This is an original Japanese B2 rental-video promotional poster issued in 1989 for Mobile Suit SD Gundam’s Counterattack. While the two animated shorts “Arashi o Yobu Gakuensai” and “SD Sengokuden: Abaowakūjō no Shō” originally opened in Japanese cinemas on 15 July 1989 as part of the SD Gundam’s Counterattack programme, this specific sheet advertises the later video release campaign, as confirmed by the on-sheet “10/25 VIDEO ON SALE” and “RENTAL ONLY” text. Sunrise lists both shorts as 15 July 1989 theatrical releases, distributed by Shochiku, and notes Bandai Visual as the video-media publisher.
Film background
1989 was a key year in early SD Gundam, when the franchise’s super-deformed spin-off identity was expanding rapidly across cinema, video, toys, and manga. The two shorts promoted here offered very different flavours of SD Gundam. “SD Sengokuden: Abaowakūjō no Shō” brought the Musha Gundam world into animation for the first time, setting its conflict in a stylised Sengoku-era fantasy war over the legendary castle of Abaowakūjō. “Arashi o Yobu Gakuensai,” by contrast, played as a school-festival comedy in which rival academies collide in pure parody mode. Both were shown together in the 1989 theatrical programme, and both are now recognised by Sunrise as core early entries in the SD Gundam animated canon.
Poster design
This is a fantastic and highly displayable split-concept SD Gundam design. The upper half is dominated by a dense formation of super-deformed Musha Gundam characters set against a fiery red ground, immediately signalling the Sengoku-war atmosphere of “Abaowakūjō no Shō.” The lower half shifts into a much lighter, more comedic register, with bright, pop-coloured school-festival character art tied to “Arashi o Yobu Gakuensai.” The oversized central billing banner, the prominent ’89 summer hit / now on video copy, and the RENTAL ONLY mark all make this especially appealing as a true period home-video campaign poster rather than a standard theatrical one-sheet. It is exactly the sort of late-1980s Japanese anime promotional paper that bridges cinema, VHS culture, and character merchandising in one exuberant design.
Condition
Very Good / Excellent. Please review the photos—they show the exact poster for sale.
It is over 35 years old!
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
