Set in the future, after various wars and battles between a number of factions have taken place, the more civilized way to handle such things has been decided by all the countries of the world. Each country will develop it's own Mech with abilities that are specialized and fight in a year long battle with one another, tournament style. As fighters are eliminated, the remaining ones continue to fight in an orderly fashion until only one champion is left standing. That champion's country will rule space for a four year period. At the end of their reign, another series of fights will be held (a full tournament lasts a year) to determine the next winner. The idea was fostered to reduce the number of casualties to civilians and reduce military spending. Granted, the idea of trial by combat or succession to a throne by combat is older than dirt but it's made to seem reasonable.

Now, the fighters all have their own quirks and characterizations-many of which are stereotypes of the countries they come from. The fighter from India wears a turban, the American is a bit of a redneck, and all the rest you'd expect. The main character of the series is Doman, the fighter from Neo Tokyo. He is kind of a average guy who wants to do the right thing rather than win at all costs by any means necessary as most of the other fighters (but not all) seem to be. In Collector's Box 3 (episodes 25-36), he gets a new Gundam (large Mech Robot) to replace his prior model. Even though he's new to it, he must fight on or his country will lose. The current leader, Prime Minister Wong, will do anything in his power to stop Domon-from providing advance notice to his enemies (so they can attack him when outside of his Gundam), lift rules that have been in place for years, and even force Domon to fight his allies in order to divide and conquer them. Most of the Gundams have a single main weapon (making them one trick ponies) which allows the more versatile Domon to succeed even when handicapped. The fights also take place in a large arena. The fights are all similar to one another and the background story is not overly focused (it meanders more than this review) so I'm not going to give you a blow by blow description of the episodes (usually the title says it all and there wasn't enough variation on the theme to prevent me from sounding repetitive) but here's the episodes by title:

Episode 25: All Fighters Gathered! The Final Battles Begin
Episode 26: A New Weapon! Erupting Burning Finger
Episode 27: Hang on, Domon! Triumph of the Restored Faith
Episode 28: Domon Targeted! The Assassin's Staff
Episode 29: Running Away! Sai Saici in Love
Episode 30: Beautiful Fighter! Dangerous Allenby
Episode 31: Dazzling Power of the Clown! Get Mad, Gundam Maxter!
Episode 32: Dangerous Trap! Neros Gundam Strikes Back
Episode 33: Emissary of Darkness! Chapman Rises Again
Episode 34: Stand Up Domon! Raging Tag Team Match
Episode 35: Showdown! Bursting Machinegun Punch
Episode 36: A Knight's Pride! Gundam Rose Stolen

Picture: The picture was presented in a full screen, 1.33:1 ratio which was how it originally aired in Japan back in 1994. The anime style is a bit limited, and looks low budget, with some weak colors at times. The dvd transfer looked okay but not exceptional although this is a low budget release (the MSRP is $19.99 a disc for the individual releases and the boxed sets are cheaper).

Sound: The sound appeared to be nearly mono with limited sound separation on the Dolby Digital tracks which provide a choice of either Japanese with English subtitles or English. Not great but this is not exactly a top of the line release either.

Extras: The extras were limited to one section of G-Files (a background information text section which included interviews with the original makers of the show), some trailers, dvd credits, and a paper insert that provided pictures and background data on several of the Gundams.

Final Thoughts: Call this a guilty pleasure on my part but even though it's nearly identical, in concept at least, to a number of other anime series, and videogames, it's still fun to watch the show. Yes, it gets a bit repetitive when taken in large doses like reviewing a 3 disc boxed set, but fans can't get enough and those new to the show may want to rent the earlier boxed sets or discs before buying them sight unseen. I'm suggesting it as a Rental although, as with most anime series, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The boxes are cheap enough that many will simply buy them.