I have the Universal Seraph of the End boxes, labelled S1 part 1 (2 discs) and S1 part2 (2 discs).
My outside bet is they announce Witch From Mercury s1 at MCM. Beyond that I'm currently expecting zero Gundam this year, not even 0080 which I'm still amazed hasn't been a Christmas release.
Note- I have no hands on experience with the running of AL as a business. What follows is simply fan/consumer opinion on a possibility.
The way I see it it shouldn't be a massive ask to get it. It's 6 half hour episodes and some extras so basically 6+ hours of content. I think for how off the rails their UK Gundam releases have gone it'd be a small simple gesture.
I think the next UK Gundam release will probably be CR's release of Doan's Island. I also reckon CR will grab the rights for Witch from Mercury. As for AL, not sure really, I'm getting a little of the sense that now they've put out the big tentpole classic series their interest in the franchise is waning so we might not actually get some of the smaller stuff that the US got like 0080 or 08th MS Team.
I mean the least surprising Gundam releases have been SEED and SEED Destiny because Bandai currently has a 'global' initiative to hype the in production movie, with Fukuda confirming my decade old theory last year- the movie was originally supposed to come out 10 years ago on the heels of the 'HD' versions.
I think at this point as much as I'd love AL to do a release of Witch From Mercury I'd also like a release before 2030 and Crunchyroll seem to have been promoting it hard so might have picked up UK rights as well.
I'm rather annoyed that Crunchyroll has the film and Witch of Mercury, because no offense to the CR UK branch but I don't see Gundam selling well under their name compared to AL's. Sometimes a title works and sells better under a specific distributor in my opinion.
I hope so. I can see Crunchyroll only having theatrical rights for the Island film if AL had managed to get their hands on that for home video.
This is the rub for me. I was delighted back in 2015 when AL started releasing Gundam but it's just fallen so by the wayside I myself am considering just importing the US releases so at least I have a complete library. I know all sorts of things have played a role (Brexit, COVID, corporate mergers, etc) but as I've said many times we know EXACTLY what it looks like when AL is passionate about a title and that hasn't been Gundam with them for a long time. Instead it's the series they seem to bristle at/shrug when fans ask or complain. We're talking about a company whose identity is being premium releases done with respect and yet they seem tuned out on one of anime's biggest franchises. It's actually kind of shocking.
100% agree, certain franchises are 'niche' and the fan base want a release that is a bit special and Gundam is very much in that category.
