Almost two years to the day from when Hulu brought on the Mobile Suit Gundam 08th MS Team to its service, we learned at the start of February that it’s streaming was about to end. It was given a two week winding down period which has come and gone and the show has now been renewed with no end date visible since it’s so far off as Hulu only lists shows with dates when they’re close to expiration. The twelve episode series is available here on Hulu in both its original Japanese language form with English subtitles as well as the English language dub if you want to check it out. The series was originally produced and released for North America through Bandai Entertainment. Sunrise is currently bringing these shows out through Right Stuf.
Check out our review of the series. Also check out our thoughts on the property with the Twenty Years Later: Mobile Suit Gundam 08th MS Team Anime article.
Originally released between 1996 and 1999, the OVAs were directed by Takeyuki Kanda for the first six episodes before his death and Umanosuke Iida for the final episodes afterward. Akira Okeya and Hioraki Kitajima handled the scripts with Toshihiro Kawamoto handling the character designs. Koji Sugiura was the chief animation director and it was animated at Sunrise.
The Japanese cast includes Kikuko Inoue as Aina Saharin, Nobuyuki Hiyama as Shiro Amada, Chinami Nishimura as Kiki Rosita, Hiro Yuuki as Michel Ninorinch, Ichirô Nagai as Gidan Nickerd, Keiji Fujiwara as Eledore Mathiss, Mami Koyama as Karen Joshua, Osamu Ichikawa as Norris Packard, Sho Hayami as Gineas Sahalin, Tesshō Genda as Terry Sanders and Yuzuru Fujimoto as Kojima.
The English cast includes Emily Brown as Aina Sahalin, Steve Cannon as Shiro Amada, Alfred Thor as Kojima, Bob Marx as Jidan Nickard, Christy Mathewson as Eledore Massis, Debbie Derosa as Karen Joshua, Georgette Rose as Kiki Rosita, Lex Lang as Ginias Sahalin, Michael McConnohie as Norris Packard, Steve Kramer as Terry Sanders and Tony Ricci as Michel Ninorich.
Plot concept: The year is Univeral Century 0079. The Federation has begun mass production of prototype Gundams for use by its ground forces. Shiro Amada, commander of the 08th MS Team, must lead his soldiers through fierce fighting on the ground. However, the Zeons are developing a secret project which could tip the balance of power! Can Shiro and his ragtag team of castoffs, rejects, and bad attitudes save the Federation?
