Experiencing Gundam SEED Freedom on the Big Screen: A timeless SF epic

Everything you need to know about Gundam SEED Freedom

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom is the direct sequel to the television saga broadcast between 2002 and 2005. The anime Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Destiny were incredible hits upon release, and became instant classics. Faced with such enthusiasm, the Gundam universe known as the “Cosmic Era” was enriched in 2005 with the OAV (for Original Video Animation) “Final Episode: The Chosen Future”, then a year later with the spin-off “CE 73: Stargazer”. 18 years later, Kira Yamato and his allies return to service to maintain the peace at all costs.

Produced by Bandai Namco Films, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom is a science fiction animated feature film directed by Mitsuo Fukuda and co-written by Chiaki Morosawa and Mitsuo Fukuda. The Japanese filmmaker previously served in the same role on the anime Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Destiny as well as Grendizer U (Goldorak) scheduled for 2024. In development since 2006, the film is delayed due to Chiaki's worrying state of health. Morosawa. Production finally began in 2016, a few years after the death of the Japanese screenwriter.

The synopsis of Gundam SEED Freedom: In the year 75 of the Cosmic Era, war still rages. Groups seeking independence and attacks orchestrated by Blue Cosmos set the galaxy ablaze. To ease these tensions, COMPASS was founded with Lacus Clyne as its first president. Kira Yamato and his allies, active members of this global organization responsible for guaranteeing peace, take part in several local conflicts. Subsequently, a newly formed entity named the Foundation suggests a collaborative mission to target a key Blue Cosmos lair.

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom is screened on April 27 and 28, 2024 in cinemas in France.

An 18-year wait for an incredibly nostalgic return

I have been dreaming of this for 18 long years, and this dream has finally come true. Gundam SEED Freedom is available in France, and what's more in cinemas. To tell you everything, This is the first film in the franchise that I've had the chance to see on the big screen, and it really changes everything. I have been a huge fan of Mobile Suit Gundam for as long as I can remember and being able to attend this cinematic event almost two decades later in optimal conditions (a premium ICE theater from the CGR group) has no reason. price. It is a way to speak !

What's more, the Gundam SEED saga holds a special place in my heart as a fan of japanimation, science fiction and naturally mechas. Along with Iron-Blooded Orphans (available on Crunchyroll), this is by far my favorite Mobile Suit Gundam universe. And for good reason, I almost came of age alongside Kira Yamato, Lacus Clyne and Asran Zala. Seeing them again in the cinema, barely changed, as I slowly but surely approach forty gives me a pleasant nostalgic slap in the face that I wasn't necessarily expecting.

It is not essential to have recently rewatched the hundred episodes, without forgetting the 2 short films and its conclusion, nor even to have seen them to follow the new adventures of our heroes. Certainly, certain plot points risk remaining obscure, until the last minute of the film, but this is not prohibitive. However, the emotional charge felt will be close to zero for newbies, which somewhat ruins the experience. Gundam SEED Freedom plays the reunion card with its audience, especially those who discovered the series in the 2000s, and it shows.

Far from profoundly modifying the saga, the film directed by Mitsuo Fukuda brings out from the boxes the tone and codes so characteristic of an era of Japanese animation that is now over. Early fans expected nothing less from Freedom. This anime echoes productions from the beginning of the century as a self-respecting “softie” work. Although accessible to the greatest number of people, it is essentially aimed at an audience of informed connoisseurs who are aware of what they are going to see, and does everything to satisfy them. This poignant, sometimes kitsch story still focuses on the human race's appetite for self-destruction and of course relies on the power of love as the only remedy for this evil that gnaws away at us.

Gundam SEED Freedom makes the understandable choice to keep an old school style, and oh so satisfying, but does not forget to update its visuals with the new technologies made available to it. 3D, omnipresent in modern productions, allows artists to take creative flights never before seen in the franchise. It is a veritable fireworks display with a thousand shades of color which presents itself to our wide-eyed eyes in front of so much “pyrotechnic” feats. My retinas still twitch with excitement.

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom took me back to adolescence for a long-awaited, unexpected and ultimately gratifying session. I am simply happy to have had this cinematic experience which I recommend to fans of the saga, Japanese animation and science fiction.