have also been released. These include the Gundam's franchise games Dynasty Warriors: Gundam, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2, Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam, and the SD Gundam series. Other series include the Super Robot Wars, debuting with Super Robot Wars Z. Another game featuring Gundam SEED Destiny characters is Another Century's Episode R. Other merchandise The anime has been adapted into a series of five light novels by Riu Goto who previously wrote the Gundam SEED novels adaptation and published by Kadokawa Shoten. The first volume was released on March 1, 2005, and the last on April 1, 2006. Kodansha also published three series of magazines under the label of "Official File" that focus on characters' and mobile suits' analysis. Reception The series has been highly popular in Japan, having won the Animage Anime Grand Prix awards for best anime in the 2004 and 2005 polls. In both of these polls, Athrun Zala, Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne have also topped the most popular characters categories, with the last episode and the OVA also occupying their own category. DVD sales have been good, with various of them appearing in official Japanese rankings. In November 2005, Bandai Visual announced that Gundam SEED Destiny had sold over one million DVD volumes in Japan. Soundtracks have also been popular with both themes from T.M. Revolution and Nami Tamaki topping Oricon charts during their release. In the Recording Industry Association of Japan's awards, Gundam SEED Destiny was the winner in the category of animation album. In the Anime Nation's top selling DVDs, the twelfth Gundam SEED Destiny volume ranked ninth. Critical reception for Gundam SEED Destiny has been positive but it was often compared with Gundam SEED. Gundam SEEDs backstory was noted to be essential for the plot of Gundam SEED Destiny to the point that Maria Lin considered that it was required to watch the former to fully understand the series. The new cast of characters was well-received with the relationship between Rey Za Burrel and Neo Roanoke bringing speculations regarding their identities due to how it mirrored one from Gundam SEED. However, initial reaction to lead character Shinn Asuka has been mixed due to his antagonistic personality and how some of the new and returning characters overshadowed his role in the series. While at some points Shinn's role and relationships were found entertaining, UK Anime's Ross Liversidge liked how returning character Kira