Director Shukou Murase has commented on the opening and ending themes for the second chapter of the popular Gundam anime series' theatrical release, Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway's Flash (directed by Shukou Murase), titled Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway's Flash: The Witch of Circe.
The opening theme is "Snooze," a hit by American R&B artist SZA. Director Murase explains, "In early 2018, while I was working on Hathaway, I discovered her through a song by The Weekend that automatically played on a subscription service buried in EDM music. I also liked Calvin Harris's version, so I put it on heavy rotation. At the end of 2022, the top of the Global Top 50 on a music streaming service was filled with SZA songs, and I learned that she had released a new album. Kill Bill was the most popular, but I was drawn to Snooze. When I learned that Babyface, whom I listened to when I was younger, was involved, it all made sense. Since then, this song has dominated the imagery of the scenes leading up to Hathaway's opening."
The ending theme is "Sweet Child O'Mine," a hit by the American rock band Guns N' Roses. The song was included on Guns N' Roses' first album, Appetite for Destruction, released in 1987. It was released as a single in 1988 and became a huge hit, reaching number one on the US charts.
Director Murase commented, "I came across this song in 1988, when music was the only thing I could rely on to get by at work. Around 2018, I saw a video on YouTube of a semi-professional cover of this song. It was Sweet Child O'Mine, with a refreshing female vocalist and a structure similar to Paramore. Come to think of it, it was a song from when the original Hathaway was written. I got the idea going: perhaps a cover by a Japanese artist would be a good compromise to fit with the anime. In the spring of 2023, when the framework for Chapter 2 was taking shape, I had already solidified a rough image for the ending. An original that feels unrestrained and pure would be perfect. I didn't think it was possible. But I never thought it would actually happen..."
"Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway" 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 consist of three chapters, with the first chapter, released in June 2021, being a hit, grossing approximately 2.23 billion yen at the box office. The second chapter was released on January 30th.
