Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Endless Waltz

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Endless Waltz (新機動戦記ガンダムW Endless Waltz, Shin Kidō Senki Gandamu Uingu Endoresu Warutsu) was a 1997 three-part OVA created by Sunrise set in the After Colony era. It served as both sequel and prequel to Mobile Suit Gundam Wing—a sequel as it continued the story one year after the TV series ended, and a prequel as it revealed details regarding the past of the Gundam pilots and the true objective behind Operation Meteor. The OVA was later compiled into a theatrical release in 1998 titled Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Endless Waltz: Special Edition with new scenes and changes to the score.

Overview

Endless Waltz originally premiered in Japan as a three-part OVA series in 1997, with episodes released in January, March, and July. The 1998 theatrical compilation added approximately ten minutes of new footage, primarily an extended battle scene between the Gundams, along with additional character moments and a new ending theme. As part of the Gundam Big Bang Project, the movie was double-billed with Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team – Miller’s Report and collectively referred to as “Gundam the Movie.”

The OVA was broadcast on Cartoon Network in the United States on 10 November 2000, marking an important milestone in Gundam’s Western distribution. The movie is available to be streamed on Crunchyroll.

Most notably, Endless Waltz featured complete redesigns of all major Gundams by Katoki Hajime. The Gundams received more stylised and ostentatious designs, reflected in the Wing Zero’s giant angel wings, the even more demonic appearance of the Deathscythe Hell, and the more dragon-like Altron. The story treated these design changes as a retcon rather than in-universe modifications.

Synopsis

In After Colony 196, one year after the Eve Wars, the battles between Earth and the colonies had ended. Treize Khushrenada was dead and the Organization of the Zodiac had come to an end. This gave birth to the Earth Sphere Unified Nation (ESUN) and the Preventers. Seeing they would not be needed anymore, the Gundam pilots—except for Chang Wufei—agreed to send their Gundams into the Sun aboard a disposal block.

However, this peace would not last. A rebellion occurred on the newly completed Colony L3 X-18999, led by seven-year-old Mariemaia Khushrenada, Treize’s illegitimate daughter. The rebellion kidnapped Relena Darlian, now Vice Foreign Minister of the ESUN, during a diplomatic mission to X-18999.

As the Gundam pilots investigated further, they discovered that Mariemaia was merely a puppet controlled by her grandfather Dekim Barton, a former advisor to martyred colony leader Heero Yuy. Dekim was using X-18999 to execute the original Operation Meteor as a contingency plan in case the ESUN didn’t comply with his demands.

The Gundams were retrieved from their course to the Sun and returned to Earth thanks to Quatre Raberba Winner and the Maganac Corps. The Gundam pilots used their machines one last time to fight against Dekim’s forces in Brussels, carefully avoiding killing anyone. In the end, Dekim was assassinated by one of his own soldiers. Earth and its colonies were at peace once again, and all mobile suits—including the Gundams—were destroyed forever.

Development

Theatrical version changes

When Endless Waltz was released in theatres in 1998 as a lead-in to Gundam’s 20th anniversary, several new scenes were added, incorporating approximately ten minutes of new footage. Most of this came in the form of an extended battle scene between the Gundams, but several noteworthy changes were made:

Structural changes:

Title cards and transitions between episodes were removed, making the three episodes into a single continuous movie
Many instrumental score cues were shifted around from the OVA
OVA ending theme “White Reflection” was replaced with “Last Impression”, both performed by TWO-MIX

New scenes:

Duo Maxwell’s flashback was moved earlier to the shuttle flight, just before Heero Yuy’s
Zechs Merquise reading his field manual inside the Tallgeese III and his eventual reunion with Lucrezia Noin after destroying the Mariemaia Army headquarters at MO-3
Sally Po in a stolen Mariemaia Army uniform rescuing hostages on X-18999, including Catherine and the circus manager
Extended battle scene in Brussels for Duo, Trowa, and Quatre
Dorothy Catalonia appearing in Brussels, convincing citizens to heed Relena’s speech and act for themselves
Heero sleeping in the damaged Wing Zero’s cockpit at the bottom of the sea, with Wing Zero reactivating on its own and awakening Heero
Individual character endings were lengthened and more elaborate whilst remaining generally the same in tone

The English dub replaced euphemisms in the OVA with minor profanity (e.g., Zechs says “Damn you!” instead of “Blast you!”), similar to differences between censored and uncut versions of the TV series.

Gundam redesigns

All major Gundams underwent massive redesigns by Katoki Hajime for Endless Waltz. The Gundams retained their same specifications and capabilities but received more stylised, ostentatious designs:

XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero EW – Giant feathered angel wings
XXXG-01D2 Gundam Deathscythe Hell EW – Even more demonic appearance
XXXG-01H2 Gundam Heavyarms Custom EW – Enhanced weapon pods
XXXG-01SR2 Gundam Sandrock Custom EW – More ornate Arabian styling
XXXG-01S2 Altron Gundam EW – More dragon-like appearance
OZ-00MS2B Tallgeese III – New unit combining Tallgeese and Epyon elements

The story treated these design changes as retcons rather than in-universe modifications. Following Endless Waltz’ release, Katoki also redesigned the five original Operation Meteor Gundams to maintain better continuity. Notably, Wing Zero’s angel-winged redesign initially appeared to remove its Neo Bird Mode transformation ability from the TV series, though this was later restored in the Glory of the Losers manga retelling.

Reception

Endless Waltz was the first OVA to feature the same cast as a previously aired series and the first Gundam OVA set outside the Universal Century. The production successfully bridged the gap between the TV series’ conclusion and provided closure for the Gundam pilots’ stories.

Katoki’s redesigns became iconic, eventually replacing the TV versions in most subsequent media. In the Super Robot Wars game series, the TV versions of the Gundams last appeared in Super Robot Wars Z2 Saisei-hen, after which they were replaced by the EW designs permanently.

Appearances

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Endless Waltz appeared in the following formats:

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Endless Waltz (OVA, 3 episodes, 1997)
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Endless Waltz: Special Edition (theatrical movie, 1998)
Various video games featuring EW-design Gundams

External links

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Endless Waltz at About Gundam Wing
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Endless Waltz on the Gundam Wiki