Finally, it is open to the public! Director Mitsuo Fukuda and Producer Naka appear on stage for "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM" opening day and first staff talk screening report has arrived!

Today, January 26 (Friday), the opening day of the movie, "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM" was screened from midnight in six major cities, the fastest screening of the movie. Many fans came to each theater to see the film, and it was a very popular opening.

A new project "GUNDAM SEED PROJECT ignited" for the "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED" series, which will mark the 20th anniversary of its TV broadcast in 2022, was launched.
The "GUNDAM SEED PROJECT ignited" is a project that will carry out various "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED" series measures around the world, centered on the production of a theater work that had already been announced. The latest work in the series is finally being released as a completely new theater version, "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM," in theaters nationwide from today, January 26, 2024 (Friday).

⇒ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM" event report has arrived! Soichiro Hoshi, Kenichi Suzumura, Win Morisaki, Takanori Nishikawa, director Mitsuo Fukuda, and others took the stage!

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM" opened in theaters today, January 26 (Friday), and "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM" was screened in six major cities from midnight. Many fans came to each theater, making it a very popular opening.

The following is the official report from the "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM" opening day and first staff talk screening held at Shinjuku Piccadilly in Tokyo.

Event Report

Director Mitsuo Fukuda of "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED series" and producer Kazu Nakatoshi took the stage to the applause of the packed audience who had rushed to see the film on its opening day after 20 years.
The two talk show guests could enjoy the talk show after the screening of the film, and they gave a few words to the fans who were about to see the film.

Director Fukuda: I have been making this film with the faces of the people who will see it in mind. I have not been trying to make a film that will go down in history, but rather to make a film that everyone will enjoy. Thank you very much for your cooperation.
Producer Naka: I've spent every day nervous about how the audience would react when they saw the finished product, so I feel like I can finally "get a clear head. But I am also very excited, so I am looking forward to seeing your reactions.
Two minutes before the screening. The director said, "I hope you will come to the theater again and again to see this film. And I hope you will all tell me that you enjoyed it. I hope that everyone will come to the theater again and again to see this film and that you will tell us how much you enjoyed it. The audience laughed.
The audience gave them a standing ovation, and the first screening of "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM" finally began.

After the 124-minute screening of the film, Director Fukuda and Producer Naka took the stage again amidst loud applause from the audience. The audience cheered in unison. While the excitement of the fastest screening had not yet cooled down, the talk event started.

When asked by the MC about his current state of mind, the director replied, "Was it good...? I was worried if I didn't hear laughter from the audience at the points I tried to make them laugh," he said frankly.

Producer Naka smiled in front of the audience's enthusiasm, saying, "I was really happy and relieved to hear the audience say 'psycho' and 'that was fun' when I came back on stage just now. The director, who was with the audience at the first screening, commented on the realistic audience reaction he felt up close, "I was very happy that the audience laughed. Naturally, I am not making this film to make people feel bad, so the best thing is to hear that everyone laughed and thought it was funny," he recalled.

When asked about the most difficult part of the process from the announcement of the film to today, he replied, "The presentation (from the production staff),
When I was shown the presentation (by the production staff), I thought, 'This doesn't look like SEED. It's a contradiction, but I tried with Mr. Hirai and Mr. Shigeta to be unconventional so that people wouldn't think, 'This is SEED. (Director), "Many of the production staff, including myself, are from the generation that watched the 'SEED' series when I was a student, and to be honest, we were stuck in the 'SEED'-like mold. It took us about a year to establish communication to grasp what the director was pursuing," said Naka, reflecting on the difficulties involved.

Since this was after the screening, the episode touched on the content of the film.
The relationship between Kira and Lux was very impressively portrayed in this film. He mentioned that many memorable scenes were depicted in the film, such as Lux's lines and scenes between the two of them, and said, "I hope everyone enjoyed the straight expressions in their lines, but when I think back to the TV series "SEED," I wonder if it wasn't like this. I was conflicted about it as I made the film.
Naka also commented on the activities of not only Kira and Lax, but also other characters, saying, "I think the charm of the 'SEED' series is that the characters' words are very emotional. In the scene between Agnes and Lunamaria, I had the impression that "that's what they were talking about in that situation! but that is also typical of SEED," he said, referring to the scenes in the play.
He also talked about the action scenes starting with the theme song "FREEDOM" at the beginning of the movie and the action scenes full of powerful images such as fleet battles.
The 3D Mobile Suit battle scenes were quite a lot of work," he said. This is the first time we have done so many, and I hope the audience enjoys the battle scenes" (Naka), expressing his confidence in the scenes that he has been working on.

The discussion also turned to the music that graces the film. In addition to the artists who have supported the music of the "Gundam SEED series" over the years, such as the theme song "FREEDOM" by Takanori Nishikawa with t.komuro and the ending theme "Romantics on the Way Out" by See-Saw, it was revealed that Mika Nakashima sings the insert song "Mochigo" which had not been released before the film's release. The song is also the theme song "Mochigo".
When it was announced that Tetsuya Komuro wrote the lyrics, composed the music, and arranged the music for this song, following the theme song "FREEDOM," the audience was filled with surprise applause. The director also commented on this lineup of songs that brought tears to the eyes of fans, saying, "The power of music is great, isn't it? In particular, Mr. Nishikawa has really supported the 'Gundam SEED series' for a long time, both publicly and privately." He thanked Takanori Nishikawa and said, "When I first spoke with Mr. Komuro, he really empathized with the theme of this film. After a few days, Mr. Komuro said, 'I want to write another song,' and we came up with a song to be inserted in the film. This is a true story. Naka recalled his memories of the song decision.

The audience was still excited even after 3:00 a.m., but the director made a final speech on behalf of the audience.
Director Fukuda: I am happy to have had the support of so many fans over the past 20 years, but what makes me happiest is that more and more people want to see "SEED" again.
He also sent a passionate message to the SEED fans.

After almost 20 years, "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM," a completely new film in the "SEED series," will be shown nationwide from today, January 26 (Friday)!
The film will be screened in large format from February 9 (Fri.), so please come to the theater as many times as you like.

(*Original text is in Japanese only.)

Event Information
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM" Opening Day and First Staff Talk Screening Event

Date: January 26, 2024 (Friday) 00:00 Screening
Venue:Shinjuku Piccadilly Screen 1 (3-15-15 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo)
Speakers:Director Mitsuo Fukuda / Producer Hisakazu Naka MC:Naoki Yoshida (Nippon Broadcasting System announcer) *Honorific titles omitted

Film Information

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM " The Movie
Roadshow: January 26, 2024 (Fri.) throughout Japan
Distributors: Namco Bandai Filmworks, Shochiku

＜Cast
Kira Yamato: Soichiro Hoshi / Lax Klein: Rie Tanaka / Aslan Zara: Akira Ishida / Cagalli Yura Asuha: Nanako Mori /
Shin Asuka: Kenichi Suzumura / Lunamaria Hawk: Maaya Sakamoto / Meilin Hawk: Tomiko Orikasa /
Mariu Ramias: Kotono Mitsuishi / Muu-La-Fraga: Takehito Koyasu / Isak Joule: Tomokazu Seki / Diakka Elsman: Akira Sasanuma /
Agnes Giebenrath: Kuwashima Noriko / Toya Mashima: Sakura Ayane / Alexei Konoe: Otsuka Hochu / Albert Heinlein: Fukuyama Jun /
Hilda Haken: Michiko Neya / Herbert von Reinhardt: Daisuke Kusunoki / Mars Simeon: Junichi Suwabe

＜Staff
Planning/Production: Sunrise / Original Story: Hajime Yatate, Yoshiyuki Tomino / Director: Mitsuo Fukuda / Screenplay: Chiaki Ryosawa, Liu Goto, Mitsuo Fukuda / Character Design: Hisashi Hirai / Mechanical Design: Kunio Okawara, Kimitoshi Yamane, Kazutaka Miyatake, Junichi Akutsu, Manabu Shintani, Zen Shiba, Takuya Izio, Hiroyuki Okawa / Mechanical Animation Director Satoshi Shigeta / Color Designer Akemi Nagao / Art Directors Shigemi Ikeda, Yukiko Maruyama / CG Directors Mitsuhiro Sato, Kensuke Kushida, Tomohiro Fujie / Monitor Works Azusa Tamura, Jiro Kageyama / Director of Photography Takeshi Kuzuyama, Shigenori Toyooka / Editor Yukiko Nojiri / Sound Director Sadayoshi Fujino / Music Toshihiko Sahashi
Production: NAMCO BANDAI Filmworks
Distributors: NAMCO BANDAI FILM WORKS, Shochiku

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM the Movie official website
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＜PROLOGUE>
C.E. (Cosmic Era).
An era in which genes are adjusted and there are humans who are born with superior physical abilities and brains (Coordinators) and humans who are born as they are naturally (Naturals).
Ideologies of the "Coordinators" and "Naturals" clashed over their own existence, leading to a war using military force.
In the midst of the war, the "Destiny Plan," a system to create a world without competition by forcing each individual to take on a role, was proposed, but in order to protect the free future and hope of mankind, the "Destiny Plan" was rejected in the midst of the war.
The war came to an end with many sacrifices, but the conflict and hatred between the two races of mankind continues to smolder in various parts of the world.

(C) Sotsu, Sunrise