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New Mobile
Report Gundam Wing DVD: Operation 3
With the
exception of an ad for Gundam Wing action figures thrown in at
the very beginning, this DVD is exactly the same as the other two
up to the point that the main menu pops up. The menu is, once
again, from inside a mobile suit cockpit with Just Communication
playing in the background. For some reason, the images that are
displayed in the viewscreens are from the first and second discs,
but not from this one. Don't look at me, I didn't make it, I just
watched it.
When I finally got this DVD from Express.com and popped it into my DVD player, I went straight to the language settings and put it on subtitled Japanese. No changes there, either. Truth be told, this DVD is pretty much a carbon copy of the other two, aside from the fact that it's got different episodes on it. Bandai seems to be simply rotating extras between the discs, as all of these trailers have been featured on at least one of the other two discs. The only real change there is the bios and mech info provided.
The bios on this disc are Quatre Raberba Winner and Treize Khushrenada - for some reason, we felt it necessary to skip Trowa Barton, I guess. The bios aren't too bad, though Treize's especially is very short. The mech info is, of course, for Gundam Sandrock. The trailers featured on the disc are listed at hte bottom of the page.
The insert is exactly the same as the others - disc cover for its own cover, then episode summaries of the five episodes and a wire model of Gundam Sandrock with specs. Unlike Operation 1 and following in the footsteps of Operation 2, the episode summaries actually feature pertinent images that came from the episodes they accompany. It seems more and more likely that someone just made a mistake when they put together Operation 1's insert. The back of the insert has all the same advertisements we've already seen. Gundam W 1, Cowboy Bebop 1, Hautned Junction, Eatman 98, and Blue Sub 6: Blues.
One other insert that came with the disc was a Wing Gundam Zero card. It's not anything great, but it's still cool. The front has a nice picture of the Gundam with a picture of Hiiro Yuy in the background. The back of the card contains all the Gundam's specs, including its ability levels, which are generally absent from the regular disc inserts.
But we all know that extras and inserts don't make a disc. The real reason to purchase any DVD is for its feature presentation, not for its extras. The five episodes on this disc, listed below, follow the Gundams and their pilots during the "downtime" following Hiiro Yuy's self-detonation and up to the episode that sets up the battle between Zechs and Hiiro in Antarctica. These episodes aren't bad, but for the most part, they're considerably less exciting than the episodes on Operation 1 and 2...at least in my opinion.
Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike the episodes. Despite their being maybe less exciting than Operation 1, I don't like these episodes any less than I do the episodes on that disc. In fact, I enjoy these episodes more. Of course, that probably has something to do with the fact that I kept watching Operation 1 every single time I got bored during that two month interval between getting Operation 1 and getting Operation 2, so maybe the episodes just wore themselves out.
In any case, I did enjoy the episodes on this disc. To give you a bit of background, episode 11 follows the Maganac escape from their underground base, episode 12 has Wu Fei realizing he's not worthless because he lost to Treize, episode 13 is about Trowa's "last grandstand show," episode 14 takes Hiiro to visit Sylvia Noventa in Marseilles, and episode 15 sees Hiiro and Trowa in Antarctica, where Trowa touches up his mobile suit skills against the unfortunate Inspector Acht.
Personally, I'd have to say the best episode on the disc is episode 15 (To the Battleground, Antarctica), but that's just me. If you like to see an Aries meet its end at Trowa's hand in quite a cool way, or if you just enjoy Gundam Wing, pick this DVD up. And if you don't...well then, I guess I really don't know why you're even here. Until next time... sayonara.
Disc Theme:
Quatra Raberba Winner
and Gundam Sandrock.
Episodes:
The Whereabouts of
Happiness; Bewildered Warriors; Catherine's Tears; The Order to
Destroy 01; To the Battleground, Antarctica
Extras:
Trailers for Mobile
Suit Gundam 0083; Blue Submarine No. 6; Jubei-chan, the Ninja
Girl; and Escaflowne
Character biographies for Quatre Raberba Winner and Treize
Khushrenada, mech info on Gundam Sandorock
Insert with episode summaries and specs for Gundam Sandrock; Free
Wing Gundam Zero card also included.
Uncut English voice tracks, original Japanese voice tracks with
(or without) English subtitles
Written by Dash