Mobile Suit Gundam Seed 10: Day of Destiny was notable for the themes revolving around weapons of mass destruction with one side freely using nuclear missiles (previously limited due to jammers) and the other unveiling a massive space based gamma laser known as Genesis. Each WMD managed to annihilate major portions of the enemy and threaten the tiniest thread of stability left after the previous battles, thereby forcing each side to take increasingly desperate measures in order to survive complete destruction. As the series came to a close, it was worth noting that while the larger scaled battles became dominant, the show did not leave out dozens of personal touches on the smaller scale battles taking place. This helped to personalize the events as they transpired and many of the supporting cast was killed in the fever pitch of the battles, again showing the futility of war over negotiation.

The Alliance shocked Zaft and Zaft retaliated with neither being able to claim the moral high ground as each moved past the conventions of military wisdom to employ the unthinkable against any and all targets that came in their way. The Archangel did what it could to remain neutral but in the end, the will of the war cries superseded the demands for calm reflection and with so much going on, fans of the series will be replaying this one a lot. In short, if you've come this far in the series, there's simply no way you'll pass up this last volume of episodes as the fate of the Gundam Seed universe is finally determined, with bodies littering the landscape of space as bases, cities, and pretty much everything else is on the line. The episodes this time were 46: A Place For The Soul, 47: The Nightmare Reborn, 48: Day of Wrath, 49: The Final Light, and 50: To An Endless Future.

There, that sums up the action in an admittedly generic manner since any specifics now would tear apart the replay value. If you want a description of the episodes that seems to mechanically list what happened to whom, I can point you in about a dozen directions but in the end, doing so would be reckless on my part. The series is paced as it is for a reason and I'm not going to rip that pacing apart to impress a few readers that can't think for themselves. The grander scheme of things was well served here, better than in any previous incarnation of the Gundam series, and that is why I think it was worth a rating of Highly Recommended, with the inevitable boxed set of volumes probably worthy of Collector Series status; particularly if it includes the upcoming duo of movie releases derived from the series. If you enjoy battles, advanced technology, well written stories that meld together over time, and the general chaos of war, the series will be one you'll have a great time with.

Picture: Mobile Suit Gundam Seed 10: Day of Destiny was presented in its original 1.33:1 ratio full frame color as made in Japan. The colors, image, and clarity of the show were all top notch with no compression artifacts or noticeable video noise. Most of the show looked like it was traditionally made with some help from computers but every once in awhile, some CGI was employed that stood out like a sore thumb. For the most part, the show was handled nicely in this area and I only wish other series had so much attention to detail.

Sound: The audio was presented with the usual two choices, a 2.0 Dolby Digital track in the original Japanese with English subtitles or the newly made English dub. I thought the voice acting on each had some merit, with slight nods to the original cast, but even the dub managed to give me a decent feel for the material. If you're a purist, you might want to at least listen to the dub, especially since the sound effects appeared to be remixed a bit in order to use the stereo aspects of the audio track more thoroughly. I also noticed the music score being somewhat richer this time on the dub, with a spot check revealing that this was the case in the last couple of volumes.

Extras: My favorite extra was still the music video of Nami Tamaki singing "Believe" although I would've appreciated something new for this volume a lot more. It wasn't just that she was so fetching but the way the song resonated with me on some level. Otherwise, there was a short Gundam Encyclopedia that gave some information on the series, a third textless ending, a set of other series trailers, and a paper insert that gave some more definitions of the technology.

Final Thoughts: Mobile Suit Gundam Seed 10: Day of Destiny proved my initial prediction correct in that it was the highlight of an already excellent series, earning my respect and admiration. The final fate of Kira, his friends, and even most of his enemies was a sight to behold with a lot to offer fans of space battles too. The underlying themes of war, senseless destruction, and how unspoken social pacts dissolve when pressed hard enough were all present in large quantities and suffice it to say that the series ended exactly as it had to end, given the manner in which the warring factions pushed one another into a corner. If it serves as a lesson against war, a lesson against stubborn wills engaged in taking the mindless path towards mutually assured annihilation, or simply gives pause for thought in a time when the shades of gray are swept aside by society in general; Mobile Suit Gundam Seed 10: Day of Destiny will have served its creators well but it was better than the preachy anti-war efforts of the past so it deserves extra credit in how it evolved over time, refusing to be rushed on an artificial scale as other series in similar vein have succumbed to.

If you enjoy anime, take a look at some of the recommendations by DVDTalk's twisted cast of reviewers in their Best Of Anime 2003 and Best Of Anime 2004 article or regular column Anime Talk