobile suit attack. Projected on 3 screens, it premiered on August 10, 2001 at the E-field theater inside the Cultural Center building in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Info on it can be found at Gundam Perfect Web: http://www.gundam.channel.or.jp/event/2001/efield3.shtml 4.02 - Turn A Gundam The Movie (I: Earth Light, II: Moonlight Butterfly) Details: A compilation of the 50 episode Turn A Gundam tv series as a duology (2 movies) with some new animation. Director Yoshiyuki Tomino and composer Yoko Kanno (providing new music) return. The first film, "Earth Light" (covering the tv series episodes 1-28), premiered in Japan on February 9, 2002 and the second, "Moonlight Butterfly" (covering episodes 36-50), on March 2nd. Both films were released on DVD & video in Japan on June 25. The Bandai Visual page for the movies can be found at: http://emotion.bandai.co.jp/dbeat/gundam/index.html 4.03 - Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (aka New Mobile Suit Gundam SEED) Details: After several months of rumors about a Fall 2002 Gundam series from sites like the now defunct Anime Daisuki and Japan's Moon Phase, Takayuki Yoshii, president of Sunrise, revealed in the June 26, 2002 edition of the online series of "Men Who Made Gundam" interviews that a brand new Gundam series was indeed in production. Details revealed were the director of the upcoming series, Mitsuo Fukuda (Future GPX Cyber Formula, Gear Fighter Dendoh), that one of the themes would be human bonds & friendship, and that the goal was to make "the 21st century version of Mobile Suit Gundam". On July 2, when Moon Phase reported that the name of the new series would be "Kido Senshi Gundam SEED", Gundam Mailing List members Minovsky-Ionesco and Neo-Era, through the use of some online detective work, discovered that the domain gundam-seed.net was owned by Sunrise and thus was likely the future official site for the show. On July 3, Newtype magazine's online preview for it's August 2002 issue confirmed the title, the name of the protagonist (Kira Yamato) and the name of the lead Gundam of the series (the G-5 Strike Gundam). A few days later, scans from the issue were leaked online, revealing clear pics of characters and mecha. New info from these pages revealed that veteran Kunio Okawara and Kimitoshi Yamane (08th MS Team, Cowboy Bebop, the Escaflowne movie) were mecha designers for the series and that Hisashi Hirai (Infinite Ryvius, Scryed) was the character designer. Given that Sunrise tends to let info like this leak 2-3 months before a new Gundam series airs, Gundam SEED will likely hit airwaves in Japan in October. Interview with Takayuki Yoshii: http://kodansha.cplaza.ne.jp/hot/gundam/06_01/03.html Gundam Mailing List post confirming the title "Gundam SEED" and website: http://www.gundam.com/gml/index.cfm?fa=read_message&gmlmessageid=985 Official site of Gundam SEED (currently under construction): http://www.gundam-seed.net MAHQ's Gundam SEED pics and info archive: http://www.mahq.net (link at top of page)