Ask John: Will Gundam Seed Destiny be Released in America?

Question:
What do you think the chances are of Gundam Seed Destiny coming to America? I’ve heard Seed isn’t doing well here, and that the chances are slim. Is that true?

Answer:
I’ve been asked about how well Gundam Seed is performing in America by several people, so it seems evident that there is a lot of speculation going on. However, I don’t know where this rumor came from nor exactly how accurate it is. I’ve also heard the rumor that the American success of the Gundam franchise has been in steady decline since the domestic release of Gundam Wing.

In one sense, it could be argued that no domestic Gundam release has or will top the success of Gundam Wing because Gundam Wing was the first Gundam series to appear on American television and thereby benefit from novelty interest. Now, several years later, the honeymoon is over and the initial zealous interest in Gundam has cooled to a steady plateau. Furthermore, it could be argued that Gundam Wing was the series most likely to achieve massive American success because its combination of angst ridden bishonen and exciting sci-fi action was equally able to entertain male and female viewers. So it could be said that more recent Gundam releases that haven’t been as successful in America as Gundam Wing couldn’t reasonably have been expected to be as successful as Gundam Wing.

On the other hand, it could be said that Gundam Seed is arguably the most successful Gundam series ever in Japan and should be able to achieve similar success in America. Furthermore, Gundam Wing was a massive American hit that should have instigated a snowball effect creating increasing interest in the Gundam franchise with each successive American release. By that logic, Gundam Seed should be the most successful Gundam series released in America so far, which it doesn’t appear to be.

So there are logical arguments for why Gundam Seed should be or shouldn’t be tremendously successful and popular in America. I’m not privy to Bandai’s sales figures, and I don’t know what they financially consider success. However, based on the circumstances I can see as an observant anime fan and an employee of a major anime retailer, I wouldn’t say that Gundam Seed has been a flop or failure in America, but it also doesn’t seem to be a breakout hit. But regardless of the actual success of Gundam Seed in America, I think it’s inevitable that the Gundam Seed Destiny follow-up will be released domestically. Mobile Suit Gundam is one of Bandai Entertainment’s international crown jewel properties; one of Bandai Entertainment’s most successful, popular, and profitable anime properties. So it would be illogical for them to arbitrarily stop supporting their feature title. Ceasing international distribution of Gundam would be a devastating display of diminishing confidence. Even if Gundam Seed isn’t performing up to sales expectations, simply having it on the market puts Bandai Entertainment’s name in the public eye. Bandai suddenly reducing the promotion and distribution of Gundam would be like Disney suddenly minimizing the exposure of Mickey Mouse because recent (hypothetical) Mickey Mouse cartoons haven’t been blockbuster hits. The Gundam franchise is virtually representative of Bandai Entertainment itself. And now that Gundam Seed has been released in America, and both it and its sequel series Gundam Seed Destiny have been such smash hits in Japan, Gundam Seed Destiny virtually requires an American release just to maintain its percieved status as a premier franchise. I fully anticipate that Gundam Seed Destiny will see American release regardless of the success of its preceding series.