Bandai has primed the catapults and launched a new wave of announcements related to its Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Project Ignite program. The global initiative introduced a handful of new Gundam SEED-related projects to the fold, including a new feature film, a new manga spinoff, and a new video game.
The largest and most concrete announcement served as the very venue to launch Gundam SEED Project Ignite from: A full-scale articulated replica of the ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam. The first full-scale Gundam statue to be built outside of Japan, the “life-size” Freedom Gundam was publicly unveiled on May 28, 2021 in Shanghai, China. The statue itself stands 18 meters (about 60 feet) tall. Like the full-scale Unicorn Gundam statue in Odaiba, Japan, the life-size Freedom Gundam features limited articulation, as well as a periodic light show and presentation to accompany its activation. Users on Chinese video sharing site Bilibili captured footage of the event. Youtube channel New China TV also aired a brief special with some clips of the statue under construction.
Unveiling the life-size Freedom Gundam accompanied another part of the Gundam SEED Project Ignited lineup: “GUNDAM docks at Shanghai”, a limited-time promotional event centered around the statue’s home: Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport Shanghai. The mall’s Gundam Base store will host a temporary art and animation exhibit celebrating all things Gundam (especially SEED) and sell exclusive merchandise.
Third and fourth in the lineup were announcements of a new Gundam SEED feature film and a new game. The film, currently untitled, will serve as a sequel to the TV series, and will be supervised by Mitsuo Fukuda. Fukuda directed both SEED and its sequel series Gundam SEED DESTINY. No details were available about the new game other than being in development.
Bandai had more to say about the final part of the Gundam SEED Project Ignited slate: Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Eclipse. Set for a debut in July 2021, SEED Eclipse is a manga series taking place in Cosmic Era 72, between Gundam SEED and SEED DESTINY. During this “two years of fragile peace”, a covert ops unit called the ODR was active.
The series will also debut a new “hero” mobile suit: The MV-X08 Eclipse Gundam. Developed in secret by Orb (the same nation that developed SEED‘s Strike Gundam), the Eclipse Gundam can transform into a flying mobile armor, and is equipped with “Mirage Colloid” stealth systems. It’s also compatible with the Strike Gundam’s “Striker Pack” equipment. The Eclipse Gundam will be released as an MG-grade plastic model kit in August 2021. The official page boasts that it’s the “fastest development of a Gundam plastic model from 3D design to MG” yet.
Gundam SEED can be viewed on streaming services. A live-action Gundam film is in development in the west, as well. Various SEED mobile suits are also playable in Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs. Maxi Boost ON for the PS4.
