Gundam 00: A new triumph announced?

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 is the latest television anime of Sunrise's long-running Gundam franchise. It will premiere on October 6, 2007 on MBS and TBS's noted Saturday 6:00 p.m. timeslot, replacing Terra e.... It is being directed by Seiji Mizushima and written by Yōsuke Kuroda, and will feature character designs by Yun Kōga. The series was first officially announced by Sunrise during a 15-second trailer, which aired during Terra e...'s June 2, 2007 broadcast. The first opening theme of the series will be performed by the band L'Arc-en-Ciel, while the ending theme will be performed by The Back Horn. Similar to the popular Sunrise anime Code Geass, 25 episodes of Gundam 00 will be shown before the series takes a break and is resumed at a later time.

The series will be set in 2307 AD of the Gregorian calendar. During this time, fossil fuels became exhausted and the distribution of fuels became imbalanced. Humanity must rely on three large-scale solar power systems that are in the hands of the three major powers on the planet: The Union of Solar Energy and Free Nations (in katakana; based on the United States Of America), The Human Reform League (in kanji; comprised of China, Russia and India) and Europe's Advanced European Union (based on the European Union). Constant warfare around the globe for fuels and energy lead to the formation of a private military organization, called Celestial Being, dedicated to eradicating war with the use of four humanoid machines called Gundams. A byline used for the series is "Two Powers, One Hope".

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 follows four mobile suit pilots termed Gundam Meisters (Gandamu Maisutā?). The protagonist is 16-year old Setsuna F. Seiei, a quiet, taciturn young man who grew up in a war-torn Middle East, being of Kurdish descent, and a Gundam Meister since two years ago. He will pilot the GN-001 Gundam Exia, a high mobility mobile suit effective in melee combat.

Staff:
* Director: Seiji Mizushima
* Series composition: Yōsuke Kuroda
* Character design: Yun Kōga
* Animation character design: Michinori Chiba
* Mechanical design: Kanetake Ebikawa, Kunio Okawara, Takayuki Yanase
* Animation mechanical design: Seiichi Nakatani
* Conceptual mechanical design: Hitoshi Fukuchi, Nobuto Sue, Kenji Teraoka
* Production: Sotsu, Sunrise, Mainichi Broadcasting System
* Music: Kenji Kawai

http://www.gundam00.net/
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