Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - Season 1 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - Season 1 Blu-ray Movie Review

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - Season 1 is an action-adventure science-fiction mecha epic taking place in the vast Gundam anime franchise. Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - Season 1 features animation production by Sunrise (Mobile Suit Gundam, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing). Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury was a high-profile simulcast with Crunchyroll (with Crunchyroll premiering episodes in unison with the Japanese broadcasts).

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is the 15^th Gundam anime series. Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is the first Gundam series produced since Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans premiered seven years prior. Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is noteworthy as the first Gundam anime series with a female protagonist in the main role. Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is also the first Gundam anime with a LGBTQ+ lead character, making it a noteworthy and progressive anime series.

Created by Hajime Yatate and Yoshiyuki Tomino, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is a bit of a throwback to some of the earlier Gundam anime series. The series is a throwback by having a strong emphasis on politics and class division. The political element of Gundam has always been one of the forefront characteristics of the franchise. Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - Season 1 features original character designs by mogmo. The modern Gundam series explores the world of historical witch trials through a unique lens.

Broadcast in Japan on MBS and Tokyo Broadcasting System, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - Season 1 was a huge hit in Japan. Executive produced by Hiroo Maruyama (Gundam Reconguista in G, Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans), Naohiro Ogata (Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway, Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan's Island), and Retsu Tamura (Gundam Build Metaverse, SD Gundam World Heroes), Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - Season 1 brings the anime franchise in new directions while staying true to earlier installments. Produced by Takuya Okamoto (Gundam Build Fighters Try Island Wars, Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans) and Toshihiro Maeda (Release the Spyce, Attack on Titan), Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - Season 1 features voice-performances by a cast including Kana Ichinose and Lynn.

Suletta Mercury (Kana Ichinose) is a student at the prestigious Asticassia School of Technology. Suletta has bright hopes for her education and for a future deeply invested in technology. Suletta soon meets and befriends Miorine Rembran (Lynn). Miorine comes from a nice background and is the daughter of chairman of the board to the school. Suletta and Miorine soon find themselves tossed into a new and exciting world of adventure alongside the Gundam. The Gundam are giant weaponized robots with incredible strength and versatility. Can Suletta find her way as pilot of a Gundam mecha?

The future isn’t set in stone but the future is one that leaders have to fight for to see a better tomorrow. The globalization of the galaxy is causing an economic system that is fundamentally flawed and one that is being run by corporations. Corporations pursue their own corporate interests and are not concerned with the needs of the common people.

Despite the galaxy having a lot of economic success, with space residents thriving, there is vast income inequality between those known as “Spacians” and those known as “Earthians” on the home planet. As a result of the severe economic divide, the corporate mandates have invested in deep space and left Earth commoners as second-class citizens. There is a fight to survive and to see who can come out ahead.

The Gundam mecha is put to the test. A new format of mechanization is created known as the “GUND” and there are high stakes. The GUND development is considered dangerous by some. The changes to the process have risked the lives of Gundam pilots. With mostly strong women comprising the team developing GUND, the team become known as witches from Mercury. The witches won’t back down. Future isn’t written in stone.

The character designs by Hirotoshi Takaya (The Brave of Gold Goldran, Eyeshield 21) and Shuri Toida (Gundam Build Divers, Gundam Build Divers Re:RISE) are impressive and add a lot to the style of the production. The main cast of characters have fantastic character designs. The design elements look excellent and add so much to the production. A good job by the designers.

The exploration of the lead cast of characters in excellent and essential to the anime. Suletta Mercury and Miorine Rembran are great characters for the production. These are strong leads with uniquely impressive personalities. One of the aspects of the characterizations that is so noteworthy is how energetic and bright the lead character is. Suletta makes an excellent lead for the anime series. A compelling lead always helps to make a difference.

Another aspect of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - Season 1 and its leading characters that is worth championing is the fact the series explores LGBTQ+ themes. These are progressive LGBTQ elements that add a lot to the production. It is nice to see this aspect being explored in an anime series – especially one from a major anime franchise.

The animation is phenomenal. Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - Season 1 features some of the best animation in any modern Gundam anime to date. The animation style is remarkable and is quite special – something to behold. The series features art direction by Ayumi Satō (Gundam Reconguista in G, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime).

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - Season 1 is a perfect showcase for the chief animation direction by Yūtarō Kubo. The team of animators involved with the production brought an enormous amount of skill to the series. The end result is an anime that looks marvelous and robust artistry in apparent with regards to every facet of the series art style.

The cinematography by Shōta Kodera (The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess, Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt) is crisp and beautiful. The exceptional cinematographic style brings so many layers of fun visuals to the production. Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - Season 1 is a testament to cinematography as a core essence of storytelling in animation.

The score composed by Takashi Ōmama (Castle Town Dandelion, Dances with the Dragons) is beautiful and brings some charm and excitement to the series. The composer did a solid job handling both the characters and the themes. The music swells with exciting energy and packs a mighty punch for the action sequences.

Written by Ichirō Ōkōchi (Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Azumanga Daioh), Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - Season 1 deserves accolades for being such a strong political anime. This aspect of the Gundam franchise has always been one of my favorite things about Gundam. Is it an important element of the best anime series in the Gundam franchise.

The exploration of political climates – class divide and economic disparity. The roles of the characters and their allegiances. Political turmoil and class warfare. Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - Season 1 is all the better for its exploration of political themes inherent since the beginning of the anime franchise. It is also more cutting-edge and progressive for exploring LGBTQ themes.

Directed by Hiroshi Kobayashi (Spriggan, Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan), Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - Season 1 is well-directed and the action sequences are tense and exciting. The exhilarating action is a nice backdrop to the strong thematic and political storytelling. Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - Season 1 is going to appeal to fans of the best Gundam anime installments. Fans of the Gundam franchise will be thrilled with the epic scope and scale of the anime.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - Season 1 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Crunchyroll, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - Season 1 is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The presentation on the release is outstanding. The animation looks crisp and well-detailed. Background animation and line art look stellar. The clarity of the visuals adds a lot to the entire visual sensibility of the production. The encoding also capably handles the action sequences and brings them to another level of excellence.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - Season 1 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (with English subtitles). The series features superb sound direction by Jin Aketagawa (anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans). Soundstaging is excellent on the release. The epic soundtrack and score are well reproduced with exceptional clarity and detail. The sound effects are well integrated into the sound mix. The English subtitles are well-done and are free from egregious spelling or grammatical errors.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - Season 1 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The collector's edition comes in a limited edition steelbook. The limited edition steelbook packaging is gorgeous and one of the best aspects of the release. The steelbook artwork is top-notch and both the front and back artwork selections make this a stunning steelbook that stands out from the crowd as something special.

If there is anything to nitpick about the steelbook, it is that Crunchyroll printed it with a simple matte finish. Crunchyroll occasionally produces premium high-gloss steelbooks with a significantly higher print quality. The anime deserved an even nicer steelbook release with high gloss print quality.

The matte print is more fragile and prone to fingerprints, scratches, or paint chips and must be handled with extreme care – ideally with a pair of white gloves for the most careful of steelbook collectors. Crunchyroll should consider exclusively using high gloss premium steelbook printing finishes in the future.

On disc supplements include –

Disc 2:

Promo Videos (HD, 2:05)

Clean Opening – Season 1 (HD, 1:32)

Clean Ending – Season 1 (HD, 1:32)

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - Season 1 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - Season 1 is an exciting and action-packed science-fiction epic. The saga provides a political drama with compelling characters and outstanding animation. This is epic Gundam at its finest and is sure to please fans of the franchise. The Blu-ray release features strong video and lossless audio. The release also comes packaged in a limited-edition collector's steelbook. Fans will be strongly tempted to pick it up and add it to their collection. Highly recommended.