With the public release of Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway’s Flash in Japan weeks away, CinemaToday correspondent Kentarou Muramatsu gave a glowing but brief five-star review of Sunrise’s upcoming anime feature.
Finally, the first installment of the latest Gundam series in the Universal Century has begun. As the first film in a trilogy, the story is surprisingly centered on human drama. Many of the mobile suit depictions are casual, but each one makes me grin. And the Gundam VS Gundam battle after the middle act raises the tension. I can’t help but think of the ending of the novel, but there are some scenes that are unique to the movie, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how it ends. There’s Eva, but as a robot anime, Gundam cannot be forgotten.
A preview of the Hathaway film was screened earlier in April garnering similar praise. Anime and Capcom designer Akira Yasuda spoke in a Tweet, “I have high expectations for this one!”, Sugizo of LUNASEA noted the film having “an overwhelming quality that Japan is proud to present to the world”, “tomitac4” of the book editing and production company Megalomania praised the film’s cinematography with “There’s depth all over the screen, like you’re watching a live action movie!”.
First in a trilogy of anime films, Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway’s Flash, or Hathaway is scheduled for a May 7, 2021 release date. The project was announced in November 2018 to celebrate the Gundam 40th anniversary, adapting the Yoshiyuki Tomino-penned novel series of the same name. The novels were originally released from 1989 to 1990, published by Kadokawa’s Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko imprint.
The film project serves as the second entry in Sunrise’s U.C. NexT 0100 Project following Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative. The first entry of the trilogy was initially set for a July 23, 2020 release date, but was delayed due to coronavirus COVID-19.
Story
The year is U.C. 0105. Twelve years have passed since the end of the second Neo Zeon War (Char’s Rebellion). Even after “the Axis Shock,” which seemed to indicate the future of humanity and the Universal Century, the world is still in a chaotic situation where intermittent military conflicts continue to break out. The Earth Federation government is more corrupt than ever, and its leadership has not only accelerated Earth’s pollution, but also implemented an inhuman “Man Hunting” policy in which civilians are forcibly exiled to outer space.
The anti-Federation government organization “Mafty,” led by someone called “Mafty Navue Erin,” has taken a stand against the corruption of the Earth Sphere. Mafty carries out fierce acts of terrorism, assassinating high officials of the Federation government one after another, but it gains a certain level of support from the populace who are growing more opposed to the Federation government.
The person who calls himself “Mafty” and leads this organization is Hathaway Noa, the son of Bright Noa, an officer of the Earth Federation Forces who once participated in the One Year War. Hathaway himself joined the forces trying to stop Char’s Rebellion. With firsthand knowledge of the ideals and ideologies of Amuro Ray and Char Aznable, he has become a warrior following in their footsteps, and plans to clear a path forward through armed resistance. His destiny, however, is drastically altered as he encounters the Federation Forces officer Kenneth Sleg and a mysterious young beauty named Gigi Andalucia.
Cast
- Kensho Ono as Hathaway Noa
- Junichi Suwabe as Kenneth Sleg
- Reina Ueda as Gigi Andalucia
- Soma Saito as Lane Aime
- Toru Furuya as Amuro Ray
- Kenjiro Tsuda as Gawman Nobile
- Yuki Ishikawa as Emeralda Zubin
- Fukushi Ochiai as Raymond Cain
- Shunsuke Takeuchi as Iram Masam
- Misato Matsuoka as Mihessia Hence
- Chiharu Sawashiro as Kenji Mitsuda
- Atsumi Tanezaki as Mace Flower
- Koichi Yamadera as Hundley Yeoksan
Ergo Proxy and Genocidal Organ’s Shukou Murase is directing the film project, with scripts by Yasuyuki Mutou. Pablo Uchida, Shigeki Kuhara, and Naoyuki Onda serve as the character designers for the films. Hiroyuki Sawano returns from Mobile Suit Gundam entries Unicorn and Narrative as music composer. The films’ mechanical design team consists of Hajime Katoki, Kimitoshi Yamane, Nobuhiko Genba, and Seiichi Nakatani.
Source: CinemaToday
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