In a recent interview with Japanese publication smartFLASH, chief Gundam producer Naohiro Ogata and composer Hiroyuki Sawano spoke about upcoming Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway’s Flash film.
• How did a new generation of staff make a movie of a novel that Yoshiyuki Tomino published 32 years ago?
“I myself am of the First Gundam generation. I saw Mobile Suit Gundam Char’s Counterattack in theaters when I was in the eighth grade, and I never thought that I would be making a sequel to it more than 30 years later”, said Naohiro Ogata.
The producer continued, “It is true that there are fewer mobile suit (MS) battle scenes in this entire work than in previous Gundam entries, but the drama in which the emotions of Hathaway, Gigi, and Kenneth intersect is very much worth watching. I believe that we will be able to create a new Gundam that adults can enjoy like never before.”
Ogata then spoke about the film’s technical innovations. “Up until now, Sunrise Studio 1 has focused on hand-drawn mecha action, but in order to depict the Gundams flying freely under gravity in this film, we introduced a lot of 3DCG. In the final aerial battle, I think we were able to create something that surpassed the differences between CG and hand-drawn techniques”, the Producer elaborated.
The producer closes, “Mr. Tomino’s view of Gundam is to depict what people feel and how they change after witnessing a phenomenon like the Axis Shock that Amuro experienced in Char’s Counterattack.
I want the works created by our generation, who grew up watching Gundam, to have an impact not only on the audience but also on the creators.
As long as the name Gundam is attached, we may be in the palm of Mr. Tomino’s hand in some respects. Even so, I am proud that we were able to create an evolved new kind of Gundam by using the various methods we could”.
“Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway’s Flash is a cool, adult-oriented work. I didn’t want the music to be too close to the work and too complicated, so I tried to create music that would be entertaining and allow the audience to watch the film without becoming stiff”, Sawano began.
The composer continued, “When I was a high school student wanting to become a musician, I watched Mobile Suit Gundam Char’s Counterattack on TV, so I was deeply moved by the idea of being involved in a sequel to that movie.
I couldn’t help but compare it to the music for Unicorn, the first Gundam entry I worked on, and there was a lot of pressure, but I think I was able to create a composition that I was satisfied with as the first part of the trilogy(Hathaway’s Flash)”.
• What were the main points in creating the music?
“I tried to eliminate the melodies as much as possible and let the audience listen to the sound and arrangement, just like Hollywood movie music nowadays.
I used synthesizers and percussion to accentuate the rhythm and groove, and then pushed the melody when it was needed. I hope you will enjoy the music in the film”, the composer concludes.
First in a trilogy of anime films helmed by Shukou Murase, Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway’s Flash or Hathaway is the official sequel to the 1988 Mobile Suit Gundam Char’s Counterattack movie. Hathaway is currently delayed without a release date due to the state of emergency in Japan to curb coronavirus infections. The film project serves as the second entry in Sunrise’s U.C. NexT 0100 Project following Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative.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, as a follow-up to Tomino’s Char’s Counterattack: Beltorchika’s Children novel, published by Kadokawa’s Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko imprint.
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, with rock-band [Alexandros] performing its theme song “Senkou”. The films’ mechanical design team consists of Hajime Katoki, Kimitoshi Yamane, Nobuhiko Genba, and Seiichi Nakatani.
The Blu-ray for the film will be released simultaneously with the premiere at all participating theaters in Japan. The upcoming Gundam film will have standard and limited edition versions priced at 5,000 yen and 12,000 yen respectively.
Source: SmartFLASH
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