For those of you who can't wait for "Mobile Suit Gundam: Senko no Hathaway" to be released! The Gundam series is the best series to check out during the GW season! Akiba Research Institute Writer's Choice: Anime Samurai Selection No. 12

The theatrical version of "Mobile Suit Gundam: Senko no Hathaway" has had to be postponed to a May 21, 2021 release date due to the spread of a new coronavirus infection.

This is the second time the film has been postponed, following last summer's release on July 23, 2020, which was postponed to May 7, 2021. The film has already been shown in previews and received rave reviews from those who attended the screenings, so the wait is a bit frustrating for those who have been waiting for the film, but this is unavoidable. However, this is not a bad thing, and I would rather take this opportunity to increase my prior knowledge of the theatrical version of "Senko no Hathaway". In this extra edition of "Akiba Research Institute's Writers' Choice Anime Samurai Selection," we will introduce some of the works related to the theatrical version of "Senko no Hathaway.

The story of Amuro and Char, who shape the present of Hathaway

The "UC NexT 0100" project will develop the story of "Mobile Suit Gundam UC" and beyond, which is set in the year 0096 of the Universal Century. The first project is "Mobile Suit Gundam NT," which was released in theaters in 2018, depicting the "Children of Miracle" living in the year after "UC," the year of the cosmic century 0097. The second installment is this theatrical version, "Mobile Suit Gundam: Senko no Hathaway". I would like to introduce two films to give you a taste of this theatrical version of "Senko no Hathaway.

The first is the theater version of "Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack. While it is natural that the theatrical version of "Senko no Hathaway" is the successor to the theatrical version of "Char's Counterattack," it should be noted that the novel "Mobile Suit Gundam: Senko no Hathaway" is a sequel to the novel "Mobile Suit Gundam: Beltotchka Children. As is well known, "Beltouchka Children" was adapted into a novel based on the first draft, the first scenario, written for the movie version of "Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack. The novel version of "Char of the Counterattack" is the novel "Mobile Suit Gundam: High Streamer" serialized in "Animage" magazine (Tokuma Shoten) before "Beltochka Children" (retitled "Mobile Suit Gundam: Char of the Counterattack" and published as a paperback, later as "Mobile Suit Gundam: High Streamer"). ), but neither is a novelization of the movie. As mentioned above, the timeline of both novels precedes the movie version of "Char's Counterattack. In other words, the theatrical version of "Senko no Hathaway" is a story based on the theatrical version of "Char's Counterattack.

To add, director Yoshiyuki Tomino focused on depicting the lyricism of the novel version in accordance with the characteristics of the novel, while the film version pursues catharsis and entertainment as a visual story. In this sense, the theater version of "Senko no Hathaway" follows in the footsteps of the theater version of "Char of the Counterattack," and the cutting-edge, fully-designed mobile suits and their visual expressions, such as the "Ξ Gundam" piloted by Hathaway Noah and the "Penelope" piloted by Lieutenant Lane Aim, could not be achieved in a novel or manga. The visual representation of the cutting-edge mobile suits and their designs could not have been achieved in novels or manga, and only now is it possible to fully enjoy the mobile suit (MS) battles in this work. The battle in Davao, Philippines, combined with the music by Hiroyuki Sawano, even combines a sense of panic and spectrality like a live-action movie.

The story of "Char of the Counterattack" is about Amuro Rey and Char Aznable's long-running confrontation in the "Second Neo Zeon War" that took place in the year 0093, which finally came to an end. Although they are "new types" who can understand each other without words, Amuro Ray and Char Aznable continued to cross swords with each other during the "One Year War" depicted in "Mobile Suit Gundam" because they were on opposite sides, the Earth Federation Army and the Principality of Zeon. It could be said that there was no reason for them to fight, and it would not have been surprising if they could have understood each other through MS, but they were at odds over the existence of the one and only Laraa Sun, a Newtype woman who is also a Newtype. However, the feud over the unique existence of LaLaa Sun, another Newtype woman, kept them apart.

In the "Gryps Conflict" ("Mobile Suit Z Gundam") in the year 0087, seven years after the One Year War, a three-way battle between the Titans and Ego, both military organizations that were part of the Earth Federation Forces, and the Axis, the remnants of the Principality of Zeon, the main member of Ego, Char (Quattro Basina), and the other member of the anti-Titans organization, the Titans, were in conflict, Amuro, who belongs to Karaba, another anti-Titans organization, temporarily fought together.

However, in "Char of the Counterattack," Amuro tries to protect the people of the earth from Char's threat to annihilate them by "dropping Axis" in order to preserve the earth, and the two meet again, but behind the scenes, the fate of Lala's loss lingers for both of them. The ghost of Lala is particularly strong in Shia, and it affects Ques Paraya, a Newtype girl who appears in "Char of the Counterattack," which in turn casts a dark shadow over Hathaway Noah, her first love.

However, Hathaway, while being in contact with the two New Types, Amuro and Char, has gone on to become "Mufti Nabiyu Erin," the leader of the anti-Earth Federation organization, as depicted in "Hathaway the Flash," which means that Hathaway has inherited Char's ideology. In other words, although "Char of the Counterattack" settled the score between Amuro and Char, it created a new seed fire in the form of Hathaway. In "Flashlight Hathaway," we will see how "Char's Counterattack" will be truly resolved.

Camille, Katsu, and Hathaway as Successors

On the other hand, Camille Bidan emerges as the successor to Amuro and Char. The second item that will give you a taste of "Flashlight Hathaway" is "Mobile Suit Z Gundam.

In "Z Gundam," Camille fought as a member of Ego and was looked up to by both Amuro and Char (Quattro Basina) as a new type with exceptional qualities. In particular, when Camille had a heart-to-heart talk with the enemy Titans' pilot, the so-called artificial newtype FOU MURASAUME, an enhanced human, and later experienced a painful separation, Amuro and Char saw it as an echo of their own past, when they lost Lala. For Camille, Amuro and Char (Quattro) were great seniors, comrades, and older brothers.

However, in addition to Fau, Camille also met many other women, including Rosamia Badham, an enhanced human, Sara Zabirov, a Titans girl pilot, Emma Sheen, who was like an older sister to Camille, and her childhood friend Fa Yuiry, who was involved with Seyla Mas, Matilda Ajan, and Frau Bohu. Amuro, who was involved with Seyla Mas, Matilda Ajan, and Frau Bohu. Camille is also similar to Amuro in that she lived her life as a pilot.

Furthermore, Char, whose father was a politician named Zeon Zum Daikun, who preached the independence of the space nids, and Amuro, whose father was Temu Rey, a Gundam development engineer, are similar to Hathaway and Camille in that they both lived as pilots. Again, Hathaway and Camille have a similar symmetry. Hathaway's father was Colonel Bright Noah, one of the heroes of the One Year War and a member of the Earth Federation Forces, while Camille's father developed the Gundam Mk-II and was an engineering captain in the Earth Federation Forces.

As a result, although Char raised his father, Zeon Dyken, and had many subordinates, in his heart, he was adamant about his decision with Amuro, was connected to the past, and was lonely to the end, even though he was wrapped up in Nanai Miguel in the movie version of "Char of the Counterattack".

However, Amuro spent some time in repression after the One Year War, but in the theatrical version of "Char of the Counterattack," he gained a lover named Chain Agi and averted the fall of the Axis to Earth with many of his compatriots. For Camille, Hwa has been a great support. When we look at and think about Hathaway in "Flashlight Hathaway," Camille's existence is indispensable as an object of comparison.

In "Z Gundam," there is another Newtype who is part of the lineage to Hathaway. He is Katsu Kobayashi (adopted son of Hayato Kobayashi and Frau Bow; maiden name, Hawin). At the end of the One Year War, he was expected to be the next generation of Newtype. He followed his father Hayato, who was a member of the anti-Federation organization Kalaba, and joined Kalaba, where he worked with Amuro Rey. The relationship between the three is reminiscent of that of Amuro, Lala, and Char, and at the same time, it is similar to the relationship between Hathaway, Ques, and Char. The fact that the story is about the macro phenomenon of war and the transcendent existence of the Newtype, while at the same time it is about the relationship between a man and a woman, is a characteristic of the "Gundam" series created by director Yoshiyuki Tomino.

In the "Gundam" series, Yoshiyuki Tomino has depicted people involved in war for "personal reasons. From this perspective, we see a world where egos rule, even if they have a cause or a grandiose banner.

For Char, Amuro, and Hathaway, the source of their reason for fighting is personal, and as mentioned earlier, women are a major factor. Char sought in women a maternal comfort that would soothe the strain of his life. Amuro, who finally came to call Beltotchka his partner in the novel "Beltotchka Children," also looked to women to bring him gentleness and a magnanimity that would accept him. Hence, in the movie version of "Char of the Counterattack," Ques Paraya, who detests his own father, first turns to the "gentle" Amuro Rey as a surrogate father, but after leaving Amuro after learning of Chain Agi's existence, he takes himself to Char in the hope of a strong paternal figure. As a result, Ques, who was no more than a gifted (i.e., new type) person to Char, met a tragic end, and Hathaway was also damaged, which we mentioned briefly earlier.

I do not intend to put a fetter on the movie version of "Senko no Hathaway" by saying that it should be viewed in light of the entire series of "Mobile Suit Gundam," "Mobile Suit Z Gundam," "Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ," and the movie version and novel "Char of the Counterattack. Or, in the case of the theatrical version of "Senko no Hathaway," one way to enjoy the film is to regard Amuro and Char as legendary figures, and to view the struggle of the young man named Hathaway as a stand-alone story.

However, the way in which Hathaway survives his time is fascinating, and exploring the driving forces behind his thoughts and actions gives the story even more depth.

The Space Century saga continues after "Senko no Hathaway" with "Mobile Suit Gundam F91," but it is already a new era that is being depicted. The final piece of the story, "Senko no Hathaway," is a refrain that depicts the karma passed down from father to son, women's dependence on motherhood and love, and the power to live among the new types.

Moreover, unlike Amuro, Char, Camille, Kats, and the other Newtypes who have complicated relationships with their fathers, Hathaway has a good relationship with her father, and he is still alive and well. In addition, he has a happy family environment with his mother, Mirai Noa (maiden name Yashima), and his sister, Chemin. What drives him and where does he end up?

In "Senko no Hathaway," we will see the end of the Space Century Saga, which is both an ensemble drama of the New Types who are tossed about by the people trapped in the earth's gravity and a story of the Old Types who were tossed about by them and their friends.

(Text by Koji Shimizu)