Mobile Suit V Gundam: Collection 1

This set of 1993 TV episodes from the popular Gundam Japanese sci-fi combat franchise represents the fourth iteration of the series that helped define the “mecha” anime genre (with giant robot power suits acting as tank-like extensions of pilots, rather than being intelligent, sentient machines). Centuries in the future, after Earth has been ravaged by pollution, Zanscare—a heavily militarized empire of human space colonists prone to public guillotining—use their Gundam weapons to capture portions of the planet that are currently dominated by a weak Federation and non-allied corporations. Earth adolescent Üso, part of a freedom-fighter resistance movement, happens to be a prodigy at piloting a white-colored Gundam fighter named Victory, and he engages in crucial battles against Zanscare while also learning bitter lessons about codes of combat, sacrifice, and the casualties of war (and then, rather redundantly, re-learning those lessons when the fight moves to deep space). It's a fan favorite—despite less than stellar animation—that features fairly thoughtful and morally conflicted characters, some of whom do not survive the saga (although children, dogs, and cute little robots are spared). Compiling the first 26 episodes of the series in separate DVD and Blu-ray editions, rated TV-14, and presented in Japanese with English subtitles, this is recommended. [Note: Mobile Suit V Gundam: Collection 2 is also newly available.] (C. Cassady)