A dinner show celebrating the 30th anniversary of the anime "Mobile Suit Gundam Wing," titled "Mobile Suit Gundam Wing 30th Anniversary Dinner Show - Operation Reunion-," was held on December 27th at The Prince Park Tower Tokyo Ballroom (Minato Ward, Tokyo). This was the first time a dinner show for the "Gundam" series had been held. The guests included Hikaru Midorikawa, who plays Heero Yuy, Toshihiko Seki, who plays Duo Maxwell, Shigeru Nakahara, who plays Trowa Barton, Ai Orikasa, who plays Quatre Labarba Winner, and Ryuzo Ishino, who plays Zhang Wufei. A limited-edition special menu was served, and for the first time in the series, the five main cast members performed live voice-overs of famous scenes and a talk show.
The venue featured a photo spot of the famous scene from episode 1 where Heero tears up the invitation from Relena. Flower stands donated by fans were lined up in front of the venue. Approximately 700 people with "platinum tickets" gathered for the afternoon session.
The event began with a live performance of "Eternity and Infinity in This Hand" by music composer Sachi Otani and violinist Koichiro Muroya. Relena appeared on the screen and, after an opening greeting, sent a message saying, "Heero... please take care of the rest." Starting with the line, "Mission understood!", a dressed-up Midorikawa and others appeared from the back of the venue. The opening theme "RHYTHM EMOTION" by "TWO-MIX" played, and the voice actors each performed a passionate exchange. Upon receiving an envelope with "Operation Reunion" written on it, Midorikawa tore up the invitation, saying, "Dinner show? I'm not participating in something like that..."
After Heero said, "Relena's request... I have no choice... Operation Reunion, mission commence...", the voice actors waved between the tables and made their way onto the stage to greet the fans once again. First up was Midorikawa, who prefaced his performance with, "I'll deliver this line, which has been pretty tough to say lately," before performing his famous line, "I'll kill you." Seki added, "Welcome everyone!", Nakahara added, "Let's have fun celebrating our 30th anniversary together today!", Orikasa added, "The heart of the universe will tell us whether we can all have fun today!", and Ishino added, "Can you hear me, ladies! And men! Everyone else! As long as you're having fun, I won't kill you."
After a toast led by Midorikawa, "TWO-MIX" and "White Reflection_Xmas Time Edition," which was mixed for this occasion, were played.
The appetizer was "Trout salmon tartare with a prosciutto mask and a hint of mozzarella cheese caprese," inspired by the clown mask Trowa wears on stage. The soup was "Shark fin soup with snow crab in an Altron green sauce," inspired by Wufei's distant homeland. The main dish was "Sautéed red sea bream with beurre blanc sauce and chicory wings," with chicory representing the wings of Wing Gundam Zero. Another main dish was "Pan-fried beef fillet in Mont d'Or style with vegetables shaped like Death Scythe's sickle and a mellow Madeira wine sauce." The dessert was "Fondant au Chocolat with dukkah spiced anglaise sauce and a musical note tune."
After the meal, the five cast members had a talk session. They said that it had been rare for all five of them to be together since the dubbing sessions, and they seemed deeply moved to be able to meet together after about 30 years.
Midorikawa, who had admired "Mobile Suit Gundam" since he was in elementary school, had hoped to play the lead role in a serious robot anime, but revealed that there were too many competitors in the auditions for this work and he thought it would be difficult to get the lead role, so he narrowed his target down to the role of Wufei. He recalled that during his performance as Heero, he released the acting plan he had prepared for Wufei, and "I went home depressed, thinking I definitely failed." He said he was told by Ryotaro Okiayu, who played Treize, that he had been chosen for the role of Heero at a party for another production, and he couldn't hide his confusion.
Orikasa, who was the last to be cast as Quatre, said, "I wanted to play a strong female enemy in Gundam." Seki, who was interviewed at a time when the duo hadn't appeared in a while due to the large number of characters that appear, shared an anecdote in which he asked an anime magazine reporter, "What's the situation like now?" about the story. Nakahara said that after the dubbing was over, he went out drinking with Sunrise producer Tomioka Hideyuki and series composer Sumizawa Katsuyuki, while Ishino recalled that he was desperate to do each dubbing session, as this was his comeback after an illness.
In a segment titled "Gundam W Audience Suicide Quiz!!", five Gundam pilots came up with answers to questions together with fans whose table numbers they drew by lottery, and if they got the answer wrong they were sprayed with smoke. When asked "Which animal appears in the TV version's ending that is not included?", everyone answered "baby bear" and got the answer right.
After reading a congratulatory telegram from series writer Sumisawa and "TWO-MIX," a video letter was also shown from Okiayu, who plays Treize. He hummed a line from Treize's character song, "Stardust Warriors," which drew cheers from the fans.
After Treize's opening remarks, "Now, bring peace to the people! Glory to the warriors! Comfort to the vanquished! Elegant ladies...", Otani launched into a live performance. Following the newly written song "Hymn for GUNDAM W. Anxiety, fear, madness and prayer about war", "Mission Accomplished" and "Wings of the Boy Who Killed Adolescence" were performed alongside footage from the anime. Otani revealed that "Hymn for GUNDAM W ~Anxiety, fear, madness and prayer about war~" expresses the fear and anxiety about war that remains unchanged even 30 years after the broadcast, as well as the prayer for peace that all people hold.
A voicemail arrived from Takehito Koyasu, who played Zechs Marquis. He revealed that playing Zechs helped him step up as a voice actor, and that it was a memorable work in his career as a voice actor.
With an introduction from Koyasu, the live dubbing corner began, featuring a launch sequence never before seen in the main story, set in the story from episode 44 onwards, in which Gundam pilots fight together. A video comment from Yajima Akiko, who plays Relena, was also screened. Looking back, she said that she had hardly ever played the role of a young lady, and felt daunted when playing Relena, but now she expressed her gratitude to the series, saying that she is grateful for the role. At Yajima's request, a live dubbing of the final episode, episode 49, was realized, which was met with thunderous applause from the audience.
Finally, as a slightly late Christmas present from the five members, they performed a special live version of "WHITE REFLECTION," the theme song for "Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz."
"Mobile Suit Gundam Wing" aired from 1995 to 1996 as the second installment of the "Alternative Series." It depicted the battles of five young Gundam pilots. It was also the first Gundam series to be broadcast in the United States. The release of the 30th anniversary video, "Mobile Suit Gundam Wing -Operation 30th-," has also been a hot topic.
