A screening with a talk of "Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans: Urdr Hunt - The Trail of a Little Challenger", a special edition of "Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans: Urdr Hunt", which was released in theaters as part of the 10th anniversary project for the anime "Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans", was held at Shinjuku Piccadilly (Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo) on November 22nd. Also being screened was the new short film "Intermission Wedge" from "Iron-Blooded Orphans", and Kawanishi Kengo, who voices Kengo Kawanishi from "Iron-Blooded Orphans", Yoshimasa Hosoya, who voices Orga Itsuka, and Director Tatsuyuki Nagai took to the stage to talk about their thoughts on the series and the new work.
The new short film, "Intermission Wedge," is a story that takes place between the first and second seasons of the TV anime, and Director Nagai explained, "We talked about what we wanted to do, and Okada (Mari) wanted to talk about suits, and I wanted to talk about swords. We put that together. We tried to tell a story that couldn't be told in the main story."
The new work depicts Gundam Barbatos Adapt fighting with a long sword, and Kawanishi said with emotion, "In the first season, it was decided that a sword would not be suitable for the goal Orga was aiming for... so in the second season it was changed to a sword mace. It now makes sense to me why it ended up that way."
Hosoya said, "I think it was about suits, but personally, the scene where he gives Ride a shemagh really hit me. He was so happy. And when he pats him on the head, it really hit me because I know the whole story."
When talking about "Uruzu Hunt," he said, "The original concept was to create a light-hearted atmosphere for people to enjoy, so I created it with a pop image. I wanted people to enjoy the exploits of the mobile suits, something that isn't possible in the main story."
Finally, Hosoya commented, "I was really happy to have you all come. Thank you very much. It's our 10th anniversary and it's a short film called 'Intermission', but I'm happy that the fact that you've continued to support us for the past 10 years has been shaped like this and that we can show it to you all like this and that I was able to be a part of it. Even today, there were some people who were a little teary-eyed, and it made me realize once again what a lucky actor I am to be involved in such a production. Thank you so much for watching and coming today."
Kawanishi said to his fans, "I'm grateful that you've been with us for the past 10 years. It's because of that support that we were able to bring 'Urudr Hunt' and 'Maku-no-Kuzu' to the world. I'm truly grateful," and called out, "See you next time in a feature-length film!"
Director Nagai said, "I am grateful that we have been able to create this kind of opportunity for our 10th anniversary.We will continue to do our best as we head towards our 20th and 30th anniversaries."
"Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans" is set approximately 300 years after the end of the great war known as the Calamity War, and depicts the battles of Mikazuki, Augus, and the Tekkadan. The first season aired from October 2015 to March 2016, and the second season from October 2016 to April 2017. "Urudr Hunt" is an anime distributed on the "Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans G" smartphone app for "Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans".
