The end has come. The finale of the grand daddy of all anime mecha series.

Vol 10 (Episodes 39-42)- The war between the Earth s federal Forces and the Principality of Zeon wages on. This part of the series takes place in Part Three of the condensed Mobile Suit films that I previously reviewed... The basic summation, in the Universal Century year 0079, an overpopulated Earth has established orbiting colonies, one of which, Zeon, declares itself independent principality and wages an intense war on Earth's Federal forces. In the wars opening months there are massive casualties depleting the population of both sides, forcing teenagers like young Amuro Ray to become soldiers. On the warship the White Base, Amuro finds himself strangely adept at combat and piloting the Gundam Mobile Suit, his New Type abilities making him the Federal Forces premiere soldier and the enemy of the Zeons main fighter pilot, Char Aznable..... The following episode synopsis contain some spoilers.

39. Lalah's Dilemma- The Gundam gets an overhaul so it will be faster and able to respond quicker to Amuro's emerging New Type abilities. Meanwhile, Char continues to train the Zeons New Type, Lalah, using her affection for him as a means to make her a powerful soldier for the Zeon army. The Zeons Solar Ray is nearing completion, and with his father hinting at making a peace treaty with the federal Forces, Gihren plots to overthrow his father, Sovereign Degwin Zabi, intent on ruling the Zabi family and the Zeon army. Lalah is put into her first battle and finds an odd clash between her and Amuros' New Type abilities as they both psychically connect to one another.

41. Space Fortress: A Baoa Qu- Amuro Ray and Lalah battle, each trying to come to grips with their affection for each other yet being on opposing sides, and each foreseeing the possible end of the war. With the Federal Forces nearing their territory and Degwin Zabi meeting with them to talk about peace, the Zeons, under Gihren's command, use the Solar Ray against the Federal Forces fleet.

40. A Cosmic Glow- The Solar Ray wipes out nearly half of the Earth's federal Forces and Sovereign Degwin Zabi. The Federal Forces mount one grand attack against the Zeons main base, the asteroid fortress A Baoa Qu. With the hope that it will give him an edge over Amuro, Char is assigned a new mobile suit, one that will utilize his somewhat dormant New Type abilities. The overconfident Gihren is assassinated by his own sister. The federal Forces White Base begins to crash land on the asteroid and the final battle begins.

42. Escape- Char and Amuro's battle is so furious they destroy their mobile suits in the process and take their fight inside the base where they fight hand to hand, gun to gun, and sword to sword. Realizing he has lost sight of his original goal to destroy the Zabi, Char reunites with his sister, has final words with Amuro, before going off to destroy what remains of the Zabi. As the base explodes, Amuro leads a desperate escape, using his psychic gifts to communicate with his White Base crew and get everyone out safely while the last Zeon stronghold falls to pieces.

The DVD: Bandai Entertainment. The episode releases by Bandai are the Westernized versions of the show, new opening and closing credits and English dub only.

Picture- Full-screen. First, one must remind themselves they are looking at a 30 yr old animation show. That said, it is a little spotty throughout, showing sings of aging and general problems that were probably always there (rough animation, muddy color, and such) and seemed fine in the late 70's. Probably the best job you could do considering the source material.

Sound- Dolby Digital 2.0 English dub. Well, no Japanese track, which I think really hurts the show. Japanese voice overacting is one thing, but a melodrama like Gundam really suffers with the English dubbing cast. Technically it is fine, with the actors voices high in the center of the mix and music and fx filling out the background.

Extras- Episode/Chapter Selections, 5 chapters per episode--- Mobile Suit Encyclopedia, specs and info on three of the mobile suits--- Trailers for Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Gundam 08th MS Team, Mobile Suit Gundam 0083, and Pilot Candidate--- DVD Credits

Conclusion: Technically I couldn't find any real glitches or quibbles beyond the shows actual age issues. Quality is probably comparable to the previous nine volumes, so if you already have those, go ahead and purchase this last one. Otherwise, why not just save some cash and watch it on the Cartoon Network, which currently broadcasts the show on Saturday nights?