News Reporting

Sunrise To Stream (Part Of) Gundam Thunderbolt For Free


Gundam fans are in for an electrifying treat!

Earlier today, the official Gundam website announced that they’ll be offering a portion of Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt for free. Fans will be able to view an unspecified portion of the series via the Gundam website.

The video will be available to select regions, from December 25 at midnight Japan local time (12/24/2015 at 10:00AM, Eastern) through midnight on January 7 (1/6/2016 at 10:00AM Eastern).

https://youtu.be/NfYN_-VtPjk

Specific availability is still unknown as of press time.

Gundam Thunderbolt - Key Visual 001 - 20151119Mobile Suit Gundam is a four-episode OVA series, which is being helmed by Gundam UC director Kou Matsuo at Sunrise. Hirotoshi Takaya (Texhnolyze) is providing character designs, while the team of Morifumi Naka (A Wind Named Amnesia, Texhnolyze), Seiichi Nakatani (Gundam 00), and Hajime Katoki (Gundam Wing, Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team) handles mechanical designs. Scripts were written by director Kou Matsuo.

The confirmed voice cast on the project includes the following:

  • Io Fleming: Yūichi Nakamura
  • Daryl Lorentz: Ryohei Kimura
  • Claudia Palh: Toa Yukinari
  • Kara Mitchum: Sayaka Ohara
  • Cornelius Caca: Daisuke Hirakawa
  • Graham: Shunsuke Sakuya
  • Burroughs: Mutsumi Sasaki
  • J.J. Sexton: Hiroshi Tsuchida

Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt‘s first episode, which has an 18-minute run time, will be released to digital outlets on Christmas day at noon, Japan local time (December 24 at 10:00PM Eastern / 7:00PM Pacific). The episode will be released via an Electronic Sell-Through (EST) service, which allows customers to download the video file – a first for the franchise. The site confirmed that this first chapter will be priced at 500 yen ($4.07 USD), and it will include a special bonus documentary titled Ichinen Sensō ni Idonda Mono-tachi ~Documentary of Thunderbolt #1.

Customers who don’t want to buy the episode outright can rent it for 250 yen ($2.03 USD). As of press time, territories, formats, and providers are still unknown.

Several screens and character design sheets, as well as a promotional video were released to promote Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt. You can check them out below.

Screenshots

Character Designs

Promo Video

Source: Mobile Suit Gundam Website

About the author

Samantha Ferreira

Samantha Ferreira is Anime Herald’s founder and editor-in-chief. A Rhode Island native, Samantha has been an anime fan since 1992, and an active member of the anime press since 2002, when she began working as a reviewer for Anime Dream. She launched Anime Herald in 2010, and continues to oversee its operations to this day. Outside of journalism, Samantha actively studies the history of the North American anime fandom and industry, with a particular focus on the 2000s anime boom and bust. She’s a huge fan of all things Sakura Wars, and maintains series fansite Combat Revue Review when she has free time available. When not in the Anime Herald Discord, Samantha can typically be found on Bluesky.

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