Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway

• Original title: Kidô senshi Gandamu: Senkô no Hasauei-Japanese: 閃光のハサウェイ
• Directed by Hidekazu HaraKô and MatsuoShûkô Murase
• July 1, 2021 (US)

Voice Cast

• Raymond Cain-Antonio Alvarez
• Mace Flower-Ryan Bartley
• Hendrix Hiyo, Ray Lagoid, Maximilan Nikolai-Luis Bermudez
• Amuro Ray-Lucien Dodge
• Iram Masam-Stephen Fu
• Amuro Ray-Tôru Furuya
• Geise H. Hugest-JP Karliak
• Quess Paraya-Maria Kawamura
• Kenneth Sleg-Aaron Phillips
• Golf-Derek Stephen Prince
• Doctor-Miyuki Sahaku
• Gass H. Huguest-Nozomu Sasaki
• Gigi Andalucia-Megan Shipman
• Kenji Mitsuda-Nik Shriner
• Lane Aim-Kieran Walton
• Hundley Yeoksan-Kôichi Yamadera
• Quess Paraya-Anne Yatco
• Hathaway Noa-Caleb Yen

Still haunted by his past, Hathaway Noa joins a terrorist organization fighting a campaign against the corrupt Earth Federation government.

I know almost nothing about the world of Gundam other than the model for sale at my local comic book retailer looks really sweet. I was there around when it first  hit it big in the US but I never got into the whole thing. In prep for watching this I have viewed a basic primer on the events preceding Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway which helped some but I am watching this as a near complete novice.

Despite having some giant mech battles, there are grounded elements here that hint of the plausible like the handwashing bubble on the ship in the opening scene. That is in contrast to what appears to be an instance of artificial gravity with the passengers sipping from wine flutes. That inconsistency aside, the handwashing bubble indicates a level of thought put into this that gave me hope for greater sophistication which was fulfilled.

I did expect more Gundams in this than made it to the screen. They played an important part in the story, but it was not battle after battle. Instead the movie explores political intrigue/issues mixed with the idea that one man’s terrorist is another man’s hero. I even detected hints of overpopulation and complex loyalties. This was way more substantive than I thought.

As the story develops it is revealed to the uninitiated that Earth is not necessarily the hero of this. In fact they’re probably as bad as the people that were framed as the villains in the war. Hathaway Noa is disillusioned and looking to make a change still haunted by his past and his part in things. As the vehicle for the viewer, Hathaway Noa is not some idiomatic idealist. He’s a realist who understands the situation better than most. He’s an extremely moral character through which we get to understand the complexities of the world.

Not that it skimps on the action. It just uses it judiciously rather than drowning the audience in a relentless montage of kinetic scenes. This makes for a more dramatic experience that hooks you into the narrative with an adrenaline rush. Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway is more of a drama that uses the trappings of its fiction to get its message or topic across. Never does it stop the story with long winded dialogues. There is not a second of the 90 something minutes wasted. By mixing in the dialogue with action those behind this keep the story moving forward. The talking adds to the narrative and doesn’t stop things which I find often in Japanese animation.

The world created is often analogous to the one we live in. Airports are switched out for space ports. It makes for a more believable reality allowing your mind to make the connection to real world or just general political concerns of those making this.

The visuals can be very impressive. The best and most creative is when Hathaway Noa and Gigi are caught in the midst of a Gundam battle. They are not participants but bystanders with most of the visuals THERE coming from that viewpoint. It’s dangerous looking but also that kind of beauty one can find in devastation. It was awe inspiring.

Because it’s such a densely packed movie I know I missed some things. All the good, meaty Japanese animation takes at the minimum a second viewing to get it all and this is certainly that. There is little time for revelations and developments to breathe than you would find in a Western release. It makes for a denser film but can be a bit on the dryer side when something has happened and you totally miss what it was.

Sometimes I’m uncertain if they didn’t put animation over actual photographs. With the general of the background realism it is hard to tell if it is animation or a photograph with animation put on it. An amazing bit of work. It’s beautiful regardless. This is a very cinematic. The use of light and dark and camera angles to the display of the action. It’s more than just an animated movie.

The characters are distinct. I give them credit for making Gigi a little more than a giggling, moron. Sometimes she does get close to that, but there’s more to her than just that. She has some depth and intelligence. Too often much like trash old American films, the women in Japanese animation are little better than furniture.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway is a good movie. It’s exciting and complex and touches on some important things. It’s only shortcoming is that it’s so dense as you may need to watch it again. That is if you can consider that a shortcoming. I don’t think a second viewing will pain you at all. It should satisfy not only anime fans, but western audiences searching for something a little deeper.