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Report Gundam Wing DVD: Operation 10
"And When It Was Over...
Relena and Heero have come aboard the Libra in a
last-ditch hope to talk some sense into Zechs, but he will not
listen. Treize and his forces arrive, and Treize challenges Zechs
to a one-on-one duel to decide the fate of the war, but Zechs
refuses, having cast aside such notions as 'honor' and
'chivalry.' Now the immense ships Libra and Peacemillion are on a
collision course with one another, and the resulting collision
could destroy all life on Earth. It's up to the Gundam pilots to
put an end to the fighting in this, the final volume of Gundam
Wing!" [From the back of the DVD.]
Operation 10 is basically a carbon copy of seven, eight, and nine, menu-wise. We've got Hiiro Yuy's perspective from inside the cockpit of Wing Gundam Zero, Rhythm Emotion (the second intro) plays in the background, and we're treated to a few short scenes on Wing Zero's viewscreen deal. Nothing new here. The menus seem to be loading somewhat slower than on previous discs, though, but my DVD player IS two years old, so maybe most of you won't have a problem.
Perhaps to make up for the lack of an episode (all previous Wing discs had five episodes, but this only had four as the series is 49 episodes long), they really piled the extras on here. No character bios, no images of any specific mobile suit here. First, we have a complete mobile suit encyclopedia. I only browsed it, but it looks like when they said complete, they meant complete. It seems just about every mobile suit in the series is listed there, though nothing from Endless Waltz (probably because that DVD has its own encyclopedia). Each entry consists of the mobile suit's stats (height, weight, ability levels, etc.), a short bio, and some images. The only bio I actually read was Virgo II, as I was just taking a quick look anyway, but it wasn't too bad.
Besides that, there are textless versions of both the Just Communication and Rhythm Emotion intros, as well as the Just Love ending. No surprise there really. Every Bandai series seems to get that treatment somewhere during the DVD release. Still, it was nice. Unfortunately, the Rhythm Emotion used was the first one. The Rhythm Emotion intro was introduced on episode 41 (at least on the Bandai discs...I've never seen Gundam W fansubbed, but I would assume it was the same), but episodes 48 and 49 used a slightly altered, and in my opinion, better intro. If you see a Rhythm Emotion video floating around on the Internet, it's probably the second one. Anyway, there are only three or four minor changes, so it's no big deal, but I just happen to prefer the second one. In addition to the textless credits and the encyclopedia, there are also DVD credits and, as always, trailers (listed at the bottom of the page).
As usual, the insert simply uses the disc's cover as its front cover. Inside are the usual episode summaries, featuring an image from each episode. In the extra space that would have gone to the fifth episode, had there been one, are images of each of the Gundam pilots in their mobile suits (simple screen captures). The featured mobile suit here is Sandrock Kai. Same thing as always, a wireframe model with each major feature pointed out. The back of the insert contains ads for Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team volume 1, Big O volume 1, Mobile Suit Gundam volume 1, Escaflowne: Forever and Ever, and Mobile Suit Gundam 0083 volume 1 (can't wait to pick that up in January).
With the exception of maybe episode 25 (Mercurius vs. Wing Zero), the final three episodes of the series are probably the best, and with some above average extras (for a Wing disc), this is probably the best of the TV series, though I would still rate Endless Waltz: S.E. higher. If you're a Wing fan, I'd recommend that you pick it up.
Disc Theme:
No theme this time
around.
Episodes:
46. Milliardo's
Decision; 47. Collision in Space; 48. Takeoff into Confusion; 49.
The Final Victor
Extras:
Trailers for Big O,
Pilot Candidate, Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, and Mobile
Suit Gundam.
Complete Mobile Suit encyclopedia; Textless openings and ending.
Insert with image from and summary of each episode on the disc.
Uncut English dub or Japanese with or without subtitles.
Written by Dash.