The staff for Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury streamed a trailer at San Diego Comic Con 2022. This marks the first new Gundam television anime series in seven years. At the same time, this also marks the Gundam franchise’s first female main protagonist in forty-three years.
The Witch From Mercury will be the first new anime series for the franchise since Iron Blooded Orphans. As of now, the series will premiere in October at 5:00 PM JST (or 3:00 a.m. EST). The upcoming anime also has a simulcast planned for October outside of Japan. Hiroshi Kobayashi (Kiznaiver) is in charge of directing the anime. Bandai Namco/Studio Sunrise (Gintama, Code Geass) is in charge of animation.
During the panel at Comic Con, Nahiro Ogata had a chance to speak to attendees in a pre-recorded video. In the video, he mentioned that Gundam: The Witch From Mercury will take place in a new century and not in Universal Century. He also hopes this will bring new fans to the Gundam franchise and thanks the current fans for their everlasting support.
The Witch From Mercury: A Double-Edged Sword
However, despite Ogata’s hopes, The Witch From Mercury holds the double-edged sword of being a completely new story. It has the hard job of introducing the already existing audience to new characters and introducing new audiences to already existing characters. Still, many have praised The Witch From Mercury trailer for its animation, music, voice acting, and fighting scenes. The core theme for The Witch From Mercury is reported to also deal with intergalactic war and dueling ideologies.
Before the screening, anime debuted in Japan on July 14th at the Gundam Factory Yokohama. This place also happens to be the residence of the life-size moving Gundam statue. There, the prologue anime was screened at Comic-Con Internation: San Diego. This screening also marks the U.S debut of The Witch From Mercury.
