With a near 5-year run, one of the best informative blogs covering the Gundam world is closing its doors for good. Gunota Headlines was indeed a top source of mine for all things Gundam, so it’s really sad to hear its over. Its final entry has a farewell message to all of their long-time visitors…

2 months short of the 5th anniversary of the blog, I am sad to announce this entry will be the last for Gunota Headlines. Before it even had a name, it was a dumping ground for the then persistent Zeta Gundam trilogy rumors. A few days later, my blogging partner Neo-Era came on board and it transformed into what everyone has known it as. Coincidently, my current job and Gunota started around the same time. As the years went by, I became the typical busy salary-man resulting in less time devoted to helping run the site.
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The ride has been great. I never imagined it would last this long. In the past 5 years, we have seen many evolutions in Gundam: an all-CG series called MS IGLOO and its follow-up installment, a series shown first over the Internet in Stargazer, and finally a Hi-Def series in Gundam 00. The digital age has allowed the exploration of different media and the quick spread of news /information.
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The end of Gunota as we know it does not mean I have grown tired of Gundam. As Gundam turns 30 years old, I look forward to the next TV series and any new promising reference books on the Universal Century. Maybe you will see me lurking in forums or on whatever future project I take on. And lastly, I would personally like to thank Neo-Era and say “otsukaresama”. It was a pleasure working with you and good luck.
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– RGZ
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This is something I would’ve liked to have written under different circumstances but I’m sure many people will appreciate things don’t often go exactly as planned. For a number of reasons, I feel the time has come to close Gunota Headlines. After co-running the site for nearly 5 years, it was a decision I came to only after much consideration so apologies to anyone who may feel put off by the abruptness of this announcement. The big issue is time. Several months ago, I sustained some injuries from which I’m still slowly recovering (and, in fact, this was the main catalyst for the situation as it stands). That coupled with the demands of finishing up my computer studies have left me without the free time & energy to continue with the blog as it presently exists. I also feel one of the principle merits of Gunota has been our ability to deliver news items in a timely manner, something I don’t believe is possible anymore with things the way they are now.
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But I also don’t think we’re leaving our regular readers in the lurch. Anime fandom today is more Japan-savvy than it was 5 years ago. Imageboards, largely unknown to English-speaking fandom then, pick up on news pretty quickly. The latest rumors & magazine scans can be seen on other fine sites and are passed around message boards every day. Most of the sources we use for news we’ve linked to at one time or another and many are worth visiting on a regular basis in their own right. In short, Gunota Headlines is not so much the necessary entity it may once have been and that fact makes it a little easier to let go of even as the 30th anniversary of Gundam approaches.
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One of the cooler things about running Gunota was seeing something you wrote up being translated into French, Italian, Thai, etc. by people in other countries following the blog. I sincerely hope these sites can keep at the Gundam news game without our continued presence. I’ve always loved how much smaller the world seems in the Internet age and hope to contribute something to that spirit in the future. In that vein, a very special thanks goes to my overseas pal RGZ, who especially held the site together in its formative years and prevented me with my slowly progressing Japanese skills from making more horrible mistakes than I otherwise did.
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Finally, we sincerely thank everyone who visited us, the many sites who linked to us as a reliable source of news, and the numerous people who gave assistance along the way.
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– Neo-Era