Ask John: Will the Original Gundam Get Re-Released in America?

Question:
With G-Gundam and Gundam Wing being re-released and the announcement of an R2 box set, will the original Mobile Suit Gundam be re-released in America in a similar fashion?

Answer:
Only Sunrise and Bandai know for certain if the original Mobile Suit Gundam TV series will be re-released in America, but my suspicion is that the show will not get an American re-release. Or, at the minimum, I don’t expect America to get a translated version of the upcoming Japanese DVD boxed sets. The upcoming Japanese DVD boxed sets are presumably the original, uncut and unaltered 43 episode long television series from 1979. Technically that original animation has never been officially released in America.

The American DVD release of the first Gundam TV series has had some of its footage digitally remastered, so that it won’t look as old as it actually is. The American release does not include its original Japanese language dialogue. And the American release is missing Japanese episode 15 because director Yoshiyuki Tomino reportedly doesn’t like that episode and didn’t want it released in America. So an American release equivalent to the Japanese DVD boxed sets would be, in effect, an entirely alternate version of Mobile Suit Gundam never before released in America.

Unlike Gundam Wing and G-Gundam, which were relatively successful in America on TV and DVD, the original Gundam TV series was de facto canceled during its Cartoon Network broadcast, and its American DVDs have never been very popular. Considering that there’s so little consumer interest in the original Gundam TV series in America, I doubt that Bandai Entertainment will decide to invest more in the series to produce new packaging, reprint more discs, and re-distribute the series. An American release equivalent to the Japanese release is even less likely because such an American release would require a completely new production process and would oppose the restrictions placed on the original American distribution of the show. Anime series are most often re-released in new, discount priced versions when they’ve already proven to be successful, and a discount priced re-release may encourage even more consumers to purchase the series. In the case of the original Gundam, the initial release was not highly successful, and a discount priced re-release is not likely to generate significant additional sales or profit.