Enjoy "Gundam" anytime, anywhere! Announcement of the opening of the official channel "Gundam Channel"! New animation and new Gunpla details were also revealed!

A new media presentation for the Mobile Suit Gundam series, which celebrated its 40th anniversary this year, was held on July 31, 2019, at the official Gundam Base Tokyo Gundam complex in Odaiba, Tokyo.

Sunrise Inc. announced the opening of the YouTube channel " Gundam Channel " as a new media for the "Gundam" series, which celebrated its 40th anniversary this year. In addition, there was an announcement of a new animation work, "Gundam Build Divers Re:RISE," which will start in October 2019, as well as an exhibition of Gundam models from the work, making it a presentation where one can experience the 40th anniversary of the ever-growing "Gundam Series.

Here is a report on the event!

The "Gundam Channel," which transmits Gundam to the world!

The first to take the stage for the presentation was Makoto Asanuma, President and Representative Director of Sunrise Inc. Mr. Asanuma announced the opening of the YouTube channel "Gundam Channel.

Recognizing that the "Gundam series" has continued for 40 years, and that "My Gundam" differs from generation to generation, he hopes that users of various generations will continue to enjoy "Gundam" in the future. We also want those who started with Gunpla to know what kind of anime their favorite mobile suits were in. This is why the company has considered how each user can be introduced to the new "My Gundam".

In addition, "Gundam Build Divers" was distributed on YouTube in parallel with the TV broadcast, and the fact that as many as 8 million users viewed the videos was also a boost for this project.

In response to the recent changes in the viewing environment, videos will be distributed from time to time, focusing on the "Gundam series" so that a wider range of users of all ages can become familiar with the "Gundam series.

Sunrise General Manager Naohiro Ogata then announced the titles and content to be distributed.

The content will include more than 300 episodes from past "Gundam series" works to be distributed at any time in three categories. The category is "Regular Library," which will distribute the first and second episodes of 22 works, mainly TV series, all at once for free. The "Pickup Library," which additionally distributes episodes 3 to 13 of each work every week. The "40th Anniversary Special Contents" section will additionally distribute all 43 episodes of "Mobile Suit Gundam" every week.

The first lineup of the "Pickup Library" will include three titles: "Mobile Suit Gundam 00," "Mobile Fighter G Gundam," and "Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans.

In addition, "Gundam Channel" will begin distribution of the latest animation "Gundam Build Divers Re:RISE" in October. In commemoration of this, all three episodes of the "Gundam Build Series" will be distributed sequentially. As the first phase, episodes 3 to 9 of "Gundam Build Fighters" will be distributed from August 1. After that, episodes 10 to 17 will be distributed from August 8, and episodes 18 to 25 from August 15.

In addition, "Gundam Channel" will also upload various PVs, special programs, and short animations as needed. For the lineup schedule, please check the official Gundam information portal site "Gundam.info" and the "Gundam Channel" site.

Information on the new animation "Gundam Build Divers Re:RISE!

Next, Producer Takuya Okamoto of SUNRISE BEYOND Co. He explained about the new animation "Gundam Build Divers Re:RISE".

Set two years after the previous "Build Divers" work, this work progresses with a new protagonist and takes place in a city based on the motif of Yokohama, where a program called "GUNDAM FACTORY YOKOHAMA" is scheduled to start in the summer of 2020 in the real world.

The main character is Kuga Hiroto, a boy who is an advanced diver but wanders around GBN (a game world) looking for someone while playing as a mercenary.

Around him, a group of unique friends gather to form the "Build Divers. They will set off on an adventure.

According to producer Okada, "Compared to past 'Build' titles, this one depicts the emotional turmoil of an adolescent boy.

The main mobile suit is the "Core Gundam," which is equipped with the "Planets System" and can change its performance and appearance by docking with support mechanisms. The Core Gundam docked with each support mecha transforms into the Earthly Gundam, Mars Four Gundam, and Vitrue Gundam. Of course, there will be other variations of the Core Gundam in addition to those introduced here.

In addition, according to producer Okamoto, "Gunpla with gimmicks unique to the 'Build Series' will appear one after another," so be on the lookout for those as well.

Mr. Akihiko Yasunaga, manager of the Hobby Division of BANDAI SPIRITS, explained the development of Gunpla in this series.

Gundam Build Divers Re:RISE" related Gunpla will be developed under the "HG" and "SD" brands. He said that the Gundam models in this work can be played with not only with new products but also with existing Gundam models.

In addition, a new customization system called "Core Docking Custom" will be a feature of the Gunpla in this title. This is said to be a perfect replica of the Planets system used in the film, in which the core Gundam is transformed into a completely different Gunpla by docking with support mecha.

The parts can be freely combined, allowing the user to enjoy color coordination to their liking.

In addition, the Core Gundam can be equipped with new and old optional parts without docking support mechanisms, and existing Gunpla can also be fitted with parts that appear in this work! Gunpla" concept, but rather "Let's play with Gunpla! It was announced that the new concept will be "Let's play with Gunpla" rather than the traditional "Let's make Gunpla!

In addition, the opening of a new Gunpla factory in Shizuoka was also announced. The Gunpla production line will be further strengthened.

It was also announced that the Earthly Gundam and Mars Four Gundam would join the smartphone game "Gundam Breaker Mobile," which began distribution on July 31. Why not try tinkering with them in the game prior to the actual release of the Gunpla?

The final speaker of the presentation was Hideyuki Namba, President and Representative Director of Sotsu Corporation. Mr. Namba commented on the Gundam Channel, saying that they aim to enrich the contents only available on the official Gundam channel, and that they will also distribute contents other than animated works.

First, he announced that the GGGP (Gundam Game Grand Prix) 2019, a Gundam game e-Sports tournament to be held within C3AFA TOKYO 2019 on August 24 and 25, will be livestreamed. The event will feature competitions for "Mobile Suit Gundam Battle Operation 2" and "Mobile Suit Gundam: Senjo no Kizuna" on August 24 and August 25, respectively, with a total prize pool of 3 million yen, more than last year. He expressed his confidence that the tournament would be more powerful than last year's.

The Gundam series that Toru Furuya would like to see is ......?

The second half of the presentation was a talk session with guests.

The guest speaker was Toru Furuya, a well-known voice actor who plays the role of Amuro Ray. Also present was TV personality Tomi, who is scheduled to be in charge of a program on the Gundam Channel, where he will study the "Gundam series" from the very beginning by watching the works one by one with fans. Naohiro Ogata and Akihiko Yasunaga.

This year is the 40th anniversary of "Gundam," and Mr. Furuya, who has participated in and appeared in various collaboration projects, commented, "I was surprised. I was surprised. There were a lot of things that happened, and my work increased," commented Furuya. Jumi, who has always been quite an anime fan, said that he had just finished watching the "Mobile Suit Gundam" movie trilogy on the recommendation of his manager when he received the offer to work on the "Gundam Channel.

Jumi says that Gundam is "timeless and interesting," and his favorite character is "Char. Hearing this, Mr. Furuya laughed and said, "That's what everyone says at first.

Mr. Ogata expressed his hope that Jumi-san's program would connect the "First Gundam Generation" with the "younger generation," and expressed his expectations for Jumi-san's activities.

The "Gundam Channel" offers free access to all past Gundam programs, and when asked "What kind of programs would you like to see? Furuya commented, "I haven't seen many series that don't feature Amuro, so I'm interested in 'War in the Pocket,' which is considered a masterpiece. At this point, the Gundam Channel is only distributing TV series, and no OVAs have yet been added to the lineup, but we can expect to see more of these titles on the channel.

I would like to do a golf program with Shuichi Ikeda (who plays Char)," said Furuya, "I think we can do any kind of Gundam-related program. The two have played more than a dozen rounds together, but Mr. Furuya has only won twice so far. In response to this suggestion, Mr. Ogata counter-proposed, "Let's do it after (Jumi-san) watches 'Char of the Counterattack. The battle between Amuro and Char ended unintentionally in the anime, but what will happen to the middle man's golf game ......?　We look forward to the realization of the project.

Also, Furuya, whose birthday was on the day of the presentation, was surprised with a bouquet of flowers in the same tricolor as the Gundam by Jumi-san. Ms. Furuya was surprised and smiled at the sudden celebration.

The presentation began with the following words: "We hope that through the Gundam Channel, people who have never seen Gundam before will be able to experience the world of Gundam in a more familiar way. There are parts of "Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin" that have not yet been visualized, so I'm looking forward to seeing those parts as well. I'm off to the Gundam Channel! Ms. Furuya closed the session with this comment.