A special stage greeting featuring updated footage from the film version of the popular anime Mobile Suit Gundam SEED series, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM, was held on November 1st at Grand Cinema Sunshine Ikebukuro (Toshima-ku, Tokyo), with appearances by Soichiro Hoshi, who plays Kira Yamato, Director Mitsuo Fukuda, and Producer Hisakazu Naka of Bandai Namco Filmworks. During the stage greeting, it was announced that a new film, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM ZERO, will be produced. Recording has already been completed, and Hoshi said, "I feel the same way as the fans. I'm excitedly waiting for the finished product!" According to Director Fukuda, the new work will be a "story after" "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED DESTINY." He said, "My work is almost done. That's because I made it 20 years ago. As a project, I was offered to develop it like "MSV" when making the movie (SEED FREEDOM). The script was done. About half the storyboards are done. The oldest storyboard is 20 years old. It's not a digression, but it's a story that takes a breather." It was originally planned as an OVA (original video animation), but the medium is currently "undecided."
"Mobile Suit Gundam SEED" series "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED" was broadcast from October 2002 to September 2003, and the sequel "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED DESTINY" was broadcast from October 2004 to October 2005. "SEED FREEDOM" is a sequel to "SEED DESTINY," and Director Fukuda and the staff of the TV anime have reunited. The movie was announced in 2006, but there was no news about it for a long time. It was finally released 18 years after the announcement.
"SEED FREEDOM" was released on January 26th and had a long run of about 4 months, surpassing the 2.3 billion yen box office revenue set by "Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters in Space" released in 1982, and has been a hot topic for breaking the all-time record for the highest box office revenue of the "Gundam" movie series for the first time in 42 years.
The second special edition, which is a "complete version" with over 500 cuts of the main story updated, will be screened from November 1st to 14th. The special edition will add an epilogue cut that is different from the first and second editions. The second edition will show special footage from "SEED FREEDOM ZERO". The special edition and the box office revenue of 5 billion yen and the number of viewers exceeded 3 million, making it a huge hit.
