| Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz | |
 Endless Waltz DVD cover, featuring the redesigned Wing Gundam Zero designed byHajime Katoki | |
| 新機動戦記ガンダムW Endless Waltz (New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Military science fiction |
| Created by | |
| Original video animation | |
| Directed by | Yasunao Aoki |
| Produced by | Atsushi Yukawa Hideyuki Tomioka |
| Written by | Katsuyuki Sumisawa |
| Music by | Kow Otani |
| Studio | Sunrise |
| Licensed by | |
| Released | January 25, 1997 – July 25, 1997 |
| Runtime | 25 minutes (each) |
| Episodes | 3(List of episodes) |
| Anime film | |
| Special Edition | |
| Directed by | Yasunao Aoki |
| Studio | Sunrise |
| Licensed by | |
| Released | August 1, 1998 |
| Runtime | 90 minutes |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Kōichi Tokita |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| English publisher | |
| Magazine | Comic Bom Bom |
| Original run | March 1998 –July 1998 |
| Volumes | 1 |
| Manga | |
| Glory of the Losers | |
| Written by | Katsuyuki Sumizawa |
| Illustrated by | Hajime Katoki Tomofumi Ogasawara |
| Published by | Kadokawa Shoten |
| English publisher | |
| Magazine | Gundam Ace |
| Original run | September 25, 2010 –November 25, 2017 |
| Volumes | 14 |
Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, known in Japan asNew Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz (Japanese:新機動戦記ガンダムW Endless Waltz,Hepburn:Shin Kidō Senki Gandamu Uingu Endoresu Warutsu), is the sequel toMobile Suit Gundam Wing, both of which are set in the "After Colony" timeline, an alternate universe to that of the originalMobile Suit Gundam series. Aside from being a continuation to theGundam Wing TV series, it also reveals details regarding the pasts of the five Gundam pilots and the true objective behind "Operation Meteor."[1]
Endless Waltz originally premiered in Japan as a three-partOVA in 1997.[2][3][4] It was later released as a theatrical compilation film in 1998, including additional scenes and an altered musical score.[5]
It is the year After Colony 196, and the battles between Earth and the space colonies have ended.Treize Khushrenada is dead and OZ has come to an end. This gives birth to the Earth Sphere Unified Nation (ESUN) and the Preventers. Seeing they won't be needed anymore, the Gundam pilots (exceptChang Wufei) send their suits into the sun. However, this peace would not last, for a rebellion occurs on the newly completed colony, L3 X-18999. Led by seven-year-oldMariemaia Khushrenada, Treize's illegitimate daughter, the rebellion kidnapsRelena Darlian, now the Vice Foreign Minister of the ESUN, during a diplomatic mission to X-18999. As the Gundam pilots investigate further, they discover that Mariemaia is merely a puppet controlled by her grandfatherDekim Barton, a former advisor to martyred colony leaderHeero Yuy, who is using X-18999 to go through with the original Operation Meteor, as a contingency plan in case the ESUN doesn't comply. The Gundam pilots must prevent Dekim from seizing power over the ESUN. The Gundams are retrieved from their course to sun to Earth's orbit thanks toQuatre and the Maganacs. The pilots use their Gundams one last time to fight against Dekim's forces, not killing anyone. In the end, Dekim is killed by one of his own soldiers, Earth and its colonies are at peace once again and all mobile suits (including the Gundams) are forever destroyed and never seen again.
One of the most notable features ofEndless Waltz was the massive redesigns all five of the Gundams from the end of theGundam Wing TV series received, courtesy of the artistHajime Katoki. The Gundams inEndless Waltz have more stylized appearances, reflected in the even more demonic design of the Gundam Deathscythe Hell, the more dragon-like design of the Altron Gundam, and the new "angel-winged" design of the Wing Gundam Zero. Despite the dramatically different designs of the Gundams, the story inEndless Waltzretcons them as if the original designs from the TV series never existed.[1] However, this changed after the release of theGlory of Losersmanga series.
In North America,Endless Waltz premiered on Canada'sYTV on September 11, 2000[14][15] and onCartoon Network in the U.S. on November 10, 2000.[16] It was later released to VHS, UMD, and DVD byBandai Entertainment,[17] with the DVD edition containing both the OVA and compilation film versions on one disc.[1] Due to the closure of Bandai Entertainment, the OVA and film went out-of-print. On October 11, 2014 at their 2014New York Comic Con panel, Sunrise announced they will be releasing all of the Gundam franchise, includingEndless Waltz in North America though distribution fromRight Stuf Inc., beginning in Spring 2015.[18] Right Stuf had re-releasedEndless Waltz on Blu-ray and DVD in December 2017.[19]
The initial airing of the OVA on November 10, 2000, wasCartoon Network's second highest-rated program ever at the time, only being topped by theFunimation in-house dub premiere ofDragon Ball Z.[20]Helen McCarthy in500 Essential Anime Movies commented that "the giant robot fights are as good as ever" and that "the art direction and design is excellent".[21]
| Preceded by | Gundam metaseries (production order) 1997 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | GundamAfter Colony timeline AC 196 | Succeeded by |
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Sunrise theatrical features | |
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