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Friday, June 4, 2010

"Lieutenant Quattro Bajeena of the Anti-Earth Union Group..."

I'm might be going way out on a limb here, but I'm going to at least try and attempt to make a prediction as to which Gundam series will be the next to recieve an English dub (and subsequent North American release). To my knowledge, Gundam SEED Destiny was the most recent series to be dubbed, back in 2006 (though F91 was the most recent film dubbed, in early 2009). The Zeta Gundam: A New Translation film trilogy will be released in North America by the end of this month, and the following series and films have also recieved an English dub at some point in the past:

-Mobile Suit Gundam
-Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team
-Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket
-Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory
-Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
-Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack
-Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn (episode one)
-Mobile Suit Gundam F91
-Mobile Fighter G Gundam
-Gundam Wing
-Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz
-Gundam SEED
-Gundam SEED Destiny
-Gundam 00 (season one)

The first episode of Gundam Unicorn was dubbed for its worldwide simultaneous release, and as Gundam 00's second season is hitting store shelves right now, the film Gundam 00: Awakening of the Trailblazer is inevitable (though it may arrive in North America before the end of the year if the plan with Gundam Unicorn is any indication of what to expect in coming years).

Certainly OVAs and films are much easier to crank out in dubbed formats, simply due to their time length. But considering the time frame since the last English dubbed full-length Gundam series, I have to imagine Bandai and Sunrise have another one on the way. So the question is less of a 'when' and more of a 'what'. As much as I would like to see Turn A Gundam dubbed, I realize it wasn't the most popular series in Japan and because of that I imagine there would be some hesitation in releasing the series in North America - the same applies to After War Gundam X. I think it's safe to assume that MS IGLOO and Gundam SEED Stargazer are both past their prime and a dub at this point in time wouldn't see a significant return in sales. All that considered, the two most likely candidates I could see receiving dubs are Mobile Suit Victory Gundam and Mobile Suit ZZ Gundam.

With all the hype still surrounding the Zeta Gundam: A New Translation films (both State-side and in Japan) and the focus on Gundam's 30th anniversary, I'd have to say that ZZ Gundam is the more likely of the two series to see a dub, though Bandai and Sunrise could try to rekindle older fans' love for the franchise anew by releasing Victory Gundam. As dated as it is, there are plenty of people in North America (myself included) who have not yet seen a single episode of Victory Gundam. There's even a possibility that a Victory Gundam release could lead to a demand in more series from the 1990s receiving dubs, such as Turn A Gundam and After War Gundam X, though it would certainly be a greater gamble. It all depends on how Bandai and Sunrise want to play their cards.

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