SD Gundam Scad Hammers site update
The official site put up a TV commercials page.

 

Bandai December merchandise
From Bandai's Hobby site and their English hobby site.

 

Spirits Of Zeon site update
The official page updated with game system, story, character & MS details. It'll show up in arcades in December.

Original Characters:
Lieutenant Junior Grade Kurt Roswell - "Spacenoid from Side 3. Level-headed when carrying out operations. In assessment of the North American landing operation, he and Robin were given the name 'Dual Stars Of Carnage'."

Lieutenant Junior Grade Robin Bradshaw - "Spacenoid from Side 3. A heavy drinker who pushes his luck. At a glance, he doesn't appear to think things through and yet he doesn't lose sight of the big picture. In recognition of the North American landing operation, he and Kurt were given the name 'Dual Stars Of Carnage'"

Lieutenant Junior Grade Farrell Iha - "MS pilot affiliated with the Earth Federation forces' Jaburo base. Active during the assault on Jaburo, his skill is certain but his personality difficult. Known as a fighter pilot since the war began, he was appointed as an MS test pilot as part of Operation V."

2nd Lieutenant Barry Balzary (platoon leader) - "Ground Type Gundam team leader. When the war started, he was affiliated with California Base. Recognized for his service in the Grand Canyon, he was given a Ground Type Gundam as a pivotal part of the Federation's North American opposition strategy. Though he gives a slovenly impression, he's seen as a hot-blooded man by his subordinates."

Sergeant Nao Jessica Parker - "Female pilot from the Ground Type Gundam team lead by 2nd Lieutenant Balzary. Brainy, beautiful, and not a show-off but very popular with her crew."

Sergeant Sebastian Crie - "The Balzary team's moral support. An easy-going type who wanted to do his best to rival other mechanics. But when the Zeon invaded, with the shortage of MS pilots, he wasn't able to stand by with his fellow mechanics and work on the MS he maintained so he opted to become an MS pilot."

Captain Takashi Kitamoto - "Pilot of the Full Armor Gundam and Federation forces ace who was the trump card in the battle to capture Solomon. He was a space fighter pilot from Side 7 but switched to MS with the formation of MS corps. Following the loss of his family during the Zeon attack on Side 7, he began his amazing career as an MS pilot. He particularly excels at both short & long-range combat and thanks to his aptitude & skill, he was chosen as the pilot of the Full Armor Gundam."

 

Stargazer, Destiny SE III DVD sales UPDATED
The overall weekly DVD rankings at Oricon show C.E. 73 Stargazer at #3 and Destiny Special Edition III at #4.

Edit: Oricon's Manga/Anime News section gives the sales figures as 39,000 for Stargazer and 35,000 for SE III.

 

SEED DESTINY SE 4
The last installment of DESTINY Special Edition "Cost of Freedom" is set to air on TV.
TBS: 2:20am Jan 8
MBS: 1:35am Jan 8

 

Gundam goes Pocky
Bandai and Glico jointly announced the Pocky Gunpla Packs, three varieties of specially-marked packages of Pocky which come with 1/144 scale Gunpla: gokuboso (ultra-thin) chocolate + RX-78-2 Gundam, regular chocolate + Char's Zaku II, and Men's bitter chocolate + mass-production Zaku II. The target for this is the 30-year-old male demographic. The Pocky Gunpla Packs will hit stores nationwide for a limited time starting December 11.

 

Upcoming merchandise pics
From Hobbynet:
MG Crossbone Gundam X-1 Full Cross
MSiA Zudah

 

HG BuCUE
Hobby Shop Kasare lists an HG BuCUE coming in January.

 

Stargazer Plamodel Campaign
Bandai Hobby's Stargazer site has details on the Stargazer Plamodel Campaign. Between November 23 and January 31, sending in two application marks attached to the instruction manuals of Stargazer merchandise will get one entered into a drawing for an HG Strike Noir clear version.

 

Videogame round-up
Coming on February 22 is the Nintendo DS game Keroro Gunsou Enshuu Da Yo! Zenin Shuugou! Part 2.

Target In Sight's MS page updated with the RX-78-2 Gundam, MS-06S Zaku II, and the Hildorfr.

Side B-N, December issue Gundam articles:
Gundam: Target In Sight
SD Gundam Scad Hammers
SEED Destiny: Alliance Vs. ZAFT II Plus

 

08th MS Team official site
Sunrise pre-opens the official site promoting the 5.1ch DVD Box of MS Gundam: 08th MS Team.

 

∀ Gundam Memorial Box 1
Amazon Japan now lists ∀ Gundam Memorial Box 1 DVD on their site. It will come out on April 25 priced at 31500 yen.

 

Gundam UC info
From the early release of Gundam Ace:

Character Designer: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko

Characters: (English spellings are subject to change)
Banarji Links - 16 year old boy who attends Anaheim Industry Technical School. Currently resides in an industrial colony named "Industrial 7". Having never experienced any disturbances or conflicts like the One Year War, war to him was fictional. After meeting a girl, he becomes involved in an event that shakes the world.

Audrey Burn - 17 year noble girl with sapphire-colored eyes. She comes to Industrial 7 with a certain purpose, but her fate changes after meeting Banarji.

Full Frontal - Mysterious man called the "2nd coming of Char". He pilots a red MS and rallies the remnants of Zeon with his high charisma. Fights against Earth Federation Forces over "the secret" to the foundations of the Universal Century. Contrary to the meaning of his name, he trifles with Banarji and company with enigmatic behavior. Age unknown.

Summary of Fukui's comments:
- novel starts at UC 0001, in which a major event occurs which forever influences the Earth Federation and Earth.
- The main story setting occurs in UC 0096.
- Based on the mystery, it reflects back on 100 years of UC.

 

Interview with ADV's John Ledford
ICv2 has an interview with ADV Ceo John Ledford regarding their plans for Sgt. Frog. He confirms they've licensed the entire TV series and have the rights for toys, merchandise, video games, and broadcasting as well.

 

MG Hi-ν Gundam
Sometime next Spring, Bandai will release MG Hi-ν Gundam. Instead of Hajime Katoki, Yutaka Izubuchi will be behind this MG release.

In a related note MG wise, Mg Crossbone X-1 Kai Full Cross will come out on Jan. It will come with peacock smasher and murasame blaster weapons.

 

Upcoming merchandise pics UPDATED
From The Gundam Base.Side 1:
MG Gundam F91 (Harrison Madin custom)
HG Kerberos BuCUE Hound
Bandai Plamodel Action Base Black 1
MG Strike Freedom
BB Senshi Strike Noir
HGUC GM Striker
Keroro Gunsou Plamo Collection Tamama Robo

 

Destiny SE box
Bandai Visual's site says the first run of the final volume of the Destiny Special Edition will come with a box featuring a back cover by animation director Kenichi Ohnuki and a super jewel case to hold all the SE volumes.

 

Cut's top 30 anime films
Patrick Macias, at his An Eternal Thought in the Mind of Godzilla blog, has a list of the top 30 anime films according to Cut, a Japanese film magazine. The Mobile Suit Gundam movie trilogy ranks as #2.

 

Alliance Vs. ZAFT II Plus movies
The official site's gallery page has a Destiny version TV commercial and three other promo movies.

 

More SD Gundam Scad Hammers movies
A second set of movies for the Wii game is up at the official site.

 

Target In Sight first week sales
Media Create lists Gundam: Target In Sight as the 10th best selling game in Japan with 21,310 copies sold during the week of November 6 through November 12.

 

Black Tristar Zeonography
Bandai will be releasing a Black Tristar Zeonography set in Feb. The set includes MS-05 Zaku I, MS-06 High Mobility Zaku II, and MS-09 Dom. It will be priced 7800 yen.

 

Keroro Gunsou licensed by ADV UPDATED
Visit ADV's site and wait a few seconds for an unusual ad.

Edit: Diamond's Video Vault shows Sergeant Frog Vol. 1 coming in February.

 

Stargazer Complete Guide
Mediaworks will be releasing a mook on Stargazer OVA. The book comes out on Dec 22 priced at 2200 yen.

 

Wings of Rean DVD 6 cover
Cover is now up at Bandai Visual's site.

 

PS3 launches, Target In Sight sells
Reuters reports the PS3 sold 88,400 units during its first two days out. The two top selling games were Bandai Namco's Ridge Racer 7 and Mobile Suit Gundam: Target In Sight, both selling about 30,000 copies.

 

Gundam Evolve 13 summary
From the official site:
"Titans pilot Jonathan is a member of the Marasai unit intercepting the AEUG's descent operation to Jaburo. He chases the Gundam Mk-II but his ballute opens when he reaches the altitude limit falling into the atmosphere. As this happens, he receives news from his dad. The classified info obtained by his father's company was that the Titans were planning to wipe out the AEUG force by blowing up Jaburo. Though he's shocked to learn his own unit is being used as a decoy, he fulfills his duty as a Titan..."

 

Alliance Vs. ZAFT II update
Game Watch reveals the latest secret elements in the arcade version of Alliance Vs. ZAFT II: the Shiranui Akatsuki, Waltfeld's Murasame, and pilots Mu La Flaga and Andrew Waltfeld.

 

G★2006 report
Bandai Korea appeared at the G Star 2006 trade show over the weekend in Seoul, South Korea to promote its games to the public. Game Watch covered the event, which included playable versions of SD Gundam Capsule Fighter Online. It's expected 5,000 to 10,000 people will apply for the game's second closed beta test in the middle of December. The latest, 3-minute promo movie is available from 4Gamer.net.

The article also mentions that Bandai has a ways to go to promote the brand name there. Many in Korea recognize Gundam from the merchandising but relatively few of the anime, such as G, Wing, & SEED, have been broadcast on TV, with the Universal Century not as well known.

 

Char Aznable book
ITmedia News reports Kodansha is set to release a book on Char Aznable. 2 part book titled "Char Aznable Biography - Locus of Red Comet" is written by Yuka Minakawa, author of such Gundam publications as Gundam Officials, and Blue Destiny novel. Total of 22 chapters will chronicle Char's action from Mobile Suit Gundam to Char's Counterattack. The book is aimed at 30-40 year old business men according to Kodansha. The book comes out on Dec 6 priced at 600 yen each.

 

SD Gundam Scad Hammers movies
The official site has 5 different movies where a SD Gundam uses 5 different kind of hammers (Gundam hammer, bomb hammer, shock hammer, triple hammer, jumbo hammer).

 

Imagawa's Tetsujin 28 film to hit theaters
Web Anime Style reports Yasuhiro Imagawa's "Tetsujin 28: Zangetsu The Midday" anime film will finally be released in theaters in March. The movie is the director's first theatrical work. A poster image can be seen at the distributor's website.

Back in September, Imagawa stated the film's production had been troubled and that it had been shelved.

 

HGUC Gaplant TR-5 update
Noda-ya and Happinet have lineart for the upcoming HGUC TR-5. Noda-ya additionally mentions the 11/25 issue of Dengeki Hobby will come with 1/144 Primrose parts.

 

Bandai Hobby Center report
Translator/toy maniac Matt Alt and Japanophile Patrick Macias become (almost) the first gaijin to set foot inside the Bandai Hobby Center and live to tell about it at AltJapan.

 

Target In Sight screenshots
Game Watch has plenty of screenshots of the game in advance of its release in Japan tomorrow along with the launch of the PS3. Besides the MS lineup, also shown is the ability to upgrade armament & battlefield specs (offense/defense, desert & underwater types), and the split-screen versus mode.

 

Banpresto April-June prize items, take 2
Again, from GA Graphic:
SD Gundam Original Recollection Model ~Scramble Commander~ - Middle of April
Genkina Haro mic with earphone - Middle of May
Hatch Open Model ~Full Armor Gundam~ - End of May, (original color + blue version from Spirits Of Zeon)

 

Char custom credit card official site
The Char custom credit card has an official site with comparison pics of the "Char custom card original color version" HCM-Pro and the standard version, plus the merchandise that can be redeemed with points from using the card.

 

Banpresto April-June prize items
From GA Graphic's Prize Fair coverage:
Destiny Heroine Figures DX Figures 6 - end of June
Ultimate Transforming Mobile Suits - middle of June
Parts Collection Zaku Body-type Multi Box - middle of April
Parts Collection Zaku Shield-type Calendar - middle of April
Parts Collection Zaku Spike Armor-type Radio - end of May
Parts Collection Zaku Head-type Gradation Light - end of June
DX Aggressive Pose Figures 4 - end of May

 

Bonds Of The Battlefield official site update
The official site got an overhaul, complete with game manual & stage map PDF's and MS list.

Gpara.com also has more screenshots.

 

Target In Sight site update
The MS page on the PS3 game's official site has info on the newest Harmony Of Gundam addition:

MS-09KM Dom Cannon
Height: 18.6m
Weight: 69.2t
Generator output: 1269kW
Thruster power: 63200kg
"A remodeled Dom Tropical Test Type used as a Zeon forces mid-range support MS. It can carry out support bombardment with its twin middle cannon."

And because we didn't post it before:

RGM-79FP GM Striker
Height: 18.0m
Weight: 50.2t
Generator output: 1250kW
Thruster power: 92000kg
"Specialized close-combat Federation forces MS based on the GM. Equipped with a twin beam lance which retains the reach of a beam javelin."

 

Upcoming merchandise pics
From The Gundam Base.Side 1:
Gundam Collection GP03 vs. Neue Ziel
EX Model White Base
Gundam Collection Neo 5
Keroro Gunsou Plamo Collection Giroro Robo
HCM-Pro Geara Doga
HG Stargazer
Mascot Robo Keroro Gunsou
MG GM Sniper
HGUC Zaku I Sniper
HCM-Pro Sazabi Special Painted

 

New GFF info
From Amenbo.com: the GFF GP-03 Stamen comes with a "GFF-original simplified-type Dendrobium". In addition, the GFF Gundam X's release date has been pushed back to late January.

 

Tomino turns 65
We at Gunota Headlines would like to say "Happy Birthday Tomino-sama!"

Mentioned a month ago here, Bandai Channel will have all 6 episodes of Wings of Rean available for free celebrating this occasion.

 

Adults and the otaku boom
A couple of weeks back, Japan Today put up an article about Japanese adults and their otaku pursuits. Mainly focused on is Gundam merchandising as well as the female interest in manga/doujin.

 

Gundam Evolve..／A DVD cover
From Bandai Visual's site.

 

SD Gundam Scad Hammers promo
From the official site.

 

Bandai November merchandise
From Bandai Hobby's English site and their main site.

 

SD Gundam Capsule Fighter testing update
MMOfan reports that the first closed beta test for Softmax/Bandai Korea's SD Gundam Capsule Fighter recently ended. 170,000 applications were sent in, with 3,000 people being accepted as testers, 2,500 connecting the first day, and never less than 70% of them participating each day thereafter. The second round of testing begins this month.

The current site for the game can be found here. Gamespot Korea has plenty of screenshots and movies.

 

Card Builder upgrades to 0083
The official site for the tactical card battle arcade game announces Mobile Suit Gundam 0083 Card Builder. According to the am-net Arcade Game Database, the new version, including Gundam 0083-relevant elements and support for country-wide online versus play, will be presented to the public in March.

 

Upcoming merchandise pics
From Amiami:
EMSiA Nu Gundam
EMSiA Sazabi