A stage greeting event celebrating the box office success of "Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash: The Witch of Circe," the second chapter of the theatrical anime series "Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash " (directed by Shuko Murase), was held on April 4th at TOHO Cinemas Ikebukuro SCREENX Theater (Toshima Ward, Tokyo). Kensho Ono, who plays Hathaway Noah, and Reina Ueda, who plays Gigi Andalusia, made an appearance. Approximately two months after the release of the second chapter on January 30th, Ono and Ueda revealed some behind-the-scenes stories that they could only talk about now.
Chapter 2 has already surpassed 2.5 billion yen in box office revenue and 1.48 million viewers in just 48 days since its release on January 30th. This is a bigger hit than Chapter 1, which was released in June 2021 and grossed approximately 2.23 billion yen. The film has also been well-received for its large-format screenings, including the first ever SCREENX and ULTRA 4DX versions for the "Gundam" series.
Ono said, "I'm so happy that there are so many people on set who say, 'I saw Hathaway.' When I'm on other sets with (Ueda), people say, 'Hathaway and Gigi are here...'" He seemed delighted by the great response.
After rewatching Chapter 2, Ono commented, "When it was first released, we talked a lot about the core of the story, but after watching it again after a while, I realized that even though Hathaway is at the top of Mufti, he must be uncomfortable with people talking about him." He said he had once again come to appreciate the difficult situation Hathaway is in.
Ueda said, "Looking back, what I thought was amazing about Gigi was the scene where she leaves the Earl saying 'Adieu.' If it were me, I wouldn't be able to give up my security to go see one person (Hathaway). As you get older, the things you want to protect increase. Gigi does things that you can only do when you're young. The fact that she understands that instinctively and is able to make that decision is amazing, and I felt again that it's so typical of Gigi."
Ueda continued, "In the first chapter, there was a more otherworldly feeling. The scene where she reunites with Hathaway wearing the yellow dress feels more fleshy and has a different emotional intensity compared to the first chapter." Ono nodded and added, "I liked how her hair came undone at the end. It felt like she was liberated."
Ono and Ueda also took on the challenge of the "Illustration Championship," a project to draw illustrations of the cat Fortune. Fortune is the pet cat of Brinks Wedge, the captain of the Mafty escort ship Valiant, who is also known as the "half-naked old man." Ono revealed a behind-the-scenes story that the captain was originally completely naked, not half-naked, in the storyboards.
Ono drew the captain's upper body and Shishun, while Ueda recreated details such as Shishun's patterns. The winner was decided by audience applause, and Ueda emerged victorious, to which Ono responded with a smile, "Of course."
"Hathaway's Flash" is based on a novel published between 1989 and 1990 by director Yoshiyuki Tomino, known as the "creator" of the "Gundam" series. Set in Universal Century 0105, the story follows Hathaway, the son of Bright Noa, who experienced a bitter separation during the Second Neo Zeon War, as he pilots the new mobile suit XI Gundam and rebels against the Earth Federation government. The anime has been announced to consist of three chapters.
