A screening of the popular Gundam anime series' theatrical release, "Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash" (directed by Murase Shukou), with a stage greeting, was held at Shinjuku Piccadilly (Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo) on January 18th, featuring Kensho Ono, who plays Hathaway Noah, and Reina Ueda, who plays Gigi Andalusia. The screening, which celebrated the release of the second chapter, "Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash: The Witch of Circe," a new film in about five years, on January 30th, featured Ono, who commented, "We've been waiting! Sorry to have kept you waiting! It's been about five years, but everyone I met kept asking me, 'When is it coming out?' We didn't know either. It's been five years of experiencing so much. I'm happy that we can finally share it with everyone." Ueda expressed her joy, saying, "We can finally deliver it to everyone! It's a huge feeling of relief."
Ono was shocked when he read the script for "Circe's Witch," commenting, "It's been a while since I last played Hathaway, so I started by remembering, and as I continued reading, I was like, 'Whaaaat?!'" Ueda, avoiding spoilers, said, "Hmmmm?! Eh?! Whaaaat?!" Ono nodded and said, "There were Whaaaat moments too."
Regarding the change in her acting in "Circe's Witch," Ueda said, "There are many things I can't say, but I think you will see a side of me that wasn't shown in the first chapter. You will see a lot of life-sized girlishness. Why does this girlishness come out? And what will happen as a result? I would like everyone to see for themselves."
Finally, Ono said, "We're sorry to have kept you waiting for so long, but the quality is incredible. Please take your time to watch it."
"Hathaway's Flash" is based on a novel published in 1989-90 by director Yoshiyuki Tomino, known as the creator of the "Gundam" series. Set in the year 0105 of the Universal Century, Hathaway, the son of Bright Noa, who experienced a bitter separation during the Second Neo Zeon War, pilots a new mobile suit, the XI Gundam, and rises up in rebellion against the Earth Federation government. The anime has been announced to be made up of three chapters, with the first chapter, released in June 2021, being a hit, grossing approximately 2.23 billion yen at the box office.
