Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway - The Sorcery of Nymph Circe

Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway - The Sorcery of Nymph Circe has, for the most part, elucidated to me what the grand vision for this film trilogy intends to be, though it is not necessarily one that I am fully on-board with. From a visual standpoint, I cannot deny that there is a clear purpose behind many of the decisions being made, some of which feel truly inspired. The intense focus on extremely polished character designs and character acting give this film a unique and appealing aesthetic to mark it as its own distinct entry into the Gundam franchise, and the choices regarding framing and cinematographyoften come off as attempts to bring the influence of live-action filmmaking into this animated world, sometimes to marvelous effect. On the other hand, its unapologetic and pervasive use of CG, while occasionally rather pretty in its use of naturalistic backgrounds, consistently causes egregious compositing issues throughout the film. The mobile suit fights and any scenes involving cars suffer the most in this area, and the decision to be more “realistic” with low-light scenes more often than not results in shots that are extremely difficult to make out any details of. Thankfully, I have far fewer complaints on the narrative front. Hathaway’s further descent into being consumed by the ideology he hopes to put into action is compelling both as a means by which the character hones in on what he truly wants to do, while also conveying how said ideology is putting the screws to his relationships with other people, thus perpetuating a cycle of committing even harder to his fanaticism. Gigi is also becoming a much more complex character in how she has begun to reflect on the different social situations her profession has exposed her to, pushing her in a more radical direction for her to take her life and bringing her latent Newtype senses into much stronger focus. While I can’t say I’m fully on board with the entirety of the creative vision for this project, I would also be dishonest if I didn’t mention that the final 10-15 minutes of this film had me completely enraptured by both its sheer artistic merit and its hyper intense thematic escalation, leaving me cautiously optimistic for whatever the final film has in store.

Pretty much exactly what you would expect from a Gundam Hathaway movie: scenes at night that are hard to see what's happening, Hathaway struggling between being both Char and Amuro, and Kenneth being a complete horndog (also a lot of conversations between government officials). For me, this is a step up from the first Hathaway movie, as we see more of Hathaway's inner turmoil as he struggles to decide whether terrorism or politics is the best way to bring about change in the Earth Federation (plus, he struggles with teenage sexual yearning every time he's on screen; seriously, dude, just watch some porn for God's sake). Sadly,once again, many (if not all) of the mobile suit fights take place at night or in the early morning, so it's hard to make out what is happening (Bandai Namco, please give me one major fight in the third Hathaway film that takes place during the daytime). I won't lie, seeing old characters like Bright, Mirai, and Amuro, and even a snippet of Char (not you, Quess), really does raise the enjoyment of this film (even if Bright and Mirai are the oldest-looking 45-year-olds in history). Looking forward to the conclusion of Tomino's Universe Century (probably) in the third Hathaway movie (whenever the hell that is).

"To a certain degree as you get older, you can really understand a person through that part (sex)... and at those times, you can't detach sex from your thinking. That's why I absolutely have to imagine what Nanai's vagina is like. It's something I particularly think about during the scriptwriting phase. I don't want her vagina to be all withered out because it would reflect poorly on Char, and Nanai isn't a dull woman herself. It was a challenge to myself to figure out what this woman would be like when she's sitting there, being made love to. It was no trifling matter." - YoshiyukiTomino If there are people who aren't fans of Hathaway, then it's mainly because they aren't fans of Tomino and his writing style. I'd go so far as to say no other Gundam work embodies his vision for the IP, complete with complex male and female dynamics, superpowered autism, character deaths with no build-up or catharsis (it's just like REAL war, get it?), geopolitical exposition dumping, whiny MCs, slutty feMCs, etc. However, if you ARE a fan of Tomino's in particular, then these movies may be some of the best Gundam has to offer. Not because they're the best written or most well-directed, but because they're the most "Tomino." The star of the show is, of course, Gigi. Her and Hathaway's dynamic is the main selling point of the story, so if you dislike one or the other, then you probably won't enjoy it. While she was presented as a sort of anomaly Hathaway had to understand in the first film, here she's given much more characterization and insight into her motives and why she is the way she is. She steals every scene she's in, and I attached that great quote of Tomino's at the start because it applies to Gigi perfectly. Her sex(iness) is the most important part of her character, and how it relates to both Hathaway and Kenneth, as well as how it parallels Quess in CCA. She has like 20 casual designs, 4 swimsuit scenes, and 3 underwear scenes in this movie alone... and it's all great. If you don't find her alluring, then the movie isn't for you. Even outside of the two main characters, some side characters get a chance to shine here or there. The most prominent being Kelia, whom we only saw for like a frame in the first film. While she isn't showcased nearly as much as Gigi, the director is able to flesh her out and make you care for her in as short of a time as possible. For such a dialogue-heavy movie, the runtime doesn't feel too long or tedious. Most scenes have something cool visually going on to help keep you engaged (like an iPad kid lol). The scenes are framed in a way where there's always something changing the dynamic as the conversation is happening: background characters working or talking, new characters joining the conversation, characters eating or making food, etc. They're mostly little things, but they matter in the long run. The fights are great, just like in the first movie. Heavy, raw, and sometimes ending as soon as they begin. Conventional weapons like missiles actually make a difference, and it isn't just beam rifles and beam sabers that turn the tide of battle like in other Gundam titles. There are still dark scenes like in the first film, but thankfully they decided to turn the brightness up on the damn movie and have some fights take place while there's still light out so we can actually see what's going on. There's a lot more the movie does well, but they'd be getting into spoiler territory. It's just a solid movie all around. Now onto the negatives. You're probably already aware, but the film has quite a bit of CGI. It's not a problem for the most part; however, while the first film was a lot more subtle with showcasing it, its sequel is a little more blatant. Instead of having it blend into the backdrop or have the animated character models take the forefront to draw attention away from it, there are numerous times throughout the film where it's just loud, ugly, and THERE. There's a scene in particular at about the twenty-minute mark that just looks atrocious. If you've seen the film, you know, and if you ever plan to, then you'll know exactly what I'm referring to when you see it. Some scenes are just too ugly to ignore—a shame, because the movie looks great for the most part. The movie is also dark as hell through many scenes. I understand that some scenes may call for it, whether thematically or practically, but is it really a problem to just shine flashlights or something? It's not like we're playing Splinter Cell; every scene where it's dark as shit also has Mobile Suits loudly stomping around in the foreground. There's no reason to have entire dialogue sequences in near pitch blackness. At least it usually made sense when it was done in the first film. The other problem is the runtime. The biggest setback movies like this have is that they're the middle of a complex, overarching narrative. While the first movie introduces all of the cool ideas and the last movie ties together all the plot threads, the middle film's primary purpose is to just further the plot along. For such a dense movie, a lot was managed to be conveyed (and most of it, well); however, with how many moving pieces there are, it's not surprising that some elements were shafted in favor of Gigi's scenes. The main military conflict between Mafty's forces, the faux Mafty forces, and the Federation is never explained in great detail—or explained at all—and has to be inferred. Yes, you usually get the meat and potatoes of it, but don't expect explanations of factions' grand strategies or tactics; you're just expected to pick up on the dialogue and take whatever the characters are saying at face value. Visualizing or mapping out the skirmishes that take place is pretty much impossible. Hathaway and Gigi are the stars of the show, which leaves little screentime to flesh out other side characters. The other Mafty forces have neat designs but aren't given anything other than a line here or there. In the few scenes they're in, we're shown how close-knit they are as a group, but on an individual level you don't really care for any of them. They're just "the good guys" who may die horrible deaths with no theatrics or fanfare. (The brown tomboy in the denim coveralls was fucking HOT.) Even Kenneth, the third most important character in this trilogy, has had little to no fleshing out in these first two films. He's had decent characterization, but his only relevance seems to be his dynamic with Gigi and, by extension, her dynamic with Hathaway; other than that, he's just a cool and confident Federation commander. I may have missed something, or they may be setting something up for the third and final film, but I could be wrong. Probably the biggest wasted potential is Lane. He doesn't do anything! Here we have a character who serves as a perfect foil to Hathaway—showcasing many of the traits our titular hero possessed in CCA—but we don't get ANYTHING with him outside of one or two fight scenes. We see the Mafty forces in detail; we see the Federation's officers in detail; and we see the non-combatants on Earth in detail. Why not see more of the Federation's grunts? They're usually the ones we follow and root for in the UC timeline, and it would be interesting to see them from the other side of a war. I would've liked to see him maybe interact with Gigi or something, especially if they're going to harken back to CCA so frequently in the trilogy, or see how his comrades think of the headhunting and other questionable things the Federation is a part of; even a line or two would be better than nothing. We got so much of Gigi in this movie that I hope other characters are given a chance to shine next time. Lastly, while this doesn't really have anything to do with the quality of the movie itself, as a whole, it may drop it a peg. I managed to catch a showing of this in both sub and dub (the latter, first, and entirely by accident), and the dub was equal parts serviceable and terrible. The main characters were fine for the most part, but they would do this kind of over-the-top, Broadway-esque line delivery that would take me out of the film. I guess "anime" voice is the thing of the past, and this is the new in. The casting was also questionable: mainly, the director for the FCPO being some old black guy doing his best Keith David expression. Every scene he was in, I didn't know if he was gonna ask for help with headhunting or whipping up some gumbo. Funnily enough, Lane's was probably the best VA even though his scripted lines were awkward and he only had like four in the entire movie. The dub was pretty accurate to what was subtitled (for the most part); however, there were some changes here and there. I omitted explaining which scenes they were in case they counted as spoilers. Out of context, they're fine. Some were pretty big changes, like this one: Sub: You're the one who made up the mission... Dub: Even though it's your mess we're cleaning up... While others were a little more nuanced: Sub: I need to get over whatever these feelings are that I have for Gigi Dub: I need to sort out my feelings for Gigi I get that some lines may sound awkward in English, but a few of the changes completely changed the context of the scenes and what the director was going for. Overall, I thought it was a great movie. The common consensus is that this is an improvement over the first film, but I'd have to disagree. They're close, but I have the first film slightly above this one just because it resonated with me a tad more. Can't wait to see the end of this trilogy in 10 years.

Review: Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: The Sorcery of Nymph Circe Having finished the second novel just hours before watching the movie, this adaptation proves to be excellent, faithfully covering roughly 95% of the source material. PROS Solid Score: A strong 8 or 8.5 out of 10. Strong Adaptation: The beginning is excellent, with the early chapters translated to the big screen perfectly. While the novel relies heavily on inner monologues to explain character motivations, the director did a fantastic job conveying those emotions visually without the movie feeling slow or monotone. Visuals & Animation: By far the strongest point. The production team clearly took their time, and it shows. Theaction scenes both 2D and 3D are top-tier. Mecha Design: The designs are even better than in the first film. Plus, the final battle actually has "somewhat" decent lighting this time around, a welcome improvement over the darker scenes of the first movie. MIXED Gigi’s Portrayal: It feels as though Gigi was given "superpowers" in the movie that were absent in the book. In the novel, her intuition feels more natural, whereas here it comes across as somewhat exaggerated. Censorship: The film noticeably tones down the more mature and sexually explicit dialogue present in the novel. Certain provocative interactions, particularly involving Gigi, were either completely omitted or reduced to inaudible whispers. It feels as though the source material's adult tone was deemed a bit too mature for this adaptation to handle directly. CONS Hallucinations & Timeline: The final act (last 15 minutes) is a bit of a mixed bag regarding Hathaway's mental state. On one hand, the specific visions of Amuro and Quess are handled well, they effectively address Hathaway’s guilt over killing Chan Agi and finally confirm that these movies follow the CCA timeline rather than BC. On the other hand, the execution is overdone. Hathaway hallucinates excessively throughout the movie something he didn’t really do in the second novel and while that specific closure is appreciated, the sheer frequency of these visions becomes distracting. The Final Battle: The movie adds a big fight that doesn't exist in the book. In the novel, the final chapter consists of only four pages of dialogue between Hathaway and Gigi in the Xi cockpit, providing deep insight into their feelings. Those "corny" but important dialogue bits are noticeably missing. The Alyzeus: This felt out of place. Lane Aim is primarily a Penelope pilot, and the inclusion of the Alyzeus felt like a forced move by Bandai just to sell more Gunpla. While the fight was good, it felt unnecessary, the Penelope would have been a better fit. FINAL NOTE For any Gundam fan, this movie is a must-watch. It is amazing, high-quality, and absolutely worthy of one's time.