Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway

Murase's glorious return to the industry and entry into Gundam is a visually stunning masterpiece. Feeling like the spiritual continuation of Ergo Proxy, Hathaway has added a new breath to Gundam with Murase's color tones, shadings, drawing techniques and minimal but uplifting music. But this movie is more than just a visual feast. Coming out of Gundam's now banal theme of "War's damage to society", the film perfectly handles the new perspective that Hathaway Noa added to the events and it manages to be an extremely superior work in terms of narrative and story. Contrary to the other Gundams, interior monologues and ethical dilemmas at the points where the movie rises too high are used much more effectively. The first masterpiece of the 2020s has been revealed.

It's good movie for fans who have already watched the prequel series. If you haven't, it may get pretty boring because you don't have prior knowledge of what's happening throughout the movie, so keep that in mind. And also, don't bother reading any more reviews as they will affect your viewing experience.

Having seen only a few of the Gundam Series, this didn't make much sense straight out. You make out a couple of names, and references to Char Aznable.. so the context is set, and you can place your self in a timeline.

But this movie works more as a "First episode" anyway, with a story that is somewhat easy to follow. The writing is one that presents eloquent characters in a "smart setting".. that is to say it takes the viewer seriously. As a Gundam piece of content, it doesn't scratch any itch, but as a character study and setting, it is intriguing. Watch for Gigi's gorgeous animations, and every visual and design in general, if nothing else! And for the little bit of action it presents!

Hathaway is perhaps my favourite entry in this franchise yet, with its emphasis on the moments between big fights. The big robot battles are fun, all the more so when I care a lot about the characters in the cockpits. The visuals are the best I've seen in this timeline so far. Brilliant lighting, shot composition and a greater sense of scale really sell the weight of the events and the mechs.

It does suffer from a little too much exposition, especially towards the start, but that's sort of a staple of the franchise at this point. It also feels really disconnected to Unicorn and Narrative, but they're adapting a novel that was written before those existed. I'll give it a pass, for now. I'm very excited for the sequels that are supposedly on their way.

Before you watch this, it's crucial that you watch every main line Universal Century series before this chronologically. It makes references to, and expects you to know most of the history that takes place up until this point. Its important so you can understand the Earth Federation and Mafty's goals.

That being said, I believe this movie is almost perfect for any Universal Century fan. However, if you're going into this expecting a ton of large scale mobile suit fights, you're going to be disappointed. Not to say that the movie is worse off without them though, since the movie is first and foremost a political thriller, it just isn't as action packed as NT or CCA. But when there is a fight scene, it is off the walls insane. The first mobile suit fight takes place in a city, and the movie does a phenomenal job showing the destruction and terror coming from the fight, as beams melt entire buildings and thrusters scorch streets.

The story is one of my personal favorites as they spend a ton of time exploring each character's motivations and how they interact with others. You see how, despite their actions, Mafty does care about the freedom of the people living on earth, and how the Earth Federation is working to actively suppress the civilians living in EFF occupied cities.

I feel like writing wouldn't do justice to the visuals. If you've seen the trailers you know how gorgeous this film is. What I wasn't expecting though, was how well the 2D and 3D animation worked together.

The main problems I had with the film were about the dialogue and pacing. It may have just been the netflix translation, but a lot of the dialogue was very awkward and didn't include the nuance I would have expected from this. The pacing was a little strange during some of the earlier parts of the movie, but it wasn't enough to really take me out of the experience.

If you want to watch a Gundam film exploring in-depth the Universal Century post CCA, this film is for you. If you're expecting an action packed story about the armed conflict between the Earth Federation and Mafty, you might end up disappointed.