Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant documents that answer the question.
Query: When did Gundam Wing premier?
"Gundam Wing" was a greater success in North America, however, and is credited with single-handedly popularizing the "Gundam" franchise among Western audiences. Just over a week after its premiere on Cartoon Network on March 6, 2000, the series was the top rated program in all age groups. During the summer of 2000, it remained as the first or second top-rated show among kids and teens during its twelve airings per week on the Toonami block. "Gundam Wing" was ranked the 73rd best animated series by IGN, calling the series "so good that even those opposed to anime have to give the show its due credit".
, also known as the , is a science fiction media franchise created by Sunrise that features giant robots (mecha) with the name "Gundam" (after the original titular mecha). The franchise began on April 7, 1979 with "Mobile Suit Gundam", a TV series that defined the "real robot" mecha anime genre by featuring giant robots called mobile suits in a militaristic setting. The popularity of the series and its merchandise spawned a franchise that includes television series, OVAs, films, manga, novels and video games, as well as a whole industry of model robots known as Gunpla (plastic Gundam model).
The "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED" anime series is animated by the Japanese anime studio Sunrise and directed by Mitsuo Fukuda. It aired from October 5, 2002 to September 27, 2003, with fifty episodes on TBS. As with other series from the Gundam franchise, "Gundam SEED" takes place in a parallel timeline, in this case the Cosmic Era, the first to do so. In this era, mankind has developed into two subspecies: Naturals, who reside on Earth and Coordinators, genetically-enhanced humans capable of withstanding the rigors of space who inhabit orbital colonies. The story revolves around a young Coordinator Kira Yamato who becomes involved in the war between the two races after a neutral space colony is invaded by the Coordinators.
In 1979, Tomino directed and wrote "Mobile Suit Gundam", which was highly influential in transforming the Super Robot mecha genre into the Real Robot genre. Mark Simmons discusses the impact of "Gundam" in his book, "Gundam Official Guide":
In an interview published in "Animerica" magazine, Tomino discusses what he was trying to accomplish with "Mobile Suit Gundam":
Although the last quarter of the show's original script was canceled and it had to be completed in 43 episodes, its popularity grew after three compilation movies were released in 1981 and 1982. "Mobile Suit Gundam" was followed by numerous sequels, spin-offs and merchandising franchises, becoming one of the longest-running and most influential, popular anime series in history, being chosen as No. 1 on TV Asahi's "Top 100 Anime" listing in 2005.
"Mobile Suit Victory Gundam" is a 1993 Japanese science fiction anime television series created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino and produced by Bandai Visual, Sotsu Agency, Sunrise, and TV Asahi with music production by Starchild Records and Apollon. Spanning 51 episodes, "Mobile Suit Victory Gundam" is the final television series following the Universal Century timeline in the Gundam franchise. The series premiered in Japan on TV Asahi on April 2, 1993 and concluded on March 25, 1994.
It is the year After Colony 195, and the battles between Earth and the space colonies have ended. Treize Khushrenada is dead and OZ has come to an end. This gives birth to the Earth Sphere Unified Nation (ESUN) and the Preventers. Seeing they won't be needed anymore, the Gundam pilots (except Chang Wufei) send their suits into the sun. However, this peace would not last, for a rebellion occurs on the newly completed colony, L3 X-18999. Led by seven-year-old Mariemaia Khushrenada, Treize's illegitimate daughter, the rebellion kidnaps Relena Darlian, now the Vice Foreign Minister of the ESUN, during a diplomatic mission to X-18999. As the Gundam pilots investigate further, they discover that Mariemaia is merely a puppet controlled by her grandfather Dekim Barton, a former advisor to martyred colony leader Heero Yuy, who is using X-18999 to go through with the original Operation Meteor, as a contingency plan in case the ESUN doesn't comply. The Gundam pilots must prevent Dekim from seizing power over the ESUN. The Gundams are retrieved from their course to sun to Earth's orbit thanks to Quatre and the Maganacs. The pilots use their Gundams one last time to fight against Dekim's forces, not killing anyone. In the end, Dekim is killed by one of his own soldiers, Earth and its colonies are at peace once again and all mobile suits (including the Gundams) are forever destroyed.One of the most notable features of "Endless Waltz" was the massive redesigns all five of the Gundams from the end of the "Gundam Wing" TV series received, courtesy of the artist Hajime Katoki. The Gundams in "Endless Waltz" have more stylized appearances; reflected in the even more demonic design of the Gundam Deathscythe Hell, the more dragon-like design of the Altron Gundam, and the new "angel-winged" design of the Wing Gundam Zero. Despite the dramatically different designs of the Gundams, the story in "Endless Waltz" retcons them as if the original designs from the TV series never existed. However, this changed after the release of the "Glory of Losers" manga series.In North America, "Endless Waltz" premiered on Canada's YTV on September 11, 2000 and on Cartoon Network in the U.S. on November 10, 2000. It was later released to VHS, UMD, and DVD by Bandai Entertainment, with the DVD edition containing both the OVA and compilation movie versions on one disc. Due to the closure of Bandai Entertainment, the OVA and Movie went out-of-print. On October 11, 2014 at their 2014 New York Comic-Con panel, Sunrise announced they will be releasing all of the Gundam franchise, including "Endless Waltz" in North America though distribution from Right Stuf Inc., beginning in Spring 2015. Right Stuf had re-released "Endless Waltz" on Blu-ray and DVD in December 2017.
G-Force: Guardians of Space (1986) is the second American animated television adaptation of the Japanese anime series "Science Ninja Team Gatchaman" (1972), following Sandy Frank Entertainment's initial 1978 effort "Battle of the Planets" and preceding ADV Films' 2005 attempt, known merely as "Gatchaman". With "G-Force", Sandy Frank Entertainment collaborated with Turner Broadcasting to create a newer, more faithful translation of "Science Ninja Team Gatchaman" for a new audience, and such a translation was made possible with the relaxed television standards of the 1980s, a luxury that the more "Star Wars"-themed "Battle of the Planets" did not enjoy.
YTV hosted the North American broadcast premiere of "Sailor Moon" in August 1995. The final 17 episodes of "Sailor Moon R" were dubbed specifically for the Canadian market. Series such as "Dragon Ball" and "Pokémon" were broadcast on the channel in following years. In 2000, YTV broadcast "Mobile Suit Gundam Wing", airing an edited version of the series at 11:30 p.m. ET on weeknights.
YTV hosted the North American broadcast premiere of "Sailor Moon" in August 1995. The final 17 episodes of "Sailor Moon R" were dubbed specifically for the Canadian market. Series such as "Dragon Ball" and "Pokémon" were broadcast on the channel in following years. In 2000, YTV broadcast "Gundam Wing", airing an edited version of the series at 11:30 p.m. ET on weeknights.
The game was positively received by critics and developed into a full franchise. An enhanced version of the game for the PlayStation Vita, Persona 4 Golden, was released in 2012. Various other manga and light novel adaptations and spin-offs have been produced. An anime television adaptation by AIC ASTA, titled "", began airing in Japan in October 2011, with an anime adaptation of "Persona 4 Golden" airing in July 2014. The game has also spawned two fighting game sequels, "Persona 4 Arena" and "Persona 4 Arena Ultimax", and a rhythm game, "".
A novel series written by Tatsuya Hamazaki and illustrated by Yuzuka Morita of the same name retells the story of the games with slight modifications, such as depicting Epitaphs as weapons instead of physical Avatars and a further exploration Haseo's background who gains a new armor. It is composed of a total of four volumes published by Kadokawa Shoten between April 1, 2007 and August 1, 2008. Tokyopop published the novels in North America between February 10, 2009 and April 26, 2011. Cyberconnect2 also produced ".hack//G.U. Trilogy", a computer animated film adaptation of the games that takes numerous liberties with the story. The film was first screened in Japan in a Tokyo theater in December 2007. Bandai Visual later released it in DVD and Blu-ray format on March 25, 2008. In May 2011, Bandai Entertainment announced that they licensed the film for an English release but only with Japanese audio accompanied by English subtitles on August 18, 2009. Following the closure of Bandai Entertainment, Funimation announced at SDCC 2013, that they have acquired 4 .hack title including G.U. trilogy. 
The games' sequel is ".hack//Link", a PlayStation Portable game that takes place three years in the future with a new version of "The World".
In a review by Marcus Estrada of "Hardcore Gamer", he praised "Planetarian" for having a "beautiful story," gorgeous CGs and a soundtrack that "sets a melancholic, but hopeful mood fitting with the story." He also noted that "even as an aging property "Planetarian" still looks and sounds good." "Planetarian" is one of several kinetic novels featured in the "Lycèe Trading Card Game"; Yumemi and the planetarium are playable cards in the second VisualArt's card set. In the February 2007 issue of SoftBank Creative's "Gemaga" magazine, the PS2 version ranked first for console games in terms of satisfaction; the game had ranked fourth in the previous issue. In the Japanese video game magazine "Famitsu" released on September 8, 2006, it was reported that the PS2 version of "Planetarian" sold 8,170 units the week of August 21 to August 27, 2006 (the PS2 version was originally sold on August 24, 2006). When the PSP version was re-released as a fundraising event for the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, 16,663 units were pre-ordered by the day of its release on May 12, 2011. From these sales, Prototype and VisualArt's donated 22,415,069 yen.
Numerous video game titles based on the "Fist of the North Star" have been produced since the 1986 release of the Enix adventure game, simply titled "Hokuto no Ken" for the PC-88. The earlier games in the franchise were released by Sega for the Mark III and Mega Drive and by Toei Animation for Nintendo's Famicom, Game Boy and Super Famicom. These titles included side-scrolling action games, role-playing video games and competitive-style fighting games. The two Sega titles were released overseas without the "Hokuto no Ken" license under the titles of "Black Belt" and "Last Battle", while a couple of the Toei titles, namely "Fist of the North Star" for the NES and "Fist of the North Star: 10 Big Brawls for the King of Universe" for the Game Boy, had American releases with the license intact. Further games were released for the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Arcade, PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS among other platforms. In 2000, Konami released an arcade game based on the franchise titled "Fighting Mania". Another arcade game, a 2D fighting game simply titled "Fist of the North Star", was produced by Sega and Arc System Works in 2005. Both games saw international distributions, although the PS2 version of the fighting game was released exclusively in Japan. Tecmo Koei produced a "Dynasty Warriors" spinoff focusing on the events from the first half of the manga, titled "". It which was released in Japan on March 25, 2010, and later in North America on November 2, 2010, and Europe on November 5, 2010. A sequel, "", expanded on the first game and incorporated the events from the second half of the manga. It was released in Japan on December 20, 2012, and in North America on February 5, 2013. On August 25, 2017, Sega announced a new game, "", for release in 2018 on PlayStation 4. The game was released on March 8, 2018 by the team behind the "Yakuza" series and features similar gameplay and elements.
The first two "Disgaea" installments were released for the PlayStation 2. The series debuted in Japan with "" in 2003 on the PlayStation 2 and has since been re-released on the PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS with new content. It was known for many uncommon elements previously unseen in the strategy RPG genre, such as complex gameplay, extremely high maximum stats and a maximum level of 9999, and humorous dialogue. "", released for the PlayStation 2 in 2006 in Japan, has been re-released on the PlayStation Portable under the title "" with new content. Both of these games were later ported to the PC as "" in 2016, and "Disgaea 2 PC" in 2017 respectively. Both are based on the PlayStation Portable versions, with additional content and redone graphics. The series then moved on to the PlayStation 3 for "", released in Japan in 2008, and was re-released on the PlayStation Vita as "" in 2012. "" was released in Japan in 2011 and re-released on the PlayStation Vita as "" in 2014. A direct sequel to the first game, "" was released for the PlayStation 3 in 2013. The latest entry in the series, "" was released in 2015, moving the series to the PlayStation 4, and was ported to the Nintendo Switch as "Disgaea 5 Complete" in 2017.
"Resonance of Fate" was first hinted at prior to April 2009, then announced as an untitled "mystery" RPG at the beginning of the month. According to Shimano, its codename "Project Cobra" had been bandied about prior to the reveal, but no-one had suspected anything about its true nature. Its official Japanese title, along with details such as tri-Ace's partnership with Sega, were unveiled on April 8, 2009. "Resonance of Fate" marked the first collaboration between tri-Ace and Sega—most of tri-Ace's previous games had been published by Square Enix. The reason for the choice was two-fold: tri-Ace wanted a different publisher due to the radical nature of their new game, and Sega wanted a title to break into the RPG market. As "Resonance of Fate" seemed unique enough to stand out in the market, Sega agreed to take up publishing duties. According to staff, the Japanese title was originally going to be either "Resonance of Fate" or "Resonance of Time", but Sega asked it to be changed to "End of Eternity". This fell in line with a trend among many Japanese games of referencing endings in their titles. It was officially announced for a Western release in May 2009. The game debuted in Japan on January 28, 2010 with a March release in North America and PAL regions. The European version came with text localization in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian.
A two-episode OVA was released in 1993, incorporating elements from the first two volumes of the manga with changes to the characters and storyline. According to Kishiro, only two episodes were originally planned. At the time, he was too busy with the manga "to review the plan coolly," nor was he serious about an anime adaptation. It remains the only anime adaptation of "Battle Angel Alita" to date and there are no plans to revive it.
A 3-minute 3D-CGI rendered movie clip is included in volume 6 of the Japanese "Gunnm: Complete Edition". It showcases Alita in a Third League Motorball race with players from two of her races such as "Armor" Togo, Degchalev, and Valdicci, and depicts events from both of those races.
Battle Angel Alita, known in Japan as , is a cyberpunk manga series created by Yukito Kishiro in 1990 and originally published in Shueisha's "Business Jump" magazine. Two of the nine-volume comics were adapted into two anime original video animation episodes titled "Battle Angel" for North American release by ADV Films and the UK and Australian release by Manga Entertainment. Manga Entertainment also dubbed "Battle Angel Alita" into English. A live-action film adaptation titled "" is scheduled for release on February 14, 2019.
Grandia is a role-playing video game, developed by Game Arts and published by ESP Software for the Sega Saturn console as the first game in their "Grandia" series. Released in Japan in 1997, the game was ported to the PlayStation in 1999, with an English version of the game appearing on the platform in North America in the following September by Sony Computer Entertainment, and in Europe in 2000 by Ubi Soft. The game was produced by much of the same staff who worked on the company's previous role-playing endeavor, the "Lunar" series, including producer Yoichi Miyagi and composer Noriyuki Iwadare.
In September 2004, IDW Publications began publishing a series of "Metal Gear Solid" comics, written by Kris Oprisko and illustrated by Ashley Wood. As of 2006, 12 issues have been published, fully covering the "Metal Gear Solid" storyline. The comic was adapted into a PlayStation Portable game, "Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel" ("Metal Gear Solid: Bande Dessinée" in Japan). It features visual enhancements and two interactive modes designed to give further insight into the publication. Upon viewing the pages, the player can open a "scanning" interface to search for characters and items in a three-dimensional view. Discoveries are added to a database which can be traded with other players via Wi-Fi. The "mission mode" allows the player to add collected information into a library. This information must be properly connected to complete a mission. "Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel" was released in North America on June 13, 2006, Japan on September 21 and the PAL region on September 22. In 2006, the game received IGN's award for Best Use of Sound on the PSP. A DVD-Video version is included with its sequel ("Metal Gear Solid 2: Bande Dessinée"), which was released in Japan on June 12, 2008. The DVD version features full voice acting.
An "aggressive" marketing campaign was planned to push the game and the series as a "brand for the future, not a one shot deal". "Grandia Xtreme" was showcased with a trailer at the Tokyo Game Show in August 2001 and in playable form at the World Hobby Fair of Tokyo in January 2002. A video of the game was also featured in an issue of "Famitsu Game Wave DVD". The game was released in Japan on January 31, 2002 in either regular or limited edition, the latter including as bonuses a "Grandia Xtreme" pocket watch and a small "Geo Gate" diorama depicting the protagonist Evann. Customers who pre-ordered the game also received a "Grandia" miniature tote bag.
In June 2006, Shueisha announced that the "D.Gray-man" manga would be adapted as an anime. Its first episodes were directed by Osamu Nabeshima and produced by Dentsu, TMS Entertainment, Aniplex, and TV Tokyo. TMS Entertainment provided the animation, while Aniplex provided the music. The series began airing on October 3, 2006 on TV Tokyo. The anime's 51-episode first season, known as the "1st stage", ended on September 25, 2007. The 52-episode second season, known as the "2nd stage", began on October 2, 2007 and ended on September 30, 2008, for a total of 103 episodes. The anime adapts the manga's storyline from the beginning and concludes after the destruction of the Black Order headquarters. The episodes were released by Aniplex on 26 DVDs from February 7, 2007 to March 4, 2009.
In early 2010, "Gundam Ace" magazine announced they would serialize a "New "Gundam Wing" Project". The project was eventually revealed to be a novel, titled "". Written by Katsuyuki Sumizawa, the novel begins a new timeline, following the "Mars Century" calendar ("MC") which was the successor of the previous "After Colony" calendar. According to an interview with the author, the novel spans backwards into the AC century and the Gundam pilots, Relena, and their children make appearances.
The "Mobile Fighter G Gundam" television series originally aired in Japan the terrestrial channel TV Asahi from April 22, 1994 to March 31, 1995 for a total of 49 episodes. The show would not reach North American audiences until many years later. "Mobile Suit Gundam Wing", a series that succeeded "G Gundam" on Japanese television in 1995, was first localized in North America by Bandai Entertainment in early 2000. "Gundam Wing" was a moderate success in the United States while being broadcast on the popular afternoon Toonami block of Cartoon Network. In late 2001, Bandai acquired the rights to distribute an English-dubbed version of "G Gundam" with voice casting recorded by Ocean Productions in their Blue Water studio in Calgary, Alberta. The English-language version of "G Gundam" premiered as a free screening at the Sony Metreon Action Theatre in San Francisco on March 30, 2002. "G Gundam" began airing on Toonami on August 5, 2002. Due to the channel's censorship policies, some edits were made for the broadcast. This mainly involved altering the names of several mobile fighters, such as changing God Gundam and Devil Gundam to Burning Gundam and Dark Gundam respectively. The show was also aired on the channel's "Midnight Run" and as part of its Saturday programming in November 2002. Cartoon Network officially dropped "G Gundam" from its afternoon schedule the following June. The series has since been re-broadcast on the Japanese cable network Family Gekijo and the satellite channel Animax.
A three-part OVA titled "" was produced in 1997 as a sequel to the TV series; plot-wise, it brought the "After Colony" timeline to a close. The OVA was also notable for its massive redesigns of all the Gundams by Hajime Katoki, such as the Wing Gundam Zero's new "angel-winged" appearance. A compilation movie version of "Endless Waltz" (featuring additional footage, alterations of the music score and a different ending theme) was later released in Japan on August 1, 1998. "Endless Waltz" premiered on Cartoon Network in the U.S. on November 10, 2000. Both the OVA and movie versions of "Endless Waltz" were later released together on DVD. Right Stuf released both OVAs on Blu-ray and DVD in December 2017 (though "Operation Meteor" remains un-dubbed).
The initial airing of the OVA on November 10, 2000, was Cartoon Network's second highest-rated program ever at the time, only being topped by the premiere of Funimation's in-house dub of "Dragon Ball Z". Helen McCarthy in "500 Essential Anime Movies" commented that "the giant robot fights are as good as ever" and that "the art direction and design is excellent".