AnimeJapan to Feature Gundam the Witch from Mercury, Reconguista in G IV・V, and More



AnimeJapan, one of the world’s largest anime consumer showcases, is holding its first in-person event after two years of COVID-19 related cancellations. In 2021, an online event was held instead. AnimeJapan 2022’s theme will be “Cue! to the convey the message of “the fun and joy of animation” as the event aims to push forward with the feeling of making a new start amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The 2022 event will take place at Tokyo Big Sight in Tokyo, Japan on March 26 and March 27, 2022.

The expo recently released the event’s key visual featuring various anime characters such as: Osomatsu Matsuno from Mr.Osomatsu(Pierrot), Bojji from Ranking of Kings(Wit Studio), Conan Edogawa from Detective Conan(TMS Entertainment), Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045(Production I.G and Sola Digital Arts), Hiroshi Odokawa from ODD TAXI(OLM and P.I.C.S.), and the RX-78-02 Gundam from Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan’s Island(Sunrise). The characters featured will appear on exclusive event merchandise. 

The official Gundam portal website, Gundam Info, announced that the Gundam series will be featured in a joint booth with Bandai Namco Arts, Sunrise, Bandai Namco Pictures, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Bandai Namco Live Creative, Sotsu, and Actas.

The booth will feature the latest works in the Gundam series such as Gundam Reconguista in G IV and V, Mobile Suit Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans, Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan’s Island, and Mobile Suit Gundam the Witch from Mercury. A variety of works will be introduced through videos and exhibits, as well as a product sales corner.

Gundam Reconguista in G IV and V are the final two installments in director Yoshiyuki Tomino’s planned five-part recompilation film series for the 2014 TV anime of the same name. The film series was announced in November 2018 as a part of the Mobile Suit Gundam 40th Anniversary Project. The compilations were to include new scenes and newly recorded dialogue. Gundam Reconguista in G III: A Legacy from Space released July 2021 to Japanese theaters and then to home video in December.

A special edition of Mobile Suit Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans was announced during the 2nd Gundam Conference in September 2021 to coincide with the release of Mobile Suit Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans G. Revealed in 2019, Iron-Blooded Orphans G is a new smartphone app set to release spring 2022 where players can re-experience seasons one and two of the TV series through gameplay and anime components, as well as a new spin off story, Mobile Suit Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans: Urðr-Hunt. The special edition of the Iron-Blooded Orphans series will be nine episodes in total and feature part of Urðr-Hunt.

Illustration by character designer and chief animation director Atsushi Tamura

Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan’s Island is a new anime film directed by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, the character designer and chief animation director of the 1979 Mobile Suit Gundam series, as well as chief director of the 2015-2018 Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin OVA series. The film will be a new perspective on the fifteenth episode of the same name from the 0079 series. The tagline for the new film is “Gundam, rising again—“ and is set to release June 3, 2022.

Story

After enduring the battle at Jaburo, the Earth Federation Forces plan to launch a major counteroffensive to capture Odessa, a strategic base of Zeon’s Earth Attack Force. The White Base, with Amuro and his fellow crew aboard, head towards Belfast to receive the last resupply before the operation. White Base is then given a mission. The mission is to mop up Zeon remnants on an uninhabited island, commonly known as the “Island of No Return”. Amuro and his team embark on a search for the remaining agents, but what they see is a group of children and a Zaku that should not be there. After losing his Gundam in a battle, Amuro meets a man who calls himself Cucuruz Doan. Will he be able to uncover the secrets of the island, and will Amuro be able to find the Gundam again and escape safely……?

Key Visual by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko

Cast

  • Toru Furuya as Amuro Ray
  • Ken Narita as Bright Noa
  • Satomi Arai as Mirai Yashima
  • Megumi Han as Sayla Mass
  • Toshio Furukawa as Kai Shiden
  • Hideaki Nakanishi as Hayato Kobayashi
  • Misato Fukuen as Fraw Bow
  • Tomofumi Ikezoe as Sleggar Law

Staff

  • Planning and Production: Sunrise
  • Original Story: Hajime Yatate, Yoshiyuki Tomino
  • Director: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
  • Assistant Director: Ka Hee Im
  • Screenplay: Toshizo Nemoto
  • Character Design: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, Atsushi Tamura, Tsukasa Kotobuki
  • Mechanical Design: Kunio Okawara, Hajime Katoki, Kimitoshi Yamane
  • Chief Animation Director: Atsushi Tamura
  • Art Director: Yuji Kaneko
  • Color Design: Nagisa Abe
  • Director of Photography: Takeshi Katsurayama, Ryo Iijima
  • CGI Directing: Shuhei Morita
  • CGI Director: Abe Morihito
  • Editing: Kazuhiro Nii
  • Sound Director: Sadayoshi Fujino
  • Music: Takayuki Hattori

Also announced during the “2nd Gundam Conference” in September 2021 by the Bandai-Namco Group, Mobile Suit Gundam the Witch from Mercury is the highly anticipated first new Gundam TV anime series in seven series, since the broadcast of Mobile Suit Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans.

Japanese TV broadcasters MBS(Mainichi Broadcasting System) and TBS(Tokyo Broadcasting System) announced the revival of their Sunday 5pm anime block,“Nichigo”, and the Witch from Mercury would be the first to occupy this time slot in five years. The series will broadcast October 2022.

The series is currently shrouded in mystery as far as plot or staff, but is stated to focus on attracting teenagers. Bandai-Namco Group will be working with external “G-PARTNER” members on the series to aim for “large-scale deployment than ever before”.

Source: Gundam Info

DOKODEMO-Direct Shipping From Japan
Previous GGG Scirocco, Emma Sheen, and B-Style Meer Campbell Figures Announced by MegaHouse
Next Bandai Namco to Reorganize Sunrise under new company, Bandai Namco Filmworks

No Comment

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *