Based on the “Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash” three novel series by Yoshiyuki Tomino, that were published in 1989 and 1990, “Hathaway” is a sequel that takes place twelve years after the events of “Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack”. Part of the UC NexT 0100 project, it adapts volume 1 of the series. It was released in Japanese theaters on June 11, 2021 and has also found its way on Netflix.
The story begins in the year UC 0105, twelve years after the Second Neo Zeon War, inside a spaceship transferring a number of passengers who seem VIPs, including Federation Officials, to Earth. The craft, however, is hijacked by terrorists claiming to be from the group Mafty, who advocate the forced relocation of humanity into space to save the environment. A number of the passengers and the crew are murdered, but the criminals are eventually stopped by the efforts of Hathaway Noa and Kenneth Sleg, and the passengers are taken to Davao, Philippines. Gigi Andalucia, a very beautiful girl that was also on-board, shows interest in Noa, even realizing that he is part of the real Mafty group. Upon her insistence, the two end up staying in the same hotel suite, something that causes some issues with Hathaway's plans, eventually having to order his Mafty subordinates to stage a diversionary attack on the city, ditching Gigi, who, enervated, ends up going out with Kenneth. The attack, however, does not go as planned, as the Federation responds much quicker than Mafty anticipated, causing massive collateral damage. While Noa is trying to get back to his comrades, Kenneth manages to extract more information about their base, with their friendly rivalry over Gigi soon becoming something much more dangerous.
Truth be told, some minor knowledge of the particular universe of Gundam, especially of “Char's Counterattack”, would be welcome for any viewer of “Hathaway” since the sense that something was missed becomes quite intent here, particularly in the beginning. This, however, does not mean that the movie cannot be watched as a stand-alone title. Apart from this, the movie emerges as one of the best entries in the humongous franchise that we have seen during the recent years, equally for the story, characters, and the action aspect.
The dynamics created by the triangle of Hathaway, Gigi and Kenneth are rather intriguing from the get go, particularly since the first wants to hide his identity as leader of the terrorist group, the second suspects who he is but also promises him not to say anything to anyone, mildly blackmailing him to stay by her side, while the third is completely unaware of who his “rival” is, until he isn't. Furthermore, these thin balances also extend to the romantic aspect, with Gigi having a thing for Hathaway, Kenneth a thing for Giri, and Hathaway not being particularly interested in her, since there seems to be another woman for him inside Mafty. When Gigi's relationship backstory also comes to the fore and Kenneth becomes quite open about his feelings for her, things get even more intense, with the duality of the complications working excellently for the story.
Even more so, that all three characters are quite interesting individually, as their past and reasoning is gradually, and masterfully revealed, allows for much empathy to be created for all of them, even if Hathaway is the hero and Kenneth the villain here, at least for the first movie. Kumihiko Takashi''s character design also helps the most in that regard, with his work being truly exquisite, for all three protagonists, but most of all for Gigi, whose dressing, waving hair, and subtle sensuality are among the best traits of the series, even if the “hentai gaze” is not missing from here also, as the brief underskirt angles on her eloquently highlight.
At the same time, the reasoning of the Mafty group to do what they are doing, their failure to follow their plan which leads to disaster, the shaping of the public opinion about the group and the Federation, and the constant chasing by the Federation forces adds a sociopolitical and philosophical context to the story, which is also what leads to the action sequences here, in a testament to the smoothness of Shuko Murase's direction.
And talking about action, the work done in both direction and the animation by Bandai Namco Filmworks is astonishing, with the different styles of battle (hand-to-hand, guns, and Gundams) all exhibiting the same quality, all being quite impressive. Particularly the ones in the spaceship in the beginning and the final one in space are a true wonder to look at. The artistry extends to all technical parts, with the the design of the Gundams and the varying backgrounds being impressively detailed, the coloring quite fitting to the general aesthetics, and the night scenes, including one in a dance club, truly memorable.
“Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway” is a great introduction to the three-movies arc, and one of the best mecha anime movies we have seen during the last few years.
