Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a third state of emergency in Japan last Friday in Tokyo and the western prefectures of Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo in an effort to curb the surge in COVID-19 cases in the island nation. The state of emergency was stated to last from April 25 to at least May 11, 2021.
Gundam executive producer Naohiro Ogata recently announced, on behalf of anime studio Sunrise, that Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway’s Flash will be delayed from its May 7 release date to May 21, 2021. This will mark the second COVID-19 related delay for the film, which was initially set to release last Summer on July 23, 2020.
I would like to express my heartfelt sympathy to all those who have been affected by the new coronavirus infections and to their families and loved ones.
I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to the medical staff and all those who are working daily to prevent the spread of the infections.
In light of the situation of the new coronavirus infections in Japan, we have decided to postpone the release of Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway’s Flash which was scheduled to be released on May 7, 2021 (Friday), to May 21, 2021 (Friday).
Many people involved in the film are filled with regret, as are all of you who have had to wait so long since the postponement last summer. However, in consideration of the safety of the people who will be coming to see the show, we have decided to give it another two weeks.
Please take care of yourself until May 21, and I will see you at the theater this time.
Naohiro Ogata
First in a trilogy of anime films, Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway’s Flash, or Hathaway is the official sequel to Char’s Counterattack. 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, published by Kadokawa’s Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko imprint.
Following the 15 minute Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway’s Flash preview on Gundam Channel, it was announced the Blu-ray for the film will be released simultaneously 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
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 the theme song “Senkou”. The films’ mechanical design team consists of Hajime Katoki, Kimitoshi Yamane, Nobuhiko Genba, and Seiichi Nakatani.
Source: Gundam Info
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