Gundam Seed: Complete Collection One [DVD]

Year 70 of the Cosmic Era has seen the Coordinators, a group of genetically enhanced humans, move into colonies orbiting the Earth. However, this has not quelled the tensions between them and regular humans, leading to the escalation of the conflict into a full-scale war. On the neutral colony of Heliopolis, Kira Yamato and his friends are going about their daily lives as students, unaware of the impending storm.

When ZAFT commando forces attack Heliopolis, Kira's life is forever changed. Left with no choice, he and Federation officer Murrue Ramius are thrust into battle in a prototype mobile weapon, which Kira christens GUNDAM. Now, Kira must defend himself and his friends from his own people, for unknown to anyone else, he is a Coordinator. The enemy he faces on the battlefield is his childhood best friend, Athrun.

Released in Japan 23 years after the initial Gundam series, Mobile Suit Gundam Seed (2002) introduced a new generation of viewers to the Yoshiyuki Tominos sci-fi universe. Kira Yamato becomes a mecha pilot when he stumbles onto the top-secret GAT-X105 Strike Gundam during the attack on Heliopolis. The Earth Alliance and ZAFT, the fighting arm of the Coordinators, are at war, and Heliopolis is caught in the crossfire.

Because Kira is a Coordinator, he can pilot the Strike and reprogram its operating system with no training. Although he's a civilian, Kira joins the crew of the Earth Alliance ship Archangel, fighting off ZAFT attackers. However, many of the "Naturals," the regular people he defends, doubt his loyalty because he's a Coordinator, even when they owe their lives to his extraordinary abilities.

The focus of the story is not the struggle between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT, nor the conflict between the Naturals and the Coordinators: it's the clash between Kira and his old classmate, Athrun Zala. A dedicated ZAFT officer, Athrun adheres to a space-age version of bushido, the warrior's code of honor, while Kira only fights to protect his friends. These emotional entanglements provide a backdrop for the dramatic Mobile Suit battles in space, on Earth, and under water.

Director Mitsuo Kukada stages these CG fight sequences with a panache that makes the viewer forget how often the action violates the laws of physics. Gundam Seed provides all the elements that have made Gundam one of the most popular franchises in animation history. Material from the first 20 episodes was recut into the feature Mobile Suit Gundam Seed--The Movie. (Rated 13 and older: violence, minor profanity, brief nudity, alcohol use)

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