Sunrise’s Dai 2-kai Gundam Conference was filled with exciting announcements, including a brand-new anime series. Here’s everything that we learned.
The biggest announcement – literally – is the new 1:1 Gundam coming to Fukuoka, Japan, next spring. Based on the Nu Gundam from Char’s counterattack, the RX-93ff variant Bandai Namco has chosen for the design features a distinctive long-range fin funnel and a tri-color scheme visible in mock-ups. The statue, which will include unannounced gimmicks, joins Bandai Namco’s three other life-sized Gundams located in Japan and around the world.
Sunrise also announced the title of the franchise’s next series, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury.
Even though we don’t know much more, the announcement is a big deal as The Witch From Mercury will be the first new Gundam series since Mobile Suit Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans premiered in 2015. Anime News Network reports Bandai Namco’s Chief Gundam Officer, Koji Fujiwara, stated at the conference, “We are aiming to create a work that even young generations will support.” The series already has an English website, which just further informs us of its release year.
Alongside the anime comes news of an unexpected film project: Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan’s Island. Based on the infamous episode 15 of Mobile Suit Gundam that didn’t air in the series’ first Western release, MSG’s director of animation and character designer, Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, will direct the film. Due 2022, there is no word on a release outside of Japan.
Iron-Blooded Orphans will stick around into 2022 with upcoming spin-offs, too, including a limited series and special edition. Several key staff on these projects has returned to work on Urdr-Hunt, including director Tatsuyuki Nagai, scriptwriter Hajime Kamoshida, and composer Masaru Yokoyama, among others.
