Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny is an anime television series, a direct sequel to Mobile Suit Gundam SEED by Sunrise and the overall tenth installment in the Gundam franchise. It retains most of the staff from Gundam SEED, including Director Mitsuo Fukuda. Set two years after the original Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, the plot follows the new character Shinn Asuka, a soldier from the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty, or ZAFT, composed of humans born genetically enhanced labelled as Coordinators. As ZAFT is about to enter into another war against the regular human race, the Naturals, the series focuses on Shinn's as well as various returning characters' involvement in the war. The series spanned 50 episodes, aired in Japan from October 2004 to October 2005, on the Japan News Network television stations Tokyo Broadcasting System and Manichi Broadcasting System.
In December 2005, Sunrise aired a special episode that remade the events from the series' last episode. A series of four films compiling the series has also been released in Japan. Gundam SEED was adapted into various manga adaptations and light novels published by Kodansha and Kadokawa Shoten. Bandai Entertainment licensed the series for North America release, and has published it in DVD volumes. The series also aired on television in Canada, while the compilation films were also released in DVDs. The first manga was licensed and published by Del Rey Manga. Various types of merchandising have also been released, including CD soundtracks and video games. In 2013, a HD remaster of the series was released by Sunrise.
Gundam SEED Destiny became highly popular in Japan, having sold over one million DVD volumes and soundtracks topping charts. The series was also the winner of the Anime Grand Prix in both 2004 and 2005 polls. Critical reception has also been positive with focus on the themes and events occurring throughout the series. However, Gundam SEED Destiny has often been compared with its predecessor for sharing similar situations with the director's cut OVA having helped to improve an ending that was felt to be weak.
A sequel film titled Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom was released in January 2024.
Plot
Gundam SEED Destiny sets the story two years after the original series and it starts when the leader from Orb, Cagalli Yula Athha, reunites with the PLANTs' Supreme Council chairman Gilbert Durandal to discuss the construction of new mobile suits made for the military organization ZAFT. Three of them are stolen by a group called Phantom Pain, which is controlled by the Blue Cosmos terrorist organization. Cagalli's bodyguard Athrun Zala joins ZAFT pilot Shinn Asuka to stop them. During the fight, ZAFT's battleship Minerva is ordered to destroy the ruins of a space colony to prevent it from crashing into Earth. They find out that rogue ZAFT soldiers are controlling the colony in order to crash it into Earth. After failing to completely destroy the colony, a second war starts between the factions, the Earth Alliance and ZAFT, once news has spread that ZAFT soldiers caused the colony to collide on Earth. The neutral country of Orb allies with the Earth Alliance, with the former having also joined Blue Cosmos. This leads these three faction to confront the ZAFT soldiers several times, with Athrun having returned there.Later in the war, the Archangel battleship interferes in the fights between ZAFT and the Earth Alliance's faction. Allied with the Archangel, Cagalli fails to stop her country from fighting and the Archangel intervenes. Athrun becomes disaffected after Gilbert Durandal orders the destruction of his friend Kira Yamato and the Archangel, deeming them as enemies. He defects with Meyrin Hawke when Durandal frames him as a traitor. Cagalli is able to regain leadership from Orb, causing the Blue Cosmos' members to flee to space. The leader of Blue Cosmos, Lord Djibril, orders the super weapon Requiem to be fired which destroys several space colonies of PLANT, resulting in many deaths. The crew of the Minerva successfully kills Lord Djibril and capture the Requiem. Gilbert Durandal then announces the "Destiny Plan", a plan where a person's job or task will be based on their genetics, and uses the Requiem to destroy anyone who opposes him. This brings Shinn and the crew of the Minerva into direct conflict with the Archangel faction. Kira and Athrun with their new mobile suits and their allies, defeat the ZAFT forces and destroy the Requiem. Durandal is killed by one of his own followers, Rey Za Burrel.
The series' ending was expanded in both the original video animation and the last compilation film. Soon after Durandal's death, the Earth Alliance, ZAFT, and the Orb Union meet to end the war, with Lacus Clyne acting as the negotiator. After fighting between each other various time in their mobile suits, Kira and Shinn meet in person for the second time and promise to join forces for a better future.
Production
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny was first announced in July 2004 in Japanese magazines. Earlier, voice actor Tomokazu Seki had stated he was working on a popular show with fans hinting it was related to Mobile Suit Gundam SEED. Next month, the first trailer from the series was hosted online in its official website. Before the series' premiere, staff member Kabashima Yousuke gave hints about Shinn's character, telling that the Gundam SEED Destinys protagonist would be a character not seen in the prequel, and he would have a thin appearance. The main staff from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED remained in Gundam SEED Destiny including director Mitsuo Fukuda. When the series was premiering in Japan, Fukuda stated that unlike Gundam SEED, the sequel would not focus on Kira's and Athrun's relationship, but on Shinn's involvement in the war. He addressed that such conflict would happen in the series, but refrained from giving its reasons. In order to add more entertainment to the series, the staff also worked on the fight scenes between mobile suits. Shinn's character was meant to contrast Kira's in regards to their involvement across the series, but as Kira did, he would also go through a major development.Kira's inclusion in Destiny was made in order to tell a story from three people's point of views: Kira's, Athrun's and Shinn. The director lamented that from the three protagonists, Kira was the least explored character during the making of the series alongside two other characters with major importance: Durandal and Lacus. Fukuda described Kira in SEED Destiny as a person who runs away from fights often despite his feelings for Orb. His characterization was made to change briefly across the story as Kira faced Gilbert Durandal's ideals and became a person more compromised with war in contrast to his original pacifist persona after this incarnation was challenged by multiple other characters in regards to his actions on the battlefield.
Media
Anime
Gundam SEED Destiny had its premiere broadcast in Japan on October 9, 2004, at 6:00 p.m. on the Japan News Network television stations Tokyo Broadcasting System and Mainichi Broadcasting System replacing the first Fullmetal Alchemist anime series and ended on October 1, 2005. In December 2005, a special episode called Final Plus: The Chosen Future aired in Japan. The episode is mainly a remake of episode 50, extending the series' ending. The series was collected in a total of thirteen DVD volumes that were released in Japan from February 24, 2005, to February 24, 2005. A DVD box from the television series that also included the special episode was released on April 9, 2010.The series was licensed by Bandai Entertainment for the North American market. The English adaptation was produced by Bandai Entertainment in association with The Ocean Group and the English-language dub was recorded at Ocean Studios. The series was released on twelve DVDs in North America in uncut bilingual format between March 14, 2006, and January 8, 2008. The Final Plus episode was announced to have been licensed in July 2007, with a single DVD released on April 15, 2008. Two "Anime Legends" DVD boxes volumes from the series were later released on January 13, 2009, and May 19, 2009. Gundam SEED Destiny began its Canadian broadcast on YTV's Bionix programming block on March 9, 2007, at 9:30 p.m. YTV did not air the special recap episode, "Edited". On January 11, 2008, Gundam SEED Destiny was moved to the 10:30 p.m. Bionix timeslot starting with episode 40, switching timeslots with Bleach. On March 28, 2008, it ended its first run. In 2007, the series was available on demand from May through June with Comcast Cable in the United States. In July 2007, only episodes 1 to 22 have been aired and was thought to be discontinued on Comcast Cable; however, in September 2007, it has been made available again, this time with the English-dubbed version. Comcast Cable aired the 50th English episode at the end of February 2008. Due to the closure of Bandai Entertainment, the series has been out-of-print. On October 11, 2014, at their 2014 New York Comic Con panel, Sunrise announced they will be releasing all of the Gundam franchise, including Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Destiny in North America though distribution from Right Stuf Inc., beginning in Spring 2015. Sunrise released the HD remaster of SEED Destiny in North America with a brand new English dub produced by NYAV Post on November 9, 2021.
In November 2012, Sunrise announced through the last remastered episode of Gundam SEED a Gundam SEED Destiny HD remaster project. Shortly afterwards, director Mitsuo Fukuda announced in his Twitter account that the final episode of the HD rerelease would combine elements from the original finale with the Special Edition compilation films.
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED C.E. 73: Stargazer is an original net animation side-story to Gundam SEED Destiny, and began streaming on July 14, 2006. A DVD containing all three episodes was released on November 24, 2006, in Japan.