Zeta Gundam Movie Trailer

[Beltane70]

How was the first movie? Did anyone watch it?

No one has seen it yet. The movie comes out on May 28. I am not at all happy with that release date, either. I was in Japan up until last Saturday and am very disappointed that they didn't release the movie just a week earlier!

[Keith]

How was the first movie? Did anyone watch it?

No one has seen it yet. The movie comes out on May 28. I am not at all happy with that release date, either. I was in Japan up until last Saturday and am very disappointed that they didn't release the movie just a week earlier!

That does suck, being so close to the release...hopefully the R2 DVD's will be like the R2 release for the 0079 movies, subtitled with a nice box.

[Ido]

It comes out on DVD on the the 5/28?

That does suck, being so close to the release...hopefully the R2 DVD's will be like the R2 release for the 0079 movies, subtitled with a nice box.

Really? How much should it cost?

[Macross_Fanboy]

Hey, they got that movie playing over here right now I believe, maybe I should go watch, although I don't understand Japanese.

[LePoseur]

No DVD's yet, this is theatrical. While I too am hoping for English subs on the (much later) forthcoming DVD's I am willing to bet all we'll get is Japanese. Bandai has not released (to my knowledge) any English subtitled Gundam in Japan that wasn't previously available in America first. Remember, the 0079 movies had the old VHS release in America before the R2's. And as I think they are all too aware of people importing the American copies to save a bundle, I doubt we'll see a same-day release on DVD either. More like spaced about a year apart (or never, if Bandai US doesn't get it's head out of it's ass).

[Keith]

No, there will be a U.S. release, but if there's no, I'm tracking you down & making you pay! Though honestly, a Zeta movie box is one of those rare things I wouldn't mind paying R2 prices for, even if there isn't subtitles.

[Black Valkyrie]

From Guntoa :

Zeta II screenshots

Following are screenshots of Zeta II - Lovers from the official Zeta I movie pamphlet book.

Poster

http://s03.2log.net/home/gunota/zII/poster.jpg

Amuro in space(?)

http://s03.2log.net/home/gunota/zII/amuro.jpg

Buran

http://s03.2log.net/home/gunota/zII/buran.jpg

Char

http://s03.2log.net/home/gunota/zII/char.jpg

Hambrabi

http://s03.2log.net/home/gunota/zII/hambrabi.jpg

Jerid & Maua

http://s03.2log.net/home/gunota/zII/jerid.jpg

Kamille

http://s03.2log.net/home/gunota/zII/kamille.jpg

Mega Bazooka Launcher

http://s03.2log.net/home/gunota/zII/mbl.jpg

Psyco Gundam

http://s03.2log.net/home/gunota/zII/psyco.jpg

Sara

http://s03.2log.net/home/gunota/zII/sara.jpg

Scirocco

http://s03.2log.net/home/gunota/zII/scirocco.jpg

Yazan

http://s03.2log.net/home/gunota/zII/yazan.jpg

Zeta Gundam pic 1 and pic 2

http://s03.2log.net/home/gunota/zII/zeta.jpg

http://s03.2log.net/home/gunota/zII/zeta2.jpg

[phuqueue]

From Gunota:

Animation - Telling apart what was new and old was easy. The old animation came from 12 different TV episodes. In some of the sequences, they went back and forth where you can obviously tell the difference. At times, those scenes felt weird as characters looked different. The new mecha animation sequences were superb, especially the last part of the movie (last 10+ min) where 95+% was new. As for the new character animation, it was better than what I expected. If the movie was 100% new animation, then we might not be talking about if Onda's styling fits Kitazume's at all.

Seiyuu (VA) - Most of the original seiyuu from the TV series reprised their same role in the movie. Several characters like Fa, Hayato, Lila, Rosamia, and Robert got new voices. For the most part, the new voices did not bother as they sounded familiar to the original. However, the new voice of Hayato by Nobuyuki Hiyama (Shiro Amada from 08th Team and Muruta Azrael from SEED) bothered me. Images of Shiro or Azrael would come up every time he spoke a dialog.

Music/SFX/BGM - The movie uses the same BGM from the TV series. As for the SFX, it uses updated traditional anime sounds (not like the MSG Trilogy DVD version), which was a big plus. Both of Gackt's songs (played at OP and ED credits) were ok.

There's also a summary of the plot, which runs up through episode 14, but I didn't really read much of it because I don't imagine a whole lot has actually been altered and frankly I'm too lazy to read several paragraphs about a story I already know.

[Keith]

Amuro in space....that would be an awesome plot change, but it's probably just the night sky of kilimanjaro. And the Zeta looks just as awesome as I'd hoped, can't wait.

[Abombz!!]

Thats good news. I don't care much for the voices though, since only Kamille, Char and Amuro are important anyways (I rarely pay attention to the rest of them, except maybe Bright). Now Hayatos voice is a weird choice for sure.

I hope the other shows get similar treatment.

[Black Valkyrie]

From Guntoa :

Seiyuu for Z II

A close-up look at the poster for Zeta II, as shown at Gundam Imperfect Web, confirms some seiyuu rumors going around 2ch the last couple of days:

Four Murasame - Yukana (changed from Saeko Shimazu)

Sarah Zabiarov - Chizuru Ikewaki (changed from Yuuko Mizutani)

Haman Karn - Yoshiko Sakakibara (thankfully the same)

The release date for the third film is also said to be in February of 2006.

Gundam Mk II terrorizes Akihabara

The Akiba Blog has an amusing photo report on a Titans Gundam Mk II cosplayer hanging around in front of a Kakuta Sofmap PC store in Akihabara today. The Mk II, using an umbrella as a beam saber, obligingly posed for photographs for passing shoppers. It appeared to have been a very popular temporary attraction.

http://blog.livedoor.jp/geek/archives/23508434.html

http://www2.odn.ne.jp/~cdo67250/

[Chronocidal]

Quick question, I don't know jack about Gundam.. but am I seeing things, or is there an XB-70 Valkyrie in the last couple of frames of the trailer? Looks like it's even in the original US markings.. Did they ever use this plane in the series, or was it just something that looked kinda like it?

[Loner]

Quick question, I don't know jack about Gundam.. but am I seeing things, or is there an XB-70 Valkyrie in the last couple of frames of the trailer?  Looks like it's even in the original US markings.. Did they ever use this plane in the series, or was it just something that looked kinda like it?

It's a replica of the XB-70 from the Kennedy Space Center. It appeared in Z Gundam and was piloted by Hayato Kobayashi who happened to be the leader of the Karaba guerilla forces.

Edited May 30, 2005 by Loner

[Panon]

Four Murasame - Yukana (changed from Saeko Shimazu) 

That shouldn't be a problem. Yukana's voice is similar in style to the old VA, and it's not like Four ever had any meaningful dialogue anyway.

[Keith]

February? Damnit, that means we probably won't have DVD's here until Christmas 96, I hate waiting!

[Black Valkyrie]

From Guntoa :

Zeta movie 1 hits it big

Various box office sites in Japan (Eiga.com, Kogyo Tsushinsha, Goo Movies) are stating that Heirs To The Stars ranked #3 this weekend. This kind of ranking is respectable enough for an anime theatrical release in Japan but what makes the case of Zeta truly exceptional is that it managed to do it showing on only 83 screens nationwide. Typically, Japanese films will screen in anywhere from 150-300 theaters. In the case of big Hollywood films, 500+ theaters. Zeta raked in just under 161 million yen, nearly as much money as the #2 film, Million Dollar Baby, which had the benefits of publicity from its success at this year's Oscars, local visits from its stars promoting the movie, and being shown in 264 theaters. Eiga.com estimates that it has the momentum to exceed 1 billion yen by the end of its run, a figure approaching the box office gross of Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters In Space (a hit anime film in its day).

Apparently, the unexpected turnout for the Zeta movie is breaking records in theaters nationwide. Goo Movies reports that audiences were made up of the "core Gundam fan", males in the 20-34 demographic, as well as ages 35-49. Females in their teens and in the 20-34 demographic also turned up though the gender ratio is being given as 70% male, 30% female.

While no Miyazaki-sized hit, this can certainly be seen as some kind of vindication for director Yoshiyuki Tomino, whose last few works haven't been known for their commercial success. Heirs To The Stars made more money in its first weekend than some other high-profile anime films from the past year did in theirs, including Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence (141 million yen, 278 theaters, #5 for the weekend), Appleseed (65 million yen, 112 theaters, #6), and Steamboy (158 million yen, 261 theaters, #4). And, indeed, the official Zeta movies site now carries a thank-you message from Tomino.

In retrospect, the smartest move may have been associating the film with J-rock star Gackt as his tireless publicity efforts over the last few weeks seem to have garnered the most attention from the mainstream press there.

The Top 10 in Japan for the weekend of May 28-29:

1) Negotiator Masayoshi Mashita

2) Million Dollar Baby

3) Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam -Heirs To The Stars-

4) Kingdom Of Heaven

5) Memorial Of Flame (aka Ladder 49)

6) The Interpreter

7) Shall We Dance?

Closer

9) Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events

10) The Mask 2 (aka Son Of The Mask)

Edited June 1, 2005 by Black Valkyrie

[Effect]

When I watch the first Zeta movie trailer there is something I noticed from that trailer that I haven't felt with the latest series like SEED or SEED Destiny. At the end of the trailer where Camille in the Mk II dodges a beam blast and you see how close it was on the camera it's almost as if you can feel the power behind the blast due to the sound at that moment and from the look on his face you can see how dangerous the actual fight was. You can see how intense it is. I havent gotten that feeling from SEED or SEED Destiny. I did get the feeling in Gundam F91 though (the last UC series I watch besided Zeta) in a few scenes.

Maybe it could be Tomino's actual directing style or the sound effects that UC series tend to use that AU series don't use at all for some reason.

Or could it be both are movies but then again I think there were momens where I had the same feeling in Zeta, Char's Counter Attack, 8th MS Team and Turn A Gundam.

Edited June 2, 2005 by Effect

[Keith]

Aweosme news. Hopefully it means Sunrise will sink some more cash into the budget for the remaining 2 films, and will plunk in more new animation...

[Black Valkyrie]

From Guntoa :

Z breaks records

Bandai Visual says that Heirs To The Stars broke daily box office records in 6 theaters this past weekend: Cine Libre Ikebukuro (which has a notice on its website telling moviegoers to confirm how busy the theater is before going to see the film), Shinjuku Joy Cinema, Cine Libre Umeda, Osaka's Paradise Square, Cine Libre Kobe, and Cine Libre Hakata. Sotsu Agency's website also put up a news post about the long lines for the limited merchandise and sold-out theaters.

[Black Valkyrie]

It shows that Seed and Seed Destiny are just plain crap.

Edited June 3, 2005 by Black Valkyrie

[Jolly Rogers]

I wonder how many of the tickets were bought by scalpers who only wanted to get in and buy the exclusive merchandises and auction them.

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

A little OT but funny:

I was just watching some Gundam shows the other day: MSG, Zeta, Double Zeta, MS 8th team etc and I noticed in 8th team one of the character's (Shiro) has 2 left arms:

[Keith]

A little OT but funny:

I was just watching some Gundam shows the other day: MSG, Zeta, Double Zeta, MS 8th team etc and I noticed in 8th team one of the character's (Shiro) has 2 left arms:

Hmm, maybe he's just lying on the remains of somene elses arm?

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

I thought of that when I first saw it.....but nope, upon further inspection you will see it is connected to his body because he is moving it around - this is clear when he gets up. The arm is like dangling to his side and he moves it around and stuff. Really spooky and strange.

looks a little naughty that shot

Amazing all those little things you miss upon first viewing and then go back and watch stuff and analyse the details.

Edited June 4, 2005 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[Hikuro]

I know he lost a leg but didn't he also loose that arm? I remember in the end they show him without a leg, and they also showed that in the final episode to serve as the shows conclusion, but I ca n't remember if that right arm of his was gone as well.

[Shmitty]

Nah, it's just broke, the leg is all he loses.

[Keith]

Hmm...maybe it was the nuclear core of the gundam exploding, causing a grotesque arm mutation into a second left arm

[Hikuro]

Was I reading this right on the website? the second movie is to enter theaters at October 29th or whatever?

You think Bandai America is kicking themselves right now who could have done the movie triology isntead of waisting so much cash on the tv series? Personally..I'd buy both.

[Keith]

Nope, Bandai knew the movies were coming, and the TV series (despite the lose of the intro's & outro's) is a very important release. They would have caught more flack for not releasing it.

[UN Spacy]

I just started watching the 08th MS Team.

Aina has to be one of the hottest women in the Gundam universe.

[Keith]

I don't know, Emma from Zeta is easily hotter.

[Black Valkyrie]

From Guntoa :

Heirs To The Stars R2 DVD

Reports from 2ch state that the August issue of Bandai Visual's Beat Magazine announced the DVD release of the first Zeta Gundam film. It comes with a deluxe case and a special disc, contents not yet known. Price is 6,300 yen, runtime 95 minutes, and the sale date is October 28th, the day before the second movie hits theaters.

Edited July 14, 2005 by Black Valkyrie

[LePoseur]

Man, finally got around to seeing it last weekend.

Unfortunately not as good as I had hoped. I mean, it's Zeta, so that's all good, but the story was way, way too rushed. Even with the whole moon story arc cut out it was like a constant character intro, followed by a battle, followed by a character intro, followed by a battle on and on until it was over. Some clever editing, like having Camile's father and mother on the same mission saved some time, but not enough to make his "I'm just tagging along" to "I'm a full-fledged pilot in a Mk-II" transformation have any legs. The new animation rocked, so much so that it really, and I mean really, dated the original stuff. It was painfully obvious in the theatre I saw it in, with all the old scenes having a grainy haze to them and the new ones being crystal clear. I hope it'll look better on the TV at home than it did in the theater.

Still, it was worth the trip if for no other reason than the sounds. Never having been able to afford a nice home theatre setup when I lived in America, and not really having been able to use one (thin apartment walls) in almost all the places I've lived in Japan (the last time I could even listen to a stereo loud without headphones was in Kanazawa in 96) it was great to hear the MS moving around with a deep bass to their steps.

Looking forward to the next one. Hopefully they'll focus on Four and even save her for the third one (I expect most of the new footage will be in the last movie, as it was for the first Gundam series).

Edited July 16, 2005 by LePoseur

[haro genki]

I'm really hope they do something about the splicing of animation, especially for the characters. Given the difference in how the new designs look, I can imagine how bizarre it looks to suddenly see them go back to their 85 look...

Movie II looks like it'll try to match the character designs a little better than before... Sara looks pretty accurate, Emma looks better, and Beltochika looks pretty true to her original too. Four looks a little off though...

Not to say I don't want to see the movies; I do. If only to see the newly animated Argama in action

[mikeszekely]

You think Bandai America is kicking themselves right now who could have done the movie triology isntead of waisting so much cash on the tv series? Personally..I'd buy both.

Apparently, the Z Gundam box set sold well enough that Bandai is planning to do individual releases for the 10 discs, so it can't be all bad.

Besides, unlike SEED or Wing, which were all flash and no substance shows marketed for noobs, Z Gundam is supported by more hardcore fans, who, like you (and me), will buy both.